Heading up to Traverse City with the family

Plane: Cessna 182 RG 
Route: MGY-TVC
Weather - MGY: Clear, 90 degrees, wind 170 degrees at 6 knots
Weather - TVC: Few clouds, 93 degrees, wind 200 degrees at 10 knots gusting to 28

We're taking a short family vacation between now and the 4th of July; the first stop is Traverse City for two nights. It's hard to believe but it's already been eight years since we last flew there! Our friends Rob, Abby and their daughter Charlotte are joining me, Gina, and Mariella up there.

As it was disgustingly hot and humid in Dayton this afternoon, I went down a few hours before we departed to get the plane mostly packed up. That way, I was able to cool off, shower, and spend less time sweating before takeoff. After finishing things up at home, we headed over to Wright Brothers about 4:30.

I had already given the plane a look-over but still did a full preflight while Gina got Mariella loaded in the back. All looked good so we pulled the plane out of the hangar, parked the car inside, and closed everything back up. Then I fired up the engine and, after a short taxi and the final pre-takeoff checks, we were airborne off Runway 20 by 4:55.

After circling back around the airport to head north, I contacted Columbus Approach for flight following as we climbed. They turned me east to stay clear of their departures but within a couple minutes they'd cleared me back on course to TVC. I trimmed everything out, dialed the prop back to about 2150 RPM, leaned the mixture, and engaged the autopilot.

Passing by Wright-Patterson AFB on our way out of town

Winds aloft were forecast to be an increasingly strong headwind as we climbed across our entire route so, despite the heat, I elected to level at 4,500 feet. We ended up averaging just over 150 knots across the ground for the entire cruise portion of flight. It was pretty hazy at times given the extreme heat and humidity but the temperature in the cabin actually wasn't too bad.

Once in the sky, it was a beautiful day to fly

The majority of the flight really wasn't noteworthy. The haze obscured some of the beautiful longer-range views you sometimes see of Detroit and the Great Lakes in the middle of Michigan. We were handed off from Columbus Approach to Toledo to Kalamazoo to Lansing to Grand Rapids and then finally to Minneapolis Center.

Well, there was one thing enroute. Northeast of Grand Rapids I spotted traffic on Foreflight that was effectively at our altitude, opposite direction. Closing but still at least 5 miles away I was monitoring when the controller came over the radio and called out the same traffic. I absolutely could not spot it and told the controller I was turning right for avoidance. It wasn't until they were less than 1/2 mile away that I spotted them, at exactly the same altitude. That's one thing I don't love about VFR cruising altitudes - on certain headings (we were heading about 358 and I bet they were headed about 185) you can technically both be at the correct altitude and still on a near-collision course. Anyway, once clear, we turned back direct TVC.

Mariella had some good moments to go with the cranky ones

Mariella didn't do as well on this flight as she has in the past. She really doesn't enjoy being restrained (she's always on the move now that she's walking super well) so being cramped in the plane isn't ideal. And then she loves to rip her earplugs out so the constant battle to keep them in certainly doesn't improve her mood. Gina gets all the credit for sitting in back and taking care of her whenever we're airborne!

All of us and all our stuff (in the back)

As we got within 75 miles of Traverse City the local weather reports (I'd been tuning in AWOS as we flew) were indicating some pretty serious winds. ADS-B confirmed the same, noting winds out of the south gusting over 20 knots at TVC. Normally that'd be no issue; we'd just land on Runway 18. But I already knew that wasn't an option - it was NOTAMed closed due to the Blue Angels being there for the airshow, though they weren't using it and there was nothing on it, so not quite sure why.

Approaching Traverse City from the south

By the time we were close enough to tune in the ATIS nothing had changed. Winds were basically a direct crosswind at 10 knots gusting to 28, with 10 knots of windshear reported by a CRJ on short final for added fun. At this point, I was honestly thinking we very well may have to land somewhere else.

