Hill Country Flying

Thanksgiving was approaching, and with it the promise of wonderful weather! So, a plane was booked, and thanks to an invitation from work collegues and good freinds, a trip to Leakey, TX, deep in the hill country was planned.

(See the flight plan and GPS data here See the Photo Gallery here)

Thanksgiving morning dawned crisp and clear, and I set of at 7 am to drive to the airport, deserted on this holiday. I collected the keys and began the preflight checks - oil, fuel and the rest were all in order.

I climbed in, continued the checks, filed a flight plan and collected the latest weather reports. After talking to a lone controller, I was cleared for takeoff into the clear blue sky, westbound, with the sun rising behind me. All systems were humming along nicely, and I was on course and on time. Once clear of the Houston Class Bravo aispace, I quickly climbed to 6,500 feet, where the air was clean and thin, and the engine was most economical. At this altitude their was no turbulence whatsoever, and I only had to to control the aircraft with the lightest of touches.

I flew over flat farmland, with rivers bursting their banks thanks to the recent rain, and onwards over small towns, towards Austin, the capitol of Texas. I skirted the south side of the Austin (KAUS) Class Charlie airspace, so I simply monitored the frequency for traffic in my area. There were one or two other small aircraft, as well as some early morning commerical flights on the approach into Austin.

Immediately after crossing I-35, the land below me began to change, rising into rolling hills, with lakes, valleys and craggy ridges below me. It was superb to see this from the air, and the luxury of travelling where I wanted, unencumbered by roads and terrain was superb!

In the distance, the line of I-10 appeared in view, and I began reducing altitude to begin the approach into Kerrville (KERV). At around 4,500 feet, some light turbulence had to be dealt with, as the warming air was rolling over the hills below me. Kerrville was quiet as I entered the traffic pattern for runway 21 on a 45 degree left downwind. I was soon skimming the trees and rooftops on short final for Runway 21, and then after a short ground roll, I taxied to Kerrville Aviation for a refuel and coffee.

posted by Sam @ 11:29