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#1
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Very long XC Story
I decide to take the plane and really go on a long XC flight, well beyond
the definitions in the FARs, with my wife for a little R&R. This would be my longest flight to date and even surpassed what I did for my commercial long XC a couple of months ago. The totals we One way distance = 614NM Total Time: 13.5 hours Time in IMC: 5.5 hours Aircraft: C172S We left from 3CK on the Northwest side of the Chicago Class Bravo airspace headed to Vicksburg, MS. The Friday we left was a lousy IMC day and conditions at our fuel stop, Cape Gerardo were bad, we delayed departure by two hours in hopes our destination would improve from below minimums as 'promised' in the forecast. We departed in IMC and it was going to be solid for the first hour or so. We got held for release on the ground by Chi-App for about 10 minutes but were able to get into the system. Then Chi-App vectored us around for a while, winds were not as forecasted and we were much slower than planned. Because conditions at the Cape and all around were bad my alternate was Evansville, IN. Which was a whole 100NM to the NE of the Cape. So after about 2 hours it became apparent that I would not have enough fuel plus reserve to be able to make my alternate if I had been unable to get into my primary airport. Looking at the charts and seeing the weather was still really crapping with visibilities at 1/2 to 1 mile and ceilings of around 300-400 OVC we found a new airport and diverted to Decatur. I shot my first ILS in actual to minimums, a great confidence builder! We refueled and went on now about 3 hours later than planned. We reached the Cape and were supposed to have lunch but it was 3pm and the winds still were not any better even though the weather was getting better. I wanted to limit the night portion of the flight since I was unfamiliar with the area I was flying to and if I had to shoot the approach the last thing I wanted to do was a night NDB at an unfamiliar airport. I quickly calculated new arrival times for our final leg, confirmed we could do it in one hope, raided the vending machine and off we went. We got into Vicksburg 4 hours late, 7pm, just as the sun had set, and the total trip time was 8 air hours with 4.5 of it in IMC. The return flight on Monday was better, some low hanging crude in Vicksburg but I got my IFR clearance and up we went. There was some T-Storm activity to the far west but nothing in our flight path. But I started to see some build up in our path. 1 hour later when we were getting close to the Tenn. border. I climbed up to 9000 to try and go over the build up but we then needed to head east to get around stuff that was building even faster to west. We then had to start deviating around and went eventually over Memphis International but could not see it being in and out of IMC. It was there that we started hitting REAL moderate turbulence (stuff bouncing around and my wife breathing heavily, not in a nice way, into the headset mike) and I decided higher was not working and we were entering a small area with lower clouds. Checking the MEM ATIS they were reporting a BKN layer at 7000 so we requested and got down to 5000 but were still IMC. I did not want to fly into some embedded stuff so I request lower and got another 2000 and we were in the clear, the air was much smoother too. I figured under the worst of conditions I could at least find a place to land if it got any worse. We continued northward and could see it really going down hill to the west but we could see bright sunshine 30NM north, our G.S. was 130knots so I knew we could beat it. Eventually we got into VMC and all was well. for the rest of the trip. The northward trip was with great winds and was a total of 5.5 hours long, 1hour of it in IMC. It was a great experience! The airport at Vicksburg, KVKS, was really nice and they helped us out with whatever we needed. The town was great too and we even found where on the battlefield my wife's relatives had encamped and fought. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------ Scott F. Migaldi, K9PO MI-150972 PP-ASEL-IA Are you a PADI Instructor or DM? Then join the PADI Instructor Yahoo Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PADI-Instructors/join ----------------------------------- Catch the wave! www.hamwave.com "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." - George W. Bush ------------------------------------- |
#2
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On Tue, 26 Oct 2004 10:40:59 -0500, "SFM" wrote:
I decide to take the plane and really go on a long XC flight, well beyond snip We left from 3CK on the Northwest side of the Chicago Class Bravo airspace headed to Vicksburg, MS. The Friday we left was a lousy IMC day and conditions at our fuel stop, Cape Gerardo were bad, we delayed departure by two hours in hopes our destination would improve from below minimums as 'promised' in the forecast. We departed in IMC and it was going to be solid for the first hour or so. We got held for release on the ground by Chi-App for about 10 minutes but were able to get into the system. Curious - did you get your release via FSS or 120.25? If possible, I try to pick my clearance up in the air as approach doesn't answer 120.25 too often. -Nathan (based @ 3ck) |
#3
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I usually call Chi-App at 1.847.289.1326 as 120.25 does not always work but
this time I got them on 120.25 which is why he held me for release on the departure end of 08 for about 10 minutes. Once airborne I called departure on 120.55 and it was the same guy. I now suspect that the reason they are hard to reach on the ground is not related to poor reception but to being just plain busy. Scott -- ------------------------------------------------------------------ Scott F. Migaldi, K9PO MI-150972 PP-ASEL-IA Are you a PADI Instructor or DM? Then join the PADI Instructor Yahoo Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PADI-Instructors/join ----------------------------------- Catch the wave! www.hamwave.com "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." - George W. Bush ------------------------------------- "Nathan Young" wrote in message ... On Tue, 26 Oct 2004 10:40:59 -0500, "SFM" wrote: I decide to take the plane and really go on a long XC flight, well beyond snip We left from 3CK on the Northwest side of the Chicago Class Bravo airspace headed to Vicksburg, MS. The Friday we left was a lousy IMC day and conditions at our fuel stop, Cape Gerardo were bad, we delayed departure by two hours in hopes our destination would improve from below minimums as 'promised' in the forecast. We departed in IMC and it was going to be solid for the first hour or so. We got held for release on the ground by Chi-App for about 10 minutes but were able to get into the system. Curious - did you get your release via FSS or 120.25? If possible, I try to pick my clearance up in the air as approach doesn't answer 120.25 too often. -Nathan (based @ 3ck) |
#4
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The town was great too and we even found where on the
battlefield my wife's relatives had encamped and fought. We've talked about going to Vicksburg to visit the battlefield memorials there. Can you talk about them a bit more? We drove through there 20 years ago, and I remember quite a few monuments, but we didn't really have time to poke around much... -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#5
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Sure Jay.
