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Rosie & Tuppergal's Caribbean Trip 2017

Silicon or WD40.

I think Rosie's entire electrical system is allergic to salt air... :D

Time to find some silicon, WD40 or LPS and wet it down a little. Clean all the connections as you go though them. Don't use the Rum for him or the bird while doing this, however. Good luck and safe returns. Yours, R.E.A. III #80888
 
Upon arrival, Rosie dropped his two (2!) alternators off at an alternator shop on the way to the hotel (as usual). Same dance as two years ago. (same alternators?) It is a little comical, but I can relate, being the one stranded in Exuma two years ago for filling up the B&C voltage regulators (yes, two of them!) in the rain. They don't like that and now live in a condom. I don't know if I said it, but his first failure that had him RTB in Florida was a fully broken alternator bracket that he had to get welded back together. I'm thinking really hard here, but I don't think he has made a leg yet without alternator issues. I feel for my buddy but, if anybody can persevere, it is Rosie. He just keeps on chugging with his eye on the next dive.
 
Drumroll.....

Ahmmmm... May I present "The Money Shot". Many thanks to Jimmy B. for the idea. This is Mopion island. The picture isn't perfect, but I bet there are less than a handful of RVrs that have this one. It is a super tiny island that took some navigational planning to get to. It is north west of Petit Saint Vincent, about 40mi NW of Grenada. We didn't spend any time working on the setup. The plan was to hit the island at about 100' agl, roll in for about 270deg, then roll out on course. This is the result that I'm pretty excited about.

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Picture dump time

Grenada

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Saturday on Grenada was the opening of a carnival season. The opening event was called "Spicemas 2017" in town. Tanya gathered a group of party animals to venture out into the night. Ok, these "old farts" were home before 9pm, but we had fun with the locals none the less.

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We also got a dance show from twinkle toes!
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The colorful vegetation in the rain forest is just amazing. This island has the most color and variety that we've seen on any of the islands over the years. Does anybody know what this tree is? Most of us (not me!) have eaten it's product.

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Then, on our last full day, Sunday, Tanya organized another adventure to hike through the rain forest to some falls for a swim. AMAZING!

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Hike to the falls continued...
Our taxi driver sent his two boys with us as guides to the falls. They were quite knowledgeable of the local plants and history. The boys had just as much fun as we did swimming in the falls.
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We swam in these two pools for a while. It was "Refreshing". I think Roy has those pictures, but I don't, I was busy enjoying the swim.
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Can you tell what makes Tanya happy? She is a ball of fire hiking around in the rain forest. While my legs were on fire on the way back, she raced one of the boys back up the steep trail and won!
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So, do you remember when we "invaded" Grenada back in the 80's?
The locals do! They are very grateful to this day. One of our guides took us by this wall and said it has only been touched up once since then.

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One of these pictures from our camera will be the official class pictures from this year.
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Then it is time to leave Grenada with our wingmen.

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Hello St. Croix! (22kt direct tailwind for the last 50mi) Apparently we do some refining down here.

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Picture dump continued

Landing St. Croix. Do you think I have the field made? Our turnoff is way down there at the other end.

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There are all 9 of our ducks. I don't know what is up with all of these other pilots, but Larry Vetterman long ago taught me to "point my chicken into the wind!" There are no tiedowns anywhere of any kind at anyplace we've stayed. They're just sitting out there in chocks. Ahhmmmm, sometimes, for those that have chocks. Some in our group need some public shaming, but I'll leave that for later.

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Then there is Taco who inexplicably had a W&B issue after loading back up after visiting customs for the taxi to parking, narrowly avoiding a tail strike. Sometimes you just can't make this stuff up. They solved the problem with some external storage for the taxi.

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Check-in time with some Rummmm punch.
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View from the room.

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Accommodations. This is three star, where most of the essentials work. Perfect for our group, but if you're looking for a "nice" place, this isn't it. IE, your functional a/c might sound like a freight train and the sink might leak, but hey, the toilet works.

