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henrysamson
09-12-2020, 09:50 AM
Hi,

Flying my model iv from Texas to Minneapolis tomorrow. Planning on landing at Crystal Airport (KMIC).
Any info on my plans appreciated!

Henry

DesertFox4
09-12-2020, 08:16 PM
Henry, where in Texas do you reside?

henrysamson
09-13-2020, 03:04 AM
Henry, where in Texas do you reside?

Austin. I keep my plane at Taylor.

DesertFox4
09-13-2020, 10:26 AM
Was curious where in Texas you were starting in. Most of my usual stops would be further west of your likely track.
Safe trip.

henrysamson
09-14-2020, 08:33 AM
I departed Denton yesterday morning at 7:00 AM and landed in Minneapolis (KMIC) about 5:00 PM. A busy little airport. I made two fuel stops. El Dorado Kansas and Denison Iowa. Nice weather except for a headwind of about 10 mph. About nine hours in the air. So far a nice experience at KMIC.

My first cross country using my newly installed autopilot. Worked great and was nice to have when I needed time to concentrate on navigation or dealing with ATC. But, I mostly flew without it. Much more fun!

Henry

DesertFox4
09-14-2020, 06:48 PM
Glad you had a good flight Henry. Are you going fishing while in Minnesota Henry?
I’ve flown from Phoenix to S. Minnesota several times. Usually in one day with 10 hours in the seat.
Never landed at Crystal. Looks like a nice field though.

avidflyer
09-14-2020, 07:57 PM
Real nice Henry. What engine are you running in the Kitfox, and what were your cruise speeds and such. I think my very first Avid Flyer is now hangared at Crystal apt. I live up in northern Mn. JImChuk

henrysamson
09-17-2020, 07:26 AM
I flew back yesterday from Minneapolis to Austin. KMIC was great. The longest of four runways (although they are getting rid of one parallel) is 3200 feet so they are definitely oriented towards our kind of flying. In fact, one of them is turf. The tower controllers were very friendly and helpful which is nice when you're unfamiliar with the airport. The fuel was a little pricey but not too bad. There are free tie downs beside the tower but bring your own ropes and there are no tail tie downs. But, the tail was at the edge of the pavement so I just hammered one of my fly ties in the grassy area behind my tail and tied it down that way. The entire airport is surrounded by an older residential area and there are tons of hangars of various (mostly old) ages. Looks like no one ties down long term in that climate. I highly recommend the airport.


25612
Parked at KMIC


The straight line distance was 1025 SM. I made two fuel stops and my legs were 3.7, 3.7 and 2.0 hours. Engine running time, so flight time was slightly less. I had a tailwind the entire way. Just out of KMIC it was 48 MPH at about 1500 feet AGL but very smooth. I think it averaged about 16 mph for the trip. I had just installed a Dynon SV32 servo for my roll axis. My Dynon D10A is coupled to an iFly GPS. Made for a much more pleasant and safer flight. When ducking under the Bravo airspace in Minneapolis I just let the autopilot fly a path around the lower tiers and some Delta airspace by letting it fly the route I had in my iFly GPS. I just nudged the stick a bit in pitch to control altitude. I was always within a couple of hundred feet of the GPS route when I checked the cross track error on the screen. I could keep my eyes outside, There was A LOT of traffic under the Bravo. Both in my ADS-B fed into my GPS and then being called out by the tower for sequencing for landing. I left before 8:00 yesterday so the tower was closed and it was pretty quiet. I added three more states to the list of where I have landed my plane; Minnesota, Kansas, and Iowa. Flew over two that I have never landed in; Oklahoma and Nebraska.


Real nice Henry. What engine are you running in the itfox, and what were your cruise speeds and such. I think my very first Avid Flyer is now hangared at Crystal apt. I live up in northern Mn. JImChuk

I have a Rotax 912 ULS with a three bladed Warp Drive prop. At 5200 RPM I cruise at 107 mph (up from 104 after doing some cleanup!). I burn 5.4-5.6 gallons per hour but flight plan 5.8. I always plan to land with an hour of fuel remaining and so the 3.7 hour legs were close to my limit. I always cruise at that higher setting as I use 100LL and the higher temperatures are supposed to help with lead buildup. I have older tanks that can't tolerate ethanol. I use Evans coolant for the same reason (higher temps) and Decalin is added to the fuel. So, my CHT and oil temps were right about 200 and 200 in 70 degree air during this trip.

Henry

DesertFox4
09-17-2020, 09:43 AM
Sounds like a nice trip Henry. Love the tail winds. Sounds like you have your Kitfox set up perfect for cross country adventures.

avidflyer
09-17-2020, 10:46 AM
Very nice. Thanks for the added info. JImChuk