Minneapolis Center cut us loose and I called the tower around 10 miles out. They immediately cleared us to land entering on a left base for Runway 28 and again noted the winds and windshear report. I guess not too many folks were up flying today just for the fun of it!

My plan was this - only use 10 degrees of flaps, fly about 10 knots faster than normal, and fly a slightly longer final to see if I could hold the plane on the extended runway centerline. Runway 28 is 7,000 feet so I plenty of concrete to work with. If I could do all that, then we'd attempt to land. Otherwise we'd be going around and possibly diverting.

I wonder if Gina took this in case it was the last photo of me ;-p

I was totally focused on landing but I guess there's a great view of the bay on final

Well, long story short, we made it in. I sort of wish I had video of me on the controls because this was perhaps the best example I've yet encountered in all my flying of "you fly the plane, you don't let it fly you." I'm sure I had the yoke and rudder dancing all over the place but in the end I managed a respectable crosswind landing, touching the left main first and preventing the nose from coming down too hard in the seriously gusty winds. We did encounter the same shear on final - I saw the airspeed instantly drop from about 75 to 65 and then come back up again - so I let the tower know.

Taxiing past some of the military planes in for the airshow

A "follow me" golf cart pulled out as we taxied onto AvFlight's ramp and guided us to a tiedown. Then the line guy tied the plane down and brought our rental car over. That sort of service is truly one of the joys of small airplane flying! It took a little while to haul all our gear out of the plane. When that was finished and I made sure the airplane was totally secured, we headed into the FBO for a short cooldown and some tasty free ice cream.

The best part - tied down with the rental car parked behind

Now we're up here for a couple days with the kids and to see the airshow. It's beautiful in this part of Michigan; I really think most folks who didn't grow up nearby have no idea about the region's natural beauty. If the weather holds, we'll be heading across the state on Sunday to continue the summer getaway.

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File 
Today's Flight: 2.5 hours
Total Time: 403.6 hours

It's my birthday and I'll fly if I want to

Plane: Cessna 182 RG 
Route: BFA-MGY
Weather - BFA: Broken clouds, 47 degrees, wind variable at 5 knots
Weather - MGY: Few clouds, 77 degrees, wind variable at 3 knots

Today was one of those days in the sky where you make some tough decisions and learn a few things. After a great weekend in Boyne golfing with my future brother-in-law, it was time to head home. I'd been checking the forecasts all weekend and I knew the weather wouldn't be perfect. The question was whether it would be good enough to get out and get home.

It was overcast when I woke up, so obviously I wasn't going anywhere right away. But the ceiling and visibility forecasts looked flyable by lunchtime. There was also a line of storms crossing Lake Michigan that would be over the middle of the state by early afternoon. Thus we arrive at my main conundrum - could I safely depart Boyne in time to fly the length of Michigan in VFR conditions ahead of the incoming line of storms?

On the ground in Boyne waiting for the clouds to break

I was at the plane around 8:30 so I loaded my golf clubs and suitcase and did my pre-flight. Then I waited and kept checking the weather. The clouds began breaking and there were many holes forming with plenty of space to safely take off and climb through them. PIREPs reported the clouds were less than 1,500 feet thick and it was clear above.

Aerovie's Vertical Weather Profile for my route

Here's where I must mention a wonderful resource - Aerovie. I think it has perhaps the best weather planning tools of any aviation app. Their Vertical Weather Profile is especially stellar. Basically, it uses the weather balloon soundings that are used to create Skew-T diagrams to overlay and visualize forecast conditions along your route. For under $50/year (if you're an EAA member) it truly is a great tool.

In conjunction with the standard ceiling/visibility forecasts, general weather prog charts, and radar, it was a great help this morning. Essentially it showed that there would be a sizeable vertical chunk of space between the low overcast and high altitude clouds over my entire route. In order to beat the weather moving across the lake I would have fly VFR on top for a portion of the flight, which is not without its risks. But I knew I'd be flying in VFR conditions towards improving weather in Ohio.

