So I’m headed to St. Louis Friday to visit my brother-in-law for the weekend. About 300 NM’s all told, including that slight detour to fill up with Swift 94UL at C75 (Marshall County, IL. Destination airport is St. Charles, MO (KSET). In the Taylorcraft it’s about 4hrs give-or-take with the winds (I always have a headwind). Since it’s just me there will actually be real baggage strapped into the passenger seat rather than a toothbrush and a book. I've owned the airplane for about 2 years now and we just came out of annual 5 hrs ago and really got it in a nice place with all the little annoying odds and ends taken care of. And the brakes are adjusted properly now so that I can do a run-up without standing on the brakes.

Anyone know of the best $100 hamburger near St. Louis? Any other interesting airports/strips to check out with my brother-in-law?

Found some good ones of this site, it’s got food on airports, near airports and also some type of airbnb type thing near airports and camping too


https://av8maps.com/

Final Report: **NOTE**: While this isn't a backcountry trip in the traditional sense, it was like going to the moon as far as the 1946 Taylorcraft was concerned. No electrical system, Class B 30nm ring with no ADS-B, sub-zero temperatures, and the first long trip for me and this airplane together.

The weather cooperated (maybe not temperature-wise) last weekend allowing me to complete my planned round-trip to St. Louis to visit family. The forecast called for cold temperatures, high clouds, and max surface winds of 10mph. At the Taylorcraft’s typical cruise a ‘no headwind’ trip should take around 3.5 hours. The trip down was about 3.8.

As a fuel stop I recommend Ingersoll Airport in Canton, IL (KCKT). It was about the 2/3 mark in my trip and I got some of the cheapest 100LL around (5.10/gal) and a well needed bathroom and coffee break (coffee was free also). Two highlights include: 1) Fred and Ted…a tag team of entertaining airport bums (I’m not sure if they get paid to be there???) who did everything except change my oil and fill my tires with air, which they probably would have done if it was warmer outside! 2) There is an actual main gear tire from the Space Shuttle that they use as the base of a glass-topped end-table that was given to them by an astronaut that is homebased at the airport. KCKT has two 90* intersecting runways. Of interest to the backcountry crowd, they welcome landing on the grass: North side of Runway 9/27 and the East side of 18/36.

Final destination was St. Charles Municipal (KSET) which is North of St. Louis proper and BENEATH the 3000’ base of St. Louis Class B Airspace. It IS inside the 30nm ring so be sure to contact St. Louis Approach to let them know your situation, even if you are ADS-B challenged like I am in the Taylorcraft. It is a busy airport, also with two 90* intersecting runways. As one of the few airports with full services outside of the Class B there is a lot of transient as well as flight training traffic, so keep an eye out! I got overnight hangar for $50/night through St. Charles Air Services. It was a little on the steep side, but it was all I could scrounge.

The trip home was the reverse of the trip down, except it was a LOT colder and there was no Fred or Ted to greet me at KCKT on a Sunday. I had a headwind (of course) and I climbed to 5500’ to keep in the smooth air. Being a Taylorcraft it was about 10* outside and about 11* inside …although my right foot was nice and toasty… I got good use out of my 100mph tape for that annoying air leak right at the top of the pilot’s-side door frame that hit me right above the eyebrow. My hands were really all that was cold. I also got a later start than I wanted so as I got close to homebase in Portage, WI (C47) I gave it some gas and landed just before the sun dipped below the horizon…as I like to tell the story anyways. 4.2 hours total return time. I like to express my total distance flown using the old Air Mail Pilot measuring system: One bathroom break each way. I only burned about ¾ quart of oil round-trip. I also discovered that flying is like riding motorcycles: Nothing’s better than that last mile home.

Things I wish I had taken: My rechargeable hand warmers, Carhartt coveralls, hot coffee in a thermos, more daylight.

Things I wish I didn’t take: All the GoPro cameras that wouldn’t work in 10* temps and all the antiques I brought back.

braol wrote:it was like going to the moon as far as the 1946 Taylorcraft was concerned.

Yes!! That’s what makes flying small old aircraft the best adventure of all. The moonshot.

Nice work. Did you take any photos?

Great report!! My Pacer was a very cold plane in the winter. I always dress so I don't need much excess heat. Coveralls, bibs or slick merino wool pants. I also started wearing a scarf (really keeps the neck warm). Usually 2-3 different gloves in reach depending on what I needed. Once you get used to venturing out on longer trips it gets easier. Lots of country has been explored in T Cart vintage aircraft. I am not a big fan of any battery powered clothing because once the battery goes you are hosed.
DENNY

As soon as I figure out how to post photos here, I'll do that. I also have some short GoPro video clips (10 sec or so), which is all the ice-cold cockpit temps would allow. GoPro's do NOT like the cold. My brother works for GoPro and suggested that I use the newest white-top "Enduro" batteries and to keep the cameras in a closed case with one of those Alaska Gear Company reusable handwarmer packs. (That of course does nothing for any attempt at mounting a camera on the wing strut and taking videos that way.)

I was actually wearing a 'union suit' under some great fleece-lined jeans. While I wasn't too cold, per se, a few hours of not moving around would have made the addition of Carhartt overalls better. One thing I made SURE to do was to wear my winter boots with those aluminum-foil looking sole insulators inside. Those make ALL the difference, believe me. My wife suggested one of those large ThermoCare pads that you can stick on your back (or chest). Next time. It was the small air leaks that were brutal. It doesn't take much of a 10* breeze to keep the cabin cold. We ran some wires during the annual through the wings and into the cockpit via the wing roots and never sealed the small slits in the fabric due to the cold temps. I should have put some duct tape over those I guess. There is also a nice, unsealed gap between the wing and the top-left of the windscreen that I stuffed bubble-wrap into. This is a work in progress.

You know, of great use would be a clear bag or two in which to keep my most used items. There was a lot of needless rummaging around for charging cables, protein bars, and GoPro batteries while cruising in an airplane with no auto-pilot (and a fuel sample cup before I launched). It was amazing how much electronics I had for a non-electric airplane: Cell phone, iPad, GoPro cameras, charging cables, battery pack, etc. But I will say that filing, activating, and closing a flight plan with the swipe of a finger on the iPad is where it's at. I'm a little leery of how my hand-held will work in Duplex Mode calling FSS on one frequency and listening on the other but I really DO need to give it a try. (I have two hand-held ICOM's so I really could easily do a short test just to see if it works.)

Good use of the airplane!

Nothing like using your own airplane for travel!

Posting photos is easy.