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.