Squawk 0425.Squawk 0425." The rapid-fire readoff defined our route and direction of flight, the altitudes, radio frequencies and transponder codes that would allow tracking us on radar. I read back the clearance to him for confirmation, concluding with "triple nickel eight-ball." The reply was "readback correct, five-eight Bravo, have a good flight, ground point seven." After only a short delay, Alma and I were 25 miles from the Miami Airport and cleared to our requested altitude with a simultaneous "hand off" to the Miami Center: "Five-Eight Bravo, climb and maintain 4-thousand, report reaching to Miami Center on 133.45. Good day sir." We were "in the soup" -- a combination of fog and mist that accompanied the warm front that covered the east coast from Miami to New York. Visibility was limited to the wingtips where the red and green navigation lights were visible only as large, diffuse colored circles. |