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2663 Miles, 4 days. In a car!

zilik

VAF Moderator
After 4 days of travel my wife and I returned home with QB wings and SB fuselage for the 3B project. The Denver to Sacramento trip took us west on I-70 and across Nevada along US-50. What a great stretch of road and beautiful weather. The return trip after spending the night with friends in San Jose was to be on I-80 which while the mileage is longer, time driving is less. Well, 3 hours to get over Donner pass in a spring storm and blizzards across southern Wyoming changed that. We spent the night in Elko Nevada and after looking at the weather decided it would be best to head south and pick up I-70 through Colorado even though there was a winter storm warning over the divide. As it turns out Vail pass was closed around 1500 hours so we headed south on 24 over Tennessee pass, Leadville and then through South Park and home. Winter weather added at least 6 hours to the return trip.

A couple of things I learned during the trip. Do not trust a Garmin 296 as your only navigation equipment. No matter what settings I gave the little lady, she would rather take forest service roads as a shortcut instead of paved hiways. Also, one should carry a map if using the 296 for navigation.
 
Interesting tie-in. I used to live in Winnemucca (on I-80) in northern Nevada. When I picked up my -7A QB kit, I drove my trailer from Winnemucca to Aurora, over the cascades, in the middle of winter and yes, it was all stormy, rainy in the valley and snowy in the Cascades between Bend and Salem...same on the return trip with the safely crated QB kits. Well, I worked on the -7A in Nevada for a couple of years, then ended up moving to Independence, OR. In the winter. During a snowstorm. This time, the -7A QB made the ride (back to Oregon) inside a U-Haul truck, well cushioned. Your narrative reminded me of the adventures of kit airplane hauling. I knew my plane would be an adventurer, safely crossing the Cascades in the winter twice before receiving it's airworthiness certificate...
 
Beautiful country, I've been through there.

The longest and hardest drive I've ever pulled was 3300 miles in 3 days. I left Midland, TX and drove up into the southern edge of Maryland to pick up some equipment for my air business, and came right back. I drove 18 hours, slept for 6, drove 16, slept for 5, and drove 16. Not much sightseeing on the way, that was a pretty rough trip, I don't care to push it that hard again.

Now get to work on the airplane!
 
OK Gary, you beat Louise's and my trip to pick up our (her!) -3B kit in Pensacola - 540 miles each way on flat, mostly straight I-10.

Even though you had bad weather, your route was MUCH more scenic!

Paul
 
Been that exact route...

Lonliest Road in America, US-50.
That stretch through Nevada from Carson City is stark and beautiful. I drove 90mph, saw one other vehicle about every half hour. One nice thing for men is the frequent rest stops. Pull to the side of the road, leave your car running, do your duty, and be on your way. Not a sole around to bother you.
Have fun with your 3 build. They are an interesting and fun challenge.
 
I can hear my wife now.......

YOU KNOW YOU'RE OBSESSED WITH RV'S WHEN........
 
I've got all of you beat! Just last week I rented a Hertz car at the Orlando airport at 09:33 and returned it the next afternoon at 15:49. They said I put 2837 miles on it, but it was OK because it had no mileage limits in the rental agreement! When I pointed out that I would have to average over 90 MPH for the entire period, and did they think a feat like that was even possible, they reassured me that the fact that I put that many miles on it didn't matter!:rolleyes:
 
2600 Miles

I just did 2600 ++ miles to WA to pick up my RV3 kit. Had a full crab meal then left WA at 6:30 PM on Friday and arrived in Austin, TX at 11:30 AM Sunday. Slept for the night, we're building now... :D
 
You know there are some crazy people that do 11,000 miles. In 11 days. On a bike. I worked as crew for one of the riders when the rally started in St. Louis. I've seen more "avionics" on some of these bikes than I've seen in some airplanes. One or two 1000 mile days on my Bike and I'm done for a while.

http://www.ironbuttrally.com/IBR/2007.cfm
 
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