So where did that leave me decision-wise?

1. Get in the air soon, climb well above the overcast settled over much of lower Michigan, beat the storms moving in from the west, and make it home
2. Wait it out for VFR conditions along the majority of my route - which would likely mean staying another night

I did know it was totally clear just south of Dayton and was forecast to remain that way all day, so my backup plan was to fly to Lunken or Clermont County (or somewhere in northern Kentucky if needed) if the weather in Dayton wasn't good enough by the time I arrived.

It would be ~2.5 hours home and I had over 5 hours of fuel onboard so I was comfortable with remaining airborne even if I had to divert south. The real tough decision was the 100% legal but still potentially dicey plan to fly VFR on top as a non-instrument rated pilot. I'd be lying if I didn't say having an autopilot, multiple navigation sources, and a Stormscope on board gave me a bit of extra comfort in making the "go" decision.

It was a long trip home, made quick by the Skylane RG

Once I decided I was going to fly home, I quickly got settled in the left seat, started the engine, and completed my pre-takeoff checks. As I finished up at the end of the runway, a King Air called in four miles out on final and I quickly spotted him well under the cloud deck. That meant the cloud bases had risen higher. Good news.

After he landed I asked the pilot over the radio what the cloud tops were and he said they were around 4,000 feet. I thanked him for the information and turned on to Runway 35. Within seconds I was off the ground, quickly climbing into the crisp, clear morning sky. The clouds remained broken with much blue sky visible above; I turned southwest and climbed through a large hole then turned on course while climbing up to 5,500 feet.

Climbing out with Boyne Mountain off the left wing

Deer Lake and the golf clubhouse and driving range

The Alpine and Monument golf courses

The clouds were scattered over the area just after takeoff

Overflying Grayling Army Airfield

For the first 30-35 minutes of the flight, the clouds below remained broken and I could still see the ground. Then the holes began to close up as forecast; before long, I was flying over a solid layer. Although the tops were still well below me, I elected to climb up to 7,500 feet for a little added margin of safety.

I called Saginaw Approach for flight following. As you may expect, the frequency was rather quiet. Not too much VFR traffic on an overcast Sunday morning.

You could clearly see darker areas in the sky to the west where the storms were moving in from across Lake Michigan. While they were many, many miles away I elected to deviate east towards Saginaw. From there, I could basically fly due south all the way home. At 155+ knots, I knew I'd be well south of the weather before it made it this far across the state.

Closer to Bay City, the sky below turned to solid overcast

Avoiding some weather moving in from the west

Patches of broken clouds over mid-Michigan, near Owosso

Saginaw handed me off to Lansing Approach. That sector was just as quiet. For a brief period between Flint and Lansing, the clouds broke up a bit and I could see the ground again. I made a mental note and figured I would turn back and make it through one of the large openings in the clouds to land at the airport in Owosso should something happen.

Around this time I also encountered a small rain shower. Visibility decreased, though it remained at least 10 miles, and I again turned slightly to track towards a brighter spot on the horizon. A few minutes later, the rain stopped and blue sky and sunlight filled the windshield.

The clouds began to slowly break southwest of Toledo

My ground speed remained good and it wasn't long before I crossed into Ohio. As I passed over the Maumee River between Toledo and Fort Wayne, I again started to see the ground - except this time it would remain visible for the remainder of the flight. The clouds went from broken to scattered to few to essentially nonexistent by the time I was within 30 minutes of home.

It was nearly clear by the time I reached Lima

Flying over I-75 south of Wapakoneta (home of Neil Armstrong!)

One of the most interesting things was seeing the stationary front that has been hanging out north of Dayton for much of the past week. As I approached the area, a haze seemed to suddenly appear in every direction. Visibility decreased from 30+ miles to 10 at best and I felt the warmth and humidity increase. It may have been in the 40s in northern Michigan just 90 minutes earlier but now it was in the 70s and muggy!

