The Quest for Pie: Part I

September 1, 2019 — Ten years ago, while working on my fixed wing private pilot rating, my instructor Tyler and I made found ourselves doing some traffic pattern work out at Jefferson Country Airport (0S9) near Port Towsend, Washington. The airport diner, The Spruce Goose Cafe, is famous for their wide variety of delicious, freshly baked pie.

I raved to Crystal way back then about how great the food was, and I promised that we’d all fly out there sometime and enjoy some of that pie together. Unfortunately, winter rolled in and we had to put it off…and eventually, I just stopped flying. That was late 2010.

Now that I’m back in the air — in the helicopter, this time — Crystal reminded me of that promise. I’d just wrapped up my commercial rating, and was looking for some fun “practical” flights to take with the whole family.

Flying over water is a bit of a different beast in a helicopter when compared to airplanes. The decreased glide ratio and lower cruise altitudes make it a bit more risky, and I don’t recommend it at all if the weather is such that a long swim would be dangerous. As part of flight planning, I picked the narrowest crossing point (Seattle’s West Point to Bainbridge Island), and aside from that we’d follow either roads or shorelines.

The flight in was gorgeous. The weather was amazing, the sky was clear, and Derek had a blast helping me tune radios. The food did not disappoint, either! We had sandwiches for lunch and capped things off with pie a la mode. What an amazing way to spend the day!