18 days; 2,850 miles; 31.4 hours flying; rain; snow; fog; and a new Super Cub. Low and slow really is the way to go.
November 12, 2002 I traded my 1963 PA-18 in for a new Cub Crafters Top Cub.
On Monday, January 13, 2003 the plane (aka "Charlie Cat", due to my veterinarian wife and one of our cats) and I are both in Yakima, Washington. We are ready for the trip to Missouri. An easy route home is planned: I-90 to Spokane, Missoula, Billings, Rapid City, across South Dakota, pick up the Missouri River and follow that home. Three days, maybe four, are planned for this cross country trip. I should be home for the weekend.
The week of rain and fog at Yakima, Washington had finally cleared enough on Friday, January 17 to head east toward Missoula, Montana. N129CC and I are at last on our way. By the time I had flown to Spokane, the 2,000' overcast and 6 miles visibility at Yakima had changed to 700' overcast and 2 miles. Well, "Charlie Cat" and I decided for a 180° and head back toward Moses Lake, Washington for the night. Make that two nights. Fog, mist and more low ceilings! Moses Lake is a training base for Japan Airlines. Pretty cool to watch 747s do touch and gos. Air America, the FBO has great line service. Whether you are flying a 747 or a cub, the service is great. A courtesy car with an 8 track tape player was also available. Check it out.
By Sunday, January 19, the weather was clear enough to return to Yakima and wait for better weather. An alternate route home was now planned. Yakima forecast: mist, snow and fog for five days.
What better place for a cub pilot to be weathered in than a hangar full of super cubs and super cub people. The staff at Cubcrafters are like family. Thank you Vera, Gail, Stan, Ted, Bruce, Earl, Jim, Nathan and the more than 20 other employees. My second family was terrific (and my first family was hoping to see me before spring!)
Finally on Thursday, January 23 the fog cleared and "129CC" and I are off again: plan of travel was to Boise, Idaho, ®Ogden, Utah,®Rock Springs, Wyoming,® Cheyenne, Wyoming,® Kansas City, Missouri and home. "Charlie Cat" and I flew to the Blue Mountains near Pendleton, Oregon and right back into the mist and low ceilings. Then we traveled down the Powder River to the Snake River and onto Boise. Boise, by now was IFR but Nampa was still MVFR. Nampa airport had gas, covered parking with a plug-in for the engine heater, and a courtesy car. So for the next two days "we" stayed in Nampa, Idaho. The route across the mountains to Cheyenne, Wyoming was definitely a "no go". "Go south," they say. "Nevada and southern Utah is a desert. You can't have fog in a desert." Wrong! I don't think N129CC would know what to do if good weather was forecasted.
Saturday, January 25 was still MVFR in the Boise area but northeast and central Nevada were clear and 10 miles visibility. Over Twin Falls, Idaho I turned south toward Nevada. Weather was improving until "Charlie Cat" and I made it to Wells, Nevada. Once again: down to less than 300' with fog. Wells is an "interesting place" to overnight. I must say it was better than breaking out the survival gear and sleeping on the ground.
Sunday, January 26, was finally clear blue sky. I could not believe it! Anticipation and excitement for beautiful flying weather was what I was looking forward to. Well, that lasted thirty minutes. Traveling south and the weather changed again with the ceiling-visibility down to 0-0. "Charlie Cat" and I fly back to Wells and across the salt flats to Salt Lake. Salt Lake was IFR. However thanks to an understanding controller and a "round about" route I got into Spanish Fork, Utah. "Charlie Cat" and I had a short break and filled the tanks again. Now it was time to go up and over the Wasatch Mountains and over to Price, Green River, the Canyonlands, and to Farmington, New Mexico for the night. The sky cleared over Price, Utah making the trip over Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park exceptionally nice. This country of ours is really beautiful!