It became quite hazy as I approached Dayton Int'l

Downtown Dayton was also somewhat obscured by haze

By this time, I was talking to Columbus Approach. They instructed me to descend to 6,500 and then 4,500 feet. Just west of downtown Dayton they cut me loose and I tuned in the CTAF at Wright Brothers. It really was hazy - I didn't spot the airport until I was maybe 8 miles away.

Still descending, my ground speed was close to 175 knots so I reduced throttle to slow a bit. Leveling off, I dropped below 140 knots and lowered the gear to help me slow down some more. I entered the pattern in a long 45 to a left downwind for Runway 2. My approach was smooth but the rising air over the hot asphalt caused me to float more than anticipated in the flare; I added a touch of power as the plane rose slightly at the last moment to prevent a carrier landing. The mains squeaked onto the runway reasonably softly and I taxied back to the hangar.

It was way warmer and more humid than where I was just a couple hours prior. Add that to the "lessons learned from a fast new airplane" list - always dress for weather and temperature changes! I pulled off my sweatshirt as soon as I climbed out of the plane; by the time I finished loading my car I was still nearly soaked through my t-shirt.

Debriefing the trip here now with myself, I returned home safely without any issues, so it obviously worked out just fine. At no point do I feel today's trip was as dicey as what I still look back on as my diciest flight weather-wise. Still... this is yet another superb exhibit as to why I need to get my instrument rating ASAP!

With the added speed, range, and overall capability of the Skylane RG comes the added chance of encountering adverse conditions along the (extended) route. I feel reasonably good about my decision-making today but I also certainly felt a little lonely and uneasy by myself on top of a sea of white. There's no doubt additional training and ratings are the clear next step for me.

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File 
Today's Flight: 2.5 hours
Total Time: 394.8 hours

A beautiful morning to fly up north

Plane: Cessna 182 RG 
Route: OZW-BFA 
Weather - OZW: Clear, 63 degrees, wind 070 degrees at 11 knots gusting to 14
Weather - BFA: Clear, 60 degrees, wind 110 degrees at 10 knots gusting to 17

After getting out of Dayton ahead of some weather last night, I awoke to a beautiful morning in Michigan. I had breakfast and talked with my dad for a bit, took a shower, and then he drove me down the road to the airport. Once the plane was loaded and I completed my pre-flight, we said goodbye and I taxied over to the fuel pumps.

First learning of the day. It's seemingly obvious, but I didn't actually think about how much longer it takes to fill up the Skylane! For the most part, I've flown the 172 and have never had to pump more than about 30 gallons. Well the 182 holds 88 gallons and I took off half-full last night; she took 61 gallons this morning.

It was a little windy and gusty on the field as I taxied to the end of Runway 13. I did my runup and the final pre-takeoff checks, then taxied onto the runway. Full throttle applied and I was quickly accelerating down the concrete at 10:23.

Second learning of the day. I raised the nose into the sky and was gaining altitude when all of a sudden I noticed the airspeed indicator was precipitously slow and going lower. But I was still gaining altitude quickly and the engine gauges looked normal. Fly the airplane. I did lower the nose a bit (out of instinct, I'd say) as I tried to figure out what was going on. Within about 15 seconds I realized the alternate static source knob didn't lock in position when I checked it before takeoff; I closed and secured it and the airspeed indicator immediately jumped back up over 100 knots, about 15-20 knots faster than my normal climb speed. With everything back to normal, I raised the gear and flaps and turned on course.

Comfortably cruising up north at 155 knots

A big wind farm just west of Midland

I leveled at 4,500 feet as the winds were less favorable any higher. On course for Boyne, I contacted Detroit Approach for flight following. They almost immediately handed me off to Flint, who later handed me off to Saginaw. Instead of passing me along to Minneapolis Center, the controller just cut me loose somewhere north of Midland / Bay City.

