Flying Across America - Double Header

Today was catch-up day. We wanted to try to get in two full legs today so we could comfortably arrive in Melbourne on Saturday afternoon, before the thunderstorms rise up. To accomplish this goal, we set the alarm for 5:30 am, ate breakfast at 6:30, caught the 7:00 shuttle to the airport, planned our first flight, fueled the plane, and departed Gillette a little after 8:00.

The route today was different than previous routes - we planned direct from Gillette to Kirksville, Missouri. Since there are no more mountains to avoid along this part of the country, we no longer needed to plan through the valleys and passes. The direct flight plan distance is 631 nautical miles. We made the flight in a little over 4 hours. At several times during the flight, our ground speed was over 200 miles per hour! Great tailwinds all the way so far, and expected for tomorrow, too.

The biggest highlight of the trip was seeing Mt. Rushmore. It was easier to find than I had expected. When traveling east, the Black Hills suddenly erupt with rock outcroppings above the tree line. At one particular outcropping, there's a large parking lot. Right up from it is Mt. Rushmore. We flew a left 360 in front of it and hopefully got some nice pictures.

Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota

Mt. Rushmore close-up from Todd

The Badlands were also interesting to see from the air. It seemed that we flew for a hundred miles without seeing any sign of civilization.

The Badlands of South Dakota

The landscape started getting green again as we flew across Nebraska and into Iowa and Missouri. Iowa, as expected, had lots of wind farms.

Wind farms of Iowa

We stopped in Kirksville, Missouri for a quick visit with some of Todd's relatives. We were met at the airport by Uncle Lee and Grandma Enid. Lee drove us to Eric and Stacey's beautiful house for lunch. Eric and Stacey's very cute 18-month old daughter Jane Ann also joined us for lunch. During lunch, Eric told us a great story about a man called Griz Adams and his dead relative in an urn and a flight to spread his ashes.

After lunch, Eric drove us back to the airport. Todd and I quickly planned the next leg of the trip because it was nearly 4:00 and the sun sets around 6:30. We came up with three choices that were 2 hours away: Bowling Green, Kentucky, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and Jackson, Tennessee. We chose Bowling Green.

The flight to Bowling Green was a short walk in the park, relatively speaking. We quickly intercepted the Mississippi River and passed St. Louis - we could just barely make out the Arch - then entered Illinois. Then we crossed over the corner of Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky, crossing the Ohio River. I started feeling like I was home as I saw a few barges navigating the river. We entered the traffic pattern in Bowling Green as the sun was settting in the west.

Bowling Green, Kentucky

Flightaware track from Gillette to Kirksville

Flightaware track from Kirksville to Bowling Green

 After we parked, the line guy at Co-Mar Aviation topped our tanks, arranged a hotel, pulled the van up next to the plane, helped us load our luggage, and drove us to the hotel. When we arrived, he opened the back door of the van and one of my bags fell out onto the ground. It was fine, but I told him that he just blew his $100 tip. :-)

Flying Across America - Back On Track

For the first time on this trip, the day started with no clear plan in place. The immediate future of our flight was now in the hands of the mechanics at Minuteman Aviation. The shop opened at 8:00am, so I was on the phone a few minutes after 8:00 to verify that the plane was indeed in the shop. It was, and the impatient waiting began.

After breakfast, we walked along in the park by the river. During the walk, the mechanic called and told me what he had found. The starter appeared to just need some lubricating. I don't know if it has ever been maintained; I couldn't find any entries in the logbook. If this plan failed, he would need to overnight a replacement starter and install it the next morning. Around 10:30, the mechanic called me again and gave me the news. The problem was resolved and the plane was ready to go. Yes!

At 11:00, we checked out and caught the next van to the airport. Once there, we got a briefing and filed our flight plan to Gillette, Wyoming. Minuteman gave us a lift to the maintenance hangar and we started loading the plane. I talked to the mechanic about the work that he did, and also about the leaking fuel from the caps. I'll have to have the cap seals replaced when I get home, but for now they are fine.

