First Family Trip in the Lance

After bringing home N424RM, work and life seemed to constantly get in the way of flying. Kristi even started asking if she was ever going to get to fly in the new plane. I didn't get to fly again until August 31st for a short hop to get some fuel in preparation to make a Labor Day trip to visit our family in NW Arkansas.

It was hard to believe that our first flight in the new plane would be a cross-country trip, but at least we'd be trying to get used to it in style! We loaded up Saturday morning and were ready for departure just after 8 am. As my wife got comfortable in the back with all that new room, she promptly asked if there was a partition that could be raised like in a limo and she wanted to know how soon the beverage cart would be around! Oh we're so spoiled now.

We departed Craig on an IFR flight plan and we were cleared direct to Meridian, MS (KMEI) at 6000 feet. The flight was smooth and we worked with the controllers to find an altitude with less headwinds to no avail. Abby and I settled in up front while Kristi and Mary explored the back; and I mean explore. Mary now had room to roam which kept momma busy instead of just sitting back and relaxing in her seat. Mary did manage a very short nap at one point so I did catch a glimpse of Kristi stretched out with her feet up and reading a magazine.

Three hours after staring up in Jacksonville, we arrive at our fuel stop. I got my first compliment on N424RM as its owner from the ground controller after we landed. I'm really starting to enjoy this plane the more I get to know her! I love Meridian Aviation, the FBO at Key Field. We had been there last summer on our way back from Dallas. They have inexpensive self serve fuel ($3.75/gal), a big ramp, and nice lounge facilities where you can enjoy complimentary hot dogs or chili dogs, ice cream, drinks, and more. We were on the ground for about 45 minutes till we departed for Bentonville, AR (KVBT). Again we were cleared direct at 6000 feet and settled in for the flight.

Nikki, Landon, and the girls were waiting for us when we arrived. They saw us fly over and land. Abby couldn't take her eyes off them as we taxied on to the ramp. She was so excited to finally get here and play with her cousins! Kristi and I were excited too! We unloaded, covered up the plane, and headed off to enjoy the long Labor Day weekend with our family.

We all had a great time during our visit. The girls played on the trampoline, rode bikes, and played all day long. Landon and I played with our Android phones trying to load new apps and find appropriate ring tones for our wives. Kristi and I enjoyed the evenings outside on the porch with Nikki and Landon while we laughed and talked the nights away. It was a fun weekend that everyone in my family really needed. When Tuesday morning came it was time to go home. The girls were sad, but I promised Abby we'd try to come back very soon. Since we bought fuel, we were not charged any tie-down fees for the three nights we were there. Every little bit helps, right? Thanks Nikki and Landon for a great stay and for taking some of these photos!

The plan was to fly back home via Meridian, MS again, but the weather was not going to allow that. Almost immediately after taking off and checking in with Razorback Departure, we diverted to the east to stay clear of the weather blocking our direct route to Meridian. As we continued east, it became obvious we needed to pick another fuel stop. I requested to divert to Savannah, TN (KSNH) since I was familiar with it from the delivery trip home with Lance. We remained on the northern fringes of the weather occasionally flying through moderate to heavy rain while our 7000 foot cruising altitude kept us between cloud layers. It was a smooth ride and the plane got a nice wash down! A little while later I asked to divert again to get a little closer to home before stopping for fuel so we overflew KSNH and landed at Pryor Regional Airport (KDCU) located outside of Huntsville, AL.

We fueled up and borrowed the courtesy car, a Mercedes no less, to go get some lunch at Subway since that was the only thing nearby. It was nice to have a little break from the plane. Mary had been cutting more of her teeth on this trip and just couldn't settle down at all during the first leg. Nothing seemed to make her happy. I really felt bad for Kristi because there is absolutely nothing I can do to help her. With our tummies full we got back to the plane and took off for home. The weather ahead looked very nice and I looked forward to a direct and uneventful flight.

A little over an hour out from landing in Jacksonville, I noticed in the middle of my instrument scan that the ammeter flicked to zero indicating the battery was not being charged. This was backed up buy the "ALT" idiot light in the panel coming on, the voltage system reading 12V instead of 14.1V, and the "Discharge" light being illuminated in the Volt/Amp digital gauge. I checked fuses, breakers, and reset the Alt switch all too no avail. I then secured any unnecessary electrical load on the system, powered off the 2nd radio, switched the portable GPS to its battery power, and prepped my hand held VHF radio in case it was needed. I promptly informed ATC of our situation and informed them of the back-up equipment ready for use as well as the availably of the onboard back-up generator to make power if needed. I confirmed that we were not declaring an emergency, we did not need assistance, and we'd like to continue on to our destination. For those that don't know, the battery is not needed to keep the engine going and the plane flying. After it is used to start the engine, it is needed to run the avionics, the landing gear pump, and a few other auxiliary pieces of equipment. The landing gear has no mechanical up-locks so even if there is no power for the gear pump, you can push the emergency gear extend lever which releases the hydraulic pressure in the system and allows the gear to extend and lock down for landing. The controllers were great to work with and gave me all the frequencies ahead of time and when to switch over in case the battery didn't last and we needed to use the hand held radio. After all that, the battery lasted the last hour and ten minutes without a glitch and we made a very normal approach and landing back into our home field.

