I just made it home from BAC Fest! What a trip! I put 24.3 hours on the Sierra and Bill Sciscoe put another 6 or 7 on it. I now have 92 SMOH on the engine. I'm glad I got to fly with Bill Sciscoe, Bill Manhein and Dean Sikes. Now I have some credible witness's (OK, maybe one or two credible witness's) as to the Sierra's new capability. Especially when really loaded. Typically I got 137 - 140 KTAS the whole trip while burning between 8.1 and 9.2 gph (depending on altitude) using mostly 75% power and leaning to Peak EGT (71% power). Last leg was this morning, Borger, TX to Chandler, AZ. Clear day all the way, but the wind gods were not happy with me. 20 - 32 KTS on the Spinner!! I had ground speeds as low as 106 kts. The 534 nm trip took 5 hours and 3 minutes, start up to shutdown and 42.3 gals of 100LL. Is this a cruiser or what? I think I'm pretty much done with flying for awhile.
I did also enjoy BAC Fest immensely. I won one of the grand prizes (Clarity Aloft for my wife). Weather kept me at Gulf Shores for a couple extra days, but me and Mike Koenig had a couple of pretty good dinners together. While I had to cut my trip short, I did get to see my parents and other family. As much fun as it was, the expense was significant. My next long trip will be on the airlines, out of necessity. Now, I got to pay off the Visa.
