Reach for the Sky!

Finally, the weather cooperated for a great day of flying. I took advantage of the clear sky to make some long cross country flights. The first leg was from Minneapolis Flying Cloud airport (KFCM) to Mitchell Municipal Airport (KMHE) in Mitchell, SD.

After a 2 hour lunch break at Ruby Tuesday’s in Mitchell, it was on to the next stop at Watertown Regional Airport (KATY) in Watertown, SD. This was just a quick stop. I set up the next leg of the flight. I was originally planning the next stop in Montevideo MN, but decided, due to time, to just head home. So the next and final leg was back to Flying Cloud (KFCM). It was a bit bumpy at 5500ft, so I went up to 9500 to find smoother air.

Another great day of flying in the books!

I tried to take some photos, but the battery in my camera was dead. I did take a few with my iPad, but it’s not easy trying to take photos in a plane with the iPad, and the iPad 2 just doesn’t take very good pictures anyways. So they didn’t turn out.

First flight of the year is in the logbook. It was a great day weather wise. Started with mostly clear skies, definitely clear below 10000ft. By the end of the flight it was starting to overcast in the 7000-9000ft range.

Today’s adventure started at home base, Minneapolis Flying Cloud Airport (KFCM). The first leg took me to Paynesville Municipal Airport (KPEX), in Paynesville MN. Next it was on to Redwood Falls Municipal Airport (KRWF), in Redwood Falls MN. This seems to be a common stop for me, as I think it’s at least the 4th time I’ve been there. Then it was back to Flying Cloud. Unfortunately I did not bring my camera with me this time, so no photos to share. Maybe next time.

Total flight time today 2.4 hours.

I have another flight planned for next weekend if the weather cooperates.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything here, so I just thought I would catch up.

Spring has arrived, and I am anxious to get up in the air. Scheduling conflicts have delayed my spring flying season, but I am hoping to get up a couple of times before the end of March. I’m also starting to think of idea’s for cross country trips this summer. Some possible destinations are:  Rockford IL (KRFD), Evansville IN (KEVV), Grand Rapids MI (KGRR), etc..   If I do get to Evansville IN to visit relatives, I will likely also hop over to Owensboro KY (KOWB) so I can add another state to my map since it’s so close to EVV.

I hope to have some flight reports to post soon.

Ok. Whoever coined the term $100 hamburger must have done it a long time ago.  With today’s fuel prices, a $100 hamburger trip would be a very short one!

Today’s trip was a long one. I was originally hoping to fly to Rockford, IL (KRFD), but after waiting out the fog at Minneapolis Flying Cloud (KFCM), and ready to go, there were still low ceilings at Rockford, so I decided to head the other direction where it was clear to partly cloudy.

So, I loaded up, and headed for Norfolk, NE (KOFK). As I didn’t leave Flying Cloud until 10:50am, I figured this would make a good lunch trip. Norfolk Regional Airport is known for it’s on-field, aviation themed restaurant, “Barnstormers”.

The flight from Minneapolis to Norfolk was about 2.8 hours, and was starting to flirt with the bladder limit (How far can you go without a pottie break!!!). I flew this leg at 8500ft. Once I arrived at Norfolk, I parked at the FBO ramp. While the line worker was servicing/fueling the plane, I took advantage of the courtesy car to head a few blocks down to the old terminal building where the Barnstormers restaurant is located.

It’s a pretty nice little restaurant & bar. I had the “Classic Cheeseburger” with bacon, and fries, along with a couple of cokes. It was a very tasty, and fairly large burger.  Now stuffed, I paid my tab, and headed back to the FBO to start checking weather and planning the flight back to Minneapolis.

There was a slow moving line of storms moving southeast through South Dakota, but I had plenty of time to get back before they would affect my route.  The flight back was a tick shorter at 2.7 hours, as I had a slight tailwind. I flew at 9500ft on this leg. Smooth and quiet up there. I think I had maybe 1 traffic advisory the entire flight.

So, total flight time was 5.5 hours, and I figure with the burger included, was probably around a $400 trip!  Another great thing about this trip……..I get to add another state to my “States I’ve Landed In Map”!