The rest of the story

I got tired of flying half the day and writing and uploading half the night so I stopped uploading and enjoyed the flying a lot more. so this is a belated entry covering the last half of the trip.

In a nutshell, I made it safely to San Diego, stayed two days (changed oil and oil filter); then took off back across the mountain range to Salton Sea, turned north to Palm Desert, visited relatives for two days. Played golf, took them for a Champ flight and relaxed.

I then launched southeast toward Imperial Valley, back to Yuma, then east following I-8 to Casa Grande where I stayed the night, located another Champ owner (who kindly bought my dinner).

Then (avoiding Tucson) I launched toward Cochise over some great scenery, picked up I-10 and followed the highway to Lordsburg, turned north at Deming and headed to Albuquerque. I tied down at Mid Valley (E98) where a nice fella let me park the Champ on his front lawn for two days.

Two days later, I departed Mid Valley in the early morning, no wind, no weather and headed northeast and UP to 9,500 MSL to cross the mountain range; picked up I-40 eastbound to Hereford TX where I stopped for lunch and fuel.  Out of Hereford took a heading of about 098 and was quite pleasantly surprised to find "Prairie Dog Town Fork," apparently the origin of the Red River. (It is NE of Tulia TX on the Dallas Ft Worth Sectional).  Beautiful wild country with "no place to land."  I landed at Frederick, OK, an almost deserted airstrip that serves as a satellite airport for military pilot training.  I was late, the FBO was closed, but when I called the number posted on the door, a gentleman and his wife drove back to the airport to help, drove me to town, waited while I ordered a Subway sandwich (the only place to eat) and dropped me off at a motel. The next morning, the manager of the airport picked me up and drove me back to the airport. Even nicer, he gave me a bucket, soap and rags so I could wash the Champ! (It was like that on the whole trip - reslly nice people.) I left after noon on my way to Denison, TX overnight to visit a friend.

After Dennison, I flew east for a long day of flying to avoid predicted heavy winds forecast for my original destination.  A nice fuel stop at Vicksburg MS on the Mississippi River and I kept going to beat the winds.  I landed just at sunset at Meridian MS between some military jets.  The story I like to tell is that the young jet jockeys were so enthralled with my Checkerboard Champ that they invited me to join them for maneuvers the next morning.  I later found out they wanted to use me for target practice so I declined.  

 The next morning, after departing Meridian, MS, I stopped at Prattville, AL, Enterprise, AL and Perry Foley FL (40J).  Stayed overnight in Perry, up at the crack of dawn, taxied out, climbed to about 200 feet when I noticed soft white "stuff" beginning to form just above the tree tops; spiraled down for a landing and sat for 3 hours waiting for the fog to burn off.  The trip that day had the only weather I had to contend with.  First, fog; then bands of showers sweeping in from the Gulf.  (I had a battery operated Garmin 396 with XM radar, so I could see the showers).  It was just like the old days:  fly until I was forced to land by a band of showers; wait for the weather to clear, then dash south until another band approached.  I bided my time in Crystal River, Lakeland and Wachula before making a final push to Punta Gorda where I had a hangar rented for the Champ.  20 minutes after I arrived, the airport disappeared in heavy rain, but the Champ was safe in a hangar and I was picked up by a friend and bought a few rounds.

It was the trip of a Lifetime! 60 hours of flying coast to coast with no mechanical problems, no weather problems - in fact, no problems, just the joy of flying low and slow from sea to shining sea. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Champs really can be cross country magic carpets.

Friday 9/16/2011 Day 9.

Pretty mundane day compared to the flights I’ve made.  Got up, ate free breakfast, recharged all my tech gear, washed my underwear, got a cab back to Brown Field, found a nice mechanic where I bought five quarts of oil and had a little help changing the oil.  He only charged for the oil! Nice guy. Tomorrow, weather permitting, it's off to the Salton Sea Airport at 84 feet BELOW sea level, then to Bermuda Dunes Airport in Palm Desert CA to visit relatives and relax.

Thursday, 9/15/2011 Day 8

Casa Grande was great.  A very nice FBO.  The Holiday Inn paid for a cab to pick me (and deliver me back the next day).  Had a great steak and went to bed.  Free breakfast buffet and I was off to the airport but no rush -- I knew that Brown Field in San Diego would be fogged in until about noon.  Off the ground at Casa Grande, I headed west through the Sonoran Desert at 1000 AGL, chasing my shadow and following I-8 all the way into Yuma, AZ.

