Pilgrimage of a Cessna

I love flying. There are several aviation destinations that I’ve got on my checklist over the next couple of years. One of those involves flying from my home airport, Millard, Nebraska (KMLE), to the highest public airport in North America, Leadville, Colorado (KLXV). This isn’t just a hop, skip and a jump in my Cessna 172 four-seater-but-only-carries-two airplane. No, this trip will require all my skill and everything this little plane has to give.  There’s a couple of big reasons that this is such an interesting trip.  One, it’s in the mountains and that brings all kinds of different wind changes to be aware of.  Two, there are mountains and mountain passes that reach or exceed the altitude capacity of the Cessna.

Laura and I were in Colorado a couple of weeks ago and visited Leadville airport after skiing at SkiCooper, a smaller yet very friendly little ski resort in Lake County. Side note, if you’re ever in Leadville, check out a restaurant on mainstreet called “Quincy’s,” home of the $8.95 filet minon.

   Laura at the highest public airport in North America

 

The trip starts bright and early. I’ll have to be up bright and early; 3:00 a.m. should do it. Showered and dressed in hiking pants and a t-shirt, I’m on the phone with 800-WXBRIEF to find out the latest weather patterns and what I’ll expect along my route of flight. The weather briefer will also tell me if there are any flight restrictions to watch out for. While on the phone, I’ll be on the computer pulling up www.aviationweather.gov to check satellite, radar, winds aloft, temperatures and so on. I’ll do double checks on the tablet to make sure that the sectionals, low-enroute and approach charts for airports along the way are up-to-date on Fltplan.

Laura will be packing some snacks and drinks for the flight and also gathering some emergency supplies. You never know, it is better to be prepared than to be left wanting in the middle of nowhere with engine trouble. All packed up, we’re out the door at 4:00 a.m and heading to the airport.

The sky is still dark when I open the hangar door at 4:15. Laura starts loading our supplies while I do pre-flight checks. In the pre-flight, the lights inside and outside the plane check out. All the connections appear good, nothing is loose that shouldn’t be. The fuel is full, oil sits at 6.5 quarts and we’ve got a spare quart in the back. Laura gets in and buckles up. She’s excited whenever we fly and this is no exception. I pull the plane out and we’re headed out on one great adventure.