Weekly Work, Day Three

Thursday morning began early. Big Boss wanted to be gone by 10:00, so I was up and at ‘em by 7:30 AM. This is the first time in my life that I’ve ever awakened in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

 

It worked out well that we were at the airplane a little early, because the passengers arrived half an hour before schedule. Luckily, we were ready for them.

Our first stop was in Philadelphia, where we landed on a 5,000’ runway to drop off one passenger. He had a commercial flight to catch back to Reno, and we didn’t even shut down both engines to get him on his way.

I had called ahead and paid the gals for our ramp fee, which I rarely pay because I always purchase fuel.

 

Since everyone was in a hurry, we just opened the door and sent him along. I got his bag from the cargo department, then pointed him towards the lobby door. Soon, I was back inside running the Turnaround Checklist. We started up the left engine and were taxiing out to Runway 27L in just moments.

Today, we did a tour of the Garden State of New Jersey. I get most of my knowledge of New Jersey from Saturday Night Live, so it was a treat to visit a whole two cities in this great part of the country.

One passenger lighter, we next made our way to Toms River, New Jersey near the coast. I have never been here before but enjoyed the short stop. It was windy. And we lost and gained about ten knots of airspeed on final approach. Isn’t wind shear fun?!

David and I grabbed a quick lunch at a local diner. I could eat breakfast any time of day, so that’s exactly what I did. The entire area is surrounded in evergreen trees, so finding things off the road was a little exciting. All of a sudden, a clearing appeared in the trees, and the restaurant sign was there! It was a yummy, fast lunch.

After finding the best airport that could fit a Beechjet, our next launch was to Trenton, New Jersey. This city is home to school that some may sound familiar…Princeton. It certainly smelled like money on the ramp, where our little Beechjet was surrounded by big, beautiful, and expensive jets and helicopters. This was my first time here.

After Princeton, we flew back to Pittsburgh to drop off Big Boss #3 at home. We grabbed some fuel here to make the hour-and-a-half flight to McCollum Cobb County Airport in northwestern Atlanta. I love this airport and location. Preferred Jet Center is one of my favorite stops in the country.

 

We were able to finagle keeping the crew car overnight, so I loaded up our two passengers and their bags and off we went. I knew of a mom-and-pop Italian restaurant near our hotel, and everyone was game to try it.

 

It was delicious. A very nice dinner with two passengers and two pilots. I loved the conversation, and I loved the calzone even more.

I was so tired by the time I got to the hotel around 10:30 PM. It had been a long day, and my bed looked wonderful and inviting. It’s amazing how choppy winds and weather can affect your level of fatigue!

 

Allentown – Philadelphia – Toms River – Princeton – Pittsburgh/Allegheny County – Atlanta/McCollum Field