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An hour there, an hour back.

The sun came out today, and without clouds anywhere, just some fog down in the lower valleys. So, I grabbed my Cooper 22-250AI, and a couple boxes of ammo. After feeding the horses and building a fire in the wood stove, I set out for town.
I plugged in the oil pan heater about 9:00, there were still a lot of low clouds down in the valley, but they were lifting. I could find a hole, no problem. After plugging in the oil pan heater, I swept off the taxiway in front of my hangar. Then headed to the PO to get a money order in the mail for some bullets from a guy on the forum. When I got back, I loaded my rifle, lunch, water, some extra clothes, ammo and other crap behind the rear seats and strapped it all down. I checked the digital oil temp gauge and it said 54, so I pulled off the blanket and the cabin cover and rolled it out onto the taxiway. Fuel tanks on both, prime 3 strokes, mixture rich, master on, called out "clear" and pushed the starter button.
After the gyos warmed up and I had an attitude indicator as well as a heading indicator, I made my radio call for departure from 14 with a left pattern departure over town. About an hour later I was unloading my gear for my first prairie dog hunt of 2019. It was warm in Utah, much warmer than home at 8400' with still 3' of snow remaining. The sun was shining, it was warm, there was almost no wind, and there they were, prairie dogs 500 yards from my parking spot.
I had forgotten my bipod, it was in the car, but never made it into the 1953 Cessna 180 that would take me to the killing grounds. I used an ammo box, and a pair of gloves for a rest, in spite of that over sight, I still managed to perforate 24 little rodents in the Utah desert.
What a spectacular day, flying, shooting, hiking in the desert, and then flying home.
 
I assume you mean altitude indicator- but I wish my wife was equipped with an attitude indicator. Great write up - sounds like the ultimate freedom.
Planes unlike some women have attitude indicators (to indicate pitch and roll), as well as an altimeter.:)
 
An 'attitude indicator' for humans. Splendid idea! Somehow I'm thinking persons such equipped would not survive the natural selection process. :rolleyes:

Thanks for the nice story and pardon the joke.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The sun came out today, and without clouds anywhere, just some fog down in the lower valleys. So, I grabbed my Cooper 22-250AI, and a couple boxes of ammo. After feeding the horses and building a fire in the wood stove, I set out for town.
I plugged in the oil pan heater about 9:00, there were still a lot of low clouds down in the valley, but they were lifting. I could find a hole, no problem. After plugging in the oil pan heater, I swept off the taxiway in front of my hangar. Then headed to the PO to get a money order in the mail for some bullets from a guy on the forum. When I got back, I loaded my rifle, lunch, water, some extra clothes, ammo and other crap behind the rear seats and strapped it all down. I checked the digital oil temp gauge and it said 54, so I pulled off the blanket and the cabin cover and rolled it out onto the taxiway. Fuel tanks on both, prime 3 strokes, mixture rich, master on, called out "clear" and pushed the starter button.
After the gyos warmed up and I had an attitude indicator as well as a heading indicator, I made my radio call for departure from 14 with a left pattern departure over town. About an hour later I was unloading my gear for my first prairie dog hunt of 2019. It was warm in Utah, much warmer than home at 8400' with still 3' of snow remaining. The sun was shining, it was warm, there was almost no wind, and there they were, prairie dogs 500 yards from my parking spot.
I had forgotten my bipod, it was in the car, but never made it into the 1953 Cessna 180 that would take me to the killing grounds. I used an ammo box, and a pair of gloves for a rest, in spite of that over sight, I still managed to perforate 24 little rodents in the Utah desert.
What a spectacular day, flying, shooting, hiking in the desert, and then flying home.
Fine tale for a winter morning.
 
So you flew your plane to an area with prairie dogs. Then landed and hunted around where you landed out on the prairie? Surprised you can land in places like that.

WOW!

That is a first. Some hunt off a truck, motorcycle, horse, quad/ATV, boat etc. You used your plane. Sure invokes lots of imagination.
 
Yesterday I landed at an actual airstrip, privately owned, but surrounded by BLM. I was a bit concerned about landing off airport as there has been quite a bit of precipitation over the last month. Surface conditions can be hard to determine from the air, and landing in mud could get ugly pretty quick. After I got done shooting there, I flew low over some other areas to scout for next time. Prairie dog towns are pretty easy to see from the air. It gets too hot in another 6 to 8 weeks, now is the time.
Thanks for the kind words. It was just an awesome day.
 
