Passion for Flight

Cathedral Rock of Red Rock State Park It is 6 am at the Grants, NM, airport. The sun is  still hidden east behind the Sandia Mountains. My friend Manfried  from Epernay, France, and I are ready for the main event of this trip with our Zenith HDS 601, N314LB:  The westbound leg  from Grants to Prescott, AZ, via Gallup, Winslow, and Sedona. During the takeoff run, acceleration of the plane at gross weight and 8,500 ft density altitude is impressive. Using much less than half of the runway, the plane leaps into the air and begins a solid climb. This performance is due to the new Sensenich propeller, which  efficiently uses an engine output reduced to 50 hp due to altitude and  temperature. As we pass through 1,000 ft AGL, the sun appears behind us over the horizon and illuminates ahead of us colorful sandstone formations, forests, and hills. We level off at 8,500 ft MSL, which translates to 2,000 ft AGL, our goal for the first part of the leg. Below ...

Windmills southwest of Childress, TX There is no tra ffi c at the small airport in the Texas Panhandle. That’s good, since there is no time to spare for flying the tra ffi c pattern. I bank the Zenith CH601 HDS, N314LB, line up for short final, manage a rather smooth touchdown, turn o ff midfield for the single taxiway, shut down the engine, jump out of the plane, and, right then and there in the tall weeds, find RELIEF.  The adult human body on average consists of 57% water. It seems that more than half of that liquid is now fertilizing the grass. Feeling more relaxed again, it’s time to look for gas for the plane. There are some old hangars, a few rusting hulks of cars in the weeds, and a camper with a pickup truck. Not very promising.  I knock at the door of the camper. After a while, the door cracks open. A man slips out, wearing pants and nothing else. I think, "Probably got him out of bed," and say, "Sorry to bother you." He smiles and responds,...