New starter finally installed in 624, the group departed Covington TN around 5 pm for a couple hours' flight to Mountain Home AR. Not everyone was night current, it was getting late in the day...and, most important, someone willing to facilitate accommodation. Bob Hawkins' friend Bruce ****, a Civil Air Patrol buddy, met us at the airport with transportation ample to hold everyone and took us to a nearby motel where we'd arranged to stay. Dinner was *al fresco* on the patio of a little nearby local favorite hangout -- think diner-and-ice-cream joint and you'll have it about right. We retire [View Full Entry]

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This is Judy, interim Recording Angel making entries on behalf of the Westbound Crew (remember, I'm joining this bunch once they get to the west coast...) So it really, really sounds like the gang is launching today! As of 10:35 this morning, the Cardinal has left, the Warrior 235 (aka "624", short for "N15624", its tail number) -- is firing up, the Cardinal has gone, and the 172 (aka "BA" or "Bravo Alpha", its final characters of its tail number) is headed for Mount Sterling, Montgomery County Kentucky -- KIOB. "A bit bumpy til we get into West Virginia," predicted Bob [View Full Entry]

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Time to spare? Go by air... Now you see the true nature of the adventure. If you watched the video of the flight briefing in the previous entry and weren't that sanguine on the prospects, your instincts were prescient. As you can see from pilot Janice Templeman's reflections, in the attached video from Thursday night, she is among those who heartily supports this view! Bob Hawkins wrote: "For those of you who did not get up at the crack of dawn to only to be disappointed by the weather - well there is always tomorrow or maybe the next day. I [View Full Entry]

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We're Go for Friday, getting out ahead of a couple of lazy fronts, heading into some headwind that will leave highway traffic passing us easily. Pix show more bag packing, and Video shows you the lot of us listening to the flight briefer. Wish us luck! ** Gashaw Mengistu, Alex Wagenheim and Judy Bradt will join the trip on the Eastbound portion, starting around May 14th or so. ** Donna An will head out Friday and fly with the group through the southwest. Larry Falls is in North Carolina hoping to join the group in Tennessee in his RV4 Homebuilt aircraft. [View Full Entry]

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Friends and Family, Incoming weather looks like it's stepping up our departure plans! Final decision will be made tonight, but it looks as though if the group doesn't launch Friday, a line of weather is going to linger through the middle of next week... see the photo... So the scramble is on! Lawns being mown, personal gear packed, checklists checked... Stay tuned! [View Full Entry]

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The planes are ready. The Skyhawk has just emerged from its annual inspection, the Cardinal has a new engine, and the Cherokee has been scrubbed. We'll put the finishing touches on things this week, load the planes, and we'll be ready to launch. [View Full Entry]

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Bucky the Dragon -- official mascot of the Congressional Flying Club -- supervised the C2C bag packing party...which was really much nicer to do out on the picnic tables near the club trailer as the sun set on a glorious spring evening at Gaithersburg. "Bucky's ten ounces," declared loadmaster Geoff Hornseth. "If the good Lord wanted us to enjoy sunrise, he'd have moved it to 10 am," opined Bob Hawkins. Each plane gets a survival kit, plus a bag of pilot gear, including charts. Donna created custom stationery so we can write thank you notes along the way. We have a [View Full Entry]

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Most ideas worthy of merit begin on the back of an envelope or a napkin - this one is no different. Behold, the initial flight plan! [View Full Entry]

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Bagged! We have $400 worth of charts, thanks to a boondoggle trip Bob Hawkins made earlier today, and survival kit gear lovingly prepared by Anne. Donna An brought some cleaning rags we'll need...but we didn't actually get around to doing the bag-packing party. So, we'll try it again next week, with everybody bringing all their pilot junk so we can create the three aircraft flying gear bags. We refined the plans for the Grand Canyon area. A friend of Donna An's might be able to provide a boat trip for those who will get to Glen Canyon! We defined out return [View Full Entry]

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Members and Friends of the Congressional Flying Club of Gaithersburg, Maryland, are getting ready to launch our first (and we hope not last!) Coast to Coast flying trip! Follow our adventures -- we've been meeting since December and are now about three weeks from the planned departure day, Saturday May 3rd. [View Full Entry]

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