East Coast Christmas Trip Report 2001
by Paul A. Rosales
Thursday (12/20/01)
We took off at 8am trying to get ahead of the weather front, and we were on the ground
near Tulsa, OK at 3pm :-) Flight times were: 3 hours to St. Johns (AZ), 2 hours to
Borger (TX panhandle) and 2 hours to Grove, east of Tulsa (OK). We had groundspeeds of
70/180/190 knots respectively so we made some great time (trying to land before dark...)
Our fuel stops were QUICK so 7 hours of flying was an 8 hour day (usually a 9+hr day).
Friday (12/21/01)
We spent the morning visiting with our friends Gary/Connie Trippensee, formerly of
Lancaster EAA Chapter 49 and now retired to Grove. We filled the tanks and paid more
than $2.00/gallon for the first time since leaving home ($2.05/gallon). We took off at
2pm, and we flew over Springfield/Branson, MO and continued over St. Louis where we took
some pictures of 'The Arch'! We've only seen it in magazines and on TV, and now have
seen it from 9,500' at 180 knots!
We landed 3 hours later, at Kokomo (OKK), IN just after sunset. I called Randy Pflanzer
(RV-6 built/sold, building again!) in Indianapolis, and he told me the INDY RV group was
flying to Columbus, IN in the morning (Saturday) so we'll be joining them for lunch!
We'll be using Kokomo as 'homebase' for the next several days, and weather permitting,
will make day-trips to Chicago's Meigs Field (30 min. flight) just because, possibly to
Oshkosh (30 min more) to see EAA's Bob Mackey and Grand Rapids, Michigan (to see a
Lockheed friend)! We'll continue our trip eastbound the day after Christmas flying
towards NY and should be able to see Gary Sobek AKA 'Birdstrike' in PA.
The plane is running well after installing two new magnetos last weekend and a fresh oil
change. Also, I 'blocked' off half the oil cooler (with a piece of aluminum) as last
year's trip we were running oil temps below 150deg. We are now running acceptable temps
of 220deg at 50deg outside air temperature so the 'blocking' is working well. We built
our plane to travel, and those 5 years of building are fast becoming a distant memory!
Sunday (12/23/01)
Hi to all and Merry Christmas! Victoria and I had a nice day yesterday here in Kokomo
starting out with a flight to join the Indianapolis-RV group on their Saturday flyout to
Colombus, IN. RV-7A builder Randy Pflanzer told me they would be meeting there for lunch
at 11am so we were on the ground before that...and by 11:05am, we were still the only RV
on the ramp: What's up with that?!? No sooner am I thinking that when a flight of 8 RVs
show up in echelon-right formation for the overhead break, COOL! In the end, there were
11 RVs on the ramp, and we had a great visit and lunch :-) Afterwards, we flew a gaggle
with 6 other RVs to a brand new airport (first new airport in Indiana in 20+ years) just
west of the Indy Speedway, Hendricks County Airport (it wasn't in my GPS database, 2R2).
We landed, visited a bit then flew back towards Kokomo and decided to fly 10 minutes
farther to Wabash Airport for (cheap) fuel. We landed on the turf as that's the one that
was into the wind...our second grass landing ever. Other than Colombia, CA, I haven't
seen an airport in CA with a grass field that we've flown the RV to.
Today (Sunday), we awoke to a 3000' broken layer and there was a forecast for possible
snow 'flurries' in the afternoon. We flew 15 minutes north to Rochester Airport for a
buffet breakfast at "Karen's Kitchen" across the street. As we walked outside, we noticed
it getting darker north so we flew south to Kokomo and put the plane in the hangar for
the night. The broken layer had actually improved to scattered when we landed at 1pm but
it was COLD and windy (0deg wind chill)! Our hosts were busy at church so we went to the
movies to kill some time, and when we got out at 4pm, it was SNOWING with ~1/2 mile
visibility, Whoa!
It snowed for about 1.5hrs and we watched the sunset with snow STILL falling (that
was right up there with seeing two 'glows' of the sun on the horizon at midnight in
Alaska!). Monday's forecast is for scattered clouds in the morning with chance of snow
flurries (yea, right...) in the afternoon, so if able, we'll be giving Young Eagle rides
all morning to my friend's 4 kids and their friends as well :-) Possibility of snow is
then expected through Christmas Day with clearing skies after that so hopefully we will
continue east to Ohio and Pennsylvania on Wednesday. Everyone have a great Christmas
Eve on Monday!
Wednesday (12/26/01)
We hope that everyone had a great Christmas Day :-) Monday, it was snowing off and on so
I wasn't able to give any Young Eagle rides :-( We were home Tuesday, Christmas Day with
my buddy Scott from College, his wife Chari and 4 'ABCD' girl:
Alexandra/Brittany/Christina/Diana :-) We watched movies and ate popcorn all day long (the
only time of year I watch that much TV at one sitting...), and it was FUN!
