Oshkosh - By Way of Mexico

The Sun-N-Fun trip was excellent preparation for Oshkosh. Having been to both events, have come up with this conclusion. Sun-N-Fun's charm is that it is big enough to have all the elements of a mega-fly-in, more that one can do in a week in a compact package. Oshkosh is just huge, 5 times the size at least. Everything and everyone is there, so much that you almost get frustrated having to pick and choose between so many things. You want to do it all.

The week before departure was highlighted one of the busiest ever on my regular job. Too busy and too tired to even get excited about it. Did the 25 hour engine inspection Saturday morning and found out what happens when you use neoprene valve cover gaskets on cast valve covers. It squeezed out and covered the plane with oil. Was not able to find cork gaskets at 5 different auto supplies, so had to put the old ones back in. So much for having everything perfect for the 1200 mile trip to OSH. Spent the rest of Saturday learning from Dorothy Golding, owner of Zuehl and the most beautiful show quality Globe Swift, the process of aluminum polishing. Using an expensive polisher and special compound was able to get the top of the wings and horizontal stabilizer done with the first of three levels of compound in about 4 hours. Next time you see a well polished airplane, appreciate the hours spend getting it there. It was not finished, but it still looked better than ever. Just ran out of time, should have started earlier.

Took a little extra time reading back to my wife 95 airport coordinates looked up on ipilot.com and programmed into my Magellan GPS 315. Found 3 or 4 errors, any one could be critical if I needed to find that airport. Drew a line between here and Oshkosh and found that a heading of 30 degrees would get me there. The only turns in the trip were to go around transponder zones and the corners of the Houston, Memphis, and St Louis maps that I was too cheap to buy. This has to be a bargain trip since all of the money was coming out of my building fund. Kept stuffing thing in the backpack until is reached the 20 pound limit. Tent, sleeping bag, air mattress, 4 pairs of jogging shorts, 4 shirts, windbreaker, a pair of moccasins, some personal items, and a few band aids.

Sunday morning came with the usual low overcast, but it was nice because several of my Zuehl friends came by to wish me well. Just about all of them told me how much that wished they could be going to Oshkosh. Had been so busy getting ready, almost forgot what I was about to do. Was getting both excited and a little scared. It was about 10:00am before the weather broke and the Silver Surfer and I were ready to go. Glanced over to the side just after lift off and saw several of my Zuehl friends standing outside watching the takeoff.

The first leg of the trip went well, busy looking for landmarks on the sectional to verify the track the GPS was taking me on. Was making 125 mph, great, but knew that 15 mph south wind would be waiting for me on the return trip. Landed at Ennis, Texas, found no one around and a locked terminal. Guess they don't realize the first thing a traveling pilot is need is a restroom. The bank card worked and we got gas. Carry a bag of trail mix on these trips. Today it was lunch, tomorrow maybe breakfast or dinner.

The next leg crossed the Red River into Oklahoma and came upon the rapidly rising terrain displayed on the map. Once again the chicken pilot turned to the west to follow the highway around this beautiful, but unfriendly looking area. Landed in McAlester, Oklahoma for gas. Looked at the weather radar and saw the late season front full of tornados about 400 miles north. Never thought that this would be a problem in a late summer trip, but there it was. Will fly as far north as the weather or remaining daylight would allow. Maybe the front will pass by during the night and we can keep going.

During the next leg, about 150 miles along I spotted a nice looking airport, Monet, Missouri. This looks like the kind of place one could get gas on Sunday. Was right about that, so now we had enough gas to fly until dark. Passed over an area called "The Lakes of the Ozarks". It is a huge area made of trees, water, and condos. Once again we deviated course to follow the highway. When flying over farms, fields, and county roads one thinks of being able to pick the best of many options for an unscheduled landing. When flying over this terrain it is uncomfortable to think of possibly having to merge from above into a busy traffic lane while weaving in and out of light poles. The engine has not missed a beat, but I do check the gauges more often at times like this.

Started an approach to Jefferson City, but saw the fancy airport and capital building and felt that this would be too expensive. Had enough daylight to go a little farther north so looking at the map saw an airport near a small town called Mexico Memorial. Selected it on the GPS and turned just in time to see a tall antenna ahead and another about 2 miles off my right wing. Looked on the map for that tall antenna symbol and did not find it. Later on closer inspection you find them listed at 1742 MSL buried among many others, the map guys need to fix this. I was at 1500 MSL at the time. Need to look at all the antenna symbols, not just the tall ones.

Landed at Mexico Memorial about 7:00pm, running out of daylight and running into weather. Found no one around. Called my wife to report my position and that this would be the overnight stopping point about 800 miles out and about 400 miles from the destination. "Where are you going to stay?" she ask. Guess in my tent, but it looks like rain in coming, call you back when I figure it out. Found they had car gas, so for 75 cents less a gallon, filled it up. The machine did not print a receipt though, so I called the number on the pump and got the airport manager at home. He said that the printer was broken but he could come out and take care of the receipt. Thanks, but I am staying her tonight and we can take care of it in the morning. Had decided before the trip that I was not going to stay in any motels this time, it's just too expensive. Ask, "Can I set up my tent here for tonight?" "Sure" he said, "But it looks like rain tonight and they have a nice motel in Mexico for $30 a night and a great restaurant nearby". "The key to the airport car is under the "mat". So much for the no motel policy. Hope I never get used to being treated like this at these wonderful small town airports.

Thanks, Bruce King

100% + 173hrs