The Plan for the Plane
General Patton said, "Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory." My first challenge was to build an airplane. I built an experimental aircraft kit airplane (a Van's RV-7A) in my garage in 6 years and then felt the exhilaration of traveling through the air in something I built with my own two hands. After flying it for two years, I needed a new challenge and since my wife was not excited about giving up the garage for another 6 years for airplane #2, I decided on a travel adventure. I'd been reading about other pilots who had flown to and landed in all 48 states and decided this would be a great and fun challenge and as a bonus, I'd take my son, Austin, and we'd have quality father and son time.
The plan: Fly to and land in all 48 lower states in one week certifying each state by putting our feet on the ground and documenting every stop with a photograph. A mere "touch and go" would not count.
We did plan to see a few significant sights along the way like the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, the Hudson River, First Flight airport and also eat lobster in Maine but knew we wouldn't have time to take a thorough sightseeing tour of the country. We had 48 states to claim and only a week to do it.
My son and I worked hard on the details of the trip for several months. We divided up tasks according to our experience and capabilities. I took care of aircraft maintenance and flight information technology, Austin worked on personal supplies (including how much and what kind of food and camping gear to carry with us) and we split up route planning. Austin even worked on our plan during his two months in Italy (Austin and his girlfriend, Sam, lived, worked and skied in the northern Italian city of Cortina.)
We searched for others that had done something similar but only found car driving information except for one pilot and his wife that had made a 48 state trip in about 14 days in their Van's RV aircraft. We started with his basic routing for the states but ended up changing it quite a bit. We also got good recommendations for friendly stops from our online pilot friends at vansairforce.net. We did the route planning in Foreflight which made it much easier than the old fashioned paper chart method from back in ancient flying times.
Here's the planned route before we departed.
The plan: Fly to and land in all 48 lower states in one week certifying each state by putting our feet on the ground and documenting every stop with a photograph. A mere "touch and go" would not count.
We did plan to see a few significant sights along the way like the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, the Hudson River, First Flight airport and also eat lobster in Maine but knew we wouldn't have time to take a thorough sightseeing tour of the country. We had 48 states to claim and only a week to do it.
My son and I worked hard on the details of the trip for several months. We divided up tasks according to our experience and capabilities. I took care of aircraft maintenance and flight information technology, Austin worked on personal supplies (including how much and what kind of food and camping gear to carry with us) and we split up route planning. Austin even worked on our plan during his two months in Italy (Austin and his girlfriend, Sam, lived, worked and skied in the northern Italian city of Cortina.)
We searched for others that had done something similar but only found car driving information except for one pilot and his wife that had made a 48 state trip in about 14 days in their Van's RV aircraft. We started with his basic routing for the states but ended up changing it quite a bit. We also got good recommendations for friendly stops from our online pilot friends at vansairforce.net. We did the route planning in Foreflight which made it much easier than the old fashioned paper chart method from back in ancient flying times.
Here's the planned route before we departed.
Day 0 - Friday, May 25th, 2018
We flew to Dumas, Texas (KDUX) to be close to Oklahoma for the official start of the trip the next morning to avoid having to fly an extra 400+ miles just to get out of Texas. They have a great FBO in Dumas. They left the keys to the loaner car on the counter for us as we were arriving after hours. We stayed in the Quality Inn which was comfortable and affordable with a free breakfast that started early enough to have at 5:30 a.m.
Leaving New Braunfels, Texas (KBAZ) on Friday afternoon full of energy and excitement.
Our original plan was to take a photo like this of every state showing that state's typical landscape. We abandoned that plan after we found that there were very few distinctive features from the air to tell one state from another or even tell which state we were in.
Dinner at Hogg's BBQ. They stayed open Friday evening for us after closing hours. We told the waitress that their BBQ was as good as most of the top 50 Texas BBQ joints (as rated by Texas Monthly magazine) that we have been flying to over the last several years. She brought out the owner who liked hearing us tell him the same.
Dumas, Texas (KDUX). That's the BBQ place directly behind us.
Austin's waffle rendering of Texas.
Nice to pull the free courtesy car right out to the airplane to load and unload.
Day 1 - Saturday, May 26th, 2018
We departed Dumas, Texas early on the first official day of our attempt to visit 48 states in 7 days. We visited Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Nevada.
Sunrise leaving Dumas.
Our first stop was in Boise City, Oklahoma (17K). It wasn't our original stop as Guymon, Oklahoma (KGUY) was IFR with ground fog. No problem to divert as we did it many more times on our trip. Quite a desolate place but the weather was fine. See the length of our shadows? The sun had just come up and I still had my light on the bill of my cap from leaving Dumas in the dark.
On to Triniday, Colorado (KTAD). This was an old but cool FBO from probably the 40's or 50's. It looked like it was a frequent stopping point at some time. There was an old soda fountain in the lobby and a very old radio in the back room.
Next stop was Elkhart, Kansas (KEHA). Small town but pretty looking from the air with a nice golf course. We only hopped out on the taxiway for a quick photo for that planned stop.
Old radio room from past glory days.
