$100 Hamburger, Watertown
Saturday I went out for my first $100 hamburger. I chose the Steakfire restaurant in Watertown, WI. My friend Matt (who had just gotten engaged a few days before – congrats Matt!) came along, and “Paris” provided transport.
It was hazy but calm. I took off and headed west so I could climb up to 2500 feet outside of Madison’s Class C shelf. I wanted to go higher, possibly overflying Madison’s Class C at 5000, but visibility got worse the higher we went, so I called up Madison West Approach: “Madison Approach, Cessna 4777H 15 miles west at 2,500, with Quebec, eastbound Watertown”. They must not have been too busy, because I was given a transponder code and told to fly on course to Watertown. We ended up going right over Lake Mendota and had a great view of downtown Madison and Truax field.
Matt practiced some pilotage with the sectional, as I pointed out landmarks (“what lake do you think that is?”), while I gave the new GPS a try, following the line almost due east to Watertown. I handled ATC well, and a few miles after we cleared the east side of Madison’s airspace, I requested a frequency change. The controller cut us loose and I tuned in to Watertown’s ASOS, then their CTAF. There was some traffic in the pattern, and someone practicing an NDB straight-in approach to 23. They were about as close as I was, so I reported that I would circle once to the south before entering the pattern.
As we entered the pattern we were greeted personally by the UNICOM and given winds and altimeter. The winds were still calm and I had one of my best landings ever. It was a short roll and I turned onto the taxiway. We were parked by a linewoman and we shut down.
I was very impressed by the hospitality at Watertown Municiple (RYV). They offered us the courtesy car but the restaurant was only a block away, so we decided to walk. Lunch was very good, and the staff there was also very friendly.
As we taxied back to the runway UNICOM again gave us a personal farewell and thanked us for stopping by. The winds had picked up a bit but were down the runway. The takeoff was smooth and we headed west at 2000. I called up Madison East Approach and again went straight back over Madison, this time just near the south end of 18/36 at Truax, where we had front-row seats watching some jets landing and some C130 transports taxiing. It was very cool.
We ended up just north of Morey and there was an 8 knot south crosswind, so I entered downwind for 10 and did a very smooth crosswind landing. Matt wasn’t even freaked out (so he claims).
Overall, an excellent experience. I can’t wait to go out for my next $100 hamburger!