X-Country to Sauk-Prairie (91C)

Last weekend, I took a couple of friends on a long cross-country flight to Sauk-Prairie, WI (91C), just a few mile from the Wisconsin Dells, and near Madison, WI. Dan & I left on Friday afternoon, under a medium overcast (4500ft), and picked up Steve in Piqua along the way. We had a two-fold purpose to our trip: 1.) Dan & I were planning to visit a good friend of ours that had left the paradise of Coshocton for cheese curds and snowmobiles in WI. 2.) Steve, suffering from RV-6 withdrawals, had found the perfect Mooney M-20C in WI, and wanted to take a look at it before buying an RV-10 kit.

Because our intended route of flight took us right over the Chicago Class B airspace, during my flight planning, I had two options. 1.) Fly to Joliet, then vector north over Rockford or 2.) fly the VFR corridor under the Chicago Class B. Since Joliet looks like Indiana, which looks like Western OH, I opted for the much more scenic Lakeshore Drive tour. I was practically giddy with excitement about getting to see the Chicago skyline from 1500ft AGL!

We flew under a medium overcast pretty much the entire way across Ohio and Indiana on the way up. We considered climbing up through some holes to fly on top (probably 6000-7000ft), but since we would have to descent for the Chicago Class B and the air wasn't bad, we just stayed low. As we flew, I gave Steve the opportunity to explore the G1000 and all of the nifty-neato functions, and I told him "Feel free to play around!" Steve then promptly switched over to the fuel page and pressed the RST FUEL softkey on the G1000, setting our fuel quantity to 0.0gals. AHHHHH!!!!!! Nothing like flying for another 2 hours with unknown fuel in the tanks! Fortunately, I had been tracking fuel consumption and flight time independently of the G1000, and had just checked the fuel consumption 5 minutes prior. So, it wasn't too big of a stretch to simply add the fuel back on board, plus I had planned my trip to use about 35 gals at a rate of 9.5gal/hr, so I knew that I was okay. This taught me the value of performing independent flight planning and monitoring, and not relying 100% on the G1000.

Well, as we neared Chicago, we began our descent under the class B, and could just see the skyline of Chicago peeking out from the haze and smog. We flew through Gary Class D airspace, and over all of the cool steel mills and petroleum refineries in Gary. I finally had a chance to ogle from 1500ft AGL instead of trying to sneak glances over my shoulder as I hurtled at 85mph down the Chicago Skyway, while my wife is shouting "Dan, keep it on the road! He's BRAKING! BRAKE LIGHTS!!!!" Flying is so cool. I wish that I could fly everywhere. We cruised on past the Chicago skyline and watched the other traffic carefully overlaid on the G1000. I love that Traffic Information Service - you just can't beat situational awareness like that when other aircraft are headed your way! Below are some lovely photos of the Chicago skyline - it was really an experience.
After transiting the Chicago Class B, we climbed up over Waukegan (KUGN) and headed for Sauk-Prairie. As soon as we crossed the Wisconsin border, While we were listening in on the Madison approach, from about 30 miles out, the controller and another pilot were having a conversation about flying over his mom's house, seeing if she was out weeding the carrots...it was hilarious, and must've been a really slow evening in Madison. I've never heard that much chatter from an approach controller, but it was fun to listen to. As we flew over Madison, the the sun was just setting, and the view was again....beautiful.
We arrived at Sauk-Prairie, which was a very nicely-kept airport with a 3000ft runway. There were a bunch of hangars, with propane tanks out back. Those Wisconsin winters must be c-c-cold! We scrounged the $5 parking fee, and headed out for some chow. Kendall took us to the happening down-town district of Prarie-du-sac, which was totally sweet. We drove past the world headquarters of the Culver's Franchising System and decided to partake of the bounty of their newest venture, Blue Spoon Cafe. It was a departure from their typical butterburger fare, but in a good way. They served soups and euro-style panini sandwiches and gelato, instead of frozen custard. I ordered a local micro-brew, and the server asked me if I wanted a frosted glass, to which I replied "Yes, please!". They plunked down a non-frosted, warm glass on my tray. "Uh...what if I want a frosted glass?" I asked. The server apologized and rummaged around in the cooler for a cold frosty, but no such luck. A voice behind me said "Greg, just put some ice in that glass and roll it around." I said, "No, that's okay, I'll drink it out of the bottle." "No, you want this - it's better." The frosted-mug angel then walked out the door. Kendall said "THAT WAS MR. CULVERS!" I had been personally helped by Mr. Craig Culvers. I was in awe. It was like having Dave Thomas serve up your hamburger!

We had a nice time visiting with Kendall & Kristen. We went flying, swimming, go-karting, and midnight bowling in Baraboo. It was a great time, and we woke up on Sunday to a beautiful, clear day. Time for the return trip!

Chicago Skyline from 2000ft MSL

Check out the Skyscrapers on the G1000 Terrain!

US Steel Gary Works - over 3000 acres of industrial fun!