Next stop, Aztec, New Mexico (N19). On the way in, we saw a TFR (Temporary Flight Restriction) that was obviously for fire fighting. We could see the firefighting plane or probably helicopter on our instruments. After landing, we saw a mule deer cross the runway. Glad it waited to cross. Inside the FBO were directions to old Pueblo ruins. There was a TV and VCR with old aviation related VHS tapes.
Crossing the Rocky mountains in Colorado and New Mexico.
A pleasant surprise as we were happily flying along when Austin said, "what are those red rock towers over there?" Turns out we were close enough to take a quick detour to see Monument Valley.
Monument Valley.
Page, Arizona (KPGA). We were surprised at how busy the airport was with all the Grand Canyon tours arriving and departing.
Lake Powell was beautiful. And big!
On to Utah but first a detour past the Painted Desert and then through the Grand Canyon. We flew the Zuni and Dragon corridors which allowed us to get down lower. It was unpleasantly bumpy but it was worth seeing it...once. Not sure we'd do it again with that much turbulence.
Grand Canyon.
Grand Canyon.
St. George, Utah (KPGA). We took a quick nap in the large FBO back in the crew lounge; it was dark and quiet with theater type recliners...the perfect place to rest. Very windy so we tied the airplane down.
We stopped for the night in Hawthorne, Nevada (KHTH) but made a gas stop in Tonopah, Nevada (KTPH) on the way. Tonopah looked like it was a giant airport back in WWII days and the older (and only) gentleman at the really old FBO said Chuck Yeager learned to fly P-39 Airacobras here. There were huge wooden hangers falling apart and the wind was blowing at 30 knots. Austin had to hold onto the airplane while we refueled. It was a short hop to Hawthorne.
Applying the state stickers.
Eight states down and 40 to go.
Shelby paid (my birthday present, Thanks!) for a night in the Travelodge. Hawthorne is billed as the most explosive town in the world and we saw thousands of bunker looking things in the desert outside of town. Betty met us at the FBO and was the nicest person we encountered on the trip. She provided a courtesy mini-van without asking and was a wealth of directions and helpful hints. Austin and I were sad the Bomb Museum wasn't open.
Day 2 - Sunday, May 27th, 2018
Up early for our second day of the trip. The Travelodge was quiet and comfy and we got a good night's sleep after watching NBA basketball. After a drive-through breakfast of McDonald's bacon, egg and cheese biscuits it was an easy drive back to the airport. Today took us to California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and North Dakota.
Here are the bomb bunkers surrounding Hawthorne.
First stop, Alturas, California (KAAT). Small quiet town with flooded fields growing something very wet. Very nice unmanned FBO in an old building with a red and white checkered metal roof and perfect grass out front. We refilled our water bottles from the old pump next to the building. We both said it would have been a good place to camp. The gas pump credit card machine stuck out as it was a very modern computer screen type.
John Day, Oregon (KGCD). It was a very steep approach to runway 35 over the mountains. The airport was up on a mesa and the surrounding terrain looked like an alpine village. This was the most beautiful small FBO on the entire trip. It had a lodge theme, two bunk rooms with showers and a glass three story viewing area with a panorama view. But, the pumps weren't working because of a lightning strike a few days prior.
Walla Walla, Washington (KALW). Patchwork fields surrounded the Class D towered airport. We could see what looked like wineries and when Austin googled the town, it mentioned there were 100 wineries in the area. We asked the ground controller if there were any restaurants and he said maybe in the terminal. We walked about a mile only to find everything closed. On the way, there were three or four wineries on the airport grounds.
We were hungry so it was time break out the Ramen Noodles. We used our newly purchase immersion water heater to boil the water for our fancy lunch while sitting on the concrete outside the locked FBO...no key pad outside for pilots to use.
Orofino, Idaho (S68). This was the most beautiful airport of the trip. Deep in a valley next to a swift river. Well appointed FBO with a high tech lock that allowed us to go in and use their facilities and take part in their snacks and drinks...we left a donation for the items we took and were happy to do so.
Orofino was quite a challenging approach and departure. It was a left hand pattern so we flew along the hill to the left of the field in the photo and made a tight turn and flew down the face of another hill. Easy in an RV but I imagine not many inexperienced Cessna pilots make this a destination.
Large reservoir high above the town on the way to the field.
Beautiful but rugged and remote terrain between Idaho and Montana.
On to Butte, Montana (KBTM). We had some weather over the field but we could see it on ADS-B from 30 minutes out. We decided to continue on and it had cleared by the time we got there. More beautiful valleys and there was a gigantic open-pit copper mine adjacent to the town that was cool to see from the air. The FBO was full service but we didn't go in. We should have as the fueler said it was for the fancy Gulfstream crowd visiting the 5 star lodges nearby. We made a quick turn and left for Wyoming.
Copper Mine. You can see the storm on the screen. It was five miles from the field and moving away.
Rain Showers on the way to Butte.
The weather was not cooperating in Wyoming so we pressed on to Hettinger, North Dakota (KHEI) with the plan to backtrack in the morning. No state left behind! It was getting dark and we could see the gas flairs from the oil fields. We were on flight following with Salt Lake Center and it was busy with many airliners complaining about the ride and wanting to change altitudes. We were amused when the air traffic controller paused from talking to the airliners and asked us if we had built the RV and if it was a nosewheel or taildragger. We chatted for a moment and I made sure to tell him the ride was smooth at 11,500 feet, just to needle the airliners.
