You read that right, we bought an airplane! There is a backstory on the plane and who will be flying it so for those who haven’t known us for a long time, you are probably about to learn a few things about the DINKs.
We Bought an Airplane!
Andrew earned his pilot’s license in college and has flown off and on over the years. He hadn’t flown since we moved from Maryland to Florida in 2019 but an opportunity came knocking that was hard to ignore.
Back in the mid-2000’s, Andrew received his high performance endorsement in a pair of Cessna 182s, one of which was N444VC, which he logged close to 20 hours in. We received a call from Julie’s dad in December letting us know that the current owner was looking to upgrade to a faster plane and was looking to sell N444VC. After a few phone calls and an inspection, a group of four of us purchased the airplane.
N444VC on the ramp in Orlando.
A few weeks after it was delivered to Florida, we finally had the opportunity to get down to West Palm Beach, where the plane is kept, to see and fly it for the first time in nearly 20 years. It’s hard to put into words how cool this moment and whole evening was.
We spent the whole weekend flying around south Florida including going to the Gulf Coast to enjoy a great lunch on the beach in Venice. She was just as much fun to fly as we remember all those years ago.
Venice Beach Airport and Beach.
Venice Beach, Florida.
St. Petersburg and an Orioles Game
Given that the airplane is in South Florida and we are in Orlando, the plan is to go down once a month for a weekend to fly the plane. Our busy weekend began with very much a planes, trains, and automobiles trip arriving to the Palm Beach County Airport.
After giving N444VC a thorough once over, we fired up the plane for our trip to St. Petersburg, which is just south of Tampa, for our overnight to see the Orioles who were in town playing the Tampa Bay Rays. The airport is located right next to the city which made for a really cool approach and landing.
St. Petersburg, FL - Airport is on the right side and the Tampa Bay Rays is the dome on the far left.
Our First Pilots’n’Paws Flight in Florida
When we first started doing rescue flights, we found ourselves going to different states throughout the mid-Atlantic. With Florida being so long north to south, our entire trip was within the state. To compare this flight to ones we have done in the past, this one would be the equivalent of flying from Connecticut just north of NYC to the Washington, DC area.
Our day started in Orlando, FL, where we were hoping to get an early start so we could arrive in South Florida before the storms fired up (more on that later). Julie got the backseat ready for our fury passenger while Andrew completed the preflight. We were then on our way to New Smyrna Beach, which included a scenic approach over the Indian River and a great view of the coastline.
After some fuel, pictures, and happy goodbyes from the family that was fostering Celeste, we fired up and set out for South Miami. Our route took us along the coastline with some amazing views of the space coast and Melbourne. We then worked our way inland over Lake Okeechobee, tons of farmland, and the Florida Everglades. If you’ve never seen it, the divide between subdivisions/buildings and the everglades is so sharp, going from tons of buildings to nothing but swamp.
Dodging storms into and out of Miami.
Even though we have had the pleasure of completing four of these rescues so far, it never gets old. We absolutely love being able to help out the various rescue organizations. We are fortunate to be able to experience aviation in a way that most people aren’t able to so this is one way we feel we can give back to the community. This was also our second time being able to meet their forever family at the airport, which is always a cool experience.
Total Airports Visited: 4
1. Orlando, FL
2. New Smyrna Beach, FL
3. Miami, FL 4. North Palm Beach, FL
Total Distance: 390 Nautical Miles
Total Flight Time: 4.3 hours
Total Pets Transported: 1
So far, we have rescued 9 animals, visited 14 different airports in five states, and flown 2,001 nautical miles. Looking forward to our next Pilots’n’Paws rescue mission!