Chapter 42 Springtime Comes

The fly-in

The planning


Organizing a fly-in turned out to be easier than I thought. Several phone calls to the FBO and the BAC regional director to arrange details and we had it all set up. Post notices on the appropriate web boards and it was done. We had a BBQ lunch arranged, a tour of the tower and approach control and a open forum discussion with the FBO managers. Sandra had a list of possibilities set up for keeping the girls occupied and would wait for a polling of those in attendance to decide.

I have often mentioned the services provided by FBO's and this is only one more example of it. They were even going to pick up part of the BBQ cost.

The Wash Job


Now to get ready. I took Tia up on her offer to help wash the plane in exchange for a ride and on Saturday the 25th, we did it. I met her at Albertson's and headed for the patch. Get the mouse out and fly over to Mesquite for gas. It was a little bumpy, but not too bad over Garland.

Leaving Mesquite, I stayed east of Ray Hubbard and climbed to 3500'. The air was some smoother and I offered Tia the controls. "Nah, you're doing a fine job and I'm enjoying the view.". Fly on. Around the north side of McKinney and back into Aero Country.

Get out all the stuff and hook up the hose. My trusty assistant is no slacker when it comes time to work. She even works on the underside! We soon have the Mouse cleaner than it has been in a while and push it back into the shade inside the hangar. Pick up the hoses, rinse out the rags, mitts, etc.. Tia waxes the wings, nose and prop while I put fresh lube on the hinges. Now the bird is ready for Longview.

The Fly-in (Drive-in)


Friday, the weather looks like it will be OK. Possibly some clouds and rain, but it should be east of Longview by Saturday morning. Either Arkansas or Louisiana, but not both may be bad. We take off about four and head east. Nice easy flight in reasonable visibility with no major cloud formations in sight. We hang around the FBO until 6:00 in case some other people are going to fly in for the night. I talk with a transient who knows some people near here who own a Sport and a Sierra. He calls them to be sure they know about the event.

After 6:00, we head for the motel to check in. Our window faces west and there are some very high thin clouds on the horizon. Maybe tomorrow will be good. We go to Johnny Cace's for dinner and I discover that I don't have my credit card. Use Sandra's to pay for the meal and try to remember where I had it last. Finally remember that I had it at check-in, so that must be where it is. Back to the motel and retrieve it, and then look for the TCBY for dessert. Can't find it, someone tore up the road to it and burned it. Stop at a CVS and pick up a couple of minor items we forgot, then back to the motel.

Saturday morning and my first look out the window shows a solid low cloud layer. The weather channel is no real use here as they don't give a full local report, but the satellite picture shows clouds from just west of Dallas to the Mississippi River, from the coast to Missouri. This is not good. After shower and dressing, the next peek out the window shows some misting rain. Eat breakfast and check out. Heading for the airport, the clouds seem to be breaking up.

My cell rings. It is Ryan. Someone named Rod has called the FBO and asked that I call him back. It has to be Rod Boyd. I call him and they (he and Denise) are driving in from Terrell. They didn't want to wait on the weather and miss the tower tour. We have just arrived at the FBO in partial sunlight when Cloyd calls from south Louisiana. He had gone up for a look and returned to base. He would try again in about an hour. Mark Murphy is in the FBO. He has driven from Austin and is on his way to Sun and Fun in Florida. We met him at the fly-in in San Marcos two years ago. In a few minutes, Jay calls. He is back in Searcy AR. He had tried to get to Pine Bluff to meet up with another member and couldn't get that far. A pristine Sierra taxis in with Gene and Becky McPherson. They made it IFR from Magnolia AR. Robert Jennings arrives having driven in from McKinney. Cloyd calls back to inform us that when he went back out to try again, his battery was dead. It looks like the eight of us will be it.

It is now after 10:00. The sky is going from bad to clearing and back on a five minute cycle. Mark decides to leave for Florida, and the rest of us pile into 2 vehicles for the drive over to the tower. Since 9/11, tower tours have become rare, but this one is special. They had expected about 20 people, so had set aside time to run 2 groups of 10 through. With one group of 7, we could have the entire block of time.