Sun going down over the oil fields in North Dakota.
Sun going down over the oil fields in North Dakota.
It was dark when we arrived.
We slept on the floor of the FBO. Reasonably comfortable as we have some nice camping pads but the automatic lights wanted to come on too often. There was a shower in the morning that we used before we left but it never got warm. Now we were wide awake.
Only ones at the field. Austin noticed all the surrounding houses had the same amber colored lights. We thought it might be some requirement for being so close to the airport.
End of day 2 and the map is starting to fill up.
Day 3 - Monday, May 28th, 2018
Departed Hettinger early on day 3 of our trip. We visited Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.
First stop was Newcastle, Wyoming (KECS). Our planned destination was Hulett, Wyoming (W43) and we did fly to it but the low clouds were too thick to land. We had originally planned this stop as it was close to Devil's Tower. Austin did an excellent job finding Newcastle as a divert. We climbed over the cumulogranite clouds hugging the Black Hills and into scattered skies. The area looked very desolate and the FBO was unmanned with a $50 call-out for fuel. But, the FBO shack was open. Luckily, we didn't need any gas.
Next stop, Custer, South Dakota (KCUT). On the way in, we saw the Crazy Horse mountain carving in the distance. The landscape was nice rolling green hills with granite outcroppings. Looked like a great place to camp. The FBO had a manager who was very friendly and the gas was cheap. We made a pit stop and continued on to Nebraska but first, one of our planned detours.
Mount Rushmore. We didn't get too close but the view was great. Much more impressive than we expected. We watched the helicopters flying close to the faces. After, we flew over The Badlands; we were glad that our mode of transportation was an airplane since you could tell by looking at the rugged terrain how it had gotten its name.
Harrington, Nebraska (0B4). This was a very nice FBO tucked in beautiful farmland. There were sprinklers going as we were refueling but we didn't mind getting a little wet as it was hot. They definitely took good care of the grounds. The FBO was cool and had cookies and snacks left out on the table. Nostalgic photos on the walls. Austin and I ate Ramen for lunch with the plane parked out front on the lawn. Notice the flag we got in the photo for Memorial day?
There was a little weather on the way to Minnesota and we diverted to Jackson, Minnesota (KMJQ) instead of Blue Earth (KSBU) which had a thunderstorm overhead. Austin made the very smart call early and was flying this leg. Very well appointed county airport. Would have been a good place to stay and rest but we wanted to keep going in case one of the isolated thunderstorms decided to pay a visit. As soon as we took off, we remembered we hadn't taken a photo so we made a quick return to the field.
Lancaster, Wisconsin (73C). A small remote airport in the middle of green farmland. Austin really liked the red barns. The FBO was small but did have showers. There were blueprint size drawings on the table so they must be in the middle of planning something. We relaxed and then did some stretching on the floor before departing.
We decided the spend the night in Washington, Iowa (KAWG). Nice unmanned FBO with a big airplane model display in the lobby and honor system courtesy cars, one of which we borrowed. We really liked the town. Beautiful well kept older houses. The town square was friendly and inviting like something out of an idealized 1950's movie with a park in the middle and kids splashing in the water play area. The businesses around it looked like they were thriving and we counted at least six or eight restaurants. We stayed at the Hawkeye motel which was only $58. It was old and dated but was clean and comfortable.
We thought about going to the movies at this theater but the next showing of Solo: A Star Wars Story was later than we wanted. Wikipedia says, "The State Theater in Washington, Iowa is the oldest continuously operating movie theater in the world. It showed its first films in 1897, and was inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records on April 21, 2016. It is still in operation as of June 1, 2018."
We had ice cream at the Korner Kremery, a popular and unique little shop that made much of its own ice cream. Austin had Monster Cookie in a waffle cone and I had Banana Pudding ice cream. Both were delicious. Shelby teased that I had "krazy" eyes. I kinda' did after a bug flew in my eye just as Austin was taking the picture and wouldn't retake it because he thought it was so funny.
End of day 3 and the western half of the country is complete.
Day 4 - Tuesday, May 29th, 2018
Today was a long day with stops in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont and Maine. Another early drive through breakfast of McDonald's bacon, egg and cheese biscuits. We packed and I pre-flighted while Austin returned the courtesy car. Thanks, Washington Municipal Airport.
First stop was Kahoka, Missouri (0H7), a grass strip in the extreme northeast corner of the state. It was hard to find among the many farm fields and was tucked in right next to the small town. We did a low pass to assess the condition of the field and it looked good so we landed. Only two small hangers on the field but houses and light industrial buildings bordered close on one side of the runway.
On to Canton, Illinois (KCTK). We had a very nice visit with the vice-president of EAA Chapter 832, Kori Sheff. I was wearing my EAA Chapter 958 shirt, which she noticed. She showed us around their chapter office in the FBO building and we asked about the large table made with a tire and a glass top. She said astronaut Steven Nagel was from Canton and donated the tire, which had flown on a space shuttle. Cool story. We saw a roofer working on the FBO roof wearing a burnt orange "Texas" shirt. Both being graduates, we gave him a "hook 'em horns" but I don't think he made the connection. That's the EAA Chapter's hanger in the background. Our most "EAA friendly" stop.
