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ScottKosh 2020

ShookieRV7A

Well Known Member
Welcome aboard for the the first, and hopefully ONLY, ScottKosh cross-country tour of our great nation. My family was having a reunion up near Port Huron, MI during the week of OSH - so I decided to take the scenic route. I left 10 days early and decided to get to KPHN via NV, WY, SD, MN, WI, OH, NC, NY, PA, OH again, WI, the UP of MI, OH once more, and finally Port Huron.

Day 1 - I flew up to A34 to meet up with Mike Starkey (VAF Mike S) and pick up a radio tray I bought from him. We chatted for a bit and shared some building stories. I then flew next door to Sliver Springs for fuel.

This was the crossing of the Rockies, flying across the Salt Flats, and finally arriving in Rock Springs, WY.
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Once at Rock Springs, WY, I got treated to a nice FBO and some awesome hospitality. They fueled me up and called me a shuttle to the hotel.

Day 2 - When I got back to the airport, there was a B-17 and B-25 for a CAF wing out on the ramp. Ironically, they were from my home airport KFFZ.

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This was going to be a bucket list item for me. Flying to Devils Tower, WY to see it in person from the air. I've been using flight following along the way and I can tell you there are some radio dead spots even at 9,500MSL.

When I was arriving at W43, there she was! Devils Tower!

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Day 2 Continued

I decided I would go on to OSH today since I got an early start.

So, my next stop after refueling at W43 was going to be KFCM (Flying Cloud Airport Eden Prairie, MN)

When I left W43, I did keep my 3mi distance, but it didn't stop me from getting a couple of good pictures of the tower on my way out. PS - I can confirm, there is no secret Air Force Base on the 'dark side of the moon'.

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Continuing to FCM, I decided a flyby of Mt. Rushmore was on the schedule. That's quite the sight getting to see these national treasures from the air.

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My next stop was important only to me...KFCM is where I did my flight training. This is where I made my first solo, this is where I became a pilot. So to be able to bring an airplane I built back to my old stomping ground, was a very cool moment for me.

Here you can see 4AZ sitting on the very ramp where it all began!

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I even ran into an Archer II that I used to fly

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After, eating a late lunch, I pressed on to KOSH. All of us here in VAF have spent years building and flying our plane so that we can some day travel back to our 'Woodstock' and be able to "land on the dot."

Even though there were no crowds there to "judge my landing" - Even though I was landing at a big, empty airport - even though I would only be there for the night...

I finally made it. N254AZ made it to OSH. 5 years of construction, selling it to a friend, not owning the plane for 10 years, buying it back, and I finally have made it to KOSH.

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Day 3 - Heading to KFFA

Day 3 was supposed to be a big deal. But I got a bit sidetracked. The family wanted me to stop in Dayton to say 'hi'. Since I wasn't on any schedule, I could go where I wanted.

I stopped at Dayton-Wright Brothers field for a quick bite and to meet up with family. I didn't take any pictures. Oops.

Oh well, I started on to KFFA, but mother nature was not going to let it happen. There was a whole lot of nope in my route so I decided to set down at KTDF.

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If you want a cool little airport with a neat little FBO, this is it. The two guys who run the FBO were super friendly and got me hooked up with a crew car so I could get into town.

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Oh well. Again, no agenda or schedule to deal with so I had no "get there-itis" to deal with on this trip.
 

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Day 4 - on to KFFA

Day 4 - this is where it all started. This is where we, as pilots, got our roots. I suggest any pilot come here if you've got the chance.

Let me tell you that the "beach traffic" and "first flight traffic" was pretty busy. I was number 3 coming in as I was arriving. When you are downwind, you cannot see the runway. The trees obscure the asphalt, but the Skyview told me I was there.

Turning base, the airport finally comes into view. There's some crosswinds on final, but they weren't all that bad. I've heard the airport described as "a challenge" I didn't think it was all that bad - and I'm not a high-time pilot by any means.

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After tying down, I went to the pilot lounge and soaked up some air conditioning. When I was siting there, I saw this stamp and realized it was a stamp for the airport. So I ran out to the plane and grabbed my logbook to stamp my logbook with the KFFA stamp.
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After that, I decided to go see the monument and then go grab some lunch. I didn't have a car, and with COVID wasn't thinking about an Uber. So I walked down towards the beach.
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Day 4 - Continued

Day 4 wasn't over yet. I was going to fly up the east coast and traverse the Hudson Corridor today. This was probably one of the more scenic parts of my trip so far. I set the autopilot to 1000 MSL along the coast, dodged some weather, and enjoyed the flight.

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The flight up the coast was amazing!

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So many cool sights to see!

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Statue!
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One World Trade Center!

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Flying the corridor is a lot easier than you might think. There's two ways to do it, you can either self announce at 1,000-1,299 MSL; or you can go through under ATC control with a squawk code I think that altitude is 1,500 - 2,000. I opted for the self-announce so I could enjoy the ride. You announce at several spots along the way.

Then end of Day 4 led me to Mount Pocono, PA. where I found a nice place to land, a soft bed to sleep in and a convenience store nearby to grab some refreshments.
 
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Day 5 - A little diversion

So for day 5, I really had no place to be. I landed at OSH, I went to FFA, I did all of the things I wanted to do. So I texted my ex wife and let her know I would be passing through the area. She never got to see the plane fly and she played a big role in the construction of the plane - so I figured it wouldn't hurt to stop by and show her the plane and do a low approach so she could see it fly.

