We had to fly over the Guadalupe Mountains, which peak at about 9,000 feet, so I decided to climb to 11,500 feet. This was my first experience in the mountains. Our Uber driver even went to Permian High School!Īfter spending the night in Midland we took off for El Paso, Texas (DNA). We departed VFR and flew to Midland, Texas (MDD), home of the TV show Friday Night Lights. While she was fueling up she told us about an exotic hunting ranch a few miles up the road, but we had to keep moving on. We shut the aircraft down and the airport manager came out to fuel the plane up she was the only one there. Coming into land the winds were 190 at 18 gusting to 27 - that was a fun no-flap landing. We canceled IFR in the air as we approached Brady and the winds picked up from calm to light turbulence, with moderate chop descending from 7,000 feet to the surface. Going through the clouds in the middle of Texas was a good experience because they definitely packed a lot more energy than the same kind of cloud buildup in Florida. Once it cleared up we got to witness a fleet of local Air Tractor AT-802s take off while we were in the run-up area. The next morning we found ourselves in another IFR situation with the ceiling at 200 feet and less than two miles of visibility, so we had to wait that out as well. The hotel was built in 1912 and Jim even picked us up from the airport himself! He also let us borrow his van to head over to the local barbecue joint for some good Texas ribs. The guys at the airport told us that another pilot, who was flying across Texas in a Cub, chose that hotel earlier so it was only right we did too. We found a local hotel called The Belle-Jim Hotel. His owner and his buddies directed us over to a grass area where I used stakes and rope that the Holladay’s let me borrow to tie down the plane. I was greeted by the local airport manager, a German shepherd/lab pup named Chief. We didn’t know anything about Jasper, just that fuel was cheap! After the landing we discovered all of the tie down spots were taken. We gassed up, ate lunch and departed for Jasper, Texas (JAS) where we would stay the night. Eventually it cleared up to at least 1,000 feet (my personal minimums) and we filed IFR to Baton Rouge, Louisiana (BTR). We stayed the night and woke up the next morning to a 300-foot overcast ceiling so we decided to wait for things to improve. The first leg was from Jacksonville (CRG) to Milton, Florida (2R4). Thirty minutes after my flight with the DPE, with my instrument rating and a temporary certificate in hand, my dad and I packed the rest of our things in the plane, I filed an IFR flight plan, and we headed west. The only day the DPE had open was the day of our planned departure and it worked out perfectly. I passed the oral portion of the check ride two weeks earlier, but had to reschedule the flight portion due to poor weather. I ended up passing my instrument check ride the day we departed on the trip, October 18. Kevin and his dad flew nearly 4,000 miles in two weeks. We came to the conclusion that we would face relatively the same challenges on either route, so we decided to fly one route on the way there, and the other on the return. ![]() One is a northern route through Montana, the other is a southern route through Texas, Arizona and eventually heading north through Nevada and Oregon. There were two main routes we considered to cross the Rocky Mountains. Not to mention, a buddy of mine has some cool desert toys in Bullhead City, Arizona, so we had to add that airport to our itinerary. It would be the perfect combination of building time, gaining real world flying experience and getting the chance to visit with family all in one trip. So I invited my dad, who is a retired airline pilot, to fly out there with me to see her. My aunt lives in Seattle, and she isn’t doing so well, unfortunately. I decided to plan a trip to build experience flying in various climates and terrain. ![]() My journey across America in a Cessna 172 began with an idea to figure out a way to quickly build hours toward my commercial pilot certificate. Holladay Aviation renter pilot Kevin Patrick (right side of photo, left seat) flew N739ZW from Florida to Arizona with his father this fall.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |