Crossville, TN. Decent sized crowd, good people. Stupid cloud from a scattered layer blocked the totality but it got dark like dusk just the same. Neat experience !

8GCBC wrote:A total eclipse occurred while sitting on my sailboat. It really is not a big deal. Lasts a few minutes. Dark clouds during a TS make the same effect in my opinion.

Not to argue on opinions, but what I just saw from Harford Field in WY was nothing short of fucking amazing (cursing used on purpose for emphasis). Maybe you're trying to make people feel better about not being able to see it, but it is hard to describe. I only had to fly 1.5 hours north, but I'd consider it an experience worth driving or flying quite a bit further for. 0%-99.9% coverage were just "well this is pretty cool, the moon is in front of the sun" then at 100% it was instantaneously like a different world for a couple minutes with some alien thing up in the sky and no need for the glasses.

-asa

I wasn't expecting it to be all that cool but it was awesome. Truly one of the most spectacular things I've ever seen.

Just got back from warm springs, great show and worth the trip IMHO. The people who claim to know what is happening estimated 130 planes would be there, actually had 31, including the bonanza who landed long and fast, bounced 3 times, went off the runway and stopped when he found the tree. No injuries except his ego and bank account. on the return flight I heard more traffic on 122.9 than I have ever heard. HI way traffic looked no worse than a typical summer weekend.

Murfreesboro TN at the airport. Spectacular view with clear sky! I have to admit I was thinking it was much ado about nothing but due to all the hype I postponed a trip to Alaska to stay for the event. Wow! I am glad I stayed! It is difficult to over emphasize the difference between the partial phase and totality. I have to thank all of you who hyped this up.... otherwise I wouldn't have stayed to see it. It was worth the effort.

Cam... was my buddy Frank in the green tailwheel 172 at Crossville? His car was at his hangar in Murfreesboro but he was nowhere around. I assume he went flying to see the event.

Absolutely amazing! Pics to come. Saw a lot of BCP friends there. Getting as close to totality as we could was worth it!


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Wow, I did not expect the temp to drop so much so suddenly... and where I was anyway (away from crowds) about 10 minutes before "the event". it got unearthly quiet. Absolute dead calm , and simply no noise of any kind, very freaky, I'm glad I knew what was happening! Still, it was nice to see the sun reappear again, it was really more impressive then I expected, almost a spiritual experience, seriously. Then again, where I was parked is in itself pretty damn cool, viewing the eclipse from my perch was as good as it gets. Absolutely perfect weather for flying, despite the smoke, which did not impact the viewing of the event at all. People were scattered all over the normally barren and deserted slopes below Borah, north of Mackay. I first stopped by the hang gliding site out of Moore, it was packed. Then I overflew Mackay, which eventually had 48 planes on the ramp I'm told, which has to be some kind of record. While there were people everywhere, the traffic seemed to be OK, no stoppages anyway. I over flew the lookout shack at 9500' above the Twin Bridges strip, where I had rode my ebike (hiking the lkast part) a few weeks earlier, and sure enough there were some hardy souls up there.

I descended down into Twin, 3 planes there, about 3 hours before, a couple at Star, none at the ranch strip below Borah. Once back on the east bench in the main valley, I overflew the dirt road that leads to the Borah trail head (Borah, tallest point in Idaho, and right in the eclipse sweet spot), and I'd bet it has never seen a fraction of the rigs parked there. As expected it was a GREAT day to be a pilot, and an even better day for a pilot who didn't need an airport. As familiar as I am with the area, it was easy enough to find a spot away from the crowd, I shut her down an hour early, and made coffee and got the lawn chair out.

The coolest part, was 10 minutes after things were back to normal, and just about when most were starting to contemplate the long crowded drive back to where ever they were from, I blasted off and pointed straight at my place 125 miles away, while making 90 mph in a straight line. We pilots have it frigging made, today really highlighted that.

kg wrote:Murfreesboro TN at the airport. Spectacular view with clear sky! I have to admit I was thinking it was much ado about nothing but due to all the hype I postponed a trip to Alaska to stay for the event. Wow! I am glad I stayed! It is difficult to over emphasize the difference between the partial phase and totality. I have to thank all of you who hyped this up.... otherwise I wouldn't have stayed to see it. It was worth the effort.

Cam... was my buddy Frank in the green tailwheel 172 at Crossville? His car was at his hangar in Murfreesboro but he was nowhere around. I assume he went flying to see the event.

I was the only TW airplane there that I saw. I wish we'd have headed to M-boro, while we got the same sudden darkness effect (and that was REALLY cool) it would have been nice to see the thing in the sky as well.

The light up here in MN got weird and the temp dropped. The iPhone only got a lens flare of our partial 80% eclipse.

Nice to live close to the path. 99% at home but decided to check it out and went flying at last minute to Willamette Valley of Oregon, west of Salem. 30 minute flight. Speechless, coolest thing I've ever seen. Huge difference between 99% and totality. My son and I couldn't stop laughing, it was spectacular for about 2 minutes. Salem lit up like it was midnight, fireworks in multiple locations. Too cool.


