Like others, I started checking the weather early in the week. Of course, it only matters come departure day and that looked great from Colorado to Red Oak. Left an hour late (10:00 AM) and flew at 17,500' direct to RDK
As is my custom, I did something stupid on the way out. About 1.5 hours into the three hour flight, I needed a bathroom stop. No way am I dropping down from 17,500' so I held out hoping the need would go away. It did not. Airports come and go and about 2.5 hours into the flight it became tense. Ever try to cross your legs in flight and operate the rudder correctly? I was using Flight Following and after being handed off to Omaha they keep me from descending. Grumble grumble. Now I am too close to stop. South of Omaha I reach back for an empty water bottle. No joy there either so I was in for the duration. The time to destaination was getting smaller and smaller as the personal problem became more urgent. At one point after seeing Red Oak and changing to 122.8 I imagined crashing on landing due to the situation. I did manage to land safely and after parking the KR-6A (RV-6A in actuality), I hurried to the local banos and all was well. So if the folks around my plane considered me rude for rushing off so quickly, I had a good excuse. Nexr long trip I will have proper apparatus or land. Will not go through that again. The Red Oak airport area is really nice. It is a farming region and the views from above were wonderful. Saturday evening I made a sunset flight and the shadows over the gently rolling hills was beautiful. The FBO lobby was nice with weather computer, lounge, snacks and a courtesy car. The self serve fuel station worked great. Overall, it is a great place to visit and was perfect for the Gathering. This was only my second Gathering but I did recognize several folks from years ago and met others I have seen post here. This is my kind of event. Small, personal and fun. Oshkosh will never see me! The Saturday night dinner was also well arranged. The only "beef" I had is that the roast beef was too rare for my liking and the ham was sub-standard. I did however gets seonds on the mashed potatoes and gravy and string beans. The program was very good and ended with my first hearing of the infamous KR song. Now how did the chorus go? The only down side I would surmise was the minimal chance to ride in a KR. Jim gave rides to people approaching first flight so that was very helpful. Unlike the 97 Perry OK gathering, there was no sign up list for rides. But you can't blame the pilots. There were only six total during the weekend and stuff happens. My perception was that it was a very successful gathering and I am glad I went. It was interesting to see the selection process for the next event. I have seen the many emails on this topic at times and everyone wants it close to them. Seems that the biggie is that someone has to stand up to volunteer. I could not tell if midwesterners "packed" the assembly but the vote was nearly unanimous. The MS contender looked really good as well. Enough of my ramblings. The trip back today took a bit longer but I made it nonstop with no personal problems this time. I held off drinking any water until about 15 minutes from home. So no major screw-ups going home other than trying to climb over a cloud bank when going under it (8500') would have been simpler. Another lesson that I will probably forget. PS, Steve's plane is a screamer. I watched him Saturday and it flew like a fighter. He caught up with me after the video session and it took all 180 HP in my plane to SLOWLY outrun him. His plane is fast! Ron Lee --------------------------------------------- This message was sent using Endymion MailMan. http://www.endymion.com/products/mailman/
