ApacheBob
Cleared for Takeoff
We were on our way to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas from Chicago when the weather went downhill in Oklahoma. The mighty Archer was doing great, but the weather in Mc Alester was just too low.
So we do a 180 and head back north. There, surrounded by a big lake (the fourth biggest in the US outside the Great Lakes (a local told me)), was a fine looking runway. Tulsa was not that far north, but the farther north we flew, the farther south we would have to fly tomorrow.
So, we land at F08. There is nobody around. But, after a few minutes, two gentleman drove up in a pick up truck and took the three of us into town (Thanks, Jeff and Rob!)
We needed WiFi to see if the weather was improving (it wasn't). So, we end up at the Best Western. A young person we meet at a local restaurant offers to drive us back to the airport in the morning (Thanks, Bridgette!)
Well, dang it! The weather in the morning is no better. We mull our options (after we slept in a bit). The free breakfast was very much appreciated at the motel. I was under the impression that the drive to Dallas from Eufaula, OK, (pronounced "you fall-a") would take 5 hours. When I mention the fact that we had missed the game to one of the other guests at the hotel, he retorts, "It's only a three hour drive."
Hurridly, we contact Bridget. She hauls us to McAlester (the only rental car within an hour). Enterprise sets us up with this sweet, black, 2016 Dodge Charger. GIDDY-UP!
In case nobody told you, there are a lot of tollways in Dallas.
So we get to AT&T Stadium in the middle of the first quarter and cheer while the Badgers defeat Western Michigan. That four-story TV screen is something else!
After a great game and an obligatory stop at What-a-burger, its back to Eufaula.
Plan A was to have my wife drop me off at the F08, drive to McAlester and pick me up at the FBO there.
We get back to Eufaula at 8 pm. The clouds are not as low, but the haze is starting to look like fog and flight service says, "VFR not recommended." Something about rising terrain near McAlester. After seeing the airport beacon pick up a lot of moisture in the air, Plan A is Plan Out.
So we drive back to McAlester to mull our options.
In the morning, Enterprise drives us to Eufaula. They were planning on delivering us to the airport, but weather still looks like yuck. That was a long drive for the driver (Brittany). Thanks to Arlene for having her take us to Eufaula!
So, Brittany takes us to the truck stop where we start working on Plan C. The hope is that the weather will perk up by noon. Noon arrives, but the weather is still poor. The Love's Truck Stop staff is friendly and suggests a local service. They give us the number.
The town has "CATS," which serves as bus service. For $1 each, CATS takes us over to the local public library, which has WiFi. We check out the weather. At 2 pm, it finally starts to improve (marginally). The ceiling is barely VFR, but the surface visibility makes me confident that we can dodge any towers. We have Naviator on my Tab A device and the sectional.
We get CATS to take us over to the air field. One more band of misty precip wanders by. Stations north and west have ceilings around 2,500'. It is about 50 miles to Tulsa.
We launch and head north. The vis is holding and I use the VOR at Okmulgee as a guide post to avoid some higher radio towers.
All seems to be going as planned, until we get just north of Okmulgee. There is a band of lower clouds (and probably more misty precip). Fortunately, there is a gap on the west side of the band. I brace myself for a quick 180 as I approach the gap, but, to my relief, the band is isolated and the weather looks even better on the other side of the band.
Tulsa Approach tells us to make a straight in for Runway 36 Left. We land and Tulsair takes very good care of us.
Looking back on things, I had considered heading west toward Weatherford, OK, from Joplin on Sunday, but the skies did not look that bad when we launched. Hindsight is 20-20.
It was a fun adventure and I would not have met those nice people in Eufaula if we had done that!
So we do a 180 and head back north. There, surrounded by a big lake (the fourth biggest in the US outside the Great Lakes (a local told me)), was a fine looking runway. Tulsa was not that far north, but the farther north we flew, the farther south we would have to fly tomorrow.
So, we land at F08. There is nobody around. But, after a few minutes, two gentleman drove up in a pick up truck and took the three of us into town (Thanks, Jeff and Rob!)
We needed WiFi to see if the weather was improving (it wasn't). So, we end up at the Best Western. A young person we meet at a local restaurant offers to drive us back to the airport in the morning (Thanks, Bridgette!)
Well, dang it! The weather in the morning is no better. We mull our options (after we slept in a bit). The free breakfast was very much appreciated at the motel. I was under the impression that the drive to Dallas from Eufaula, OK, (pronounced "you fall-a") would take 5 hours. When I mention the fact that we had missed the game to one of the other guests at the hotel, he retorts, "It's only a three hour drive."
Hurridly, we contact Bridget. She hauls us to McAlester (the only rental car within an hour). Enterprise sets us up with this sweet, black, 2016 Dodge Charger. GIDDY-UP!
In case nobody told you, there are a lot of tollways in Dallas.
So we get to AT&T Stadium in the middle of the first quarter and cheer while the Badgers defeat Western Michigan. That four-story TV screen is something else!
After a great game and an obligatory stop at What-a-burger, its back to Eufaula.
Plan A was to have my wife drop me off at the F08, drive to McAlester and pick me up at the FBO there.
We get back to Eufaula at 8 pm. The clouds are not as low, but the haze is starting to look like fog and flight service says, "VFR not recommended." Something about rising terrain near McAlester. After seeing the airport beacon pick up a lot of moisture in the air, Plan A is Plan Out.
So we drive back to McAlester to mull our options.
In the morning, Enterprise drives us to Eufaula. They were planning on delivering us to the airport, but weather still looks like yuck. That was a long drive for the driver (Brittany). Thanks to Arlene for having her take us to Eufaula!
So, Brittany takes us to the truck stop where we start working on Plan C. The hope is that the weather will perk up by noon. Noon arrives, but the weather is still poor. The Love's Truck Stop staff is friendly and suggests a local service. They give us the number.
The town has "CATS," which serves as bus service. For $1 each, CATS takes us over to the local public library, which has WiFi. We check out the weather. At 2 pm, it finally starts to improve (marginally). The ceiling is barely VFR, but the surface visibility makes me confident that we can dodge any towers. We have Naviator on my Tab A device and the sectional.
We get CATS to take us over to the air field. One more band of misty precip wanders by. Stations north and west have ceilings around 2,500'. It is about 50 miles to Tulsa.
We launch and head north. The vis is holding and I use the VOR at Okmulgee as a guide post to avoid some higher radio towers.
All seems to be going as planned, until we get just north of Okmulgee. There is a band of lower clouds (and probably more misty precip). Fortunately, there is a gap on the west side of the band. I brace myself for a quick 180 as I approach the gap, but, to my relief, the band is isolated and the weather looks even better on the other side of the band.
Tulsa Approach tells us to make a straight in for Runway 36 Left. We land and Tulsair takes very good care of us.
Looking back on things, I had considered heading west toward Weatherford, OK, from Joplin on Sunday, but the skies did not look that bad when we launched. Hindsight is 20-20.
It was a fun adventure and I would not have met those nice people in Eufaula if we had done that!
