(PICTURES SOON)
A week ago I took a flight from Willow Run to Oscoda, MI with several stops in between. This flight was different than all of the others I've done because I had a lot of time with the airplane. I took my time and parked the airplane for a few at most of the places I stopped. It was really a great experience and I had a blast!
I left at about 10:30 AM on my first leg from Willow Run to Bay City, MI, which is near Saginaw. The weather conditions were interesting, with what appeared to be an inversion at about 7,000' and a few random clouds at about 4,000. I went up to 6,500 which kept me out of Flint's Class C airspace as I would be flying directly over FNT. I took off on RWY 23R at YIP and headed northbound. I opened my flight plan via Lansing FSS and then switched to Detroit Approach in an attempt to get flight following. I caught an opening in the chatter and gave my request but I was denied, which I guess was within their right. I always feel better with the help but apparently they were short staffed and to busy for VFR traffic. It's not far to Flint's airspace anyway. It was the first time I have been denied flight following.
20nm out of Flint I called up approach and this time didn't have any problem getting following. It was really a pretty day, and I was really geeked to be flying directly over the flint area because there is a lot to see. Compared to my flight to Traverse City a couple days earlier, there is a lot more scenery on this flight! Not far north of Flint I started my descent into Bay City. I was handed off to Saginaw App, and then to advisory. Bay city is underneath the Saginaw TRSA. I landed and taxied to the parking area to chill for a bit. I love cute little airports like that!
After taking a few pictures and making a couple phone calls it was time to head out to my next stop, Oscoda. I went through my checklists, master on, cracked the throttle, started cranking, mixture smoothly to rich... and nothing. Reset, gave it another try... and still no dice. For whatever reason the IO-360's in our Cessna's don't like hot starts on hot, humid days. Two attempted flooded starts later, I finally got it to catch. I always hate it when the thing won't start on the first try, but I've been told my starting record is better than most.
Finally started, I departed for Oscoda. I flew along the shoreline of Saginaw Bay for a bit and then headed direct to the airfield. There was a building layer of cumulus clouds with bases at about 3,500 so I stayed below and enjoyed the scenery. For those of you unfamiliar with Oscoda, it was an Air Force B-52 base until the early 90's. The runway is 11,800' x 200' which is absolutely HUGE, and no control tower. Kalitta Air uses the airport as a 747 base. It is by far the biggest runway I've ever landed on. I entered the pattern on a left downwind and then came around for a landing. Willow Run's runways are 150-160 feet wide so I'm used to somewhat wider runways, but it is really strange to be on final with over two miles of runway in front of you. The winds were fairly strong and gusting so I only put in 10 degrees of flaps coming in. Interestingly, in the Airport Facilities Directory notes it states that there is often a tail wind on both approach ends of the runway simultaneously, I'm sure due to the airfield's length and proximity to Lake Huron. My experience was consistent with that that advisory, and the strange winds contributed to a safe, if not exactly beautiful landing on my part. That said, I used less than 1/8th of the runway and had plenty of roll to get to the
first turnoff.
After experiencing the sheer size of the runway on landing, the next impression you get from Oscoda is taxiing past the flock of 747's in various states of airworthiness. This is a wholly new experience for me and I had to constantly remind myself to concentrate on keeping the airplane on the taxiway centerline because I wanted to be gazing out the window! For an aviation geek like me, it was very cool. The FBOish area is way off the runway to the east and it seemed like it took forever to get there. I had to use the rest room and wanted to sit and nibble on a few of the snacks I had brought with me so I found a biffy and a place to park for a few. Apparently Yankee Air Museum has a satellite wing up there so there were some people about.
After taking in Oscoda I departed back to the Southwest to do a touch-n-go at Saginaw Tri-Cities International. Oddly I had never landed there before, as it is a popular destination for students at the flight school on training flights, so I decided it would be cool to drop by. There was an Aviat Husky doing likewise as I was on my way in, and I realized that doing that trip in an airplane like the Husky would have been one of the few ways the day could get any better. I did a beautiful greaser despite the strongish wind and was quickly airborne again en route to Linden, just south of Flint.
Linden was a last minute decision before the flight because I noticed that I would have plenty of time and fuel left on the way home, and Linden lies directly in between MBS and YIP. On the way out, I had flown over Flint's Class C, but this time I would be landing on the very southern side of the outer tier so I would have to go through it. Luckily on this Friday there really wasn't any traffic in the area and was guided through the airspace without a fuss.
Linden is really a pretty cool airfield. It lies near some beautiful wooded and lake areas (at least from the air) and again is a lot of what I love in small airfields. I really enjoy the particularities and unique challenges that each new airport I fly to presents, and Linden doesn't disappoint. On approach to the runway from the east the threshold is displaced quite a ways because of a giant Oak? tree right off the end of the runway. I'm always watchful for such things and as I passed over the tree I couldn't help but smile. This is why flying is so much fun. Linden is now an airpark, with a group of houses right on the field. I'm always skeptical that living as such would really be that great of an experience, however this place looked pretty good to me. Again, I taxied over to the apron, shut down, and took in the place. Parked there were beautiful examples of an Ercoupe, a Champ, and a C185. The afternoon sun was shining, there was a nice comfortable breeze, and the whole situation made me want to just stand there for a bit and breathe it in.
All too soon I had to be getting the airplane back so for the fifth time that day I pushed in the throttle and was off and flying, this time back home. After landing at Willow Run and shutting down, I had a smile as big as Montana. This is why flying is so much fun, and this trip in particular was possibly the most rewarding experience I've had since beginning this aviation journey.
Labels: airplane, aviation, cross country, flight lessons, flying