We start in the tower and get to watch the operator handling the two or three planes that go in and out in the 30 minutes we are up there. Then down to the radar room to see the equipment. Our guide cycles one of the scopes in the equipment room through the entire display. We go from the raw radar return through the cleanup, the insertion of transponder data and the painting of the geographical features. Then into approach control where he demonstrates receiving and handing off incoming and outgoing traffic. Sandra's comment was , "Now I understand what is going on when we are talking to ATC.".

Back to the FBO for lunch. I normally stick with the brisket, but today I went for the ribs. They were excellent. We all sat around talking until about two.

Ryan's Ride


People begin talking about the trip home which is the signal that the party is almost over. The skies are mostly clear now, so we have no worry. I settle up the bill and KRS gives us a good price in spite of the low turnout. Then I offer Ryan that ride I had promised him last night.

He has to pick up his mother soon, so we agree on just a couple of trips around the pattern. We clear with the tower for closed pattern and are given right traffic with a Duke making left traffic. There is a slight crosswind from the left, but no real problem. We take off and quickly reach pattern altitude. Ryan is impressed with the headroom and the smoothness of the ride even at pattern altitude.

We come back around and I make a truly nice landing. Ryan opines that I should take his mother up if I always fly that smooth. I remember the short ride with Ed when I executed a flawless touch and go and then the next one resulted in a prodigious bounce and a go-around.

As we lift off again, Ryan asks if I still get that thrill on takeoff. "Yes, yes, yes. That thrill the first time I look down (usually when turning crosswind) is still as big as ever."

We have to extend the downwind a little while the Duke is on final. We are turning final just as he comes over the threshold. We watch him drift to the right and touchdown then lift off. In spite of the crosswind, I put it down just past the numbers and right on the centerline in an exceptionally smooth touchdown. Oh well, I have saved the bad landing for home.

Gene and Becky pile into their Sierra and depart. Rod and Denise pile into their Explorer and hit the road. We add some gas to the mouse and head west. The landing at Aero Country was no where near as good as either of the ones with Ryan.

Just flying along


Auction winner


After several weeks of conflicts and unsuitable weather, I finally get a chance to take the Auction winners up for their ride. The passengers are Tom Van Den Berge and his teenage son Toby. We agree to meet at McKinney on Saturday April 14.

I go out and get the Mouse. It still has plenty of gas left after the fillup in Longview. I clean up the cabin and borrow an extra headset from Dave. Then a quick hop over to McKinney where I burn another good landing. Bad omen if I am going to take some non-flying types for a ride.

I meet them in the FBO and we conduct a thorough briefing. Much more thorough than normal, as I have never met these people and I don't want any surprises. Tom has been in small planes before, but this is Toby's first ride. Tom and I both encourage him to take the front seat, but he doesn't want to.

We turn southeast after takeoff and out over Lavon. At 2500'. We turn back west and fly over Allen so they can see their house. Then over Frisco Mall and climb to 3500 to get into smoother air. I look for the abandoned airfield, but it is now a freshly plowed field and unrecognizable. We go over the new airfield being built near Dorchester and then over Sherman and turn south towards Lavon. I report in and we continue south to make a long 45degree entry from the lake into the downwind. To my surprise, the landing is another very good one.

Drop them off and talk for a while and then head for the home 'drome. The gods catch up with me and the landing is a real stinker. I would have been happy with it 3 years ago, but not now. Fortunately, I am by myself and there doesn't appear to be any witnesses.

Hillsboro


After bad weather all week, Sunday is just too pretty to stay on the ground. So we decide to go to Hillsboro for lunch/dinner. We have flown over the area several times and although the runway is hard to find, it looks good. Airnav gives the FBO good reviews, and they are open until 6:00PM with a courtesy car and good fuel price.

We launch about 3:30 and call up Dallas approach. We are offered a transit of DFW or the usual Addison to Love to Redbird route. We opt for the familiar route and are given a southwesterly heading just past the Trinity river. Just before Cedar Hill, we are cleared to 4500 and informed that there are gliders operating in the area for the next 20 miles.

