KGEV - Ashe Co., NC - Take 2 - Lunch at Shatley Springs, Sunday, October 6

Guys it looks like the weather will be to close for me. There is going to be a small VFR window from around 10:00 to almost 12:00. I have bin working on on my IFR proficiency it will take a few more hours and a checkout. Until this week it has bin about 4 years since I last flown IFR. Needles to say I'm a little rusty. OK I'm very rusty. For those that do make it I am sorry I will not get to meet y'all but there will be more chance. We will have to try again.

Donald

If anyone is able to make it in please try to take pictures and collect members info so we can get it to John for their BEECH-NUT shirts. Thanks to anyone that can help.
 
Current enroute weather shows rain and for the return trip this afternoon thunderstorms will be around. I won't be able to make it today. For those that do, have a great time. Donald, we'll try and pick another Sunday before Shatley Springs closes in November.
Brad
 
Are y'all serious. I'm here and hungry! It was smooth and vfr all the way. A thunderstorm may move through while we are here but it should be gone by departure time
 
So sorry Alan, they are forecasting MVFR to IFR by 1:00. Below my personal standards. Especially with wife and kid aboard. How long was your flight?
 
One and a half hours. We will probably be delayed by the thunderstorm and get to lounge around for awhile but it looks clear later on. I've called for the car and we're going to eat. This has been on my to do list for awhile so I'm glad to get to do it!
 
Eat enough for all of us Alan. Glad you made it. We had to put down and wait out thunderstorms yesterday returning from the French Lick fly-in, so didn't want to do it two days in a row. I'm sure you'll have such a good time, you'll want to come back when we re-schedule in October or November!
 
How was French Lick? I wanted to make that but couldn't do two back-to-back.
It sounded like a great place.
bmitchell said:
Eat enough for all of us Alan. Glad you made it. We had to put down and wait out thunderstorms yesterday returning from the French Lick fly-in, so didn't want to do it two days in a row. I'm sure you'll have such a good time, you'll want to come back when we re-schedule in October or November!
Click to expand...
 
Last night I sent a text to a friend of mine, Troy Fitzgerald, who likes to fly and asked him if he wanted to come along with me to a fly-in to NC. He replied yes with no questions asked. I'm glad I had the company on the flight but even more so that I had company at lunch! Due to weather? no one else made the trip. The 1 1/2 hour flight from Waynesboro, VA was smooth as silk as many of the valleys were covered in fog. By Roanoke the fog had burned off and the trip was uneventful. ForeFlight showed a thunderstorm off to the west but it was no problem. Once in the FBO, I checked my IPAD and discovered that everyone else had bailed. I went ahead and called Shatley Springs Inn and the manager Keitha came out and picked us up. On Sunday, they don't open the restaurant for lunch seating until 12 noon so we sat outside on the porch and listened to bluegrass and gospel music performed by a local resident. Pilots are treated like royalty at Shatley Springs. The wait without reservations was well over an hour but being that we had flown in, they literally sneaked us to the front of the line! The manager came out and told us to nonchalantly follow her and she would seat us first! Lunch consisted of a Family-Style dinner with Fried Chicken, Country Ham, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Corn, Cabbage, Pinto Beans, Baked Apples, Slaw, Biscuits and Sweet Tea! Bet you wish you had flown in now don't you? During lunch, that aforementioned thunderstorm hit so we took our time eating. Once done, we told the manager that we were in no hurry to leave so she could take us back whenever was convenient. We returned to the porch and listened to a bluegrass band play some tunes. After a while, the rain stopped and the skies began to clear so the manager, Keitha, took us back to the airport. She said that if we fly in again, let them know ahead so they can make sure someone is available to come get us. Upon arrival at the airport, I checked weather again as there is no service at Shatley Springs Inn and found an immediate window of opportunity to leave. We departed immediately and stopped at Twin Co., and VA Tech airports so Troy could collect some passport stamps before getting back to Waynesboro. A storm had just departed the Waynesboro area when we arrived so our timing all day was perfect! This is definitely a must-do when we can find a CAVU day with no wind, no solar flares that's not too hot or too cold so the rest of you can go too!
 
Alan, glad you and Troy made it and got a taste of what Shatley Springs is all about. That storm you saw off to the west is exactly what stood between Ashe Co. and me, so it caused my no go decision. Fall usually brings calmer weather, so I'll definitely be up for trying again in late October or early November.
 
When it comes to t-storms I don't take chances. My wife and daughter are new to flying I won't to make sure they have a good time. It was kinda hard explaining to my wife the weather was not good enuf for them to fly but it was OK for me.

Thanks for the info. Next time we will schedule with the Inn.

Donald
 
OK let’s try this again. Ashe Co. airport (KGEV) Shatley Springs Inn Oct. 6th around 11:30 am is what I am looking at right know. Anyone interested.

Donald
 
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Hey guys, I'm just poking fun at ya! I don't want anyone to fly when they're not comfortable. I actually flew in the only way that was really flyable. To the east was fog, to the west were thunderstorms and to the south were cloud covered mountains. I had the only straight shot in!
 
Donald, I've got it on my calendar and plan to attend. Maybe Alan can put a big dome over the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions for that day so all of us can arrive VFR! :)

Shatley Springs - Take 2 is posted on the event calendar for Sunday, October 6. I also changed the title of this forum to reflect the new date.

Brad
 
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I'm gonna try. My plane will be just out of annual (I hope) and ready to fly. If something in the annual shows up problematic, then maybe not.

..Joe
 
My wife and daughter are looking forward to this outing. Than again my wife will do anything, even fly, for a meal she didn't have to cook.
 
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