We flew over 800 nm to Lamar, CO and enjoyed a Little Ceasar's pizza in a park
Tuesday. And then returned home Wednesday!
The original plan to was visit Erich and Misti Trombley in Las Vegas and
continue
to a fly-in at Reserve, NM.
The winds aloft Tuesday morning were strong so we stayed low at 6500 ft to our
fuel stop in Kansas City. Our ground speed on that leg was 125 - 130 kts. But
it was a nice comfortable flight.
The next leg from Kansas City to Lamar we also flew low because there are a
number
of Military Airspaces (MOAs) that were active. Our ground speed on that leg
was also about 125 - 130 kts, but there was a lot of turbulence and it was
exhausting to fly. The OAT was quite warm and the flying conditions were
uncomfortable.
Forecasts for Wednesday to continue to Las Vegas were for more of the same, very
warm with head winds. Since we were tired and dehydrated from the previous
day and with the forecast, we decided to cancel our plans and return home. The
two legs on Wednesday were more comfortable, with ground speeds around 140 -
150 kts. There was only one active MOA and it required just a small deviation.
In retrospect, we looked at previous flights to the southwest we've made and
noted
that we have always done them much later in the year, usually in early October.
Late August is much too warm! Las Vegas temps the last couple days have
been lows around 90 and highs around 110! Much too hot for us!
Finn, our dog did fine on the trip, his first of this length. But he was also
the reason to avoid altitudes requiring oxygen.
Jim & Heather
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