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Philadelphia to Austin's SXSW music festival

tkatc

Well Known Member
Like most of us, my wife has a bucket list. She's always wanted to go to Austin's South by Southwest music festival. I love the challenges associated with a long cross country so I also got to combine some RV time into the mix. Since we were down near 52F, I decided to have Walt do my annual this year. I think 52F is a mecca for RVs rivaling Independence, Oregon for number of RVs on the field. I was going to be in heaven. (Of course this was all for my wife's enjoyment :D)

VAF had suggested a rental car so we scheduled one to be waiting for us in Fort Worth and we would drive down to Austin (3 hour drive) so we could explore even more.

We are all packed and ready to go.
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Of course our on time departure was delayed due to Air traffic Control (ler's wife) She thinks it's USAIR and has to have her coffee and snacks.
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No first class flight would be without an inflight movie...
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As we pass KFDK (Home of AOPA) we noticed snow in the higher elevations.
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I realize this is not the Rockies but the Allegheny Mountains must also be respected!
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Our first stop was Danville, KY. KDVK, is a very nice stop. Cheap fuel (under $5) and they even pump it for you as you use their beautiful facilities. Sorry, forgot to take pics.

We travel southwest to our next stop in Carlisle, Arkansas but not before crossing the mighty Mississippi.
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Not much in Carlisle except cheap fuel, friendly FBO, and a crew car to go get some good catfish!
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Of course Pierre Smith's buddies are there....
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We thought of staying the night but we were only 2 hours or so from 52F and there was weather approaching from the west that may have had us stuck for a day or so if we didn't beat it to Fort Worth.

We almost didnt beat the approaching weather...
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I was getting continuous reports from local Fort Worth control towers about what kind of weather was there (GO ATC!!). That along with my XM weather picture I was able to press on and make it to 52F.

Just in time it seems....distant lightning to the west.
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We made it to Walt's hangar to find our rental car waiting.
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A VW Beetle! Cool! We asked for the cheapest car and Enterprise delivered this to Walt.
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The next day I had a few appointments to keep. Anyone recognize THIS plane?
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Yep, DR's famous VanCave!! Complete with a couple finished RVs, a couple a projects, (also a top secret project) and of course the staple of GA...the Cub.
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A view for the cave's perch. DR's son Tate gave me the grand tour. You may have seen DR bragging about Tate on the front page. I must say, he was a very delightful young man to talk to and I can see why Doug is so proud.
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I'm sure this firewall has been shown on VAF before!
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Next stop, Hicks Field to visit Jay Pratt's RVCENTRAL! On my way there I saw that Walt was already hard at work on my Tweety bird...on a SUNDAY!!
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Some of you may recognize this...
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Here's a hint for you out-of-towners.
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Then I found the man I was looking for....Jay.
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Jay was extremely friendly and would have talked to me for hours. Teaching me things and showing me the various projects under construction. I learned a few things but was overwhelmed at all the things I saw and heard. My head was spinning so bad I forgot to ask half the questions I could have...
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Jay's theory is "Keep it simple and get it flying" Hard to argue with that.

He doesn't build just RVs either.
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I could have stayed there for a week. But I had to take care of the boss and off to Austin we went. They have a capitol building bigger than the White House!
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This is the biggest Lone Star in the state. 25' tall and 33,000 lbs!
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Beautiful city!
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Where I come from it's call a river....but it Texas they dam several portions and call them "Lakes"
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Many of you will recognize this tower at University of Texas. Tragedy plagued this beautiful tower after a gunman used a sniper rifle from this perch to kill many.
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Austin is trendy and "young" and prides itself on being "Weird". I can vouch for the city and say it can be very weird indeed.
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Body paint and shorts ONLY...oh yeah, signs too!
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6th Street gets wild at night.
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The music was EVERYWHERE. Probably 100+ venues in a 3 block area. Bands a plenty.
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More to follow tomorrow....
 
Flight times....I want to say the trip down was 1154 miles and about 8:45 due to the strong headwinds on the last leg. I could have stayed low and avoided it but it was pretty bumpy and my co-pilot doesn't do well with turbulence. Here is my route down but I'll save my return trip for later.

