I commented in a thread several months ago that my family is moving back to Fairbanks. Well, the time has finally come. We started the process of our move and expect to depart Florida for Alaska on Sunday, 16 June. I've started a blog at the address http://andringatrek.blogspot.com/. Our trip's prologue is pasted below, which sets the stage for how we are going to get family, cars, an airplane, and our goods from Fort Leavenworth, KS to Fairbanks, AK. I'm using the blog to document our trip for all of the family either participating or following the adventure. I certainly wish I could write like Troy and/or create videos like the OBP crew, but I can't. Putting that aside, I hope that I can document the trip in a manner that does justice to the once in a lifetime experience it will be for our family. Stay tuned for updates as we get underway on Sunday.

Brett

PROLOGUE

This trip’s background is as circuitous as the route we expect to take. I am an active duty member of the Army currently stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. My wife, Liz, and I found out in December 2012 that we were being assigned to Fort Wainwright, AK. This was very exciting news. We thoroughly enjoyed a previous assignment to Alaska from 2005 to 2009. It was during this tour that two of our three children were born. It was also in Alaska that we purchased our first plane, a 1953 Cessna 180, and I learned to fly.

In an effort to frame the trip, I should start with some of the facts. Liz, our three children (Brayden – 7, Carly – 4, and Declan – 1), and I are moving from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas to Fort Wainwright, Alaska. We have to move out of our house on Fort Leavenworth and move all of our things, including our two cars and our airplane, to Fort Wainwright. Liz and I are originally from Florida and our families are still in our hometowns. Since Alaska is quite far for our families to travel, we will be stopping in Florida enroute to see them before moving. In addition, my daughter from a previous marriage will be graduating from high school. My father, mother, and Uncle Norris will be accompanying us on the journey, partly for assistance and partly to participate in the adventure.

The following dates drive the requirements of our trip:
 5 June – My daughter, Paige’s, graduation from high school in Tampa, Florida
 14 June – My graduation from an Army school at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
 1 July – Liz’s first day of work with BLM on Fort Wainwright.
 6 July – My report date to Fort Wainwright

Anyone who has moved understands the mixture of excitement and anxiety that controls your emotions during the process. Our preparation for this move is no different. Our excitement at moving back to Alaska is tempered by the anxiety of planning all the parts of the move. To simplify the many tasks, I’ve broken them into five main efforts:
 Pack and ship our household goods
 Visit family in Florida and attend my daughter’s high school graduation
 Attend my own graduation from an Army school at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
 Liz and the girls driving to Alaska
 Flying the Stationaire to Alaska with my dad, son, and uncle

Movers will pack our household belongings on 23, 24, and 28 May. They load the truck on the 29th, and we move out of our on-base house on 31 May. Tucked tightly in and around this timeline, we are attending the supercub.org fly-in at Gaston’s over Memorial Day weekend and departing Fort Leavenworth on 1 June for Florida. One additional muscle movement involved in the move is shipping one of our cars. The government ships one of our vehicles on contract transport. There are select locations around the country to drop the vehicle off, called vehicle-processing centers. The closest vehicle-processing center is in St. Louis. To ensure we have something to drive when we arrive in Fairbanks, I’ll ship our Toyota RAV4 on 17 May. It will arrive by 17 June and be picked up by a good friend. If all goes according to plan, it will be sitting in our parking spot on the East Ramp at Fairbanks International when we arrive.

This leads to the journey’s actual beginning. Through the month of June, I will be travelling with a combination of family from Fort Leavenworth, KS to St. Petersburg, FL, then to Fairbanks, AK. I’ll attempt to explain the trip’s combination of legs, methods, and family members, but referring to the diagram below might explain it better. Liz, the kids, and I depart Fort Leavenworth on 1 June for St. Petersburg/Tampa in the airplane. The only thing we will leave at Leavenworth is our Toyota Camry. During the first week in Florida, we are taking the kids to Disney and attending Paige’s graduation. I travel back to Leavenworth via commercial airline from the 9 to 14 June. Liz, Carly, Declan, and my mom depart Tampa on the 16(ish) June via airline to Kansas City. From there, they will drive the Camry up the AL/CAN highway to Fairbanks. I depart Florida with Brayden, my dad, and my uncle Norris. We are flying the airplane from Tampa to Fairbanks. There are sketchy plans for the guys and girls to meet up along the route. We might also make a stop in Ohio to visit my brother.

