We were flying in our Cessna Cardinal RG from Poughkeepsie, NY, to Norwood, MA. On board were my wife, me, and our cat, Amie. The weather was clear but windy. The local forecast for the Boston (Norwood) area was winds 30 blowing to 60 MPH. Approaching Norwood, I tuned in the tower and checked in. There was nobody else except for the controller and me on the frequency. It had been a really bumpy flight. She cleared us miles out to land on Runway 28. Luckily the winds were just about out of that direction.
Normally I never joke with controllers but since nobody else was on the frequency, as we were turning from downwind to base I said, “Cardinal 1234 is making a One‑Cat approach to Runway 28 and boy is she going to be happy to be down.”
The controller laughed at this and asked me about my flight conditions. I told her. Landing, I came in with more airspeed than normal and less flaps since it was so windy, and did my best to do a squeaker. We did. And the controller complimented our landing.
Brian Gately
Brooklyn, NY
