Digits goes North

3rd of August: Texas

Whether it was unconsciously planned or not, the fact remained that I was lost again while driving from the hotel to the airport. Remember that I was driving the Ford Mustang, so again, I was perfectly fine with that.
Today, I was flying from a very hot place (36° C) to an extremely hot place (42° C). The airplane was suffering in the heat. The oil temperature approaching the red line dangerously close. To block the sun, I decided to use the sun block screen during flight. I found my way back to Dallas Executive airport and taxied to Wayne’s mechanic to return the fuel tank and pumps.

Now, this man was building his own office inside his hangar, had tons of experience in maintaining all kinds of different airplanes, fixing broken parts. It was impressive to see ! After half an hour, Wayne arrived. I handed him some caps as souvenirs from Eureka and returned all the stuff that worked perfectly.
He drove me to the lobby of the airport to get fuel and find a hotel. While I was taking care of that, I saw my airplane being towed by a tractor. I felt like a jet pilot ! On the television, there were reports of heat waves, extreme heat and possible power shortages due to the heavy air-conditioning use.

Due to the lack of mobility, I ordered delivery food and enjoyed the air conditioned room.

To be continued ...


Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, loosely based on a true story. This is not an official report in any way. All rights reserved.

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The hotel
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Flying in the shade
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Tow tractor
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Mother Sun
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4th of August: Midland

It was even a few degrees hotter than yesterday. The lemonade in the airport’s pilot room was once again very refreshing. A few minutes after take-off, I had to stop my climb to fly level and increase the airflow over the engine to cool down the oil. 15 minutes later, I could climb a few thousand feet again. This process was repeated 3 times to reach my final cruising altitude.

Oh boy, it was extremely hot. Although, time wise I could make it to Santa Teresa this evening, the heat quickly drained my enthusiasm and made me decide to spend the night at my refueling stop: Midland, Texas. On final approach, I was warned for dust devils: little tornado’s that create quite a bit of turbulence yet cause the sand to dance beautifully.

Finding a hotel room was a bit troublesome, since there was some kind of famous race going on that week-end. After calling about 10 hotels, I found a free room at an affordable rate. It was in a family hotel with an indoor playground and small pool. Fun ! I enjoyed a quick round of indoor mini golf, and decided to skip the pool.


To be continued ...


Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, loosely based on a true story. This is not an official report in any way. All rights reserved.

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Midland airport FBO
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Playground inside the hotel
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5th of August: Santa Claus is back in town

The last day of my trip. Every flying day had started with the same routine: planning a route, checking the weather, reading through pages of irrelevant notams, preparing the plane, loading all my gear and paying the airport bill. And yet, I never grew tired of it. To realize that this was the last flight caused some double feelings. I was happy that my trip’s successful end was near, even a little eager to go home and rest, yet I realized that the kind of peacefulness of just “having to fly” all day was soon to be a thing from the past. Focusing on the positive side was much better for my spirit, so I proceeded with a smile.

Taxi and take off were uneventful. For the last time I accelerated my loyal iron bird from 0 to 60 kts. For the last time I felt her lifting off the runway. For the last time, she took me into the sky. During the climb I had to apply the same technique as the day before to keep the oil from overheating. To safely and easily cross the mountains on my path, I established a new personal altitude record: 11500 ft. I guess the air in the USA must be different from the air in Europe, since in Europe you need oxygen if you fly above 10000ft. I enjoyed the altitude for about half an hour, after which it was time to start my descent. I decided to enjoy one of the USA goodies for the last time: free touch and go’s ! Quite close to the Santa Teresa airport was El Paso international airport, where I arrived a month ago and where I would take my plane home in 2 days. But now, I was going to do the landing.

On the El Paso tower frequency, I could hear an airplane practicing ILS approaches. I recognized Suzy’s voice, who greeted me with “Welcome back Santa Claus”.

The touch and go was smooth, and I set course for the endpoint of my trip. Santa Teresa was easy to spot: a light grey patch of grey in a desert of, well, sand. I made the last landing with my loyal airplane, after which I taxied back to Suzy’s FBO. As if the airplane felt this was the end of our month together, a sign of struggle and discontent, the engine refused to shut down and veered to life every time it was almost shut off. She fought hard to keep the adventurous spirit alive, yet, in the end she accepted her faith with grace and calm. The engine went silent. It was over.

One of Suzy’s employees greeted me and helped getting all my stuff out. I waited in the air-conditioned room for Suzy to land. The whole experience started to sink in. That little Cessna flew me across almost 60° latitude, both ways. Around 10000 nautical miles. All across the US and Canada, with just a single propeller to keep it in the air.

I was giving a brief overview of my trip to the mechanic, when Suzy walked in. She was impressed by my story and invited me to the classical movie festival in El Paso that night. Oh, and she wanted to know if I felt like flying her Lancair to a breakfast fly in the next morning. What a silly question that was!
About 75% of the supplies I bought were never used. They found a great final resting place in the FBO’s fridge. Later that afternoon, I got to use a chainsaw for the very first time. I felt like a serial killer / horror slasher. That bush in Suzy’s yard never knew what hit it.

One atmospheric performance of “To Have and Have Not” later, it was time for bed at Suzy’s spare bedroom.


To be continued ...


Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, loosely based on a true story. This is not an official report in any way. All rights reserved.

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Final desert crossing
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Altitude record
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El Paso
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Touch & go
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Where it all began
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Landed
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6th of August: El Paso

The morning started early, to make it in time to our breakfast. First, I was a passenger and I could observe the power and performance of the sleek designed Lancair. Pressurized, fast, high service ceiling, retractable gear and even speed brakes. Wonderful airplane!

On the way back, I could pilot the airplane. Very sensitive controls, high approach speed yet a beauty to fly. It wasn’t really necessary, but I really wanted to operate the speed brake. My first time ever! We stayed at high altitude to pass the mountains and then made a quick speed brake assisted descend. It was followed by a ridiculously fast circuit and a 90kts final approach speed. These long runways really do come in handy.

Afterwards, I visited the aviation museum at the airport. Suzy drove me around to show the huge solar panel field, recently built in El Paso. The trip was concluded by a scenic tour through El Paso and a sushi snack.
Time for goodbye. I thanked Suzy for everything and spent my last night on American soil. The sushi acted up though.

To be continued ...


Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, loosely based on a true story. This is not an official report in any way. All rights reserved.

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Me flying the lancair
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Speed brake
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Operating the speed brake :)
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Scenic El Paso
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7th of August: Homebound

There’s nothing left to write; the flying was done. The next 20 hours spent on airplanes and airports would be as a passenger. A whole different style of travelling. In these 20 hours I would travel roughly the same distance as the trip between Texas and the north pole. It just wouldn’t take 15 days. It makes you think about the relativity of distances. About how small the world actually is, how fast you can travel.

And that as a matter of fact, nothing is really impossible. Except maybe finding a pilot job.

THE END



Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, loosely based on a true story. This is not an official report in any way. All rights reserved.

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The ride home
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Mooi verslag, het moet een geweldig avontuur geweest zijn. Ik heb het met plezier gelezen. Bedankt! :593:
 
Inderdaad een leuk verhaal. Grote tussenpauzes, dus elke keer weer even wachten. Was het zeker waard. Alleen .... Die prangende vraag blijft staan. Hoe moeten we die disclaimer nou inschatten?
 
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