Hopefully this graphical representation of our move will help clear up who is riding in what and to where.


Our “airsheen”, as CloudDancer would call it in his CloudDancer Alaska Chronicles, is a 1979 Cessna U206G. For those not familiar with small airplanes, this is a six-seat, single piston engine, fixed landing gear airplane with the wings over the cabin (referred to as high-wing). We purchased 5XV in 2011 as an upgrade from the four-seater that I learned to fly in Alaska. We simply exceeded the seat to butt ratio between the airplane and our family. I have two years and just over 200 hours figuring out this newer, larger airplane. The craft is more than capable for the trip with a Continental IO-550 engine, 88 usable gallons of fuel, two instrument flight rules (IFR) certified GPSs, engine monitor, short takeoff and landing (STOL) kit, 406 ELT, and Reiff engine preheater. I’m slightly concerned about damage from gravel at some of the airports along the way and once we reach Alaska. Although I’m familiar with all the techniques to prevent this, there is always the chance of dinging the prop or kicking a stone up into the tail. This doesn’t limit what I do, but I still want to keep her as nice as I can.

This is "5XV", our Cessna Stationaire.


The remaining chapters of this log will detail our trek starting with the departure from Leavenworth on 1 June. My intent is twofold. Primarily, I intend to document the journey for the sake of our family. This is sure to be a monumental trip with memories around almost every bend. Secondly, I hope to journal details of the trip to help anyone else that plans to do the same. Now is as good a point as any to inform you that I’m not a writer. Surely, you’ve already figured this out. I’ve spent my entire adult life in the Army. Thus, I write in a direct and concise manner. I’m also a relatively inexperienced pilot. I’ve been flying Army helicopters since 2002, but I didn’t start flying airplanes until 2007. Even then, my abilities as a pilot caused my instructor to laugh uncontrollably at me during pattern training. Hopefully we can all look past my poor writing and exceptionally mediocre flying skills to harvest some memories and value from the experience. Until next time...

Too cool! I'll be off-grid for a week, look forward to catching up when I get back.

"this is a six-seat, single piston engine,"

Maybe this is why I am still a Wannabe since I have never seen a single piston 206.
I could certainly understand the addition of the turbo version.

Chris C

The first thing to do when you arrive is take off the wheel pants, put on a 8:50 X 6 on the nose , some 26" on the mains, bolt on some fenders, thick rubber along the leading edge of the tail, then go have fun!!
Regards,
7gcbc/76185
(AK22)

Brett,

Coming from another Army Aviator, that spread sheet looked eerily familiar. Good luck with the move. Every time we have to move (thank God it's only been a couple of times), the first concern is always "where and how am I going to hangar the airplanes?"

Our dream is to retire in AK and have thought about going to Fairbanks as a last assignment to prep for wherever we want to end up, probably the Talkeetna/Matsu Valley area. Unfortunately, we've realized that our J-3, glider, and Stearman will probably have to go as they have no utility in AK.

I'll be watching your blog from lovely, floral summer in Afghanistan.

Mike-

Brett:

Best wishes for the journey and the move. I caught up on your first few blog entries after you posted on CPA. Glad that the 206 is treating you right. Look forward to following your trip north.

Flynengr

Good luck with the move. I just got back from moving my 18 y/o son to Fairbanks to attend UAF. We didn't have quite as far to go as you though, no airplane reposition, and not much crap to haul either.

wannabe wrote:"this is a six-seat, single piston engine,"

Maybe this is why I am still a Wannabe since I have never seen a single piston 206.
I could certainly understand the addition of the turbo version.

