Leaving Texas behind!
For the trip up we needed to stop for the night somewhere since our room in Appleton wasn't available until Sunday. I chose Davenport, Iowa, a short 1.5 hours from Appleton. I planned for 3r9 KPRX, PGO, KFWB, KDVN, but we changed plans a little and landed first in Fort Smith AR for fuel and and a short break. I made a tactical mistake then, and didn't fill the tanks completely, so we also made a short stop in Hannibal MO before finally arriving at Davenport. Now a days, whenever you change your destination, ATC will ask why you are changing plans. This is part of the new "Homeland Security" paranoia. My default answer will always be "bathroom break". In truth, we had a bit more headwind than I had anticipated, and I just chose to land a little sooner than planned because I get nervous with only an hour and a half of fuel left! Besides, we had plenty of time and it's kind of fun to make spur of the moment decisions. Our actual route was 3r9 kprx pgo kfsm khae keok kdvn.
Table Rock Lake, near Branson MO
Hannibal, Missouri - Home of Sam Clemens
We got a ride to the Best Western in Davenport and had a relaxing evening.
I didn't know quite what to expect going into Appleton on Sunday morning, but my planning worked out perfect. First, I followed the NOTAM procedures and used Lake Butte Des Morts as my "initial approach fix". The only problem with this is we had to fly directly over Ripon, just where all of the KOSH traffic was gathering before flying the FISK arrival into the field. My plan was to be over Ripon at 5500 feet. The weather allowed this and the rest of the arival went flawlessly, with no traffic conflicts at all. ATW wasn't too busy, it was just like flying into any other Class D towered airport. After an ugly bounced landing on 22, we taxied to the south grass parking area, tied down and we took a shuttle to the FBO to pick up our rental car.
This photo taken for Patti's Birthday!
