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Posted By:
Nickens, Dan
Date Posted:
May 7, 2020
Description:
Milestones are set to mark passing of specific distances. Another mile gone. Another hour gone. They can pass in a blur, or time can slow and memories are made. Is there anything special to be made of a specific number?
My thoughts were simply to pass a milestone, or Hobbs hour on my old SeaRey. Two Two Zero Whiskey Tango was approaching its three-thousandth hour of flight. Most of its earlier hours have passed into a pleasant, blurred haze. Some of those hours were memorable for their adrenaline injected excitement, others for their companionships, and most of all for the wonder of what lay below. What was waiting for the hour to be logged as three triple zero?
Date Taken:
May 5, 2020
Place Taken:
Lake Istokpoga, Florida
Owner:
Nickens, Dan
File Name:
- Photo HTML
Full size - <img src="/show.php?splash=7d5sTVBXIh">
Medium - <img src="/show.php?splash=7d5sTVBXIm">
Thumbnail - <img src="/show.php?splash=7d5sTVBXIs">
Category:
N220WT,
Florida Flying
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Read what others had to say:
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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Anniversaries are often the occasion of celebration. "Jenifer" had passed her twentieth year of flight two years earlier. What do I recall of that occasion? Nothing now.
So I went back to my logbook. On her twentieth birthday there is nothing recorded. The day before there was a local hour of splashing. Nothing special was noted in her logbook. I checked into my photo files: nothing there.
Perhaps there was just too much going on back then to notice. Now, with much of the world gone quiet, subtle matters are more easily noticed. And, appreciated.
What I've most often appreciated about my SeaRey is the freedom to fly off to wild places. To go where nature has been least disturbed. To go where the beauty of the natural world can be quietly appreciated. That was how I resolved to cross into the fourth millennium of my SeaRey's hours.
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Midstream IMG 4022
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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Weather was mostly fine everywhere I looked, but a slightly better forecast was to the south. I took off in that general direction over ground that was well covered in the first 3000 hours. Perfunctory splashes were made on Lake Marion just because the water was glassy and reflected the loveliness of the mossy green shoreline.
A Splash was Made on Weohaykapka Lake because it sounds exotic. It may be just another fine lake on Florida's karst spine, but its east side is inside a Restricted Area and the west side is mostly settled with houses. On the south side where Tiger Creek enters, however, there are some sandy shores exposed during the current dry season. That was enough of an excuse for a quick dip in the aptronymically named "Lake Walk-in-Water".
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Walk in Water IMG 4000
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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Lake Arbuckle is mostly covered up by the military. Just one little corner has an opening for wandering SeaReys. A small creek flowing into that corner with a sandy delta offered a reason to stop and check for a Hobb(e)s update.
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Creek Beaching IMG 4030
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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On flights with Richard Bach he was always finding feathers and looking for omens. I found this one floating in the stream. What would he say? Was it left by some angel as encouragement for further flight? Or was it just the remains of some unfortunate hydro-aviator come to be alligator food?
Whatever. If I had time to worry about deep meanings I probably wouldn't be flying so much. It was still a bit early to cross the 3000 mark, so I flew on.
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Floating Feather 2020-05-04 10.59
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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One fine point to the making the day happier was the re-opening of dine-in lunch spots. After adding some Swift unleaded fuel to further my range, I noticed the airport cafe at Sebring was open. Seating was outside in a comfortable shade. The small serving staff was still working out new procedures for social distancing. They weren't perfect yet but I felt disinfected after the lazy time on Lake Arbuckle's UV-rich beach, so I wasn't much worried about making them sick.
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ReOpening 2020-05-04 11.57
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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Before leaving I stopped outside of Lockwood's shop. They have mightily contributed to keeping the Rotax engines running smoothly all these hours. It was lunchtime and no one there noted the quick passing of a veteran SeaRey, but I did. I still had a few minutes left to fly so I didn't linger.
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Shore Support 2020-05-04 12.16
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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Recently I was reminded of a memorable hour from Whiskey Tango's first year that involved splashing in the company of porpoise. The porpoise splashing spot was just too far away to make with only a few minutes left on the Hobbs meter. Lake Istokpoga, however, was perfectly positioned.
What the lake lacks in propoise, it makes up for in alligators and fisherman. Since I had forgotten my swimsuit and being more modest in these later years, I needed a remote location. The fishermen and alligators appeared to be mostly around the edges of the lake. I picked out a glassy spot in the middle of the large lake for my cooling dip.
Unlike all those hours ago, I was alone. And, I had electric gear to make ingress less of a disturbing exhibition. So easy these days.
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Cool Dipping 2020-05-04 12.30
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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The crossing of the hourly milestone was perfectly made. But, that wasn't enough. The day was just too good to come to a swift end. The largest lake in Florida was just a few minutes south. I flew on.
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Big Water IMG 4105
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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The SeaRey is relatively slow compared to other airplanes. That's just fine by me. The more time in the air, the more things I can see. Like a giant personal barge. Who knew there were such large yachts (and exotic barges) on Lake Okeechobee! All the captain needs is a ramp on the back for a SeaRey and he'd be all set.