It is a little hazy, but I catch the glint of sun on wings directly ahead over Maypearl. There is a glider doing 8s out there gaining altitude. He is about 1000' below us and 5 miles ahead. I bear slightly left to give him room and by the time he is off our wing, he is 1000' above us.

We only have a little trouble finding the airport. The runway markings are the only thing that stands out from the surrounding fields and the buildings (all 2 of them) look more like a farm than an airport. Into the pattern and land well. Taxi in and execute a perfunctory tie down.

The attendant has to leave shortly, but he gives us the information to get back in with the courtesy car and I go back out, untie the Mouse and taxi over to the gas pumps. The fuel is really cheap, so the attendant and I fill the Mouse until it burps. Then we head for town.

About the only eating establishments in Hillsboro are chains, so we hit the Black Eyed Pea. After the meal, we drove across the street and Sandra hit the outlet shops while I sat on a bench and enjoyed an after dinner pipe. She found a dress and some unmentionables and we headed back to the airport.

Beautiful late afternoon, almost evening flight back across Dallas to home. Sit on Dave's patio and swap lies until good dark then head for the house.

Barbecue with Roger


The offer of a transit over DFW got me to thinking. How neat that would be! What I needed was a destination southwest of the metroplex and close enough that the transit would seem inevitable. How about Stephenville? Well, I could always go for another heaping helping of their BBQ.

I finally, after several false starts, set it up with Roger to go on Tuesday, May 16. He arrives at the hangar just as I am finishing the preflight. We have plenty of the cheap Hillsboro gas on board and Dave is about ready to start on the donut swap, so I want to burn some of it off.

We launch about 10:30 and I wait as long as I can to call up Dallas approach, figuring the further south I can get, the better chance we have of getting the transit. So, south of 121;
"Dallas Approach, Musketeer Five Niner Four Lima Bravo, Off of Aero country, VFR to Stephenville."
"November Five Niner Four Lima Bravo, Squawk xxxx."
"Four Lima Bravo, xxxx"
"November Five Niner Four Lima Bravo, Radar contact, 7 miles south of Aero Country. Come right to 270, maintain at or below 2500"

Rats! Oh, well, across Lake Lewisville and just south of the Denton airport, we are given 210 degrees and cleared to 3500'. The Texas Motor Speedway passes just under our right wing and Meacham is just to the left. Over Carswell, we are cleared to 4500 direct to Stephenville.

Enter the pattern and land behind a Cessna. The golf cart is broke, so call the Hard 8 for transport. We wait a few minutes and start walking. The ride meets us just west of the fence. Fill up on brisket and grab the ride back. Roger has somewhere to be at 3:00, so we don't wait around long before heading back.

We fly alone this time. It is getting bumpy at 3500, but we are too close to the DFW airspace to make going higher worth while. The normal route, just north of Eagle Mountain lake and northeast to Denton. Then down to 2500 by the lake and follow US380 to Aero Country.

Into the downwind for 35 and abeam the numbers reduce power. I can't get the right reduction and then the engine stops! Dangit, I was supposed to switch tanks over Denton. Throttle in, switch tanks, scrape all the skin off my knuckle on the flap handle (it's in the one notch position and I have to reach under it to get to the fuel selector.). Boost pump on and it re-starts immediately.

Continue the approach. This was all so fast, Roger didn't even know there was something out of the ordinary.

Gold Day, again


Gold Day was not held in 2005, but this year it is a go. We decided to drop the noisy video and go with a PowerPoint show this year. We got a good shot of Boon Elementary returning from Hillsboro and Roger made a shot of the speedway and the panel that we included at the last moment. With some more pictures of places we have been and interesting aerial shots, along with some slides on navigation and being a pilot, we have a nice presentation. We were ready to go.

The schedule calls for 4 6th grade groups in the morning and 2 6th grade and 2 third grade groups in the afternoon. As usual, considering the new presentation, the first session was a bit shaky, but by the third session, we had hit our stride. The kids were quiet but enthusiastic. The questions were good and the comments as they filed out were good.

After lunch, we had another group crash our session. They were possibly the most enthusiastic group of the day. After the last group, we were tired, talked out, but high enough to go duck hunting with a rake.

