Msp --> Fcm

[ejensen]

What's the best way to get from MSP to FCM? Taxi?

My Mooney is at Willmar Aviation for a tank re-seal and a few other minor squaks. I had to rebook and the best flight I could get arrives at MSP at 18:55 local. Willmar will move the plane to Elliott Aviation at Flying Cloud. If the WX is good, I may leave Saturday night for Fort Collins, CO. Otherwise will stay close to FCM and leave Sunday am. Any suggestions or advice much appreciated.

Eric

PS: So far Willmar Aviation seems like a class act.

 

[tonycondon]

call jesse, he will fly to MSP and drop you off in FCM. presto!

 

[bbchien]

PS: So far Willmar Aviation seems like a class act.

They are. But they couldn't help me much with my turbobullet 201. It was just too overstressed.

Bruce Jaeger is VERY Very knowledgeable, plus he has stuff IN STOCK. He used to leave a pickup truck for me at MSP.... but the cab is not that much $$s.

 

[gismo]

What's the best way to get from MSP to FCM? Taxi?

My Mooney is at Willmar Aviation for a tank re-seal and a few other minor squaks. I had to rebook and the best flight I could get arrives at MSP at 18:55 local. Willmar will move the plane to Elliott Aviation at Flying Cloud. If the WX is good, I may leave Saturday night for Fort Collins, CO. Otherwise will stay close to FCM and leave Sunday am. Any suggestions or advice much appreciated.

Eric

PS: So far Willmar Aviation seems like a class act.

No problem, I'll just get the keys for your Mooney from Elliot and fly it over to KMSP to pick you up. It's been quite a few years since I landed a Mooney but there's a pretty good chance I can get it on the ground in one relatively unbent piece.

Taxi is the only option public transport wise. If Jesse can't get you from MSP to FCM, I probably can. My cell # is 612 867-4102. I assume your arrival is Saturday evening, right?

 

[flyingcheesehead]

PS: So far Willmar Aviation seems like a class act.

Wish I could say the same. It took them 6 1/2 weeks just to pull our engine off after the prop strike. That includes having them tell us it would be done on a specific day, then bumping it back three spots in line and another week.

At least it was during the highest-revenue part of the year.

The incident happened on July 14th, and we still don't have the plane back.

 

[SkyHog]

FCM is flying cloud, if I'm not mistaken. I had to do that exact trip about 2 months ago. There is a bus that will take you there, for MUCH less than a Taxi.

Go by the front doors at MSP and take the underground tunnel to the other side. The first bus depot you come across goes there for like $15, if I remember correctly. Its a van, really, not a bus.

Very convienient.

 

[ejensen]

Wish I could say the same. It took them 6 1/2 weeks just to pull our engine off after the prop strike. That includes having them tell us it would be done on a specific day, then bumping it back three spots in line and another week.

At least it was during the highest-revenue part of the year.

The incident happened on July 14th, and we still don't have the plane back.

That sounds like a different outfit. Night and day difference. Haven't seen the plane yet but so far everything is on schedule. Tank is resealed and they were finishing the cowl closure yesterday.

Yours must have been one of the plane they towed down the highway to the new airport. Guess it was quite a parade.

 

[ejensen]

No problem, I'll just get the keys for your Mooney from Elliot and fly it over to KMSP to pick you up. It's been quite a few years since I landed a Mooney but there's a pretty good chance I can get it on the ground in one relatively unbent piece.

Taxi is the only option public transport wise. If Jesse can't get you from MSP to FCM, I probably can. My cell # is 612 867-4102. I assume your arrival is Saturday evening, right?

I'm sure you could land it, the keys will be under the mat. They would leave it at Signature but they say the saving in fees (landing, ramp, tie-down) will more than pay for the transportation.

Yes, my flight is Frontier, arriving at 18:55 local. I had to re-book so couldn't get Friday or earlier Saturday.

Nick seems to have the shuttle figured out. Thanks for the number, if I decide to spend the night, I'll give you a call. Maybe we can meet up for a drink or something. Nice to have local contact if things go south.

 

[jesse]

Nick seems to have the shuttle figured out. Thanks for the number, if I decide to spend the night, I'll give you a call. Maybe we can meet up for a drink or something. Nice to have local contact if things go south.

If you don't want to take the shuttle give me a call: 507-202-2795

 

[flyingcheesehead]

That sounds like a different outfit. Night and day difference. Haven't seen the plane yet but so far everything is on schedule. Tank is resealed and they were finishing the cowl closure yesterday.

Hmmm. Does the place you went do all kinds of mx too, or just Mooneys?

Yours must have been one of the plane they towed down the highway to the new airport. Guess it was quite a parade.

Yes, it was. Sept. 5th. I kind of wanted to go take pictures of it... Our engineless bird being towed down the road. How weird.

Actually, we believe the upcoming transition to the new airport was a contributing factor in the accident...

 

[ejensen]

Hmmm. Does the place you went do all kinds of mx too, or just Mooneys?

AFAIK they are the only game at the airport. They have all three of the new big hangers. I probably walked by your plane several times. The tank shop is in the far hangar. The 201 they used to fly me to MSP was in the storage hanger with the engine-less birds. They specialize in Mooneys and now Columbias (Lancair).

Met another pilot there who came in the same day I did, 9/17 for an annual. He flew home late on the 19th.

Yes, it was. Sept. 5th. I kind of wanted to go take pictures of it... Our engineless bird being towed down the road. How weird.

Actually, we believe the upcoming transition to the new airport was a contributing factor in the accident...

Interesting, how so? They sure are close together from the air.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

AFAIK they are the only game at the airport. They have all three of the new big hangers. I probably walked by your plane several times.