Today, Scott and I left early for a ~1.5hr flight that took us to Tyler Memorial Airport,
Michigan then around Lake Michigan (which had 'blowing smoke' on it...ground fog) to
Chicago, IL where we landed at Meigs Field :-) I've been following the 'plight/fight' for
Meigs Field so I thought that landing there would be a great way to show my support....but
that wasn't enough as Mayor Daly charges $12 city tax plus the $20 ramp fee from Signature
of which the ramp fee was waived if you bought 5 gallons of gas (min) at 4.00/gallon! I
could not exit the plane until 'greeted' by someone then I had to fill out 3 separate
security forms with name/address/plane/etc. plus show my drivers license AND pilot's
license. We then received a 'ticket' that would allow me back to my airplane.
There was a private security guard at the door plus a sheriff and 2 state patrolmen in the
lobby area. There is a small no-fly zone around the very nearby Sears Tower, which is
(sadly) again the tallest building in America. Forms or not, I was glad to have the
privilege to fly in America! We took some nice pictures of the Tower and Chicago skyline
then flew back to Kokomo, about a 30 minute flight.
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I then gave 7 Young Eagle Rides (that was fun!) and then Victoria/I flew south towards
Louisville, (MO) then east over Lexington (KY) and into Parkersburg (WV), about 2 hours
flight. We did not fly direct (southeast for 1.25hrs) as there was falling snow over most
of Ohio, and I didn't think we should be VFR on top over snow! We are here for two nights
visiting with friend Rick Gray who we met at Oshkosh 2000.
Rick is building a sharp RV-6 that should be flying in 2002. We are hoping to have
breakfast with Gary Sobek in his hometown of Uniontown/Connellsville(?), PA on Friday
morning before ending up in Binghamton, NY. So far, weather has not been a problem other
than leaving a day early from home. Temps Wednesday were the coldest so far enroute:
56deg in the cabin and 5deg OAT. We find the cabin heater does not work so well when the
OAT is below freezing so we bundled up! We'll check back later on, and Happy Holidays :-)
Friday (12/28/01)
Hello All! On Thursday, we spent the day with my RV friend Rick Gray and his family at
home (in Parkersburg, WV) as we watched a light snowfall from morning through midday.
After 3pm, it cleared enough to take Rick and his boys, Keith & Ricky, for rides in our
plane. They all had a great time, especially Rick who should be finishing up his
beautiful RV-6 real soon!
Victoria and I were waiting out weather (light snow) this morning with the Gray Family,
and I sat at the computer watching (and learning) the finer points of weather. A big
band of snowfall prevented us from flying directly east, and I saw that we would possibly
have a 'window' that we could get out and fly south to get away from the local
intermittent light snowfall sometime after lunch (we missed breakfast with RV-6er Gary
Sobek in PA).
Rick took his family and us to the airport in the afternoon, and all the 'radar loop'
snapshots I followed on the computer came true: A clear corridor opened up south about
2pm. We flew out under a 5K overcast (no snow) and flew 20 minutes south over Charleston,
West Virginia to scattered clouds and sunshine then east towards Roanoke, VA and finally
north/northeast along the Appalachian Mountains in the Shenandoah Valley towards
Washington, D.C.
We landed at Leesburg Airport, not far at all from Dulles, about 1.7 hours after leaving
Parkersburg. Had we been able to fly direct to Leesburg, it would have been about a 1.25
hour flight from Parkersburg so diverting off course in an RV is not much of a factor!
We used Charleston, Washington (Center) and Dulles approach controllers and were cleared
to enter 'Class B' into Leesburg (a great clearance to hear since September 11th...).
Leesburg has been open only about a week or so to VFR...Less paperwork to fill out and
nobody to 'meet' us at the plane as was the case at Chicago's Meigs Field, and no fees
other than the nominal $5/night parking fee. We are here with longtime friends the
Coulters, formerly from our hometown of Lancaster, CA. We will spend Saturday morning
giving rides the family rides and then go see some of the famous D.C. monuments we've
only read about or seen on TV. Sunday, we plan to go to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum
and see the White House! We'll be using Leesburg as 'homebase' into the New Year, and we
hope to try and sneak a daytrip towards Binghamton, New York (a little over an hour's
flight). The weather 'low' that had been stationary over the Great Lakes is starting to
move eastward so the trip northeast may not happen.
Tuesday, New Years Day 2002
Happy New Year to our everyone! We had a GREAT day Sunday touring all the DC Monuments
including the the White House, Capitol and Smithsonian Air/Space Museum.
On Monday, we planned a daytrip and flew from DC to the Boston area Monday morning to
see former EAA Chapter 49er Dave L'Heureux, about a 2-hour flight. We saw the
Chesapeake Bay, crossed the Hudson River and could see the Long Island Sound for the
first time in our life! We then flew west across the Catskill Mountains near Albany
to Tri-Cities Airport near Binghamton, NY (an hour flight) to visit (and have NY pizza)
with a former co-worker from Lockheed.
