Been planning on getting away from my home field a good distance for some real world experience. My time & the weather finally aligned & I left for my sponsor's place.
Destination: Harlan Ia, 223 Nm away.
I caught a tail wind there which put the mighty Cessna 140 in overdrive as the GPS (when it actually worked) verified ground speeds between 100 to 110 knots! I had to fly around a restricted area near Milford lake & then cross the class Charlie above Omaha.
The controller was very clear about holding my assigned altitude, heading & frequency as I putted through there with jets coming out of the clouds on top of me. I felt like a really small fish in a big tank of sharks.
I successfully found Harlan & scored a hanger for the Ladybird overnight for filling up. The manager, 'Olie' is one cool old dude.
JT picked me up & we worked on my spare race engine I'd packed along for the ride, as I'd never been into a roller bearing bottom end before. We also took the skis off his Aeronca & put the fat 8.00s back on. Man I love the look of those fat tires! He usually just lands in the field beside his house but he advised me not to due to it being soggy.
The flight back was a bit interesting. With the prediction of precipitation in the forecast, the possibility of getting stuck hours from home & explaining this to work wasn't a very good idea I thought. The ceilings were low, but there wasn't anything coming down & the wind turned to the south so I decided to take what I had.
I flew back the whole way 1000' or less above the ground with a stopwatch, sectional in my lap & the compass reading grain elevators along the way just like my old school instructor taught me. It's pretty exciting watching the tree tops beneath ya zooming by at 110 knots.
The subsequent landing back home was more of an arrival, as the wind was 60 degrees from the runway & blowing 16 to 27 knots.
She never faltered one bit but after two and a half hours in the cabin, a 140 gets a little cozy. None the less, I'm getting a pretty big soft spot for the Ladybird. She's a fine travelling companion.
Ya'll have a good one.
Destination: Harlan Ia, 223 Nm away.
I caught a tail wind there which put the mighty Cessna 140 in overdrive as the GPS (when it actually worked) verified ground speeds between 100 to 110 knots! I had to fly around a restricted area near Milford lake & then cross the class Charlie above Omaha.
The controller was very clear about holding my assigned altitude, heading & frequency as I putted through there with jets coming out of the clouds on top of me. I felt like a really small fish in a big tank of sharks.
I successfully found Harlan & scored a hanger for the Ladybird overnight for filling up. The manager, 'Olie' is one cool old dude.
JT picked me up & we worked on my spare race engine I'd packed along for the ride, as I'd never been into a roller bearing bottom end before. We also took the skis off his Aeronca & put the fat 8.00s back on. Man I love the look of those fat tires! He usually just lands in the field beside his house but he advised me not to due to it being soggy.
The flight back was a bit interesting. With the prediction of precipitation in the forecast, the possibility of getting stuck hours from home & explaining this to work wasn't a very good idea I thought. The ceilings were low, but there wasn't anything coming down & the wind turned to the south so I decided to take what I had.
I flew back the whole way 1000' or less above the ground with a stopwatch, sectional in my lap & the compass reading grain elevators along the way just like my old school instructor taught me. It's pretty exciting watching the tree tops beneath ya zooming by at 110 knots.
The subsequent landing back home was more of an arrival, as the wind was 60 degrees from the runway & blowing 16 to 27 knots.
She never faltered one bit but after two and a half hours in the cabin, a 140 gets a little cozy. None the less, I'm getting a pretty big soft spot for the Ladybird. She's a fine travelling companion.
Ya'll have a good one.
arroia:
I really enjoy your style of writing, as well as you adventures.