My heroes have always been Cowboys


By Sunday, we are still so high that we have got to go somewhere. Besides, Dave will start on the donuts on Monday and I now have 20+ gallons in the left tank and none in the right. I wanted to have about that amount but a little more balanced before we started jacking up wings. The best way to balance this up is to go somewhere and add gas so that we will return with the load more balanced. After checking for places we haven't been that have courtesy cars on Sundays, we decide on Henryetta, OK.

Takeoff about 11:00 and head north. Straight pilotage for the most part, following the line on the sectional from Lake Texoma. Nice flight, smooth at 5500' with reasonable visibility. Crossing the Canadian River right on course, we can see Holdenville to the west and almost make out McAlester, 25 miles to the west. Begin our descent towards the airport and decide that what I thought was the runway is actually a stretch of Indian Nations Turnpike with some large buildings beside it. Look around and I am looking right down the real runway at my 10 o'clock. Adjust course and fly directly into the downwind and execute a good landing.

Taxi in and the attendant has the car in the shade ready to go. Get recommendations and directions and head for town. The first choice is just north of town on the main highway, if it is still in business. It isn't and on our way back into town for choice 2, we see a billboard that explains Henryetta's claim to fame;
"Henryetta, Oklahoma. Hometown of Jim Shoulders and Troy Aikman. Our heroes have always been Cowboys."

The food at Wilder's Grill is very good, and we drive back through town by a different route and then back to the airport. Carefully add gas to the mouse so that after flying back on the left tank, there will be equal amounts in both tanks totaling a little over 20 gallons.

The flight back is not as smooth, but the Redhead is asleep long before we cross the Canadian river. We are now heading more into the sun and the visibility is not as good, but still good enough for easy navigation. But given a decent start, it would be very hard to miss Lake Texoma and if we can't get home from there, we don't have any business flying.

A check of the tanks after we get the bird in its nest shows that the calculations were good. Both tanks have around 12 gallons in them.

More Maintenance


The background


Over the years of aviation, many methods have been employed to absorb the shock of landing an airplane. Most of the methods are still in use in planes today as each successful method had some benefits and some disadvantages. The methods used on the A23-A24 series from Beechcraft employed a stack of rubber disks that will compress to absorb the load. These disks, while simple and trouble free, do eventually wear out. The rubber hardens and cracks. It also loses its elasticity and thereby its ability to absorb shock.

These planes were made beginning in 1963 and ending in 1981. Since the model is no longer being made, spare parts are becoming expensive. Beechcraft does make more parts when the demand calls for it, but the prices are getting higher and higher. By 2000, the price for a set of disks had risen to $900 per leg. As a result of this, most owners had put off replacing them when they were due and living with the harder and harder landings (and corresponding wear and tear on the plane itself).

The formation of Beech Aero Club in 2003, gave the owners a single voice and a little clout. A company was found that would attempt to jump through the FAA hoops to get approval to make and sell replacement disks. By late 2005, they were ready at a price of $360 per leg. Our Mouse doesn't need nose wheel disks as those were replaced when the nose gear was wiped out at the end of it's time as a trainer. They only have 1/3rd of the time the mains do. So, in April, I ordered the disks for the main gear legs.

Now, the other problem with the fleet not having this replacement made regularly is that the people who knew the recipe passed on or went into other lines of work. The service manual is only a little better than "remove gear leg, replace disks, re-install gear leg.". But Dave and I are gonna do it.

The job


First, the disks must be pre-loaded as sets. We stacked them on two threaded rods and started slowly tightening the nuts over a period that covered 5 weeks. It was intended to be 2 weeks, but Dave couldn't get some other jobs out of the hangar. Finally, he is ready to start.

Day 1, Monday, May 22: I went to the airport after lunch and moved the bird to Dave's. Dave and I went down to Bud and Jeff's hangar and picked up the jacks and brought them back to Dave's. I dropped the Mouse's pants legs and removed the wheel covers. Then we called it a day.