Chris C

Chris, I refer you to

Now is as good a point as any to inform you that I’m not a writer. Surely, you’ve already figured this out.

74gcbc/76185 wrote:The first thing to do when you arrive is take off the wheel pants, put on a 8:50 X 6 on the nose , some 26" on the mains, bolt on some fenders, thick rubber along the leading edge of the tail, then go have fun!!
Regards,
7gcbc/76185
(AK22)

I should have posted a more recent pic. The wheel pants are off, but I ran out of time to upgrade to a larger nose fork and tires/wheels. Probably not 8.50s and 26"s, but I will be upsizing my tire situation soon. I also learned how difficult it was to push the damn thing around on grass with 6.00 and 5.00 tires. At Gastons for the OK18 fly-in, it was a beast to get into and out of a parking spot.

flynengr wrote:Brett:

Best wishes for the journey and the move. I caught up on your first few blog entries after you posted on CPA. Glad that the 206 is treating you right. Look forward to following your trip north.

Flynengr

Flynengr, still feels like I'm cheating every time I hop in the 206.

[quote="stearmann4"] Unfortunately, we've realized that our J-3, glider, and Stearman will probably have to go as they have no utility in AK.
[quote]

Because I feel so sorry for your plight (moving to AK and all) I'll take pity and offer to help, by paying for the glider storage in a low-humidity location here in the beautiful Mojave desert, and at no extra cost to you I will periodically check for proper flight control function, variometer accuracy, and oxygen system flow by personally performing maintenance test ops in the immediate vicinity of Bishop, CA

Well that's the first time I've ever had someone offer to plane-sit the glider and not the Stearman or Cub? Actually, I had grand plans for the Schweizer until I realized it almost takes a basketball team to get the thing in the air. However, I got such a good deal on it that I still save money if I just get it towed by the local club.

Sorry for the topic theft... I'm bored and it's midnight in Afghanistan...

Mike-

Enjoy the trip north. Perfect time of the year to head that way, and plenty of time to get settled in. The "monsoon" in the Interior starts around July 10 or so. After that, early starts are out. Lots of places to stop along the way this time of year, enjoy the scenery along the way.

You won't need big tires for the trip, don't sweat it. Once there, a set of mud flaps from Aero Twin are in order, though, once you've decided what size tires you'll use.

Take care, fly safe and enjoy the trip. Do they still allow troops to park personal airplanes at FWW, or are you going to have to find parking?

MTV

Mike,

I can get approval to fly into FWA, but only during the day. They won't approve me for overnight or long term parking. I wish, because I'll be living on the North side of post. IN 2008 & 2009 I was able to fly to work. I'll park on the ramp at FAI while I search for another solution.

Brett

Any day’s travel that ends with you sitting on a porch and enjoying this kind of view, has to be considered a victory.



All in all, both the girls and the guys accomplished all they had planned for the day. Today started our trip Northwest, the correct direction for Alaska as opposed to the 1021 miles we flew in the opposite direction two weeks ago. The morning commenced with what was probably the most challenging part of the day’s activities, getting the girls (and Declan) onto their commercial flight from Tampa International. I dropped them off on the departures curb of Tampa International Airport right on time at 6:30 am. Speaking to Liz, they had a couple problems with medications in carry-on bags and not having Declan (lap sitter) on anyone’s boarding pass. After overcame those issues, they boarded on time for their 07:55 flight. They met the car in short term parking of Kansas City International Airport’s terminal C and started on their way. They seem to have found a hotel in Sioux City, IA for the night, though I haven’t talked to them yet.

The plan for today’s flight was to file and fly IFR direct between Albert Whitted Airport (KSPG) and Macon County Municipal Airport (1A5) in Franklin, NC. Franklin is where my Uncle Norris and Aunt Marlene’s farm is located. This is a favorite spot for our family to visit because Brayden and Carly love to feed their horse carrots and apples. We planned to arrive midafternoon and stay the night before departing with Uncle Norris on Monday morning (17 June).

