AirVenture 2021 - Flight Home
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By Saturday morning at 7AM, there were only three planes left in the area of homebuilt parking I was at. Two RVs close by had started up at 6AM and gotten out. But around 7AM Wittman Field went IFR due to a low ceiling and haze. A lot of us who were leaving Saturday morning had to sit around and wait.
I went over and talked with the pilot of that maroon RV-14. He said the plane only had a few hours on it -- less than 50 -- and had hit an Osprey a few weeks ago that really tore the right wingtip up. He and a friend had to replace a leading edge and skin. I asked them how they were able to buck the skin rivets. He said it was possible to buck every rivet by removing the fuel tank, landing light cover and wingtip and getting access through those openings. Good to know.
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By 11AM or so, the low overcast had disappeared completely but the haze was still very bad. By this time guys were laying under their airplanes sleeping. I was in my cockpit reading a book.
You didn't need to listen to ATIS to know when the airport opened. Around 12:30 suddenly one, then two engines started and then you could see guys running for their planes. It was on! Nobody was waiting for the ground handlers. The RV-14, RV-12 and myself all started up. The RV-14 started taxiing immediately, but I waited until my engine warmed up, and then I taxiied, follow by the 12.
I got to Mustang Road taxiway and immediately encountered a line of airplanes. It was stop and go, so I had some time to shoot some pictures.
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| The crowds are waving as I taxi past the Warbird section on the left. Not. |
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Crowds are still not waving. They just want to cross over to the other side.
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| Everybody was bugging out all at once. Planes were taking off Runway 27. The tower was putting two planes on the runway at a time, launching one, filling that spot, launching the other, filling that spot, and so on. |
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The ground handlers had me make a right hand turn on to taxiway heading south. I saw a line of planes on the parallel taxiway heading the opposite direction and my heart sank. I thought I would have go south, only to have to turn around and get in the line coming north. But soon I could see them launching planes on runway 18R, around the blue dot. It was the same deal, two planes on the runway at the same time. So they were really trying to get all the planes out as quick as they could, launching planes on both 27 and 18. It was one way communication with the Tower; he gave the commands and the planes just executed.
Soon it was my turn. They had me line up on the right side of 18. Soon after the plane ahead of me broke ground, I was cleared for takeoff. I took off and soon after blew right past the slower plane ahead of me. Right away I could understand why the airport continued to remain closed even after the overcast disappeared; the haze was really bad. But you could see other planes. I passed a few more planes including Paul C. in his Super Cub, and then I was by myself heading south.
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I landed at Hartford Municipal Airport (KHXF), about 40 miles south of Oshkosh, for fuel. Thanks to ForeFlight I knew they had a good price. Here I'm on a left crosswind for runway 27. I noticed a crashed yellow plane to the west of the runway.
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| All pilots hate to see this. I found out later the crash happened only an hour and a half or so after I passed by. Tragically, one person was killed and the other injured. |
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Hartford Muni has a glider operation. I topped off, and was quickly on my way.
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| I climbed above the scattered layer and enjoyed the cool, smooth, haze-free skies up high. |
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| Lake Michigan comes into view to the east. I had a choice to make as I approached Chicago. Either climb over 10,000 to fly over Chicago's Class B airspace or descend below 3,000 feet to fly under the Class B airspace to the north. I decided to descend so I could see Chicago better. |
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| What is this: the Bahamas? |
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After awhile I noticed three warbirds flying in close formation to my right. We were at the same altitude; constant bearing and decreasing range. But I wanted to see what kind of planes they were. Soon I could see they were two Nanchang CJ-6s and a T-34. They must have gotten nervous about me not seeing them because one of them popped smoke. So I popped my own smoke to let them know I saw them. I added some power and pulled ahead, and they pulled behind me, no doubt relieved.
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| Passing by Wrigley Stadium, home of the Cubbies. |
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Approaching downtown Chitown. Look at all the boats, including many tied together. Now that's a party!
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| Looking down at the south side. |
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| Looking down at Soldier Field, Museum Park and the island formerly known as Meigs Field Airport. You would never know there had once been an airport on that island. |
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| This huge steel complex reminds me of how Sparrows Point used to look. After leaving the Chicago area, I climbed back up to 9,500 feet for the transit home. I had a light tailwind and averaged 195 mph most of the way. |
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Passing by Porter County Regional Airport (also known as Valparaiso) (KVPZ). I have stopped here quite a few times on my previous trips to Oshkosh.
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Passing the Ohio River near Wheeling, West Virginia.
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| Overhead the Monongahela River. The tailwind picked up a little and my groundspeed increased to 205 mph. |
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| Looking down at Interstate 68 -- the National Highway -- as it makes a dramatic cut through a mountain ridge called the Sideling Hill Road Cut. The cut is very distinctive when driving on the Interstate. |
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I stopped at Carroll County Airport -- only 15 minutes by air from Essex Skypark -- to get some avgas. Better safe than sorry.
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I've flown this route over Baltimore to Essex Skypark a thousand times and for the first time I noticed Towson University (in the foreground). The city of Towson itself is in the background.
I landed at Essex Skypark without further ado. Total flight time from Oshkosh was a little over four hours. And with that, my trip to AirVenture 2021 was complete. Chalk up another great trip in the RV!
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