Airmet Tango

I had been looking forward to some solo time and a trip back into familiar territory. Monday, March 23rd was the time I planned on traveling west into the Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA) formerly known as the DC ADIZ. My flight would take me round trip over the Annapolis area and up to Tipton airport at Fort Meade. The flight requires a little more preparation than usual. A special flight plan needs to be filed and then you need to be in constant contact with air traffic control once you enter the SFRA, a ring of airspace 30 miles in diameter around Regan National Airport and 18000 feet high. That puts outer ring in the center of the Chesapeake Bay just west of the airport. I knew that I would be taking off to the west and would have to make a turn to the east and contact ATC once I was over Kent Narrows.
The weather was clear with good visibility and moderate winds. The only contrary indication I got from the weather briefer was the AIRMET Tango whose southeast corner was over my flight area. From NOAA:

"An AIRMET (AIRman's METeorological Information) advises of weather that maybe hazardous, other than convective activity, to single engine, other light aircraft, and Visual Flight Rule (VFR) pilots. However, operators of large aircraft may also be concerned with these phenomena. The items covered are:

AIRMET Sierra (IFR):

Ceilings less than 1000 feet and/or visibility less than 3 miles affecting over 50% of the area at one time.

Extensive mountain obscuration




AIRMET Tango (Turbulence):

Moderate turbulence

Sustained surface winds of 30 knots or more at the surface




AIRMET Zulu (Icing):

Moderate icing

Freezing levels"

My AIRMET was for the moderate turbulence and not the surface winds. I should not have been surprised by the bumpy ride after departure and all the way over to Tipton. To make matters worse there was no way to climb higher and try to get a smoother ride due to BWI's Class B airspace along the route. I got over to Tipton with out much of a problem and flew a very bumpy approach to runway 28. Once I got down and taxied, I saw a sad sight. A few of the airplanes I had spent my training time in were parked in an out of the way section of the airfield, silent and disused. They appeared to have been there for a while. The airport UNICOM came up on the frequency and asked if I was staying for the night. I told them that I was only staying a short while and was instructed to take a parking spot. They asked me if my aircraft was a "sport" type and complimented the plane on its good looks.
I filed a SFRA flight plan out of the area and proceeded to the east after this departure.


The flight back out of the SFRA was even more turbulent. I got bounced around a lot and it probably would not have been very comfortable for all but the most enthusiastic of passengers.
Once outside of the SFRA I set up for the pattern entry to Runway 29. It was a challenging flight, not the most enjoyable, but a good experience builder. I look forward to getting back to Tipton on a nicer day. Unfortunately it's one of those airports that doesn't really have anything to do once you land there. No restaurant or nearby attractions unless you count the cryptology museum at NSA.