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Anyway, back to Austin. Skinny jeans and young kids....
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Yep, WEIRD!! But beautiful. Here is the Driskill hotel, too rich for me! It recently sold for $60 million.
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Now for my cousin's favorite part. FOOD! You guys have heard of Stubb's BBQ. The restaurant started in Austin.
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Most ribs are pork but I LOVE BEEF ribs. They are rarely served where I live so I had to wait 30 minutes for these to be ready.
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WORTH THE WAIT!!
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I also have a weak spot for good Chili....even though it was 85*.
I'm told there was a movie shot at this place. Weird place but GOOD chili.
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Texas chili does not have any beans...only succulant beef!! Delicious.
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I'm a HUGE Bacardi fan but my liver can only take so much. Day after day of drunken debauchery has worn us thin. Time to go home.
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Back in Fort Worth, Walt went over the laundry list of minor squawks he found on my Tweety bird. He fixed them all and even replaced my fuel pump gasket on the back side of the engine that was leaking oil. I was told that is a PITA of a job, Walt handled it as if it were routine. I know Walt is a bit more anal than most but that's why I went to him. I assume more than my fair share of risk in that plane and I want it to be as sound as possible. Here is the guru's office... He has all the right tools and equipment.
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I took the Tweety up for a qucik safety check before loading it up with the boss and luggage. On my taxi in I saw an aircraft base to final and noted how perfect the approach looked. One long sprial down to the runway was just so enjoyable to watch. I thought to myself that it looked PERFECT. As it approached I realized it was an -8 and since I'm building one I was particularly interested in the flare. Again it was perfect. I recognized the aircraft as it passed me by. The "Beautiful Doll" and legendary Danny King. Wish I had more time to go visit.
 
I can't help myself ... "Austin is not Texas" ... ahhh. Now I feel better :D


... and never watch my landings. I'm no "Danny King".
 
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Austin

I can't help myself ... "Austin is not Texas" ... ahhh. Now I feel better :D


... and never watch my landings. I'm no "Danny King".

I agree! In my crusade to cram 4 years of college into 35, I spent two years in Austin at the University of Texas finishing my degree! Great place though.

Tony; did you get a bumper sticker that says "Keep Austin Wierd" ???
 
No bumper stickers but I saw plenty of shirts!

So by now it's midday and we planned a leisurely trip home. A quick trip to KSWI for cheap fuel and then on to KDVK Danville, Kentucky again. No intermediate stops because we expected a healthy tailwind and shorter than expected flight time. KDVK is about halfway home and we are racing away from the sun. Best to just stop there for the night and relax.

We noticed a healthy fire in the small mountains of Texas. Looked pretty big and the winds weren't helping.
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It was peaceful up at 9500' with a 35+ tailwind. We were averaging 185kts and if we pressed on would be home just east of Philadelphia in under 6.5 hours.
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We landed at KDVK and had about 2 hours of daylight left. At those speeds I could be in Frederick, MD before dark and on the east side of the Allegheny Mountains. A preferred spot to be as weather usually sticks to the west side of the mountain range. So off we go...beautiful weather as far as you can see. Well, that didn't last forever.

As we approach the mountains it started getting scuddy.
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I was 12 miles from our alternate stop in Martinsburg. I opted for KMRB because of increasing weather and darkness. We were doing 225kts now but it wasn't enough to beat the sun. I was FORCED to turn around. As we went over the mountain range I made a mental note of options and clear weather airports. One was Elkins, WV (KEKN) the other was W99, Grant County. As I turned around, I realized how strong that tailwind was....we were now only doing 97kts over the ground. 11 minutes to W99 and 30 minutes to EKN. I circled W99 as we flew over the broken ceiling trying to spot the runway with pilot controlled lighting. No dice and I was NOT willing to dive into that mountainous valley to take a closer look. On we go to EKN. EKN was no picnic either but the town was lit up quite nice and down into the muck we went. We found the runway and landed in darkness. Rememember what I said about taking the plane to Walt for inspection and the assumed risks I took...

So we're on the ground calling local hotels when a car approaches. It was a local aviator surprised anyone would land on this dark night. He offered up a ride into town which we gratefully accepted.
 
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The next morning we got a call from the FBO who did some spy work to find me. He wanted to know my intentions and if I needed anything. The forecast the night before said there was a chance to escape between 8-11am but that didnt happen. I got a ride to the airport to find this scene.
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At least they have a cool crew car!!
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But obviously I wasn't going anywhere and the forecast only called for more of the same for the next 5 days.
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This is what the previous days trip looked like. Notice the backtracking over West Virginia.
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My house was 6+ hours away by car through a snowy mountain pass. There were no rental cars available (on this Sunday) but I finally got a hold of my brother who agreed to come pick us up. It would have been 12-14 hours of driving for him. It was not going to be a fun day. St. Patrick's day? Luck of the Irish? Not a chance.

Our luck changed when the generous aviator from the night before also called our hotel room and explained he worked in Baltimore and was leaving at 4pm if we were interested in a ride. He could get us to Baltimore and my brother would only have to drive 2 hours each way. Much better and we could leave earlier and avoid the worsening weather through the snowy pass. This guy was a 60 yo Cardinal owner who felt he was paying back to his fellow aviators. I wonder how many people would be so generous to offer a couple of strangers a 4 hour ride. I think I would for a stranded aviator but I wondered if this guy and I were the exception...