We didn't need to deploy the generator, but for a piece of equipment I haven't given much appreciation to before, since it is a rarity on small general aviation aircraft, I sure am glad now that we have it. You just never know. After we landed and shut down, my suspicion as to the cause for the alternator failure was confirmed: the alternator belt broke. The joys of plane ownership are full of highs and lows. This really was no big deal. Everything ran great, we had an awesome weekend, the belt has been replaced, and we are ready to head out again!

Bringing home our "new" Piper Lance

After selling the Arrow we were lucky to find a plane that meets our needs fairly quickly. We bought N424RM which is a 1977 Piper Lance. It was located in Salt Lake City, Utah, so plans for another long cross country flight began. After a terrible set of flights on Delta Airlines, I finally made it to Salt Lake City on Wednesday evening. I was lucky enough to have my Mom join me on this adventure, so after meeting at the airport we went and had dinner at Red Robin.


After dinner we met with N424RM's pilot/representative. He kindly let me look over the plane and get the POH/AFM out so I could study it at the hotel. Luckily he is a CFI so we made plans to meet the next morning for a checkout in the Lance. The checkout was fun and I enjoyed flying out to the west of Salt Lake City while I got used to the plane and did some slow flight, stalls, and steep turns. We did some touch and goes at Tooele (KTVY) and even though the Lance is pretty much just a larger version of the Arrow, my landings were so much better right off the bat!

With the checkout and purchase complete, I picked my mom up at the hotel and we went back out to the airport to get the plane ready for our departure early Friday morning. We loaded up and organized the plane a bit and then worked on the cleaning the windows. Priority was to ensure my "photographer" had clean windows for our flight home!



We left the plane at Million Air for the night. They filled my O2 bottle and helped me out Friday morning by letting me return my Hertz rental car with them instead of back over at the commercial terminal.



We took off from KSLC at 0710 and followed Interstate 80 through Parleys Canyon as we climbed over the Wasatch Mountains to our initial cruising altitude of 11,500 feet. As we passed Park City on our right we could see the Olympic Ski Jumps, Bobsled Tracks, and other facilities as well as some hot air balloons. We proceeded NE towards Fort Bridger, then E to Rock Springs and Rawlings, and continued to pretty much follow I-80 to the east side of Cheyenne until our first fuel stop in Pine Bluffs, Wyoming (82V).












Pine Bluffs is in the very SE corner of Wyoming and surprising enough has a filed elevation of almost 1000' HIGHER than KSLC! The self serve fuel was cheap and after using the restrooms and stretching our legs, we departed for Kansas City, which would be our overnight stop on this trip home. While watching the weather on the Garmin 496, I noticed that there were some overcast cloud layers being reported west of Kansas City, so I called Columbus Radio (FSS) and air filed an IFR flight plan. As soon as I switched over to Denver Center, they had my clearance in the system and we were cleared IFR in to Wheeler Downtown Airport (KMKC), located on the Missouri side of Kansas City .






We did manage to dodge and fly through a few clouds enroute to Kansas City, but luckily all the severe convective weather remained well north and south of our track. We had an uneventful visual aprroach and landing into KMKC and taxied over to the city's self serve fuel tanks to top off so we wouldn't have to do it in the morning. We tied down at Hangar 10 who gave us a ride to our hotel. We unpacked and rested a bit before dinner. My Mom and I had a nice walk down to the Plaza area of Kansas City and she treated my to a great steak dinner at the M&S Grill!






After a good night's sleep, we were up early and back to the airport for an early morning departure. I got my clearance and we were wheels up by 0730 heading for our fuel stop in Savannah, Tennessee. The route was clear and smooth. According to the XM Weather, we wouldn't see any weather until just before Savannah (KSNH). As we approached the airport we flew through some low cloud layers and flew the GPS 19 approach breaking out at 1900' AGL for another uneventful landing. Apparently we had just missed the rain.






We topped off and even added some oil for our final leg home to Jacksonville. After a short break, I called FSS and got our clearance out of KSNH for home. In the 45 minutes we were on the ground at SNH, the weather went from almost no thunderstorms east of us to numerous small cells enroute and growing. I have to give my mom some big kudos; she experienced quite a lot of stuff during these two days and handled them very well. One bit of advice that helps: give your passengers a heads up on what to expect before, during, and after a flight. Surprises aren't fun.




I had initially filed for 7000' but quickly ended up at 11,000' so we could remain on top of most of the weather. This also made the towering cumulonimbous clouds, thunderstorms, easier to spot and divert around. The controllers, as usual, were great to work with and we were pretty much allowed to weave our way around the weather as needed all the way to Jacksonville.




It was a calming feeling to make that initial check-in with Jacksonville Center and the JAX Approach controllers. We were cleared for the visual approach into Rwy 14 at Craig (KCRG). We flew through a little rain on final approach, and the passing rain shower had left an interesting visual mark on the runway exactly halfway down. We landed N424RM and taxied her to our hangar that is now her new home!



Kristi and the girls came out to get us after we landed and spent some time looking over our "new" plane. Kristi and Abby both liked the big club seating in the back and Kristi really liked the rear door that makes it much easier for passengers to get in and out of the plane. Of course the really big feature we are excited about........the plane has air conditioning!!!!!



Well, she got us home safe and sound. In two days we flew almost 1700 miles in 12.5 hours of flight time. I look forward to cleaning her up and getting to know her better. Hopefully we'll be making our first family flight in N424RM very soon!

My Mom also wrote her own blog entry. You can read her article to get her perspective on our trip here: Travel Writer Rants and Raves