La Porte, Indiana (KPPO). The self-serve fuel was on the smaller quiet side of the airport. There was an FBO building of sorts but looked seldom used. Curious that the sink had a big sign on it that said "NO WATER". A trucker delivering fuel knocked (it was a CTAF code locked door) and we let him in. We later learned that our son-in-law Dave's mother was from La Porte.
Sturgis, Michigan (KIRS) had taxiway work tar sealing cracks that we accidentally taxied over. Oops. The FBO was hard to find as we didn't think the signage was clear but a nice lady saw us and radioed directions. Inside, Austin liked the BIG friendly Husky. We got a loaner car and proceeded to town with lunch recommendations. Our first option was closed so we diverted to the alternate. On the way, a scruffy gentleman wanted to talk more than we did so we changed directions only to find ourselves between him and two clean-cut white short sleeve shirt and tie wearing, fast walking boys who looked like they were on a mission to talk to us. We ended up in an old school corner cafe and lunched on gyros and grilled cheese sandwiches. On the way back we had my favorite, dip cones from DQ.
Norwalk, Ohio (5A1) was a clean but old smelling FBO. They did have a cold water fountain and comfy couches. We waited for the crop duster to land and he was nice to coordinate his taxi in with our taxi out for takeoff so we didn't have to wait too long. Just at the end of the runway was a drag strip which I hope others didn't mistake for the runway. We thought we lost our marker so had to use a pen for this picture.
The flight to Wellsboro, Pennsylvania (N38) was a longer leg and the countryside changed to absolutely beautiful rolling green hills patchworked with trees and small towns in the valleys. We met and visited with a young man who was babysitting a very nice RV-4 for the owner. He said he could fly it all he wanted. He was taking a friend flying and two ladies waiting for them gave us the FBO door code as it was "CTAF x 30 plus 637". The common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) for Wellsboro was 122.8. We commented how beautiful the countryside was and they wanted to know if we saw their pretty town in the valley. We said yes but had seen dozens of pretty towns in valleys. Inside was a well maintained snack and drink honor system setup benefiting the local flying club or EAA chapter. Found the marker.
We arrived in Johnstown, New York (NY0) during an EAA or Flying club meeting with probably 40 in attendance. We had to squeeze between airplanes and they politely but curiously watched us as we refueled. We could tell they wanted us to come visit but we wanted to keep going as it was getting late and dark. We hand walked the plane a good distance away to avoid disturbing the gathering. On the way in and out we thought the Finger Lakes area of New York had a well deserved reputation as being scenic.
Rutland, Vermont (KRUT) continues the beautiful countryside with the airport being in a lush valley surrounded by picturesque hills. Landing, we saw a very big house in the woods next to the airport. Austin found an article on Google stating Rutland County was listed as the location of the first major documented polio outbreak in the United States. Nothing open so we had to make our pit stop discrete. It was darker than this picture shows as I think Austin did some digital magic to it.
Austin wanted me to pose "gangster like", whatever that means. This was my attempt at being gangster.
We arrived at Sanford, Maine (KSFM) after dark. The FBO was closed but we had called ahead to let them know we would be in late so they told where to park. We secured the airplane and walked the easy half mile to the Super 8 motel. We dropped our stuff in the room and walked next door to the Super Walmart for some shopping including Woolite that I used to wash some shirts. It was interesting to hear the accents and even french speakers in Walmart, not the second language we usually hear in Texas. It was a long day so we went to bed early looking forward to lobster eating tomorrow.
End of day 4 and a lot of the country has been stickered.
Day 5 - Wednesday, May 30th, 2018
We planned to depart Maine about 1 p.m. to allow us time to eat lobster for lunch. We visited New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and West Virginia.
We slept a little later than usual and had the free hotel breakfast before checking out. Austin's waffle was just 4 circles unlike the Texas shape in Dumas. We made the easy half-mile walk back to the airport to pack our bags in the airplane before continuing on to lobster lunch. It was just under a two mile walk to Lord's Clam Box. We arrived about 10 minutes before opening but they opened the doors for us to wait inside. We had lobster stew, lobster pie and lobster roll. We both thought the lobster stew was the best and Austin thought the sauce was mostly butter. On the way back, we stopped for ice cream at Shain's of Maine which we both though was good but the servings were too large to finish after all the lobster.
Lobster roll.
Before leaving for Rochester, New Hampshire (KDAW), we visited with the Sanford FBO folks and learned that one of them had relatives close to New Braunfels and enjoyed visiting the area. We also talked to the mechanic in the hanger working on a pristine Ran's taildragger that he said the owner uses with skis in the winter. On the taxi out, we stopped to get some fuel but they didn't have 100LL, only ethanol-free 91 octane, so we just took 5 gallons. It was only a 12 mile flight to Rochester where we topped off fuel despite their confusing pump system.
