As you might have guessed from the headline that I was able to get into the Lancaster Avionics shop for my IFR recertification on June 11th, just a week or so before my Michigan trip. My encoding altimeter and my Aspen were both off considerably, so the outcome was uncertain for awhile. Ryan nailed the corrections but did not have the time left to update the software on the Aspen Pro PFD. I’ll go back for that in July and to change from using my much older encoding altimeter to the newer Aspen for encoding.
In order to get this trip started, I first had to fly the Cheyenne to the same shop for pitch trim maintenance. That brief flight went well, and the airplane will remain there until my return the following weekend.
We launched at gross weight in clear and cool weather, expecting about a 5 hour total trip time.
The VFR crystal clear views were spectacular all the way to Toledo. I’ve been working with my friend Jason on his private pilot license, so I spent my time picking out towns and checkpoints from the VFR Sectional Chart on my iPad.
Clear skies on our way to the first stop in Toledo, Ohio. We were in the air for 3 hours and 5 minutes.
The view was incredible and the ride was smooth for this leg. Engines, props, and electronics all hummed cleanly.
My altimeters, transponder, and autopilot all agreed and showed tight tolerances. The IFR inspection was timely.
There was no escaping the winds at any altitude, so we just sucked it up and pressed on. My passengers took naps while I reminded myself that we could still be in my 105 kt Piper Warrior, N8260Y. That aircraft has just a single engine, so we didn’t cross the Lake Michigan. We went around the lake to the north instead. My groundspeed into similar winds in that case was so low that trucks were passing me on the road below. I might have been doing 55kts over the ground while flying towards a storm and our destination.
Back in my Twin Comanche now, I chose landing at KTOL for a fuel stop. I am familiar with the facility, the airport has approaches and a tower, and they all treated me well the last time. The Grand Aire FBO at KTOL is clean and has nice bathrooms for Beverly, my grandson Matthew, and I. While the passengers went inside, I supervised the refueling process and checked over the airplane one more time. There is no point in continuing if problems arise because there is absolutely no maintenance or services where we are headed. Escanaba’s Delta County Airport is a quiet place, but you don’t want to break down there.
For the remaining flight, I topped the mains but only added 5 gal to each aux tank to keep the weight down for the remaining 2 hour flight in the afternoon. Because I didn’t fill all 6 tanks, Grand Aire charged me $60 for a ramp service fee! I’ll say more about that later. I had everyone don their constant wear life preservers and we departed on the last leg.
We flew to 8,000′ initially, but had to try to out climb the building cumulus clouds in order to smooth out the ride.
Over Traverse City we got into the clouds for maybe 10 minutes.
If you look closely, you’ll see that we picked up a bit of clear ice on the leading edges, and reported that to ATC.
Aircraft behind us also picked up the ice, but we popped out of the clouds and crossed the lake with no issues.
After about 10 minutes of flying in clear air, the clear ice that had accumulated had sublimated off of the airframe.
I’ve gotten to know who to call at our Escanaba destination. Thanks to Tom and Mark at the Delta County airport for allowing me to access the FEDEX hangar and keep my aircraft secure for the week. I refueled for the return leg as soon as we landed, and we pushed the airplane deep into the corner for the week.
We were able to spend a relaxing week with Bev’s brother Michael and his extended family; sitting around the campfire and living in a luxury RV that my daughter and son inlaw had driven out there. Life is good.
This is when I pulled the fuel receipt from my pocket and saw that $60 fee. I made a polite call to the FBO and told them there was no way I way paying that. I topped my main tanks and was weight limited beyond that – so consider it topping me off. The fee was waived and I finished my beer.
Fly safe!
Frank