Final -- Home Again Jiggety Jig - Goal Accomplished Day 19 - Friday, June 14, 2019

We are finally home again.  The flight from KFMY to KHWO was uneventful.  We have loved every minute of our trip - the people we met along the way, our friends and 99s sisters who took care of us, observing the change of landscape of our beautiful country, and visiting various states and FBOs.

We accomplished our goal!!  👏👏  We landed in 25 states on this trip plus a few doubles, all east of the Mississippi.  Next year, we will tackle the states west of the Mississippi.

After landing, Claudette and I had a map ceremony and placed pins at each location where we landed.

Also, my line boy, Roger, (LOL) was waiting eagerly to change the oil after our flying adventure.

THANK YOU to those who followed us, encouraged us, and took this journey with us.  We loved sharing our adventures with you.


Final Stats:

# of states  --  25
# of landings -- 31 (We doubled a few states for maintenance and to get through Florida)
# of hours flown -- 33.4
# of miles flown -- 3862.1

                     
                          Ellen seeing us off from Page Field to North Perry, our last flight of the trip.

                                                      Adding our landings in 25 states

                                                 Immediate oil change when MOJO returned.
                                Apparently she who flies must also help maintain the airplane.

Day 18 - The Waiting Game -- Thursday, June 13, 2019

Here we are at Perry Foley, FL (40J).  We had a lovely one hour flight from Crestview.  Now we are waiting for globs of weather to pass.  Sunset is at 8:15 pm in Pembroke Pines, so if the weather eases up, we will have lots of daylight for our last leg of the flight.

At least we are using our time wisely and getting caught up on our blog.

During our wait, we borrowed the courtesy car and had a delicious lunch at Mama's Italian Restaurant.  So the theme of the restaurants we've visited is that they don't have items that our taste buds want.  We checked the website and found a grouper item that sounded delicious.  We got to the restaurant and no grouper was on the menu.  However, our second choice - shrimp scampi - was delicious.

After hours of watching weather radar and planning routes east or south or in between and consulting our weather guru, Terry Carbonell, we launched at 5:00 pm with aspirations to get to KFMY.  We chose the west coast of Florida and stopped at KBKV (Brooksville) to check the weather for the 1000th time.  At that time, Page Field was VFR.  We filed IFR and took off again.  Weather can change quickly and boy did it!!!  Page Field when seriously IFR and the clouds ahead of us were ferocious.  We did not like the looks of the clouds over Page Field.  We saw that Sarasota and Punta Gorda were VFR.  We had several outs if we needed to change the destination.  At the perfect time, weather cleared enough for us to land.  Ten minutes earlier or ten minutes later and the story would have been different.  As soon as we landed at Page Field (KFMY) and found a parking space the heavens opened with a downpour and lightning in the distance.  Another 99, Ellen Herr, came to our rescue, took us to eat, and gave us a place to sleep.  We surely slept soundly after that flight.

                                                            Perry Foley, FL (40J)

                                                                  Cute Statue at 40J

                                                   Approaching KFMY (Page Field, FL)

Day 17 - Step by Step, Inch by Inch - Wednesday, June 12, 2019

As Caroline drove us to the airport, we hoped to get all the way home today.  But that did not happen.  We made it to Crestview, FL (KCEW).  There is always unpleasant weather at the northern end of FL and across the bend.  It seems worse this year.  We waited at Emerald Coast Aviation for several hours.  We finally got a hotel for the night and tucked MOJO in the hangar.  Wouldn't you know, the weather went totally VFR after we got to the hotel?  Oh well, we hope for clearer weather in the morning.

The people at Emerald Coast were wonderful!  They have snacks for weary pilots.  They were kind and helpful.  Beau, the head lineman, even remembered MOJO when Roger and I stopped there as we evacuated for Hurricane Irma.  He also remembered Terry's plane with her race number 11 on the tail when we stopped there a couple of years ago after fighting 50K headwinds for too long.

I am so glad that I earned my Instrument Rating.  THANK YOU, 99s for the AE Scholarship.

We planned to fly this trip VFR but were prepare for IFR.  The IFR clearance surely helped as we got on our way from Huntsville.