He knew the mountain roads like the back of his hand. He referred to us as "Flat-landers" and he scoffed at slower drivers as he passed them on icy, windy, mountainous turns. I thought scud running was dangerous!!:eek:

He tried to point out several scenic areas but the weather wouldn't let us see anything.
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I couldn't thank this good samaritan enough. I'll have to pay him a visit when I return. The weather of course turned out great the day after we got a ride home but has been on and off miserable since. Saturday's forecast looks promising and my luxury ride shown below will wisp me back to pick up Tweety.
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Philadelphia to Austin's SXSW music festiva

That looks like it was an awesome trip. It is amazing how far you can travel with these birds

BTW are you still planning on building the 14?

Juan
 
Juan, my cousin told me all about you. I'm building an -8, you are supposed to help me smash some rivets! You can build the -14!
 
Philadelphia to Austin

Juan, my cousin told me all about you. I'm building an -8, you are supposed to help me smash some rivets! You can build the -14!

oops! I must have gotten you mixed up with somebody

Count me in!

For now I am smashing the books (Jepp Private Pilot)
 
this is a good way to get on the front page of vaf. nice write up.

where did the wx come from on the way home? :confused:
 
The weather and schedules finally aligned today and I went back to West Virginia to retrieve my Tweety. Here is my knight in shining armor!
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His tail number is N666BK and while we were enroute...his hobbs hit 666! Coincidence? Omen?
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We also spied this odd airport on the top of a mountain ridge. Not listed on any charts... Russian insisted we investigate.
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This was an odd airport indeed. Not even any paved roads to connect it to civilization.
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Wait a minute...is that a TOWER?
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WOW...it IS a tower. Had to google this. Found nothing other than several reports of a Vietnam LZ. Was this the retreat of a Vietnam Vet??
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Oh well...its a mystery. On with the mission. My cousin started to appreciate how treacherous the mountains can be...especially at night with significant weather.
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Soon we were descending to Elkins. Not a place you want to be scud running in the dark!!
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You can't miss Tweety from miles away with that paint scheme.
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I've been worried sick over her being outside for a week in miserable weather and strong winds gusting over 50kts. You can see she has twisted in the wind and the cover isnt even on anymore...
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OUCH!! The rudder stop was pushed so hard it sheered clean off.
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And that's not all....this is what I worried about. The rudder slammed the corner of the elevator and punctured the rudder. I'll open a new thread for advice on this...
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Just for comparison, this is the windsock the day I abandoned her....
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And this was that same windsock today.
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After a thorough check and some duct tape, she was ready to fly home. We stopped to get cheap gas in New Garden but there was no Jeff Vaughn. We then stopped by Pottstown to borrow clecos from David and Mark. (Thanks to the PTW crew for coming through!!) They already ate lunch so no freebies here. Russian was hungry so we didn't stay long athough I wanted to talk RVs all afternoon. We stopped at the local golf course/airport, Buttervalley. The runway runs right down the middle of a few holes. The golfers have to wait for us to land before crossing over to the next tee box. It's kinda crazy. But as luck would have it....
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Vlad has a knack for choosing closed airport restaurants. A quick hop to Sky Manor and we were in business. A well deserved lunch.

Finally, we fly home and my bird was back under the protection of her own hangar. Bruised but will live to fight another day....
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Tony, Sorry I Missed you guys at New Garden. Good to see your bird snug in your hangar all plugged in.

Hey is that a bottle of some new kind of engine lube ;^)
 
... after Black Horse Landing Zone we rode over some ridges I would never ventured in marginal weather on my own.

Wait a minute...is that a TOWER?
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Elkins.



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Tweety doesn't look right.



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Cousin went speechless when he saw this.



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I tried some jokes it didn't work. Then I got some duct tape, cousin covered the rupture, paid his weekly ramp fees and gassed up.


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I chased him on test flight he reported no issues. Here he goes home patched. Over the mountains he backtracked a week ago trying to find any suitable airport for his Tweety. As airport manager said he is now a native West Virginian. On every West Virginia's airplane there is a duct taped something...



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We stopped at New Garden, then Pottstown. Fully uniformed Pottstown Gang Squadron met us after their weekly eating ritual. We were this close from getting free lunch. Next time brothers, meals accrue.
 
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Tweety doesn't look right.

Ouch! that is a painful sight! Glad you got home ok.


Well at least you had good company on the way home!




Juan
 
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