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courierguy wrote:Wow, I did not expect the temp to drop so much so suddenly... and where I was anyway (away from crowds) about 10 minutes before "the event". it got unearthly quiet. Absolute dead calm , and simply no noise of any kind, very freaky, I'm glad I knew what was happening! Still, it was nice to see the sun reappear again, it was really more impressive then I expected, almost a spiritual experience, seriously. Then again, where I was parked is in itself pretty damn cool, viewing the eclipse from my perch was as good as it gets. Absolutely perfect weather for flying, despite the smoke, which did not impact the viewing of the event at all. People were scattered all over the normally barren and deserted slopes below Borah, north of Mackay. I first stopped by the hang gliding site out of Moore, it was packed. Then I overflew Mackay, which eventually had 48 planes on the ramp I'm told, which has to be some kind of record. While there were people everywhere, the traffic seemed to be OK, no stoppages anyway. I over flew the lookout shack at 9500' above the Twin Bridges strip, where I had rode my ebike (hiking the lkast part) a few weeks earlier, and sure enough there were some hardy souls up there.

I descended down into Twin, 3 planes there, about 3 hours before, a couple at Star, none at the ranch strip below Borah. Once back on the east bench in the main valley, I overflew the dirt road that leads to the Borah trail head (Borah, tallest point in Idaho, and right in the eclipse sweet spot), and I'd bet it has never seen a fraction of the rigs parked there. As expected it was a GREAT day to be a pilot, and an even better day for a pilot who didn't need an airport. As familiar as I am with the area, it was easy enough to find a spot away from the crowd, I shut her down an hour early, and made coffee and got the lawn chair out.

The coolest part, was 10 minutes after things were back to normal, and just about when most were starting to contemplate the long crowded drive back to where ever they were from, I blasted off and pointed straight at my place 125 miles away, while making 90 mph in a straight line. We pilots have it frigging made, today really highlighted that.

My sentiments exactly! It was a moving event...and so nice to not deal with the traffic getting back to UT. Getting home from the airport, however, is proving to be another story!


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Camped with the family Sunday night and ~50 others at the Ontario Oregon airport.
This morning another dozen or so single engine, a half dozen twins, and bunch of jets including some big ones arrived. (challenger and G5) There was definitely more space available.

EAA pancake breakfast, perfect weather, fabulously clear skies. Not on the centerline, so we only got about 90 seconds of total (out of a possible 2:20 max) but there are some really cool effects you get being off center. Awesome experience.

Cheers,

Pete

I snapped this pic of Courierguy showing off his slow flight from our front porch.[emoji6]

asa wrote:

8GCBC wrote:A total eclipse occurred while sitting on my sailboat. It really is not a big deal. Lasts a few minutes. Dark clouds during a TS make the same effect in my opinion.

Not to argue on opinions, but what I just saw from Harford Field in WY was nothing short of fucking amazing (cursing used on purpose for emphasis). Maybe you're trying to make people feel better about not being able to see it, but it is hard to describe. I only had to fly 1.5 hours north, but I'd consider it an experience worth driving or flying quite a bit further for. 0%-99.9% coverage were just "well this is pretty cool, the moon is in front of the sun" then at 100% it was instantaneously like a different world for a couple minutes with some alien thing up in the sky and no need for the glasses.

-asa

I was the old fat guy walking around doing meet and greet (Zlin cub in hangar). I am old so I am poor with names but what ever you name was it doesn't matter because everyone I met at Harford was terrific. I know 22 planes doesn't sound like much but me and one other guy are the only people that fly out of there anymore and it was beyond great to see that many folks show up to see a really cool event. I couldn't of hand picked a better crowd to share the eclipse with. Thanks for coming.
Mike

Being in the totality zone would have been better, but not too bad for a 90% eclipse.
This was best it got for me. Photo was taken looking though a welding mask.

I got about 94% where I live. Funny thing is that it threw off the rest of my day. I completely lost my internal sense of time and was befuddled and ungrounded the rest of the day.

I forgot about the eclipse and was upside down under a 150 panel when it happened. It was smoky and cloudy and we couldn't see the sky anyways, and up in northern Alberta didn't get a big percentage. But man did it get cold! Felt like it could've snowed! Would've been neat to see it totally blocked out.

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My airplane's engine is sitting in the back of my pick up waiting to be hauled over to the mechanic so no flying for me today. 94% totality in Ellensburg, WA. The photo is of the pin hole projections of the eclipse through the leaves of a tree onto a sheet of plywood in my back yard.

We went to Wheatland and there were only half a dozen that flew in. Plenty of parking. We only had about a minute of totality but it was, as everyone else has said, truly remarkable! Lots of cool people there made it a great experience!

We decided to head to Smiley Creek after seeing the lack of airplanes on the webcam Saturday night. Nice flight up Sunday morning and by night fall 71 planes were tied down. It wasn't crowded at all and everyone was having a great time. Saw a few people we knew, made some new acquaintances and enjoyed some beers and brats. A few more planes trickled in this morning and I think the final count was closer to 80, give or take. Not a cloud in the sky, just some smoke which didn't distract from the eclipse at all. What an awesome event. It was the fastest two minutes of my life. Glad we made the trip north though. Thank you Mr. Cessna, I can't imagine being ground bound and trying to deal with the traffic. Poor souls stuck in those cages moving along like a trail of slow moving ants.

Rich