Woke up at 8:00 to the guys moving around the room. Grr. Without an
airplane, I had planned on sleeping in. As long as I could!!! I didn’t even set
an alarm. I never could fall back asleep. I HATE that. Chelsea came in at 9:45.
She grabbed some breakfast and brought it in. I still hadn’t moved. Ah, I
wanted to sleep!!!
We chilled in the hotel for a bit, then went out in search of a nice lil’
sub/sandwich shop. After driving forever, we never really found what we were
looking for. We even stopped to ask a guy for one, and he advised us to get
Italian instead. What?! We finally ended up at some bagel shop…the first one we
had seen a half hour earlier! Ate and talked.
From there, we went out shopping for Chelsea’s brother…just grabbed a couple
t-shirts. And then we hit the beach for one last time. It was a bit warmer
today, and the beach certainly showed that. Hundreds of people…though it still
wasn’t all that warm. People were still in long sleeves and jeans! Some braved
the water and bare skin, but we chose not to. Nothin’ like a dress shirt and
jeans on the beach! ow ow!
We stood there and just watched the waves for awhile, then sat on the bench
for a bit. Time was passin’ quickly, though, and we had to leave to get her to
the airport…and me back up north. <sigh>
I stopped by the hotel real quick, then headed for the airport to drop her
off. This trip was WAY too quick. I really, really hope she has no regrets.
Things certainly did NOT go as planned…and I’m kind of sad by that. But at
least we were able to see each other…I hope that was worth it. I hope.
I said my good-byes on the way to the airport…then once we got there, I
grabbed her stuff, we hugged, and she was gone. Soooo fast! What a short couple
of days.
From there, I headed straight for the highway. I had 4 hours to get behind
me. I had no time to waste. I was leaving at 4:30 and had to get the car back
to Enterprise by 8:00. I called up Sandy that first hour, and we talked for
about that whole time. It was anything but pretty. Actually, it was ugly. We
talked in circles. It boggles my mind how something so enjoyable can turn so
sour in just a few days. Not the day I was hoping for. I’m goin’ to miss her.
I just plodded along. The trip went by fairly nicely…mile by mile, hour by
hour. But that last hour I was just tired. Very, very tired. Very tired. I
bought some coffee to try and help out. Yesterday it worked…tonight it was
doing nothing. The road started giving me tunnel vision. NOT cool.
I bought some more coffee once I arrived in Daytona Beach. I had the car
back at 8:30. I headed over to the company and met the mechanic. I called for
an IFR flight plan, fueled up the plane…and realized I was pretty much
unhealthy. I was unbelievably tired. And I knew it. I downed the coffee, and I
also did some laps. Yes, I ran. Out on the ramp, I ran back and forth, back and
forth, back and forth. Suicide style. I needed to get my blood pumping. Somehow
someway.
I did the pre-flight, then taxied out. It was only 2 hours. Just two hours.
C’mon, sir. 2 hours.
I did the run-up but wasn’t completely confident in my engine yet. A jug had
just been replaced (it had a 4 PSI reading…4!), and my run-up was a bit rough…I
had to lean the engine out to get it from dropping too many RPM’s. Not how I
wanted to start out this already difficult night! But it finally settled up. I
was now ready for departure.
I took off into the ridiculously calm night. It’s so beautiful flying at
night. Nothing really compares. There were some broken clouds out there, but
for the most part, visibility was unlimited. They pointed me out towards the
ocean for awhile, then told me to intercept v3. I climbed to 6000.
I was doing OK…for a short while. But I was sleep-deprived. And I was losing
that battle. Quickly. After about 30 minutes, I was shot. I was worthless. I
couldn’t focus normally. My visualization process was sporadic…was I even doing
it? Was I catching them all? Why did it seem so “blocky”? It had absolutely NO
fluidity to it.
I started the battle. C’mon, I can make it. It’s only two hours. I’ve
already paid for a hotel down there. I’m joining the other guys in their crazy
flight stories. I need a hangar tonight. I have no rental car if I land now.
It’s JUST an hour and a half more.
Terrible focus. Open up the cold air vent, point right in my face. Gulp down
the coffee. C’mon, c’mon.
Only two hours, sir! You can do it.
Can’t focus. I’m scared. Will I make it?
The battle ensued. I knew of other pilots who had gone down. I wondered how
many were just too tired. I checked my map. 140 miles to go. That’s not far. In
an hour, I would be within 30 miles, and by that time, I would have mentally
considered myself there. 30 miles is easy.
Something isn’t right. This is NOT safe. This is NOT how my body normally
flies…or reacts.
The battle continued.
“Center, 151, request.”
“151, Center, go ahead.”
“151, would like to drop down to MLB, information Bravo, field in sight.”
I had made the decision. I simply wasn’t sure if I would make it to Fort
Lauderdale. I had to dig deep, but I realized that death hunts even me.
And frankly, the 20 miles to Melbourne proved to be difficult, too. I was
told to descend to 2000 feet…in total blackness…I assume water? I don’t know.
Night flying can be like IFR flying!!! But I was still struggling. I simply was
losing this fight to sleep to my body. My mind was shot.
I never should have taken off. I hate the fact that I let circumstances make
that decision for me. It was TERRIBLE pilot decision-making. Terrible.
Well, I landed on 9L and requested a 24-hour FBO. Nothing was open. I just
taxied over to the ramp and parked. Some guy walked over…I told him I landed
because I was tired, and he flooded me with 8 minutes of pilot stories of his
own. C’mon, man, I just want to sleep. He told me to not cross the line into
the building or he would have to charge me $55. Hmm, ok. I’ll just stay out
here.
My plan was to sleep for an hour, then go the rest of the way. It was only
10:30 anyway. Well, that plan was good except for one reason…the sleep part. I
couldn’t fall asleep. I had lights shining in my airplane, and I had a very
tight space. I just couldn’t get comfortable. Feet up, feet down, seat forward,
seat back. I tried to sit on the floor. Nothing. I leaned over the passenger
seat, I leaned on the side window, I sat back. NOTHING. It was frustrating.
I fought that battle for the next couple hours. I would go in and out of
sleep. I woke up and saw 1:17 A.M. Hmm, I could go now. Nah, I still didn’t
even feel like I HAD slept. <sigh> I finally fell asleep.
What a life I live.
I’m not goin’ to lie…these last three days have made me really not enjoy
this job. I just haven’t been too happy with the “stuff” that has to go along
with the job right now. Just put the day behind you. Move on. Plod on.
Plod on.
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