The battle field is filled with markers from the states that sent units there. Iowa had quit a few people there and consequently a lot of markers there are from Iowa. My wife ancestors are from Iowa so we searched for the 35th Infantry regiments markers and were not disappointed. We found where the 35th encamped (marked), put their picket lines (again marked) and lastly where snipers were located (also marked). This meant we walked away really feeling we were following in their footsteps and helped us to imagine them at this location during that time. The Illinois memorial is very large and contains the names of all those form Illinois that were killed during the siege. Many of the other memorial only list numbers. Several of the memorial and markers have their own stories too. For instance the Wisconsin memorial is topped with a bald eagle named Old Abe. Old Abe has a very interesting story that is still being written today as it is he who is pictured on the 101st Airborne Divisions 'Screaming Eagles' unit patch. In addition to the markers there are also a lot of color coded signs detailing what happened at each location. Blue for the North and Red for the south. On these markers there is placed a description of the events that happened in that general vicinity. These help visualize what occurred, which at sometime can be hard due to the changes in the topography from a siege that took place 140 years ago. There are now many more trees than were there originally. In fact, many of trees that were there were removed by the armies to help set up the various fortification that were needed. Those markers I also mentioned do outline the directions the troops took during attacks so that you can actually follow in their footsteps and see the folly of some of the actions. There is also one marker near the 'Surrender Oak'. It was here that Confederate General Pemberton met with Gen Grant to discuss the terms of surrender on 3 July 1863, the next day was when the actual surrender took place. A drive through the park or a combination drive and hike will allow you see all the most famous parts of the siege and will be a good several hours long. We ended up spending most of Saturday and half of Sunday visiting and looking up various pieces of info. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------ Scott F. Migaldi, K9PO MI-150972 PP-ASEL-IA Are you a PADI Instructor or DM? Then join the PADI Instructor Yahoo Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PADI-Instructors/join ----------------------------------- Catch the wave! www.hamwave.com "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." - George W. Bush ------------------------------------- "Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:yLPfd.258195$wV.206582@attbi_s54... The town was great too and we even found where on the battlefield my wife's relatives had encamped and fought. We've talked about going to Vicksburg to visit the battlefield memorials there. Can you talk about them a bit more? We drove through there 20 years ago, and I remember quite a few monuments, but we didn't really have time to poke around much... -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#6
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Civil War my Butt.... It was the War of Northern Agression.
