Aug 2013 40 Knot Headwinds Suck!
Hey, I wanted to FLY this weekend and boy, did I get my wish! 13.5 Hours total flight time. I was part of a group of 14 airplanes circling Lake Michigan and we had a blast – even with this mornings 40 knt headwinds. I was up at 5:00 a.m. at St. Ignace, Michigan this morning, pilot briefing in the motel parking lot at 6:00 and in the air at 7:00 a.m. No rest for the weary when there’s weather lurking a few miles to the north.
I was the first to taxi to the end of runway 25 this morning. I snapped this shot at  83D, St. Ignace Airport at 7:05 a.m. as I did my run-up. Is this going to be a great day or what!
Our first leg was incredibly slow – 49 knots for the first 110 mile leg. Nothing like getting passed by the cars on the 2-lane below you! We had a severe headwind south bound and were getting slammed around like crazy until someone got the bright idea to climb a little higher. Turned out that flying at 3000′ put us in smooth air and although our ground speed didn’t improve much, at least we weren’t getting slammed around much.
It was a cool day with people on the beaches waving at our band of 14 airplanes as we flew low and very slow down the beaches.
We passed mile after mile of sandy beaches and mountains of sand being overrun by 4 wheelers, pickup trucks and more, everybody having fun in the sun today!
Sure was one spectacular trip. One truly fun weekend of flying, making new friends and flying with a cool group of pilots and their airplanes.
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