Flight out towards Indy

Mission Frag: Fly to MI, pick up The Shekel, fly to Indianapolis.

Stage 1.
Launch at first light, heading northwest.

Say "Oh, dam" when you see:

A dam. What else would you say?

"Allegheny County, show me turning left base for two eight, roger clear for option."

Wasn't planning on stopping there, but a touch-and-go at Allegheny County airport just east of Pittsburgh set me up for a beautiful low-level departure over the city.

"Super Cessna to Cricket. Sub Spotted. Rolling in with camera hot."

It's USS Requin, (SS-481), outside the Carnegie Science Museum. She's been blogged here before a couple of times too, but this is a first from the air.

She's beautiful inside, but she could use a bit of paint on the outside.

Then it was off to the northwest some more, staying low along the river to avoid Pittsburgh's Class B airspace.

Twist my arm and make me fly low...oh, yeah!

A quick stop at Beaver Falls, PA to use the bathroom revealed an F-86H on a post.

And it looks like they've got a small museum in the back that I didn't have time to visit on this trip, but I will be back just to fawn over that F-15.

Lesson learned here: Don't land where a flight school is actively flying. Trying to get back out, I wound up fifth in line behind four students who all apparently had to do the full "by the book" checks, and by the time I got to the hold-short, the first few up were already back shooting landings. Took a while to get back in the air.

Ohio farm country is beautiful and the sky is perfect for flying.

There was probably something down there that I was trying to photograph, but I don't remember now. Anyone see anything neat in these two that I can't find?

Then it was out over Lake Erie, with my flotation vest in view on the back seat, just in case.

Kelley's Island.

Landed here last year in a wicked variable wind and damn near sunk the island with a touchdown that was more like a ramp strike than a landing. But no aircraft damage, thank God. Murphy the Dog was not amused.

South Bass Island, known also as Put-in-Bay.

Middle Bass, where I took The Spud and Murphy camping two years back.

And here's North Bass Island. Haven't landed there yet. On my "to-do" list though, just because it's there.

Then it was on and into Michigan, where I got to buck another sketchy quartering headwind to land. But I'd learned from prior flights, including that Kelley's Island "landing" last year and I greased her in nice despite a sudden wind change as I was coming over the fence on final. So down I was, and down I stayed, because the forecast winds in Indy convinced me to drive instead of fly and a five-hour drive beats a two-hour flight that may not be able to land safely. Good Pilot judgment. I'm getting it. And we still made it in time for dinner with Keads and e.IA.f.t. so the night ended well.