Corey Moreau
New Member
After buying my first airplane (Husky A1-C) a month ago, I figured it was only fitting that I fly it out to Idaho from the East Coast. The timing worked out perfect to take it to the Round Engine Roundup in Idaho Falls, so I departed on Wednesday morning with a friend of mine for my 2-day voyage west. The first leg brought me to Tupelo, Mississippi for fuel. Little did I know, the best burger in America is served 10 minutes from the airport at the Neon Pig. I couldn’t pass the opportunity, so we took the crew car. I can’t say whether it is actually the best burger in America, but it’s the best I’ve had. Our second leg took us to Neosho, Missouri for more fuel, and then we flew to Lloyd Stearman Field, just outside of Wichita, Kansas where a friend lined up a hangar apartment for us to stay in. The next morning had us flying to Greeley, Colorado for our fuel stop. After filling the tanks, high density altitude and turbulent air near Laramie had us on a long, slow climb to get to altitude. The air eventually calmed down and we were able to climb to 12k’ before getting to the Wyoming Range. Growing up as a flatlander, the views approaching and flying over Alpine were amazing. Flying into Idaho Falls on Thursday evening, we buzzed Rainbow Ranch and landed at KIDA shortly afterwards.
With 18.5 hrs of flying behind us, we were happy to stay on the ground and relax a little on Friday. Saturday was the group fly-out, however, so we hopped back in the plane and flew to West Yellowstone for brunch with the RAF group. Afterwards, a flight over Old Faithful and south along the east side of the Grand Teton Range, down the Snake River from Jackson Hole, and then to Afton, WY gave us ample opportunity to admire some of the best scenery I’ve ever flown over. Once in Afton, we were treated to a factory tour of the Aviat factory before returning to Rainbow Ranch for dinner in the Hoff’s hangar.
Everyone departed the next day, and we made our way to Creede, CO to visit some friends vacationing from Florida. Two days of trail riding, fishing, and exploring the backcountry made me really question whether I wanted to go back to the East Coast. Ultimately, I had to get back to work, so we left on July 4th and flew over the Great Sand Dunes National Park eastbound. A little over 10 hours of flying and fuel stops in West Woodward OK and Poteau, OK brought us to Tupelo again (with hopes of eating another burger). Unfortunately, we arrived around 8pm and everyone was closing early for the 4th. We barely got into a place called Mugshots in time to order wings and a few beers before they closed. We departed Tupelo around 8am the next morning, and chose to stop in Tuskegee, AL for our final fuel stop before dodging thunderstorms in Georgia on our final leg.
While being gone a total of 9 days, and battling 15-25kt headwinds both directions, we put a total of 42 hours on the plane, saw some unbelievable sights, and spent time with some great friends. Not bad for a first trip.
With 18.5 hrs of flying behind us, we were happy to stay on the ground and relax a little on Friday. Saturday was the group fly-out, however, so we hopped back in the plane and flew to West Yellowstone for brunch with the RAF group. Afterwards, a flight over Old Faithful and south along the east side of the Grand Teton Range, down the Snake River from Jackson Hole, and then to Afton, WY gave us ample opportunity to admire some of the best scenery I’ve ever flown over. Once in Afton, we were treated to a factory tour of the Aviat factory before returning to Rainbow Ranch for dinner in the Hoff’s hangar.
Everyone departed the next day, and we made our way to Creede, CO to visit some friends vacationing from Florida. Two days of trail riding, fishing, and exploring the backcountry made me really question whether I wanted to go back to the East Coast. Ultimately, I had to get back to work, so we left on July 4th and flew over the Great Sand Dunes National Park eastbound. A little over 10 hours of flying and fuel stops in West Woodward OK and Poteau, OK brought us to Tupelo again (with hopes of eating another burger). Unfortunately, we arrived around 8pm and everyone was closing early for the 4th. We barely got into a place called Mugshots in time to order wings and a few beers before they closed. We departed Tupelo around 8am the next morning, and chose to stop in Tuskegee, AL for our final fuel stop before dodging thunderstorms in Georgia on our final leg.
While being gone a total of 9 days, and battling 15-25kt headwinds both directions, we put a total of 42 hours on the plane, saw some unbelievable sights, and spent time with some great friends. Not bad for a first trip.
