Michigan winter

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gkremers
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Michigan winter

Post by gkremers »

It hasn't been much of a winter where I live in MI. We finally got some cold weather and 6" of snow on Saturday. It was only 3 degrees F this morning but sunny with light winds. My wife and I flew down to Plainwell (61D) for breakfast. The runway wasn't plowed, perfect for the skis.

Gary
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BucF16
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Re: Michigan winter

Post by BucF16 »

Nice Gary, Between Floats and skis you’ll run out of wheel currency!
Bruce Johnson Highlander # 393
"Because I fly, I envy no man on Earth"
Builder web site:
http://www.bruceshighlander.blogspot.com
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gkremers
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Re: Michigan winter

Post by gkremers »

Cold this morning but we had 5" of fresh powder. This is a buddy's grass strip, good morning to drop in for some coffee.

Gary
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AV8R Paul
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Re: Michigan winter

Post by AV8R Paul »

Thank God, my family settled in the Great State of Texas in the early 1800s, and we’ve never left. I can’t imagine having to deal with that much white stuff.
AV8R Paul
Certified Light Sport Repairman LSRM-A
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gkremers
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Re: Michigan winter

Post by gkremers »

Hey Paul...
If you live up here you need to take advantage of the weather. If not you'll end up being a couch potato!! That being said I'm 3-5 years away from retirement. Our older son has lived in Austin for the past 9 years, no way he's coming back to MI. We purchased a lot at Fentress Airpark (XS90) and plan on building a hangar with an attached 2-3 bedroom apartment. Fentress is only 30 minutes or so south of his house, he's on the south side near the airport. After retirement we plan on spending most of the winter in TX and the balance of the year up in MI. Can't wait to get the Highlander down to TX, several lakes around that allow floatplanes..

Also looking forward to meeting like minded pilots in the great state of TX.


Gary
AV8R Paul
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Re: Michigan winter

Post by AV8R Paul »

Looks more like a friends snow strip. I don’t see any grass!
gkremers wrote:Cold this morning but we had 5" of fresh powder. This is a buddy's grass strip, good morning to drop in for some coffee.

Gary
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AV8R Paul
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av8rps
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Re: Michigan winter

Post by av8rps »

Having wheel skis is a lot like having a set of amphib floats on your plane. Yes, you can operate off of airport runways, but skis or floats take you places even large tires can't get you to. And landing your plane on a glassy smooth lake, or on fresh powder snow is something you have to do to fully appreciate.
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gkremers
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Re: Michigan winter

Post by gkremers »

Paul,
#1 on your comment. Since I built the Highlander in 2014 I’ve become a better all around pilot from a airmanship standpoint and tons of fun along the way. After 33 year of flying almost exclusively nose wheel aircraft (still have the RV10) the Highlander opened my eyes to low and slow. Needed to get my tail wheel endorsement and a few hours with a ski plane instructor. Ski plane instruction isn’t nessesary according to the rules but I figured why not, he was close and a great instructor. After that I got the seaplane rating. All of it wouldn’t have been possible with the planes I had been flying.

For those not finished with the build it IS worth the effort!!!

Gary
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