Great day for a fly-out

[Matthew]

Our FBO sponsored a fly-out to Hutchinson, KS (KHUT) from KOJC. The plan was to leave at 7:30A, get there around 9A, then spend the day at the Cosmosphere. This is the 2nd time I've been to that museum, it's great.

We had a big breakfast at the FBO, then headed out. I was paired up with a CFI and his student. I flew the leg down there, the student flew back.

We had a pretty good train working, and we all got FF. The Center controllers kept asking what was going on in Hutch. I wanted to say "Half-price wings at Hooters!", but I didn't.

It was pretty entertaining, though, when an advisory was given for opposite direction traffic to the first plane in line, then repeated for all the rest in order. I don't know that controller, but the CFIs that were flying with the group did - she got her PP training from them.

We tried to stagger our arrivals by taking different routes and staggering departure times, but the winds aloft really goofed that up. The shorter route ended up with a bit more headwind than the longer route (can't firue out how that happened), so pretty much all 10 planes got to KHUT at the same time. I think that tower controller probably dropped his egg mcmuffin when we hit him all at once. There was also a 2nd group, not with us, that arrived with their 5 planes the same time we did. I don't think that controller is quite ready for Oshkosh yet, but he got a lot of good training today.

Today was a good day.

 

[Matthew]

Finally managed to get the pictures:

Me at the airport (it was cold and windy)
The museum is easy to find
The SR-71 in the lobby
A captured V2
A lunar module and rover that were used to training during the Apollo program

 

[Matthew]

And a couple more:

Liberty Bell 7, restored after sitting on the bottom of the ocean

Apollo 13 command module (they have enough spare parts at the museum that they built up an exact interior of the command and lunar modules to use as sets for the movie "Apollo 13") but this is the real thing.

On the way back:
Flying over Hesston, KS - they got pounded by a huge tornado in 1990

And the Flint Hills (yeah, I know - where are the hills?)

 

[flyer]

Cool. I was thinking about flying the 172 somewhere today, but it was a bit windy. I havent been to Hutch in years.

 

[Matthew]

It's the first time I've been to the airport - I've heard a lot of good things about the on-field steak house. I looked in there before we left just to check it out. They have a nice, fully stocked bar. Just the thing every pilot needs to calm his nerves before a flight.