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Contrary to the belief of some, our Bravo flight of three has had absolutely no problem operating as a proper three ship from startup, takeoff, landing and shutdown at every location that we have been so far. Heck, at many places, I'm sure we could have asked for the overhead and gotten it. I don't know, maybe it is because we have very good wingmen that make us sound like we know what we're doing by being quiet and just following the instructions of Lead (TC) at all times on our discrete frequency. The local ramp operators are usually quite impressed to see a disciplined flight taxi up and shutdown on a head nod, or fire up and taxi out with complete coordination. I think those ground ops go a long way to the tower expectation of professionalism when you ask for a formation departure.
 
island weather

It is raining in St. Croix where I sit this morning, so I've had a little time.

One thing that we haven't talked much about is some interesting island / sea weather dynamics. It is very neat to see that the majority of the precipitation and vertical cloud development is usually highly concentrated over land masses. As you're flying along over hundreds of miles of water, you can usually very easily pick out the islands from above simply based on the big blobs of clouds on the horizon. You can even see this on very small scale on inland lakes. In general, unless we're dealing with some major weather system, we consider "out to sea" to be our safe place from convective weather.

For example, when we came out of Puerta Plata in the Dominican Republic last week from our fuel stop, it was raining on and off at the airport. However, you could see blue sky just 10mi offshore. We took off in the rain and made an immediate turn midfield, northbound to that clear air offshore, then started the turn back on course. This is a very common thing. The chance of rain on the island is high, but offshore 10, 20, 30mi, blue skies.

On the way here to St. Croix from Grenada yesterday, sitting at 8500', we could identify at least 150mi worth of individual islands just based on cloud development... Cloud buildups as a navigational tool is a nifty concept :). Weather data way down south becomes quite sparse and unreliable in our experience. Our major weather product is the big Caribbean visible, infra, and vapor satellite imagery.


Disclaimer: This did NOT apply last Monday evening when some of us made the final push to St. Kitts. That was way too many miles of many layers all the way to the surface which was a first for us out here, and those of us that made it won't soon forget.
 
Does anybody know what this tree is? Most of us (not me!) have eaten it's product.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syzygium_malaccense

The fruit is known by many names around the world, but it's pretty much unheard of in the U.S. since it doesn't keep well once it's picked and hence doesn't lend itself to export from the tropical areas where it grows. I used to live in Brazil where it is known as 'jambo'. The leaves, pink blossoms, and fruit are all edible. The blossoms are tart and there's a sweet nectar inside. The fruit is sort of like a cross between a pear and an apple. My mom used to make jambo crisp, jambo pie, and jambo jelly using recipes for apples. Good stuff!
 
Many Thanks to SCOOT!!!!

Hi All! I can't thank Scott "Scoot" Card for getting my computer fixed after I was able to beat my broken camera into submission!!!! Also used my Iphone for pics but much more prefer my little Canon that no longer has those little shutter-thingies that cover the lens when you turn it off...

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In order to NOT stay up until after midnight tonight, I want to get up groups of 10 pictures/post to get you all caught up so here we go....
 
Day 3: On the ramp at Homestead (X51) Florida

Our RV is right at home on the ramp at X51...

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My longtime friend's Opie & Gail Dodson's Glasair II:

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Getting fuel:

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Cookie and owner John Roberts:

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Tuppergal, Barry & Amy Marz and Diane Roberts:

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Sandy & Roy Thoma... Met them at OSH 2016... said they wanted to come... AND THEY DID!!!! YEAH!

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The van loading for the hotel:

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And our Driver, Rich "Elvis" Emery:

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Dinner at the Cuban Casavana Restaurant:

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Day 4: Homestead (X51) to Great Exuma (MYEF)

ALPHA Flight: Barry & Amy Marz, Rosie & Tuppergal, Sharbait, Elvis and Chappy:

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BRAVO Flight: Sandy & Roy Thoma, Cookie & Scoot, Taco and Cannon:

Charlie flight is not pictured as they arrived to the airport later in the morning since they were stopping at Puerto Plata for the night.

