My beachy excursion last March
As temperatures warm and green leaves appear anew, at least here in Texas, I start thinking about the blue waters around Florida and the Caribbean. Our mild winters in the Great Republic (yep, Texas) don’t spark a strong urge in me to head southeast; it’s the springtime evocations of sailing, surfing, and flying to the Bahamas that summon an undeniable magnet-pull of laid-back coastal living. The need to feel sand between my toes and absorb the salty air on my face renews as the boys of summer start to train. It brings Jimmy Buffett to mind, the feel of a board under arm, and getting the plane ready for a trip somewhere tropical. It happens every year around this time.
To satiate these desires, we bring stories of adventures across the Sunshine State and Caribbean territories. First, we have an update from friends in the oldest city in America, St. Augustine, Florida. Banyan Air Service is expanding its services to customers in the southeast, and if you fly a Beech turboprop twin, you’ll be excited to hear about Banyan’s newest capabilities.
Next up, T&T writer Ed Verville explains the intricacies of approaches sans vectors, many in the tropics. Those readers who most often fly Boeings and Airbuses sometimes need a reminder of the full approaches out there that can bring us down safely in areas not always served by radar.
Author Peter Fraser offers an account of his search and acquisition, training, and first experiences in a new-to-him Mitsubishi turboprop. His experiences include extensive tropical arrivals and departures in the middle latitudes. I know for myself, there sometimes exists hesitation to visit unfamiliar foreign destinations just because of the unknown — unknown procedures, unfamiliar customs, and perceived language barriers. Peter disqualifies some of those (mis) perceptions and shows a way to enjoy the yet-unexplored locales in our neighboring watery ports of call.
Aviator extraordinaire Rich Pickett shows us how we can navigate the Islands above (and below) the waters of the Caribbean, not via the latest and greatest panel-mount avionics, but with Garmin’s new D2 Mach 2 wrist computer. I still use Garmin’s D2C aviation watch, which is getting a little long in the tooth but is still amazing. The D2C’s younger and evidently faster brother brings newer, better sensors, AMOLED visibility, and myriad applications to aid us in every imaginable activity.
I hope you enjoy this month’s excursion to the islands. Maybe you’ll be able dip a toe in the warm, blue waters soon.
