Almost caught up, a week later! Last Monday we flew home from Eureka Springs, AR (4M1) with a stop in Jefferson City, MO (JEF). From Instagram:
On Monday we left 4M1 after noon and stopped at JEF for a short break. We saw the Missouri state capitol (from a distance), flight planned, and made a new friend John who let us sit in the cockpit of his Citation (have you ever seen Steven smile that big?!).
It was clear skies all the way to JEF then some clouds showed up. I’m so glad we were able to make it back in time!
It was so much colder than the rest of our trips. I had to figure out how to turn on the heat! We were underdressed when we got out of the plane at UGN!
Monday stats:
4M1 ➡️ JEF ➡️ UGN
4.6 hour total trip (includes run-up, taxi, and flying)
2 takeoffs & 2 landings
1 new-to-us airport (JEF)
1 new friend made (John)
We had a chill start to Monday – figuratively and literally – we relaxed all morning at Courtney and David’s (except for flight planning), and it was much cooler than it had been the three previous days. We wore pants instead of shorts for the flight back! It was 60°F when we left Arkansas and 46°F when we landed in Waukegan at the end of the day! Brrrr! It felt cold when we got out of the plane!
Courtney and David took us to the airport and hung out until we left at 12:35. It was much clearer out than it had been the previous two days (there had been a lot of local haze because of a fire, and then general haze from hot air, but I think the cold front pushed it out?).
We planned to stop in Jefferson City, Missouri to fuel and take a break. It’s a Class D towered airport and stopping at a towered airport was very appealing (to me) after three days of non-towered. I thought it would be really nice to have someone tell us what to do and watch for nearby planes.
We’d never been there before and played “where’s the airport?!” (successfully)
I forgot Jefferson City is the capital of Missouri! We could see the capitol building from the ramp (between our heads below) and from the sky when we took off.
Someone from the fixed-base operator (FBO) met us on the ramp to greet us, ask how long we were staying, and what services we needed, which as nice (we requested fuel). When we walked into the FBO several folks told us to help ourselves to the food in the fridge, which was also nice (I had a roll. Again, we need to get better at planning meals for long flights.).
We reviewed our plans for the second leg of the flight and realized we needed to leave ASAPy to get the plane back by 6:00 pm, when our rental ended.
But on the way out we talked to the same folks and their pilot offered to show us the jet they were flying (Cessna Citation).
I thought he meant show it, like, look at the outside, but we went in and sat in the cockpit and talked to our new friend John for a while (Steven said he knew what John meant!). It was fun. He was really encouraging, telling Steven that flying a jet is just like flying a prop plane. Is it though? Ha.
Then on the ramp we talked to an instructor and his student for a bit. Everyone was so friendly! We wondered if they usually see the same people all the time and it was unique to have someone different (us!) there. I love talking to people but I felt bad we were on a timeline.
I put my sweatshirt on for the flight back and am glad I did! It got cold enough in the plane that I had to figure out how to turn on the heat.
We did flight following on the way home since we were flying through an MOA (Military Operations Area) and figured they would tell us if we weren’t supposed to enter it at all. We didn’t have any issues, but I was scanning for military traffic the entire time and was exhausted by it and happy when we got out of there!
We were cruising at 5,500 MSL but descended a few times to avoid clouds. There was an icing warning at our altitude! Ice can form on the leading edge of wings (and other parts of the airplane) if you fly through clouds with water droplets and your plane is cold, etc. etc. and we definitely wanted to AVOID that.
It was a mostly uneventful flight! Just a bit of traffic, and changing altitudes to avoid clouds, and avoiding the ORD bravo airspace when we got back. We were pretty tired and happy to land at UGN and get the keys back right at 6:00 pm. Woo hoo!
We got home and fed the cats, fed us, and called it a night super early and I was asleep just after 9:00 and slept until after 6:00. We were so pooped! Next time we have to stay for a few more days when we fly that far, because the flying is tiring but mostly to spend more time with our friends!
Title inspired by a scene from 22 Jump Street. We couldn’t stop saying “My name is Jeff” on the way back.
