Called the (non-federal) tower at Mobile Downtown for my clearance at 14:00
local Tuesday and right away I knew it wasn't just another day. The
departure freq. was Houston Center instead of Mobile radar. With the
hurricane still at least 36 hours away, the FAA controllers at Mobile
Regional had already bugged out and left MOB non-towered and non-TRACON'd.

I knew this would be trouble and it was: We were #3 for departure behind a
FedEx DC-10 and a Lancair and waited with the engine running for 35 minutes
(the tower kept saying "It'll be just a couple more minutes!") until we got
cleared to go.

When I tried to check in with Center, the reason for the delay was obvious.
The freq. was loaded with IFR aircraft trying to get in and out of Mobile
and Gulfport with neither tower open. Center could not hear aircraft on the
ground at either place, so everyone was having to pick up clearances
airborne. The weather was just bad enough that some Part 121 arrivals were
having to wait and cancel on the ground, meaning they had to relay via
airborne aircraft, causing many of Center's transmissions to get stepped on.
It was so busy that I had flown for 20 minutes before I could check in while
relaying a Valuejet(?) IFR cancellation from GPT.

When we got handed off to New Orleans Approach things immediately went back
to normal (the mayor hadn't made his "Everybody panic!" speech yet) and the
rest of the flight to Houston Hobby was uneventful with a nice 15 kt
tailwind.

As you probably saw, the storm went right up the east side of Mobile Bay,
which put it right over my house in Daphne, so I'm hunkered down here in
Houston wondering if I still have an airport to land at or a home to go to.
More later.
--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

"Dan Luke" > wrote in message
so I'm hunkered down here in
> Houston wondering if I still have an airport to land at or a home to go
to.
> More later.

Keep hunkerin', Dan and good luck. What's left of the eye is moving almost
straight up I65.

It's raining like hell up here in Florence. The Tennessee River has risen 4
feet in a couple of hours and the dams can't hold any more so their
evacuating low-lying areas.

Winds gusting to 40 mph or so and vinyl siding is falling off my office
downtown.

I've got plenty of beer in the 'fridge so I'll survive.

Take care!

--
Jim Fisher

"Jim Fisher" > wrote > It's raining like hell
up here in Florence. The Tennessee River has risen 4
> feet in a couple of hours and the dams can't hold any more so their
> evacuating low-lying areas.
>
> Winds gusting to 40 mph or so and vinyl siding is falling off my office
> downtown.
>
> I've got plenty of beer in the 'fridge so I'll survive.
>
> Take care!
>
> --
> Jim Fisher
>
Next stop for Ivan, and I mean it is going to stop, is going to be at the
Southern Appalachians, and after the rains of last week, the dams have been
letting water go as fast as they can, but it won't be enough. I saw an
interview, and the official in charge of controling the water levels said,
"we simply will not have enough time to let enough water go..."

At the dam nearest to my house, they had to open 5 out of 9 flood gates, to
keep from washing out 2 state road bridges that you can usually drive a
houseboat under. No one can remember ever having more than 1 gate open.

It was the same all the way down the Catawba river chain of dams.

Upstream from me, a friend has two planes at small private airport. (Spruce
Creek) His hangar had several feet of water in it, and an air tank got
under the tail of a Fairchild and floated it, causing the engine to be
completely submerged. The verdict is still out as to if it will ever fly
again.

Needless to say, it could be worse than last time, if it does rain near as
much as predicted, with the dams so much more full than last time. The
ground is still so wet, it only stopped squishing when you walk on it about
two days ago. It is supposed to rain for 5 days straight.

Here we go again...
--
Jim in NC


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Morgans wrote:
>
> Here we go again...

According to a newspaper friend of mine in Knoxville, the crop damage along streams
out of NC (French Broad, Pigeon, etc.) is in the millions from the last storm.

George Patterson
If a man gets into a fight 3,000 miles away from home, he *had* to have
been looking for it.

> As you probably saw, the storm went right up the east side of Mobile
> Bay, which put it right over my house in Daphne, so I'm hunkered down
> here in Houston wondering if I still have an airport to land at or a
> home to go to. More later.

The best of luck to you all!

