Day 9 - California Dreams
Monday, May 18, 2020
Day 9
Waking up on the airfield campground in Payson was magical. We awoke with the sun, light spilling over the plane and our campsite. It was immensely satisfying, knowing that California was on the horizon.
We got ready and returned the little airport car we had been given for the night. We took a little too much fuel and were heavy for the higher elevation, so we made sure to increase our takeoff roll in order to gain speed to climb out effectively. We got off the ground and climbed high over the mountains, navigating by the Blythe VOR—our friend Tracy in Stamford TX had suggested this—which would take us through the Banning Pass to the coast.
We had desired to fly direct to Oceanside Airport, where the mechanic shop One Stop Aviation was located, as they had overhauled the Skyhawk’s engine a month before and we wanted to “meet the parents.” However, strong headwinds at altitude foiled this plan, and we stopped to take a little extra fuel at Borrego, a dusty desert field just before the final mountain stretch that would get us to the ocean.
We fueled and departed quickly, and climbed to cross the mountains ahead. The ceiling was steadily getting lower and the weather was becoming more and more marginal at our destination airport. We crossed the mountains and coastal California greeted us with fog and low visibility. Hooray! We decided to try for Oceanside anyways, as the weather was just on the edge, and headed there direct. The cloud ceiling was steadily dropping and hills and unfamiliar terrain was rising around us in every direction. We kept Ramona Airport in our minds as a deviation, and pressed on to try for Oceanside. My pirate heart leapt with joy at the first sight of the Pacific Ocean in the distance, but the weather became too unfriendly to make it into Oceanside, so I turned for Ramona and landed there.
A happy accident, for one of my best friends Dominique just so happens to live in Ramona! So we all shared a glorious socially distanced dinner and evening with her catching up and sharing stories. Great for the soul. California! We made it coast to coast!
Flight Path
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Day 8 – As Far as the Eye Can See
Sunday, May 17, 2020
Day 8
After a basically sleepless night in rather uncomfortable accommodations in Page, Arizona we awoke just before dawn and forced our sore, lifeless bodies to the plane. The world was awakening and the light was growing—it was time to take to the sky.
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We fired up and taxied out to runway 33, which faces Glen Canyon and Lake Powell, and I took off and stayed low and level with the runway, picking up speed and not climbing, until we flew out and over the valley, the expansive vastness exploding around us, and I used the excess airspeed to rocket into the sky and follow the winding Colorado River down passed Horseshoe Bend to Marble Canyon, where we would eventually join up with the Grand Canyon. While Filip had been to this site before, it was my first time seeing it, and entering it from the sky was almost too profound to comprehend. The vastness was overwhelming and deeply moving. I flew down into the Dragon Corridor, the VFR corridor that took us down southbound through the canyon, at an altitude of 10,500’ (density altitude 13,500’) and reveled in the glorious beauty of it. Words somewhat fail me in accurately describing the feeling of flying over this landscape, of having the ability to maneuver through and over this land.
We monitored the radio frequency of the canyon–we did not hear or see anyone else flying. The tower at Grand Canyon airport was also closed. The virus has shutdown many places, and that includes this natural wonder of the world.
We finished shooting over the Grand Canyon and checked our fuel and ultimately decided we had more than enough to make it straight to Sedona, where we have tentative plans to fuel and grab breakfast. We’d been told by a lot of wonderful pilot friends that Sedona Airport was not to be missed and the sentiment was not wrong—the airport sits on top of a mesa with incredible red rock formations exploding around it. I audibly gasped as I approached the airfield to land, it was prehistoric, it grasped me firmly by the heart and soul and shook me to the core, even as I set up for landing in gusty mountain winds.
We had breakfast on the field and marveled in the beauty of the world around us. It has been quite the experience to witness the majesty of all these natural wonders, and almost psychedelic to witness it changing so rapidly.
We spent some time in Sedona, and then pressed onwards to our home for the night, Payson Arizona, an airfield with camping that promised firewood, a car, and views for days. It was rather intimidating getting out of Sedona, there was a direct crosswind and it was real gusty, topped off with high density altitude. We didn’t fuel fully to keep our weight as low as possible, and upon take off, stayed in ground effect as long as able, to gain airspeed and climb effectively into the mountain air.
Payson paid off, and we write currently beside a beautiful campfire next to our pitched tent and resting airplane. Filled with gratitude, we plan tomorrow’s route. A good hard day, in the books.
Sweet dreams, Arizona.