                                                   Leaving Huntsville, AL (KHSV)

                                                          Emerald Coast Aviation (KCEW)

                                                        Crestview, FL (KCEW)

Day 16 - What a Difference a Day Makes -- 6/11/19

We woke up to a bluebird day, much different than the gray, gloomy, and extremely windy day of the day before.  Shannon of Indiana Flight Center kindly picked us up from the hotel and drove us to the airport -- what wonderful door-to-door service!

Rested and excited to continue our journey, we departed Indiana for Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Alabama.  We normally planned to stop in two states per day but we wanted to make up for the weather day we spent in Elkhart.  Our first stop in Cairo, IL (KCIR), was selected because we spoke to Chris the day before.  He was so pleasant that we thought we should meet him and purchase fuel from him.  The fuel price at Cairo was the least expensive of any of our stops on this trip.  The airport is located between the Tennessee River and the Mississippi River.

Fueled and ready to go, we flew to Paducah, KY and did a quick touch and go.  Thanks tower for clearing us straight in and straight out.  Our second touch and go of the trip was at Corinth, MS (KCIR).  This was familiar territory to Claudette since she grew up along the Tennessee River.

Our final stop of the day was at Huntsville, AL (KHSV) where we were greeted by JP of Signature FBO and our 99 sister, Caroline Hodges.  We were treated royally and introduced to many people around the airport.  JP took extra care of MOJO.

Our special treat was having dinner with Alabama 99s and Kevin, Ramona's 49 1/2.  We were talking about weight and balance and Ramona commented that as baby birds of the Air Race, she and her partner did not know what they didn't know.  When she arrived at the start, racers asked her why she had so much "stuff."  Ramona's comment was, "I have a 182."  She didn't know that she was supposed to limit the load for faster racing.  Then the conversation segued to the RV14 and how much weight we could carry in the baggage area before stalling.  Claudette and I said that we were doing quite well on weight until we added the food bags.  Kevin was the comic of the evening with his droll comment, "Hurry up and eat."  You just had to be there!!

We enjoyed returning to Caroline's house for purr and bow wow therapy.  Caroline is passionate about rescuing animals.  Thank you for hosting us, Caroline!  😀

                                                           Good-bye, Elkhart, IN

                                                                          Cairo, IL (KCIR)

Myra and MOJO at Cairo

                                                                       TN River

We were amazed to see such a large wind farm with 100s of wind turbines.

JP -- treated us like queens

                                   Shirley taking care of students at Revolution Flight School

Notice the legs

Dinner with Alabama 99s and 49 1/2

Claudette, Ramona, Judith, Nancy, Nina, Myra, Caroline, and Kevin

Day 15 -- The Best of Elkhart — June 10, 2019

Day 15 began as a gloomy and windy day.  From our extensive weather research the night before, we expected those conditions.  The predictions were for better visibility and lighter winds later in the day.  We were hopeful that we would be able to leave and land in IL and KY.  We packed our bags and hired a taxi to take us to the airport.  We sat around for a while.  They sky was gray, the weather was misty, and the airport was labeled IFR.  For both of us the worst is being wishy washy and indecisive.  Our advice for the day is JUST MAKE A DECISION AND STICK TO IT!!  Finally, we decided to stay in Elkhart, IN (KEMK) another day.  We reserved a room and Shannon from Indiana Flight Center drove us to the hotel.  The employees are super kind, considerate, and helpful at Indiana Flight Center at KEMK.

When we first arrived on Sunday, Ken from Indiana Flight Center, recommended that we must have lunch or dinner at the Chubby Trout, his favorite restaurant in town.  We discovered that it was within walking distance of the hotel.  Our mouths were watering for trout.  However, we learned that the restaurant is closed on Sundays.  😞  Disappointed face.  Since we stayed an extra day, we had another opportunity to order the trout.  We walked to the restaurant for lunch, and to our disbelief, they do NOT serve a trout dish at lunchtime, only at dinner!!  Instead we had salmon and crab bisque, both were delicious.

We both feel like we have not had enough exercise on this trip so we walked to Culver's for dessert.   Culver's, originally from Wisconsin and Roger's favorite treat, makes the most delicious custard.  We had a delicious snack.  Do you think the 1.5 mile walk counter balanced the calories??  Sorry we didn't get a good picture of Culver's.