By the time I got to KERI, the weather in Wisconsin (my planned destination) was looking kinda ugly.

My next stop would be KDFI - Defiance, OH to see some family.

No notable pictures along the way really, other than some of the rolling hills of eastern PA.
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Although I did get a picture of the refueling truck at KERI.

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Day 6 - Fond du Lac, WI

So after a night in Ayersville, OH - I climbed in my plane and started heading west towards WI again, I was going to go camping at some little KOA near an airport in N. Central Wisconsin - but the midwest weather said otherwise.

So after an hour of scud running along Indiana and Ohio, the weather cleared and I made and uneventful stop in KFLD for the night. I grabbed an Uber to my hotel and canceled the KOA reservations.

My aunt had been following my trip on Facebook and posted this picture of my Grandpa and Grandma flying around back in the day! My grandfather is the reason I am a pilot. He was such a great inspiration to me. He took me to airshows, airports, let me sit in airplanes, got me my first airplane ride, all of it.

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This picture is probably from the 1950's
 
Day 7 - Flying the UP of MIchigan

When I woke up, I decided I was going to visit Door County, WI. A place I had not been since I was a kid. So I flew up from KFLD to KSUE (Door County Cherryland) airport for lunch.

My view for lunch
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After lunch, I decided to make my way to St. Ignace, MI in the UP. I flew the length of the shoreline on the UP. WOW! What a view!
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I landed in St. Ignace and was trying to figure out if I wanted to go somewhere else or stay there. A local pilot suggested North Fox Island. I thought about it, but wanted to keep my cell service for the night, so I opted to camp there at St. Ignace.

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Very cool!

Great write-up, lots of excellent pictures and even a few tips thrown in too. Thanks for taking us along Scott!
 
Day 8 - flying to Hudson, MI then Sturgis, MI

The day started out pretty early for me. I checked the weather and there were some good sized storms headed my way. If I wanted to stay ahead of them, I needed to pack up and go.

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I had to work for a few hours (this would be day 5 of having to log on and work).

Then I headed south to Sturgis, MI just north of the Ohio border. I managed to secure a crew car and and lodging for the night. Nothing too exciting to report.
 
Day 9 - MIddletown, OH

I figured I would stop again and go see family. This time I opted to stay a couple of days before heading up to Port Huron, MI for our family reunion. Nothing major to report. A family friend secured me a hangar for the night - which I am eternally grateful for since there were major storms that came through the next couple of days.
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Flight to Port Huron, MI

This trip would be my last cross-county for a week until I headed home.

When I got to my relatives house, he had re-created Camp Scholler and we even had our own flightline (model airplanes of course).
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The camping experience wouldn't have been complete without our very own "Fly-In Theater" we watched the remake of Midway.
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Flying home

After six days of camping and giving all sorts of relatives airplane rides, it was finally time to head home.

Dave and both flew in, so we went to the airport together. It was early so we had to wait for the FBO to open up to retrieve our planes which were in the community hangar. Dave and I made the best of it and found another experimental to go check out while we were waiting.

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During my flight, I snapped a few pictures along the way.
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I stopped in Hutchinson, KS for lunch and managed to get there at the same time as several Air Force Texan trainers.
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Hutchinson even has a display case similar to the EAA Museum. Kinda made the trip complete.
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I had to sleep on a couch in the FBO in Moriarity, NM because of monsoon storms which roll in every afternoon. What a cool little FBO to stop at. They had it all. I slipped a $20 in an envelope for the overnight and some snacks that were available to pilots.

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In the morning I flew the two hours to KFFZ which would wrap up one of the most memorable trips I had ever taken.
 
Nice trip

Nice trip! You were able to check off a number of my bucket list, must see from the air, locations. It is amazing to me, to see a 'wandering with no fixed schedule' trip that spans the nation!

If you are ever in Michigan again, or anybody for that matter, I am based out of KPTK (Pontiac MI.) and have room at our place for visitors. I might even be able to get some hanger space since the head of maintaince for DCT aviation is our chapter 194 president. There are 5 RVs in my hanger row and a number of other home builts on the field as well to put together an impromptu hanger party.

Again, great trip!
 
Nice trip! You were able to check off a number of my bucket list, must see from the air, locations. It is amazing to me, to see a 'wandering with no fixed schedule' trip that spans the nation!

If you are ever in Michigan again, or anybody for that matter, I am based out of KPTK (Pontiac MI.) and have room at our place for visitors. I might even be able to get some hanger space since the head of maintaince for DCT aviation is our chapter 194 president. There are 5 RVs in my hanger row and a number of other home builts on the field as well to put together an impromptu hanger party.

Again, great trip!

Thanks for the heads up, Leo. I wish I had another week or so to wander around and really do the camping with your plane thing. Would've been nice to meet more RV'ers along the way too. But I totally get that people were working, etc.
 
Great writeup

Scott------wow, great report of your trip.

Good to meet you in person.

Thanks for sharing your adventure.
 
What a great use of time and the airplane! I always opt for the chopped steak at KHUT, if you’re in the vicinity again don’t hesitate to reach out.
 
Super aerial adventure report

Really enjoyed visiting places I have never been to via your excellent report. Hope to get to KittyHawk from CA someday.
 
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