The top of that mountain is just about three miles from the front of my hangar–and this iPhone picture is making the visibility look better than it appears to the naked eye. Such is how we’ll start out our Oshkosh trip if the smoke persists until morning. There’s a big wildfire over the Sierra near Yosemite, and the smoke is settling over on the Nevada side. No winds, so it just chokes the valleys.
It was worse early this morning, but luckily, we’re in a spot out in the middle of nowhere with VFR rules “One mile and clear of clouds.” Here’s hoping it is at least that good for departure tomorrow. One pilot left our airpark this morning headed east and reported smoke well into Utah!
Flying fifteen hundred miles across this vast country, over the Rockies and over the plains, I expect to deal with weather in July–and truthfully, I guess that smoke and haze is better than thunderstorms–but I expect we’ll dodge a few of those as well.
Wherever you’re coming from, if you’re on the way to the Big Show, be smart, leave yourself an out, and remember–AirVenture lasts a whole week, so if you’re a day late, you’ll just miss out on one night of carousing. Fly smart!
I’ll write you from Oshkosh next
