So Friday evening  Aaron texted me and asked if I wanted to do breakfast at KJXN (Jackson Michigan) It is about halfway between our respective AO. Since I wasn’t doing anything important Saturday morning, I said yes.

A quick check of the upcoming weather at both places and the decision was made. Meet at The Apron at 10 ET.

Left the house the next morning  at 7:30 (CT)…..got a 1-800-WX-BRIEF briefing on the way for both the flight up and the flight back.

Pulled the plane out of the hangar, did a short preflight (I had done one two days before, so really just needed to check the tires and the fuel (for water) and filed for the flight. 9000 feet to KJXN, flight time about 45 minutes.

Got the email acknowledgement (As Filed) while I was pulling the plane out, closed the hangar door, started the right engine, then the left. Checked the ASOS while the engine oil was warming and then taxiied to the end of the runway. Called Clearance, got my clearance… was told “Hold for release”….and I held. And held. And held….Aaaand I held… Finally I was about to call and tell Clearance that I would depart VFR and pick up the IFR on the way, but they FINALLY called and released me just as I was reaching for the mic switch. I think I got caught up in a shift change.

Took off, turned on course, called Departure, got cleared to climb…and began a slow cruise climb (500FPM at about 150 knots) first cleared to 3000 Ft, then 6000 Ft, then told “Climb and maintain 9000 ft”,,,which I proceeded to do.

The view was spectacular!

Settled into a nice trimmed out cruise at 9000 ft and enjoyed a nice tailwind.

You can’t read it, but that is an airspeed of 199 knots and a groundspeed of 208 in level flight.

As I was descending into KJXN’s airspace, I heard Aaron calling ATC and ask for a practice RNAV approach. Our timing was good.

As I was flying the faster airplane, I beat him to the class D and was transferred to the KJXN tower, who asked me to enter a left downwind for Rwy 25, and then asked me to make a tight approach for the traffic entering the pattern from the south….He was trying to merge airplanes entering the pattern from three or 4 directions and was doing a great job but needed a bit of help so I agreed to the tight approach……..which was challenging because I was moving at about 160 knots and the 340 doesn’t slow down easily, especially when descending.  (I really need to get some Speed Brakes) But I handled it, did a halfway decent one mile base entry and just continued the turn down into a final, all while descending. (Power to near idle, put the props at full bite so they create drag, get to flaps speed, dump the flaps to 20 degrees, get to gear speed, drop the gear, add power to compensate for drag to keep the altitude right, get down to the speed for the second notch of flaps, make sure you are on the glide slope, pitch for 75 knots over the numbers, add a bit of power, ease down land on the 1000 ft markers…..Challenging, but fun to do. Ended up with a pretty good landing, considering that it wasn’t a 5 mile approach or a normal pattern spacing.

Rolled out, made the turn, was directed to parking and parked as per the marshaller. I do want to say that the tower and ground controllers at KJXN are some of the nicest folks that I have ever worked with at any airport….and I have been to a fair number of airports. They are just cheerful and nice folks.

Parked, arranged for fuel (It was a dollar cheaper than I pay at home, so I topped up) and watched Aaron do his final approach…He did a pretty decent landing and taxiied up and parked.

We went in and ate, and talked. The service was great, the food was good, and I never had my coffee cup get below half. (I drink a LOT of coffee, so it can be a challenge for a waitress to keep me supplied). We both had the Pilots omelet:  Ham, bacon, sausage, onion, peppers, cheese. …..Hasbrowns and toast. The waitress asked if I wanted my omelete topped with sausage gravy…I said “Duh!”

We talked, and ate and talked some more, as friends who don’t see each other often will do…

After way too short a time, I had to leave as there was weather coming from the west, with the possibility of storms, so I paid my fuel bill, preflighted, filed a flight plan, called ground and departed. Aaron departed first, while I was doing my runup.

The flight back was bumpy….and slow, as my tailwind turned into a 50+ knot headwind. I tried asking to move from 10000 to 8000 ft, but that made no difference. Even 6000 feet was a 50 knot headwind.

ATC was very accommodating, giving me the different altitudes when I requested, but I ended up back at 10,000 feet so I could save fuel, if not time.