Stow, Massachusetts (6B6) was a small airport hidden in the woods. After landing, we chatted with a man that must have been the manager or owner. There were airplanes lined up between the taxiway and runway and hangers under construction. He said he couldn't keep up with the demand. He took our picture for their newsletter.
Pawtucket, Rhode Island (KSFZ) was our next stop and appeared to be a busy flight school airport. We just stopped on the edge of the ramp and snapped a picture. By now, we had determined that the weather was too low for the Hudson River tour but was better inland so we were working on how to get to each state and making sure we didn't skip any. We took off between two business jets.
Plainville, Connecticut (4B8) felt like a throwback, old school airport. They only had full-serve fuel so we had to search for the FBO. Walking past a hanger, the mechanic said he really liked the color of the plane as it looked retro. The lady at the FBO counter had two dogs on her lap while she worked. We didn't know how she could concentrate. We did like the big bowl of candy at the counter. Austin thought this airport and town was at the transition from New England to New York suburbs.
Sussex, New Jersey (KFWN) was a remote airport with a steep approach over a hill. There was a twin Comanche doing stop and taxi back full length takeoffs and he politely taxied off to let us depart after a quick photo.
Wilmington, Delaware (KILG) was about the only place with good weather in the tiny state. We were headed south to Georgetown, Delaware (KGED) and planned a coastal route to First Flight airport but the weather was just too low so we turned back north. It was a larger field than we had been used to and when the ground controller asked which of the three FBOs we wanted to taxi to, Austin laughed at my reply of, "too many choices". So, we just opted for the closest which was Atlantic Aviation as we didn't see any self-serve and all had similar expensive prices. There was a departing Gulfstream crew that had the attention of the desk folks but they were surprisingly nice to us and even waived some fee we were supposed to pay. I'm guessing the fee was for being a pesky small airplane that didn't buy much fuel.
Austin did some really quick thinking to find Claremont, Maryland (58M) as our next stop since we were planning on-the-fly due to weather. At this point, we were triple checking that we hadn't skipped any of the small east coast states. It was a small, remote airport with two houses next to the runway that looked like they belonged in a tract neighborhood and not on an airport.
Next stop was eventually Petersburg, West Virginia (W99). Leaving the low weather coast and flying west, we had to avoid the huge DC SFRA airspace and some weather while we were looking for a destination where we could spend the night. Petersburg listed "on airport camping" which sold us. After landing, we searched for the camping area and saw what might be it but was outside the high barb-wired fence with a locked gate. Then we saw a large mowed field adjacent to the taxiway with a bridge over the ditch that looked just like the new "island" parking area in Home Built Camping at Oshkosh. Looked perfect to us and we were the only ones around so who could care. We did the full airplane tie down and pitched our tent and then Austin went in search of electricity around the closed FBO to heat water for our camping dinner. During his search, an older gentleman drove up and said we weren't supposed to camp there. Austin said he told him the airport listed "on airport camping" and that the other place wasn't "on the airport" or even accessible. He grumbled something and left but we stayed put.
Turns out our hot water heater thing was broken but we had plenty of french bread and chicken salad in foil to eat for dinner.
End of the day and a bunch more stickers. We just might finish this trip.
Day 6 - Thursday, May 31th, 2018
The two man tent was quite cozy. We have a bigger one but this one was nice and light and was only meant as a backup for this trip. Glad we had it. Austin said he didn't sleep well as he had forgotten his eye shades and didn't want to get up to get them. We had a few good rain showers overnight with no leaks in the tent plus a nice wet airplane to make it easier to clean. For breakfast, we added cold water to my powdered milk and cereal in a ziplock that I had read about on a camping blog. They said the key was the best quality powdered milk and it was actually pretty good.
When we were finished with breakfast and almost finished packing the airplane, an older lady drove up to the fence and yelled she had unlocked the FBO for us. We finished packing and taxied the airplane over in front of the FBO and went inside to use the facilities. While washing my hands, I had an odd feeling like vertigo and worried maybe I was too tired from the trip or getting sick. Turned out the mirror was warped at the top and the peripheral reflection behind me was like a fun house mirror. Whew, crisis averted! We ended up waiting in the FBO about 30 minutes for the weather to clear. The man from last night and the lady from this morning were in the FBO with us but neither visited or even said hi. The open pilot lounge looked like the grand kid's playroom and before we left, we got the distinct impression that the couple was paid to run the FBO but didn't care much for those pesky pilots or airplanes. Hopefully we're wrong and this FBO is as pilot friendly as all the others we've visited.
Today took us to Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
When we were finished with breakfast and almost finished packing the airplane, an older lady drove up to the fence and yelled she had unlocked the FBO for us. We finished packing and taxied the airplane over in front of the FBO and went inside to use the facilities. While washing my hands, I had an odd feeling like vertigo and worried maybe I was too tired from the trip or getting sick. Turned out the mirror was warped at the top and the peripheral reflection behind me was like a fun house mirror. Whew, crisis averted! We ended up waiting in the FBO about 30 minutes for the weather to clear. The man from last night and the lady from this morning were in the FBO with us but neither visited or even said hi. The open pilot lounge looked like the grand kid's playroom and before we left, we got the distinct impression that the couple was paid to run the FBO but didn't care much for those pesky pilots or airplanes. Hopefully we're wrong and this FBO is as pilot friendly as all the others we've visited.
