Cross country travelogue

rahill · August 17, 2012

A (not-so-brief) write-up of our family trip from Palo Alto, CA to Oshkosh and then on to Norwood, MA (near Boston) and finally back to Palo Alto. About 41 hours total flying at 140 kts (LOP). With the exception of an alternator failure and getting trashed in afternoon turbulence over Nevada, it went very well.

July/August 2012

Mooney M20J N201CD

4 people, camping gear, bags, etc., 45 gallons fuel (more fuel would put us overweight)

July 22^nd – Palo Alto (KPAO) to Wendover, UT (KENV) [3.3 hrs] to Ogden, UT (KOGD) [0.8 hrs]

Left Palo Alto at about 9am, VFR over South Lake Tahoe and then Lovelock, NV and Elko, NV. 9,500’ across the Sierras and Nevada later climbing to 11,500’ for turbulence (smooth at 11,500’). Landed at Wendover for lunch, fuel (Oshkosh discount, $5.65), and to visit the museum. Climbed WWII control tower, explored C-123 used in Con Air that had a steering wheel, and brake, accelerator, and clutch pedals (!). After lunch, departed KENV (6,800’ density altitude) flew over Bonneville race course and then over the south part of Great Salt Lake to Ogden. Parked at Ogden Jet Center (Oshkosh fuel discount, $5.19) stayed in Hampton Inn downtown, explored the Ogden Union Station and the Eccles Rail Center (UP 833 4-8-4, UP 6916 Centennial, etc.). Met friends for dinner at Roosters Brewing.

July 23^rd – Ogden, UT (KOGD) to North Platte, NE (KLBF) [4.5 hrs] to Yankton, SD [1.3 hrs]

Left Ogden at ~9am, circled once for altitude and flew through Ogden Canyon (the canyon north of Weber Canyon). Climbed to 11,500’ across Wyoming. Planned to land at Thedford, NE (KTIF) for a cheap fuel stop (advertised as $4.99). About 50 miles from KTIF, checked the weather and wind was 20 kts directly across the runway (4400’ x 60’). Decided to divert to Ainsworth (KANW) and called Flight Service to amend flight plan. About 5 minutes later (had left radio tuned to Flight Service), Flight Service called back to say there was a fire fighting TFR that encompassed KANW – this never showed up on XM Weather (!!). Diverted back to KTIF. Descending for KTIF, the low voltage indicator came on. Aborted the landing at KTIF noting nasty crosswind and absolutely no services (or much of anything – just a runway (no taxiway) and a single hangar). Climbed up and asked Flight Service for advice about nearby airports with maintenance services. North Platte (KLBF) was suggested (about 50 mile south). Flew through thermal turbulence (ground temp ~100º F) to KLBF with low voltage indicator flashing and voltage dropping (into the high-11V range – not too bad) and landed without incident. Parked at Trego-Dugan (Oshkosh fuel discount), outside temperature 103º F. Lineman towed plane to maintenance (far end of ramp) while we went inside to make lunch (PB&J) and escape some of the heat. Fairly convinced we’d be in North Platte for a day or more waiting for new alternator. Called maintenance to check on status about an hour later and they’d found a broken wire and fixed it! Charged for one hour of labor (while we avoided 103º F heat) and we were on our way (about 4:00 pm). Kim called Yankton, SD to see if they’d still be there later that evening and to check on hotel availability. Flew to Yankton (bumpy) and landed in 106º F heat (on NE/SD border just across Missouri River). FBO was still open, had free soda for Oshkosh (hotdogs, etc. earlier in the day), fuel discount. “Shuttle” was waiting for ride to Kelly Inn (Best Western). Taxi/shuttle had apparently been waiting an hour or so and interior reeked of cigarette smoke – in fact our clothes picked up so much smell we ended up washing them. Got last cheap room at Kelly Inn. Hotel was next to Center for Archery Excellence which was hosting the Paralympic athletes. Small waterslide in pool (room opened onto pool). Half price burger night in hotel restaurant!