Yuma is a combination Marine Corps Air Station and public airport with a tower.  I was instructed to maintain 1200 MSL on downwind for RWY 08.  Just before I crossed over the field, the tower advised me that two F-18s would be departing on RWY 3R but (I was told not to worry) they would fly under me at 700 MSL.  Sure enough, they really moved out.  At Yuma, I taxied to Million Air and my Champ and I were treated as if we just rolled up in a G-2!  Before I got out of the plane, I was handed a cold bottle of water, my windshield was cleaned and I topped off the tanks.  Going inside, I was given a ticket that entitled me to lunch for only $1.00!  I had a great tuna sandwich and a soda for $1.00.

I checked the weather and Brown Field was reporting CAVU conditions, so I left Yuma following I-8 all the way to the mountains, climbing until I leveled out at 6,500 MLS which proved to be the correct altitude to clear the mountains.  I followed I-8 through the mountains until I was certain I could descend into the valley below.

 I reported a 5 mile straight in to RWY 26L and the Champ and I landed, completing the first part of our adventure.

September 14, Day 7

I will be brief.  Left Carlsbad NM at the crack of dawn, 6:40 a.m., local time.  Flew over Guadelupe Pass on the smoothest air of the trip!  I'll post one or two pictures going through the pass.  Flew a total of 6 hours and ended up on Casa Grande, AZ, more than 500 miles at 85 mph.  A great day to fly a 1946 airplane.  This is a really BIG country and so beautiful.

Tuesday 9/13/2011 Day 6.

Nice clear day in Carlsbad NM but the forecast calls for scattered storms this afternoon, so I drove the 10 minute trip to the airport, borrowed a ladder and installed the cabin cover on the Champ so rain won’t get in the cabin.  I also set up the holder for my Stealth HD movie camera so it would point out the right window and get a movie going through Guadelupe Pass tomorrow morning.  I had breakfast at IHOP, then visited Carlsbad Caverns. What a HUGE cave and very beautiful.  A must see. Planning a sunrise departure to get over Guadelupe Pass before the winds pick up.

Monday 9/12/2011 Day 5

I called American Champion and they agreed to overnight a new gas cap to the local FBO.  I rented a car from Enterprise, ate breakfast, and spent an hour on the phone with SPOT CONNECT customer support and got my SPOT CONNECT to work again.  I drove to the airport and packed my bags, then took a leisurely one hour drive to Guadelupe Mountains National Park and drove to the top of Guadelupe Pass – just to check it out.  That night, I decided to treat myself to a good meal.  I found a really old, recently renovated hotel, Trinity Hotel that had a restaurant.  I ordered a small filet, baked potato and two Sam Adams (I don’t fly tomorrow).  Back at Motel 6, I fell asleep.  Not a lot of activity today, but I solved my gas cap problem, my SPOT CONNECT problem and scouted Guadelupe Pass.   Oh, I spent a couple of hours working on my diary.   Not bad for a day off.

Sunday 9/11/2011 Day 4

I woke up before dawn on purpose because it would be hot and I wanted an early start.  On the drive back to the airport, I saw the full moon as it was setting to the west.  By the time I parked the car and got my luggage to The Champ, the sun was glowing in the east.  So I captured a magic moment, The Champ at Sunrise.

I was soon in the air heading southwest for Graham, TX and the magic continued.  The sun was at my back, the air was cool and glass smooth.  The landscape 1000 feet below me was gently rolling hills, with patchwork quilt colors of variegated brown and green (grass and trees) with only a few rectangles dotting the land.  I noticed that the visibility was now at least 30 miles, so different from the Midwest.   There was no smoke from the infamous Texas fires that were in the news.  The air was so smooth and calm that only gentle pressure on the stick or rudder kept The Champ straight and level.  I could pick a spot on the horizon, fly over it, pick another spot and The Champ tracked straight and true.  A great day to fly.  Nearing Graham, TX, I noticed on the distant horizon that the sun illuminated a series of tall white towers that turned out to be huge propellers in multiple wind farms.  As I flew over or near them, I could tell instantly the wind conditions on the grounds.  The propellers always faced into the wind, and I could see the wind shift as I flew west.  If the propellers were not moving; the wind was calm.  