Houghton Lake - Roscommon County Airport (HTL) is on the east side

Higgins Lake had incredible color today

It didn't take long to cover the ~160 nautical miles to Boyne. The winds were even gustier up north but thankfully they weren't a direct crosswind. As I descended and approached the airport, the only other traffic in the pattern was a Chinook, presumably from the nearby Camp Grayling.

In the pattern at Boyne - you can see the whole resort behind the runway

As I turned final, the plane was getting tossed around a bit. That increased more on short final due to, I assume, the wind blowing over the mountain next to the airport. I wrestled the plane down just fine, however, and touched down smoothly on Runway 17 around 11:30.

It only took a minute to taxi to the corner of the tarmac, shut the plane down, and secure it for the next couple nights. Scott's friend Paul, who organized the bachelor party, picked me up right at the airplane, we loaded my clubs into his car, and we were on the golf course by noon.

Once again, GA turned an otherwise long trip into a quick, enjoyable flight. Slightly over an hour in the air compared to 3 1/2 by road. Sure, I left a day early and stayed overnight on the way, but I still maintain it's a great way to travel!

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File 
Today's Flight: 1.2 hours
Total Time: 392.3 hours

Bugging out of Dayton to beat the weather

Plane: Cessna 182 RG 
Route: MGY-OZW
Weather - MGY: Broken clouds, 80 degrees, wind 070 degrees at 8 knots
Weather - OZW: Clear, 70 degrees, wind 040 degrees at 9 knots gusting to 16

I'm heading up to Boyne Mountain, MI this weekend for my future brother-in-law's bachelor party. The plan had been to fly up tomorrow in one simple straight shot. But I made the very last-minute call to bug out this afternoon, and I'm glad I did.

All week I've been watching the weather remain strange and somewhat uncooperative - a weak front has hung in the region for days, with regular scattered storms and hot, humid air. This weekend more moisture is pushing in and, over the past day, the forecast visibilities and ceilings have seriously deteriorated for tomorrow. Then I saw storms forming late this afternoon and decided at about 15:30 that I needed to leave right away if I wanted to fly at all.

So I finished packing, headed to the airport, loaded the plane, gave it a thorough pre-flight, pulled it out of the hangar, parked my car in the hangar, closed up the hanger, and started the engine. I was in the air off Runway 2 by 16:45. A thunderstorm was over the airport by 17:15.

Flying over Dayton Int'l - note the storms I was avoiding to the southeast

I called Columbus Approach for flight following right away so I could enter Dayton's airspace. I initially leveled at 4,500 feet to stay below the clouds (and that's the altitude the controller gave me) and the air was reasonably smooth considering thunderstorms were in the area. I hit a few good bumps, but all in all had no issues. Originally I flew a bit west of course to stay behind a cell that was moving west and remain far in front of the larger cell moving in from the east. By the time I was over DAY all the significant weather was behind me; I climbed up to my cruise altitude of 5,500 feet and turned back on course to OZW.

Nothing but clear, storm-free skies ahead!

Looking back towards the nasty weather I beat out of town

The line of storms I successfully beat out of town

Still learning the new plane, I decided to experiment with a few different power settings that are in the POH. I settled on 2100 RPM and 23" of manifold pressure this evening as a pretty good balance between speed, noise, and fuel burn. Despite a 20+ knot headwind for much of the trip, I was still seeing 140-145 knots over the ground.

Making 141 knots at 2100 RPM and 23" MP

Passing about 10 miles east of Grand Lake St. Marys

The sky was totally clear after about Lima, just a little haze in the distance but that was well beyond 25 miles in any direction. Columbus handed me off to Toledo Approach. He didn't sound too busy so I have him a PIREP at one point, mostly because I thought it would be nice to confirm the winds aloft as calculated by the Garmin 430 were pretty close to the forecast I was seeing in ForeFlight via ADS-B. And, well, I know that meteorologists like to receive every data point they can!

