So I had a friend who wanted to take his wife to Mackinac Island for her birthday.

See, the thing is that they have 7 children and getting overnight childcare can be difficult….and since it is a 7 1/2 hour travel time each way, that makes for trips such as that to be difficult, logistics wise.

So, instead, we flew…. 2 hours, according to Foreflight (actual was just a bit longer).

We left that morning,, the plane having been preflighted the evening before. Opened the hangar door, pulled the 340 out, put the tug away and closed the big hangar doors.

The forecast was for clear with a very high layer of clouds, so I didn’t file, but went VFR. He is also a pilot, albeit single engine, so he sat up front with me….and the other 4 sat in back and chatted. (Kinda felt sorry for the single dude in back with three ladies having to listen to them chatter, but them’s the breaks)

Took off, climbed out to 3500 ft  called for and got Flight Following and followed the lakeshore east for a bit due to traffic descending for arrival at Midway, then we turned north and climbed to 15.500 ft

Set the autopilot and just monitored the radios . First Chicago, approach, then South Bend, then Chicago Center above 10,000 ft,  then (oddly) Minneapolis Approach as we got farther north.

Pretty far out over the lake, but it is the shortest route (and I fly a twin for a reason). Saw some ore boats down below but didn’t get any good pictures. 3 miles high is beyond the cell phone zoom.

Soon we were descending into Pellston. Michigan.

I decided to stop there for a bit of fuel, as there is no fuel available at Mackinac Island airport (KMCD) and while the 340 has the range to get there and back, it is marginal, and because we would be returning back in the dark…and it is unneedful to go into my reserve for no reason. So we stopped in KPLN for a splash of fuel and a potty break for all.

Of course by the time the folks had cycled through the bathrooms, the engines had had time to heat soak and vaporize the fuel, so the startup was long and difficult, (Hot starts are a thing with Continental TSIO-520 engines) but I got the engines to fire and we taxiied out for the 7 minute flight to the island.

It actually was kind of difficult, that short flight. I had to take off, climb out, look for traffic, get the ATIS, decide on a runway, (Your choices are east or west) and get to the right height for the visual approach…all in like 6 minutes…I chose to do the approach from the west, as the winds were marginally better for that runway, but it was still a 14 knot crosswind.

I actually did a pretty good landing, all things considered. Plane was heavy, and with a CG well aft. so that made for somewhat sluggish performance….and a pretty strong crosswind until short final when the trees along the runway broke the wind from the south. But I got it down more or less on the centerline and rolled out to the end and stopped and then we parked and paid the landing fee.

The walk from the airport to the downtown is all downhill. Lots of downhill…… did I mention it was downhill? But soon enough we were on the road where all the shops were,

We passed the Grand Hotel on the way down. What a magnificent building.

It is said that it has the longest front porch in the world.

Soon enough (after more downhill) we were on the road where all the shops and restaurants are…so the ladies had a blast shopping for souvenirs, fudge, candies, t-shirts, and all the other tourist stuff.

We ate an early dinner and then called for a cab…a horse drawn carriage. After waiting for about 40 minutes, it showed up and we piled aboard for the long trip back uphill to the airport.

We stopped alongside the road leading past the Grand Hotel for a photo of the sunset

and then rode in the ever darkening twilight until we got to the airport.

A quick check of the oil by flashlight , and a preflight, and a check the of the controls, pulled the chocks and the Pitot tube cover, and I fired up the right engine, then the left one and we taxiied out in the dark to runway 08. A short runup and we were ready. The departure is out over the water, and is not a good idea for a VFR pilot to do as there are no lights for reference to the ground….It is pretty much like an IFR departure in the dark there. .

Turned south and climbed to 16,500 ft,  first talking to Minneapolis, then Chicago Center above 10,000 ft (several different frequencies) and then I began a descent towards home….Then South Bend approach and finally Chicago Approach.

The sky above Michigan was clear and the lights of the cites below were very pretty:

The engine were smooth and constant, cruising at about 212 knots at altitude. One of the passengers noticed the glow from the exhaust and turbocharger and commented on it. It can be a concern for people who don’t realize how hot exhaust pipes can get, be it a plane or a car:

As we crossed over from land to water, the moon lit the way:

The descent to home was smooth and before long I called “Field in sight, cancel Flight Following” (Which was what Chicago was waiting for as they can’t wait to get rid of low level folks as soon as they can) and we made straight in and landed. taxiied the long way back to cool the turbos, and pulled up to the hangar, opened the doors nd pushed the plane back in with the tug.

Times: 2.1, 0.2, 2.4 and 3 landings, one of them a nighttime landing.

A good time was had by all. 129 gallons for 4.6 hours of flight

The plane is just a way to get places faster, a Time Machine if you will….. But without it Dora wouldn’t have been able to go to see Mackinac Island for her birthday.