We took-off at dusk and flew back to DC (Leesburg) using flight following so as to stay
clear of Camp David. Washington, DC is BEAUTIFUL when seen from 4500' at night!!! All
this was possible with an RV we built at home (we STILL pinch ourselves :-)
We rang in the New Year at home with the Coulter family, and New Year's Day, we left DC
for a little over an hour's flight to First Flight Airport (FFA) at Kitty Hawk, NC.
Gary Sobek and Trish Russell were there after our Alaska trip last summer so we had to
'follow-up'! Rabon Wilkins (RV-6A) and his friend Jim met us there, and we toured the
Kill Devil's Hill grounds. We met Rabon in 1997 in Chancy, Switzerland, after getting
his name from Van's Aircraft as a 'builder' living in Switzerland.
The white markers in the center of the picture below (taken from the monument) mark the
landing points of the first 3 flights. The 'longest flight' marker can be seen in the
distance.
Now starting our trip home to California, we flew a 2-ship to Duplin, NC (45 min) for
$1.95 gas then continued on to Maxton, NC near Fayetteville. We then gave rides to the
Blue family, formerly of Lancaster :-) Afterwards, they treated us to a great dinner,
and we departed Maxton about 8pm for an hour's flight into Greenville, SC. Clear skies
and no winds made for a spectacular flight over a 'sea of lights' (we now have about 50
hours of RV night flight time).
We are here with the List Family for the night. I used to work with Mike List at
Lockheed, Palmdale and he now works here in Greenville for Lockheed. We're watching
weather and may leave midday Wednesday for Huntsville, AL, depending on what the storm
coming off the Gulf of Mexico does tonight. We're about 30 hours into our trip since
leaving home on December 20th, and we just watched the Hobbs pass 800 hours :-) We hope
that 2002 is productive for ALL the builders (anyone need an incentive ride!!!???), and
we look forward to seeing some first flights as well!
Sunday (01/06/02)
Hello and Happy New Year to all! I haven't had a chance to check in since New Year's
Night on Tuesday, and we are now home safe Sunday night. Here's where I left off
earlier this week...
We arrived to Greenville, SC about 9pm New Year's Day, and our friends the List's told us
that a winter storm was moving into the area Wednesday :-( Not wanting to gamble with
weather, we took off for Huntsville, AL leaving under 8K overcast Wednesday morning.
Enroute, we flew over a 'postcard' airport located in the SE corner of the Tennessee Blue
Ridge Mountains. We decided to stop and look around Martin Campbell Airport (1A3) for a
bit, and it turns out this is the home of Blue Mountain Avionics. WHAT AN AVIONICS SYSTEM!
We then continued on towards Huntsville landing at a grass strip airport nearer our friends
house named, are you ready...Moontown (3M5)!
The sun was shining as we were far enough west to miss the snow storm that moved into the
southeastern USA later that day (did you see all the snow Atlanta got?!?) Thursday, we
spent the day visiting and also toured nearby Cathedral Caverns. We'd only been to the
caverns at Lake Shasta, CA which paled compared to the Cathedral Caverns! Danny, the tour
guide, had the heaviest accent we'd ever heard, and he reminded us that he spoke
'Southeastern Alabama...not English' :-) C'mon....yont-too? Bama English!
Friday, we continued on towards home and flew back to Grove, OK for a night with the
Trippensees, about 3 hours flight time. After helping with some furniture moving and
allowing for the overcast to lift, we flew 30 minutes to Cleveland, OK (not far from
Tulsa) to stay with my adopted step-dad Saturday night, and he treated us to a great BBQ
meal in Tulsa at Rosie's.
This morning (Sunday), we took off at 8:30am Pacific time and fueled at Borger, TX (2 hrs)
and again at St. Johns, AZ (2.5 hrs). A short 30 minute flight has us eating a late lunch
(~2pm) at Payson, AZ (PAN) near Sedona. We took off about 3pm, and we arrived home to
Rosamond 3 hours later after watching a very 'fiery' sunset that was magenta in color. It
was sure nice crossing the Colorado River and seeing some REAL mountains and feeling right
at home flying over them :-)
We are finding the USA is 'mighty' flat once you pass Las Vegas, NM and the Rockies
eastbound! Total trip time was spent over 18 days putting ~55 hours on the hobbs (826TT),
and the plane ran perfectly! Our only weather delays consisted of taking off hours
(not days) either side of our planned departures. We have now visited many friends in
36 states :-) We overflew 9 other states but did not get the chance to stop so we'll
catch those another time!
We can't say it enough but our RV is the best thing going on in our life now! Time will
pass regardless so make sure you spend it getting your RV built!
We'll be looking for you on the ramp so keep poundin' them rivets! Paul & Victoria
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