Route planning from Oshkosh to Pacific Northwest

[ThreeD]

Hello everyone

after 6 yrs the wait is over



i am looking for some advice on route planning, i will be flying from southern Ontario/ Detroit area to the Spokane washington area. Will be departing Monday June 24th and will be returning a few weeks later. We have the first 25 hrs flown off and am looking to stretch our legs. Planning on a 2.5 day trip west. Hoping to find FBO,s that have opportunities for overnight hangars and close proximity to hotels


many thanks for any and all advice

Dan Dagasso

[Utah-Jay]

With those tires you need to find grass strips. Send me your email and I will send you a file you can load on ForeFlight with all the places that have gas and grass strips

This is what it looks like
IMG_0019.jpg

[rkennell]

Utah-Jay How often is the file updated and is there a subscription to the data. When I get the Companion completed and flight testing done we want to make a trip out west.

[rv8bldr]

Can't help you on the FBO thing but I do love your 4pl! I am just in the painting stage of my 4pl near Ottawa. Hope to be flying this fall.

[Pbruce]

Wikid paint job, Dood! Congratulations on completion. I think I’m going with orange too, but no other colours for now. Enjoy the trip. In case you end up going either way through Canada, please drop by Airdrie, 9 nm north of the Calgary International. I’ll pick you up. PM for phone. Nice Job!

[Nev]

Great looking aircraft!

[geraldmorrissey]

Get in touch with the officers at EAA chapter 441. They will have much useful info.

[ThreeD]

With those tires you need to find grass strips. Send me your email and I will send you a file you can load on ForeFlight with all the places that have gas and grass strips

This is what it looks like
IMG_0019.jpg

That is super cool!

my email is
ddagasso@gmail.com

many thanks to all of you, and the conversations I have lurked in on for the last 8 years.
Dano

[ThreeD]

Wikid paint job, Dood! Congratulations on completion. I think I’m going with orange too, but no other colours for now. Enjoy the trip. In case you end up going either way through Canada, please drop by Airdrie, 9 nm north of the Calgary International. I’ll pick you up. PM for phone. Nice Job!

Will certainly stop by and look you up, I usually fly to Olds Didsbury when transiting past Calgary on the way home to Kamloops

will have many trips through the rocks to see my oldest daughter who is studying at U of Cgy.

[Pbruce]

Well, I’d love to meet up with you and your Bearhawk. Hey I’m also an old Kamloops boy. Wrote my private in the Progressive Air office (now Pro Aero/Aerosport Power). Small world! Congrats again on your build

[ThreeD]

Update,

I spent last friday Saturday and Sunday transition training with the CFI that I hired to fly off the test period. we started on grass and then transitioned to asphalt. the last three hour flight on Sunday was spent on the crosswind runway with some very challenging gusting winds that I would never attempt in My Pitts. It was a great introduction to the aircraft and the last flight with crosswind landings was invaluable after my confidence was getting pretty high with favourable winds on the previous landings.

My Daughter and I departed St Thomas Ont. on Monday at 3pm local as it took Transport Canada until then to remove the 25 mile restriction on the aircraft. We chose not to go into the US due to the customs requirements and the extra two or three hours that takes to do.

We flew up to the North end of the Niagara escarpment at Tobermory and then on to Manitoulin Island with a fuel stop in Sault St Marie. We carried on around the North Shore of Lake superior and landed at sunset in Thunder Bay Ontario after facing 30 knot headwinds for the last two hours of the flight. This is truly a beautiful part of the continent!

On short final in Thunder Bay I fouled the plugs and thankfully was just over the threshold with a good headwind and a wide runway.

Tuesday was spent at KBM aviation who were absolutely great at helping me out short notice. We cleaned the plugs, found a dirty injector and leaned out the mixture and increased the idle rpm to 750. By late Tuesday the weather started to turn Nasty over the Great lakes and Northern Minnesota, so we stayed an extra night in Thunder Bay.

Wednesday we had an early start out of Thunder Bay with 2000 foot ceilings and isolated rain showers. We wandered westward around the rain showers until we finally broke out onto the Prairies just north of Lake of the Woods. We had a great run westward for most of the Day with ceilings at 3500 to 7000 and at times a great tailwind. the maintenance we did in Thunder Bay was worth the delay and the engine was running incredibly well with only .5 litres of oil used in almost 1000 miles

We had enough daylight to make it home through the mountains but the mountain passes were building up some massive convective activity with forecasted embedded TCU's

We stopped in Lethbridge Alberta and Southern aviation made room in their hangar for me until we could carry on as I did not want to leave it outside with the forecasted thunderstorms.

At this time we are just waiting for a weather window to head home through the mountains. Having my Daughter with me has been a godsend as she has probably done most of the flying on the trip and honestly she is a better pilot than I am but she has no tailwheel time. That is soon to be rectified , she is dying to get into the Pitts and compete against me.

photos to come later

Dano
C-FDDJ

[ThreeD]

We made it home today after a few days being weathered out

Had quite a run to the mountains with some low ceilings until things started opening up into the mountains. We went from 1000 foot ceilings on the prairies to 6500 ceilings into the mountain passes until we got into the Rocky Mountain trench with scattered clouds at 6500 and a broken layer at 9000’

We had a quick run home at 22 squared with A TAS around 120 kts

It was so nice to get home and confirm that both the Pitts and the bearhawk can squeeze in together

[rkennell]

Wonderful photos. Thanks