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Heading Home to Meet My Maker

Mikey

Active Member
Louise has talked about this trip for a couple of years and we are finally on our way. Louise has a sister with a coastal home in Oregon and she figured that my builder, Mike Seager, and I would like a reunion. So, she, Paul, Bear, and I launched from Polly Ranch a little before sunrise yesterday morning. Good thing we left early as a big storm tore through the region later in the day, dropping lots of rain and causing flooding.


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Departing Houston​

It was an uneventful flight to Hereford, TX, where I took on fuel and Paul and Louise rushed off to inspect the FBO. They say it was a nice place. Flying towards the West, it wasn't surprising that we fought modest headwinds. Once we reach Las Vegas, NM, Paul and Louise perked up and I could feel their excitement rise along with the terrain. Finally, the real West began. Just north of Santa Fe, a plume of smoke rose out of the forest with no evidence of someone attending it. Louise called Center to let them know and we continued on. It was a spectacular flight as we crossed the Rockies and then landed at Cortez, Colorado, to once again feed me. (You know us 19-year-old eat a lot!)

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Aspens turning color in the southern Rocky Mountains

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Rio Grande River Gorge near Taos

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Mesa Verde National Park​

Once we left Cortez, we continued across the Colorado Plateau viewing the beauty of Zion and Capitol Reef National Parks and the Escalante. Hard to beat this scenery. We continued on to just south of Salt Lake City, where we entered the Basin and Range Provice

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Now, those are cool lava fields!​
 
Into the Basin and Range Province


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Entering the Basin and Range just south of the Great Salt Lake​

The flight went well and I landed at Battle Mountain, NV, (KBAM) in some pretty gusty winds that challenged Paul probably a bit more than he wanted on a long flight!

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Left Base to KBAM​

Leaving KBAM, the weather seems to turn more ominous and Louise kept poking an exhausted Paul in the ribs, asking for him to help with some weather decision-making. (Paul had worked a graveyard shift just before the trip and, combined with some high altitude flying, he was pretty much checked out at this point.

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About 45 minutes out, Louise turned me around and landed at Winnemucca, NV, (KWMC) where the very kind FBO people set them up with a courtesy car and information on local hotels. They tucked me in for the night under the glorious western sky and we all had a very good night's sleep, ready to try again in the morning.
 
Hello Mikey,

Thanks for sharing your trip with us....and the pics! I always enjoy hearing from you!

I'm sure your 'maker' will be glad to see you :).

Have a safe and fun trip!
 
Mikey, I know you are an airplane and not a person, but you seem unusually sentient for an aluminum creature. I hope your mechanical mind can somewhat grasp the wonder of the Western US that you are flying over.

I have often said that geologists should be required to be pilots. I don't think they award degrees to machines, but I hope you were at least conveying people that can appreciate what was below.
 
i must admit to wave of uh oh thoughts when I read that headline..I thought it was another 'airplane for sale due to medical reasons' post!

Frank
 
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The smoke you saw just to the east of Santa Fe was a controlled burn by the forest service. Hopefully it will go well. I can remember maybe 10 years ago,when I was living over in Dallas (my wife's folks have lived here all their lives) the forest service had a controlled burn on a windy day up around Los Alamos. You can still see the scars of the run away fire around Los Alamos (many lost their homes) and over to Bandelaria National Monument.

They ususally let folks know when one is going to be started.

BTW, for a look at the landscape a little further south (west of Albq) try this link http://www.jeffsflightlog.com. It's one of my favorites

Bob
 
Great pictures! I love seeing fault lines, lava fields, canyons, and mountains. We live on a pretty amazing planet.
 
Waiting on Winter Weather in Winnemucca

Thank you for all the kind comments. I guess I should acknowledge my photographers, Louise and Paul. I'm too busy flying to take the photos and I rely on Louise to interprete the geology.

Well, yesterday was an adventure and I had a lot of fun, but we ultimately ended up back in Winnemucca. I started the morning with a little frost so Paul and Louise removed my cover and let me dry (or, in this climate, more properly sublimate) off a bit. They "worked the weather" inside the FBO. Finally, they agreed that it was time to go and off we launched. The weather looked okay at our destination and I had enough fuel to make it there and back so the plan was to go until we couldn't and return if we had to do so. That's exactly what happened. We tried above the clouds and got within 35 minutes of our destination (and 10 minutes from clear reporting airports), over my home state of Oregon, but the undercast layer had risen to above 18,000 msl. We tentatively poked into some hole but saw both times that the risk down low was too great. So, here I sit once again on the KWMC ramp.