The view was nearly as nice going back:

But the damned winds were killing my groundspeed:

Yeah, that’s a 198 knot airspeed and 148 knot groundspeed.

Did a practice RNAV into the airport, Why is it that when you do a perfect landing there is no one in the plane to see it? I mean, 10 knot, 20 degree crosswind, but yet a gentle touchdown, no bumps, no chirp, just a rumble…one-two-three….and no one to witness it.

I ended up using almost 10 gallons more fuel going back than I did going up.

And that’s how I spent a part of my Saturday. ‘Twas good day.

Now, after firing him, charge him with murder.

After all, if you or I had done what the cop did, WE would be charged.

Of if we had shot a cop simply because he had a gun in his hand, perceiving a threat ..,, We’d be lucky the other cops didn’t shoot us then or later (or fall down the stairs several times in the jail).

This won’t ever be right, but it will be less wrong when the cop does jail time for murder.

What kind of person finds a pistol in their man’s possessions and just goes out and tosses it in a DUMPSTER?

Something about the Biden family (and in this case I’m not talking about Joe, but rather his kid and all the women attached to him) is just plain off.

So the other day, I went to take a look at another airplane It was a fair number of miles there and back: 385 in the 340, then 98 in an MU-2 short body, then about 60 miles as a test flight in another MU-2 (only this one a long body).., then another 92 back then 385 back home… All in one day.

Drove to KGYY where the 340A was parked, preflighted the plane, and filed a flight plan to KSRB at 17,000 feet direct (fastest route and altitude based on the wind forecast) Got the routing I requested and left a bit after 8:30 Central (1330Z)

Climbed out at about 140 knots/800 FPM and leveled off at 17K with a nice 25 knot tailwind. Made my groundspeed about 225 knots at about 67% power:

I cruised over Central Indiana quickly….Passed over a LOT of farmland

and then over Indianapolis Indiana (KIND)

And about a half hour later began the descent to Sparta, Tn…… my destination. Sorry, no pictures. It was just hazy enough that the photos didn’t turn out.

I wanted to look at the long-body, Mitsubishi MU-2, but was directed to meet at Sparta, Tn (Upper Cumberland Regional (KSRB))…but the long-body MU-2 wasn’t there, so we took a short-body MU-2 that the dealer wanted me to try out from Sparta to Dickson, TN (M-02). Up and over the class C airspace around Nashville. Kinda nice climbing out at 2500 FPM at an airspeed of 160 knots. The descent is nearly as nice, you can lose altitude at over 2000 FPM and not gain airspeed.

Of course, this comes at a price. to fly at those power levels you burn more fuel….lots more. L:ike double what the 340 burns. (increase the speed/performance by 50%, double the fuel burn, is pretty much a constant in the airplane world). Still, being able to carry a full compliment of passengers (the short-body is 7 passengers, the longer body is 10 plus pilot with a couch and a potty) at a cruise speed of up to 310 knots and full fuel is a lot of performance…so is the 1100 mile range. It isn’t Jet performance, but it is a LOT more than I have now.

I’m probably not gonna buy the airplane that I went and looked at, but I am looking hard. I mean, right now, I own a perfectly good airplane, so I can afford to be picky. Faster, higher and better performance is an addictive thing though.

As it is, I can fly over a thousand miles and still be home the same day…..

Coming back it was pretty cloudy at times, the afternoon heat making for some buildups that never quite turned into storms.

Plus, of course, that tailwind on the way out was a headwind coming back, so it took a bit longer getting home…

I am of the belief that any day you can fly, or shoot, or go camping is a Good Day.

This was one of them.

It got hot in the Southwest!

July weather in June!

Must be Klimat Change.

You should pay more to billionaires and governments so that the temps will go down. Somehow that last statement is supposed to make sense.

The hype at the TV morning shown is kinda funny.

Imagine being in a boat, waiting to debark on a hostile beach, hearing the shells, the machine guns rattle, knowing that you were gonna be shot at, or have shells drop near you, you and your battle comrades expected to take heavy casualties.

Or being in a glider, having survived the takeoff and knowing you would be dropping in the dark into hostile territory, surrounded and on your own until you can link up with other units. Until then every other being out there will be an enemy except for the men in your glider.

