Nina's Adventures in Aviation
Ms. Nina started watching YouTube videos about the International Space Station. During the video, the host talked about dehydrated food. Ms. Nina wanted to try dehydrated food. So she made a deal with her Abba: If she could have a good week at home and at school for a whole week, her Abba would order her space ice cream to eat on Friday.
Ms. Nina got to go on another helicopter adventure today. She got to fly a Bell B-206L4 from Linden, NJ (LDJ) to Boston, MA (BVY). En route, she flew up the New York Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA) – the Hudson River corridor. She flew by the Verrazano Bridge, Statue of Liberty, Freedom Tower, Central Park, her mommy’s old apartment, and the George Washington Bridge.
Finally, Ms. Nina built up the courage to peek in the cockpit of an Airbus A320. She seems to love everything about flying except the front seat.
It’s been a hot minute since Ms. Nina took a commercial flight. This time, a bit more educated on air travel. She brought with her both an iPad with Foreflight so she can navigate all the way to Florida and her favorite book: Where Do Jet Planes Sleep at Night.
I still couldn’t get her to take a peek in the cockpit.
Nina and her Abba first watched this movie when Nina was only one month old – before her Abba left for Iraq. She didn’t quite understand it when she was that young, but now she’s watching it again as a five-year-old. It’s a great movie about a father and daughter bonding over their love for aviation.
Ms. Nina chooses (wisely) to stay at Lee Airport (ANP) in the rain and watch airplanes take off instead of go home and play with her toys.
Ms. Nina takes an impromptu trip to Lee Annapolis Airport to grade landings on the short runway. Runway 30 (pictured above) is 2,505 feet long with a 326 foot displaced threshold, leaving 2,179 feet of usable landing distance available. Ms. Nina asked, “What is a good landing?” Her father answered, “One that lands with a “chirp-chirp”. My landings here always land with a ‘thud’.”
Ms. Nina spent some time in Atlantic City this summer and had the opportunity to watch the United States Air Force Thunderbirds, for the second time, at the Atlantic City Airshow.
Ms. Nina now has a mailbox to match her airplane: a 1946 Piper J-3 Cub.
Ms. Nina visits Lee Annapolis Airport (ANP) to watch airplanes takeoff and land and to watch her father depart in his SR22 to commute to his full-time job flying an Airbus A320. While she is at ANP, she visits an old airplane that may never fly again: “Little Blue”. While Ms. Nina never flew in Little Blue, her father did once several years ago. She had lots of questions about why Little Blue was missing its wings and why it will never fly again.