July 24^th – Yankton, SD (KYKN) to Rochester, MN (KRST) [1.7 hrs] to Oshkosh, WI [1.3 hrs]

Departed Yankton ~9am with concerns about line of thunderstorms/convective activity over Mississippi River. Filed a flight plan to KOSH but planned to stop at Mason City, IA (KMCW) if weather didn’t improve or allow a way around. Used Nexrad weather to watch rain move and thin out. Couldn’t find an obvious way through but watched weather move to the east. Changed destination to Rochester, MN (58 nm NW of KMCW) to get a little closer to OSH and wait out storm. After landing, called FSS for weather briefing and found that convective sigmet had been cancelled and rain was continuing to thin out. Departed from KRST IFR (filed to Y50 since IFR to KOSH was going to be difficult and KOSH had clear weather). Flew through some brief rain near La Crosse, WI but visibility remained >10 miles even in the rain. Cancelled IFR about 40 miles from KOSH and flew VFR to Ripon. Arriving at Ripon we saw only one other plane, which was slightly behind us (they followed closely from Ripon to Fisk). At Fisk we were asked which runway (09 or 36) we would prefer! Chose 09 (closer to North 40 parking) and were given that. Cleared to land on the 09 numbers, and then told to land on White Dot (first dot ~1500’ down the runway). Taxied off on the left and taxied to parking on the grass. Parked near the Hilton on the north side of Runway 09.

AirVenture:

Took shuttle (school bus) to entrance of Oshkosh and paid up for the week (EAA membership, weekly admission for Kim & Rich, 2 days for Becky & Shelly (rest of week covered by their camp), and camping fee). Ate a very expensive and very small hotdog lunch – decided not to pay for lunch at AirVenture again. Wandered around, watched some of the air show. Went into town and bought dinner supplies (Pick’n Save – near our campsite) and cooked dinner. Hurried back to the theater area for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Movie started later than expected (because of interview with producer and too many previews) and went later than expected. Ended up walking a huge part of the way back to our plane, stumbling through fields in the dark and trying to get around/over fences. Caught the North 40 shuttle and finally got back to tent around 12:15 am.

July 25^th – Started off the day with “awkward” showers. Brand new showers in trailer. Nice and clean, but a communal changing area (men and women separately) with obscured glass doors on showers. Not a big hit with the girls. Hottest day we spent at Oshkosh. Dropped off headsets at Lightspeed to get them repaired. Roamed around planes, went into the Orbis airplane, visited a lot of the vendors. Visited museum to listen to talk by Dick Rutan about Voyager. Visited childrens’ area where Becky learned to rivet and Shelly started making a propeller. Sat down for some of the afternoon airshow. Hot! Went back to plane to make dinner, then back to theater for the intro to Red Tails with George Lucas and several (6) Tuskegee airmen. Watched a lot of cool lightning in sky during talk… left just after movie started but managed to get a shuttle back to the tent. While on the bus, the movie was cancelled for weather (lots of rain and lightning), so when we got back to tent we hurried to get ready and tucked away. Becky was slow and got stuck in rain (huddled under the plane wing for a while).

July 26^th – The day the girls’ camp began (Women Soar, You Soar - for high school aged girls). Walked to laundromat to do laundry – Becky’s shorts got somewhat destroyed in the wash, so Rich and Shelly walked back to camp while Kim and Becky walked to Target to buy replacement shorts. Made a quick lunch back at plane, caught two shuttles plus a city bus to the University of Wisconsin in Oshkosh. While dropping girls off in dorm, huge thunderstorm rolled in, heavy rain and winds. Died down before Rich and Kim left – took city bus back to terminal, then terminal bus to bus depot. Roamed around sky market area and the rest of AirVenture. Went to Friar Tuck’s for dinner. On the way back to tent, saw neighbors had gear all over their plane, drying. Their tent was destroyed by storm (that came through while we were at dorms) and all their gear was wet. We walked to our tent at about 8:30 pm – the back window had been left open all day and our tent was full of an inch of water and everything inside was soaked. We wrung out clothes, wiped out the tent, laid things out to dry and bundled up sleeping bags, pillows and all our clothes for trip back to laundromat at 9:00 pm. The laundromat was full of other people also drying out their sleeping bags, etc., but we managed to dry just about everything. We slept on the two dryish pads and let everything else air dry – duffel bags, girls’ sleeping bags and pillows. Only two books soaked and ruined, only one beyond repair.

July 27^th – Went to talk by Bob Hoover that was cancelled (he was ill). Then went to “20 Best Places to Fly” talk by Michael Combs. Went to Glacier Girl talk about the recovery of the plane, presented by Bob Cardin, the project manager. Picked up repaired headsets. Made dinner and hung out near bathrooms, charging our iPads and surfing the web.

July 28^th – Walked around museum – found that it was a good museum but not what we were really looking for, so listened to WASP talk by Bernice “Bee” Falk Haydu. Went to Enola Gay talk by Theodore “Dutch” Van Kirk (navigator). Took bus to Sea Plane Base and explored a much quieter part of AirVenture. Went to Afternoon air show. Ate dinner at Friar Tuck’s again. Went to Night Air show.

