With the gorgeous weather yesterday I decided to take a trip to Tacoma Narrows (KTIW) for Dinner. John, a friend from work, and I set out at 5:00 PM for Auburn (S50). We preflighted N9534H and took off into the hot summer afternoon (the temperature was reading 90 deg!). This was John's very first flight in a small airplane, so fortunately the air was very smooth. KTIW is only about 18 miles direct from S50, so the hop was very short. I contacted the tower and we were cleared right in to land on runway 35. There was a gentle wind blowing down the runway and I managed to pull off a very nice landing.
We taxied up to the tower and parked right in front of the Narrows Landing restaurant. This is the first time I've eaten there, and it's a great place for the $100 hamburger. It has aviation-themed decor with a bunch of model airplanes hanging from the ceiling. We ordered coconut shrimp as an appetizer, while John ordered the pork medallions and I opted for the Shrimp fettuccine. As we were waiting for the food, I noticed the nav lights on the airplane were still flashing! Uh-oh, forgot to turn off the master switch. Doh! I ran out and turned off the airplane properly :) Eventually the food arrived and it was fantastic. The prices are very reasonable too. I highly recommend Narrows Landing. It's among the best airport restaurants I've been to.
After we finished eating we loaded back up in 34H. We were cleared for takeoff on runway 35, and were also informed that another airplane was inbound on an instrument approach to runway 17 (in other words, they were headed straight at us). The controller asked us to deviate from the centerline after liftoff to allow the incoming plane to land. Since we still had an hour or so of daylight left, we opted for a scenic tour back home. We headed due North to Bainbridge Island, and then turned right to take us over North Seattle. We passed over the Space Needle and followed the 520 freeway across Lake Washington. We then angled South toward Issaquah. We then passed right over my house and headed to Snoqualmie Falls. The falls were definitely not as impressive as the last time I flew over. It seems like the flow is down to a trickle. From there we passed over North Bend and then turned South over Rattlesnake Lake. We followed the Cedar River through the pass and then made direct to Crest Airpark (S36). On the way there a CH-47 Chinook helicopter (we had a more "colorful" name for them in the Army :) with a UH-60 Blackhawk close in trail passed right in front of us on the way to Gray Army Airfield (GRF) in Ft. Lewis. After passing over S36 we headed direct to S50 and made a nice landing just as the sun was setting below the horizon.
All-in-all it was a beautiful flight. I think John had a great time and he's eager to go up again. I love the long summer nights in the Pacific Northwest!
Total Time: 1.6 hours
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