Flight Path
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Day 7 - Welcome to Paradise
Saturday, May 16, 2020
Day 7
…..a disembodied voice shouted cheerfully over the radio. More on that in a moment!
Another glorious predawn airport wake up in Belen, New Mexico. We are getting great at waking up in the dark, packing up fast, and taking off just as the sun rises to catch the best light. The entire trip has been gorgeous but the flying we encountered today was nothing short of miraculous.
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En route to Gallup for a fuel stop, I circled overhead one of North America’s oldest continuously occupied communities, Acoma Pueblo, while Filip photographed it against the rising sun. It felt ancient and wild and we were amazed that people were living down there in such an untamed place. We pressed on—the terrain beneath us was eruptive, changing rapidly, and we were both ecstatic by the time we flew over Monument Valley. We threw open the windows for maximum visibility and enjoyment, to shoot the immense formations. It is some of my favorite kind of flying, circling tightly over the Earth, windows open, air screaming, engine pounding, attempting to capture it all.
After Gallup, we headed to a remote strip in Utah called Calblack. I called up on the radio announcing our position, and a voice called back from the ground, “welcome to paradise!” He was not wrong.
The field was quite remote, it stood out in striking black against the yellow scruffy desert ground of Utah. In the distance, Lake Powell and the Colorado River gleamed blue and sparkling in the sun.
We fueled and decided to hang out and relax for a bit, unloaded our camping chairs and had coffee and avocados on the field under the wing. So wonderful, this trip has been filled with moments of extreme flying, planning, and nonstop moving countered with divine moments of peace and deep, humbling appreciation.
We then departed for Pace Arizona, and this is where it gets really fun. To navigate, we decided to follow the Colorado River and Powell Lake, two beautiful churning bodies of water surrounded by some of the most insane landscape I’ve ever seen in my life, let alone from the air. Flying down the canyons following the water was some of the most awe striking and pure fun flying I’ve ever done, and I was actively laughing the entire flight. I felt like we’d flown to a new planet, it was incredible, stimulating, almost incomprehensible, and truly, unbelievably delightful.
At Pace we fueled, and completely thrilled, decided to go up for another hour of shooting in the canyons.
We then returned to plan our next day of early morning flying and sleep, dreams filled with the spectacular wonders we’d witnessed. To the West!
Flight Path
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Day 6 - Goodbye Texas, hello New Mexico
Thursday, May 15, 2020
Day 6
We awoke in Lamesa TX before dawn, and prepped the plane for an early morning departure. The flight to Roswell at sunrise was smooth as silk, the fields and desert below us bathed in a soft, glowing blue. When we arrived, I circled the field overhead and Filip started shooting photos—Roswell is currently home to hundreds of parked airplanes, and the visual effect of all of them together is spectacular. We shot for awhile, and then came in to land. On the ground, we found their mechanic who agreed to change the oil for us, and we ventured out to explore Roswell for a bit. The town is filled with alien paraphernalia, it’s wild.
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Upon returning to the airport, we had a lengthy flight planning session. The flying is getting really exciting now, as we venture into the mountains. We had a call with pilot Greg Brown, who gave us some invaluable knowledge of flying this area and awesome route tips. We finished up with a solid plan for the next three days.
After wrapping that up, we loaded up and pressed on to our home for the night, Belen, New Mexico. Incredibly, our route from Roswell passed over the Corona VOR. Ridiculous.
Some really kind people on the field at Belen, we talked to a pilot who was about to take up a couple for a flight, and just before they departed, the guy proposed! Super cute, great to witness it.
We spent about an hour before sunset reloading the aircraft and disposing any unneeded gear—the less weight we have in the plane in this area of the world the better. All in all a solid day, with more exciting flying on the horizon.
Flight Path
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Day 5 - Technical stop at Abilene, and ahead to Lamesa, TX
Thursday, May 14, 2020
Day 5
Still under the positive influence of Stamford Locals we woke up happy and well rested. Even the newly discovered fuel leak did not discourage us and with smiling faces we headed out to Abilene Aero, a short 15 minutes hop to a highly recommended service station at an nearby large airport.
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What a fantastic reception have we received there. Abilene Aero did really overextend themselves to make sure we are OK and ready to continue our adventure. Bunch of specialists immediately swarmed tRusty (I wish I took that photo!) and few hours later we were good to go. It seemed like the day got away from us, and with the tremendous heat and rising altitude, we have decided to make it a shorter one than usual.
