Bucket List

[Wayne]

Over the years I have been adding events on my Bucket List and I have decided to start draining that bucket!!

Earlier we decided on a road trip to Oshkosh. I have flown into Oshkosh twice before but am really looking forward to sharing this with the Aloft crew. It is a magical event that every aviation aligned person should experience. This will be a hoot!

A picture of flying formation cross country in Mooney's on the way to Oshkosh in 2016. This year we will be driving non-stop.. Road trip!!

I have officially added Soar Utah 2026 to our calendar. This is a place and an event I have very much wanted to experience. This will be a blast!

I'd also like to attend Cape Blanco in Oregon this year, not sure on the dates for this year yet. It is a great event for slope flying on the Oregon coast.

You can find out more about Soar Utah here:

Soar Utah 2026 - RC Groups

Discussion Soar Utah 2026 Sailplane Events

www.rcgroups.com

 

[Red]

Soar Utah sounds like a blast. I think I'll try to make that as well.

 

[Wayne]

Excellent!

 

[agarchitect]

Soar Utah 2026
September 3 through 7

Soar Utah 2026 - RC Groups

Discussion Soar Utah 2026 Sailplane Events

www.rcgroups.com

I had to read your first post twice Waynr to realize that you flew in a small private plane to Oshkosh (correct), not a commercial jet...

That must have been something special. How many days did it take?

 

[Wayne]

I had to read your first post twice Waynr to realize that you flew in a small private plane to Oshkosh (correct), not a commercial jet...
That must have been something special. How many days did it take?

That is correct. We flew formation from about New Mexico all the way to Oshkosh with several other Mooneys. We started the flight from San Diego. Think we took about 3 days each way. We were not trying to make huge miles, and avoiding some of the rougher summer thermals and mountains on the routes we picked. The last year on the way back I remember landing at Truckee after flying a long leg, problem was the fires near Reno had filled most of the Nevada skies with nasty smoke, we could not get out of the smoke. We were just going to fuel up and go, but upon landing we both had horrible headaches, so went into town and got some yummy food.

Little planes don't have air conditioning, and they can get tossed around in the summer thermals, but the Mooney's IMHO are a good plane for this sort of trip. They can smooth out some of the rough air and they have a respectable airspeed for the fuel they drink. (We had a Model C, so we were the slowest in our group flying from the West Coast, I felt sorry for the turbo pilot that commented he had never flown at such a low throttle setting for so long. We were flying in formation.)

My pilot buddy now flies for Southwest and he still has the mooney, but it has had major upgrades. Sadly doesn't get to many hours compared to the early years.

p.s. Flying in formation is really fun!

 

[Red]

That is correct. We flew formation from about New Mexico all the way to Oshkosh with several other Mooneys. We started the flight from San Diego. Think we took about 3 days each way. We were not trying to make huge miles, and avoiding some of the rougher summer thermals and mountains on the routes we picked. The last year on the way back I remember landing at Truckee after flying a long leg, problem was the fires near Reno had filled most of the Nevada skies with nasty smoke, we could not get out of the smoke. We were just going to fuel up and go, but upon landing we both had horrible headaches, so went into town and got some yummy food.

Little planes don't have air conditioning, and they can get tossed around in the summer thermals, but the Mooney's IMHO are a good plane for this sort of trip. They can smooth out some of the rough air and they have a respectable airspeed for the fuel they drink. (We had a Model C, so we were the slowest in our group flying from the West Coast, I felt sorry for the turbo pilot that commented he had never flown at such a low throttle setting for so long. We were flying in formation.)

My pilot buddy now flies for Southwest and he still has the mooney, but it has had major upgrades. Sadly doesn't get to many hours compared to the early years.

p.s. Flying in formation is really fun!

Ryan and I are planning Oshkosh too if the schedule works out.

 

[tomleach]

I'd also like to attend Cape Blanco in Oregon this year, not sure on the dates for this year yet. It is a great event for slope flying on the Oregon coast.

Cape Blanco Slopefest is July 17th - 26th. The group dinner and raffle will be Saturday July 25th. I suspect that all the camping spots are reserved by now, but there are other camping/motel options fairly nearby on Hwy 101 and in Port Oxford. It’s about a 15 minute drive from the highway out to Cape Blanco.
Let me know if you have other specific site/camping questions and I’ll do my best to answer them.

 

[Wayne]

I think we will have a few friends to visit in Oshkosh! Are you camping at the plane?

Thanks Tom, added to the calendar.

 

[Red]

I think we will have a few friends to visit in Oshkosh! Are you camping at the plane?

Thanks Tom, added to the calendar.

Not in the plane but with some friends on the field.

 

[Wayne]

Have to reach out to Steve S. and see if he will be there also. He may be showing off his new kit there..?

 

[Red]

Have to reach out to Steve S. and see if he will be there also. He may be showing off his new kit there..?

Hopefully......I still need to get up there and see him.