Prior to the purchase of my RV6 all of my time spent flying was in antique low and slow airplanes which worked out well for many years. I have had the bug to have a RV for a long time but could not see myself taking the time to build one nor could I afford to purchase a flying one. Well things financially worked out after I sold my Luscombe to start getting serious about an RV and decided that a -6 with basic VFR instruments and a tilt up canopy were some of the things that I would be looking for. Barnstormers and Vansairforce were hit several times a day in this quest. After writing and talking to several owners of planes in my price range I got real serious about a plane near Caro, Michigan. I talked to the owner/builder several times and became more desirous of his plane. A deposit was sent and terms were agreed upon.
My next step was to figure the safest and easiest flight plan from Caro to Fresno, California. I talked to several local pilots that had been to OSH previously to see what they had to say. One recommended the northern route over the Rockies crossing just north of Denver. He had also flown the southern route and said that was a good way to fly also. I also checked out Vansairforce to see if anyone had posted their trips going either way. Now remember, all of my flying prior to the-6 was in low and slow planes so climbing to 12,000 to cross the Rockies was something that I have never even considered before. I finally decided to go south to Las Vegas , NM and then head west over the high dessert. I planned fuel stops for every 300 to 375 miles even though I new the -6 had longer legs than that but I didn't want to push the comfort envelope too much.
When I left Caro at 0645 the weather maps all indicated VFR weather for most of the trip but there were several systems further west that were heading my way. I climbed out to 6500 and head southwest and the bottom of the clouds were still several thousand feet above me so I felt comfortable.
My first planned stop was to be Marshall County airport which was 340 miles away. But we all know about the best laid plans and a little more than an hour in the air mother nature started talking. I started looking for the nearest airport (thanks Garmin) and Andrews University airport was just below me. I dropped down after circling around and lost sight of the strip because of all of the vegetation and trees. I kept looking and kept hitting the "IN" button on the 295 a until I found the airport.
With that taken care of I headed out again and climbed to 6500' again. I skirted the southern shores of Lake Michigan and turned a little more westerly. I could see the skyscrapers of Chicago in the distance and made it a point of staying outside of the Mode C vail. Out in front of me about 3 to 5 miles I could see a plane going through my flight path from south to north headed for O'Hare. This sighting really amped up my concern so I really started scanning the air for any more planes. At one point I looked over my left shoulder and saw a PSA 737 at about 7000' headed my way. I pulled power and turned into him since I didn't want to lose sight of him and descended as fast as possible to clear is wingtip vortices's. He went over me with no problem and I continued on now at 4500'.
Nearing Caro I started descending because I was getting close and because the visibility and ceilings were dropping. Shortly after landing and refueling it started raining quite heavily. I was offered hanger space by the working AI by the name of Kent and took him up on his offer. I was also offered the courtesy car which I did use to go down the road to get something to eat. When I came back and sat around talking to Kent he said that the system overhead might head out soon so I just waited in the pilots lounge. After checking the computer it looked as if the system wasn't going to be moving very soon so Kent again offered the car and told me where the nearest hotel was. After checking into the hotel and getting my room I started hearing a siren going off. Thinking that it was a tornado warning siren I went to the front desk and inquired what was going on. The clerk said that she didn't know since it was not a normal day to test the sirens. I went outside and looking around I could see a black wall of cloud going from the ground and up. I talked to some guys that were standing near by and one said that it was indeed a tornado warning and he had seen a tornado come down and touch the ground about 5 miles away. The system was heading southeast away from my location so I was not too concerned for myself but I was a little concerned for the plane since the airport was off in that direction.
My next step was to figure the safest and easiest flight plan from Caro to Fresno, California. I talked to several local pilots that had been to OSH previously to see what they had to say. One recommended the northern route over the Rockies crossing just north of Denver. He had also flown the southern route and said that was a good way to fly also. I also checked out Vansairforce to see if anyone had posted their trips going either way. Now remember, all of my flying prior to the-6 was in low and slow planes so climbing to 12,000 to cross the Rockies was something that I have never even considered before. I finally decided to go south to Las Vegas , NM and then head west over the high dessert. I planned fuel stops for every 300 to 375 miles even though I new the -6 had longer legs than that but I didn't want to push the comfort envelope too much.
When I left Caro at 0645 the weather maps all indicated VFR weather for most of the trip but there were several systems further west that were heading my way. I climbed out to 6500 and head southwest and the bottom of the clouds were still several thousand feet above me so I felt comfortable.
My first planned stop was to be Marshall County airport which was 340 miles away. But we all know about the best laid plans and a little more than an hour in the air mother nature started talking. I started looking for the nearest airport (thanks Garmin) and Andrews University airport was just below me. I dropped down after circling around and lost sight of the strip because of all of the vegetation and trees. I kept looking and kept hitting the "IN" button on the 295 a until I found the airport.
With that taken care of I headed out again and climbed to 6500' again. I skirted the southern shores of Lake Michigan and turned a little more westerly. I could see the skyscrapers of Chicago in the distance and made it a point of staying outside of the Mode C vail. Out in front of me about 3 to 5 miles I could see a plane going through my flight path from south to north headed for O'Hare. This sighting really amped up my concern so I really started scanning the air for any more planes. At one point I looked over my left shoulder and saw a PSA 737 at about 7000' headed my way. I pulled power and turned into him since I didn't want to lose sight of him and descended as fast as possible to clear is wingtip vortices's. He went over me with no problem and I continued on now at 4500'.
Nearing Caro I started descending because I was getting close and because the visibility and ceilings were dropping. Shortly after landing and refueling it started raining quite heavily. I was offered hanger space by the working AI by the name of Kent and took him up on his offer. I was also offered the courtesy car which I did use to go down the road to get something to eat. When I came back and sat around talking to Kent he said that the system overhead might head out soon so I just waited in the pilots lounge. After checking the computer it looked as if the system wasn't going to be moving very soon so Kent again offered the car and told me where the nearest hotel was. After checking into the hotel and getting my room I started hearing a siren going off. Thinking that it was a tornado warning siren I went to the front desk and inquired what was going on. The clerk said that she didn't know since it was not a normal day to test the sirens. I went outside and looking around I could see a black wall of cloud going from the ground and up. I talked to some guys that were standing near by and one said that it was indeed a tornado warning and he had seen a tornado come down and touch the ground about 5 miles away. The system was heading southeast away from my location so I was not too concerned for myself but I was a little concerned for the plane since the airport was off in that direction.