In article >,
"Morgans" > wrote:

> "Jim Fisher" > wrote > It's raining like hell
> up here in Florence. The Tennessee River has risen 4
> > feet in a couple of hours and the dams can't hold any more so their
> > evacuating low-lying areas.
> >
> > Winds gusting to 40 mph or so and vinyl siding is falling off my office
> > downtown.
> >
> > I've got plenty of beer in the 'fridge so I'll survive.
> >
> > Take care!
> >
> > --
> > Jim Fisher
> >
> Next stop for Ivan, and I mean it is going to stop, is going to be at the
> Southern Appalachians, and after the rains of last week, the dams have been
> letting water go as fast as they can, but it won't be enough. I saw an
> interview, and the official in charge of controling the water levels said,
> "we simply will not have enough time to let enough water go..."
>
> At the dam nearest to my house, they had to open 5 out of 9 flood gates, to
> keep from washing out 2 state road bridges that you can usually drive a
> houseboat under. No one can remember ever having more than 1 gate open.
>
> It was the same all the way down the Catawba river chain of dams.
>
> Upstream from me, a friend has two planes at small private airport. (Spruce
> Creek) His hangar had several feet of water in it, and an air tank got
> under the tail of a Fairchild and floated it, causing the engine to be
> completely submerged. The verdict is still out as to if it will ever fly
> again.


That must be a different Spruce Creek from the one I live at (in FL). We
are nice and comfy here, even though we have weathered two hurricanes
(Charley's eye came directly overhead.



> Needless to say, it could be worse than last time, if it does rain near as
> much as predicted, with the dams so much more full than last time. The
> ground is still so wet, it only stopped squishing when you walk on it about
> two days ago. It is supposed to rain for 5 days straight.
>
> Here we go again...

"Orval Fairbairn" > wrote

> That must be a different Spruce Creek from the one I live at (in FL). We
> are nice and comfy here, even though we have weathered two hurricanes
> (Charley's eye came directly overhead.


Yep, and we have Spruces and Creeks here, too. :-)

I'm not positive about the name but pretty sure. I've never been there,
myself. (either one)
--
Jim in NC


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Hey Dan.. while you are in town (IF you are up to it...) there are a
couple of good fly in places... Brenham has a 50's style diner on
field.. Weiser (EYQ) has a BBQ joint on the freeway frontage road
adjacent to it.. and Angleton (Brazoria County LBX) has a decent full
scope (linen tablecloth kinda place) restaurant that does a pretty good
lunch business.

If you arent into repositioning the plane around the area... there is
the Kemah Boardwalk with its.. 7..or is it 9.. restaurants now.. Space
Center Houston is the touristy part of Johnson Space Center... and then
there is the Lone Star FLight Museum down on field at GLS.. they even
have a B58 Hustler there, and I think the last remaining B17 that still
has its turbo's in...

I'd love to catch up and put the face to the name with you, but I'm
working the whole weekend, and I dont expect you to stay in town too
long once things clear up back home.

Enjoy things the best you can,
Dave,
EFD/LVJ Houston, Tx

Dan Luke wrote:
> Called the (non-federal) tower at Mobile Downtown for my clearance at 14:00
> local Tuesday and right away I knew it wasn't just another day. The
> departure freq. was Houston Center instead of Mobile radar. With the
> hurricane still at least 36 hours away, the FAA controllers at Mobile
> Regional had already bugged out and left MOB non-towered and non-TRACON'd.
>
> I knew this would be trouble and it was: We were #3 for departure behind a
> FedEx DC-10 and a Lancair and waited with the engine running for 35 minutes
> (the tower kept saying "It'll be just a couple more minutes!") until we got
> cleared to go.
>
> When I tried to check in with Center, the reason for the delay was obvious.
> The freq. was loaded with IFR aircraft trying to get in and out of Mobile
> and Gulfport with neither tower open. Center could not hear aircraft on the
> ground at either place, so everyone was having to pick up clearances
> airborne. The weather was just bad enough that some Part 121 arrivals were
> having to wait and cancel on the ground, meaning they had to relay via
> airborne aircraft, causing many of Center's transmissions to get stepped on.
> It was so busy that I had flown for 20 minutes before I could check in while
> relaying a Valuejet(?) IFR cancellation from GPT.
>
> When we got handed off to New Orleans Approach things immediately went back
> to normal (the mayor hadn't made his "Everybody panic!" speech yet) and the
> rest of the flight to Houston Hobby was uneventful with a nice 15 kt
> tailwind.
>
> As you probably saw, the storm went right up the east side of Mobile Bay,
> which put it right over my house in Daphne, so I'm hunkered down here in
> Houston wondering if I still have an airport to land at or a home to go to.
> More later.

Thanks for the good wishes, folks.

FSS tells me BFM is open (although "aircraft are strongly discouraged from
operating in the disaster area to avoid interfering with relief operations")
so we're heading back.

More as soon as I can get to a live computer.
--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

Dan,
How are things in Daphne? My old boss just moved down there 1 year
ago from Wyoming; I wonder how he likes the weather now!?

Vic

Glad you made it out ok Dan...interesting post. Hope things at your
home field are ok when you get a chance to return.

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL, IA Student

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

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