My first adventure as PPL

tlewis95

I drive planes
To SKY/Sandusky, OH for the Cedar Point amusement park. :nana2:
It was a two day flight (6/30-7/1 and C77-PWK-SKY-06C-C77) with a friend of mine and took 6 hours total over a round-trip distance of 600 miles flying N723PG, a C172S.

After going here, Six Flags is never going to be the same, we spent 19 hours in the park over two days separated by a stay in the Breakers Hotel right on Lake Erie, and on park grounds. Riding all 18 roller coasters, some of them as many as 4 times. :crazy:

Dawn ride to pick up my friend Jen from PWK was nice
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Morning pass of Downtown is always fun
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The weather was all clear until the TOL area, where ceilings were BKN018 with some isolated light (very light) rain showers, that were very easy to stay out of. We did fly through some drizzle though.
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Landed at SKY under what was probably BKN015, and topped off with 28.3 gallons, which is EXACTLY what I had planned for, collegiate flight teams, here I come. :yup:
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Top Thrill Dragster from my Room Tuesday Morning (420 feet tall, 0-120mph in 4 seconds... we did that one 4 times. :drool:)
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The park visible only 3 miles away from our plane before takeoff
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Very close to Lake Erie on the run-up pad before a runway 27 departure
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Circled the park on the way out of course
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CAVU at 6,500 with a 15 knot tailwind the whole ride home. :p
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And our plane on the ramp at 06C (Schaumburg, IL) as I drop Jen off, and grab some food at Pilot Pete's restaurant before the solo leg back to Poplar Grove.
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And that is that, a great experience, to a great place, that I look forward to doing again soon. Hopefully with an instrument rating. :laff:
 
Awesome pictures. Looks like you're really putting the rating to use! Was it hard to get from the airport to the amusement park?
 
Great pics! Did I mention I fear coasters? We have one in NJ just like that called Kingda Ka (biggest coaster in the world), and I can proudly say you will never see me even operating the thing much less riding it!
 
Was it hard to get from the airport to the amusement park?

Not really, the airport offers a free shuttle to and from the park (about an 8 minute ride)

I think that we were in line for one of the coasters about 20 minutes after landing.
 
Cool pictures! Looks like a great time and a fun way to get experience and hours for your IR.

Awesome park! I went a few years ago and Top Fuel was closed:mad:.
 
Not really, the airport offers a free shuttle to and from the park (about an 8 minute ride)

I think that we were in line for one of the coasters about 20 minutes after landing.

That's awesome. I've always wanted to make the trip there.
 
Just so you know, I hate you too. Grrr... lol. I haven't been to Cedar Point in years, I can't wait for the day(s) that I go back!
 
Great pics 95!


Cedar Point is the best amusement park in the world hands down! ....That is if you are a rollercoaster fanatic.

If you haven't done so already, take Jen.........or any other lucky girl..........to South Bass Island in Lake Erie by plane. [10 miles NW of SKY]

The runway there is about 24' wide and 2500' long. Also, the runway has a 'dog-leg' halfway down. It is the only crooked runway in the US that I know of. [Unless they fixed it.] Also, there is a 300' tower aligned with the departure path when taking off northbound. She will surely be impressed with your aviation prowess when operating at such a challenging airport!

The town on the Island, called Put-in-Bay, has an establishment which claims to have the longest bar in the world. 125'. The island allows cars but they are few. Rent a bike in town and explore the island. Good places to eat and sleep. Spend the night so you can partake in the offerings of the two wineries on the island. They make good rieslings.

Mackinaw Island is another great place to fly into!
 
Ya, I was hoping to run her out to one of those islands (Put-In-Bay) for lunch and all, but time was a little short and all.

Next time, we will definatly allow a few hours to hop around all of those islands (south bass for sure :nana2:)

Should be a good time, and I am going to try to make this an annual trip from now on.
 
greats shoots.....hey what amusment park is that?.......last month we flew from canada to CWA and flew by that same park....i rememberd it cause stood out being on an island of sorts
 
MadDoggyDog, the Put-In-Bay airport is now a nice airport, not nearly as fun to fly into now...anyone can land on a runway that is 75 feet wide and when you have 3000 feet in front of you. tlewis95, congrats on the flight...what runway did you land on at SKY...the approach to 18 or 27 is awesome right out over Lake Erie. On the same note, the takeoff from either 26 or 9 is cool for the same reason. With tThe first passengers I took up after I got my ticket, we went the SKY to the restaurant there, and had a ride bumpier than ##### on the way back. Nice pics though, and even though it is a nice airport now, head out to 3W2 sometime, it is a nice flight
 
what runway did you land on at SKY...the approach to 18 or 27 is awesome right out over Lake Erie

Used 27 coming in and going out, 18 did look like it could be equally "cool"

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http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=37487343

Also a video on myspace here that the passenger took of our landing on runway 27. They also just re-paved everything on the airport about a week before our flight, and this may have been the nicest runway I have ever used.

You can also get an idea of how nice the weather was. :sarcasm:
 
God i can only WAIT to do this with my ticket!! Only 30 ish hours to go!! hahh!!

Awesome pics and video too, this is the point of a PPL. Congrats!!

Robbie
 
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