Across the USA-flight relay

COLORADO  !!

 

I decided we would enjoy the Rockies this week so I pointed the plane towards the continental divide.  Lots of great sunshine and mountains to view.

Landed at KANK (Salida, CO) with trumpet as my passenger.  No problems at high altitudes for me (although I noticed trumpet whipping out the oxymeter several times) and then we descended to the airport's 8,500 foot pattern altitude.  I even made a decent landing on 24.  Sweet.

Met a new buddy on top of the sign out front, but .... he didn't talk much ...

IMG_9926a.jpg   

 

Then relaxed inside for a spell with "Kenai" the dog.  Lots of stories to share, mostly about barking at strangers .......  a little strange, but .... whatever.

 

IMG_9928a.jpg

 

Here is hoping you have a wonderful Thanksgiving,

 

BB
 
Hey @trumpet-nelson - If you could list all your stops in order when you have time, that would be great, so we can update the log and map. 

Just a reminder! :) 
 
Jeff,

I start at post 411 and have the State on top of each update.  Here is a quick review for ya:

411 - CALIFORNIA

412 - TENNESSEE

417 - NEW MEXICO

419 - ARKANSAS

423 - MISSISSIPPI

424 - COLORADO

 

 - some may be repeats ....

 

trumpet
 
SOUTH DAKOTA !!

Stopped for fuel in Pierre.  Enjoyed a VERY nice FBO on the ramp (Mustang).  Trumpet and I managed a 24 minutes turnaround for fuel due to their great service.  The interior of the FBO was a 10, and great people to boot!

Heading east to meet other BAC members ....

BB
 
IOWA !!

Sorry about the long travel pause, but .... us bears need to hibernate ... after all !

Trumpet and I landed at Mason City yesterday afternoon, enjoying some tailwinds coming from the west .... and some major thunder bumpers.  Hey, a 40 mile jog to the north is simple in a plane, and gave us a 35 mph tailwind for a while.  Sweet.

Photos - - made a new friend as I was walking into the FBO.

 --- - - These guys arrived about 30 minutes after trumpet and I landed.  Poor guys ... apparently not enough money for a paint job, but a pretty good looking airplane anyway.

Our last stop, waiting for other BAC members, and then going to that little fly-in .... somewhere in Wisconsin ....

BB

 

IMG_0681.JPGIMG_0700-3.JPGIMG_0700-2.JPGIMG_0684-2.JPG
 
Trumpet_Nelson said
SOUTH DAKOTA !!


Stopped for fuel in Pierre.  Enjoyed a VERY nice FBO on the ramp (Mustang).  Trumpet and I managed a 24 minutes turnaround for fuel due to their great service.  The interior of the FBO was a 10, and great people to boot!


Heading east to meet other BAC members ....


BB


  
Click to expand...
That Mustang FBO is the home of the pilot who flies the aerobatic Bonanza in airshows.  As usual he will be at Airventure.  We saw him a couple of weeks ago perform at the Tarkio, MO air show.  We understand he also owns a P51 and another war bird.  I think his name is Jim Peilt.  I'm not sure of the spelling of his last name.  
 
MONTANA !

Went to Missoula in July where one of the trumpet grandkids was determined to remove my goggles and jacket.  Thank goodness they are attached with thread !!

See you all soon at BACFest.  Looking forward to my new "handler" ... but trumpet has been a real hoot!

 

BAC Bear
 
Alan,

Here are the BAC Bear airport identifiers for the BAC Bear travels posted:

Montana   MSO

Iowa  MCW

California PSP  (also the 2022 BACFest trip)

Tennessee   THA

New Mexico   DMN

Arkansas      CDH

Mississippi     JVW

Colorado   ANK

 

Jeff,

Where may I access the BAC Bear map ?  I may have some more states to add.

 

Thanks,

trumpet nelson
 
Jeff,


Where may I access the BAC Bear map ?  I may have some more states to add.

  
Click to expand...
Here's the viewing link: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1pasDbYzQnN8xgFOT0Ylrs6ieZw07FBC2&usp=sharing
It's also at the bottom of my signature.

Looks like I've got all the states on there. I gave up doing the correct order of the legs and exact identifiers since they weren't being reported that way. Although not quite as interesting, I still think it's neat to have the visual overview done this way. 
 
I added a new layer to the map that just displays 1 marker on each state that has been hit.

It makes it a little easier to look at but if you want to see the legs and airports that were tracked, you can turn that layer back on in the panel on the left side.

I didn't realize but, if my data is correct, Delaware was missed but the rest of "back east" has been hit. 
 