At 1:15pm, we fired up the engine and started our next flight leg. Based on our bladder situation, we decided that we'd either stop at Billings, Sheridan, or Gillette. The flight basically followed interstate 90 through Montana. In a few places, we were able to cut some corners and shorten the route. Soon after take-off, we contacted Great Falls radio and opened our VFR flight plan. Once up to 9,500 feet, we contacted Salt Lake Center on asked for flight following Gillette. The towns quickly passed below the wings and it wasn't long before we reached Wyoming. We were both feeling fine at Sheridan, so we continued to Gillette, as planned.

At 4:35, we were on the ground in Gillette. We looked at the sun and considered continuing on to the next destination - Rapid City, South Dakota - but decided to call it quits for the day. The folks at Flightline helped us arrange a room at the Fairfield Inn.

The plan for tomorrow is to get a very early start and see if we can make up some of our lost time.

Highlights from the day

Billings, Montana

Yellowtail Dam in Big Horn Canyon

Approaching Gillette, Wyoming

On the ground in Gillette, Wyoming

Flying Across America - Leaving Seattle

Today my co-pilot Todd and I started our flight across America. The first leg was a flight from Renton, Washington (KRNT) to Missoula, Montana (KMSO). The flight was flown on an instrument flight plan, but there were no weather concerns. The weather was severe clear with winds coming from the northwest. We literally could not have asked for better weather.

Topping off the tanks

Around 10:00am, we arrived at the airport and called the fuel truck. About 15 minutes later, we had the plane loaded. Then I taxied to the west side of the airport to wrap up the flight planning.

After take-off from runway 34, we climbed to the north, then were turned to intercept our airway. After about 20 minutes, we were across the Cascades and into Western Washington. It wasn't too much longer and we passed Ephrata, Moses Lake, and Spokane. We said good-bye to Washington.

Seattle skyline

Mt. Rainier

Entering Idaho, we had to climb from 9,000 feet to 10,000 feet to clear the rising terrain. With the rise in terrain came some increasing turbulence. Luckily, the turbulence was limited to only 10 minutes or so. Soon after passing Mullan Pass, we started to descend to Missoula, Montana.

After landing at Missoula (KMSO), we taxied to Minuteman and topped off the tanks.

Missoula, Montana

First stop

After refueling, we continued our flight. The next leg was from Missoula, Montana to Billings, Montana (KBIL). We took off from runway 29, then turned left to the southeast. As we were climbing, we noticed a small stream of fuel flowing from behind our right fuel cap. Being new to the plane, I wasn't sure if this was expected or not. The tanks were extremely full, so this may be normal. We decided to turn back to Missoula to have a closer look.

Back on the ground, I shut down the plane to check out the fuel situation. After looking at both caps, I came to the conclusion that the small streaming was just from the overfill situation. I climbed back in and prepared to start the engine. When I turned the key, nothing happened. I tried again, and nothing happened. The battery was fine, and I could hear the starter turning, but the prop and engine did not turn. We called the tower to let him know what we were doing, then called Minuteman to come tow us back to their ramp.

Towed back to the ramp

Flightaware track from Renton to Missoula

Minuteman towed us back, but unfortunately, their mechanic was gone for the day. So, our flying is done for the day, and we'll hopefully figure out what went wrong early tomorrow and continue our adventure.

Flying Across America - Practice Approaches

Today's flight was all about flying instrument approaches. With the president coming to town, the airspace around Seattle was scheduled to close at 11:15 am. We decided to get an early start and be back well before the restriction took effect; I'm not ready to be escorted back to the airport by F-16s. We filed a flight plan for a 9:00 am departure, but didn't get airborne until about 9:20 due to departing traffic from nearby Boeing Field.

