Flying In A Cherokee

One day I flew to St. Vincent with Mustique Airways. I planned to get my chores done, have a leisurely lunch with my friend Nancy, then meet Vanessa and Rachel on board the Admiral at 4:30 for the trip back to Bequia.  I LOVED being able to fly across the channel, at times the landings were bumpy but at least I didn’t get seasick!

Once my chores in Kingstown had been completed I met Nancy at the Shine Truck for a blessedly cold beer. I loved the ambience surrounding Mac’s Snack’s, it was a popular gathering spot for many, and over the years my backside happily warmed Albie’s benches while waiting for a ferry to depart or a friend to arrive. My lunches with Nancy always began with a beer at the shine truck, then a drive out to the French Restaurant at Villa. We dined in style, ordering from the dinner menu and drinking fine wine, and I was usually tipsy by the time I got to the ferry in the late afternoon.

That particular day Nancy drove me to the Grenadines wharf in time to catch the 4:30 Admiral but the ferry wasn’t there. Vanessa and Rachel, tired, hot and rumpled, were anxious to get their homework done and eat supper. I was anxious because I had to work at the Pizzeria that evening, and with no way to cross the channel I would have to make alternate arrangements. I called Mac to tell him we were stuck on the mainland and would have to overnight. Mac, knowing that the 4:30 ferry wasn’t running, had already organized a ride home for us;

“Go to the airport right away”, he said, “I’m sending my pilot for you”.

I immediately knew who and what Mac was referring to and laughed. Mac’s friend Nik had recently returned to the Caribbean, flying a tiny little airplane he had purchased in the United States. Nik had been living in California, and while there he had taken flying lessons and obtained a pilot’s license. We now had a friend with a plane, pretty cool!

Nik had just landed at E.T. Joshua when we arrived, and wasted no time escorting us to his small plane.  It was a Piper Cherokee 160, a single engine craft popular for flight training.  We had to climb onto the wing to get into the plane, which was just big enough for the four of us. Up until then, the smallest airplane I had ever flown in was the Britten-Norman Islander, and with nine passenger seats and 2 engines it was a LOT bigger than Nik’s tiny Cherokee.

Nik handed me a headset, something I for SURE had never been offered on an airplane before, and I listened as he communicated with the control tower.  I had no idea what they were saying, aviation sounded like a different language, but I assumed we were being given permission to taxi. The little Cherokee bumped its way down to the end of the runway and lined up for take-off, and when we started to roll I was grateful for the headset!

As soon as the airplane lifted off the runway a sudden gust of wind tossed us sideways, and I must have gasped loudly because Nik laughed. “It’s O.K. girl, just a little turbulence” he assured me, “It’s normal, nothing to worry about”. I relaxed as we leveled out over the channel, and watched some yachts below as they sailed over the choppy waves. It was windy that day and the sea was quite rough, making me glad I wasn’t on the ferry!

We were approaching Moon-Hole when Nik announced, “hang on girl, stand by for bounce!”.  And bounce we did, the brave little Cherokee bucking wildly as we descended. Nik swooped the little plane down and landed without incident on the runway, but sweet JAYSUS what an approach!  After all these years I still recall that vicious wind shear off Moon-Hole, and have been leery of landing at J.F.Mitchell in a strong wind ever since; whenever I see cat’s paws moving across the water I hang on for dear life and “stand by for bounce!” They say when you have mastered sailing a Bequia dinghy you can sail anything. They also say when you have mastered landing at J.F. Mitchell airport you can land anywhere.  They got THAT right!