As my cross-country trip continued, the weather was becoming more favorable. Monday, January 27 at Farmington New Mexico had high overcast ceilings with great visibility. "We" flew south to Albuquerque and then east toward Amarillo, Texas. Tradewinds Airport in Amarillo provided gas, hanger and transportation to a hotel. This was a nice place to stop.
Tuesday, January 28: should make it home today! Those were my plans! Eastbound from Amarillo, the winds of Texas and Oklahoma lived up to their reputation! "Charlie Cat" had 178 mph ground speed between Amarillo and Oklahoma City! When "we" reached central Oklahoma, the weather returned to MVFR with low ceilings and mist. By Claremore, Oklahoma, the visibility was down to less than 3 miles. Weathered in again! Don't stop in Claremore unless you bring your own ground transportation! At 7 miles from town it's a long walk to any services. The three hour wait wasn't so bad; I was hoping to move east "just a little bit" and having lived in Oklahoma several years, I knew the weather would change quickly. Sure enough; the weather front moved enough for "Charlie Cat" to sneak us into Springfield, Missouri. With a 45-60° crab into the wind, the plane flew, bounced, and was blown along I-44 to the Springfield Downtown airport. Springfield Flying Service provided excellent service with gas, hangar, and ground transportation. This was "almost like being home". I spent two nights in Springfield because of fog. Imagine that: foggy weather!
Thursday, January 30, the fog lifts by 1:00pm and only 200 miles to Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The last leg of this trip was great. "Charlie Cat" and I were finally making it home. Home-the best place to be. But Charlie and I will be gone again?maybe when the fog lifts. The trip was over too soon.
18 days; 2,850 miles; 31.4 hours flying; rain; snow; fog; and a new Super Cub. Low and slow really is the way to go.
N129CC is a Cub Crafters Top Cub. 180hp. with 48 gallon wing tanks. I can certainly say that in spite of the weather this was a very enjoyable trip. The plane is an absolute delight to fly. Smooth, stable and slow- like a cub should be. I look forward to spending many more hours in 129CC. Maybe, my wife will let me take our real cat ("Charlie")for a flight.
November 12, 2002 I traded my 1963 PA-18 in for a new Cub Crafters Top Cub.
On Monday, January 13, 2003 the plane (aka "Charlie Cat", due to my veterinarian wife and one of our cats) and I are both in Yakima, Washington. We are ready for the trip to Missouri. An easy route home is planned: I-90 to Spokane, Missoula, Billings, Rapid City, across South Dakota, pick up the Missouri River and follow that home. Three days, maybe four, are planned for this cross country trip. I should be home for the weekend.
The week of rain and fog at Yakima, Washington had finally cleared enough on Friday, January 17 to head east toward Missoula, Montana. N129CC and I are at last on our way. By the time I had flown to Spokane, the 2,000' overcast and 6 miles visibility at Yakima had changed to 700' overcast and 2 miles. Well, "Charlie Cat" and I decided for a 180° and head back toward Moses Lake, Washington for the night. Make that two nights. Fog, mist and more low ceilings! Moses Lake is a training base for Japan Airlines. Pretty cool to watch 747s do touch and gos. Air America, the FBO has great line service. Whether you are flying a 747 or a cub, the service is great. A courtesy car with an 8 track tape player was also available. Check it out.
By Sunday, January 19, the weather was clear enough to return to Yakima and wait for better weather. An alternate route home was now planned. Yakima forecast: mist, snow and fog for five days.
What better place for a cub pilot to be weathered in than a hangar full of super cubs and super cub people. The staff at Cubcrafters are like family. Thank you Vera, Gail, Stan, Ted, Bruce, Earl, Jim, Nathan and the more than 20 other employees. My second family was terrific (and my first family was hoping to see me before spring!)
