As background, though the little Sky Arrow gets flown fairly regularly on local flights, checking my logbook we had not been on a long cross country in over two years. Always mean to, never get around to it.
In addition, Karen has friends in northern Indiana that she enjoys visiting. So, we waited for a giant high pressure system to park itself over the route of flight and planned a trip up.
Originally planned to leave last Thursday, but both logistics and strong and gusty forecast surface winds near our destination led us to put it off a day, as seen here:
Pretty sure I could handle those winds, but waiting a day was The Most Conservative Action.
Still forecast to be gusty Friday, but here we are getting ready to leave Copperhill:
The trip up was fairly uneventful. We had to stay very low to avoid strong headwinds. Even at that we had about a 15kt headwind, dropping our TAS of about 90K to groundspeeds around 70-80kts for the most part. Made a fuel stop in Frankfort, KY. The forecast moderate turbulence did not develop, though on the second leg thermals made for a bit of extra work.
Things sure do flatten out once you leave the hills of KY:
Our destination was a private grass strip near Syracuse, IN - Wawasee (4IN9), very convenient to Karen’s friends there. I had called the owner and received permission to land and tie down there*.
Here’s a video of our arrival with a flyby first, and two landings - one our initial arrival and one after a sightseeing flight on Saturday:
https://youtu.be/JuF2xb8wyxA
Feel free to comment on why my engine died on the runway!
In any case, the same high was still parked in the same place on Sunday, and it was one of those rare occasions where the winds aloft appeared ideal:
Sure enough, 41kt tailwinds at 9,500’!
When the mountains come into view, I start to feel at home again:
Two legs up with headwinds of 2.8 and 2.9 hours hobbs, two legs back with tailwinds of 1.8 hours each.
Let me just say it was a wonderful flight. I did not miss having traffic onboard, multiple glass screens, an autopilot or 3-axis trim. Primary navigation on the 496 with the iPad for sectionals was just fine - I can’t see how more would be better. More than 18 gals fuel capacity would be nice, but after 2 hours we’re usually ready for a pit stop regardless. Already thinking of a trip down to FL soon.
Finally, re: the debate over owning vs. renting…
For me, there’s no denying the feeling of pride to have my little plane purring along, knowing it was ME who has done the lion’s share of the maintenance and repairs and mods over the last several years. Not saying that renting might be the more rational choice for some, but for me owning is an integral part of the entire experience - one I would find lacking in a rental plane.
*The little strip is for sale for about $310,000, including one large hangar. Here’s who to contact:
