Destination Oshkosh; Day 1

5:40 AM arrived at Flabob (RIR) airport. After the pilot’s meeting, Ron & Hal needed to get ready for the channel 7 NEWS with Roger, Anthony and Andrew. I needed to preflight and load my baggage in my plane. Plane loaded, preflight completed, taxied across from the 1941 Aeronca Super Chief and 1946 Ercoupe, ready for our 2000 mile trip. Interviews done, said our goodbyes and off we go, lifted off approximately 7:10. The flight crew consisted of Hal Nemar, Ron Caraway, Young Eagle’s Anthony Ward and Andrew Blaze. I am the chase plane with my 1964 Cessna 150D. The ground chase vehicle crew consisted of Roger Farns, Steve Curry and Robert Jordon. Roger supervised the Aeronca kids thru a large part of the restoration.

Soon after departing the pattern, I could see trying to stay behind the Aeronca and Ercoupe (Aeronca crew) were going to be difficult. The 2 planes were headed between 2 hills and I was catching up. I flew around the left hill to get separation between us. When I came around the hill, I lost both planes in the haze. I stayed over the 10 freeway, climbed to 3,500 ft. I remained left of our course looking for the planes with no luck. I was heading to Banning “our 1 st waypoint” when I heard Hal announce he was commencing a 360° turn, he lost Ron in the haze. They told me later Andrew saw the Ercoupe turn around and told Ron, Hal was turning back. I kept pushing on to our 1 st waypoint and found myself in front of the pack. This would be the norm for the rest of the trip except for 2 legs “1 going into Oshkosh”.

I landed at Blyth (BLH) CA (our 1 st fuel stop) the Aeronca crew landed about 20 minutes later. We talked a little about the haze coming out of Flabob and the miscommunication. Checked the planes, gassed up, back in the air headed for Eloy (E60) AZ.

Again I tried to stay behind the 2 planes and found this was not going to be easy and not good for my 150. I would have to fly slowly with a nose up attitude; the engine wouldn’t get its needed airflow to keep it cool. I went ahead and circled back a few times. With the price of gas, this idea wasn’t working either. I decided to fly 85 mph “indicated” at 5,500 to 7,500 ft. I felt this would put me approximately 15 to 20 ahead of the Aeronca crew and within radio range. I landed at Eloy, topped off with fuel, and checked my plane.

The Aeronca crew were a little behind me. They landed, gassed up, checked the plane’s for any problems and tied them down for the night. We stopped flying early that day because of the heat. We called the chase car and they told us they were an hour out, 45 minutes later we talked to them again and they were an hour and an half out. We never did figure that out. I understand there was a joke the chase car was going to beat the Aeronca to each overnight stop. Never happened during the whole trip to and back from Oshkosh. There is an advantage to how the crow flies.

While we were waiting for the chase car, we found the airport café, got something to drink and waited. Forgot to mention while I was refueling my plane, the heat melted the soles off my saddles. I’ll admit I have had them for awhile, but they still had a few miles left. They were left in 1 of Eloy’s round file. The chase car arrived and off to the motel for the night.

Day 2

Hal woke us up at 3:45; the boy’s wanted to know who requested the 0dark30 wake up call. Walked outside and already 99°, we need to go. Grabbed a bite to eat at McDonald’s 24 hour drive thru and off to the airport. On the way to the airport and during our preflight, we enjoyed the lighting showed east of the airport. Problem was that’s the way we need to go. At daybreak we saw a gap between two storms, Ron suggested we go for it and we did.

Not only were we rained on, the lighting around us put on a great show and I was surprised there was very little turbulence. After we got past the storms, we still had mountains get over. I climbed to 8,800 ft. to get over a 7,000 ft. peak, concerned about any possible downdrafts. Hal and Anthony found a valley at 5,500 a little North, not sure how Ron and Andrew got over.

Deming (DMN) NM our next fuel stop “here we come”. Arrived at Deming, parked in front of three Apache helicopters, fueled, checked the plane and expected the rest of the crew any minute. After a whole lot of minutes (1½ hours) and no Aeronca crew, I called Roger to see if he has heard from them, he hasn’t and asked me to keep him informed. About 5 minutes later I saw them in the pattern, called Roger and left him a voicemail they were here. I asked what happened, they were sight seeing and needed to stop at Lordsburg (LSB) for fuel. All planes fueled, checked out, next fuel stop Artesia (ATS) NM.

This leg had moderate turbulence most of the way, plus we had to go further south to get around a restricted area, this made the leg even longer. The one good thing I got out of this leg is my attitude gyro is working again. About 3 weeks before the trip it went crazy and froze up. I flew out to Cable (CCB) got a price to replace it and told them I’ll get it fixed after my return from Oshkosh. I guess it got bumped around enough to fix it. I was still looking forward to land at Artesia “my left shoulder needed a break. Hal, Andrew, Ron and Anthony showed up, fueled up, checked out the planes; off we go to our next fuel and overnight stop Clovis (CVN) NM, so I thought.

About 10 minutes after takeoff, I watched my oil temperature creep up to redline and a little later my generator light came on. I lowered the nose to cool the engine with no results; everything I could think of trying was not working. About 15 to 20 minutes into the flight I looking at my GPS and sectional chart, Artesia; where I just left was my closest airport. Commenced a 180 and headed back. I turned off my master to preserve the battery for the radio.

Landed safely back at Artesia, checked the airplane again and everything looks fine. I knew I was a quart low of oil when I checked the plane the 1 st time I was here and figured I would dig it out in Clovis “my airplane was packed”. I dug out a quart of oil, put it in, explained to Jimmy Joseph “the airport manager” what was going on and decided to try it again. Jimmy asks me to keep him informed. Again headed for Clovis and everything was back to normal. Radioed Jimmy “a really nice guy”, let him know everything was ok and I’m on my way. Lessoned learned, hot days, long flight, need all 6 quarts of oil.

Arrived at Clovis with no more problems, behind the Aeronca crew. This was 1 of 2 times I wasn’t first to our next destination. They saw me turn, but thought I was doing one of my 360’s to get behind them. We found the handheld radios were unreliable, sometimes we could talk twenty miles apart and other times we couldn’t communicate when we were next to each other. After landing and taxing up, Hal flagged me down and told me to go down to the other gas pump and see if it was working. I taxied to the other pump down the ramp, started to shut down the airplane and heard something hit the ground. NOW WHAT?? My spinner worked itself lose and came off.

After the chase car arrived, Robert gave me a machine screw to reinstall the spinner, the clip still looked good. Installed the spinner and everything looked ok. Ron & Hal had a few squawks’ they wanted the ground crew to look at. One being the trim on the Aeronca and the generator wasn’t working on the Ercoupe. Everyone pitched in from working the problems to holding the cowling open.

Day 3

Roger and Robert got up early this morning and went out to the airport to see if they could do anymore. Steve is still not feeling good; he’s not sure what he came down with and I heard he might bail out. Roger and Robert did what they could and we took off for Perryton (PYX) TX, our 1 st fuel stop for the day.

After landing at Perryton, pulled up to the gas pumped, got out, happened to look back at my prop and saw the spinner was missing. I hope it didn’t hit some poor cow on the way here. The Aeronca crew landed about five minutes later. Gassed up, checked the planes, our next fuel stop Great Bend (GBD) KS.

I am always the 3 rd plane out the gate. I turned on to the runway, full power, about to rotate and “HEY, THERE’S MY SPINNER”. I was able to see it was damaged and kept flying. I called back to the airport letting them know there was something on the runway with no response. After a couple of tries and no way was I leaving something on the runway, I circled back and pick up my spinner (my 1 st Oshkosh souvenir).

Arrived at Great Bend. The boys were hungry and Hal broke down and gave in. The FBO, Midwest Aviation loaned us a car and explained how to get to town for a bit to eat. This is another place I recommend stopping at; the people at Midwest are great. At the restaurant Ron knock over his large milkshake and the girl helping clean up the mess, brought Ron another one, this time with a lid. I don’t think she trusted Ron.

When we got back to the airport, we were telling the people at Midwest about the Aeronca Kids Project and Andrew and Anthony were two of the kids. Hal gave them a flyer and they had the boys sign it. The boy’s celebrity status is still hot. Their mechanic also showed us his Cessna Airmaster, what a beautiful airplane; he did a great restoration job. Now it’s time to head to Beatrice (BIE) NE our overnight stop.

After landing at Beatrice, I saw I had voicemail. One from Kathy Rohm to call John Lyons and one from Roger. Called John and let him know we made it to Beatrice (the Meyer’s group has their flyin here). He told me there was a room available if I wanted it, but told him I already made arrangements with the Flight of Eagles and thanks for thinking of me. Called Roger and he told me to call Jim Pyle (our Chapter 1 President). Left him a voicemail that we were in Beatrice. We were tying down the planes when Jim walks up. He volunteered to help us find a motel and take us out to dinner. Ron told Jim we wanted to stay with him at his relatives. He helped us find a motel.

After four motels, we got lucky on the 5 th try, time for dinner. Jim said he knew of a place called Risky, Andrew spoke up and said his mother didn’t allow him in places with that name. We went anyway.

Risky’s was crowded so they put a table cloth on a pool table for us; we didn’t care because we were hungry. We ate, listened to something really loud (I think it was music), back to the motel. The ground crew didn’t get in until after midnight. Everyone was pleased to hear that Steve was going to stick it out.

Day 4

As usual, up early, get to the airport, off to Ames (AMW) IA. Uneventful leg, landed, topped off, checked plane’s, now to Decorah (DEH) IA. Again another uneventful leg. Topped off at Decorah, checked the planes, heading to Portage (C47) WI for the night. I need to take the opportunity to brag that of the 3 airplanes, I have the fastest. The only other time I had the fastest aircraft is when I past a blimp over Compton CA.

This leg, even though short compared to the others would prove to be a little more challenging, storms ahead. I came up on the 2 nd rain cell and flew to the left of it and got my plane washed “getting ready for Oshkosh”. The 3 rd cell, a short time later was darker, wider and really ugly, it was also sitting on top of Portage. I was thinking if I could see thru it, I would go for it. About this time, a big thick lightning bolt appeared right in front of me and I decided to go around. It took awhile to get around this thing, not only was it big, it was slow. I Found Portage. Pulled up to the fuel tanks, ready to top off and couldn’t see where you pay. Saw a porta potty next to one of the tanks and thought how convenient. Heading to the office to see about fuel I notice the porta potty didn’t have a door and there was the credit card reader. Topped off, pushed my plane back to the tiedown and waited for the Aeronca crew.

The attendant in the office suggested a motel, gave them a call and they would be out to pick us up in about 15 minutes. I appreciated the attendant’s help. After getting checked in, we went outside trying to decide what we wanted to do for dinner. We met a couple from Washington who flew their Europa to Oshkosh. A few minutes later Roger called and told me I needed to call John again. Called John, he wanted to meet us for dinner and he would be there in about 45 minutes. While we were waiting outside we talked to the couple about an hour when they decided they need to go get something to eat. When John and GEN Pat Halloran showed up we decided to try the buffet down the street. The buffet was closed for a wedding party so we figured we would try the Mexican restaurant. The food was good and most of us thought it reminded us of Chuck-E-Cheese back home “very colorful”. After dinner we walked back to the motel, talked a little, and said our goodbyes to John and Pat. It was time to get ready for tomorrow. I went over to Hal and Ron’s room to discuss the NOTAM going into Oshkosh (OSH). I wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. Not only was it my first time to Oshkosh, it was my 1 st time to fly into Oshkosh. I was a bit concerned. They gave me a few tips and it was time for bed.

Day 5, Oshkosh, Our Destination.

Got up, ate breakfast, ready to head out to the airport. Finished our preflight, taxied to the runway, ready for takeoff. The couple we met the night before was already at the airport and they departed about 10 minutes before we started our engines. While we waiting to take off, the couple called back to the airport and told the attendant to let us know we need to get going. Fog was moving and we needed to get up now. That was a really nice thing they did and we took their advice. We were barely off when it came in, the fog was moving fast.

This was going to be a short leg, 55 statute miles and should be there in no time. About ½ to ¾ of the way there, I was listening to ATIS when they started broadcasting that the airport was closed. Time to circle Green Lake like the NOTAM says.