Day 2, Tuesday, May 23: We jack up the right wing and remove the wheel. Remove the attaching bolts and slip the leg off. Clean old grease and dirt off and disassemble it. The disks are flattened and cracked as expected. We discover that we need some disposables to replace those destroyed in the disassembly. Order them from Tex-Air and call it a day.

Day 3, Wednesday, May 24: Go to Tex-air late morning to pick up the parts. They won't arrive until 1:00, so go eat lunch and return to wait. Get the parts and head for Aero Country. Re-assemble the gear leg and call it a day.

Day 4, Thursday, May 25: In attempting re-installation, we discover that in spite of the best information available, normal tools will not work on the attaching bolts. Spend all afternoon chasing the specialized tools and a new bolt to replace the one we ruint. Both scheduled for arrival Saturday.

Day 5, Saturday, May 27: Stuff has arrived. We discover the tool kit does not include the bolt size we use, so no work for the rest of Memorial Day weekend. Monday evening, Dave calls and tells me that he and Eric have found a way to do the bolts with slightly modified tools at hand. The right leg is now back on.

Day 6, Tuesday May, 30: Finish the right leg up (except for bleeding brakes) and jack up the left wing. One of the bolts will not remove, so we leave it for Eric and call it a day.

Day 7, Wednesday, May 31: Eric finally removes the bolt early in the afternoon. On disassembly, we discover a part inside that will need replacing. Order it from Tulsair for delivery on Thursday.

Day 8, Thursday, Jun 1: Part in hand, we set everything up and rebuild the left leg. Dave has an engagement, so we call it a day.

Day 9, Saturday, Jun 3: Re-install left leg, finish it up and remove jacks. By the time we get the brakes bled, it is almost 6:00PM so we call it a day.

Day 10, Monday, Jun 5: Clean up tools, do paper work. Pull the Mouse out front and give it a bath. Take it up for a short test flight. One touch and go and one full stop. Man, what a difference!

Fly-in at Petit Jean


BAC has a fly-in scheduled at Petit Jean, Arkansas on June 10. This is a 3 hour flight, so we will need to go somewhere closer on Friday and hop over to Petit Jean on Saturday morning. After weighing all the alternatives, we settle on Clinton, AR, 35 miles north of MPJ. After this is all set up, another member decides to also fly up on Friday and meet us in Clinton.

The big city of Clinton, Arkansas


We have arranged to meet around 2:00PM, so we want to be airborne about 10:00 with a fuel stop at Sherman. We saddle up and depart Aero Country at 10:15 for the short hop to SWI. Nice landing and taxi in to the gas pumps. Sandra likes the softer feel of the landing and taxi on the new rubber. She goes into the FBO while I put about 50 gallons in the Mouse. I call the rental car company to give them our arrival time and we pile back in.

We are back in the air right at 11:00 for the 236nm leg to Clinton. As we are turning crosswind, Sandra asks, "Is it me or are takeoffs smoother also?". "You bet! As soon as we start getting light on the wheels (about 40mph), the cushioning that wasn't there before begins to be noticeable."

Pick up flight following and climb to 5500'. Ninety five on the ground at Sherman, but just under 70 up here. Smooth as glass with good visibility, we head across the bottom corner of the DFW north sectional. Across Indian Nations Turnpike, just south of Antlers, OK and watch the terrain below begin rising to meet us.

We hear another aircraft enroute from Tulsa to Hot Springs ask about the Hog MOA (Military Operation Area). This MOA (3 parts, 2 levels) extends from Fort Smith to south of Hot Springs and includes most of the area between Hot Springs and the OK border. Our route will take us right across it. Fort Worth Center tells him all 6 areas are in use and he decides to deviate south of it.

Hmmmmm. I notice the MOAs, but most of them are seldom in use or have VFR corridors or altitudes where they are not in use. But this is not a weekend. While we are consulting the sectional, Fort Worth asks for our intentions. We decide to deviate north to Fort Smith and then turn back to the east. Tell Memphis, set up the Fort Smith VOR and turn about 30 degrees north.

Across Lake Wister and over Poteau to Fort Smith. Razorback tells us when we can turn east and we continue over Charleston and Paris, past Magazine Mountain to Russelville before turning back onto the heading for Clinton, now 40nm away. It is just after 1:30, so we will make a 2:00PM arrival with out any trouble.

