You're going to have to get used to that plane drawing a crowd wherever you land....."What kind of plane is that? Wow! That's a great looking plane" etc, ad nauseum....

It'll be the centerpiece of a lot of visiting, and the deliverer of a lot of great stories.....

Fly safe, and have fun on the trip south,

MTV

It's already starting, MTV! Everyone has been very interested and super nice. I dig the folks this plane draws.

Flew from Soldotna (saw Greg one more time. His 170 is IMMACULATE!) on to Anchorage where I picked my Dad up from Ted Stevens and we decided to overnight due to weather in the mountains.

Getting into Lake Hood was actually really easy with a little homework. I had my approach memorized and talked it over with Greg before I departed. I didn't even feel the need to pull the "unfamiliar" card. The worst part of the whole deal was trying to taxi to the transient parking nearest the terminal! I made every wrong turn you could. I only got the right taxiway because it was the only unexplored option! Haha!

I got my Dad from the terminal then we walked around the south side of Lake Hood for an hour or so. Then we took a shuttle to our hotel and met a friend in town for dinner.

Im leaving Texas for Ak on Monday in the Husky. If your get delayed by wx too long we might cross paths somewhere. Good luck on the trip and congrats on a beautiful Plane!

Here's the panel:





We made it to Fairbanks this evening. Departing Lake Hood was pretty simple. Rwy 32 to West route with a northern departure. There was a poopy little scattered layer for almost the entire flight just above where we wanted to cruise that finally dissipated and vis decreased to 3-4 miles at the McKinley Park area, but opened up to 5 miles after we got to the Tanana flats. We had to jog east along the south border of the flats to avoid the TFRs near Clear. Its pretty hazy here due to the fires, but nice to be back!

We're going to be stuck here for the weekend as my paperwork hasn't quite made it to OK yet and I don't guess they'll be working on Friday or Saturday... Oh well!

Here's Some pics of the flight!

Yep, all looks familiar.....I have no idea how many times I made that run.

I hope your paperwork moves fast, so you can head out soon.

In the meantime, enjoy FAI.

MTV

Thanks, MTV. I have a lot of friends here, so I can think of much worse places to wait it out!

I mean, I only lived here for a few years but it still feels like home. We missed this place!

Interesting, I just opened those photos on a "real" screen, and noticed the Igloo is still there in the next to last picture. I thought they were going to tear it down.....a landmark perseveres!

And, yes, Fairbanks is a great place, with a lot of really great people. Have dinner at the Thai House.....I miss that place.....

MTV

Was Lemongrass open when you were here? It was always our favorite. Strange, but the best Thai food I've ever had is in Fairbanks!

Disclaimer: I've never been to Thailand.

CamTom12 wrote:Here's the panel:

That's a nice, clean looking panel! I love the glass down at the floorboards. Again, nice bird.

Disclaimer on the apparent rate of closure approach. You can't look through the chin bubble like in a helicopter. You don't want to get that slow. You have to move your directed course sight picture on down the runway when the numbers go below the cowl.

Roger, Jim!

Guys, I need some advice...

I need an overnight stop somewhere roughly two hours beyond KSPF and in a line to KSIK.

The delay in paperwork has me further refining my flight plan. There's not a lot of fat to cut but I need to fly longer legs now.


EDIT: I accidentally put the wrong identifiers in! Fixed now!

Well, first....some not great news. The Dakotas and parts of Minnesota are really smoky from fires in northern Saskatchewan. Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks and Aberdeen were all reporting 2 miles in smoke part of the day today. Pray for the winds to switch to southerly. Either that, or you may have to detour really far south to get around the smoke.

And, yes, the Lemon Grass was open for some time before we left FAI. I never really cared for their food, though friends liked it. The Thai House, though......best Thai food on the planet.....and I have been to Thailand. And, very nice folks run it. They close the restaurant for a month or so every winter and go back to Thailand, to visit family and to recruit help....

I have no idea where those identifiers are. A little rant: Everyone who posts identifiers apparently assumes that we all just know what they mean. I know, I know, I can close this program, go to another and do a lookup. How hard is it to just type the name of the town?

Rant over.

Good luck on the prairies....looks like SVFR for a looooonnnnggg ways if things don't change.

MTV

^^^ Very good info Mike. It's very smoky in Alberta right now as well due to the fires around High Level and Lacrete. Continue to have safe flights Cam!

Mike,

Good point, sorry!

The identifiers are Black Hills, SD and Sikeston, MO respectively.

That sucks on the vis. Tomorrow morning I'll post my modified route for some up-front pireps if y'all have any.

Here's the modified route:

1. Fairbanks to Whitehorse to Watson Lake to Ft Nelson.

2. Watson Lake to Ft St John to Prince George to Kamloops to Oroville, WA (customs) to Priest River, ID.

3. Priest River to Kalispell, MT to Black Hills, SD to Bassett, NE (placeholder for an RON pending a better recommendation)

4. Bassett to Sikeston, MO to Huntsville, AL

Turns into roughly 8 hour flying days for four days. Not what I had imagined when planning this trip but work requirements dictate otherwise. Either way it's been a blast so far and Will continue to be that way.

Are there any details you know on the legs I should be aware of?

Are there any better RON options near Bassett, NE?


EDIT: for clarity, each line is one day's planned leg, with the last city being the planned overnight stop. Please let me know if you have a dive one way or the other!

Cameron,
I can't tell if you're indicating flexibility about overnighting in Watson Lake vs Fort Nelson. Hands-down you should camp at Watson Lake vs a Super-8 in Fort Nelson, if the schedule permits. Or fuel at Fort Nelson, and camp under the wing at Prophet River, just to sleep in the grass.
Beautiful plane, congrats and have a great trip. I was one of the poor SOBs underneath the smoke and cloud on your leg to FAI.
-DP

DP,
Staying with family in Ft Nelson.

Hopefully the smoke clears for you soon and thanks for the kind words and advice!

Cameron

Well mate cant help you with the route, unless you detour via australia i can offer a bed for a night, but stay safe and dont push it, no dead line is worth endagering yourself or more importantly, that stunning plane of yours. I know its stating the obvious but still.

Besides, I plan on seeing many more photos of that bird! Dont ruin it for me!

Hi Cameron,

Who is your family in Ft Nelson? Been here 40 plus years, likely know them.

We will be away until Sunday evening, but feel free to tie down at Gordon's Field if you care to. Should be an empty set of tie downs, help yourself.

Good looking aircraft, hope you have a great flight and we get to cross paths.

Rod
UpNorth

Whats your range in the new plane? I usually cut out a large chunk of that trip by doing Whitehorse to Dease Lake and then DL to Prince George. There is an old railroad bed you can follow out of Dease Lake almost all the way to Prince George that makes for a decent place to put down in an emergency. Great way to go if the weather is good. I also found customs at Glacier Park international to be pretty nice and that might cut out some of your trip as well since it seems like your trying to save a little time. I hope to be in Kalispell on Tuesday night and Prince George on Wednesday. Good luck and maybe see you out there.