St. Petersburg’s weather was terrific with light winds and a scattered layer at 2,500 feet below clear skies. I filed IFR to climb through the scattered clouds and take advantage of cooler temperatures up high. The magnetic course direct to Franklin is 360°. Using the rules for IFR/VFR flight, this would dictate flying at an even thousand-foot altitude. I attempted to file for 5,000 feet as the perfect compromise between speed, winds, and the difference between scattered layers of clouds at 4,000 in north Florida and 6,000 in north Georgia. They didn’t bite and cleared me to 4,000 for a final altitude. No matter. After passing the lower clouds around the Florida/Georgia border, we climbed above all the other layers at 6,000 feet.

What can I say about the scenery along the gulf coast of Florida? No, seriously. What can I say about it? Once you get past Clearwater Beach, the coast and adjacent areas are pretty devoid of interesting sights. I snapped a couple photos of things we thought were interesting like industrial plants with huge runoff canals and gigantic strip mines.



Making 145 knots true airspeed at 6,000 feet yielded us 135 knots over the ground. We were witness to a funny conversation on Atlanta approach control’s frequency around Macon, GA. Another airplane checked in on the way to Franklin. The controller asked the other aircraft (Baron) if there was a fly-in at Macon Country because of there were three aircraft on the frequency heading that direction. The Baron pilot responded that there was not a fly-in, and that everyone was flocking to the cool mountain air. To that end, it is interesting to see the vacation areas spring up the farther north you get in Georgia. From about Lake Oconee on, there is a noticeable increase in lake a country vacation areas.


Nice little airport built into a peninsula of Lake Oconee (I think. I made a note on the iPad exactly where the lake was, but don't have the iPad on my.)

I cancelled our IFR clearance just past Athens to avoid climbing to 8,000 feet over the mountains. Flying VFR, I was able to stay below a scattered to broken layer of clouds at about 4,000. We maneuvered around scattered clouds and settled at 3,200 feet through the southern foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Four miles south of the airport, we did an orbit of my Uncle’s farm for some pictures, and then we crossed midfield to make left traffic for runway 07. I was way high on the approach causing us to land an embarrassing 2,000 feet down the 5,000 runway. The previously discussed Baron was on the ramp getting fuel and a bonanza followed five minutes behind us rounding out the three aircraft Atlanta approach had referred to.


Dam along Lake Burton on the Georgia / South Carolina border


The foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which make up one sliver of the Appalachian Mountains.

Macon County airport is a pleasant place with full service fuel, some great scenery, and the little airplane with big performance shown in the photo below.


The Just Aircraft Company SuperStol airplane. This is an impressive machine that was introduced to us by Gary Schmidt.

I met Gary Schmidt from Just Aircraft, which builds the Highlander, Escapade, and SuperStol. The airplane he had on hand was the SuperStol. Just Aircraft is located just down the road in Walhalla, SC. I, admittedly, know very little about their line of airplanes, but they are certainly performers. Gary showed off with a departure that rivaled any of the stellar efforts I saw a couple weeks ago at the OK18 fly-in.

I’ve determined that the stop in Franklin was a good decision even if we are stuck for a couple hours in the morning for thunderstorms and fog. Stress from the last week at Fort Leavenworth, travelling, and the Saturday packing extravaganza we did yesterday really took their toll on me. After getting the girls on their way and fighting our way out of the heat of Florida, I needed an afternoon nap and some relaxing on Uncle Norris’s porch. I would have struggled if we tried any more legs.

I went for a jog in the afternoon. Admittedly, my only motivation for running was Troy Hamon’s trip report from a couple months ago. I have to stay in shape(ish) for the Army stuff. If Troy can run during his trip, what excuse do I have? Thanks Troy!