There are no discernible landmarks for this 40 miles. Greers Ferry Lake lies just beyond Clinton, and when I can make it out, we appear to be right on course. After closing Flight Following, I tune the Clinton CTAF and hear Cloyd announce 10 miles south, inbound. He announces downwind as I have Clinton identified and announce 7 miles southwest. We are approaching almost perpendicular to the runway, but the aircraft boneyard on the far side of the runway makes identification easy.


There were some cryptic warnings on everything I read about this airport, and entering on the crosswind, I began to get a sense of what they were talking about. The runway (13-31) lies in the valley with ridges on all sides. The creek that formed the valley bears off to the south, leaving that end of the field also looking at hills. The downwind at 1000' above the runway is only about 700' above the ridge along the northeast side. The downwind continues across the creek onto rising terrain and the base goes over another valley. As we turn final, I realize that if I take the normal approach path, we will go through the trees on a rise about 1/4 mile from the threshold.

Add a little power to slow the descent until past that ridge then try to drop it in. Starting on final is a little too late for a normal landing over obstructions. We get down to normal height at the threshold, but with way too much energy. We float and float and finally the Mouse gives up flying. The impact isn't too bad and the new donuts don't catapult us back into the air, but it takes some stout braking to make the turnoff. Taxi in and shut down beside Cloyd's nice looking mouse.

By the time I get the cockpit cleaned up, log the time and get out, the guy with the rental car is driving up. Sandra signs for the car, we throw the bags in drive over to the FBO. Go potty, check that we are parked in the right place and pick up some chocks then back to finish buttoning up the birds.

From the FBO, we learn that there is little in the way of eateries in town and we are starved. We grab a sandwich at Subway and explore town. That didn't take very long. Go check into the Motel. It sits on a hill overlooking town and when I come out, there is a light twin flying over town. We realize when he turns into the downwind that we are looking down at the airport, about 1/4 mile from the 13 end of the runway. He disappears up the valley on downwind and then reappears on final. He drops over that last hill and disappears behind the trees only to reappear as he touches down. Cool!

Our room is on the end of the second floor, and stepping out the door we are looking down on the runway. We can't see our planes as the trees block that end of the airport. Sandra dons her suit and takes her book to lay by the pool. I go down to sit under a patio umbrella and soon, Cloyd joins us. We talk of many things, most of them airplane or flying related for an hour or so and then retreat to our rooms to rest up for supper.

Just as we get to the rooms, we see an airplane flash by on final. He is awfully high and cannot get it on the ground before he goes behind the trees that hide the SE end of the runway. He reappears climbing out, makes a long upwind and then turns back into the downwind. He disappears up the valley and when he reappears on final he is again way high. He never goes behind the trees between us and the threshold and the last place we can see the runway he is still not on the ground. He climbs out again and goes around.

This is a nice looking Tri-Pacer, which could almost land crosswise on a big runway. But he is apparently having a great deal of trouble with the approach over that last hump. He makes two more attempts before he finally gets one to stick. Cloyd and I are standing there wondering at the scene when he reappears taxiing back to the departure end. A real glutton for punishment, he takes off again. He misses another attempt and then makes one stick. This time he did not taxi back.

After consulting the phone books and guest package in our room, we discover a "catfish" place in Bee Branch, ten miles down the road from Clinton. Sandra ain't wild about catfish, but the ads promise a full menu, so that is where we head. Nice scenic drive up and over a ridge overlooking Greers Ferry Lake. The eatery is buffet, and Sandra loads up on boiled shrimp, I load up on catfish and Cloyd does a mixed plate. We pronounce the food good to very good and stuff ourselves. Then back to the motel for the night.

On to Petit Jean


Saturday morning, my bladder gets me up about ten minutes to six. I take care of that, put the coffee pot on and step out onto the balcony to light my pipe. The sun is not quite above the horizon to the east and the valleys are full of mist. I step back in, fill a coffee cup, get the camera and step back out to make a couple of pictures.