Jeff,

Thanks for your help with the list of states and the map.  Excellent job!!  I will post additions soon.

 

Greg,

I have avoided adding duplicates (such as WI and TX) since they were already completed.  I am not sure what the rules are, but .... just keeping it simple.

 

trumpet nelson
 
MISSOURI  !   K89

Trumpet and I had an "adventure" with this one ....

Left that little fly-in up at Oshkosh on July 27th (Thursday during the show) to avoid the storms coming in.  Two (or was it three?) sessions of high winds, PA announcement warnings, rain, and wet tent at OSH filled up the bucket list for us.  Apparently, others thought the same.  Greg Johnson (Sundowner) was right in front of us and, after one hour of taxi, we took off side-by-side on 27.  Movie shows Greg hitting the throttle about 9 seconds before us, and us passing him 35 seconds later. Sweet.

Landed in Keokuk, Iowa for fuel (KEOK is located at the junction of Iowa, Illinois and Missouri) and found the fuel pump locked out, FBO doors locked, and a note saying "gone to OSH".  Sheese.  Hot.  Very hot.  Trumpet sat on the hot sidewalk, sweating like a dog (I was sweating like a bear), looking for a close fuel stop.  He always lands with a minimum of one hour of fuel, thank goodness.  Made a phone call and we headed to Macon, Missouri (K89).   There ... a Cessna driver tried to come out on the active at the touch down zone, just when we were over the numbers with flaps and wheels hanging out.  Sheese.   Regardless, that FBO was one of the best ever we have visited.  Very thrifty gas price, and the manager came out to help pump and push plane.  Free water, free sodas, free snacks, nice cool lounge, and would not take our $20 tip ("we don't do that here ..." ).  We will go out of our way to stop there again.

Another Bonanza driver there had a good story.  He and his friend started their taxi at OSH just a few minutes after us, and waited two hours to get to the runway.  And the real kicker .... his friend behind him was in a rental, with the Hobbs meter going.  Ouch!

Until next time,

BB
 
KANSAS !    K88

After sailing with trumpet on Grand Lake, OK we headed up towards Lincoln, NE to visit some family.  Iola, Kansas (K88 - Allen County) turned out to be a decent stop and I got to visit with the family landing in the Citation behind us.  Yep - - - always hitting up on the gals !  Every girl loves a bear !

BB

 

IMG_0820a.jpgIMG_0821a_1.jpg
 
NEBRASKA !   KLNK

Turns out that trumpet dad's family is from Nebraska, so we landed at the Class Bravo in Lincoln.  Duncan Aviation treated us well with a free crew car for the day.  They are expanding with a lot of construction underway.  Turns out - - - it's the same outfit trumpet's cousin, Harry, bought their Bonanza from back in the 1970's.  And for some reason there is a "Harry Amen" terminal there ..... hmmmmm .  But the best part was the McDonald's and fresh french fries at the airport entry.  Sweet! 

See you all in about a week!

 

BB
 
Well those last few additions totally ruled me out of being able to help with the flying! :)  Glad I'm able to help with maps.

By my tally that leaves 10 CONUS states:
Delaware
Louisiana
Minnesota 
North Dakota
Wyoming
Arizona
Nevada
Oregon
Washington
Idaho

Missing_states.png
 
A couple of more for your map and we will need to start a second map for Canada as the bear came north to visit with his cousins before the hibernation this fall.

Left BACFest 2023 in Oshkosh, WI, (KOSH) on 17 September 2023
Landed at Grand Forks, ND, (KGFK) for fuel and pre-clear customs
Landed at Brandon, Manitoba, (CYBR) to clear customs and fuel
Landed at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (CYXE) for quick fuel stop and weather check
Landed at Cold Lake, Alberta, (CEN5) final destination and a long flying day.

Flew Cold Lake, Alberta, (CEN5) to Wataskiwin, Alberta (CEX3) Return to get the Pitot Static, Altimetry, Transponder and ELT re-certs completed on C-GOEN before heading off to Beech Party at the Beechcraft Heritage Museum in Tullahoma this weekend.

Unfortunately I didn't get into British Columbia as I had hoped. Mostly due to weather and short timelines.

The plan is to perhaps stop in Regina, Saskatchewan to fuel and pre-clear customs. Then on to Minot, ND for the crossing.
I can try to knock off Minnesota on the museum trip. Looks like I may be stopping in Marshal, MN on my first overnight.
The rest of the trip to Tullahoma won't help you out much as those states have already been completed.

Jeff Knight
President
Beech Aero Club
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top