As some of you know, this week is the 9th annual Cirrus migration, known as M9. While not as big as Osh Kosh or Sun N Fun, it is the biggest Cirrus event of the year. This year, M9 is being held in Colorado Springs. Cirrus pilots from around the country (and even a few from other countries) will be by flying their aircraft into KCOS for the event.
I wanted to make the journey to M9 memorable by taking a scenic route to get there. In addition, this was a great excuse to work on my 50 state quest. You can see my planned route in the video clip below:
It might be a bit ambitious… But this route should include stops in 7 new states and even a FIRST venture into Canadian airspace!
But every experienced pilot I spoke to about it, warned me that a trip like this requires a few things:
1. Detailed planning about routes, alternate routes, procedures, etc
2. A well maintained and prepared aircraft.
3. Flexibility DURING the flight
As a result, I’ve been planning for weeks… Looking at lots of charts… Making sure the plane was in perfect shape in terms of maintenance. Much to the surprise of the line crew in Tampa, I even made sure the TKS de-ice fluid was full while it was 95 degrees on the ramp in Tampa!
I am really trying to follow the advice …. We will see at the end of the week how it goes…
You can follow along in near real time on Flight Aware …. Or just wait till later this week to see my next post…(Hopefully I should be able to get some cool pix along the way.)
Cheers,
== T.J.==