Leg 7: KJAX-KMCO
Pilot: Bryan K.
Yup, we are ready to take-off again. After a quick lunch and an oil check in Jacksonville, it’s time to leave for Orlando. I had a good laugh with some of the locals at KJAX. When they learned I was part of the Six Pack, they were quick to tell me all about their adventures with Pat when he flew here. Looks like he kept up his reputation when he “landed” his 208!!
The flight to Orlando will be quite short, so I decided not to file a flight plan, and go for a simple VFR flight down the St-John’s River and Lake George, and then straight south to see Mickey Mouse. The cloud base was variable along the route, but I figured I would start at 7000’ out of Jacksonville, to about 3000’ getting closer to central Florida. Traffic was light, and I was parked at just the right spot for a quick taxi, once Ground control cleared me to runway 7.
My good luck continuing, I did’nt need to wait long for the take-off clearance from the tower, since the Northwestern flight ahead of me was taking off at the same time I was approaching the hold short line.
As usual, my Conquest was like a bullet down the runway, and I quickly climbed to 5000’.
After avoiding some traffic, I headed south, and flew right over downtown Jacksonville. For the geography fans, that’s the St-John’s River flowing through the city.
As my VFR flight to Orlando progressed, I had to lower my altitude to remain under the cloud base. As I flew over Lake George, I was at 3500’. I did catch a few drops of rain en route, but the skies cleared as I approached Orlando.
Less than 30 minutes after leaving Jacksonville, I already had Orlando in sight… Now, where’s Disneyworld?
I decided to practice my skills, and do a full visual approach to runway 35R, the shortest one at KMCO. Tower cleared me with no delay, and I lined up fairly well using my GPS as a guide. Turned out to be a good decision, since there was a pretty good crosswind on short final. A very good practice, and much needed, since as I soon will be leaving the US, visual landings will become the norm for quite a while.
I nailed the landing (in the crosswind) and then proceeded to a VERY long taxi to the GA parking area. I should of checked the airport diagram better before requesting runway 35R. I had to cross the entire airport to reach my parking spot! To make things worse, I had to follow Delta 2575 (operated by Song), a 757 arriving from La Guardia (New York).
Since I only planed to be in Orlando for an hour, Ground control assigned me a parking spot at the north end of the terminal. A quick trip to the bathroom, maybe a little snack, and then I will be off to Tampa…
Cheers!