Finally on Thursday, January 23 the fog cleared and "129CC" and I are off again: plan of travel was to Boise, Idaho, ®Ogden, Utah,®Rock Springs, Wyoming,® Cheyenne, Wyoming,® Kansas City, Missouri and home. "Charlie Cat" and I flew to the Blue Mountains near Pendleton, Oregon and right back into the mist and low ceilings. Then we traveled down the Powder River to the Snake River and onto Boise. Boise, by now was IFR but Nampa was still MVFR. Nampa airport had gas, covered parking with a plug-in for the engine heater, and a courtesy car. So for the next two days "we" stayed in Nampa, Idaho. The route across the mountains to Cheyenne, Wyoming was definitely a "no go". "Go south," they say. "Nevada and southern Utah is a desert. You can't have fog in a desert." Wrong! I don't think N129CC would know what to do if good weather was forecasted.
Saturday, January 25 was still MVFR in the Boise area but northeast and central Nevada were clear and 10 miles visibility. Over Twin Falls, Idaho I turned south toward Nevada. Weather was improving until "Charlie Cat" and I made it to Wells, Nevada. Once again: down to less than 300' with fog. Wells is an "interesting place" to overnight. I must say it was better than breaking out the survival gear and sleeping on the ground.
Sunday, January 26, was finally clear blue sky. I could not believe it! Anticipation and excitement for beautiful flying weather was what I was looking forward to. Well, that lasted thirty minutes. Traveling south and the weather changed again with the ceiling-visibility down to 0-0. "Charlie Cat" and I fly back to Wells and across the salt flats to Salt Lake. Salt Lake was IFR. However thanks to an understanding controller and a "round about" route I got into Spanish Fork, Utah. "Charlie Cat" and I had a short break and filled the tanks again. Now it was time to go up and over the Wasatch Mountains and over to Price, Green River, the Canyonlands, and to Farmington, New Mexico for the night. The sky cleared over Price, Utah making the trip over Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park exceptionally nice. This country of ours is really beautiful!
As my cross-country trip continued, the weather was becoming more favorable. Monday, January 27 at Farmington New Mexico had high overcast ceilings with great visibility. "We" flew south to Albuquerque and then east toward Amarillo, Texas. Tradewinds Airport in Amarillo provided gas, hanger and transportation to a hotel. This was a nice place to stop.
Tuesday, January 28: should make it home today! Those were my plans! Eastbound from Amarillo, the winds of Texas and Oklahoma lived up to their reputation! "Charlie Cat" had 178 mph ground speed between Amarillo and Oklahoma City! When "we" reached central Oklahoma, the weather returned to MVFR with low ceilings and mist. By Claremore, Oklahoma, the visibility was down to less than 3 miles. Weathered in again! Don't stop in Claremore unless you bring your own ground transportation! At 7 miles from town it's a long walk to any services. The three hour wait wasn't so bad; I was hoping to move east "just a little bit" and having lived in Oklahoma several years, I knew the weather would change quickly. Sure enough; the weather front moved enough for "Charlie Cat" to sneak us into Springfield, Missouri. With a 45-60° crab into the wind, the plane flew, bounced, and was blown along I-44 to the Springfield Downtown airport. Springfield Flying Service provided excellent service with gas, hangar, and ground transportation. This was "almost like being home". I spent two nights in Springfield because of fog. Imagine that: foggy weather!
Thursday, January 30, the fog lifts by 1:00pm and only 200 miles to Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The last leg of this trip was great. "Charlie Cat" and I were finally making it home. Home-the best place to be. But Charlie and I will be gone again?maybe when the fog lifts. The trip was over too soon.
18 days; 2,850 miles; 31.4 hours flying; rain; snow; fog; and a new Super Cub. Low and slow really is the way to go.
N129CC is a Cub Crafters Top Cub. 180hp. with 48 gallon wing tanks. I can certainly say that in spite of the weather this was a very enjoyable trip. The plane is an absolute delight to fly. Smooth, stable and slow- like a cub should be. I look forward to spending many more hours in 129CC. Maybe, my wife will let me take our real cat ("Charlie")for a flight.
