Our Summer Trip 2015 – Part 5

Departing Memphis, Heading to Nashville

The stop in Memphis was too short. I really hope we get to go back and see more of this city. I especially want to go back to Beale street and try some of the other venues. So with a full tummy we departed Memphis and turned north eastward to Nashville. The flight took a little over an hour and provided us with some relaxing views of ever-growing mountainous terrain.

Our timing with John Tune could not have been better. I called the airport a few weeks before our arrival to confirm fuel and tie down fees. The nice young lady at the FBO informed me that the airport was closed for construction until august 10th at noon. We landed at about 2 pm that day. Only some of the taxi ways were open and we had to back taxi to get off the runway and then follow signs through a maze to park at the FBO.

Landing at John Tune from the West

Once we got clear of the airport and met up with our friend Joe, we had a lovely evening of socializing, drinking and smoking cigars on the front porch of the rectory. Oh yeah, our friend Joe is on his way to becoming a priest. His summer assignment put him at a local church in Nashville and we stayed with him at the church rectory.

We all got a bit hungry and decided we needed dinner. Joe suggested a local place called Edley’s BBQ. It did not disappoint. The food is served cafeteria style and includes a bar with local micro-brews. I tried a few really good local brews and had some delicious brisket. I have to say the place was doing a brisk business and had quality eats. This made for a really great stay in Nashville as it added to the fun of the trip.

After our visit we once again packed into the plane and flew off to Crossville Tennessee KCSV to visit more family. Crossville is a golf mecca. If your thing is golf this town has everything for that. One of the more unique experiences is the local flea market every first weekend of the month. The whole main street of the town is taken over with flea market tents and vendors sell their wares up and down the street. It is a really unique experience and made for a pleasant visit.

Leaving Crossville and Flying to Spartanburg

My wife had a business conference in Greensboro. We made arrangements for her to meet her mother in Spartanburg TN as I had to get back to work the following day. We departed Crossville early in the morning and flew over the smoky mountains. I finally understand where they got that name. The valleys are full of low lying clouds, which gives the appearance of smoke in the valleys.

Link to the route on SkyVector

The flight over the mountains was about as picturesque as one could imagine. The peaks and valleys made for some terrific pictures. We flew over the mountains at about 9500 feet to make sure we had sufficient clearance over all the peaks. ATC wanted us to climb up even higher. The only part that surprised me was how close Spartanburg airport seemed to the southern side of the mountains. Just a soon as we cleared the range to the south I had to put the plane in a descent to get us down to the altitude of the airport. We saw some pretty high ground speeds as I descended into Spartanburg.

Crossville to Spartanburg

Nice airport there at Spartanburg. The ground crew was very helpful and the fuel was reasonably priced. Once I dropped off my wife and said goodbye, I climbed back in the plane for that last long leg all the way back to Ocala. This part of the flight proved to be a bit more tricky. Summer storms blew in over Tallahassee and then made a mess of the middle of the state all the way from southern Georgia to Ocala.

I used flight following on this leg and I am glad I did so. As I was crossing over the southern border of Georgia, I could see huge thunderstorms ahead pouring out their fury right in my flight path. Jacksonville Approach diverted me to the west coast and I flew home right behind the big storms. This made for some unusual cloud formations that I have rarely seen.

Link to the route on SkyVector

Last 25 Minutes Coming Into Ocala