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Lewis and Clark Route by Parachute

Friday, July 9, 2004

Wake up call at 4:15 AM.  I had a banana for breakfast and at the airport by 4:30.  We called David, who wanted to photograph the departure.  (He does great photos of HS Rodeo in the area.)  Lonnie also showed up.  He mentioned that I should not land on Indian Reservation land.  The sky was clear and I lifted off just before the sun came up.  It was dark enough I had to frantically search through my big zip bag tied on to the side with miscellaneous stuff crammed in it, to find a small flashlight so I could read the GPS to get on the right course.

As it got lighter I could see fog forming in different areas but my route was open.  There was a little head wind at first but still making decent time.  It was good to get moving again after being down for a full day.  I was hoping to make good mileage although the winds were forecast to come directly where we wanted to go.

I called Larry to let him know we should refuel at a spot 30 miles away.  He beat me there and selected a suitable landing spot.  At take off the wind was coming at an angle but I could still do 20-25 mph.  As I got out a few miles the fog started thickening as I got further out.  I lowered to about 50-100 foot elevation thinking it would soon lift with the sun now up.

I was mistaken, the fog got thicker and lower, by the time I made a 180-degree turn I lost sight of the ground temporally for a couple of seconds which was no problem but I had to refer to the GPS to retrace the route back.  I soon had good visibility and returned after contacting Larry to go back.

We waited for two more hours and the fog lifted forming a low cloud ceiling but with good visibility.  I tried it again, this time the wind had picked up but I was getting 20 mph which would let me get the next 56 miles Chamberlin, SD.  The same old story, the further I went the stronger the winds became until I was doing only 4-10 mph.  We had radio contact and I told Larry I was going to set it down.

He was in sight of the chute and saw me land in the corner of a large section of pasture ground where I could see the access to the spot.  He was almost there by the time I came to a nice soft landing with no problem.  We took the instruments and left the PPC there hoping to fly it out this evening if the winds went down or in the morning.  We left for Chamberlin in the pickup.  We needed a new tire, fuel and dinner.

Upon arriving in Chamberlin we got the tire first.  When the repair man found out where we landed he informed us, "That's Indian Reservation ground and if don't want to lose your rig you better get it out fast."  We were about 45 miles away but made record time getting back.  The wind had let up but we had only covered 95 miles today.

Bob

Saturday, July 10, 2004

We left Chamberlin early.  Up at 4 A.M. and ate a cold ham and cheese sandwich on the way to the airport.  The wind blew all night and let up about 3 A.M.  The sky had a thin cloud cover and it was already over 70 degrees F.

When we got to the PPC, got it ready the sky was still almost black and had to wait until just after 5:30 to lift off.  Again I had to use a flashlight to get my direction on the GPS.

A breeze had already started directly from the direction we are going, southeast, but still able to get 23-28 mph at first.  Fog started to form again to the east of my route and later after the sun was up, it was threatening to become wide spread but the sun finally did its job and cleared it out except for a higher layer.

When we unloaded the PPC yesterday we forgot to release the bungee cord holding the windshield.  In other words, we broke it off.  I am now flying with the wind in my face; but maybe, it will give less wind resistance and give us a couple more miles per hour.

We have been stopped so much lately that even 18 mph ground speed was welcome.  We planned to refuel at Platte, Nebraska but had enough fuel to go onto Lake Andes and Springfield, ND for refueling.  I had to fight head winds all the way.  The last flight was from Springfield across the Missouri River into Nebraska for a straighter shot into Vermillion, SD after crossing the river again.

Missouri River, SD

The last leg was with me on one side of the river and Larry on the other and out of radio contact most of the time.  There are severe thunder storms predicted for this evening in the area we are in.  The atmosphere was not good for visibility and on the last leg clouds continued to form over my route and I had to drop the altitude from 3000 feet to 2500.  The going had been rather slow but at least we were moving again.  The weather had been fine except for our little headwind. From Spring field it was only another forty miles to Vermillion.

The winds became stronger again about half way through but it was only 40 miles so I had plenty of fuel.  Sometimes I get a little nervous when the wind slows us down to the point of possible fuel shortage.  That hasn't happened yet but I still get concerned because much of the time I've been over water or tree covered terrain.

South Dakota Farms

Larry again got to the airport to let me know the conditions.  This time he found a high fence all around and a closed gate.  He somehow got hold of the airport manager at home and was able to get in so I knew where to land and store the PPC for the night.  Larry has a combination of talents including, public relations, hustler, mechanic and cheer leader.  Today we made 160 miles.

Bob

Sunday, July 11, 2004

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Self-portrait of Bob in the Air

These towers are all over Nebraska

Starting in Nebraska the humidity was very high and the temperatures were climbing as well.  Things were getting a little soggy and we hadn't been able to look up a laundry and there weren't any available in the small towns where we stayed.

Missouri River

We lifted off this morning about 6 AM.  I left the Missouri River to miss the congestion at Omaha after leaving Nebraska City.  The day was turning out to be pretty good after all.  We were going to make one more hop on south to Brenner, Nebraska, just north of the Kansas border.  The sky was clear and the temperature in the air was just right for shirt sleeve flying.

Nebraska Farm

About half way to Brenner I noticed a few clouds starting to materialize ahead but didn't think anything would come of it.  Then they became darker and Larry called to say the radio said a possibility of quarter sized hail was possible at Brenner Field.  I was only 12 miles out and it still didn't look too bad.  I started watching for a hay field or pasture to land in if necessary, it was all corn or other type of high vegetation.

Larry called again saying he had a pasture out from the airport and I kept going as there wasn't a problem yet although Larry said it was raining pretty hard where he was, that is when I seriously began to search for a landing area.  It rained briefly and I got a little wet but not bad, besides it cooled things off.

Nebraska land

I saw some strips between the crops I could set down in but the ground was wet and soggy.  If I had to set down on it, we would have trouble getting the PPC out.  It was then Larry called and said he found a road with out power poles and was the best place he could find.  It was next to Falls City and it wasn't storming yet.  He found me visually and was able to guide me to it.  The road was perfect, I made a good landing as the lightning flashed and the thunder rolled just a head of us.  We loaded the PPC and found a cheap motel, by the time we ate, refueled, got our breakfast sandwich for morning, it was 11 P.M.  We covered 225 miles.

Bob

Evening before storm

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