Kallithea Oshkosh 2022 Trip - Day 2

[PeterFromLA]

https://www.facebook.com/KallitheaUS/posts/573104664335116

Oshkosh 2022 Trip – Day 2

Day 1 ended with the discovery of a small but important mechanical issue. It was something that needed to be addressed before I can continue on my adventure.

Few quick phone calls assured me that this is not too big of a problem, so now we need to figure out the most elegant solution. Well, my fantastic mechanic James, being the awesome guy that he is, drove all night from L.A. to Provo, Utah, to bring the spare part and his expertise.
James arrived early next morning and 15 minutes later the spare parts were installed – I was technically ready to continue on my trip. I say “technically” because the exhaustion from the day before coupled with the mechanical issue, really made me consider quitting, and simply returning home. But after few ho9urs of sleep, James’ bright smile and encouragements, the consideration that quite a few people were involved in the planning and execution of the trip, I decide to push forward.

So, I continued my adventure at mid-morning. That presented a new challenge: the mid-day heat at high elevation which in turn makes the density altitude a great obstacle, something not to be taken lightly.

First stop was Heber City, just 40 minutes away from Spanish Fork Airport, I was supposed to stop at this airport overnight, so stopping here for fuel now just put me back in the groove as planning of the legs was concerned. The airport itself is a good place to stop – nice long runway, friendly staff at the FBO.

As I departed Heber City Airport, I started preparing mentally for Wyoming with its high elevation and mid-day high temperatures.
I found time to enjoy my gorgeous surroundings. Flying over Park City, Utah, I saw some beautiful homes, and was imagining what this place looks like under a snow blanket.

As I crossed into Wyoming, the first stop was Evanston Airport. It was recently resurfaced, and the airport manager was a great guy to chat with… oh, and the fuel price was not bad… comparatively.

The airport is located at 7,143 feet elevation, and the temperature was 28 degrees Celsius – you figure out the density altitude. On takeoff, the response of the aircraft was very slugging on the climb, so I circled few times over the airport until I gain some altitude, and convince myself that the engine was running fine…and the problems was the density altitude, not some mechanical problem.

Wyoming is a strange land. Fantastic landscapes, desert-looking flat lands, luscious green valleys of meandering rivers and streams.

My next stop was Rock Springs Airport. As I was approaching it, I started monitoring a weather system developing to the south of my route. Last thing I wanted was to have to race a thunderstorm to safety with only half a tank of fuel at my disposal. All data points in my disposal – ADSB, ForeFlight, visual observation – pointed out to easy flight to Rock Springs, but I had to make a decision on proceeding after that pit stop.

I did reach Rock Springs without any drama. This is a very nice airport in the middle, of what seems from first look, nowhere. 10,000 foot freshly resurfaced runway, huge hangar at the FBO, friendly staff, the Holliday Inn sends a free shuttle to pick pilots up. Once I had time to walk on the tarmac and look around, I realized that the weather system to the south was looking a bit scarier than I could stomach, so I decided to call it the day regardless of the early hour. I figured, tomorrow morning when the temps are lower, I would be able to takeoff much easier with the expected lower density altitudes.

So, the flying of Day 2 was done, and although this was a short flying day, it was still successful in so many other ways…