To journey to Copperstate from Hays Kansas requires flying over some rugged territory, but it's one of the most engaging and interesting flights due to the varied geography. The trip started out on Tuesday, a day early because there was some nasty weather pushing down from the northwest. We launched out into light headwinds, which became greater the closer we got to Albuquerque. My wingman was long time friend and former employee Tracy Standish; she piloted the S-6ES/ELS trike with the 100 Hp Rotax, 6x800 tires, and a three-blade Warp drive prop. The prop was new, and I had done the usual performance tests prior to launch, and the numbers were good, but there is nothing like an 800 mile trip to prove things.  I was in the number one Venterra, and I noticed it has been flying nicer since being named, it was raring to go on yet another adventure. Already the Hobbs shows 440 hours!  It was stacking up to be a great show with Mark Pringle flying in from Utah with his immaculate S-7S, and Bob Steeneck with the number three Venterra. A line up of four RANS planes would be impressive.

XM radar was our friend as we watched a rain laden front pushing towards Albuquerque (AEG), it was obvious we were in a race.  Once we landed it broke loose with 30kt winds and rain as we tied the planes down.  With the planes secured we rushed to the line office. Inside we met a wonderfully helpful staff, they have it down folks, in minutes you can be heading towards a nice reasonably priced motel in a reasonably priced rental (way cheaper than a cab). Once in town you can explore the Old Town area, and check out the local arts, and fine dining. We ended up at the Seasons, a great place to find portabella mushroom sandwiches and fish tacos. We watched the rain continue to pour all through dinner.

We planned to launch early, and both had 6:00 AM wake up calls, only to find gray and wet skies. We headed to the airport in the usual tradition of trying to push the weather, which failed to work so we headed back to town to explore more of Albuquerque. It was too rainy to do the “bucket on a wire” tour of the Sandia Peak so we killed time by checking out the sights until around 1:00, when the handy dandy smart phone showed VFR at Double Eagle and points beyond.

Into good visibility, light rain and low clouds we launched, we wound around the worst and found smooth and open skies. If you go this route towards Phoenix land at St. John (SNJ), where the price of fuel is about the lowest in the region. It is an old fashion pump, with a real person filling you up. I kind of miss that, since it does give you a break. Of course always check fuel caps and sumps, back at Double Eagle I drained about 10 samples to get clear fuel!

Next stop was Casa Grande (CGZ), where the show as being staged. We landed about 4:00 PM to the best weather we have seen at this event, and as luck would have it, that weather held for the whole event.  Mark and Bob had already arrived, having not been impeded by weather, and it was really neat to see such pretty planes!

With great weather, and lots of folks coming out to see planes, we were busy! I flew several demos, met some old friends, and made some new ones. The buzz was strong on all the planes. People were quite taken with the S-6ELS for $63,000. Many could not believe the sleek covering and the quality of the plane. This is the work of our contract builder Mark Pringle, and you could see more of his excellent craftsmanship in the stunning blue, white and metallic charcoal S-7S. The immaculate S-7S sported 26” Alaskan Bush tires,  VG’s, and a cup holder, that got many favorable comments. The plane looked ready and willing to take on the bush, and Mark has been having a blast doing just that.

Bobs stunning S-19 Venterra was set next to our demo, making an impressive line up, I could not thank Bob enough for spending three days at the show, lending his plane for view. The color choice really set off the lines of the 19, and drew many positive remarks.

Several RANS planes showed, about 6 Airailes, 3 or 4 Coyote II's and at least 4 Couriers, even an S-18 Stinger, that looked like it was outfitted for adventure. One of the S-7S's was piloted by Tom Simko, some may remember Tom from his outrageous mountain strip, virtually a steeply sloped ramp. Toms plane was a collection of back country ideas that have turned his plane into a sweet air camper.

After three days of talking planes, getting up early and running 3 to 4 miles (Mark made me!) we said our good byes and headed over the mountains on Sunday morning. It was sublime, just the way you dream it, smooth, sunny, the air alive with planes, pilots chatting on 122.75, the only downer was a bit of a headwind. The good weather had an end though,  I watched developing rain and snow over Las Vegas, New Mexico, and the South west corner of Kansas so we opted to land at Double Eagle and take advantage of known hospitality. On the ramp was a B-17, so I parked the S-19 beside and snapped a few shots. Another odd visitor on the ramp was a tarantula spider, the locals say they are quite common on the tarmac.

That evening we ventured downtown again, and took in a pretty decent flying flick called “Amelia”, this was an enjoyable account of the life of Kansas born Amelia Earhart. We both rolled our eyes at the usual phoo-phaas movie makers make when presenting aviation, but the overall outcome made us darn proud to be pilots, knowing first hand the lure of flight and how it could drive a pioneering woman to such daring adventures.

The next morning our plans to launch super early were thwarted by frost, and lucky for us, just setting the planes inside a non heated hanger was enough to remove the wind chill to melt the frost.  By 9:00AM we were winging into the big hills around Albuquerque and Santa Fe, dodging low clouds and traces of snow till past the big ridge east of Santa Fe. It was clear skies after, but the whole world was dusted in snow, and a spectacular sight. As we made it Northeast it was odd to see how the slight elevation changes allowed snow to persist on the tops of plateaus and small peaks, but void on the plains a few hundred feet lower. Once past the highest part we both naturally dropped down to less that 1000 feet and enjoyed strafing over the barren landscapes.

After a stop a Clayton NM, then lunch in Garden City KS, we landed at Hays around 3:00 PM.  The ES did great, being only about 18 MPH slower than the Venterra, not bad for a strut braced fabric plane!  Our fuel burns averaged 4.6 (S-6ES) and 4.3 (S-19).  We found the ES could really burn the fuel for little gain if ran at 5450, at 5200 it was fast (115 MPH) and economical.