Tonight – it’s really late as I am writing this, I let the photos speak for themselves.
Tomorrow, early AM: Roswell
Flight Path
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Day 4 - Texas Hospitality
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Day 4
We had a great night of needed rest in Lancaster TX after the first 3 days of little sleep and lots of good, hard flying. The weather was too low to depart early so we spent the morning looking at routes over the Rockies.
There was a dry line of building thunderstorms to the West that looked pretty dicey, so as soon as the weather lifted at Lancaster, we departed. Our plan for today’s leg was to land and stay over at a small airport as far West as we could make it before the storms made it impossible to fly any longer.
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We first overflew Possum Kingdom, F35, an awesome looking little field on the PK lake. It was pretty populated and the storms weren’t too close yet, so we decided to press onwards to Haskell, 15F—but that didn’t feel right either. So we headed to our third choice, Arledge, F56 in Stamford TX. They say third times a charm, and I can confirm.
When we landed, there were about 8 airplanes and pilots on the ramp in a row, about to do a fly by for the senior citizens in town that had been isolated in quarantine. Before departing they assured us we could stay in their pilot hangar lounge for the night and hangar our plane to ride out the storms. We couldn’t be more grateful for their extreme kindness and hospitality.
We watched happily as they roared off the runway in order. After some fun low passes on their return, they landed, shut down, we all introduced ourselves, and talked a bit about our cross country adventure. We got some incredible route advice for crossing the mountains and getting through to California, and they took us on an awesome tour of Stamford TX where the Texas Cowboy Reunion rodeo takes place. The night was complete with hilarious stories, abandoned places, tales of bobcats, rattlesnakes, cowboys, pranks, wild river pigs, tailgate burritos, and just great Texas things. Super stoked to have met this awesome group of people out here, especially with how serendipitous it was. They just all happened to be at the airport at the same time we were landing to do the flyover—what are the odds? At night on the airport, we watched the thunderstorms roll in and light up the giant sky, before turning in and getting a great nights sleep in the pilot lounge.
All in all, a perfect Texas day.
Flight Path
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Day 3 - Crossing into Texas
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Day 3
If I had to define Day 3 with any kind of summary it would be just insane weather planning. We dodged storms from the moment we awoke and broke camp (was it raining you ask? Of course it was!) till we finally touched down, exhausted, in Texas. Another way would simply be never ending deviations. We changed our routing all day long to respond to updating storm conditions, starting with the night before when we realized we could actually get out in the morning if we rose early enough. So we did just that, waking at 5 am in the darkness and rain to hastily pack up and be in the air just before sunrise at 5:50, in order to break free of the incoming storm front by dipping beneath it to the south.
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We took off from Reelfoot into a grey glowing sky, with surprisingly fine visibility and rising cloud ceilings and booked it south, the storm incoming to our right. As soon as we had it cleared, we turned due west direct to KSUZ for fuel before hitting Hot Springs or KHOT, where we had originally planned to wait out the weather. We were about to call it a day when we took another look at the charts and realized that if we wanted to press on, we could make into KLNC Lancaster, a little airport to the south of Dallas, with some careful storm circumnavigation. It would also save us from being stuck on the ground for weather for a substantial amount of time, so we decided it was the right call, hastily fueled, and headed out for the great state of Texas.
Flight Path
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Day 2 - Ohio through Indiana and Kentucky to Tennessee
Tuesday, May 11, 2020
Day 2
The night of sleeping in the cockpit of the Skyhawk was a first for us both. I wouldn’t call it glamorous (or warm, roomy, or comfortable) but it surely was something to check off the list. Slightly disappointing to miss actually camping on the field–there were great campsites adjacent to the runway on the nearby lake–but avoiding the freezing temps, gusting winds, and steady rains made it the right call and quite a story for the first night out.
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The field slowly went VFR as we stretched and drank some welcomed hot black coffee, so we hopped in and headed onwards to the SW, landing at I23, Fayette County in OH. We charged gear at the FBO, and did some flight planning, then grabbed the old airport van to make a supply run at a local market for some water and sustenance. It is strange to venture into the world in new places–this trip is allowing us to stay mostly socially isolated, but when we do need to venture into populated areas, the changes rendered by the COVID-19 pandemic are made even more glaringly obvious as newcomers. We’re being aware, careful, and conscious of it all.