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Defrosting my wings on the Winnemucca ramp

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This was the view ahead as we climbed out of KWMC

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This was the last photo they took on our flight towards Oregon as Paul and Louise were too busy "working the weather" for me during the flight.

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Scooting back to KWMC - Nice sand dunes to the NW of town​

Paul and Louise hung around the airport awhile, watching the METARS. Louise reported a great "ladies room" and Paul enjoyed the couch.

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KWMC “ladies” room, painted by a local named "Teddy"

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Paul "working the weather"​

I enjoyed the company of the other planes on the ramp while Paul and Louise went off with a local RV-8A builder/driver, Mark Andrews, for an enjoyable evening in town. They returned this morning reporting a good meal and good company. Thanks, Mark, for taking care of them. They were a little down in spirits when they left me yesterday and came back recharged this morning. Me? I'm just happy to be flying so much. :D Maybe today's the day I get to once more land in Oregon.
 
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weather in Oregon

Paul and Louise, The weather is good here in Oregon so hopefully youll get in today. It is sunny and clear here in Vernonia. Mike
 
"Working the Weather"

Yup, it's morning in Winnemucca, and we're sitting the FBO, waiting on the weather to make me comfortable. "Working the Weather" is a term we use a lot in my business when we are trying to get a launch or landing to happen - and with the Space Shuttle, the weather has to be quite good! The thing I always remind people about this exercise is that no matter how hard you "work it", you can't change it! The weather is what the weather is, and no amount of hope is going to make a difference. Dealing with the cold, hard reality is what you have to do.

We actually had a pretty nice day in Winnemucca all day - quite nice for local flying. When we set out for the coast in the morning, there were VFR sites reporting along the route. Of course, the big problem is that there are virtually no reporting stations for 300 miles - it's mountain wilderness! We knew that our destination was clear, but what we didn't' have were ceilings along the way through mountainous terrain. Now I have spent most of my many decades of flying in the essentially flat center of the country - I deal with terrain by climbing, and have read thousands of stories of folks getting caught in canyons by bad weather, and I am not going to go there. It was clear as we headed out northwest of Winnemucca that the clouds were touching the peaks, so "below" wasn't going to work. But if we could get over the top, that might be an option. IFR was not an option due to Airmets for icing in the clouds from the freezing level up to FL220. It was freezing at the surface at sunrise.

With enough fuel to go all the way out to the coast and return (with reserves), it wasn't a dangerous option to try, so up we went. The tops were up around 11,000', level, and smooth. there was a band of precip showing on the XM up ahead in the cascades, but I figured if we just got over that, the coast was clear, and we'd be fine. Unfortunately, solar heating activated the atmosphere as the day went on, and the tops began to climb as we progressed. Up we went until it became clear that the day just wasn't going to work. The weather is what the weather is - not what we wanted it to be. the cruise back to Winnemucca was interesting, as the 11,000' level was now at 13,000', and rising! Nothing close - we just didn't have a chance to drop into anyplace closer to our destination. So close, yet so far. Without extensive local knowledge, I refuse to play sucker games - we'll be happy to wait it out.

I must make a plug here for the RV White Pages. I pulled them up while sitting in the FBO, and sure enough, there are three RVs based right here at KWMC. Interestingly enough, I didn't' have to use the list - I was closing up "Mikey" when up walks a gentlemen who asks "So, what kind of an airplane is that?" I start to answer, and he smiles and says, "Just Kidding - I'm Mark Andrews - I have an -8A!" From that, we had an instant offer of a place to stay the tonight, and a wonderful evening ensued. Rv'ing is much more than the airplanes - its the people!

So we sit and continue to "Work the Weatehr"....things are looking to get better today, and I expect we'll be on the coast this afternoon. But hey, the only hard and fast commitments we have are to be home in about 8 days....and to stay alive and in one piece. Destinations, events, and people can wait.

Paul
 
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Same system, different day....

