Thursday July 13, 2006

Wheels up at 6. A few miles to the south a magnificent cumulus cloud was rapidly forming. The only cloud in the sky. Luckily my direction of flight took me directly away from it. Below me the ground fog was scattered around, creating a very pastoral setting. Smooth air and a 15mph tailwind sped me to St. Louis quickly. The tower cleared me for a straight-in approach to 8R, floated above the runway for 3,000 feet, touched down a few hundred feet before exit ramp Alpha 4, taxied to and turned onto it (was directed to do so by the tower because it turned off at a 45 degree angle, which is a turn I can handle while still kited), stopped before the hold short line to the taxiway and dropped the chute. While packing up the Director of airport operations drove up, greeted me, and asked how long I'd be staying, and if there was anything needed. I explained that we didn't need much, and soon he was on the radio with JetCorp, one of the FBOs, arranging hangar space for Voyager and a parking spot for the RV and trailer (with an electric hookup for the air conditioning!). Life is sweet.

This should be a good media stop. FOX showed up a few hours after I arrived, shot some footage, and I'll be appearing on the local FOX morning show tomorrow. A few other stations and the newspaper will also likely be out. Depending on the media and weather, we'll probably be departing for Greenville on Saturday.