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Some Excitement into Franklin, Pennsylvania ( FKL) (T. Camp)
We flew to FKL and made it without incident however it was an exciting run as detailed below. We used the air traffic controllers and got permission to cross the MOA (Military Operations Area). Those exist all over but this one was hot (active) so that made it more interesting especially as the weather started to deteriorate. I told the tower we were going to divert for weather. Evelyn did not want to fly on top for fear of not finding a VFR hole when it came time to land. So we dove down and did some scud running legally under the clouds. It was still tense as I was watching the terrain and tracking our progress while Evelyn would dart around and under the clouds to maintain VFR. The clouds finally started to lift a little as we got closer in towards the airport. We took our line into the runway and then mistakenly started to turn the wrong way. I could see the numbers and we turned back as Evelyn expertly made a hard right turn. Amazingly we were able to line up within the 1 mile out and do our fly-by of the ground timers at the airport. To say the least it was a crazy run. There were dozens of planes in the air and the visibility was misty with about 8 miles. WHEW!
Evelyn’s Mom, Dad, Uncle, Aunt, the press, her pastor, and her High School teacher came out to greet us. Wow what a great reception! They all took pictures and interviewed us! They were also very nice to help clean the plane. Flying low always adds to the bug death on the leading edges of the plane. The gang took us to lunch at the airport. The food was fantastic. I got a Monte Cristo sandwich and really enjoyed the fun and Evelyn’s family. Everyone hung out at the airport most of the day. A few brave soles made a try for the next airport leg, but sadly could not land due to the airport being socked in with clouds and mist. All of them had to divert to other areas, like Ithaca or Mansfield. Of course we are competing so anyone who diverts adds to their times and they lose points. However it is hard to just sit and wait out the weather sometimes and it really is difficult to make a judgment call to fly or wait sometimes. We decided it was too late to make the next leg before sundown. Another few teams decided to go for it but I do not know their fate as of yet.
We got a ride to the hotel with Evelyn’s parents. Then we went to a fantastic Italian restaurant called Leonardo’s. Evelyn’s parents knew practically everyone in the place and the owner came out to greet us. Several other teams came over and also enjoyed the food. I got a combination cannelloni, manicotti and stuffed shells. Plus their bread was fresh baked and oh so good! Evelyn’s folks were so generous and treated us to both of today's meals. They also gave us a tour of the town. It is really quaint and they have a nice music museum.
So that was the day. If we had to be socked in at least it was in the perfect place with perfect people. We really enjoyed the day and all the attention. Tomorrow it is back to work and if the weather clears up, I guess we will finish this race and catch up on some REST!!! -Teresa
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