On our walk, we saw blue skies peaking through, but the winds were still howling.  See the blowing grass below.  It would have been a bouncy flight and the wind on the taxiways could have caused MOJO to be difficult to control.  We are very happy with our decision to stay in Elkhart and our ADM (aeronautical decision-making) on this trip.  Pilots make hundreds of decisions everyday.

We have landed in 20 states on this trip and, if the next couple of days provide good flying weather, we will land in 25 states by the time we get back to Florida.  Our plan for tomorrow is to leave early and land in IL, KY, MS, and AL.  We ask that you send good energy and prayers our way to lift us along our flying journey.

                                               This sign shows that we are in Elkhart, IN

          Blue skies are peaking through.  Too bad we didn't take a picture of the dreary sky from earlier.

                                      The wind is blowing the long grass (and trees) sideways.

Day 14-HAPPY 😃 😆 happy day. 6/9/19

Time to get out of Kalamazoo. Runways are closing after today for two weeks.

We took off  at 7:55 with an IFR Clearance for KEKM, Elkhart, IN, 38 miles away. At three thousand feet we were in the mist and light rain for 40 minutes with a vector around a reported area of turbulence which we did not experence.The expert auto pilot tracked the RNAV 9 approach to minimums. Just before we reached the initial approach fix KEKM went VFR. Then we flew visual from final approach fix to landing. Yea!

What an accomplishment for Myra to fly an actual IFR approach. SHE IS ECSTATIC! I am jazzed too. Hangar and hotel tonight.

We are tickled pink, for we have seen pink flamingos everywhere. AOPA, dancing flamingo video at Natural History Museum, in the gift shops, other places, and today in the Cracker Barrel in Elkhart. Not exactly what one would expect in the Mid-west.

 More seriously there are many airport closings for runway repairs. We haven’t kept a tally but my guess is easily six airport closures that we have encountered. I wonder if the airport managers have any ideas that their cohorts are closing their facilities at the same time. The closures have created “Chinese checkers” flying for us.

Creating posts on the IPad doesn’t allow picture labels underneath.

CAPTIONS

1. Flying duo KFDK
2. & 3 Mojo with the big boys
4. Ken at KEKM Indiana Flight Center
5&6 Flamingos
7. Luggage for two for 3 weeks

Day 13 - On the Way Again

THANK YOU, Lin and Carlo.  Your home is perfect for rescuing wayward pilots.

By Day 13, the pilots are rested and eager to continue the journey.  MOJO is repaired and ready to fly.  Lin saw us off on Saturday morning.  Our journey took us from KFDK (Frederick, MD) to KJHW (NY) to KPOV (OH).

A quick stop at KJHW (Chautauqua County / Jamestown Airport), our NY stop, was a clean and beautiful one.  Two airplanes were in the pattern and doing crosswind landing practice.  We noticed that the pilots were very clear about stating their position in the pattern.  Their communications were very professional.  They were also very kind and gave way to us to land.  Then they resumed their crosswind pattern work.

KPOV (Portage, OH) was a fun stop.  The self serve pump was like nothing either of us had ever seen before.  The hose was tucked away inside a cabinet -- we found it.   We are laughing a lot at ourselves on this trip. We stopped in the FBO and were received by Steve and Bill.  They were very eager to hear about our flying adventure.  Steve even posted information on KPOV's Twitter page.  They were excited to see an RV14 and told us that two guys who are building an RV14 would be very disappointed not to have been at the airport so they could "pick our brains" about the building process.

There is a quaint little coffee bar in the FBO for pilots who need to stop for a refreshment.  We were excited to see an airplane with the race number 24 on the tail.  The pilots were from nearby Kent State and were practicing landing.  Sorry we did not get a photo of the plane.  Good luck racers!

Suddenly, we heard beautiful music behind us.  Steve serenaded us on the piano.  He is quite an accomplished musician.

KPOV deteriorated over the years but is coming back to life in a big way.  There are plans to lengthen the runway.  We were greeted in a very kind and pleasant manner and would love to come back for a visit in the future.  While we were fueling the plane, we noticed a 99s' compass rose.  It needs a little clean up -- a project for a nearby chapter and could be another step in rebuilding the airport.