By 8 a.m., the magic ended.  I felt my first thermal bump.  After an hour flight, I landed in Graham to add some fuel because Albany TX, my next stop had no fuel (just as it had none in 1966).  I taxied to the gas pump, chocked the tires, removed the gas cap and brought the ladder to the plane, and it was then that I realized the gas hose was locked.  This was not a self-service pump.  No one was around.  I walked to the FBO and realized it was Sunday; the FBO didn’t open until noon.  I had enough fuel to get to my next two planned stops: Albany, TX and Sweetwater TX which was only about 1.5 hours southwest.  So, I put the ladder back, removed the chocks, and taxied to runway 17.  I announced my departure on Unicom and started my take off roll.   Just as I started lifting the tail (around 35-40 mph) I noticed it!  The gas cap that I had removed and not replaced was still on top of the boot cowl – but it was dancing.  I cut the throttle and as my tailwheel touched the asphalt, the gas cap bounced off to the left and disappeared.  I stopped the plane, turned around and taxied back to the spot where I believed I rotated. 

 The grass was brown and sparse so I was hopeful I’d find the gas cap. I walked the left side of the runway back and forth, along the edge, then 3 feet off the edge, then 6 feet off the edge, then 9 feet off the edge. I did the same on the right side of the runway.  After about 45 minutes, a Cessna 150 pilot drove up and helped me look.  He then said that “Steve” was here, and if anyone had an old Champ gas cap, it would be “Steve.”  So, I taxied the plane to a large hangar and was introduced to Steve Pierce.  I told him of my plight.  We talked a little and he asked me where I was from.  When I said Poplar Gove Airport, he said, “Then you must know Bill Rusk.”  Of course I do.  That broke the ice.  Steve introduced me to his son, his father and his mother.  And, he not only found a gas cap that fit the plane, he inserted a tube to be sure it would vent properly.  Well, about noon, I was ready to go.  I drained the left aux tank into the main tank, and used the “new old cap” on the aux tank just in case it might not work. 

As I got ready to depart, I tried to pair my SPOT CONNECT with my iPhone.  I tried several times and I could not get them to synch.  Without the SPOT activated, I could not leave a bread crumb trail for my loyal followers to see my flight path my web page.  So, I departed Graham TX into clear but hot air.  About 20 minutes out, we passed Hubbard Creek Lake.  After 30 minutes, I landed at Albany TX (T23) just as the Buck brothers did.  There was nothing there but a few old buildings, not even a sign, so I departed and headed to Sweetwater TX.  By this time, it was hot and really bumpy.  Thermals in Texas are a lot stronger than thermals in the Midwest, and I saw a lot more “dust devils,” some reaching up 1,000 feet or more.  I was forced to concentrate on flying.  One moment, the plane would start to climb, a minute later, start to descend.  One moment a strong thermal would force the left wing up; a minute later, the right wing went up.  I was constantly using rudder and stick to keep the airplane straight and level.  Finally, Sweetwater appeared on the horizon and as I landed, the wind was calm.  The only fight I had on that leg was caused by thermals.

By this time, it was early afternoon and I was hungry.  As I was paying for the fuel at Sweetwater, I asked about food.  None on the airport, no courtesy car and no way to get to town; but, a pilot befriended me and offered to drive me to town for lunch.  We went to a Subway, and I bought his lunch as well as mine.  Back at the airport, I decided I still had plenty of daylight and plenty of fuel to head to Wink, TX, about 2 hours southwest.  Nevertheless, I called ahead to confirm that the fuel would be available and the FBO open. I still could not get my SPOT CONNECT to work, so I didn’t leave any breadcrumb trails.  I headed for Big Spring VOR (in order to circumnavigate the Class C airspace surrounding Midland-Odessa).  After the VOR, I headed directly for Wink (making sure I avoided the tall KMID TV towers so prominently displayed on the sectional chart).  I was again battered by thermals but after two hours found my way to Wink TX (KINK) where the wind was again, almost calm.

At Wink, I was met by Charlie Cooper, a really nice gentlemen pilot who lives on the airport.  We filled the tanks; he gave me some fresh bottled water and since Cavern City NM was only another hour west, I decided to depart and head there for the night.  My SPOT CONNECT still did not work.  I headed straight for Cavern City.  Since winds at altitude were out of the southeast and I had some terrain to clear, I climbed from ground level (2,800 MSL) at Sweetwater to 4500 MSL.  In 0.9 of an hour, I landed at Cavern City in a slight crosswind.  No one was home.  The airport was “deader than a doornail.”  Not even a telephone number listed; but I did see a sign that said “pilot’s lounge – use last three numbers of ASOS”  So I pushed the buttons and got inside a nice big air-conditioned room with a TV, some chairs, a sofa and a bathroom.  I found a yellow page directory and started to call local motels.  Two would rent a room, but offered no transportation and there are no cabs.  The third took pity and sent my next savior “Neal” who made the 15 minute round trip to pick me up.  And that is why I stayed at Motel 6.