Today took us to Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
Pikeville, Kentucky (KPBX) was our first stop. It was on the top of a mountain and the valleys were so deep and steep that we couldn't see the town. The countryside was pretty but the fact that they listed showers in the FBO was key to our decision to stop there. We appreciated being able to wash off camping grunge in nice warm showers. We were met at the fuel pumps and assisted by a very nice young man who worked at the FBO. He was born and raised in Pikeville and we enjoyed a long talk with him about the town and the airport and Kentucky basketball. Austin thought he had the most stereotypical accent we heard on the trip. Before we left, two older gentlemen who arrived in a Mooney chatted with us and said they liked the airplane and our story. They were also born and raised and still lived in Pikeville.
Jonesville, Virginia (0VG) was the poorest looking part of the country we saw from the air. The airport looked almost abandoned but the FBO was very nice and new and the A/C was cold. We borrowed the loaner car and set out for lunch. Neither of us had cell reception (different carriers) so we guessed on the turn out of the airport. After 15 minutes of driving and nothing to find, we decided to return to the airport and eat our freeze dried sweet and sour pork with rice, which was delicious. Notice the change of clothes?
Turns out the town was the other way but it would have been 20 minutes away. This is what we saw during our drive.
Elizabethton, Tennessee (0A9) has very pretty hills and valleys. This was just a quick stop for a picture. A Cirrus Vision Jet landed right after us but opposite direction with a tailwind. Departing, we had to climb to cross Appalachian mountains. If the weather had been better, I would have enjoyed flying by Boone, North Carolina to see where I lived for a year in High School.
Shelby, North Carolina (KEHO). My daughter's name is Shelby so how could we not stop here even if it was a little out of our way. We did have to race a localized storm to get there but it ended up dissipating so we didn't have to hurry after we arrived.
Union, South Carolina (35A) was an old airfield where the water fountain didn't work and the liquid from the outside spigot was brown. We did buy some bottled water from the soda machine. Someone saw us land and came over from his hanger to visit. He was helping daughter work on her car in his hanger. We didn't stay long as we had called ahead to relatives in Georgia that we were coming so we didn't want to keep them waiting.
Perry, Georgia (KPXE) was a planned stop for the night as we have many relatives in the area. My dad had four siblings and most stayed in the area so I can't throw a rock without hitting a cousin. My Uncle Tommy and Aunt Lois (both siblings of my dad) were there to meet us. Uncle Tommy took us to his house and fed us dinner after we had swum in his pool while eating boiled peanuts. We also got to see several more relatives including Aunt Guynell (my dad calls her Penny as in, "pretty as a penny"), and my cousin Laura who dropped by despite having a nuclear headache. I probably saw Laura more than any cousin while growing up so it was really great to visit with her. We forgot to get a picture of the state stickers as we were enjoying visiting with relatives.
Day 7 - Friday, June 1st, 2018
We were up early at cousin Mark and Gayle's house with Uncle Tommy arriving at exactly 6 a.m. to cook a delicious southern breakfast including grits with Aunt Lois helping. Much better than my powdered milk and cereal in a ziplock! On the way to the airport, we visited with Jeff, cousin Laura's husband. He runs a big company that builds huge electric motor starters. We got the nickle tour and parting gifts of Yeti cups. It was super interesting to see the inner workings of a small factory. Another cousin, Gregg, worked there and we visited for a few moments. Remember not being able to throw a rock without hitting a cousin? We didn't mind the somewhat slow start as the morning clouds in Florida had our destination IFR. Today took us to Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and back home to Texas.
When we departed for Marianna, Florida (KMAI) the weather was already scattered. We parked next to another Van's RV. We were surprised at how few we saw on the trip. The pilot of this RV later said he saw us arrive and wondered why we left so quickly.
Cousin Laura left us a snack box the evening before and we broke it out and started snacking. Georgia peaches, Uncle Tommy's boiled peanuts and more. It was extremely appreciated. Thanks, Laura! We later found out that Lane Southern Orchards is a famous place to get peaches in Georgia.
Greenville, Alabama (KPRN) was a stop recommended by Dan H. and it was a good one. Cheap gas. Very friendly lady in the FBO who told us about visiting her son in San Antonio. We loved her southern accent. Comfortable couches to rest for a spell and even an orange striped kitten on the porch. Austin said if his sister was with us, she'd leave us to stay with the kitten. One odd thing was the Civil Air Patrol C-172 that left about a minute before us and their radio calls. The official name of the field is Mac Crenshaw Memorial. The pilot in the C-172 only used "Greenville" and never Mac Crenshaw. Pet peeve of mine but I always try to use the official name but occasionally squeeze in the city name to ensure locals know we're here. I used Mac Crenshaw Memorial in about six radio calls and the other pilot seemed to be purposely not using Mac Crenshaw. We imagined he had some beef with who ever Mac Crenshaw was.