While circling the lake a few more planes came in and I got separated from the Aeronca crew. People were cutting in and messing things up. When they opened Ripon for a few minutes I was on the North side heading west, by the time a got around, Ripon was closed. Green Lake is about 7 miles long and 2 miles wide. I circled Green Lake over 2 hours before they opened Ripon. I figure I had 30 minutes before I would have to go get fuel. Ripon opened, I went for it and I swear there were a couple hundred planes doing the same thing. I past Ripon and figured I had 15 minutes to fly around Rush Lake before I needed to call for fuel. Circled Rush Lake once and was cleared to Oshkosh. After tying down and getting fuel (20 gallons) I was at my 45 minutes reserve “my useable fuel 22½ gallons”. This was the second time the Aeronca crew beat me in.

We heard later the reason the airport was closed, there was an accident and two fatalities. We also heard it was a couple from Washington in a Europa. We put 2 & 2 together and knew this was the couple we met last night and who called backed to let us know about the fog. Our condolence’s to their family.

I spent four or five hours exploring before I got on the bus to the dorm. So far I’m impressed, let’s see in the coming days will it measure up to what I have heard.

Oshkosh; Day 1

Alarmed set for 5:30, shower, all you eat breakfast (a great deal for $7.00) time to hit Oshkosh on its opening day. I setup a schedule before the trip; I didn’t want to come to Oshkosh without a plan. My 3 major topics were aerobatics, older aircraft and chapter functions. I have 20 forums on my schedule over a 5 day period with a top 14, the other 6 is if I have time. 5 are scheduled today, 4 are of the top 14. I will try to make the workshops on my next trip. I want to get a feel for Oshkosh first.

8:30 – Fabric Covering 101

10:00 – Learn To Clean and Detail Your Plane like a Pro

11:30 – Choosing the Right Aerobatic Airplane

13:00 – Do It Yourself EFIS/SVIS

16:00 – Organizing a Young Eagles Rally

Attended 4 of my 5 forums, good info. Walked around a little, visited the Aeronca team in front of the Red Barn. Good day over all, 6:30 and time to head back to the dorm “getting hungry”.

Day 2

Alarmed set for 5:30, shower, all you eat breakfast (this will be my morning routine for the next few days). I did not schedule any forums today, just going to walk around and check out Oshkosh. I heard if its aircraft related it’s here. Boy did I see a lot of neat toys and gadgets, to bad I’m on a budget.

Ran into Jim Pyle and Larry Zepp (Chapter 2’s President) the day before and Larry invited Chapter 1 to Chapter 2’s 50 th anniversary Tuesday at 6. Chapter 2 is based in Fort Wayne, IN. I pasted the word to all Chapter 1 members I ran into.

Chapter 2 put on a great dinner and we made new friends. I sat with Mark Beck, chapter 2’s Secretary, his Dad and another member of chapter 2. I am so bad with names. EAA President Tom Poberezny dropped by and congratulated Chapter 2.

Day 3

Alarmed set for 5:30, shower, all you eat breakfast. 5 forums scheduled today with a top 3 and two dinners. It’s going to be a long day.

8:30 – Van’s Aircraft

10:00 – Taildragger Class

11:30 – What you Should Know about Aging Airplanes

14:30 – Mountain Flying

16:00 – Flying the National Parks

18:00 – Ford’s EAA Chapter Presidents Reception

18:30 – Spaghetti Dinner at the Aeronca House.

3 out of 5 completed and like Monday all 3 informative. Jim and I also met up and he introduced me to a few more chapters, he also took me over to the EAA building where I met some of the EAA chapter support personal. It’s always nice to put a face with a phone call or e-mail. We were going to meet up later again and attend the Ford’s Chapter Presidents Reception.

Had a good time at the Ford reception, met and ate with other chapter members. Ran into Mark from chapter 2.

Now it’s time to get over to the Aeronca house for dinner 2. Jim and I arrived about 7:30 looking forward to Ron’s spaghetti dinner. Not as many people showed up as Ron had planned for. Either other obligations or had no way to get there. The spaghetti and sauce was good, but I really liked the bread.

Day 4

Morning routine broken “I thought”, I didn’t set my alarm the night before because I needed to get some sleep and wash cloths. Woke up at 5:22 “AM” there goes the sleeping in. Got up, shower, all you eat breakfast, but this time instead of getting on the bus, it was time to wash cloths.

In the laundry room I met a group of kids from Canada; they were part of a Canadian version of our CAP. We talked about Oshkosh and of course aviation.

I had 3 top forums today and needed to get something in.