After our quick supply run, we headed back, fueled, and departed for KBFR in Indiana, a 2 hour leg. This was a great stop, one of those perfectly preserved aviation havens, with an awesome collection of old photos, sectionals, and flight training on VHS tapes. Ken, FBO manager, told us the field, Grissom, was named for one of three astronauts who had come from the area. We got to chatting with him and he made some phone calls and got the name of an airport in Tennessee with camping on the field, Reelfoot Lake. Perfect distance away, and we could make it before nightfall if we hustled, so we fueled up fast and booked it out of there. Not too much time for photos today, as we were prioritizing speed over shooting, but we made great time to grab our evening fuel at KUCY, and on the short hop to Reelfoot circled over a swampy lake, grabbing shots. Never have I wanted floats on the Skyhawk more, it would have been the perfect place for a splash and go.
The approach to Reelfoot was gorgeous, you come in right over the water when landing runway 01. We were the ONLY aircraft on the entire field, and the only people camping except one lone RV on the opposite end. We shut down and unloaded gear to the campsite, pitched the tent, lit a fire, and chilled for a bit. Service was shoddy, and the next day had some wild weather coming through. We went back and forth on our ability to get out in the morning, and had basically decided it wouldn’t be possible, until the forecasts all updated, and we saw a small window of time we could make it out before the storms hit and we were socked in. So we set our alarms for 5am and called it a night.
Day 2, wrapped!
Flight Path
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Day 1 - NYC to Noble County, OH
Sunday, May 10, 2020
Day 1
And off we go!
Expecting some hard-core headwind that slowed us down almost 20 knots (that’s 20% of our speed), we finally departed the North Eastern homefield on route to the South West. packing took a while, we are luckily well below the max takeoff weight but the weight needed to be placed correctly in order to stay in the limits of weight and balance.
Read More...As our farewell committee (Robert and Andrew) bid us farewell, i was already thirsty for the celebratory beer they held in hand. Well, that will have to wait.
Flying though the beautiful Amish country, full of small farms that are being interestingly worked into curved shapes. First stop Allegheny County (KAGC), reloaded on cheap fuel and free coffee and headed out West, onto the industrial part of PA.
Bayley Mine was a place I always wanted to photograph, and I was not disappointed. We have seen some serious destruction of the land especially as the mine is surrounded by the vast areas of green. The mine was actually closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak at the time of the photography.
However, the weather was coming. The fast-moving cold front that has been driven by a heavy low pressure system over the Lakes brought some heavy winds, extreme drop in temperature and a lot of rain. Luckily, we have landed before the hell started, and it was at some point so bad that we had difficulties holding the airplane in place as it was weathervaning onto the ever-changing wind. We decided this night will be spent in the airplane instead.
Tired, wet, but happy we fell asleep quite fast.
Flight Path
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An Idea is Born
An Idea is Born
“I’m thinking of going across every day,” Filip texted me, out of the blue, a month and a half into the Covid pandemic and resulting isolation. It was early spring, and the world was achingly beautiful, beckoning humanity outdoors and into the sweet air of late April.
“Across where? America?!” My quarantined mind was shocked into full attention.
“Yes. There’s no work. And the fuel will never be cheaper.”
“I’m in,” I said it immediately, without the due diligence of any sort of plan.
Crossing America in a small plane. We’d talked about it…for years. The adventure and the challenge called to us ferociously. Years earlier, we laughed when we realized we were reading the same book at the same time, Flight of Passage, about two brothers who flew a cub across the country. The idea grew in our minds like a wildfire, much kinder than the one consuming the globe, aided in its growth by various camping flying excursions in the Northeast. Flamping, we named it. Fly camping. The greatest combination of flight and camping in the glorious natural world.
Could we do it, across the whole country? Could we really take Old Rusty, our beloved Skyhawk, a 1973 beauty with a recent engine overhaul, all the way, East coast to West coast and back again? Could we do it now? At this massive crossroads in the history of mankind? If we were to undertake this journey, we knew it would need to be special. We had to approach such a trip with deep respect for the full spectrum of human emotion and experience that resulted from the virus.
If we were going to do it NOW, we needed to endeavor to photographically capture the country in its current state, discovering ways that the pandemic had altered the patterns of human movement across the entire nation. And in thinking these thoughts, we realized we had no choice. There would never be a moment like this again. And the opportunity to document it from above could be powerful and potentially helpful to humanity as a whole.
It was decided. We were going. We were flying across America.
Fasten your seat belt and join us in the ultimate aviation adventure:
Nothing found.