July 29^th – Oshkosh, WI to Willoughby, OH (KLNN) [3.2 hrs]

Packed up all gear – tent was remarkably dry. Packed everything into plane and then went to laundromat to do small load of laundry. Got coffee and donuts for breakfast while waiting. Went to museum to meet kids, got there early and listened to a talk on Espionage and the Cold War by Werner Juretzko. We were trying to get out of Oshkosh before the afternoon airshow closed the field at 2pm (until ~6pm). Girls’ camp was scheduled to end at 12:00 noon at the museum, which was 2 bus rides away from the plane. Met the girls at 11:00 am and found out the schedule had been changed so that they now finished at 12:30 pm. Watched the closing events for their camp and eventually dragged them away from their friends at about 12:45 pm. Took the museum bus back to the main bus stop and then the terminal bus to our plane. Quickly loaded up the girls’ stuff and started our taxi out – surprisingly finding only one other plane preparing to depart. Were quickly cleared to depart Runway 27 with about 20 minutes left before field closed. Flew south from KOSH and then slightly offshore of Chicago (at 2800’ to avoid KORD Bravo airspace). Took a few pictures of vey hazy Chicago and then went on to Cleveland. Landed at KLNN just NE of Cleveland and parked at Classic Jet Center. FBO gave us a ride to the Hampton Inn in Mentor (took $30+ cab ride back in the morning).

July 30^th – Willoughby, OH (KLNN) to Norwood, MA (KOWD) [3.7 hrs]

Planning this leg, we realized that Niagara Falls wasn’t far out of the way. Looked into that a bit, downloaded the diagram of the racetrack pattern over the falls, and quickly decided that was a spot not to be missed. Nearing Buffalo (with flight following) I asked, and was given a vector to the falls (over Canada). The mist/spray from the falls is visible from a long way away. Circled the falls three times at 3,500’ and took plenty of pictures. Departed Niagara and flew directly to Norwood, MA (KOWD) south of Boston. Upstate NY reminded us of the English countryside – part of it looked like Lake District. Descended through a scattered layer at ~3,000’ and landed. Parked at Flightlevel Aviation. Fuel $6.39 – highest so far (it went up later to $6.49)

August 1^st – Norwood, MA (KOWD) to Nantucket, MA (KACK) [0.7 hrs] to Norwood, MA (KOWD) [0.6 hrs]

Departed Norwood and climbed to ~2,500 to remain below the clouds. Those cleared and allowed us to climb to 5,500’ to cross to Martha’s Vineyard and then Nantucket (little overwater flying this way). Landed and taxied to ramp where we were parked with more large business jets than we’ve seen before (including Jackson, WY). The Pilatus next to us was the 2^nd smallest aircraft on the portion of the ramp where we parked. Took bus into Nantucket ($2 per person) and explored all day. Enjoyed the Maria Mitchell museum (natural history, observatory, etc.) and the Brant Point beach. Departed in a line of traffic, including local airliners (Cessna 402/421) and a Jet Blue Embraer waiting to depart.

August 5^th – Norwood, MA (KOWD) to Frederick, MD (KFDK) [3.1 hrs] to Clarksburg, WV (KCKB) [1.3 hrs]

Departed Norwood ~9am with plans to fly to New York, down the Hudson for the view of Manhattan, etc., and then turn west (planned for Somerset, PA (2G9). Had concerns about overcast and undercast early in the flight (and whether NY was clear enough) and a line of thunderstorms well to the west that would affect the later part of the flight. Both of these weather “features” made this leg seem questionable. Flew SE from Norwood into 20-30 kt headwinds avoiding clouds and then contacted NY approach for flight following. Descended in a spiral through a hole in the clouds to 2,500’ and was cleared into Bravo at 2,000’ down the Hudson (Skyline Route). Hazy but the views of Empire State, Penn Station, Madison Square Garden, Lower Manhattan (One World Trade Center), Statue of Liberty. Departed the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge towards PA. Weather looked uncooperative so we diverted to Fredrick, MD (KFDK) – right in between the expanded P40 (Camp David) TFR and the WDC TFR. Landed in good weather and called flight service for weather update. “Embedded thunderstorms” was all I really needed to hear. Tied down the plan (harder) and waited for the storm to pass. Really heavy winds and rain hit about 30 min later and passed relatively quickly. Departed after the storm for Clarksburg, WV (KCKB). Flew IFR and watched XM weather to make sure we made it before the next band got to Clarksburg. Light rain got to Clarksburg a little before we did, but the heavier stuff stayed ~30 miles to the west. Flew the GPS 21 approach through the rain and landed on a huge (7,000’ x 150’) runway with no obvious activity. Parked at V1 aviation and they gave us a ride to the Hampton Inn. There was some concern about hotel availability – apparently there’s a lot of gas exploration going on and many of the hotels are often booked. Skipped Biscuit World and ate at Bob Evans. Storm continued through the night with steady rain but not much else.

