N3986Q • September 4–7, 2026
Down to
North Carolina
A four-leg weekend: Eastern Shore → Carolina → back home.
KMFV
→
KAFP
→
KEQY
→
5W5
→
KMFV
Leg 1 • KMFV → KAFP
Leaving the Shore
The first leg was the big one: southwest from the Eastern Shore, across the Tidewater country and on toward North Carolina.
The photos tell the story better than a flight log: coastline, water, haze, long stretches of green—and a lot of time to watch the world slide past.
Traffic below, but not the kind ATC calls out.
Aspen E5 • westbound • 4,500 ft
In the cockpit
Old airplane,
new eyes.
N3986Q is still very much a classic 172—but the Aspen makes the panel feel like a bridge between eras.
And for the club: yes, the old airspeed indicator is still right there beside it.
Along the way
A few things you only notice from 4,500 feet.
North Carolina
Ramp wandering counts as sightseeing.
One of the pleasures of a trip like this is the airplanes you meet when you stop.
A tidy Bonanza on one ramp, a Skyhawk on another—and N3986Q looking exactly as a traveling 172 should: tied down, sunshades up, bugs accumulating.
Plenty of sky between the buildups.
Homeward leg
Pick the gaps.
Keep moving.
The last leg home had the best visual texture of the trip: blue sky, growing cumulus, and miles of Carolina farmland below.
One of those flights where the route line on the GPS matters—but the view out the windshield matters more.