Cessna 150-150 Mighty Mouse: September 2013

THE FLIGHT OF A LIFETIME

This is my very first attempt at blogging so I hope this flows smoothly and we can all enjoy it.

This week, we (my best friend, co-pilot and wife) will be flying from Northwest Arkansas to Anchorage, Alaska via American Airlines to pick up Cessna 63082...a Cessna 150.

This plane was nicknamed "Mighty Mouse" some time back as this is no ordinary, run of the mill Cessna 150.

This is a 150-150 which means the stock Continental, 100 horsepower engine was removed and then upgraded to the Lycoming O-320 with 150 horsepower.

Additionally, Mighty Mouse has the full Horton STOL kit installed and 39 gallon long range fuel tanks.

Another big plus with this conversion is the 160 gross weight increase.

Mighty Mouse is a 1976 model with about 2,500 hours total time on the airframe and a new, zero timed, Lycoming factory rebuilt engine.

Here's a picture of Mighty Mouse in Alaska.

Cindy and I will be flying with (following actually) our good friend Terry Dickinson from Big Lake, Alaska.

Terry has two planes. One is a Piper Super Cub (on floats this time of year) and the other is a Cessna 152 which is affectionately known as Mosquito or......"Skeeter" for short.

Terry has a need/desire to reposition Skeeter to his winter home in the desert of Nevada and we (Cindy and I) have a need to travel with a highly experienced bush pilot (who also just happens to be a CFI) from the Alaskan wilderness, through the Canadian Rockies and on home.

Our generic plan will have us crossing back into the lower 48 at Great Falls, Montana and at this point (probably) we'll separate where Terry will turn right to the southwest and head to Nevada and we'll turn left to the southeast and head to Arkansas.

Here's Mosquito (Skeeter) parked next to Mighty Mouse at Big Lake, AK

All three of us consider this to be the ultimate flying adventure of a lifetime and we'll do our best to document this trip for not only our enjoyment but yours as well.

Jim & Cindy

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Well folks, this adventure of a lifetime has officially been bumped downstream to next year.

The weather has kicked our collective butts so we've decided to call it quits and try again next year. The rain is not letting up, the fog, low ceilings and visibility is bad enough but now the winds through the passes we need to fly through are in the 60 knot range causing the turbulence to be more than we can handle........much, much more.

The waiting for this to clear out is over as there is now a very large system coming in right behind this one which means the weather will not improve for quite some time.

Obviously, this is a major disappointment but it's the right call to make. We have no business trying to duke it out with this weather......it would win the fight which means by default that we'd lose.

Terry has a hangar for Skeeter to stay in and we went hangar shopping for Mighty Mouse. We have secured a spot for him to spend the winter in a climate controlled hanger from November 1 through May 1. Terry will pickle the engine before winter hits and Mighty Mouse will be backed in a corner of the hangar for a 6 month nap. This hangar has a heated floor and I'm told it will hold the temp inside the hangar at 55 degrees all winter.

So, Cindy and I fly home via American Airlines this Saturday night and get home Sunday. Until then, we've rented a car and we're making the best of it doing the "touristy" thing.

Alaska is truly our "last frontier". It's an awesome experience simply to drive around and "look".

We drove south to Seward yesterday (Terry described Seward as a drinking town with a fishing problem) and had a wonderfully fresh seafood meal at "Ray's". Terry's wife, Charlene, recommended Ray's and we were not disappointed.....not even close. Ray's is on the waterfront and we had a marvelous view over the water and boats with our meal.

Today we'll do some exploring and hiking as we continue to absorb all that we can while we're here.


Driving south on the Seward Highway


The Seward Highway has an endless view of some wonderful scenery

See what I mean???

"Ray's" is on the waterfront and is thee place for fresh seafood

At this point, I'll end this blog..........well, maybe I should say it's put it on hold for now until sometime next year. After all, we still have a plane in Alaska that needs to find its way home to Arkansas....right??

Jim and Cindy

Monday, September 2, 2013

Monday, September 2, 2013

The weather continues to be a road block and we're just not making any headway on heading back or getting any additional flying time logged here in Alaska. The weather to the east improves rather quickly once you get to a certain point but the passes we need to fly through to get there are closed down with low ceilings, fog and poor visibility so here we sit.

This is frustrating but the right (and safe) decision is to sit tight and wait it out.

In the mean time, TD had the oil changed in Skeeter and had a couple other small maintenance items taken care of and Mighty Mouse is tied down and ready. All we'll have to do is fill up with fuel, load our baggage and we're ready to go.

It's cool enough that fire in the wood burning stove took the chill and dampness out of the air.........not quite what we're used to. Having a fire this early is NOT something we do in Arkansas so that concept is a little foreign to us but I have to admit it did feel good.

Viewing this cozy fire below a moose head that's mounted on the wall above it was one of those "Alaskan moments".

Back to flying and the reason for this trip.....the time is closing in on us to get headed back and we're running out of time. We'll need to make a decision this week whether or not this trip is still on or it gets postponed until after winter. There's snow on top of the mountains that was not there a week ago, the Birch trees continue to change on a daily basis so the seasonal change is is the air.

We'll see what the next couple days bring but the weather forecast does not look encouraging, but a forecast is just that.....a guess so we'll see.

Skeeter getting his oil changed and some last minute TLC

Nice,comforting fire.......but in the summer??


And this is why we're packing a 12 gauge shot gun with deer slugs for ammunition on our trip.

Keep your fingers crossed for better weather.

Jim & Cindy