Tower Practice

I recently had the opportunity to fly to Hagerstown, MD (KHGR) for work. The weather was expected to be gorgeous the day of the flight except for a few bumps in the afternoon, so there was no way I was going to pass this opportunity up and suffer through a two hour drive! The only downside was that I had to get going early. Very early. I am not a morning person, so this was one of the very few pre-dawn takeoffs I have ever made...I'm more of a sunset flyer, to be honest. But this flight reminded me of some of the benefits. There were no bumps, I had a decent tailwind, and the sunrise was beautiful. I even saw the V formation of a flock of what appeared to be snow geese in flight right off my wing.

Beautiful sunrise flight

Sunrise over Harper's Ferry

I also experienced a first on this flight - I was in the air less than ten miles from HGR when the tower opened for the day. Yes, tower. I know many of you avoid towers like the plague, and I usually agree with you, but this was my third trip to HGR and I have found a few very good reasons to keep coming back despite the tower. Besides, the tower is friendly, accommodating, and understanding for those who may be a bit rusty at this. Don't ask me how I know that. It is a large airport with two runways that form an X. The shorter runway (2/20) is closed when the tower is closed, but they are open just about all day every day - check the information on the edge of the sectional chart for their hours.

The FBO is in the northwest quadrant, and there is the Hagerstown Aviation Museum in the southeast quadrant. Let the tower know where you are headed and they'll help you get there.

KHGR

Arrival at the FBO

So about that FBO: It is called Rider Jet Center, and they certainly seem to have enough jets there to live up to that name. There was a big one there when I pulled up, and even though I topped off at a whopping 5.3 gallons, they still brought out a literal red carpet for me.

The FBO is NICE. Ridiculously nice. The woman at the desk was extremely accommodating and apologized for the cookies not being quite ready yet. They have full serve fuel from the truck that you can order at the counter. It is expensive, but if you are eating at the restaurant and ask nicely, they might be able to give you the self serve price off the truck. Or, taxi around the corner and they have a self serve pump.

Did I say restaurant? Yes! They have a great restaurant called the Grille at Runways right in the FBO! When you are standing at the desk, it is literally right behind you! Could not be more convenient. They have a large menu and delicious food! (and a full bar, in case you are trying to convince a passenger to come along with you for a ride)

When I walked out on the ramp to leave, there was another surprise: Rudy had made friends with a Cirrus Vision Jet.

 

Rudy and the Vision Jet

Now about that museum. This is where the A-10 Warthogs were built! They hold several open airplane days throughout the year, and their big event seems to be the Wings and Wheels fly-in which is planned for September 10th this year. I made it to this last year and it was quite fun! Lots of aircraft and some exhibitor booths. There were also lots of neat old cars and some food stands. They seemed to be pretty successful in getting non-aviation locals to attend as well. Hopefully building some good will towards the airport with the members of the community. Check out their website at https://hagerstownaviationmuseum.org/ and go visit!