Half an hour of evening calm after a WINDY day last Saturday!

Corn harvest in NW Iowa this afternoon.

Snapping a photo of the altimeter reading below zero just never gets old. Third time for me.

180Marty wrote: Corn harvest in NW Iowa this afternoon. …..

I'm no farmer, but it seems like most corn grown around here is harvested around August.
In fact, Harvey Field in Snohomish used to have a Corn Roast Fly-in every year about that time.
The fields look pretty brown in your photos,
is it the ears being harvested for food,
or (ears stalks & all ?) being harvested for ethanol?
Or maybe for silage?

The fields look pretty brown in your photos,
is it the ears being harvested for food,
or (ears stalks & all ?) being harvested for ethanol?

My pictures show corn being harvested for grain (this is not sweet corn that people eat). The kernels are removed from the cob and everything else stays in the field. This is for animal feed and ethanol production. 1/3 of the bushel of corn hauled to the ethanol plant (most corn does not go to the ethanol plant) goes back out as a high protein animal feed(competes with soybean meal) and corn oil. We have quite a few big dairies that have left California and Idaho and they remove the whole corn plant from the field as silage and pump liquid manure back to the field. Dairies use a lot of distillers grain from the ethanol plant too. We are a little later than normal since it was so wet and cold last spring but years ago farmers figured they were doing good if done by Thanksgiving around here.

Thanks for the farming lesson Marty!

Easy money!

Not!

Not sure if it's appropriate to post this here or if you're interested. If not, let me know. Doesn't qualify for backcountry or even tailwheel flying. But I guess it would pass as mountain flying at least.

Not yet endorsed on the Super Cub so took an Aquila to take Mom (my first passenger!) on a 40 min sightseeing flight to Zillertal Valley. Never had much time to take photos during my training so Mom made up for it today.

Today's ride


Departure from LOWI


Opposite traffic in the valley


South side of the Inn valley, Zillertal Alps


G500 glass cockpit


Entering Zillertal valley, a southern side valley to the Inn valley, known for skiing (touristy) but also mountaineering and climbing.


Turning around where the valley gets narrow


Fresh snow above about 7000 ft


One of many ski areas in the valley


View to the north, towards the Inn valley. I liked the clouds today.


Shortcut back into the Inn valley over a small saddle. Flying at 6800 ft.


Small town of Wattens, Swarovski factory and HQ in the bottom right corner


Inn valley northern side


I always wonder where the hell I would put that bird down in case of an engine failure...


Approach RW 26 over Innsbruck city center


Parts of the old town


Fortunately the landing wasn't too embarrassing


She said she liked it. And wasn't too afraid

Keep the pictures coming-----love to see other places!!!!! I think I see a few places a Supercub would work but you'd probaby get in trouble.

Stunning photos Sierra7, amazing place

Mom texted me early this morning. A pilot crashed while trying to land at the hometown airport last night. Tragedy. Left five kids and a wife behind. She wants to know what happened. Mom, I don't know... let's wait a year and we'll read the NTSB report. Awful.

Later, my non-current pilot brother texted me about the same accident. This became a phone call which turned into we don't get together enough. Yeah, I should fly up for lunch sometime, I thought. How about today, I asked? It was good weather, the kid was at school, I was off work. Sure, he said. So I went, back to the small town where I was raised, left 25 years ago, and don't return to often enough.

The Cessna is great for this sort of trip. It turns a 5-hour car trip into an hour and a half cruise a mile above the breadbasket of northeast Arkansas and the Missouri Bootheel. And it was a perfect day.



The leaves are a little ahead of us here in Arkansas. Over plates of pulled pork and chocolate pie, my brother and I solved a few of the world's problems and agreed to plan a fishing trip. Our relationship hasn't always been great but it is improving as we creep through middle age. We went skiing last winter... I hope the fishing trip pans out next year.

Mom and Dad were glad to see me. They showed me the work they'd done to the house and the yard. Dad is always proud of his yard. He dropped me off at the airport where the deceased pilot was trying to land last night. Dad is not a pilot but has supported my love of aviation since I was a boy. This father-son parting at the airport has happened many times, always with a lump in my throat. Til next time.

As I headed southwest I reflected on the short visit, but a good one nonetheless. My wife was a little hot -- turns out "it doesn't matter how long you fly today" didn't extend to 6 pm. But it was worth it. We need to take advantage of these opportunities when they present themselves. Strike while the iron is hot. Carpe Diem. That sort of stuff.



Here's the scenery on the return leg. I have landed on these sand bars before, albeit in a Super Cub on 31s. Never put the 180 down there. The river always moves, always changes. I always like to watch it. Three states are visible here... you geography buffs will be able to name them quickly!

IL,AR,TN

I flew TEPPCO Midwest from Searcy to Dexter, eat at great airport cafe, cross the river at Cape Girardeau, Seymour, IND, MDW and then Explorer to Houston.

G44 wrote:IL,AR,TN

You got one right...

You're at New Madrid looking south. KY, TN and MO.

Darn! Thought I had it!

I love looking at pictures and then trying to figure out where it is on Google Maps----best puzzle there is for me!!

Nice work Marty! You're the winner.

I have always found it interesting that there's a part of Kentucky that you can't drive to without crossing into another state. It is an exclave known as the Kentucky Bend and even has its own Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_Bend.

180Marty wrote:I love looking at pictures and then trying to figure out where it is on Google Maps----best puzzle there is for me!!

Here's one for you Marty! One hint: the time of day was noonish, 4 days ago.

Could it be Bonneville Peak across the valley?