As seen on www.flightaware.com

Once up, we flew the Renton Two Departure, which is a left turn to a heading of 130 degrees after climbing to 1,000 feet on the runway heading. As we climbed to our assigned altitude of 4,000 feet, the controller turned us north. Eventually, we were turned directly towards the PAE VOR. We flew outbound from the VOR for about 5 miles, then did the published procedure turn and headed back toward the VOR. The autopilot did a fantastic job keeping the needle centered, as the plane and pilots got bounced about in the turbulence and 30+ knot headwind. At one point, I glanced at the GPS display and our ground speed was only 55 knots! As we crossed the VOR, we announced our missed approach and turned west over the Puget Sound. As we turned north, the 30+ knot wind turned to a tailwind and we cruised smoothly along. The controller called our turns and directed us back toward the localizer. Once on, the autopilot again flew a very precise approach while the plane was tossed about the sky and I struggled to maintain the glide slope. As we approached the shoreline, I told the controller that we were done and wanted to head back to Renton.

The most striking sight during this flight was Paine Field. There must have been 50 brand new Boeing 787s parked there. Everywhere there was space, there was a plane. And the most impressive thing I saw was the autopilots ability to hold the needle in the center of the gauge. After those two approaches, I'm ready for anything we might encounter on our flight across America.

Flying Across America - Hello N4857W

When we moved to Florida, we packed what we could and sold or gave away nearly everything else. Nearly everything. One thing that we did not pack, sell, or give away was our 1/3 ownership of N4857W. It was not for lack of trying. I took a guy out for a demo flight, but he decided to buy a Mooney instead. I also was conversing with a Canadian gentleman, but he bought a different Commander. So, 57W was left behind in Renton, WA.

It is now three years later, and I have returned to Seattle to bring 57W home. Thanks to my air miles, I was able to get a free flight to Seattle on Alaska Airlines on Friday evening. Hector - one of the co-owners - and his wife Pat generously picked me up at the airport and invited me to stay at their home on Mercer Island; which is situated on a hill overlooking Lake Washington and is more like a resort than a house. I accepted.

This morning we drove to Renton airport to get re-acquainted with 57W. It had been a little over three years since I last flew N4857W. The plane had been in the shop getting its yearly maintenance work done, as well as some required work on the elevator, since April. There was some concern that the work would not be completed before my arrival. Needless to say, I was happy to see her parked in our hangar, ready to fly.

Before I could go fly, I had some paperwork to take care of. My co-owners joined me in creating a bill of sale and signed over the registration. At 9:30 am, I became the sole owner of N4857W.

N4857W, nose in the sun, ready to fly

The next step was to get current and familiar in the plane. Hector had arranged a flight instructor for me weeks in advance. When I showed up to pick him up, he was not there. The FBO checked the calendar and he was not scheduled. They called him and he was on a sailboat in the Puget Sound. I called my co-pilot - Todd - to see if he was willing to do the checkout. He was in a weather seminar and wouldn't be available for another hour. So I went back to the hangar and reviewed my checklist and the layout of all the cockpit instruments.

When Todd called back, he mentioned that he had an instrument student who wanted to see the plane. I said sure, but after lunch. After lunch, we found Derek waiting for us outside the gate. I opened the hangar and pulled 57W out into the sunlight to complete the pre-flight. Derek seemed like a nice guy, so I asked if he'd like to join us for the next three or four hours. To be forthright, I gave him a brief history of the plane's recent maintenance and asked him if he accepted the higher-than-normal risk. He did, with pleasure. I'll never tire of seeing the joy in another person's eyes as they experience general aviation.

After more than three years, I stuck the key into the ignition of my airplane, turned it, and the engine roared to life. Oh what a fantastic feeling that was.

The flight plan consisted of a few key items. First of all, we wanted to verify that the plane was indeed airworthy; it had not been off the ground for over six months. To reduce the risk of a possible issue, we planned to ask the tower if we could circle the airport above the traffic pattern. Second, we wanted to test the autopilot. For the flight to Florida, it is likely that we will encounter some bad weather, so we wanted to be sure we could count on the autopilot to fly the correct course. And third, we wanted to build some confidence and trust in the machine. After being away for so long, I needed to get a feel for the controls at various speeds and configurations. Finally, I wanted to get current - three take-offs and landings in the past 90 days - so I could carry passengers (Carrying passengers while flying with a flight instructor on a training flight is legal).

