Oshkosh 2003 Redux

Ah, at least *somebody* remembered me and my brother. Must have been the
schnapps that affected Jay's memory. :-) Yep, flew from Sacramento, CA in
a 2000 model super spam can. Made it home in two days though so we've
proven to ourselves that yes, it is possible to traverse a vast portion of
the country at speeds of 90-130 kts. You just get to enjoy more of the
landscape this way.

Firsts:
1) First time flying into and attending OSH for me. Got a "Nice job white
Cessna" after putting it down slightly past the white dot on runway 9.
Arrival was a rush and it was great hearing those words from the 9/27 tower
controller. ATC guys/gals did a super job during our arrival and departure.

2) First time flying through Bravo airspace on our way through Salt Lake.
Great view of Hill Air Force base and Ogden as we dodged clouds getting
lined up to go over the pass.

3) First time landing within Charlie airspace as we gassed up in at Reno
Intl. Ah, the perks that come with 100LL at $3-something a gallon.

4) First time flying through more states than I can count on our way to/from
OSH. Very cool, very tiring, very much worth it. Definitely added to my
bucket of experience without taking too much out of my bucket of luck.
Logged a tad over 16 hours of PIC time. Total time on the airplane was 32
hours. Never before have I logged so much time in such a short timeframe.

5) First time camping next to our plane, getting my sleeping bag wet and
attempting to dry it out before the next storm.

6) First time sleeping in a parked airplane as it was the only thing not
leaking during one of the early storms. I'm glad the seats reclined.

7) First time meeting some folks from the newsgroup. Had a blast at Jay's
little get together and as Jay said, didn't have the urge to try flying
after consuming a fair quantity of adult beverage. Great chance to put
names/faces together.

8) First time flying within 10 miles of a lightening strike. Over Salt Lake
on the return trip, we were headed toward an area of clear weather. To our
right was a rain squall about 10 miles away. Kept an eye on it and when I
saw two bolts hit the water, called for plan-B from brother/at the time
navigator. Managed to divert north and get over the MOAs and around the
weather.

Managed to avoid sunburn and dehydration but man did my feet hurt. Will
post pictures and description of our trip when I get some time. The trip
was definitely worth it and we're talking about coming back next year. The
plan is to drag our Dad with us. As a retired Air Force fighter pilot, he'd
get an absolute kick out of attending, especially since he's flown many of
the warbirds that are displayed.

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)