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The start of another beautiful day... the coast of Florida is ahead:

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Minutes past the coast...stop...timeout...Alternator failure...turned back, fixed alternator...continued on single ship as Sharkbait to the lead for ALPHA flight...

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Resuming my flight now... Let's try this again... now leaving the US of A...

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Maybe 15 minutes after leaving the coast of Florida, the skies cleared at 9,500':

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This is the island NW of Nassau... I forget the name:

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Just beautiful....

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Make sure you put in the special squawk code when this pops up on your display:

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I always like to pull up NEAREST AIRPORTS:

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Day 4: Homestead (X51) to Great Exuma (MYEF) then to Puerto Plata (MDPP)

It's quite difficult to describe the beauty of the water color of the Caribbean...

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Two hours after leaving the coast of Florida, the runway at Great Exuma (MYEF) is in sight:

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And the team at Odyssey Aviation was there to greet us:

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Our friend of MANY YEARS, Jermaine Bannister of Strachan Aviation... they were out of 100LL so we had to use Odyssey but Jermaine still processed our paperwork. We were in and out in LESS than 30 minutes because of his GREAT SERVICES!!!!

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Here we are leaving Great Exuma along the northern coast:

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And if you are familiar with Pittstown Point, here's what's left after Hurricane Joaquin destroyed the resort in 2015... very sad:

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The rest of the flight down the Bahamas chain looked like this... lot's of clouds and beautiful water:

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Just short of 3 hours had the northern coast of the Dominican Republic come into view:

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And the runway at Puerto Plata (MDPP):

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Yes, we got a little bit wet on landing:

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We parked the planes next to Opie's Glasair II and Moody Blue's RV-9A and caught a cab to the Gran Ventana resort after clearing Customs and such.
 
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Day 5: Puerto Plata (MDPP) to St. Kitts (TKPK)

Here we are, a 3-ship with me leading Opie & Gail and Moody Blue & Bun:

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Just after takeoff from Puerto Plata:

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And the Coastline immediately after the previous picture:

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At 9,500' we were between some high layers that made for a 'cool' flight under the clouds:

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We wanted to fly direct to St. Kitts but it looked a bit darker over Puerto Rico than we liked so we opted to fly east and stay north of Puerto Rico:

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Here's the Ipad display of the course over Puerto Rico that was direct to St. Kitts... you can see some of the ADS-B weather in this picture:

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Moody Blue:

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Just short of 3 hours from Puerto Plata had St. Eustatius (TNCE) off the left wing:

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Here we are flying east on the southern shore of St. Kitts. The island in the distance is Nevis:

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On final approach to St. Kitts:

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As I promised myself, it's near midnight... good night! Rosie & Tuppergal
 
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Last night at dinner we were treated to a fire dance show.

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Of course the pretty girl had to have a picture with Andrew, or was it the other way around?
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Rosie even made an appearance! But I guess you already figured that out.
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This morning some of us are headed into town to see what's what. Talk of our Friday return is already starting to infiltrate the conversations. Food planning, looking at weather and winds, where exactly do we want to go for fuel... I know Charlie flight of Opie and Barry and Amy are headed direct Provo. It is starting to look like we'll take our Bravo flight there too if weather and winds cooperate. The RV9 is the limiting factor on that leg, but it should be doable. I haven't heard what Rosie's Alpha flight plan is yet, but the safe bet is back to Puerta Plata for fuel, then Exuma. Being able to strip out one of the fuel stops is extremely attractive and could shave at least 1.5hr off of the day but will require some discipline.
 
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Прошло почти 24 часа и ничего нового?!! Требуем репортажа!! :D:D
 
On the move

The sun is up and We're picking up and heading out this morning. I think everyone is direct Provo for single stop fuel. See ya on the other side!

The internet was poo the last couple of days. Sitting in the FBO waiting for paperwork now.
 
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Back to the mainland

Everyone made it back to Florida. Thoma's are in Perry Fl, plan to head to Houston (KDWH) tomorrow. Several planes made it farther west, Rosie & Tuppergal may still be flying west!