August 6^th – Clarksburg, WV (KCKB) to Rantoul, IL (KTIP) [2.8 hrs] to Red Oak, IA (KRDK) [2.5 hrs] to North Platte, NE (KLBF) [2.0 hrs]

Departed KCKB IFR to get through low clouds/fog. Clearance was something like “Cleared as filed, fly runway heading…” As filed was direct, about 3 hours away in a straight line – not the typical California IFR clearance! Flew IFR in clear conditions at 6,000’ to KTIP. Rantoul (former Chanute AFB) was cleaning up from some event (Scout Jamboree, we think) but apart from that, we were the only plane there. Nice FBO which we used for lunch and planning the next leg. Eventully planned to go to KLBF with a fuel stop in KRDK, Flew to KRDK – neat little airport with corn planted between the runways and taxiways. Met Ernie Smith in the FBO – 94 years old and still flying (http://www.fly-low.com/issue/F-L10-11.pdf). Short stop and we were off for North Platte. Landed KLBF and stopped at Trego-Dugan again (without the maintenance this time). Tied down the plane outside (slight chance of thunderstorms forecast overnight) but the FBO gave us their card and told us to call if we wanted the plane moved into the hangar. At about 8:30 pm we checked weather and noticed a severe thunderstorm headed for the airport. Quickly called and had plane moved inside. TV started broadcasting t-storm warnings at about 9 pm (with “half dollar and ping pong ball sized hail”). “Interesting” clouds, heavy winds and rain.

August 7^th – North Platte, NE [KLBF] to Torrington, WY (KTOR) [1.3 hrs] to Wendover, UT (KENV) [3.5 hrs] to Palo Alto, CA (KPAO) [3.8 hrs]

One more long day and we could be home… Weather check showed no convective outlook over WY and NV so getting home seemed like a possibility. Flew KLBF to KTOR (short leg) to top off with 45 gal fuel so that we could cross WY without having to stop at any high altitude airports. KTOR is in WY but only 4207’ elevation (about the last lowish altitude airport we could find). With 45 gallons at KTOR we should be able to make it to KENV and if not, KOGD (Ogden) would work. KTOR had a lot of crop duster activity (and flight training for $20/hr, $25/hr for instrument training). Waited for 2 crop dusters to land before taxiing out to leave. Flew across WY at 10,500’ and later 12,500’ to try to get above smoke (unsuccessfully). Crossed over Weber Canyon and Hill AFB where smoke finally cleared. After KSLC airspace, began long descent to Wendover (KENV). A KC-135 was doing a touch and go as we were on downwind for Runway 08. Taxied in on new taxiway (wasn’t open on our previous stop – taxied to ramp on runway 12/30 that time). Lunch in FBO (more PB&J), fuel (Oshkosh discount), and we were off again. Departed KENV (density altitude 7,000’) and climbed out over I-80 towards Wells. Cumulous clouds to the south so headed a bit to the north to avoid that. Turbulence started immediately. Continued climbing (trying for 10,500’) and continued very bumpy. Scattered cumulous (heavier to the south) considerably above us. Continued to follow I-80 to Elko and then Winnemucca (instead of the straight-line Battle Mountain to Lovelock route) to give ourselves more options and to avoid clouds to the south. Continued climbing (more like riding updrafts) to 12,500’ to try for smoother air but never found it. Couldn’t really hold steady altitude and didn’t try - +/- 500’ was about what we could do without too much change in airspeed. Eventually (1:45 later) turbulence settled down west of Winnemucca. Was very relieved to see Lake Tahoe. Crossed over KTVL and began descent to 8,500’. Noticed again that CA is a lot greener than NV and WY and has a lot more airplane traffic. Descended to KPAO and landed in 18 kts of wind (~20-30 degrees off runway) – one of the windier landings of the whole trip!

animalmover · August 17, 2012

Great write up! Sounds like a trip you and your family won't soon forget. Congratulations!

rahill · August 17, 2012

Thanks, I mostly just wanted to get the rough notes down on paper (well, electronic paper) so we would remember some of the details later. At the time, it didn't seem like that big of a deal - just a bunch of cross country flights strung together. In hindsight, it's pretty cool to have flown across the country and back relatively easily.

I should have included some of the pictures, maybe I'll work on that next.

Rich