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Local Yaching IMG 4169
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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The expanse of the Everglades is just a bit to the south of the big lake. Oh, if only the SeaRey were a little faster....I'd fly over for a visit. Never mind. Maybe I can take advantage of a slow tour sometime soon.
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Almost Everglades IMG 4174
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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A great joy of having a multi-media capable machine is jumping into the water whenever it looks inviting. It is also loud enough to scare off scaly beach-hogging alligators. A huge advantage is making a quick exit when the ground game isn't as nice as it seemed from above. The "sand bar" was a shell bar. It's just not as enticing to bare-footing as smooth sand. I quickly left it to the gators.
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Shelly Shore 2020-05-04 14.20
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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Flying back over Lake Istokpoga I spotted a lone tree in a vast expanse of water. My over-flight convinced me it wasn't too shallow for 'Reys. Upon closer inspection it was revealed as the perfect location for nesting osprey. (Well, not perfect. It doesn't have Don readily available for rescuing snared parents.)
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Nesting Isolation IMG 4245
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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Parts of Lake Istokpoga are classic Florida. Spanish moss love the bald cypress ringing the shoreline because of the prodigious production of minerals they live on. Alternatively, it's because the meanest man in the world left his long gray beard on their limbs as he passed through.
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Meanest Man Folklore
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Old Florida IMG 4261
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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Departing from another fuel stop at Sebring, I took an offset course towards home. There were other lakes to be sampled. Lake Jackson. Crooked Lake. A mine pond.
In between splashes there were various oddities to ponder. Did the Ancestral Pueblo people visit Florida? Looks like it.
If so, where are they now?
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Not New Mexico IMG 4309
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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Here is where the Ancestral Pueblo people live now. I've verified this by driving through this kind of neighborhood and spying all the petrified people.
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Circling Wagons IMG 4311
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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Florida was widely used as a training ground for combat crews in WWII. This now-overgrown spot was where a "bunker-busting" bomb was inadvertently dropped in 1944. Or maybe it's just an old sinkhole. I didn't stop to check.
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Circling a Sink IMG 4322
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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In my earliest SeaRey training, Paige Lynnette offered words of wisdom applicable to any form of aviation: "Never fly over anything you don't want to land on." Though I've too often ignored his advice to my peril, old Whiskey Tango has been a faithful flyer, never dumping me into a bad spot. After 3000 hours you would think I'd be more trusting, but I elected to fly over some mine ponds instead of the swamp.
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Mining Sand IMG 4330
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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This would be an unfortunate place to ditch should the engine quit. I'd expect the orange stain would be hard to bleach out of a white hull.
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Orange Spill IMG 4356
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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The orange stain was spreading into the pristine looking blue waste water. Well, not pristine looking like the Exumas. Perhaps more accurately it was just a more natural water color than orange.
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Orange Stain IMG 4362
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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Both the orange and blue colors are natural enough, though. The sand has rust-orange layers and fine particles like clay suspended in water can reflect sunlight giving it a blue tint.
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Mine Pit IMG 4381
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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Not all the ponds are currently mined. Some have been left unattended for years. Many have attracted settlers to their calm waters. This one, however, was still undeveloped.
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Old Ponds IMG 4414
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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The old mine pond was a new experience. The miners were long gone, but they left their old dredge and some turquoise water for SeaRey explorations.
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Smooth Blue IMG 4423
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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Three thousand hours. Or one hundred and twenty five days. That would be about a year and half of working time. But SeaRey flying has no relationship with real work, so forget about that.
Of more significance to me is that the number is a quarter of all my flight hours. The thought that much of my flying has been extraordinarily fun makes me smile. I can't think of anything I've flown that I didn't like, but I've never loved flying anything as much as I love flying my old SeaRey.
None of it would have been possible without the work of SeaRey angels: Kerry & the Richter family, Paige Lynnette, Tom Vietch, and many wingmen (Col. Grumpy & the Catherders, John Dunlop, Rob Loneragan, Richard Bach), and so many others my fingers would tire from the typing. Most of all, the lady that let me go fly deserves my adoring blame: Ann. I don't need feathers to remind me of the gratitude I feel for all their support over the many hours.
Now, it's on to fly towards a fantastic hex-millennial for my Second To None Wet Toy!
| | Attachments:
Commemorative Wanderings 2020-05-04 17.26
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Don Maxwell - May 08,2020
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Dan, my handy-dandy rule of thumb is that 2,000 hours is one WorkYear (figuring 8 hours a day and 5 days a week = 40 hours/week x 50 weeks/year and a two-week vacation. So you've "worked" a year and a half in that SeaRey so far. Good job! It pays well, too.
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Philip Mendelson - May 08,2020
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Congratulations on reaching such a Great milestone! And of course Thanks for all the awesome pics and keep the stories coming!!
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Ken Leonard - May 07,2020
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Fantastic fun Dan. I look forward to your posts. They help me stay convinced that my exploration time will come.
3 years to retire as of yesterday. First comes completing my Appalachian trail hike (350 miles so far) and then long distance
exploring via Searey.
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Nickens, Dan - May 07,2020
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Ground truthing along the Appalachian trail should open up great spots to visit by SeaRey, Ken. I'm looking forward to your posts.
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