REKINDLED YOUTH

REKINDLED Part 3

 CHAPTER THREE

The next morning, he rose early, went through the usual ritual and then began packing his gear for the flight. He checked his digital camera gear, video-cam and laptop and placed them in a special case. His flight bag was next, and then his clothes and toiletries went into a big soft carry bag. He checked the weather App for conditions along the route and then made a call to neighbor Sully and told him that he would be gone for about a week, and to keep an eye on the airstrip and buildings. He locked the doors after carrying the bags into the hangar, and then pushed the button that opened the big hangar door. It opened smoothly and the Cessna was bathed in the soft light of late spring.

Dale loaded the bags into the airplane and pushed it out of the hangar. He closed the big hangar door down behind it, and did a fast preflight of the bird. Clambering inside he turned on the Master switch and checked the instruments and radios. It only took a few minutes to set the Altimeter to field elevation, set the Directional Gyro, and GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver to the route waypoints and destination point. He started the engine and did the runup, everything was operating smoothly and in the green.

Upon takeoff, the Cessna climbed swiftly to 5500 feet and he headed for the first waypoint at Mossyrock, Washington. He then continued climbing the ship to 7500 feet to clear the pass with room to spare, as he headed to the next waypoint south of the Moses Lake area. The air was smooth, with light scattered clouds and a magnificent view. The ground fog on the western valley slopes of the Cascades was shining in the sun like gossamer clouds. What a day to "dance the clouds with laughter silvered wings", as the British poet had written.

The ground fog reminded him to check for carburetor ice.He pulled the little handle and there was a very slight roughness and lowering of the RPM of the engine. The engine soon returned to it's steady melodic chant and he relaxed, as he pushed the control back in. He readjusted the mixture control, because the air got drier and warmer on the east side of the mountains. The Cascades are one of the most effective ice generators in the Aeronautical world, because moisture-laden cool winds off the Pacific drive upslope and form an ice hazard area for pilots crossing either way. There had been situations where light planes had landed at western Washington airfields looking like flying icicles. This was not one of those days, and he saw the tan fields of the plains on the east side ahead.

Minutes later, he saw the cities of Yakima to the south and Ellensburg to the north. The mighty Columbia river passed beneath his wings and Dale burst into a stanza of "Columbia, the Gem of the ocean". He liked to sing when he was flying alone. He followed the plotted GPS route to the south of Moses lake and avoided the heavy Jet traffic there. Othello was to the south, an important railroad town when the Milwaukee road was operating. It was there that the Box-cab and 'Little Joe' Electric locomotives started their long trip through the Cascades to Seattle-Tacoma. Soon he saw the town of Ritzville where I-90 ran almost parallel to his flight path. The little Cessna purred on contentedly and the miles fell away behind as Dale enjoyed a cup of coffee from the handy Thermos. Then Spokane was coming into his vision to the north and he also saw the Spokane valley Industrial area to the east of the metropolis. The flight was going smoothly and he was making excellent time because of a nice tailwind.

Dale tapped in the command for the destination waypoint into the GPS receiver. Coeur De Alene Airport (COE) was an excellent place for a base for this visit. It was a large uncontrolled field, easily found by travelers both by airplane and car. It was close to Rathdrum At 2318 feet elevation, it wasn't too far up in the mountains for easy safe flying, with fast access to the Hayden Lake area to the east and Coeur De Alene Lake to the south. And there was better prices for avgas and rental cars available. The tie-downs were reasonably priced and there were restaurants and motels nearby.