Sport Pilot Talk

Sounds like one for the history books. Glad you are living your adventure.
Jim

Sounds Fun.
Need pictures.

That is certainly an epic cross country for sure, be safe. Yes, need pics.

Well, I’m thinking I may have bitten off more than I can chew.

Even if the rain, low ceilings, and storms disappear, the winds across the SW are horrendous.

Thinking about pulling the wings off and getting a UHaul for the rest of the trip. Ugh.

Sounds like good risk management on your part.
As I get older, I increasingly use a little phrase to help me not push the edges.
"If you have to ask yourself, you already know the answer."

Another phrase comes to mind.

“I’d rather be on the ground wishing I was flying than flying wishing I was on the ground.”

I certainly felt the latter yesterday.

It seems to me you are looking at this with a view toward safety.
We have chosen to fly aircraft with extremely low wing loading. That makes them capable of flying very well on very little power with an amazingly low stall speed.

It also means they are a handful in winds that a Bonanza would easily handle. Trailering it home is a pain in the butt but almost certainly safer than flying this time of year.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Jim

i do have the option of hangaring it here and coming back for it when winds are more favorable. But when is that? Winds in the SW seem to be crazy year-round.

One thing I realized today was that I could have headed west at 4pm when the weather broke. I could have flown for 5 hours before dark. Winds were manageable in the evening.

Any updates on your decision making?

Where are you right now? Was today any better?

Wishing you the best.

Jim

Thanks, Jim!

Still in Chanute, Kansas, waiting for the rain and low ceilings to clear. This should all clear out tomorrow. Plan is to head west at sunrise on Friday, hoping to get on the ground before the winds pick up. Then I’ll wait until the winds drop before a further flight west in the evening.

It’s all an adventure!

I was just looking at the TAF for KCNU. It shows 800 OVC at 0600 local through 1400 local. I hope the TAF is pessimistic.

Keep us posted. I'm sure several of us are following your adventure.

The long range prognostic charts look pretty good.

Yep. It’s the surface winds in the SW that give me the heebie-jeebies!

Well, I chickened out. The surface winds are just too brutal to the west.

I hangared it in Kansas, and I’ll go back and get it when the winds are less vicious, and I’ve got more time.

Seems like a well thought out and considered risk management decision.