On a clear day in Chicago.....

petehowell · #1 10-21-2007, 09:34 AM

You can see for miles. Since the Irish are not so good this year, my brother can get us tickets for the Notre Dame games. Baseball is over, so my son Ryan was able to go this time.

We launched early and headed to 9.5K to take advantage of some nice winds. I was on O2, but Ryan elected to sleep.....

We rounded the corner at Joliet in record time thanks to 45kt tail winds and it was crystal clear in Chicago. This is from 9500 just outside the bravo...

The nice winds continued on in to Elkhart - 198kt is not bad for a lowly RV-9A.........

should have put the nose down to hit the magic 200.

The USC-ND game attracts a lot of wealthy alums from both sides, the landing sequence at KEKM was Legacy, Citation X, RV-9A, G3, G4, G5. Landing reservations were required (IFR) into KSBN and KEKM. There were Hummer Limos waiting when we arrived. I smiled knowing the trip down had used 14 gal ~$56.

The Irish got killed - but we had fun. Got to be there for my Mom's 72nd birthday, too.

Keep pounding - these things let you take trips you would have skipped in the past!

bfilarsky · #2 10-21-2007, 11:21 AM

Wow! Great pics, thanks! Sounds like a fun trip!

gbrasch · #3 10-21-2007, 11:55 AM

Nice pic of my home town, thanks, and thanks for the inspiration to keep working....

aviationgeek84 · #4 10-21-2007, 05:49 PM

Great write-up. I've been into South Bend as well.... did you use Corporate WingS? What a cool FBO.

- Casey

petehowell · #5 10-21-2007, 08:04 PM

We flew right over KSBN and into KEKM. Fuel is a buck cheaper and it is closer to my mom's house. KSBN was so busy that some big iron flew into Elkhart.

aviationgeek84 · #6 10-21-2007, 09:01 PM

Pete,
That works too.

I remember them saying that it gets nuts at SBN when ND is playing.

petehowell · #7 10-21-2007, 09:24 PM

As we were leaving Saturday evening we were on with South Bend approach, just off of KEKM. First we heard "SB approach, Delta 123 heavy, with you 2.5 for 10". Delta Heavy at South Bend?? Then we heard "N789erPH, traffic 5 miles, 2 o'clock, same altitude, climbing, is a Boeing 767, should pass right over you, caution wake turbulence."

Gulp, "Traffic in sight, 9erPH" It is impossible to miss a 767 climbing at you.......

We finally realized that USC brought the entire band to the game and chartered a Delta 767 to take them home. It was a pretty cool sight to see that as it passed overhead and headed west. We never felt a thing, but we strapped down tight.

n2prise · #8 10-21-2007, 10:08 PM

It reminds me of my FIRST RV-9A cross country to Oshkosh in 2005. That was the first time I took off in an airplane and did not return to the airport of origin on the same day. It was the day after I got the airplane out of the paint shop. http://www.n2prise.org/rv9a151.htm

On the first leg out of Chattanooga to Putnam County Airport (4I7) in Indiana. The first plane I saw was a UPS 767 coming out of Louisville about 5 miles away. The second plane I saw that day was an MD-90 about 500 feet above me and two miles ahead of me crossing from left to right as I rounded the west side of the Chicago class B.

I heard a lot of traffic on the approach to Ripon, but had the railroad tracks all to myself for the approach to Fisk. I flew the VFR approach to 36L and had to tell the tower I was on base leg since they were busy talking to an IFR guy coming straight in on 36L about 1.5 miles out. I was the last one into homebuilt camping that evening with engine stop at 7:30 PM Central Time.