Mississippi River Tour

Brad Oastler · « **on:** April 01, 2013, 10:20:02 AM »

Throwing this out there to see if there's any interest- I'm planning on doing the "Great Mississippi River Tour" in my little Mooney. Should be roughly 1300-1400 miles of flying, and about ten to fifteen hours of flight time.

The goal is to go VFR from the very headwaters of the Mighty Mississipp' down to the Gulf. The first leg will begin at KPKD Park Rapids, where Lake Itasca is just a few minutes north, and marks the official start of the River. From there up over Bemidji, down over Grand Rapids (MN), Brainerd, Little Falls, St Cloud, through the Class Bravo at KMSP, and then along the widening stream the rest of the way.

Tentative stops are all right along the shores, but include La Crosse, Moline, Saint Louis (barbeque and blues), Cairo, Tunica (gambling!), and the Big Easy (general debauchery).

Goal is to finish in the next three weeks, as my schedule gets busy again at that point, and I'll have less daylight available for VFR. In any case, if anyone would like to join reply or email me b o a s t l e r [ a t ] g m a i l [ d o t ] c o m (no spaces, obviously) and let's take a trip.

EDIT: I am in NY, so I was planning on the flights being in the early evening EDT, though I have some flexibility, and some availability on weekends.

Tom Seeley · « **Reply #1 on:** April 03, 2013, 04:31:50 PM »

Sounds like a lot of fun. Might like to join you for a leg or two.

Brad Oastler · « **Reply #2 on:** April 05, 2013, 08:39:01 AM »

That would be great. I am thinking 3pm on Sunday could be a good start time, there are a couple guys from UPSVAC who may join in. First leg, if it's not too long, is about 2.5 hours at 140 knots. I guess that's a bit fast for most cessnas, but I'm staring down the fact that I have two weeks to do this trip if I want to do it in daylight and actually "see" the river.

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=kpkd-kbji-KGP...=140&SU=kts

And sorry for the surface at KPKD, have you ever seen anything that looks like this:
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=kpkd,+MN&...kd,+MN&z=18

We can shorten this or change TOT if need be.

KLSE has freeware scenery available from the usual sources....

Tom Seeley · « **Reply #3 on:** April 05, 2013, 02:44:50 PM »

Yeah I've actually flown in and out of airports that looked like that RW.
I may not make it Sunday, got a conflict, but if you post your progress, it would make joining you later possible.

Brad Oastler · « **Reply #4 on:** April 08, 2013, 09:14:01 AM »

Tom, sorry we missed you. I was out of town until Sunday after I posted that so I didnt see your reply or I would have put the brakes on until today to start.

Nevertheless, yesterday's flight was fantastic. Had atc, traffic diversions, and some gorgeous scenery. We started at an elevation of 1444 feet, and are already down more than half to about 690, as we prepare to breach Minnesota's southern border.

The next leg is from La Crosse to Moline. A little over an hour at 140 knots, but if you really follow the river, it's probably an hour and a half or so.

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=klse-kpdc-ksf...=140&SU=kts

Currently the weather out in that neck of the woods is poor and/or convective, though it should lighten up by this afternoon. Consequently, I propose a 1830EDT/2230Z start, which would have us landing during dusk (and well in advance of the start of the NCAA championship game).

Let me know if that works or doesnt as we can delay this leg a day if need be.

Tom Seeley · « **Reply #5 on:** April 08, 2013, 08:47:23 PM »

Thanks for the consideration. I'm afraid you'll have to leave me out for now, since I will be away from home for the next 10 days. If you're still engaged in the tour after that, I'll be happy to join you.

Brad Oastler · « **Reply #6 on:** April 09, 2013, 08:49:27 AM »

Sorry I'll be missing you Tom. I am going to have to finish up by then since starting the 22nd, I lose a good chunk of my free time in the early evenings.

I'll be sure to post if I have another great idea for some GA/VFR flights

Kris Kendrick · « **Reply #7 on:** April 12, 2013, 03:21:17 PM »

Brad,

This looks like a lot of fun. I will try to keep track of your process on this forum and even see if join in on a leg as well. Shoot me an email when your route brings you into the Memphis ARTCC. I will inform our controllers so that we can provide ATC services.

datm [at] vzmeartcc . org (no spaces)

Brad Oastler · « **Reply #8 on:** April 15, 2013, 11:56:18 AM »

Kris & company,
Today we'll be departing KCPS St Louis Downtown and heading to KCIR Cairo (always wanted to stop there just because I know it's pronounced cay-ro, surely the locals would appreciate that?).

While there is a faint chance we could push on tonight (Monday) to MEM, I am disinclined to think that will happen due to a lack of daylight.

So, Tuesday looks to be the day we'll head from KCIR to KMEM (M01 is probably the most realistic destination, but we'll head in to KMEM to provide some action). And then Weds we'll head out again to Vicksburg or maybe KJAN. After that it's on down to BTR or NEW. All weather permitting of course (tuesday may be a no-go due to a front).

My goal is to get online between 1830 and 1845 eastern (2230-2245z) to take advantage of the daylight remaining (about two hours each day). So, Tuesday we will probably arrive in Memphis around 2000 eastern/0000z. When we leave again I know it's 1730 local time so not everyone is home from work/school, so no worries.

Only two of us have been making the flights so far, so I can't promise a big line of a/c coming in. Tell all your friends though, I'd love some more company. I've been using a combination of wikipedia and http://www.johnweeks.com/river_mississippi/ for sightseeing info and historical facts, some really neat stuff to read about.

Brad Oastler · « **Reply #9 on:** April 18, 2013, 08:30:29 AM »

Almost there!

Last leg will be KVKS-KNEW, which I'm putting off till Saturday morning to make sure I can do the whole leg in daylight. It looks like this (without actually stopping):

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=kvks-khez-ls3...=140&SU=kts

Planning on leaving at around 830 am eastern, but I will delay if anyone wishes to join and that's too early.