Sunday Flyday - A Great Trip To Bad Axe

Sunday started out Marginal VFR by Pontiac, with low clouds, mist and rain. Thankfully the weather all blew off towards the east, leaving a free shot us to get aloft.

We decided to head to Bad Axe to see some fall colors. I hadn't flown up to Bad Axe in quite awhile.

Winds were calm at Pontiac as we took off.

The clouds had lifted to about 8,000 feet by the time we were aloft.

We passed by Lapeer airport.

Some trees were changing color and the overcast clouds above gave nice interesting shadows on the ground.

Then we flew by Marlette Airport on our way north.

I was flying at 110 knots which was pretty decent performance.

At 5,500 feet I let Leah fly the plane for a bit.

She had fun and tried keeping the airplane on course, which was harder to do than it looked.

We overflew quite a few fields and some forested areas that were changing color nicely.

Winds at Bad Axe were 300 at 9 knots, so a slight crosswind for Runway 35.

I didn't like my first approach so I nixed it and went around. There's no point trying to force it down if it is not feeling or looking right. So Leah got to experience a go round for the first time.

The second approach, flying the pattern, I nailed it with a nice smooth landing. My passenger was very happy with it. We then took back off south for Pontiac.

I'm apparently flying smoothly enough that after awhile, Leah fell asleep on the way back after we had passed Marlette.

Interestingly, I picked up a traffic on the ADS/B traffic system just south of Lapeer.

Same altitude as me, 3 O'clock, no identifier, between my course and Pontiac and getting ever closer from behind and to the right. So close the traffic alert changed it from blue to yellow. No visual at all.

Then an even more urgent traffic alert and I still can't see this guy.

As it was still closing from my right, I said to heck with that and did a wide left turning circle away to let it pass.

Nothing was there. That was getting a bit tense for nothing.

A few people have been reporting ADS/B ghosts around Pontiac/Detroit area. I halfway suspect the system was picking me up and reporting my aircraft back to me as a traffic conflict.

Then 14 nm from Pontiac, the airspace got real busy. I had one real traffic alert, with a plane I knew was actually out there based on radio calls and that the ADS/B was giving the correct N number for the contact. It was hard to get a word in edgewise with Pontiac, but I was eventually able to get a call in and was instructed to report a right base 2 1/12 miles out.

I report it once I get there and he has me widen it out to turn it into a long final for traffic management which is no problem.

A nice smooth landing results, much to the contentment of my passenger who expects such as part of the flight.

I then land and as I'm rolling on past Juliet, he tells me to turn off on Juliet and contact ground. That's not going to happen.

I report I've just missed Juliet and the controller was ok with that, and I get off at the next exit at Kilo.

Then ground gives me clearance back to the hangar and another successful flight comes to an end.

That's 1.8 and 2 landings.