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The intention was to visit the new Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Aviation Museum, part of the Smithsonian and located a stone's throw from Dulles Airport (KIAD). For those who were able to stay longer than Friday and Saturday, there would be no end of things to see and do in DC (including visiting the Smithsonian flagship building, home to the Wright Flyer, the Spirit of St. Louis and the Apollo 11 command module).
Five of us met at Druxy's in the Buttonville terminal at about 7:00 a.m. local. Dennis Fox (Mooney C-GDRN) would have Ron Marshall as his co-pilot. Warren Cresswell (Mooney C-GMMM) was flying solo. Bob Eeuwes (Trinidad C-GTBT) had his 12 year old son Jake as co-pilot. Everybody but Jake was instrument rated, but as we later found out, Jake knew a lot about airplanes. With two Mooneys and a Trinidad, it promised to be a quick trip.
Sunshine and light winds- a good start to the trip. We had filed for CYKZ departure at 12:20Z and arrival at KIAD at 14:50Z. All planes had lifejackets and rafts so there was no need to do the long trek around Lake Ontario. Takeoff was right on schedule and, remarkably, so was arrival, despite what must have been a world record for re-routings on the way.
We were directed originally to THORL intersection, which was miles out of our way, but finally cleared direct to BUF before we got too far along. Then followed (with many variations in between) SLT-SEG-HAR-HGR-MRB-KIAD, with vectors finally putting us out of our misery just before HGR.
Bob and Jake led the parade out of Buttonville, with Dennis and Ron following, and Warren bringing up the rear. Dennis turned off the autopilot just past BUF so Ron could take over and polish his IFR flying. All three aircraft remained close throughout the flight. At one point, Dennis got permission to speak to Warren directly to provide a nexrad weather update thru his WXworks satellite weather. We were in IMC at 7000 feet, with occasional rain but no turbulence to speak of.
As we got closer to KIAD, our controller suddenly said, "Am I missing something? How come we have three small Canadian aircraft arriving at once?" We considered comments about our comprising the entire Canadian Air Force, but without a Labrador helicopter in our group, we knew he wouldn't believe us. Dennis explained the club trip and the museum visit.
Visibility at KIAD was about 3 miles in haze, but it was hard to miss the 11,000 foot runway. Winds were light and variable. Traffic was amazingly light. We had originally thought we would prefer runway 01 Left rather than 01 Right, since it would get us closer to Signature Flight Support, but our controller assured us 01 Right would be closer. He was right. Dennis intentionally landed long (easy to do in what turned out to be a slight downwind landing) to avoid a long taxi to Signature. Bob and Jake were already there and Warren arrived shortly thereafter.
We remained in the planes until customs and immigration arrived. All went smoothly, with Dennis' customs officer very curious about his aircraft, its insignia and what it would cost ("Gee, I guess I'm in the wrong job."). Warren's officer seemed unduly concerned about Warren's arrival a few minutes late, but never pursued it.
We received great service from Signature, who shuttled us to the terminal and then to the Marriott Hotel a few minutes away. We cleaned up, had lunch and headed for the Museum.
The Museum building is an awesome structure, obviously very new (opened in December, 2003), with a large number of aircraft but still plenty of room for more. The first aircraft greeting us was the needle-nosed SR-71 Blackbird. Before its retirement, it made the trip from London, England to Los Angeles in 3 hours and 49 minutes!
Before heading for further exhibits, we lined up for an IMAX movie about helicopters. Fun, but the other film on risktakers looked better.
It's a great museum. There is something for every aviation buff, but the general highlights are probably the Enola Gay (which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945), the Concorde and the Space Shuttle Enterprise.
One thing that is in short supply but will likely develop quickly within the Museum is the range of interactive displays. There are three simulators, and a terminal that will locate airports all over North America, but that's about it for interactive.
We left the Museum when it closed at 5:00. We relaxed outside waiting for the hotel shuttle, and used the time mainly to listen with amazement as Jake identified aircraft flying overhead, and to give Warren a hard time about his dark pictures from inside the cavernous museum. Dinner was sushi at a restaurant recommended by the hotel.
Saturday began as most flying Saturdays do- with a look at the Weather Channel. The forecast was great. Storms along the east coast had moved further east and a high had settled in to provide a rosy prognosis. The whole group met for breakfast at the hotel. Bob and Jake decided to stay another day. After a hearty buffet breakfast, we said our good-byes, and Ron, Dennis and Warren caught the hotel shuttle back to Signature.
Warren called flight service to file for both MMM and DRN, and spent close to half an hour on hold. Unbelievable. The call to Canpass was less eventful. We finally headed for the Mooneys.
Warren opened his plan first with Clearance Delivery, but they had no record of DRN's plan. Dennis explained that both plans were filed at the same time. Clearance Delivery phoned Flight Service (Hobbs meters ticking all this time), and nobody could locate DRN's plan. Finally, Clearance Delivery announced that, "in the interests of harmony with our neighbour to the north," he would break protocol (remember, we're in Dulles!) and clear us. Dennis expressed our profound gratitude and we were wheels up at 1435Z, only 10 minutes late.
Warren and MMM followed Dennis and Ron in DRN off an intersection on 01 Right. We were cleared to 6000 feet quickly. Ron took over in DRN for some more IMC time. Things were pretty uneventful until about 50 miles out of BUF. By that time, Dennis had DRN back on autopilot, and substantial cumulus clouds produced enough turbulence that we asked for 8000 feet- much smoother and what a view of the clouds! But too much of a good thing. We requested a deviation west to avoid the worst of the towering cumulus and soon broke into clear conditions at the south shore of Lake Ontario.
We were cleared straight in to Runway 33 at YKZ. The forecast substantial crosswind was not there- winds were straight down the pipe. The late departure and a stronger than expected headwind put us in at 1655Z, about 15 minutes late. We called Canpass and were cleared without further ado. Warren arrived a few minutes later and we said our thank you's and good-byes.
A great museum, but also a great trip, well organized by Dennis, with good company, minimal fuss at a major airport and very helpful air traffic personnel. Do see the museum (and the rest of the Smithsonian) when you get a chance, but most of all enjoy the trip- we did.