My first winds aloft calculation, west of Findlay

 These were about the strongest I calculated, southwest of Toledo

The winds began to subside (just as forecast) after I crossed into MI

Toledo Approach handed me off to Detroit Approach, which was a little busier but still relatively quiet on this Thursday evening. I passed over the Chrysler Proving Grounds near Chelsea and began my descent down to 2,000 feet. About 10 miles away from Livingston County I let Detroit know I had the airport in sight and they cut me loose.

There was one other plane, a Diamond, in the pattern when I approached, and he was using Runway 13. Had he not been there, I probably would have picked Runway 31 as I was already positioned to enter the left downwind; instead I crossed midfield to follow the Diamond. The winds were directly across the runway and gusty, certainly the strongest crosswind I've landed the Skylane in to date.

I'm happy to report all the training has paid off - controlling the plane through a few good bumps and burbles on short final, I touched down softly just past 18:00 on the left main, then the right, and then the nose wheel. It was honestly one of my better landings in the plane so far, period. After a quick taxi I pulled into a tiedown and shut down the engine. It was only 1.5 clock hours after I pulled the plane out of the hangar and started the engine at Wright Brothers.

Safely parked and tied down at Livingston County Airport in Howell, MI

My dad picked me up and we grabbed a sandwich for dinner. He lives nearby - you may recall my last couple flights to OZW were to see him. It's certainly handy to have a free place to stay near an airport that doubles as a good mid-trip stopover!

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File 
Today's Flight: 1.5 hours
Total Time: 391.1 hours

Meeting Emry: Day 4

Plane: Cessna 172
Route: ALB-TSO-40I
Weather - ALB: Clear, 72 degrees, wind 010 degrees at 6 knots
Weather - TSO: Clear, 86 degrees, wind variable at 3 knots
Weather - 40I: Clear, 84 degrees, wind calm

Waking up this morning, the first thing I did was open up ForeFlight and check the weather. No matter how much bugging out early yesterday was clearly the logical, safe, and correct decision... curiosity's hard to quell. I swiped east to the Boston area and saw that the storm system appeared to have moved a bit more offshore than forecast.

In short, we probably could've stayed overnight and made it out without issue this morning. It was a little windy but not that different than when we departed last night. Of course, I'm also decidedly not much of a morning person and leaving early (that weather's still moving inland) would have necessitated an earlier wake-up than was required in Albany.

The weather was still mostly offshore this morning

We were able to take our time getting ready and grabbed breakfast at the hotel. It was around 10:30 when we pulled out of the parking lot; we pulled into Million Air about 15 minutes later. They called National to come pick up the rental car and we headed out onto the tarmac to load the plane. After a preflight and pit stop, I settled the fuel bill and we climbed into the plane for our long leg home.

Writing on taxi diagrams on screen can be handy

Following a brief mental hiccup (calling Ground for clearance at a Class C airport - oops) I contacted Clearance, who gave us a squawk code, departure heading, departure frequency. Readback correct, I went back over to Ground, who quickly cleared us to taxi to Runway 1. We were sitting behind a Piedmont Dash 8 for a few minutes before they departed. Tower cleared us for takeoff another minuted later after another plane cleared the crossing runway.

It was a great flight home overall, though we did have trouble with one ATC handoff 

The weather was great - incredible visibility with just a few puffy clouds here and there. Tower handed us off to Departure, who cleared us on course about 10 miles north of the field just past Schenectady. We slowly climbed to 8,500 feet. I leveled there for a little while but the reported winds aloft were more favorable at 10,500... so I tried climbing up to check them out.

It took quite a while.

Turns out this old 172 seems to prefer the lower altitudes. We eventually got to 10,500 and our ground speed was basically the same as before, despite slightly reduced headwinds. I decided to wait for a bit to see how things went. Then I noticed I hadn't heard much from Albany in a while.

