After Punxsutawney Phil said winter is over, we pulled the Piper Warrior out of the hanger and went flying. With Doctor John at the controls, I struggle to zoom in on traffic landing Runway 2 Right as we launch down Runway 2 Left. With a crosswind coming from the starboard side, we draw slightly left of center after rotation. It is a great day to fly.
Our original plan was to hurtle into Lewis University Airport for touch and goes. However, at noon there were eight aircraft in their traffic pattern. This seemed like madness, so we crafted a small crosscountry adventure.
Departing westward off of Runway 2 Left, the control tower redirected us northward once we were 2miles northwest of the airport.
“N38968, turn northbound to avoid inbound IFR traffic, “. said the tower controller.
Then the tower adjusted his instructions.
“N38968, proceed to the bend in the river, then proceed on course westbound,” he stated.
Our plan was to fly to DeKalb Airport, the Whiteside Airport and then Rochelle, before returning to DuPage County Airport. This flight would all count as cross country hours for the benefit of that experience. Insurance companies love to see that you have cross country experience.
At the time that we arrived at the bend in the (Fox) river, our path to DeKalb was blocked by two aircraft doing aerial maneuvers west of DuPage Airports airspace at our altitude. Because the top of the gaze layer was at 3,000 feet, we did not want to descend back into the gloomy air. Because we were only 600 feet below the OHare class Bravo airspace and pretty close to DeKalb, we really did not want to climb. So our only option was to detour westward until we avoided the two aircraft practicing stalls and turns.
We got them in sight, but we did not want to play games. Seeandavoid works best when you see…and avoid. You don’t get to 1,600 hours by playing cutesy.
When we approached DeKalb, we were pretty well set up for a 45degree intercept of the downwind from north of the airport. ForeFlight indicated that another aircraft was in the pattern doing a touchandgo. As we descended into the airport, we were forced down into the hazy air. We were angled at 45 degrees toward the downwind, when we sighted the other aircraft turning into an early crosswind. Because this was going to be our first landing of the day, we elected to veer south to enter the downwind behind the Cessna 172. We did not want someone breathing down our neck.
Although we were snug behind the Skyhawk on the downwind, we delayed our turn to the base leg to increase the space between us. This worked out well as our attention was focused on a smooth landing instead of worrying about the plane in front of us.
The landing went well on Runway 9. The winds were from the eastsoutheast, so the headwind slowed us to a reasonable touchdown speed.
On departure, the Cessna had said that he intended to turn northeastward. However, he angled eastsoutheastward. That worked fine for us as we eased into a left crosswind and downwind as we climbed out to 3,000 feet again for our leg the SterlingWhiteside County field.
Whiteside airport is just beyond Dixon Airport. Their traffic areas almost overlap. Overflying Dixon, we could see that no one was at that field. Surprising, considering that Lewis University was a total wasp nest of activity. Maybe not surprising, as the National weather service had called for low clouds all day. There were some low clouds northeast of our foray, but hazy conditions with clear skies was our experience.
Looking southwestward toward the descending sun, low on the February horizon, was looking into the gloomy haze. We could not see Whiteside Airport near the Rock River in Rock Falls until we were less than 8 miles away.
Like Dixon, Whiteside Airport was deserted. We did a touch and go and rocketed back to Rochelle. The airport boasts a fine restaurant. The grill is so popular that the airport weather transmission includes the restaurant operating hours.
We executed a practice RNAV Runway 7 approach into Rochelle. Although normally a hotbed for parachuting activity, no skydivers were present today.
We kissed Runway 7 and leapt skyward for our final segment back to DuPage County Airport. As the sun was now at our back, forward visibility doubled through the moist air. There was no sun reflecting off the misty air into our eyes.
Our landing on Runway 2 Left was uneventful and we taxied back to our hanger. Following a great flight, beers at the Spotted Fox Restaurant is mandatory. The warm pretzels and chips and dip were tasty.
Thank you for reading about our general aviation adventure. I hope to see you at the airport soon!