We got airborne and flew over downtown Columbia, right by the State Capitol building with the big Christmas tree out front. Its lights were on, but there was still a little too much daylight to make them look bright from our viewpoint, but pretty none the less.

The sun was setting blindingly bright to our west so we flew eastward over Forest Acres. What an incredible view of the vast “forest” of the Forest Areas area as the low lying sunlight had shone on the trees, lighting them up intensely with an almost glowing golden hue on their westerly sides, and casting shadows beyond them to the east in a way that only the setting sun can.

After a while, we returned to Columbia Owens Downtown and landed on one-three. The light was fading fast as we taxied back toward the hangar. I asked Pam if she felt like going around the pattern once more. She was fighting a head cold and decided remain on the ground while I went back up.

I departed one-three again, and while on downwind, saw that the sun had set and the view westward was just beautiful. I grabbed my camera and attempted to take a photo or two, not really sure if I got a good one because I was more focused on flying the airplane. On downwind, I tried to shoot a photo of the downtown city lights as they were starting to really stand out in the fading sunlight.

I made my second landing and was clear of the runway when a taxing aircraft passed by me on the taxiway as I held short on the middle exit ramp. I started to hear a crackling sound in the cockpit that I hadn’t heard before. At first I thought it was my headset. Or perhaps my intercom. The taxiing aircraft passed and as I pulled off the exit ramp onto the taxiway behind it, taxing north back to the hangar, the crackling noise stopped.

An airplane that had been holding short of one-three departed so I slowed my taxi speed to watch it take off. The crackling started up again, so I stopped to try and find the cause. It was a rather loud constant crackling sound, sort of like a bad connection in stereo speakers, or how crinkling plastic wrap sounds. I took my headset off and the sound was all throughout the cockpit. It was hard to tell where the crackling sound was coming from. I turned the volume on both COMs down and made sure the cockpit speaker selections on the intercom were off for both COMs. It sounded like it was coming from everywhere. The panel, the doors, the dashboard, the windscreen. I put my ear to the panel, then the dashboard, and then the door panel. Still no idea what might be causing the mysterious crackling noise that was verberating throughout the cockpit.

I then continued to taxi further up the taxiway toward my hangar and the noise ceased. What the heck is going on? I slowed to a stop about at the on ramp to runway one-three. The crackling started up again. Was the noise coming from outside? It sounded like sleet hitting the windscreen, crackling with every impacting ice particle. And a bunch of them. But it’s a clear evening! Nothing is hitting the windscreen. I pressed my hands in several places on the wind screen and this seemed to effect the noise – subdue it perhaps – but not nearly stop it. I pulled my hands away from the windscreen and the noise then continued its normal level of crazy crackling. Hum?

I pushed the throttle in and revved the engine for a moment and the noise again ceased. I pulled back on the throttle and the engine settled to below 1000 rpms. The crackling noise started back again. I revved the engine again. Noise stopped. Backed off the throttle again. More crackling.

And then it hit me. This was perhaps the coldest day I had flown Betsy. The temperature was below 50 degrees and falling rapidly with the fading light. The windscreen had contracted with the cold air and was relatively loose in its mounting. The combination of typical engine and aircraft vibrations and prop wind at low rpm caused the windscreen to vibrate in its mount, thereby causing the mysterious crackling noise that reverberated throughout the cockpit. The crackling sound seemed to come from anywhere and everywhere because it was being created all about the perimeter of the windscreen, which is shape somewhat like a parabolic section – a megaphone – and was being amplified and transmitted throughout the cockpit.

And so there was something hitting the windscreen – wind! And with increased rpm of the prop, the resulting higher wind pressure against the windscreen stopped the vibrating – and the mysterious and crazy crackling noise. Case closed. I radioed to Columbia Downtown traffic and departed runway one-three, once again around the pattern, to enjoy the view of the sky and cityscape at dusk.