8:30 – Chapter Leadership (missed)

10:00 – Acrosport I & II Biplanes (missed)

13:00 – Insuring your Aerobatic Aircraft (missed)

14:30 – Citabria’s & Decathlon’s (made it)

18:30 – Gathering of Eagles Dinner

Got 1 forum in and it’s time to get ready for the Gathering of Eagles. I didn’t bring any slacks and neither did the boys. About 4:00 we headed out to the Super K-Mart to purchase slacks, we found them for $9.98. I also did not bring a belt and just thought I would wear my shirt out. Went to the Aeronca house, cleaned up, changed and on our way back to the airport. Made it to the airport and all the traffic is going 1 way. Roger explained to 1 of the traffic control volunteer’s we needed to get to the museum for the Gathering of Eagles and he escorted us thru the traffic.

Time to enjoy tonight’s event. We got checked in, hug out a little, went down to the reception and waited for the main event to start. Not having a belt and wearing my shirt out became a blessing in disguise; the zipper wouldn’t stay up on my $9.98 slacks.

The night was a great success, over 1.2 million dollars was raised for the Young Eagles program and 1 person bid $250.000 for a Carroll Shelby’s new Mustang. There will only be 500 made, he got # 2, Shelby has # 1.

Day 5

Alarmed set for 5:30, shower, all you eat breakfast. 6 forums scheduled, 3 top 14.

9:00 – Basic and Recreational Aerobatics

10:00 – Real Estate with Runways

11:30 – The Pitts Special: Flying It

13:00 – Restoring and Updating

14:30 – Flying over 50

17:30 – The Glass Cockpit

18:00 – Dinner with a New Mexico Chapter

3 forums completed. Talking to Jim later, he reminded me he broke a filling Wednesday and he told me how the first aid people arranged a Dentist appointment and transportation. After being there a few days and seeing how organized the event was, I wasn’t totally surprised.

Trip Home, Day 1

SDay 6

Alarmed set for 5:30, shower, and no breakfast. No forums today, breakfast at 8 and will try to fill in what I missed.

8:00 Chapter Leaders Breakfast

After breakfast and when the boys got done with 1 of their many interviews of the week, we headed for the sea plane base. Not being around seaplanes, I found this entertaining. There were a numbers of planes tied to the shore. We watched a few takeoffs, 1 large ex military in Coast Guard colors came in. Their was a bozo in a boat who wanted a close look so he parked his boat right in the middle of their runway, in no time the harbor police came out with their lights flashing telling this guy to get out of the way.

The Aeronca team heard they won an award and we needed to be there around 7:30 that night. A lot of well deserve awards were handed out and the Aeronca won an Achievement Award.

I am very impressed with the organization and the logistics of this event. Airshows dawn to dusk, always something going on. Talked to multiple venders about their products. One thing I would strongly suggest is volunteer at least 1 day, I didn’t this time, but guarantee I will my next trip. Last day, we head home tomorrow.

Another thing that sticks in my mind is I heard EAA President Tom Poberezny talk at a few of the events. One question he always asked is if anyone can explain Oshkosh to someone who has never been to Oshkosh, please contact him and let him know how. Sorry Tom, I’m not going to be much help either. The only way I can explain Oshkosh is of all the air show’s I have attended, they are just a flyin compared to Oshkosh. Do not get me wrong about airshows and flyin’s, I’m not saying anything negative about them at all, MCAS El Toro in Southern CA was always my favorite airshow and we are having our Chapter 1 flyin in September. I just don’t know any other way to explain Oshkosh.

Spent the night at the Aeronca house and didn’t get much sleep, uncomfortable all night. We got up; Ron made breakfast, cleaned up ready to go. We were watching the weather on TV, there was a large storm coming in and we knew we didn’t have much time. While we walking out the door, Robert heard a warning on TV, there was a severe storm with possible tornados. We need to move and get out of here.

