petehowell
Well Known Member
The call came in on Thursday morning from May at the Boxer rescue group. She asked if I flew in cold weather. In my mind I wanted to respond with a comment asking if a bear pottied in the forest, but May is a nice lady, so I just told her I fly pretty much all year round, with the exception of days well below zero.
She said good, b/c there was white Boxer girl in Fargo that needed a ride to a new home in the Twin Cities. I said that would work out pretty well b/c I would be attending the December Minnesota Wing meeting and was looking for a place to fly. Wingman Deluxe Bernie was even game to tag along in the super slick, Vetterman muffler heated, SkyPig Deuce!! (more info)
Bernie and I left the meeting at Lake Elmo and headed NW to Fargo (u betcha!) It was plenty cold, but we picked up a 10kt tail wind at 4500 ft and life was good. We chatted on 22.75 while the frozen tundra rolled by....
The lakes are still in the process of freezing and had some open water in the center:
Soon enough, we were were nearing the TRSA and talking to Fargo approach. They vectored us for landing on the 9000ft RWY36. After doing some quick calculations, we declared it long enough for a safe landing in an RV at an OAT near 0degF (takeoff appeared doable as well). It looks like they do or did fly KC-135s out of Fargo - very nice airport. (Update - it was F-16 ANG base - no longer in service) That's downtown Fargo off the right wing.
The great people at Fargo Jet Center took good care of us. I called up on Friday to let them know what we were doing and they told us they were pet friendly and we were welcome. It is a beautiful independent FBO. They are working hard to become "the place" to quick turn corp jets going from Europe to Asia or the west coast. Like I said, good people - I hope they do really well. Here is my -9A and the SPII on the ramp.
Soon enough, Jersey and Wendy showed up for the exchange. Here are Wendy, Jersey, and me ready to brave the frozen ramp.
Bernie helps load Jersey up!
One last Goodbye.....
More of the same on the way home, but get this - we had 10kt tail wind at 5500 on the way home, too. Karma is a good thing!!!
Here is a video of the arrival:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwdb_ueAdas
APRS tracking nicely over some remote areas - this has been a great tool for coordinating the rescue trips.
Google maps says the trip from St Paul to Fargo is about 4hrs by car. We made it there, picked up the dog, and made it back in less time than that. It was a wee bit more fun, too!!
She said good, b/c there was white Boxer girl in Fargo that needed a ride to a new home in the Twin Cities. I said that would work out pretty well b/c I would be attending the December Minnesota Wing meeting and was looking for a place to fly. Wingman Deluxe Bernie was even game to tag along in the super slick, Vetterman muffler heated, SkyPig Deuce!! (more info)
Bernie and I left the meeting at Lake Elmo and headed NW to Fargo (u betcha!) It was plenty cold, but we picked up a 10kt tail wind at 4500 ft and life was good. We chatted on 22.75 while the frozen tundra rolled by....
The lakes are still in the process of freezing and had some open water in the center:
Soon enough, we were were nearing the TRSA and talking to Fargo approach. They vectored us for landing on the 9000ft RWY36. After doing some quick calculations, we declared it long enough for a safe landing in an RV at an OAT near 0degF (takeoff appeared doable as well). It looks like they do or did fly KC-135s out of Fargo - very nice airport. (Update - it was F-16 ANG base - no longer in service) That's downtown Fargo off the right wing.
The great people at Fargo Jet Center took good care of us. I called up on Friday to let them know what we were doing and they told us they were pet friendly and we were welcome. It is a beautiful independent FBO. They are working hard to become "the place" to quick turn corp jets going from Europe to Asia or the west coast. Like I said, good people - I hope they do really well. Here is my -9A and the SPII on the ramp.
Soon enough, Jersey and Wendy showed up for the exchange. Here are Wendy, Jersey, and me ready to brave the frozen ramp.
Bernie helps load Jersey up!
One last Goodbye.....
More of the same on the way home, but get this - we had 10kt tail wind at 5500 on the way home, too. Karma is a good thing!!!
Here is a video of the arrival:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwdb_ueAdas
APRS tracking nicely over some remote areas - this has been a great tool for coordinating the rescue trips.
Google maps says the trip from St Paul to Fargo is about 4hrs by car. We made it there, picked up the dog, and made it back in less time than that. It was a wee bit more fun, too!!
Last edited: