The day began early with breakfast at the local gas station McDonald's followed by some serious flight planning. The original destination had been Oklahoma City but the weather wasn't cooperating. Although it was a beautiful day in Ozark to fly, Bill & Will couldn't find a direct path through eastern and central Oklahoma that wasn't hindered by rain or clouds.
It looked like we were going to spend another day in Ozark, Arkansas to let the large weather mass over Oklahoma pass. Then, Bill came up with a creative alternative. They decided to fly southwest, along the eastern edge of the weather, to Durant, Oklahoma. This alternative allowed them western (forward) movement and time for some of the weather to pass. Once in Durant, they could reassess the weather to find a northwest path back up to our rendezvous point, Oklahoma City.
With the plan set, I drove Will & Bill back to the Ozark Franklin County Airport where they prepared N20190 and departed for Durant.
Once they were airborne, I left Hillbilly Loop (no kidding) and headed for I-40.
From I-40, I could see the towering cumulous clouds in the distance.
It was along the edge of this system that Bill & Will flew to Durant.
After about an hour and 40 minutes of flying, they arrived at the Durant.Regional - Eaker Airport - another uncontrolled facility.
Once landed, Bill & Will took a new look at the weather between Durant and the Oklahoma City area. There were clouds of various heights, and gaps between the cloud groupings. So, they decided that flying over the clouds was an option. They took off and ascended to about 9,000 feet. What they found was that the cloud scenario was dynamic as the clouds continued to grow as they sometimes do during mid day. Some of the clouds reaching higher than 12,000 feet. At this realization, they decided to return to Durant and reassess once again.
Back in Durant, they reviewed the current weather and realized that the cloud ceiling was now high enough for them to fly a clear path, below the clouds, to Clinton (west of Oklahoma City).
After almost 5 hours of flying for the day, they landed in Clinton. They topped off the plane with fuel and then went to the airport office. While paying for the fuel, they were informed that they could use the airport's "crew car". As Elwood said in the Blues Brothers, "It's got a cop motor, a 440-cubic inch plant. It's got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks. It's a model made before catalytic converters so it'll run good on regular gas." Needless to say, they took the offer.
Meanwhile, I was hugging Aunt Helen good bye in Oklahoma City. We had a wonderful lunch together and time passed too quickly. I had hoped that Bill & Will could have landed in the Oklahoma City area so that we could have visited more. But that wasn't meant to be.
Our hotel room tonight does not include its own fly swatter, but we are earning points. 😉
Tomorrow we still have weather concerns. So, where we'll end up may be the result of another series of creative decisions. Today was certainly a lesson in how to adjust to a dynamically changing environment. A great lesson for life in general. 🌝