Brayden had a great time helping his Grandpa and Uncle Norris work on the tractor, and of course, he fed the horse. One of Uncle Norris’s skills is empowering kids with tasks on a job. He can always find the right chore to give the kids that will challenge them, but allow them to figure it out on their own. I remember feeling a real sense of accomplishing when I worked with him as a kid, and I could see the same in Brayden.

Now that Brayden headed off to bed and I have some time to focus on the computer, I’m finding a couple challenges for tomorrow. First, I left the iPad in the airplane. It has just over 50% battery left, which means that I’ll have enough battery for the day, but Brayden won’t be able to play Sudoku on it. I’m going to make sure my phone is charged to get all the weather I’ll need during the flight. The second wrinkle is several lines of thunderstorms approaching through the night and into tomorrow afternoon.

Originally, our plan was to depart Franklin heading to Dayton, OH to visit my brother. His law school classes preclude him from being able to meet us, so we are going to continue direct towards North Dakota. This was a difficult decision. I was hoping to meet up with Patrol Guy at Grimes just north of Dayton. My dad, however, purchased tickets to the Midnight Sun Baseball game in Fairbanks on the 21st. He stated that this was one of his bucket list items. We’re gonna see what we can do to get some miles in tomorrow, leaving more time in Canada for sightseeing and weather. We hope to put 7-8 hours in tomorrow reaching a jumping off point for customs in Canada. I’ll have to update tomorrow with what we decide on route and stops based off of weather. Until then…

If your plane has a cigarette lighter plug, go to a stoe that carries computer stuff (maybe even Walmart) and pick up an adapter for that plug to USB. Pull the 110 plug off your IPad charge cable and plug that USB into your cig lighter port. Works great and simple. I have an adapt that powers two USBs at once.

Fly safe, those SE thunderstorms are nothing to screw with.

MTV

Thank, Mike. I put away the automation and used some of those map looking thingies today. We ended up in south Minneapolis. The goal was another hour closer to the border, but we were getting beat up under the afternoon build-ups and a stiff headwind. After battling showers and ceilings to get out of the western Carolina mountains, I'm done. Wow, we covered a lot of the country's terrain today. I hope to write it up tonight, but I might have to go to bed early. Preliminary goal is Edmonton tomorrow.

Brett
http://andringatrek.blogspot.com/

UH-60andC-180 wrote:I went for a jog in the afternoon. Admittedly, my only motivation for running was Troy Hamon’s trip report from a couple months ago. I have to stay in shape(ish) for the Army stuff. If Troy can run during his trip, what excuse do I have? Thanks Troy!

Hey, I actually inspired somebody to do something positive! You're welcome! And great report so far, by the way.

Nice little airport built into a peninsula of Lake Oconee (I think. I made a note on the iPad exactly where the lake was, but don't have the iPad on my.)

That's Lake Sinclair at Miledgeville, GA. Fun to see that as I grew up about 15 miles from there and have flown in and out of there quite a bit years ago. Lake Oconee is the next lake north on the same river (the Oconee River).

I'm in Alaska now... bring bug spray.... the store shelves are empty.

from the Anchorage Daily News: "Mosquito invasion in Southcentral Alaska leads to run on supplies"

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/#storylink=cpy

It's also hot.. Talkeetna hit 94 today. Breaking all time temp records in several places.

I hope you made you made it in time for the midnight sun baseball game.
Another place has come up for sale at AK22 (right out the back gate of ft.ww)If your are interested send me a message and I can give you directions
Regards,
Hutch

I've still got to go back and read through your updates, but I couldn't help but laugh at the powerpoint work. It's amazing what some staff time does to your personal planning. Here's what I made for my family when we moved up here ourselves!



Hope the trip is well and it'll be great to meet up when you get here. Shoot me a note when you get in!

Hi Brett,
If you need a place to park your plane let me know.
I have a place on a private strip not to far from Ft. WainWright.
31AK is the identifier. It is between North Pole and Fairbanks off Badger Rd.
I know going in to Wain Wright can be a pain. Fly safe.

Ken