NH to UT 2024

[kestrel]

Got packed yesterday and flew to my in-laws in KLYH. Very bumpy ride across KY today. IMG_20240417_092408.jpg IMG_20240417_121250.jpg

[kestrel]

9 hrs of flying yesterday. KLYH-KSIK, 5.7 hrs. KSIK-KLWC, 3.3 hrs. Headwinds and turbulence for about 8 hrs of that. Stayed low as the headwinds were worse up higher. Spotted some large gravel bars on Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. Thunderstorms came through last night and this morning. Now sitting on the ground looking at low clouds, low visibility and rain. ... at least it was easy to clean yesterday's bugs in today's rain.?


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[kestrel]

After rain, (too) low clouds, low visibility and winds gusting to 30 kts, I finally managed to get airborne at about 2:30 this afternoon. The wind was only gusting to 20 by then. The ceiling was still low and there was light rain, but the visibility was good. It wasn't long heading west until the sky was blue. The cross winds weren't too bad and even seemed to offer a small tailwind component. Made it KLWC to KPUB in 4 hrs. Ended there so I'd have time to service and secure the airplane as well as find food and lodging. Any further west and I would have run out of FBOs that were still open. Also, the weather station in Monarch pass was reporting 28040G60. That is too much wind on the nose and way too much for me going through high mountain passes in the Rockies.

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[rodsmith]

I've crossed Monarch pass going west with 30K winds. Very rough and significant downdrafts. Good call on stopping in Pueblo.

[rkennell]

Good place to stop. Been there numerous times to refuel on the way to the west coast. Wise choice to stop because of winds in the pass. Good conditions for severe turbulence and mountain wave. Even at flight levels we have hit both with those kind of winds.

[kestrel]

Crossed the divide through Marshall Pass today. The fine folks of Smiling Aviation at KAJZ were kind enough to do an oil change for a stranger passing through with no appointment. Circled Mexican Mountain, flew through Desolation Canyon and landed at Vernal (KVEL) For the night.

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[kestrel]

Today TrueAirSpeed stopped in at KVEL, bought me some lunch and we talked Bearhawks for couple hours. Time well spent!

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Then I flew the short hop over the tall mountains to KBTF.

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At KBTF they were short on parking space and tie downs, but I figured out how to get all 3 corners secured. Which of these doesn't look like the others?

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I'm sitting at KSLC waiting for Emilie and Isaac who will be landing in about 10 minutes. Tomorrow we will be off grid for at least a few days while we hike Happy Canyon. ...if things go to plan. I might not be able to update until Friday or Saturday.

[Utah-Jay]

Awesome that you hooked up with Terry, he is a wealth of knowledge!

Sounds like great trip from east to west, and I know the flying you are about to undertake is spectacular. Enjoy Happy Canyon, make sure you grab some petrified wood. Also so many great places to both land and fly over in that area. Great views from Cedar Mountain from the south end of the RWY, of course Mexican Mountain, Mineral Canyon and the best of all hidden Splendor.

Keep the photos coming and enjoy

Edited to add: I look forward to hearing how your passengers did going from the main terminal to the GA terminal, it is something I have wondered about.

[rodsmith]

It's been several years but I flew in to SLC to pick up an airline passenger. The FBO had a shuttle to transport passengers between the two terminals. No charge if you bought fuel, which I needed.

[kestrel]

We didn't use the GA terminal at SLC. I landed at Skypark, look a Lyft to SLC to meet them and we then took a shuttle to the hotel. This morning we Lyft back to Skypark.

Suggestion: I've heard from drivers that Uber pays the drivers 25% and Lyft pays them 65%. In general Lyft seems to treat their drivers better. ...thus I choose to use Lyft.

[rodsmith]

Wish I had known you were stopping at KAJZ, would have been there to greet you.

[kestrel]

Wish I had known you were stopping at KAJZ, would have been there to greet you.

To be honest, I didn't know I'd be there until I was about done doing my preflight. On the other hand, had I been in better connection with the internet, I was there again yesterday.

I'm now in Fairview, OK, the new home of Bearhawk Aircraft.

It will take me a little time to put together some more posts from our time off-grid, but here's a little Bearhawk eye candy from Happy Canyon.


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[Utah-Jay]

Looking forward to the photo dump

[kestrel]

Something to consider: There are no aircraft tied outside at Fairview, OK and the hangars are built like bomb bunkers...

Yeah... that pink went right over the airport and the tornadoes weren't as far away as I would have liked. On the other hand, I had a great visit and enjoyed meeting Virgil. I arrived home at NH16 late yesterday afternoon after working through a line of thunderstorms in PA.


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[jaredyates]

I got to see that line the next day and it was a strong one even then. And moving pretty slow too. I'm glad your plane handled it!