I did my longest cross country to date on Friday and Saturday. Thought I would pass along a few observations. I flew from 14A near Charlotte NC to Ceder Key(KCDK). The trip down was just over 400 NM and the RV performed great. After clearing the CLT class B climbed up to 10,500 and leaned to 50 LOP. Saw 8 GPH and netted 174 knots TAS. Total burn was 21 gallons. Not bad!!!
The CDK airport is a wide 2200 foot runway which looks odd from the air. Landing was no problem. The tie down area however has a few issues for RV's. It consists of a couple of steel cables strung on the ground you tie the aircraft off on. Each cable has room for about 3 aircraft. The problem however is that the cables end up right under your wheel pants on a RV. There is no provision to tie the tail down. I suspect that if you got a good thunderstorm or high wind the cables would be pulled into the wheel pants causing damage. If we go back I will bring my grass tie down kit and use the grass area on the other side of the runway. I would recommend that for any RVer's going there. There are no services or fuel at the airport. The local taxi driver monitors the CTAF and will come up and ask if you need a ride.
We had arranged for a golf cart and it was delivered to us at the airport. We stayed in town at the Island B&B. It was a great place at a very reasonable rate. The bar opens for happy hour and is the local hangout place. A few characters there! The building appears little changed from when it was built. A picture from 1913 was almost identical to what it looks like today. We also ate dinner there and the meal was outstanding. My wife's grouper was perhaps the best I have ever tasted! She only let me have one small bite however! We also had lunch at Tony's on mainstreet and their chowder was outstanding as advertised. We drove around the island and took a long walk. Its very sleepy this time of year but we enjoyed the experience. If you want a nice overnight getaway its perfect. It could get boring if you spent more then a night or two there unless you arrange a fishing trip or other activity.
The next day we departed for St Augustine to have lunch with a friend. The airport is a fairly busy general aviation facility. The FBO people were very nice and the tower and ground people were great. One small tip. The FBO was charging $8,29 a gallon for 100LL. You can taxi across the field to near the base of the tower and the county has two self serve pumps. The price there was $5,29 a gallon. Probably worth a few minutes of time to save 3 bucks a gallon!!! The flight from there back to CLT was uneventful except for how busy the east coast of Florida is with traffic. Be heads up and get flight following!
Overall if you are looking for a weekend or overnight getaway in the SE its worth the trip and we enjoyed it. Felt like being in Florida around 1920. I expected Hemingway to walk into the bar at the B&B!
George Psaros
RV6
The CDK airport is a wide 2200 foot runway which looks odd from the air. Landing was no problem. The tie down area however has a few issues for RV's. It consists of a couple of steel cables strung on the ground you tie the aircraft off on. Each cable has room for about 3 aircraft. The problem however is that the cables end up right under your wheel pants on a RV. There is no provision to tie the tail down. I suspect that if you got a good thunderstorm or high wind the cables would be pulled into the wheel pants causing damage. If we go back I will bring my grass tie down kit and use the grass area on the other side of the runway. I would recommend that for any RVer's going there. There are no services or fuel at the airport. The local taxi driver monitors the CTAF and will come up and ask if you need a ride.
We had arranged for a golf cart and it was delivered to us at the airport. We stayed in town at the Island B&B. It was a great place at a very reasonable rate. The bar opens for happy hour and is the local hangout place. A few characters there! The building appears little changed from when it was built. A picture from 1913 was almost identical to what it looks like today. We also ate dinner there and the meal was outstanding. My wife's grouper was perhaps the best I have ever tasted! She only let me have one small bite however! We also had lunch at Tony's on mainstreet and their chowder was outstanding as advertised. We drove around the island and took a long walk. Its very sleepy this time of year but we enjoyed the experience. If you want a nice overnight getaway its perfect. It could get boring if you spent more then a night or two there unless you arrange a fishing trip or other activity.
The next day we departed for St Augustine to have lunch with a friend. The airport is a fairly busy general aviation facility. The FBO people were very nice and the tower and ground people were great. One small tip. The FBO was charging $8,29 a gallon for 100LL. You can taxi across the field to near the base of the tower and the county has two self serve pumps. The price there was $5,29 a gallon. Probably worth a few minutes of time to save 3 bucks a gallon!!! The flight from there back to CLT was uneventful except for how busy the east coast of Florida is with traffic. Be heads up and get flight following!
Overall if you are looking for a weekend or overnight getaway in the SE its worth the trip and we enjoyed it. Felt like being in Florida around 1920. I expected Hemingway to walk into the bar at the B&B!
George Psaros
RV6
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