Well I made it to the snow plane rally, only a three days later. Navigation to Driggs is pretty easy for me, all I do is get up about 7,000' and head through Inkom Pass right behind my place and look north. If I can't see the Grand Teton (about 70 miles) it's not a good day to there anyway. Then I shoot a bit to the left of it and just enjoy the flight. The Grand is right behind the glint off the prop. This is the pass that was socked in solid earlier.
After a quick breakfast stop at Driggs, I flew the last few miles to Tetonia, and pretty much just followed the tracks to the Robsen ranch. Landing was easy enough in that huge field, but I was cautious as I approached the first snow plane track on slide out, once I figured out they were not a hazard (soft mushy snow=soft tracks) I fast taxied over to the quonset hut and shut down. No one around, so I walked over to the house and pounded on the door. Brent answered, and once he understood I was there for the rally (and knew it was 3 days earlier) we had a laugh and then I gave him the prop I had brought over, along with a little history of the old WW2 P-51 pilot/neighbor I had got it from after he passed on. Then I made him walk out and look at a real snowplane, ha ha.. He sure has a lousy view from the ranch property. Next year maybe I'll make it on time
After a long takeoff run on that soft snow I put on a brief show before heading out to Rigby, more or less on the way home. There another long time S-7 pilot (Errol, between us we have 6500 hrs in the type, so you can imagine the bs'ing when we get together) helped me balance my carbs, or check them anyway, turns out I had done it right last and they were still perfect. He's knows the Rotax much better then me, and is a long time pro mechanic, so I used him as a backup on my last balance job and I guess I got lucky.
Then after a brief stop at the Blackfoot Skunk Milloways works of Joel Milloway (I dropped off some misc brake parts and a tailwheel he had helped arrange to sell, easy money!) I headed out for the last 30 mile leg home, and then it got interesting.
Just as I got over the Indian Res., I started picking up some light rain, a few miles later the head wind picked up and the ceiling started dropping. Then the forward viz started dropping. Now, flying in the rain is real rare for me, as it usually is summertime and it means thunderstorms. This was January and damned peculiar, that it wasn't snow but it was 45 degrees. So I continued the last few miles, the entire time always more or less over terrain I could have landed if need be, and all of it real familiar to me. I kept it low and slow, 150' high or so, and never felt remotely close to doing anything dangerous, not in this plane, it would have been more frisky in a faster plane and not knowing the terrain as well. If that rain had turned to snow or ice I could have landed in 15 seconds, and I had called ahead to a ski patroller I know who was on the mountain and he gave me a good condition update for my place. 45 degrees when I landed in the mud at my place. My biggest concern, thinking back, was if I had been forced to land on the Res., safe enough, just problematic as in getting the plane back, they get a little sticky about that, and someone there might remember me from 30 years ago, the last time I landed there
It was a good experience, and I was happy with my call on the conditions. Not reckless, just challenging for this mostly blue sky pilot. This last shot gives some idea, not that bad.
You Alaska guys can laugh now.
