Day 6
So originally we thought that we may stop by Kitty
Hawk, NC (First Flight Airport!) and exploring before heading back to Indiana....
So that plan GOT NIXED. Unfortunately, after having so much fun and being a little worn out after two great days in NC, we decided to just get directly back to Indiana on Tuesday.
We got up around 7am, gathered our things, and at 7:45am I got a text from Amber asking if we were up. At that point everyone assembled in the living room, got out the door, and headed to the Ellis Airport in Jacksonville, NC at about 8am. We stopped for gas & coffee and were at the airport about 9am.
Our "before the flight pic." Ellis Airport
in Jacksonville, NC. July5th, 2022. 9:13am EST.
We were off the ground 10am Eastern time. We departed
under VFR (visual flight rules), found a hole in the clouds and
climbed up to 8,500 feet.
Though it was cloudy, the radar ahead looked clear
back to Indiana. Though our ground speed was lacking a bit due to the
forecast 20+ knot headwind, we were still moving along okay at 140
knots ground speed with an ETE of 3hrs and 20min. The engine was
running well and we were expecting about an hour of fuel reserves. It
was looking like a three and a half hour trip.
Life was good. Or so we thought.
Then this happened. Once we got over Eastern Tennessee
we encountered pop up storms, rising clouds, and a stronger headwind. Ugh.
Here's what that looked like out the window. We had to
divert a little, climb a little, and eventually we got through the
cumulous clouds that were quickly rising.
We continued to climb in an attempt to get above the
clouds / weather, and we ended up climbing up to 14,500 feet.
We made it though. I questioned my fuel burn and how
much reserves I would have (I'm legally required to have a half an
hour on a VFR flight, but I prefer to have closer to an hour) because
of the flight taking longer than I had planned for. Anyhow, once we
were almost around most of the weather we began a gradual
descent into Huntingburg.
As we got closer, we remained VFR, dipped through and
under the clouds, and then caught a glimpse of the Ohio River.
After almost 4 hours in the air (I planned on this being a 3 ½ hour flight) we made it back on the ground to Huntingburg and traded our 45 degree outside air temperature (at cruise altitude) for the mid-90s. Funsies.
Back on the ground in Huntingburg at about 2pm local time.
Parked the plane, slammed a water, and back at my
brother's in-laws house for food. Heading home tomorrow morning after
I top 201SR off with fuel and I can't be more pumped on a
challenging, productive, and exciting trip.
I love airplanes.