Carthage, Mississippi (08M) felt like a remote crop duster field or so we thought based on the only airplane we saw. There were some folks in a nearby hanger sitting around an airplane under repair. Austin said he heard one lady say she liked the color of our airplane. Quick fuel top off and we departed.
Monticello, Arkansas (KLLQ). Austin was flying this leg and was surprised to see a crop duster so close to the runway. We visited with the friendly airport manager while we were soaking up some air-conditioning. It was H-O-T outside. We got snacks of peanut butter m&m's and orange crush and continued downhill to home.
Natchitoches, Louisiana (KIER) was the last state we needed to complete all 48 lower states in 7 days. Woo Hoo! We pushed the airplane onto the grass to keep it a little cooler than the scorching hot ramp as we planned to eat something and spend more time in the air-conditioning before leaving for home. The lineman was refueling a pink Gama Aviation Wheels Up charter King Air and yelled at us to not block his parking space so we scooted the plane over a little. We planned to go to the locally famous meat pie restaurant in town but it closed at 3 p.m. and we couldn't make it by then. Austin decided to eat the last of the freeze dried hiking food and I had a few crackers from Laura's snack pack. I met a fellow Marine in the lobby that was the pilot for the pink King Air and he said the company has other interesting color schemes for their planes including camouflage. He said he flew OV-10 Broncos in the Marine Corps.
Before we left Natchitoches, we put the last of the stickers on the map. The trip back was at 12,500 feet and nice and cool and one of the few times we had a tailwind.
We made it to New Braunfels, Texas (KBAZ) in time to eat dinner at home. Austin wanted a picture of us like the one he took as we departed a week ago but showing how tired we were. We didn't have to pretend.
Time to put the airplane away and go home and spend the next couple of days recovering.
We Did It!
We visited all 48 lower states in 7 days. We flew approximately 7000 miles and spent over 50 hours in the air. We knew our flight path would not be as straight as planned as we had to avoid weather or restricted airspace like around Washington D.C. or we detoured to see sights. And once, we forgot to get a picture so we had to return to the airport. We estimated all the detours added about 20% to the planned distance and flight time.
Here are all 48 state stickers filled in. The white ones on the white background are hard to see but we did it. We plan to add a description of the trip to the left of the map.
We were generally close to the original route. We did have some weather from Tropical Storm Alberto that we had to avoid which altered our path down the northeast coast and through Kentucky down to North Carolina. Additionally, we had a tough time getting into Wyoming due to weather and had to back track to pick up that state the next morning. We changed about a dozen of the airports stops to ones we thought would be better or closer or had cool names like Shelby, North Carolina.
Here are all 48 state stickers filled in. The white ones on the white background are hard to see but we did it. We plan to add a description of the trip to the left of the map.
We were generally close to the original route. We did have some weather from Tropical Storm Alberto that we had to avoid which altered our path down the northeast coast and through Kentucky down to North Carolina. Additionally, we had a tough time getting into Wyoming due to weather and had to back track to pick up that state the next morning. We changed about a dozen of the airports stops to ones we thought would be better or closer or had cool names like Shelby, North Carolina.
Quick Thoughts About the Trip
It was harder and more tiring than we expected. We averaged over 7 hours of flying and 7 stops a day. Add taxi time, refueling, meals and breaks plus packing and unpacking for overnights along with securing the airplane made for very long days.
We were absolutely amazed with the quality of the Van's RV aircraft. We had exactly ZERO mechanical issues. We didn't even have to add air to the tires. The ONLY thing we did was add a couple of quarts of oil over the 50+ flight hours which is typical for air-cooled Lycoming aircraft engines. But, we were ready for almost any issue including carrying a complete replacement nose wheel. Also, the RVs are faster and can fly higher than most general aviation airplanes which helped us get around or above weather we encountered. We were usually cruising at 160kts and 11,500 or 12,500 feet and occasionally at 14,500 feet while using oxygen.
Having the latest technology in the cockpit helped a lot. Mainly with re-routing due to weather. ADS-B gave us Nexrad moving weather depictions on our maps which was a big help for strategic route planning. It also allowed us to easily look up the current and forecast weather at any location along with airport details.
Almost everyone we met was very nice. We got to visit with many folks during our journey and enjoyed hearing a little bit about them and their life and the local area. Airplane people are great. I think it helped that we were stopping in small towns. And, it was fun to hear the different accents around the country. Austin thought it was cool that people wanted to hear about our journey and even took pictures for their local aviation newsletters. I was flattered that many also liked the airplane and paint job.
Many of the FBOs had a lot of character. Some were just old. Our favorites were small county run airports that were unattended. They were very trusting, providing access after hours and often with honor system courtesy cars that were usually old cop cars or city vehicles. That's familiar to most general aviation pilots that do a lot of traveling but it's a foreign concept to the rest of the world. Same for snacks and drinks and more with the honor system and a jar of cash.
The towns and countryside were more interesting than we expected. For most of the stops, we decided there would never be a reason to visit as they weren't on major roads or didn't have traditional tourist interests. But, some of them had crazy history like the most explosive town in the world or the origin of the outbreak of polio in the U.S. It was also interesting how green and lush parts of the country were that we thought would be barren wastelands. Or, it could have just been a wet spring. It was also interesting how sparsely populated parts of the west were despite being so similar to parts of the east coast that were packed with people.