Or in a DC-3 (R4D) hearing the engines drone as they pulled you ever closer to the point at which you will bail out and hope the parachute opens…and that you don’t get lost in the dark, and that you don’t break a leg (or worse) ,,,knowing that, again, every other soldier but those dropping with you will be hunting you, and that you only have the limited supplies until you can ling up with those folks from the beach landings for food, ammo and other supplies.

ETA: Old NFO points out in comments that I forgot the Navy. Lots of heroism those days.

That’s what those men had to think about on their journey to the invasion of France, near or on Normandy 80 years ago.

Big balls, they had.

She dared speak about DEI issues.

Sad, really. You’d think you would want only the best and brightest for the police force. But not so in Denver:

But more than that, and Biden’s executive order on border control then shuts down the border and any additional illegal crossers get tossed back over the border.

Odd, innit, 2500 per day is acceptable to the left, but more than than isn’t. 75 thousand illegals a month is ok with him and the DNC.

And let’s not forget, he claimed he couldn’t do even this much 2 years ago and blamed the Republicans for not funding or something that prevented this exact same sort of law…. When he had the executive power to stop the hundreds of thousands per month from getting into the country. He was lying then, and the Leftists and the Media are not pointing that out.

The lying here is horrendous, the worst part is that the media and his supporters are letting him get away with the lies, and they aren’t still upset that each day there are STILL 2500 people entering illegally that get temporary asylum (but are moved into the interior and never followed up on, so they become de-facto illegal immigrants anyway….)

Of course the election is coming near, so he’s gotta sorta try to look tough. But this is half-hearted at best.

Aaron of the Shekel needs to win himself a plane. He really wants to win the L-39 they are giving away at Liquiddeath.com. Like, he’d maybe not kill someone (maybe?) to win, but he would maim them…or at least cause a permanent injury.

And you can help him win:

All we need is proof of purchase of a can (or cans) of Liquid Death products. Each can is an entry. Simply a photo of your receipt.

I’ve tried the Liquid Death products and they aren’t bad. I like their plain canned “Artesian” water best, but others might like some of their flavored waters or their iced teas. The canned plain water should last forever in your preps if you are into prepping…..Just sayin’.

So here’s the deal: If you will buy a can or a case or an 8 pack or whatever, and email me a picture of the receipts, I will get them to Aaron and he can text those pictures to the contest and maybe win. There is a limit of 400 entries per person, so if each of my viewers buys one can each then we are about halfway there. Email receipts to me at TheMiddleoftheiright (at) Gmail (dot) com, or text it to my disposable cell phone number I set up at {2 one 9) – 2 six 5 – 3 wun 3 three, I will forward them to him and he can maybe win his jet. Worth a try.

You can find out where to buy Liquid Death products here. 

Wal-Mart carries it. Most liquor stores carry it too.

Aaron is a decent guy who has dealt with a lot this past year or so, and done so uncomplainingly. He loves to fly and he wants to win this jet, so please, help me help him win it.

Thanks in advance for this.

In fact, this is the 20th anniversary of the day he decided he had enough of overbearing and unfair cronyism government, and took action.  (note that this is Wikipedia, so it is biased, but the basic facts are more or less true)

He was the worst type of lawbreaker: A citizen who had simply had enough and decided to take action, not caring if he came out the other side intact or not. Can’t be stopped, can’t be negotiated with, can’t be coerced…Just revenge. The kind of person that strikes fear in the heart of police and governments

After many issues, and getting screwed over and over by the town government of Granby, Colorado, he decided to take action.

He bought a large bulldozer, spent weeks modifying it using sheets of steel to armor the engine, drivetrain, and the cab area:

On June 4th, 2004, He decided it was the time: he lowered the armor over the cab with a crane, with no way to remove it, trapping himself inside…..He had no plans to survive.

He then systematically began destroying certain properties in the town, each owned by some of the town councilmen , the police department and others with whom he had a grudge.

Eventually, he trapped himself and his dozer. in the rubble….and since he had no way out and no recourse, he shot himself.

I admire him, in some ways.

Hoist the flag, slit some throats and just take revenge. It’s a place I fear many of us will be soon. At some point, when people no longer give a shit, or have nothing to lose, they become the most dangerous. Mr. Heemyer reached that point.