With great excitement and anticipation, I taxied onto runway 16 and applied full power. The plane accelerated briskly and moments later, we were airborne. The tower cleared us to circle the airport at 1,500 feet. After three circuits, we found no problems, so we left the "nest" and headed for Hoquiam. Along the way, we configured the autopilot to fly a specified heading. The autopilot performed this task with ease, so we challenged it to hold the VOR radial from SEA to HQM. Again, no problem for the autopilot. Finally, we asked it to intercept the ILS into Hoquiam. This didn't work out so well, so I hand flew the approach and landing.

On the ground, we taxied past Lana's Cafe; home of the best peanut butter milkshakes (that I've come across) in the Pacific Northwest. I looked at the clock. It was 4:30. Lana's was open, but when did it close? What if it closed at 5:00? Would we have time to take off, do another full approach, land, and make it back? We decided not to risk it. I pulled a 180 and taxied back to Lana's. Since Derek was the passenger, we decided that he should buy the milkshakes. He happily agreed. Ahh, peanut butter milkshake... yummy.

After our shakes, we put some fuel in the tanks and continued our flight. I flew west toward the VOR, then out over the Pacific Ocean for one minute before turning around to fly the approach. As I looked down at the waves, I first thought that Andrew would sure like to see that, then I thought how amazing it is that today I'm flying over the Pacific coast, and in one week, I'll be flying the same plane over the Atlantic coast.

I landed one more time at Hoquiam, then we headed east toward Shelton. I handed the controls over to Todd so he could start to get a feel for the plane, too. Flying from the right seat of a plane is not that difficult physically, but it changes one's view of the instruments, so it is difficult to read certain gauges properly. We worked through some of these issues as we tried to find Shelton visually through the decreasing evening visibility. Todd entered the downwind leg to land as I announced our position over the radio. When we reached midfield, another plane asked us for our position, then asked if we could see him. I looked up and saw the parachute jumper plane about a thousand feet above us and slightly ahead. He asked if he could land first and I said yes. At that point, the other pilot descended sharply toward the runway. Whoa, that was pretty impressive. Todd followed him in and scored his first landing. Derek noted that he was amused to see his instructor receiving instruction from another instructor.

After Shelton, I took over the controls and we turned back to Renton. Once out of the pattern, I asked ATC for Flight Following. This is something pilots do to increase the safety of the flight. With Flight Following, the air traffic controller will point out nearby traffic that (s)he sees on the radar screen. As a side bonus, flights that use this service generally show up on FlightAware (I was later disappointed to see that our flight was not tracked).

Just before dusk, we turned the corner at the 520 bridge and headed south for Renton. I reported our location to the tower as we passed downtown Bellevue. I was cleared to land over the lake on runway 16. After landing, the controller cleared me to taxi on Bravo, then told me that it was good to see us flying again. I thanked her and told her it was great to be back in the air again. What a fantastic first day of flying.

Flying Across America - Planning Stage

On September 28, I plan to start the biggest flying adventure in my life. I plan to fly N4857W, the airplane that I've been a 1/3 partner in for four plus years, from Seattle to Melbourne. But the actual flight itself will be the final, but certainly the most exciting and interesting step in this adventure.

Before I can enjoy the flight, I have to take care of dozens of details. Some of the more mundane details include: modifying the insurance policy and deciding where to park the plane once it arrives in Melbourne. But even the latter has been more challenging than expected. If I decided to keep the plane at Melbourne International Airport, then I need to get a badge to enter the gate, which involves getting fingerprinted and background checked, then (hopefully) TSA approved.