We felt it would be a hard trip to repeat as a lot of things had to go well like weather, maintenance and health.
Comfortable seats and headsets helped a lot. We have Classic Aero seats and neither of us felt a hot spot or had issues due to the seats. Two really big guys sitting all day in the cockpit is another story. I got two Bose A20 headsets, primarily for this trip, and also never felt a hot spot or discomfort from them. The excellent sound was a bonus.
We did it all VFR! We were ready to file IFR if needed but knew it would be a time consuming task with many stops to and from small, remote airfields.
We were absolutely amazed with the quality of the Van's RV aircraft. We had exactly ZERO mechanical issues. We didn't even have to add air to the tires. The ONLY thing we did was add a couple of quarts of oil over the 50+ flight hours which is typical for air-cooled Lycoming aircraft engines. But, we were ready for almost any issue including carrying a complete replacement nose wheel. Also, the RVs are faster and can fly higher than most general aviation airplanes which helped us get around or above weather we encountered. We were usually cruising at 160kts and 11,500 or 12,500 feet and occasionally at 14,500 feet while using oxygen.
Having the latest technology in the cockpit helped a lot. Mainly with re-routing due to weather. ADS-B gave us Nexrad moving weather depictions on our maps which was a big help for strategic route planning. It also allowed us to easily look up the current and forecast weather at any location along with airport details.
Almost everyone we met was very nice. We got to visit with many folks during our journey and enjoyed hearing a little bit about them and their life and the local area. Airplane people are great. I think it helped that we were stopping in small towns. And, it was fun to hear the different accents around the country. Austin thought it was cool that people wanted to hear about our journey and even took pictures for their local aviation newsletters. I was flattered that many also liked the airplane and paint job.
Many of the FBOs had a lot of character. Some were just old. Our favorites were small county run airports that were unattended. They were very trusting, providing access after hours and often with honor system courtesy cars that were usually old cop cars or city vehicles. That's familiar to most general aviation pilots that do a lot of traveling but it's a foreign concept to the rest of the world. Same for snacks and drinks and more with the honor system and a jar of cash.
The towns and countryside were more interesting than we expected. For most of the stops, we decided there would never be a reason to visit as they weren't on major roads or didn't have traditional tourist interests. But, some of them had crazy history like the most explosive town in the world or the origin of the outbreak of polio in the U.S. It was also interesting how green and lush parts of the country were that we thought would be barren wastelands. Or, it could have just been a wet spring. It was also interesting how sparsely populated parts of the west were despite being so similar to parts of the east coast that were packed with people.
We felt it would be a hard trip to repeat as a lot of things had to go well like weather, maintenance and health.
Comfortable seats and headsets helped a lot. We have Classic Aero seats and neither of us felt a hot spot or had issues due to the seats. Two really big guys sitting all day in the cockpit is another story. I got two Bose A20 headsets, primarily for this trip, and also never felt a hot spot or discomfort from them. The excellent sound was a bonus.
We did it all VFR! We were ready to file IFR if needed but knew it would be a time consuming task with many stops to and from small, remote airfields.
Lessons Learned
We over packed. Washing clothes or doing like Jack Reacher and buying cheap clothes as we go would have made things easier by having smaller and lighter bags and backpacks. We could have also saved weight, time, trouble and gotten better rest by staying in hotels each evening instead of carrying camping equipment.
We might have done less detailed planning on specific stops as we changed many but it did help to have an overall plan. It would have made for more fun to try to do one thing each day like a nice lunch in town or visit the bomb museum. But, that makes for an even longer day so we weren't sure on this one.
We were disappointed that, due to weather, it was not possible to fly the Hudson River Exclusion and land at First Flight airport.
The weather around the country was hotter than we expected. We did a lot of research on historical weather patterns, mainly in the northern states and primarily for flying reasons like avoiding icing conditions and very cold overnight temperatures which make it difficult to start the motor in the morning. We knew it would be hot in the southern states and it was. We got good at keeping seatbelt buckles out of direct sun during stops to keep them cool and we often flew higher than needed just to cool off. If we were doing it again, we might plan the trip a week or two earlier to avoid some of the heat but no earlier as dealing with the cold is hard on a trip like this.
We might have done less detailed planning on specific stops as we changed many but it did help to have an overall plan. It would have made for more fun to try to do one thing each day like a nice lunch in town or visit the bomb museum. But, that makes for an even longer day so we weren't sure on this one.
We were disappointed that, due to weather, it was not possible to fly the Hudson River Exclusion and land at First Flight airport.
The weather around the country was hotter than we expected. We did a lot of research on historical weather patterns, mainly in the northern states and primarily for flying reasons like avoiding icing conditions and very cold overnight temperatures which make it difficult to start the motor in the morning. We knew it would be hot in the southern states and it was. We got good at keeping seatbelt buckles out of direct sun during stops to keep them cool and we often flew higher than needed just to cool off. If we were doing it again, we might plan the trip a week or two earlier to avoid some of the heat but no earlier as dealing with the cold is hard on a trip like this.
All 48 State Pictures
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