Arrived at the airport, we need to get to the Aeronca and Ercoupe. We saw the same guy on the motorcycle from the night before, again Roger explained our situation and again he escorted us to our destination. Got the Aeronca untied, Hal and Andrew were going to fly it out. Robert stayed with them while Roger, Ron, Anthony and me headed for the Ercoupe. Got the Ercoupe untied when a plane handler came in and told us we need to tie it back down. Put the anchors back in the ground and the storm came in fast and it was big. While we were tying down the plane, it started to hail and the wind picked up. Finished, jump back in the Expedition and headed back to the Aeronca. On the way back Ron saw a Taylorcraft cub flying in its tie downs and ready to break lose, by this time the wind is gusting to 40 mph. We jumped out of the Expedition, ran over to the cub trying to hold it down. Robert and another guy came over to help, Ron came over to my side; I was trying to hold down the right wing without much success (my feet were off the ground and I was holding on tight). Finally got the plane tied down nice and tight. They headed for the Expedition and the other guy and I ran for cover, never got the guys name, but thanks for your help.

When we got back to the Red Barn the Aeronca was gone. We had no clue if it took off or where it was. We knew after the cub incident the Aeronca wouldn’t stand a chance in this storm without help. We waited to hear from them.

Roger, Robert, Ron, Anthony and I stood at the Red Barn waiting to hear something about the Aeronca. We were also soaked; it felt like we just got a 4 day bath. Let’s see, today is Sunday, will not have to bath until Thursday. I thought about changing my cloths when I get to my plane, but decided probably not a good idea. I can see the headlines now “Flabob Streaker Arrested at Oshkosh”.

We get word Hal & Andrew were safe and headed for Boscobel (OVS) WI Airport to get fuel. At first we couldn’t find the airport on the chart, when we did, it was twice the distance that we thought it would be. They had a 40 mph tail wind; Hal told us later it took 3,000 feet of runway to get air born. He made the right decision to take off; they would not stand a chance sitting on the ground with those winds.

Ron & Anthony took off about 2 hours after Hal & Andrew. By the time I made it to my plane, the airport was closed again. The airport opened about 45 minutes later and I headed for Boscobel. Flew over Boscobel and no Aeronca crew, just pass the airport I heard John Lyons on the radio also looking for everyone. I told him I just flew over Boscobel and now heading for Decorah looking for the Aeronca & Ercoupe, he said he will meet there. Arrived at Decorah and saw John & Pat over head, John confirmed both planes were there and he would see me back at Flabob. We said our goodbyes and he headed to Colorado to drop off Pat. Landed, gassed up, and talked about the storm and how Hal & Andrew made it so far from Oshkosh and happy to get away from that storm. Time to head for Ames.

When we arrived at Ames we decided Ames would be our overnight stop. Everyone had a busy week (air & ground crew) and the earlier excitement trying to get out of Oshkosh, no one complained.

Day 2

Up early, breakfast and were off. The flight to Beatrice wasn’t bad except for the 25 to 30 mph headwinds. It was decided we fly no more then 3 hours between legs, with these winds we might not make it to our designated fuel stop. I was down to 45 mph ground speed and the Aeronca crew was 20 mph slower. We all stopped at Red Oak (RDK) IA to get gas, we felt we wouldn’t make to Beatrice. Arrived at Beatrice, fueled, on our way to Great Bend for the night. While getting checked in at the motel the ground crew drives up about 5 minutes later, I will not need to call them and give them their numbers now. Later that night at dinner we were talking about the headwinds and landing at Red Oak. Steve spoke up and said that is where he took his first flying lessons. How cool is that?

The people at the Midwest Aviation FBO are great. We experienced their hospitality on our way to Oshkosh; this is why Great Bend was our overnight stop on the way back. They take the extra step to make sure we are taken care of. I highly recommend stopping there even it’s only for a potty break.

Day 3

Up early, eat, in the air. I do need to bring up Andrew has strange taste in food. At breakfast he had a problem with the waffle machine and had to dig his waffles out. I guess out of frustration, instead of butter and syrup, he poured the gravy from the biscuits and gravy bowl. We all just sat and watched. He seemed to like it and he didn’t get sick. The leg to Perryton was pretty much uneventful; we did have the same headwinds as the day before. The Aeronca doesn’t have the same legs as the Ercoupe and my 150, it needs to get gas between legs, remember our 3 hour decision. The afternoon legs can be turbulent and with the headwinds, it’s a long flight. I downloaded over 300 songs into my phone and use this to past the time. Clovis will be our overnight stop.

Day 4

Started off like the other days, up early, eat, you know the routine. Artesia is our next gas stops, 135 miles south west and do not see any gas issues. Artesia is where I had my oil temperature problem.