We had a truly amazing trip. Great people to travel with. Remarkable sights.

Thanks to Rosie & Tuppergal for organizing and thanks to Bravo flight for taking great care of the newbies (us).
 
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Whew, what a day! Cards are overnight in Pensacola and have already acquired good food and beer. Buonos are pressing on after fuel in PNS to home in Dallas. After the 1500mi day leading the flight, I had nothing left after shooting the ILS in the dark. I talked to Rosie who put down about an hour further west into the darkness. I'm pretty sure Sharkbait and Chappy are still in the air pressing for the Dallas tonight.

We'll get an early start to work weather home to Austin in the morning.

Oh, and our newbies were AWSOME! They learned so much that I'm following them next time. So many things you just can't brief. You just have to be there to experience it :)
 
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Home safe

Taco and Cannon are home safe. 2000nm in one day easily doubles my previous longest flying day in the rv. But my own bed is gonna feel pretty sweet. Last i heard from sharkbait and chappy, they were just south of dfw hoping to make midland or odessa tonight.
 
Cards have erased the fuzzy eyeballs and are headed to the airport for an IFR launch home to Austin
 
Rosie Check in

Just talked to Rosie. They are down for lunch in Hamilton TX KMNZ.

His goal is to get to Phoenix tonight. Slow going down low but hoping from airport to airport. Tortise and the Hare style.

He is persistent and I know he will make it. Should get better after he makes the corner by El Paso.

Keep Trucking Rosie and Tuppergal-----
 
Cards made it home to Austin, not so direct, one leg from Pensacola. 40kt headwinds for an hour, IMC for a couple hours, dialed the gerbils back to about 6gph and made it home with "some" fuel left in the tanks.

What an epic adventure. Now we have to get our frame of reference back as it is hard not to feel invincible back on US soil, with complete freedom to roam, and NOT over water.
 
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Welcome Home

Welcome home pilots and copilots. It was great fun following along with the flight tracker and stories. Gets me motivated; i need to keep this short so I can get back to work on my wings for the 2019 trip. Thanks for the motivation.
 
Thanks for the virtual ride gang. It was fun, as usual. Maybe someday we will time it right and make it with you.
 
Not home yet

Charlie-flight update: Rosie, Elvis and Moody Blue departed St Croix about 9 AM friday. Fueled at Providencialis in the Turks and Caicos and pressed on to Ft Lauderdale for customs. We had a nice tailwind all the way. Arrived FXE before 5 PM Friday.

Good to know some made it home yesterday. As I write this, Rosie and Tuppergal are in Phoenix with Sharkbait and Chappy. They should be home today looking at the weather out west. Elvis made it to Kennet, Mo yesterday and should make it home to St Louis area late today. Haven't heard where the Thoma's are today.
As for Moody Blue and Bunn, after checking the weather in Missouri and Iowa, we decided to take our time getting home. After customs Friday, we tied down at Banyon (FBO) at KFXE in Ft Lauderdale. We had a great stay at the Holiday Inn Express and pressed on yesterday. The folks at Banyon were the best. Got flight following out of FXE to KALX (Alex city, AL) for fuel and pressed on to Kennet, MO. Kennet is great place to stop as they have cheap fuel, 3 crew cars, a nice terminal building and good places to eat.
We had perfect flying weather and tailwinds of 35 to 45 knots all the way. When we landed at Kennet, there was Elvis, getting fuel and checking weather. Even though he only had about 150 miles to go, the weather in MO grounded us all.
Elvis went to a local motel and we checked out one of the crew cars and headed for Jonesboro, AR. We have had weather preventing us from getting home from here before, Bunn and I will extend our vacation in a nice college town where we can find great places to eat and relax in a comfortable hotel. We may not get home to Iowa until Monday.
 
Just heard.

Just checked my email. The Tomas are in Houston area for few days before they head for Sedona, AZ. Their vacation goes on and on. Opie and Gail made it home to Sa Antonio. Another Caribbean Adventureis in the books.
 
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