But did you make it to the Casinos? "SFM" wrote in message ... Sure Jay. The battle field is filled with markers from the states that sent units there. Iowa had quit a few people there and consequently a lot of markers there are from Iowa. My wife ancestors are from Iowa so we searched for the 35th Infantry regiments markers and were not disappointed. We found where the 35th encamped (marked), put their picket lines (again marked) and lastly where snipers were located (also marked). This meant we walked away really feeling we were following in their footsteps and helped us to imagine them at this location during that time. The Illinois memorial is very large and contains the names of all those form Illinois that were killed during the siege. Many of the other memorial only list numbers. Several of the memorial and markers have their own stories too. For instance the Wisconsin memorial is topped with a bald eagle named Old Abe. Old Abe has a very interesting story that is still being written today as it is he who is pictured on the 101st Airborne Divisions 'Screaming Eagles' unit patch. In addition to the markers there are also a lot of color coded signs detailing what happened at each location. Blue for the North and Red for the south. On these markers there is placed a description of the events that happened in that general vicinity. These help visualize what occurred, which at sometime can be hard due to the changes in the topography from a siege that took place 140 years ago. There are now many more trees than were there originally. In fact, many of trees that were there were removed by the armies to help set up the various fortification that were needed. Those markers I also mentioned do outline the directions the troops took during attacks so that you can actually follow in their footsteps and see the folly of some of the actions. There is also one marker near the 'Surrender Oak'. It was here that Confederate General Pemberton met with Gen Grant to discuss the terms of surrender on 3 July 1863, the next day was when the actual surrender took place. A drive through the park or a combination drive and hike will allow you see all the most famous parts of the siege and will be a good several hours long. We ended up spending most of Saturday and half of Sunday visiting and looking up various pieces of info. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------ Scott F. Migaldi, K9PO MI-150972 PP-ASEL-IA Are you a PADI Instructor or DM? Then join the PADI Instructor Yahoo Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PADI-Instructors/join ----------------------------------- Catch the wave! www.hamwave.com "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." - George W. Bush ------------------------------------- "Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:yLPfd.258195$wV.206582@attbi_s54... The town was great too and we even found where on the battlefield my wife's relatives had encamped and fought. We've talked about going to Vicksburg to visit the battlefield memorials there. Can you talk about them a bit more? We drove through there 20 years ago, and I remember quite a few monuments, but we didn't really have time to poke around much... -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#7
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"Gig Giacona" wrote in message ... Civil War my Butt.... It was the War of Northern Agression. My ancestors were from Kentucky and Maryland so I hear ya' but since Jay is a yankee I was typing so's he could understand ;-) But did you make it to the Casinos? Nope, hate that stuff -- ------------------------------------------------------------------ Scott F. Migaldi, K9PO MI-150972 PP-ASEL-IA Are you a PADI Instructor or DM? Then join the PADI Instructor Yahoo Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PADI-Instructors/join ----------------------------------- Catch the wave! www.hamwave.com "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." - George W. Bush ------------------------------------- "SFM" wrote in message ... Sure Jay. The battle field is filled with markers from the states that sent units there. Iowa had quit a few people there and consequently a lot of markers there are from Iowa. My wife ancestors are from Iowa so we searched for the 35th Infantry regiments markers and were not disappointed. We found where the 35th encamped (marked), put their picket lines (again marked) and lastly where snipers were located (also marked). This meant we walked away really feeling we were following in their footsteps and helped us to imagine them at this location during that time. The Illinois memorial is very large and contains the names of all those form Illinois that were killed during the siege. Many of the other memorial only list numbers. Several of the memorial and markers have their own stories too. For instance the Wisconsin memorial is topped with a bald eagle named Old Abe. Old Abe has a very interesting story that is still being written today as it is he who is pictured on the 101st Airborne Divisions 'Screaming Eagles' unit patch. In addition to the markers there are also a lot of color coded signs detailing what happened at each location. Blue for the North and Red for the south. On these markers there is placed a description of the events that happened in that general vicinity. These help visualize what occurred, which at sometime can be hard due to the changes in the topography from a siege that took place 140 years ago. There are now many more trees than were there originally. In fact, many of trees that were there were removed by the armies to help set up the various fortification that were needed. Those markers I also mentioned do outline the directions the troops took during attacks so that you can actually follow in their footsteps and see the folly of some of the actions. There is also one marker near the 'Surrender Oak'. It was here that Confederate General Pemberton met with Gen Grant to discuss the terms of surrender on 3 July 1863, the next day was when the actual surrender took place. A drive through the park or a combination drive and hike will allow you see all the most famous parts of the siege and will be a good several hours long. We ended up spending most of Saturday and half of Sunday visiting and looking up various pieces of info. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------ Scott F. Migaldi, K9PO MI-150972 PP-ASEL-IA Are you a PADI Instructor or DM? Then join the PADI Instructor Yahoo Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PADI-Instructors/join ----------------------------------- Catch the wave! www.hamwave.com "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." - George W. Bush ------------------------------------- "Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:yLPfd.258195$wV.206582@attbi_s54... The town was great too and we even found where on the battlefield my wife's relatives had encamped and fought. We've talked about going to Vicksburg to visit the battlefield memorials there. Can you talk about them a bit more? We drove through there 20 years ago, and I remember quite a few monuments, but we didn't really have time to poke around much... -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#8
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Civil War my Butt.... It was the War of Northern Agression.
My ancestors were from Kentucky and Maryland so I hear ya' but since Jay is a yankee I was typing so's he could understand ;-) To a northerner, the Civil War is ancient history, in the same category as Troy and the Roman Empire. It just has no relevancy to us. In Vicksburg and Biloxi (our destination on that trip, some 20 years ago), it was like the war had just ended a couple of years ago. That was a very strange thing for Mary and me. But did you make it to the Casinos? Vicksburg was starkly impoverished looking when we visited in the 1980s. It's sad to think that they've been forced down the "Road of Economic Desperation" that seems to inevitably lead to casinos nowadays. -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#9
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Sure Jay.
Thanks for the travelogue, Scott. We're hoping to get down there next summer to visit friends -- and the battlefield will definitely be a "must see" for us. -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
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