That's them, then. Willmar Air Service I think is the name I've seen receipts from. You probably did walk by the plane, it's one of the engineless wonders. N8483F, white Archer with red and black trim.

Interesting, how so? They sure are close together from the air.

Skimping on maintenance money for the old airport. Many lights were out, including the beacon, some taxiway lights, and the runway sign that the prop hit. The taxiway lights that were out created the illusion that the taxiway was at a different angle, right towards the runway sign... The pilot went out the next day with the airport manager and verified which ones were out and gave us a pic of them.

 

[ejensen]

Skimping on maintenance money for the old airport. Many lights were out, including the beacon, some taxiway lights, and the runway sign that the prop hit. The taxiway lights that were out created the illusion that the taxiway was at a different angle, right towards the runway sign... The pilot went out the next day with the airport manager and verified which ones were out and gave us a pic of them.

I asked why they built a new airport. The maintenance chief told me there was so much wrong at the old airport it was cheaper to start over. City owns the airport

Just got a call, 234MP is waiting for me at Flying Cloud. Wish I could leave now.

 

[jesse]

Which airport were they at formally? I haven't had an issue with any of the airports in this area myself...

 

[ejensen]

Which airport were they at formally? I haven't had an issue with any of the airports in this area myself...

They were at ILL, Willmar. New airport is BDL, Willmar, two miles west. Got a new designator because they didn't want to be KILL. Or so the story went. Switch over started the 1st week in September. FSS still finds ILL easier than BDL.

 

[ejensen]

Made it back.

Trip from DEN->MSP went fine. You DO NOT need two hours on Saturday afternoon at DEN I think it took all of 15 minutes from curb to gate.

I decided not to try to figure out the bus system in the dark so grabbed a cab. ($38 +tip). Halfway there, I missed a call from Lance. He way coming to pick me up, hould have known. He diverted to Flying Cloud and we arrived about the same time. He had printed out some weather and flight plan for me so after a quick look at the Mooney we went to get a bit to eat and look it over. Walleye sandwiches, I'd do fast food more often if we had those on the menu. Weather was good so we talked mostly about other flying stuff.

On the way back stopped at his hangers to check out the Baron and Porterfield. Both very nice planes. One for fun and one for traveling.

I left FCM at 0205Z and landed at 3V5 at 0630Z. 15-20 knots headwinds the whole way but smooth and clear. Bright half-moon, it was a beatiful night to fly. Had FF the whole way but they lost me on radar three times for awhile (8500').

Lance, I never did go up looking for those northerly winds.

 

[SkyHog]

Wow - you made much better time than I did. It took me near 6 hours to do FCM to 3V5 in my Cherokee.

I gotta get a Mooney.

 

[ejensen]

Wow - you made much better time than I did. It took me near 6 hours to do FCM to 3V5 in my Cherokee.

I gotta get a Mooney.

Where'd you stop?

 

[gismo]

Made it back.
I left FCM at 0205Z and landed at 3V5 at 0630Z. 15-20 knots headwinds the whole way but smooth and clear. Bright half-moon, it was a beatiful night to fly. Had FF the whole way but they lost me on radar three times for awhile (8500').

Well I think that was your prediction (12:30 MDT). Glad the flight went OK. Do you think the new cowl added a few knots?

Lance, I never did go up looking for those northerly winds.

Sometimes you just gotta give it a shot. Once when headed west over SD I was trying to stay as low as ATC would let me because of 25-40 Kt headwinds (forecast and observed). Eventually I had to climb to 8000 and was rather surprised to find that I actually had a tailwind for about 100 miles at that altitude.

 

[ejensen]

Well I think that was your prediction (12:30 MDT). Glad the flight went OK. Do you think the new cowl added a few knots?



Sometimes you just gotta give it a shot. Once when headed west over SD I was trying to stay as low as ATC would let me because of 25-40 Kt headwinds (forecast and observed). Eventually I had to climb to 8000 and was rather surprised to find that I actually had a tailwind for about 100 miles at that altitude.

The cowl closure mod sure evened out the temps. CHTs were a lot closer than before. And I'm pretty sure the oil stays cooler. Used to be the limiting temp. Last night the CHTs were creeping toward 400 and the oil was hanging in under 210.

Have to try some speed runs to see if the promised knots materialize.

Yeah, time pretty much matched the DUATS flight plan.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

They were at ILL, Willmar. New airport is BDL, Willmar, two miles west. Got a new designator because they didn't want to be KILL. Or so the story went. Switch over started the 1st week in September. FSS still finds ILL easier than BDL.

Are they both still open???

 

[ejensen]

Are they both still open???

No although the old one still looks intact. One closed the same day the other closed. VOR was OTS but the AWOS was up on that freq. Suppose to be a VOR and GPS approach soon. Was still VFR only last week.

 

[SkyHog]

Where'd you stop?

Missed this. LOL - I stopped twice actually, at KRAP and KCYS, but....if I hadn't stopped, it would have taken 6 hours....and more fuel than I can carry

 

[gismo]

if I hadn't stopped, it would have taken 6 hours....and more fuel than I can carry

If you ran out of fuel it probably would have taken considerably longer than 6 hours to get home.

 

[gismo]

No although the old one still looks intact. One closed the same day the other closed.

I'll bet you meant one closed the same day the other opened.

 

[ejensen]

I'll bet you meant one closed the same day the other opened.

You betcha.

Actually, it was a couple day gap. I still have the NOTAMs on my kneeboard. BDH AP CMSND 09/005 ILL AP CLSD PERM 09/009