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Escaping the Apocalypse in our RV-7A (Trip Postponed, Hunkering down)

Capt Sandy

Well Known Member
Hello VAF?ers, (A departure from my usual fun-having posts)
Roy and I were out trekking in our RV-7A the last few weeks. We left Arizona and visited Texas, Arkansas, and Tennessee. Weather and visiting folks had us in Tennessee for much of a week. Last Thursday, March 12th, I started having a lot of anxiety for obvious reasons. We decided that we would both take a break from watching the news for a day, and Friday the 13th seemed a bad day to make big decisions, so we decided not to decide if we would continue our trek or head home (home for now being our Airstream in southern Arizona, about 2 hours south of Phoenix). By the end of day Friday, we decided to decide anyway, and heading home seemed prudent. Our intended trek was to go to N. Carolina, Georgia, Florida and the Bahamas. Being on this side of the fence seemed like a good idea, and being in our own space even better. We had a very small weather window to launch, as weather was closing in from Texas to Tennessee.

March 14:
Up at 5:30 am, breakfast at Waffle House in Greeneville, Tennessee. Drive an hour and 15 minutes to Downtown Knoxville where we?d parked the RV for the week.
Departed KDKX at 8:57am EDT
Filed IFR flight plan: KDKX VXV V115 VUZ V18 MEI KMEI -South west instead of our usual west to get around weather. Still in and out of the clouds. ATC was extremely helpful. While on V115 we were handed off the Atlanta Center who redirected to RMG, then gave us direct to KMEI
In the photo from AirNav, you can see where we deviated 20 degrees, then 10 more degrees south to avoid moderate to heavy precipitation. Also photo of what we went around. Strangely, this part of the flight felt super calm to me.
Roy flew RNAV approach to 19 at MEI. Bottoms of clouds at about 2000.
403sm
The FBO in Meridian, Mississippi was very nice. The help yourself, free "cafeteria" had hot dogs, popcorn, lemonade, ice tea, cheese or chili for hot dogs, waffle maker, soda fountain and soft serve ice cream. Packets of butter, Nutella and syrup for pancakes and condiments for hot dogs.
At 11:44am CST we were about 20 east of Jackson Mississippi,

Next Leg:
Filed IFR: KMEI MHZ T74* - Taylor, Texas
There was a St. Patties Day party in an open hangar near the fuel pump. We were kindly invited in, and I was invited to have a Guinness, since I am not the pilot. I?d say that given our need to beat tracks, this seemed like a bad idea - however, most of the time I?m an active participant in the cockpit and I apply the same rules to myself as to the pilot. (IMHO this should apply to the right seat at all times). Instead we had our standard quick turn lunch of PB&J, short rest and off again. Miles to go before we sleep.
By then, I?d lost track of time. I think it was around 2 or 3pm, CST.

And the Next Leg:
T74 KDNA - Dona Ana, New Mexico. Even though we?d dodged weather for much of the trek, the really uncomfortable part was flying across west Texas, where the front ended. We had a pretty bumpy ride for the last hour of the flight (my memory) even at 10,500ft. Especially bumpy over the mountains. I would have kissed the ground when we landed, except I was too tired. Instead, I kissed my pilot, and ran for the powder room - which turned out to be a port-a-potty about a quarter mile away, because the FBO was closed as it was after hours. However, we?d called ahead and there was a new Honda Accord waiting for us. Also had called ahead and reserved a room at La Quinta Inn. Wow, the bed sure felt great.
No idea what time it was.

The next morning we met an interesting young man who is on a mission to bring life back to air shows with his bi-plane. Right before we left a customs and border patrol helicopter landed for fuel. The pilot stopped by to look at our plane. He is building and RV-8.
During these times, I usually love pausing to listen to people?s stories, but I was starting to smell the barn.

March 15 - Final leg.
KDNA SSO KAVQ - Marana, Az. Short hop. Crazy busy airspace. Restaurant packed with mostly older folks. Apparently the virus panic has not made its way here. Lunch, fuel, then KAVQ P01. Home.

I?m sure it is not lost on most of you who will read this, how our amazing flying machine made it possible for us to go from East Tennessee to south-central Arizona in a day and a half. Approximately 13 hours of flying. I feel so incredibly blessed - both for the plane and for my darling husband, the Pilot. To all you right-seaters out there who may grimace at money spent on the plane, the electronics, the gizmos, the gadgets, or the time the pilot takes to fly, practice and get training, on the trek we undertook, I was incredibly grateful for every single bit of it. Because of our plane and because Roy has dedicated himself to the craft of aviation, we had the freedom to CHOOSE.

Diverting around weather:
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Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, Alabama
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St. Patty?s Day Party:
i-z2q8SgD-M.jpg


Gateway to New Mexico (starting to smell the barn):
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Cool BiPlane with interesting story:
i-6zD5zhQ-M.jpg


Restricted R-5115 - Border surveillance ballon:
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Afternoon light on the mountains near Ajo (almost home):
i-P3M9bCK-M.jpg


Summary of our trek:
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FlightAware photo I forgot to add

To show our track, with the weather we went around and the path ATC gave us to go around. Also add, there were hardly another other planes - commercial or private, until we got to west Texas. So weird that the airspace was so empty.
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As always, Sandra, I enjoy your stories and pictures. Thanks for posting your story! I often wonder where you and Roy are, and how you're doing. I'm looking forward to catching up with you guys sometime! Take care and fly safe. :)
 
Hi Bruce! Nice to hear from you. We sure do miss our 105 tribe. We are in the tiny town of Ajo, Arizona. Seems like a good place to be right now. Not too many people, and funny... how we’ve learned our usual life-style is called “quarantining” - LOL.
Hugs to you and your family (I mean elbow-bump)
 
Sid and Kelli - You both too!! I saw Kelli’s gym closed. What’s a gal to do, except eat ice cream and read a book - LOL! See you on the flip side.
 
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