Landed at Artesia, talked to Jimmy Joseph about my oil problem earlier, off to Deming our planned over night stop. I was about 40 miles out when I saw up ahead a cloud cover hugging the ground. I climbed to 8,500’, this put me about 1,000’ above the clouds. I started to climb looking for a hole if the Aeronca crew couldn’t climb above the clouds when Ron came on the radio stating he had engine trouble and needed to return to the airport. I circled and headed back to Artesia. I caught up to the Aeronca crew 10 miles out from the airport and monitored Artesia Unicom. Ron landed safely, with Hal and I right behind. Called the ground crew and they were there in about 5 minutes, 2 nd time this has happened, pulling in right after us.

The ground crew and Ron (all 4 A&P’s) pulled the cylinder and found a broken valve. We are here for the night. They called John back at Flabob and I started my administrative duties to get us a room for the night. After 7 tries in Artesia, nothing was available, it’s looks like we might have to stay in Roswell and sleep with the Martians. Found a motel the 1 st try, now to find a ride, the Expedition was packed, Jimmy told me we can use the white car overnight.

The white car is an ex-police car and it’s big with a big engine, probably a 454. We load the air crew’s baggage in the trunk; cover the Aeronca engine with a tarp, now its time to head to Roswell.

On the way to Roswell we got tempted to test the power of this ex-police car, so we did. This car still had it, not only did the speedometer go up, the gas gauge went down. Jimmy pulled up along side us a little down the road and waved, the boys wanted me to race him and I explained not a good idea since this is his car. So we waited for the Expedition and got on the gas then, they didn’t stand a chance. (Sorry Jimmy).

Day 5

Same morning routine, except for the early part. The cylinder should be in around 10. Left for the airport about 8, Robert rode with us, plenty of room in OUR car, 3 in front, 3 in back and still plenty of leg room. Arrived at the airport and a short time later Roger & Steve pulled up. The boys started to clean the Ercoupe when the cylinder arrived. Aeronca fixed, Aeronca & Ercoupe cleaned, a little after 12, back in the air.

Artesia airport is another stop I would highly recommend. Jimmy Joseph the Airport Manager is great. Like Midwest Aviation in Great Bend, his priority was making sure we were ok. Even though we received good service at other airports, I feel Jimmy and Midwest Aviation took the extra step.

Now to Deming our 1 st fuel stop. Unlike the day before no cloud cover ahead. Around the restricted area, land at Deming for gas. Ron asked me to call an old friend of his Jim Ruckman to meet us at the airport. I called Jim about an hour before we land and he showed up right after we came in. We talked to Jim & Rita “Jim’s wife” for awhile and back in the air. Eloy is our next gas and overnight stop. As hard as I am trying to avoid the fatal disease “GETHOMEITIS” I would like to get home.

Arrived at Eloy, time to do my job and get us a motel for the night. I couldn’t find a telephone book with Yellow Pages and the numbers on the wall was no longer in service or incorrect. Called 411 to get a taxi and found us a motel in Casa Grande.

Day 6, Almost Home

Up, shower, eat, we’re out of here!! I took the Yellow Pages from the motel to put in Eloy’s pilot lounge. The Aeronca crew got gas the night before and when I tried, it didn’t work. Pump working now, Aeronca crew just took off and I’m on my way right behind them. We are headed to Blythe our next fuel stop and then home.

Blythe on the most part was uneventful; I did get stuck behind a plane waiting for an IFR clearance when I was trying to leave. I caught up to the Aeronca crew over Palm Springs. I told Ron I would wait and let them land first. Ron wanted all us to go in together and asked if I have any formation flying experience and I told him no. He told me I will lead and what I need to do, he and Hal will fly off my wings. We met up 5 miles outside of Flabob, at first we couldn’t find each other because of the smog. Joined up and flew a tight formation over Flabob with our family and friends watching. We’re home.

I would like to thank Kathy Rohm, John Lyons and of course Tom Wathen for inviting me to tag along with the Aeronca Kids Project. It’s not to often you can get 8 people together and get along like we did for 16 straight days.

I would especially like to thank Hal, Ron, Andrew, Anthony, Roger, Robert and Steve for making me feel like part of the crew even though I came in later and a few of you did not really know me. I’ll do this anytime with this group.

Thanks Again!