Planning the route has been pretty interesting as well. The direct route is 2,255 nautical miles. If the plane was capable of flying this route non-stop, it would take a little over 17 hours to complete. The plane, however can only travel about 500 nautical miles per full fuel load, with an hour of reserve to account for unexpected head winds or route diversions. So, I've decided to break the route up into five legs, each a little under 500 nautical miles. I plan to fly no more than two legs per day, resulting in a trip that will take at least 2 1/2 days to complete. Choosing the route for each leg has been time consuming; some of the legs are on their fourth revision.

Leg 1 - Renton, Washington to Bozeman, Montana
The first leg promises to be the most visually stunning as well as the most challenging. The flight path will basically follow Interstate 90 over the Cascade Mountains at Snoqualmie Pass, across the dry farmland of central Washington, over the Western Rocky Mountains in Idaho at Mullan Pass, then continuing over the Rocky Mountains past Butte and on to Bozeman, Montana. This is the same route I drove when moving to Florida in 2008 - almost to the day.

Leg 2 - Bozeman, Montana to Oshkosh, Nebraska
This leg continues out of Montana, across Wyoming, and into Nebraska. During this leg, we leave the Rockies behind and enter the plains.

Leg 3 - Oshkosh, Nebraska to Nevada, Missouri
This leg continues southeast across Nebraska, down into Kansas, and finally into Missouri. This leg is currently being discussed and may change a little to incorporate a visit with my co-pilot's family.

Leg 4 - Nevada, Missouri to Pell City, Alabama
This leg continues across Missouri, into Arkansas, over the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee, and into Alabama. I considered stopping in Decatur, Alabama, which is where I took my first official flight lesson. Depending on what happens with Leg 3, we may end up in Decatur after all.

Leg 5 - Pell City, Alabama to Melbourne, Florida
The final leg continues across Alabama, over Georgia, and finally into Florida. This leg will also be difficult because the dreaded, deadly attitude known as "Get-there-itis" will try to kick in and ruin our day. If all goes well, we will arrive ahead of schedule and relaxed, and the weather will be perfect.

Proposed route across America

View Flight Across America in a larger map

Another important detail was the choice of co-pilot. I was very excited when my first choice accepted my invitation and started providing input into the route planning. He is a very accomplished pilot who holds a Certified Flight Instructor certificate and has experience in the Commander. He also has an iPad with ForeFlight, which is a bonus. Welcome aboard, Todd.

When the time comes, you can follow our progress on the computer. Click on the following URL and you will see our current and past flights. If we are airborne, you will get near-real-time updates. The URL is:

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N4857W.

Honda Fit Front Brakes

Ever since I bought the Fit back in January 2010, I've had a few gripes with it. By far the biggest was the pulsating front brakes. During Spring Break of 2010, I took the Fit to the Honda dealer to have the brakes replaced and the rotors turned. As they were in the process of turning the rotors, they informed me that they did not have and pads in stock, so they'd have to put the non-OEM pads back on. DOH! If I'd known that, I would have waited until they were in stock!! So, they put on the old pads, and all was well... for a few months.

Recently, on our trip to Charleston, South Carolina, the pulsating drove me to distraction, and finally, action. When I got home, I did some research, ordered new rotors from a third party, and ordered pads from Honda. All the parts arrived after a few days, then it was off to the C&D B&B (and auto repair shop) for an upgrade.

Uncle Dave was busy with another auto customer when we arrived. He was doing a front brake job on a Toyota. He had just started the second side and was having some difficulty with a stuck part. I jumped in and we sprayed it, beat it, twisted it, and maybe even swore at it (nah, but maybe thought about it). It finally came loose and Dave wrapped up the project.

Andrew helped by rolling the tire out of the way

Dave needed to cool off, so I propped the repair zone for my brake job. When Dave was ready, I jacked up one side and started working. Dave stood by and guided me through the entire process. Within 20 minutes, I had both sides finished. I took it for a short test drive around the neighborhood, where I found Cathy, Susan, and Andrew walking. Andrew jumped in and we went out on the main road. At one point, I heard Andrew say, "Hallelujah!". Ahh, the feeling of smooth brakes!