A bird's-eye view of the longest day I've ever spent in the left seat

There was occasional radio chatter but I couldn't really hear the controller. Seeing as we were nearly to Binghamton, I tried calling Binghamton Approach. No answer. Checking the charts, we were in New York Center's airspace, so I tried them. Again, no answer. Perplexed, I tried Binghamton again and finally got an answer.

I explained the predicament and lack of a handoff, but the controller just acknowleged our presence without any further discussion. Until about 2 minutes later when he came back, said we were hard to hear, and handed me back over to New York Center. Back over to them; this time they responded right back and we continued on our merry way. Same squawk code I dialed in before departing Albany and no further mention of any communication issues.

Elmira, NY from 10,500 feet

Continuing east, we were handed off from controller to controller until eventually reaching Pittsburgh, where I got cleared into the Class B airspace. We just skirted the north edge. The controller said he could just cut us loose at the edge of his sector if I was ok with that. I said that was fine, as we'd only be about 15 miles from our planned fuel stop by then. As we started our descent it got much warmer and bumpier as we dropped below about 6,000 feet.

Typical wooded hills over central Pennsylvania 

Farms near the Pennsylvania / Ohio border east of Pittsburgh

Clear of Pittsburgh, I squawked VFR and got on the CTAF for Carrol County-Tolson Airport. Nobody was in the pattern as we entered from the northeast on a 45 for left downwind to Runway 7. I landed reasonably softly on the very nice, very new blacktop and taxied to the fuel pump. Another Cessna was there just finishing up replenishing their own stores of 100LL. He taxied away as I turned around and pulled up next to the pump.

The plane again took about as much fuel as expected. It's worth noting that ForeFlight was always within one gallon on its fuel usage numbers throughout the whole trip, which was nice to see. We were back in the air, this time departing straight out on Runway 25, about 20 minutes after arriving.

Atwood Lake, between New Philadelphia and Carrollton, OH

I contacted Akron-Canton Approach and they put us back in the system for flight following the remainder of the trip home. For this shorter leg I leveled at 6,500 feet. The bumps were nonstop during the initial climb but thankfully it was nice and smooth up there.

Approaching Columbus, we got another handoff and more scattered clouds began to appear. Most had bases at 7,000 feet or higher but I did have to make a couple small turns to remain clear where a few big puffy ones dropped down towards our altitude. We passed just south of CMH and downtown as we continued west towards Stewart.

CMH - recently renamed John Glenn Columbus Int'l Airport

Downtown Columbus from 6,500 feet

We got one final handoff to another Columbus Approach sector and controller partway home. I spotted Caesar Creek Lake maybe 25 miles out in the haze. About 15 miles out I began our final descent into the warm air; the AWOS at Wright Brothers was reporting very light winds so I anticipated the traffic at 40I would be landing to the west per usual during calm winds. I descended down to pattern altitude flying about a mile north and parallel to the runway to visually check for the usual allotment of NORDO traffic.

Almost home - somewhere between Columbus and Dayton

A plane I didn't recognize was departing the airport (easy to identify thanks to the N Number displayed on my iPad's screen) to the west. He made a departure call on the CTAF and I replied saying we had him in sight and would make a crosswind entry to the left downwind for Runway 26 behind him as he climbed westward. Turning final, I was at least 100 feet high, but I added in all the flaps to drop in over the trees. We touched down long but softly on the familiar turf.

Safely back on the parking pad at Stewart

By the time we were on the ground at Stewart the Hobbs meter had officially christened this the longest flight I've ever made in a single day. A little more research shows that the previous record-holder (5.2 hours on the way home from Upstate NY five years ago) is in fact still the longest by distance at roughly 580 nm compared to about 525 nm today. Nonetheless this was quite a haul; I was more than ready to relax after 14.4 hours in less then three days!

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File 
Today's Flight: 5.6 hours
Total Time: 372.0 hours