Paul & Louise (and Mikey),

My wife and I returned from Ashland (southern Oregon) yesterday afternoon and had to deal with that same WX maker. ~4,000' freezing levels, icing, lots to freezing precip in the Cascades and points east. The system was forecasted to move slowly off to the south and east. Hang in there... It's good WX on the west and north side of it....:)
 
164MS back in Vernonia (they call it mikey)

Louise and Paul, We really enjoyed the visit today. It was a fun afternoon and I did enjoy seeing and flying the plane again. Georgeanna and I got some really good pictures that i am sure will make it on to a shirt. Thanks again for stopping by. Mike and Georgeanna
 
Hey Mikey

Hey Mikey

How was it with Mike Seager back at the stick after all these years? Did Louise or Paul have to give him some recurrent training with the new panel and all. :D

I bet it was fun!
 
Wonderful flight!

Hey Mikey

How was it with Mike Seager back at the stick after all these years? Did Louise or Paul have to give him some recurrent training with the new panel and all. :D

I bet it was fun!

What could Louise or Paul teach Mike Seager about RV flying????

Nope, Pop only needed a very short briefing and a few prudently cautious manuvers before he was working me pretty good. What a joy to be back in my birthplace and with Dad. However, I was pretty embarassed when Mike and Georgeanne pulled out my baby pictures! They have all these photos of me flying around with nothing covering me.:eek: I mean, don't they have any respect for my teenage dignity?

I've got to head out for another beautiful flight along the Oregon coastline with another of Louise's relatives. She tells me that she and Paul will post more photos when they have a chance.
 
Across the Cascades

As reported earlier by Mikey, we launched once again from Winnemucca on an attempt to make the Oregon coast. The weather reports looked better everywhere EXCEPT the first 20 minutes out of KWMC. With a solid overcast at about 3500 AGL (over the basin), we flew as high as we could, watched constantly for bailouts (which were abundant) and deviated north, as necessary, around the upcoming ranges. The clouds were thin but right around zero degrees Celsius. A few holes appeared but we resisted the temptation to climb early. Finally, a clear path between two layers opened ahead of us and we climbed through it to quickly reach “on top.” Soon, the clouds below broke up and we gained confidence that we would make it to the Oregon Coast.

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Solid overcast

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Time to climb up

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Breaking out on top​

The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful but the scenery was fabulous. I was happy to be able to see the ground and all the volcanic features along the way.

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Bachelor and the Sisters volcanoes (I think)​
The Williamette Valley was still filled with fog but the coastal METARS looked fine, so we continued on. Finally, the Pacific Ocean came into view and we landed at Newport, Oregon (KONP).

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Fog-filled central valley

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Setting up to enter the pattern at KONP

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Turning downwind at KONP​
 
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Up to the Seagers

After a short layover in Newport, we headed up to Vernonia, Oregon, Mikey?s birthplace, to visit with Mike and Georgeanna Seager. We mostly flew along the coast (that coastal range is a bit intimidating!) and then turned inland. Another gorgeous flight. This one followed by a rather ?non-standard? airport.

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Yaquina Head with lighthouse

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Little Whale Cove

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Sea stacks, sea caves, and an arch​

Soon after our arrival at Vernonia, I handed Mike the keys and we hopped into Mikey for a short flight around the area. As Mikey?s builder and the most experienced RV pilot in the world, Mike is one person that caused me no hesitation in turning over the keys and the PIC position. I think he enjoyed reconnecting with Mikey. It had been about 17 years since he last flew N164MS.

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Mike Seager flying ?Mikey? out of Vernonia airport


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Even after 9000+ hours of RV flying, the RV grin remains! Photo by Georgeanna Seager​

Back on the ground, Mike shared his photo album of MIkey-as-an-infant photographs, much to Mikey?s chagrin! ;-) Paul and I learned a lot about the early N164MS years and RVs in general. Not surprisingly, Mike is a wealth of RV information. We also checked out his near-original-condition Model T.

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On Mike?s office wall?..Mikey flying naked![/IMG]​

We finished up with some photographs on the ground and in the air with Mikey's family, then departed for Newport, OR, where we began my family visit.

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Foreground: Mike Seager, Louise Hose, and Paul Dye; Background: Mikey (N164MS)

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Photo of Mikey by Georgeanna Seager​

Lots of photographs of our trip are available at: http://picasaweb.google.com/DrKarst/09OctoberOregonTrip#

Our Spot tracks can be viewed at:
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0xQrhemIXZi9DS43kiz6jrMhQyl4oO0dD
 
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