 |
| Andy and his KRAP Yeti. |
KRAP-07K
We were soon back on the plane pointed down the runway. The plane climbed happily back into the sky as we headed south east towards Knoxville. The leg was without event, we flew over Badlands National Park and then on to Nebraska. This time of year, Nebraska looks like a vast brown wasteland. It is speckled with cows, separated by dirt roads and fences. We made a game out of finding signs of life like a moving vehicle or farm implement, and choosing places for emergency landings, whether the landing gear should be extended, and why. As we approached Lincoln NE patches of green began to appear and we started looking for a welcoming airport to refuel.
 |
| Badlands National Park |
They offered us to join them for pizza, and we gave them tours of the cockpit. They each enthusiastically introduced themselves and asked about our travels. They brought us inside their maintenance hangar to show off their project airplane. They offered us lunch again. They gave us contact information in case we passed through in the future. They offered us lunch.
I tried to pay for the gas but was told, “No credit cards, cash or check.”
I suppose I can write a check, I have a check book in my flight bag.
 |
| EAA gang at Central City |
“Really? That works for you?” I was shocked.
The guy filling out the paperwork replied, “Yep. In the twenty-some years I've been here, we only had one person not pay. Airplane folk are generally good people.”
Wow. Andy and I loaded up for Kansas – without partaking in the offered lunch.
07K-K83
The terrain below continued to become more green as we progressed south east. In my quest to land in all 50 states, I could not pass up the opportunity to land for the first time in Kansas. It also served as an opportunity for me to build some narrow and short (or at least shorter) confidence.
It was a short hop from Central City to Sabetha. Along the route, we agreed to spend time flying the plane with the gear and flaps out as slow as possible to get to feel the plane getting wobbly and how it would recover when its speed got too slow. We found that just above 60 its wings would start to wobble and the ailerons became less effective. OK, 60 is too slow.I had been flying at about 80 on final, so for this next landing we discussed approaching at 70 to 75 kts. I’m still very cautious, so in my mind I picked 75 for this first “short” field. The runway was 3,200 feet long, and 40 feet wide. The plane’s wingspan is 42 feet.
I set the plane on the ground, started the rudder dance, pulled the power to idle, and waited for the tail wheel to settle. Once it was on the ground I pulled the stick hard aft into my lap and carefully applied brakes. Too much brakes in a tail wheel airplane will cause a plane to tip up on its nose. That is very bad. I was cautious and applied them slowly.
We came to a stop with nearly a thousand feet of runway remaining. I pushed the stick full forward to unlock the tail wheel and spun the plane around to taxi back to the fuel pump.
For the first time, there were no marshallers nor crowds to greet us. I had become accustomed to a fuel stop taking at least an hour to visit with the aviation fans that had come out to see the plane.
 |
| Proof of Kansas |
K83-KPCD
Andy needed a flight review, so I had him do the flying on this leg. The ground continued to become more green as our route briefly followed the Missouri River. The two and a half hours between the upper right corner of Kansas and the lower right corner of Missouri slipped by quickly and we were back on the ground in Perryville MO. Again no marshallers and no crowds to greet us, but rather a very welcome tank of $4.70 a gallon aviation fuel.
KPCD-KSRB
The next leg would put us into Madisonville right around sunset. But the weather radar was showing an approaching system. We took off looking east towards the yet to be seen weather. Still blue and clear, we picked up flight following, passed over the southern tip of Illinois, and into western Kentucky. Out to our right we could see Memphis, and soon Nashville, and then Lebanon where Andy had been awarded his Airframe and Power Plant certificate, and my local CAF is based.
It was getting dusky. As we approached Sparta Tennessee, the controller on flight following issued me a warning that there were areas of moderate to severe rain between me and Madisonville. I could see Sparta, and knew Crossville and Rockwood were just ahead. Interstate 40 was clearly visible.
How bad could it be? I pressed forward. Shortly past Sparta, the interstate disappeared into the base of a cloud. Nope. Not getting the plane home tonight. Rats.
 |
| A wall of "Nope." |
I set the now comfortable beast back on the runway, started the rudder dance, and waited for the tail to settle. Stick back in my lap, the big radial engine blocks my forward view, I look to the corners of my eyes to track the runway edges, and … WHOA! The airplane swerved left. A millisecond of inattentiveness and I was aggressively working to keep it pointed down the runway. The monster I had become comfortable with was nipping at my ankles, reminding me to never relax.
Andy and I secured the airplane, and my long-suffering wife made the drive out to the airport to pick us up.
Andy booked an airline flight, well actually several flights, from Knoxville to Sacramento to get back in time to celebrate Mother’s Day with his significant other. Very early the next morning I dropped him off at the Knoxville airport and went home to get some more sleep.
KSRB-KMNV
After church, Sandra and I made another trip out to Sparta. Alone in the plane for the trip from Sparta to Madisonville, I looked at the cloud bases to try to find a place that gave me enough room to do some aileron rolls, but to no avail. There was enough space to fly comfortably, but not enough for me to safely roll the plane. That will have to wait for another day.
Epiloge
Four days of flying, 12 airports, and I was back where I started. 19 more hours of T-6 time in the log book.
No comments:
Post a Comment