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
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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 5, 2013 at 11:15 PM

    So sorry to hear this. That'll just make next year that much better though!

    - Jason

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