Our final destination was Kalamazoo, MI.  I  love saying the word "Kalamazoo"  and wondered where Kalamazoo is.  Now I know!  There is a fabulous aviation museum in town plus Escape Room games.  At Duncan FBO, we were eagerly greeted by Jose and other line guys.  They were extremely helpful to us and careful with MOJO.  Then we met Connie at the desk, who also greeted us warmly.  We reached out to 99s in the area and Barb Goodwin responded.  Barb picked us up for a delicious dinner at Brewster's.  This was another wonderful experience with a 99.  Claudette and I loved listening to her flying stories and her air race adventures.  Can you believe that she raced in 9 races?

Lin Caywood seeing us off as we leave Frederick, MD

Chautauqua County / Jamestown Airport, NY

                                                         KPOV (Portage, OH)  FBO

                                                            Bill and Steve at KPOV

Compass Rose at KPOV

We had longer flight legs today so we had time for the obligatory selfie.   Girls just having fun!!

The ground looks like a patchwork quilt.  Notice Lake Erie in the background.

                                Jose and Claudette in front of Duncan FBO in Kalamazoo, MI.
Jose drove us to the hotel and picked us up early in the morning.  He was so careful with MOJO.                                                        Jose is studying to be an aviation mechanic.

Old and New:  A Texaco Station in Kalamazoo looks like a blast from the past.

Notice the modern Hampton Inn behind it.

The Ninety-Nines sisterhood at its best.

Claudette, Barb, and Myra

Day 12 Weathered In

A no- fly day was the opportunity to tour Washington, D. C. After an 1 1/2 hour drive, we parked in the underground garage of the Reagan Building, 14th and Constitution. We selected three museums to  visit.

The American History museum was first. I had a choking moment viewing the flag that inspired Francis Scott Keys to write the song that became our national anthem. What a moment in history that turned the defeat into a win in the War of 1812. Of course, we had to critique the inaugural gowns of the First Ladies. For us these remarkable women evoked memories of their roles in our lifetimes.

Next was the Natural History Museum. There were school groups everywhere in matching T-shirts. At least we could see over their heads. We viewed nature photography, dinosaurs, and the fabulous ocean exhibit. My oh my, but T- Rex had enormous feet!

Last was the National Museum of Art.  The building alone was a work of art with massive marble columned rotundas and expansive ceilings. We were tiring, hungry, and a bit lost in the museum. We made our way back to the parking garage walking 10 blocks. Returning to Lin’s and Carlo’s, Myra drove through DC rush hour traffic for a two hour arduous drive.  The drive was worth having the chance to see DC.

What a special addition to our journey to visit the capital.

PHOTOS
  1. Flag sculpture
  2. Julia Child’s kitchen with old and new appliances
  3. Entry to “Food” exhibit
  4. Fountain sitters
  5. Selfie
  6. Can you spot the Washington monument?

Day 11 -- R & R (Pilots and Plane)

                                            Rest and Repair for Pilots and the Plane

The pilots spent the day resting, sleeping a little, exercising, and catching up on the blog, and washing clothes.  Later in the day, Carlo replaced the non-working Dynon in MOJO.  Eureka!!  Carlo is very experienced with the Dynon Skyview.  He has the same avionics in his Mustang II so he is very familiar with the installation process and the process for configuring the Dynon.  He did a great job!!

Dynon was also great.  They quickly shipped the new unit to Carlo and Lin's home so that we could have a working unit.  Thanks, Dynon.

I'm so happy.  😇

                                              Carlo replacing the Dynon screen in MOJO

Carlo and Myra after configuring the screens to "talk" to each other and keep our original settings

Maverick also gave us some great "purr therapy"

Maverick loves attention

Claudette and Goose, Maverick's brother, offered moral support from the sidelines.  

No picture available.

              We also had a private tour of AOPA.  Thank you Stephanie Fluke for showing us around.              We also met Jill Tallman, a 99 in the Sugarloaf Chapter.  It is fun to find 99s all along our route.

Special Message for Dan

Hi Dan,

Here is the mouth-watering, succulent lobster we ate at Ray's in Rye, NH.