I had an opportunity come up to help out a friend shuttle a Starduster from Oregon to Michigan next week. As this is my first trip over the rocks I need a little route advice. 1800 miles by biplane. Hell ya. ( I imagine the novelty will wear off soon enough though) Picked up my new SPOT today and have been looking over the sectionals all day.

I was thinking about flying to Spokane, Mullan Pass then I-90 to the plains and then head east via the northern states, only because I have flown Mullan Pass to Missoula before and it seems like this route would require less time over the Rockies and I wouldn't have to climb as high to cross. However I did want want to consider other routes as travelling further south seems more direct.

Also I am looking for leads on GA friendly airports off the beaten path that don't mind under the wing camping, courtesy car, friendly etc. My goal is not to hotel anything until the night before I fly commercial back. The Starduster has wheel panties so no backcountry flying for me, but some good smooth grass will be nice. Any advice on local weather or how to survive circumnavigating the Chicago airspace to get to Grand Rapids in one piece.

Thanks,

Matt

Coming to Michigan, enjoy the trip. I live just a few miles SE of GRR. My plane is based just a bit more SE @ 9D9, Hastings. There is a courtesy car @ 9D9. Chicago is no big deal. You can get VFR flight following for traffic advisories if you'd like, approach will talk to you. Treat the bravo as a restricted area, they will not clear you through it. You can fly low off the shore over Lake Michigan under the outer rings and get a terrific view of the city. Probably worth a few extra miles to do it in the duster. Let me know if you have any questions about the local area here around GR.

Thanks for the info GR. Our final destination is Calkins Field 41C.

It's a long ways across Lake Michigan and frequently it is hazy so practically, if not legally, IFR. I highly suggest south around Chicago. Enjoy the trip, you should be a wheat and corn expert by the time you get there!

You can stop here at 1Y9 if it works for you---I should be around.

I agree with porterjet, keep your feet dry. Too many flights have saved up all their trouble until they are over Lake Michigan and then go swimming or worse.

After you tip your wings to what's left of Meigs Field, fly south to Lowell, IN. (C97), really nice people. Don Bailey should be in his 90's now but will load up your plane with fresh corn. They like visitors to camp under the cottonwoods near the runway. From there it's a nice 120NM straight shot along the lakeshore to Calkins. Much more interesting than over the lake.

Don't know about the courtesy car situation there, but if the weather turns foul, Valparaiso is nearby and they have courtesy cars and hotels close to the airport.

Thanks for all the good info. I plan on going the long way around the lake, that's too much open water for my taste.

I flew over Lake Michigan from just north of Milwaukee to Muskegon July 4 it was a hazy day and I'll tell you what it was about blue IFR I used Milwaukee approach and Muskegon approach going across the lake but I had about 65 miles of nothing but blue up down left and right. It was quite an experience

Southern Wyoming is a good place to cross the Rocks.....
About as safe as it gets.
Interstate 80 corridor.
Go Approximately I-84 to I-80 then cross.
Not really out of the way, either.

2 cts worth
lc

If you go via the I-90 route you'll likely pass over Billings, MT. Not far away is the Little Big Horn battlefield - something that's well worth overflying. There are a number of monuments that are easily seen from the air, so you get a feel for where things happened and you can get a real sense of the battle and how it was fought in the creek beds. And you can land at the Fort Smith Landing Strip if you want to get out of the plane and visit the site by car.

As others have said, negotiating the Chicago Class B airspace is not difficult. The controllers are accustomed to all kinds of VFR GA traffic (remember, Oshkosh is just north of Chicago), and they will help you out. Flight plan to overfly Waukegan (KUGN) and then go down the lakefront. This is an especially pretty flight in the early morning when the low sun is lighting up the east-facing sides of the buildings.

Traveling from Waukegan you'll pass the North Shore suburbs - some really beautiful homes there, then the B'Ahai Temple (as kids we called it "God's orange juice squeezer," and you'll know why when you see it), then you'll see Wrigley Field (Go Cubs!), the John Hancock Tower, then the Chicago River and the Loop (really amazing architecture, even from the air), the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower), the park that replaced Meigs Field, then Soldier Field, then Comisky Park (I know, it's been renamed for some cell phone company, but I refuse to acknowledge the change) and the South Side. Then you'll pass the site of old steel mills which have been demolished, a huge decomissioned power plant, the BP oil refinery, and the Gary airport (the tower controllers will happily clear you to transition their airspace along the shoreline). You'll pass a couple of steel mills (always interesting, especially when they are pouring, but don't fly through the smoke becaue it's really nasty stuff), then along the shoreline to Michigan City, and then it's a straight shot to your destination. Do all this at 500' AGL and in the early morning and you'll get some wonderful photos and great memories.

Well making the final preparations to hopefully be in the air Tuesday morning. Thanks everyone for the good suggestions

I have no suggestions, but I am way envious...

have a great adventure and never mess with wx!

Well I had to make a tough PIC decision today and cancel the trip of lifetime. Today I was finishing up my checkout and when I moved to the rear seat from the front a problem popped up. I am 6-2 and in the rear seat my head was clear above the windshield and right in the slip stream. 20 seconds into the take-off my contacts dried up and it was like seeing though waxed paper. Tried goggles, glasses instead of contacts, everything but no cure. Had an eye injury at work a few months back and that seemed to make things worse with the dryness.

My navigator is not a pilot so I didn't want to fly from the front, leaving him to operate all the important stuff. So I had to make the tough call, but staying home is preferable to ground looping or worse. Thanks everyone for all the great information, hopefully the opportunity comes up again to use it.

Time for some

fern_hopper wrote:Well I had to make a tough PIC decision today and cancel the trip of lifetime. Today I was finishing up my checkout and when I moved to the rear seat from the front a problem popped up. I am 6-2 and in the rear seat my head was clear above the windshield and right in the slip stream. 20 seconds into the take-off my contacts dried up and it was like seeing though waxed paper. Tried goggles, glasses instead of contacts, everything but no cure. Had an eye injury at work a few months back and that seemed to make things worse with the dryness.

My navigator is not a pilot so I didn't want to fly from the front, leaving him to operate all the important stuff. So I had to make the tough call, but staying home is preferable to ground looping or worse. Thanks everyone for all the great information, hopefully the opportunity comes up again to use it.

Time for some

Bummer, but always good to be safe to fly another day.

Well got a helmet dialed in and making the trip after all. Left SPB early this morning flew up the gorge to the Tri Cities. Sitting at Felts Field getting some oils pressure issues checked, hopefully onto to Missoula for the night once the the temp cools down.

In Missoula...

The Pearl Cafe in Missoula is a great place to eat ($$$). Or Biga Pizza for suds and pizza ($). Finn & Porter ($$) is also a great fancy place in the Double Tree Inn.

My fave brewhaus is the Kettlehouse.

All are in close proximity (walking) downtown.

Have fun.