The breakfast is adequate, but there are only 2 tables in the breakfast room. We all load up plates and go sit by the pool. We are checked out by 7:30 and in the air by 8:30 for the 20 minute flight to Petit Jean. We take off first and Cloyd is rolling as we turn to the southeast. In a few minutes, We have Petit Jean mountain in sight. The runway is about 2/3rds of the way to the west side, so I aim for the center of the mountain. I begin descending from the 2800' we had risen to and as I identify the runway, Cloyd appears off our left wing. We have heard a Cessna flying around the area, and he is landing as I begin the turn back to the downwind. Cloyd turns in behind us and announces number two behind us.

If you extend your downwind here, you run off the mountain. You are on downwind, descending from about 1000' above the ground and suddenly over the nose, the ground is 1800' below you. Our base is just inside the drop-off, I am looking down 700' and Sandra is looking down 1500'. As I turn final, I tell Cloyd that there is no taxiway nor turnout, so I will have to back taxi. He opts for an abbreviated go around as we land.

We taxi up to the parking area and shut down. There is a crowd of people there but no other airplanes. We don't recognize anyone because they are all part of a family reunion waiting for rides in the Cessna that one of them had flown in.

Cloyd taxis in and shuts down. The Cessna returns and swaps passengers for another trip. Jay and Dena arrive in a van and crew cab pickup with their 2 children. Gene and Becky McPherson arrive in their nice Sierra. The Cessna returns and parks at the end of the line, done for the day. Dave Buttram arrives in his powder blue Sundowner. Mike Earry arrives from Mississippi in his Sierra followed closely by Mark and Tyra Miller in his red Mousebat.

It is now after 10:00 and no one knows of any others that are coming, so we distribute ourselves among the vehicles and head for the lodge and lunch. The scenic route takes us around the top of the mountain to the southwest corner. At the lodge, we pile out, ooh and ah over the view and file into the dining room. The food was excellent and very reasonably priced.

After lunch and conversation, someone makes the decision that we all hike to Cedar Falls. Whoever made the decision or cast the deciding vote will remain nameless if they wish to continue living. There is a sign about 50 yards from the lodge warning that the trail is 2 miles long and "strenuous". What's strenuous to a group of aviators? Bah!

The trail descends to the bottom of the mountain in a series of switchbacks with steps of piled stones. Some a few inches and some a real reach. At the bottom, you are maybe 100 yards from the lodge by the GPS, but some 5-700 feet below it. It is still a long way to the falls over a rocky trail following a creek bed. It is worth it even if there was only a little water cascading down.

But now, there is the hike back. As someone said when we first reached the bottom, "Well, now we are committed.". Suffice it to say that we made it. Even though we were stopping to rest on each switchback by the time we got to the top. Into the lodge for more water and sit in the lounge to rest.

About three, we all piled into the vehicles and head back with a detour and stop at the east overlook and Petit Jean grave. Back at the ramp, we make group pictures and begin firing up. We are off just after 4:30 for the 226nm flight to Aero Country.

The gawdawful flight home.


We pick up flight following from Memphis Center climbing out to 4500'. When I started to level off, I realize that there is no trace of a horizon ahead. This is the worst haze I have ever seen. Of course, we are looking nearly into the sun which makes it worse, but we can not only see no horizon ahead, we can see no ground over the nose.

We can see horizon from about 2 o'clock to 10 o'clock, and ground for several miles on either side, but ahead is nothing. At this altitude, we are at least 2000' over the highest hills in our path, so that is not a worry. The problem is holding heading with nothing out front but goo.

We make Rich Mountain VOR with no problem and after a short hunt for the outbound radial, we are on our way to Bonham. As we identify an unnamed lake below Ringold, I realize that we now have some visibility over the nose and Lake Hugo is there just off the nose. It is simple from here other than us being tired. Just north of Hugo, across the Red River and back into Texas. Directly over Bonham and down 121 to home.

Very nice landing, and Sandra says that Dave was watching from his patio. Taxi back to the hangar, unload and hook up the oil change stuff. Then stop by Dave's a few minutes before heading to the house. Another good trip on our magic carpet.