Getting Ready

Final preparations are being made before I head over to Indy to meet Jo. The plan is for me to drive out to Indy on Thursday early to meet up, grab lunch, and then fly on over to Iowa City. I've updated my iPad with all of the A/FD information, approach plates, diagrams, VFR sectionals, and low enroute charts that we'll need to fly out to the race, fly the race, and fly back to Indy. I think I'm going to save the actual packing for Tuesday or Wednesday. I hate packing! Jo has provided me with a take-along list, so I have a reduced chance of forgetting something important (like pants).

Jo is doing most of the heavy lifting in terms of preparation, what with paperwork, the airplane, and all of the details that go along with that. For that, I am very grateful. She's made it easy on me! I practically just have to show up at the airport with my flight bag and a smile on my face.

We still haven't hammered out exactly how we're going to do a piece of the race, specifically the chunk between Spearfish and Rawlins. I think we've got a pretty good idea, but to give you an idea of what we're seeing, I've stuck a piece of the sectional here for you to look at. That line is the direct line. For the non-aviation folks out there, the two or three digit blue numbers are the tallest obstacles in that sector, times 100 in feet mean sea level. So 87 is really 8,700 feet. There is some tall stuff out there! We want to go direct as possible, but we don't want to hit anything hard, either. I think we have an amicable solution. I might post it at a later date, or what we ended up flying. Things can still change!

Oddly enough, according to the sectional, there are quite a few sand dunes out along that route. I've never been out there, so it's a weird visual to picture sand dunes in the Rockies. I'll be sure to keep my eyes peeled and take lots of pictures. Oh, and I think I'll have a fun game for us to play in flight. We're going to play "spot the ranch," since those seem to be the only things out along that piece of route (that are marked on the sectional at least). There are a few windmills charted, and a few pumping stations, but that's about it. I guess we'll see what's out there!