We had to go thru the north gate to get into the airport as the gate nearest the SAC was out of order. That was just fine since my hangar is up that way. Once at the hangar, I gave Betsy (N2878L) a good looking over and pulled her out onto the tarmac. Since Pam and I had this weekend to ourselves – kids gone to Dad’s – we decided to forego the YE flights and take a trip to Aiken to see my mom.

We hadn’t called her in advance to let her know, but decided to try and call her while in flight to give her enough time to meet us at the airport. To my surprise, Pam’s cell phone works well while in flight – mine does not. So Pam called my mom and told her that we were air borne and about twenty-five minutes from KAIK.

We had departed CUB about 10:30 a.m. and the air was really smooth to well beyond Pelion airport. Visibility was about six with a ceiling of around 2300 feet. About three-fourths the way there we hit some really bumpy air for a few minutes and then it smoothed out again.

The wind at Aiken favored runway two-five and I wanted to do a straight in final, but since there was traffic in the pattern doing touch and goes, we chose to fly a pattern entering upwind for two-five. We taxied to the ramp at the FBO and were greeted by a polite lineman who parked us right up front. The folks there have always been pleasant and courteous.

We sat in the FBO’s very nice pilots lounge while waiting for my mom to arrive. After about ten minutes, she pulled up and we greeted her out front on the sidewalk. We had planned to have lunch nearby, so she recommend a little “home cooking” buffet restaurant named Baynhams Family Restaurant, located on Highway 1 about a mile north of the airport entrance.

Baynhams Family Restaurant

My mom’s old car had a seating problem and she could not get but one of us in the car at a time, so she and Pam rode to the restaurant first and mom returned to the airport to get me. Something about not being able to put the backseats up (old mini-SUV) because the driver’s seat back would fall back. Oh well!

As mom and I pulled into the restaurant, there were several motorcycles lined up outside. I asked, “What kind of place is this?” Mom said, “I’ve never seen motorcycles here.” Well, Pam was already inside getting us a table, so I figured it couldn’t be that bad. Looks are deceiving and those folks were a group of guys and gals just enjoying a day like we were – and were not the Hell’s Angels I had expected to encounter.

Once we were inside and having coffee, the waitress, Mickie, offered good Southern hospitality, and we enjoyed a nice buffet. I think it was around $8.00 including a drink, and there was plenty of good food. But don’t ask for a “to go” box! Mickie told us that Thursday is their BBQ day. Perhaps we’ll have to take a trip over there one Thursday to try it.

Once we finished eating, we had to take the “one-passenger-at-a-time” rides back to the airport. Mom took Pam back first, so I hung around in the parking lot for a few minutes, wondering if the restaurant owners thought we might be crazy for how we had arrived and departed their premises. And to think I was worried about the “Hell’s Angels”!

We spent a while at the airport FBO letting our food digest and then headed back to Columbia. Mom said to make sure we called her as soon as we got back “on the ground” in Columbia. Pam promised to call her as soon as “we hit the ground.” I was thinking to myself that horse apples hit the ground, not planes. I told Pam that “hit the ground” is not the best choice of words, to call mom “as soon as we land.”

Departing AIK – On downwind for runway 25, looking East

Leaving AIK, the ceiling was 1800 feet with five miles visibility, but cleared right up about half way back to Columbia. The trip back was pretty bumpy and we were tasting lunch again. Lucky we had a good tailwind. It seems like no time at all before we were over Pelion Airport. Columbia Approach directed us straight to CUB, reminding me to contact them on 124.15, from that direction – not 133.40. Oops! But the ATC fellow was very nice about it.

I always go through a mental post-flight review to critique myself – what things need more attention and what went really well. This flight went very smoothly with the only negative thing being that I contacted Approach on the opposite approach channel. At least this time, when they told me to “squawk VFR and have a nice day,” I remembered to change the COM channel to 122.8 before trying to get an airport advisory from Columbia Downtown Unicom.