Oct 2010 Its Better in the Bahamas!!
If it seemed like nothing much happened on Ladies Love Taildraggers last week its because I took a quick trip to Paradise! Actually, it was Staniel Cay, Bahamas but just about as close as I’ve ever been to paradise. No taildraggers involved here, just a really fast and efficient 4-place homebuilt called an Express that was built by friends Wayne and Kathy Norris. 
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Boyd and I met up with Wayne & Kathy and their Express in South Carolina, tied down our Mooney 231 and loaded up the Express for the next leg to Venice, Florida. The 300 hp Express is a workhorse that will carry 4 big people, 80 gallons of fuel and 200 pounds of luggage and cruise along at 190 mph at 65%.
* Here’s Kathy and Boyd taping on the required 12″ N numbers at the Venice Florida airport before we headed over. Life preservers (check), life raft (check), passports (check), Â beer (check), red wine (check) – good to go!
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Next stop, Andros Island Airport to clear Customs. Nice people, quick turnaround… no problems, mon. 
Then flew down the chain of islands to Staniel Cay.
Here’s the very small island of Staniel Cay and airport.
The Staniel Cay Yacht Club rents one and two bedroom bungalows right on the water and gives pilots a 20% discount. This is off season so you get a little break right now too. The bungalows aren’t fancy but so cute!! I loved that the entry door was through the bathroom – between the toilet and the sink! 🙂
Here’s Kathy walking on a slightly submerged sandbar to get a better look at several stingrays.
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More incredibly beautiful scenery.
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On the flight outbound we spotted this submerged DC3 that’s been there for years.
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And the approaches don’t get much better than on this short, private island strip we saw heading north bound.
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Sure did hate to depart “paradise” but the world was calling us back. I can’t say enough good things about our trip and highly recommend you plan a trip of your own down the chain of islands. If you’re looking for a flying adventure, sunshine, private beaches, snorkeling, boating and great seafood better start planning now!
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