The sun came out today, and without clouds anywhere, just some fog down in the lower valleys. So, I grabbed my Cooper 22-250AI, and a couple boxes of ammo. After feeding the horses and building a fire in the wood stove, I set out for town.
I plugged in the oil pan heater about 9:00, there were still a lot of low clouds down in the valley, but they were lifting. I could find a hole, no problem. After plugging in the oil pan heater, I swept off the taxiway in front of my hangar. Then headed to the PO to get a money order in the mail for some bullets from a guy on the forum. When I got back, I loaded my rifle, lunch, water, some extra clothes, ammo and other crap behind the rear seats and strapped it all down. I checked the digital oil temp gauge and it said 54, so I pulled off the blanket and the cabin cover and rolled it out onto the taxiway. Fuel tanks on both, prime 3 strokes, mixture rich, master on, called out "clear" and pushed the starter button.
After the gyos warmed up and I had an attitude indicator as well as a heading indicator, I made my radio call for departure from 14 with a left pattern departure over town. About an hour later I was unloading my gear for my first prairie dog hunt of 2019. It was warm in Utah, much warmer than home at 8400' with still 3' of snow remaining. The sun was shining, it was warm, there was almost no wind, and there they were, prairie dogs 500 yards from my parking spot.
I had forgotten my bipod, it was in the car, but never made it into the 1953 Cessna 180 that would take me to the killing grounds. I used an ammo box, and a pair of gloves for a rest, in spite of that over sight, I still managed to perforate 24 little rodents in the Utah desert.
What a spectacular day, flying, shooting, hiking in the desert, and then flying home.
dam that sounds awesome!! + sun. how about some pix??!! bet you leave a bipod in the plane from now on :)
 
Can we get a picture of your plane. What type. Sounds super cool. Can I go?

It is a 1953 Cessna 180, first year production of the plane, they were made up until 1980 or 1981. It is a tailwheel airplane, meaning the third wheel is on the back, typically used as a bush plane. Mine has a STOL kit, which adds 4 square feet of wing area and allows the plane to land much slower as well as giving it better control at slow speeds, I also have 60 more horsepower than it came from the factory with, original motor was 470 cubic inches, this motor is 520. It has beefed up landing gear, bigger tires, quickly removable rear seats, and some other small modifications that make it suited to landing off airport. It is bare aluminum, not polished, just no paint. The nose is fiberglass and is primer gray. It has a very spartan interior, outdoor carpet on the floor, and fiberglass panels on the sides and headliner. It has little to no insulation in it so it can be a little cold in the winter, even though it has a good heater. I've been flying for about 2.8 years so far, I bought this plane a year and a half ago. It cruises at about 150 mph at reduced power, and lands at about 40mph.

Flying is just so much fun, the freedom is amazing.
 

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It is a 1953 Cessna 180, first year production of the plane, they were made up until 1980 or 1981. It is a tailwheel airplane, meaning the third wheel is on the back, typically used as a bush plane. Mine has a STOL kit, which adds 4 square feet of wing area and allows the plane to land much slower as well as giving it better control at slow speeds, I also have 60 more horsepower than it came from the factory with, original motor was 470 cubic inches, this motor is 520. It has beefed up landing gear, bigger tires, quickly removable rear seats, and some other small modifications that make it suited to landing off airport. It is bare aluminum, not polished, just no paint. The nose is fiberglass and is primer gray. It has a very spartan interior, outdoor carpet on the floor, and fiberglass panels on the sides and headliner. It has little to no insulation in it so it can be a little cold in the winter, even though it has a good heater. I've been flying for about 2.8 years so far, I bought this plane a year and a half ago. It cruises at about 150 mph at reduced power, and lands at about 40mph.

Flying is just so much fun, the freedom is amazing.
That is super awesome. Your livin the dream brother.
 
It is a 1953 Cessna 180, first year production of the plane, they were made up until 1980 or 1981. It is a tailwheel airplane, meaning the third wheel is on the back, typically used as a bush plane. Mine has a STOL kit, which adds 4 square feet of wing area and allows the plane to land much slower as well as giving it better control at slow speeds, I also have 60 more horsepower than it came from the factory with, original motor was 470 cubic inches, this motor is 520. It has beefed up landing gear, bigger tires, quickly removable rear seats, and some other small modifications that make it suited to landing off airport. It is bare aluminum, not polished, just no paint. The nose is fiberglass and is primer gray. It has a very spartan interior, outdoor carpet on the floor, and fiberglass panels on the sides and headliner. It has little to no insulation in it so it can be a little cold in the winter, even though it has a good heater. I've been flying for about 2.8 years so far, I bought this plane a year and a half ago. It cruises at about 150 mph at reduced power, and lands at about 40mph.

Flying is just so much fun, the freedom is amazing.

Paint that bird CAMO, Man! CAMO! :D Too much work and time that could be used hunting to keep that bare aluminum looking good. Is your stall 40? Not familiar with the upgrade, carb or injected?
 
Paint that bird CAMO, Man! CAMO! :D Too much work and time that could be used hunting to keep that bare aluminum looking good. Is your stall 40? Not familiar with the upgrade, carb or injected?

It is a sportsman STOL, power off stall is about 37 or 38 mph, its hard to tell because the airspeed indicator starts at 40. I can fly around at 40mph indicated with full flaps, oil temp goes up, and it gets pretty mushy, but it keeps on flying. Power on stall, well, it really doesn't stall, it will just hang on the prop, if you can get it to break its probably in the low 30's, but the airspeed indicator is pointing 12:00 bouncing all over the place, 40 is at about 2:00.
The engine is a continental TSIO 520 with the turbo and fuel injection removed, it is carbureted. The prop is a McCauley 86" 3 blade, it puts you in your seat on takeoff.

I actually was going to have it painted last fall, but I decided to put my money into other more performance based items, like a set of 29" tundra tires on another set of wheels, and a fuel computer. But, when I do paint it, it will be bright yellow with a thin blue stripe down the side.

I used it to scout for moose last year, I see so much country that I often say to myself "I need to come back and check this area out on foot". I will use it to look for mountain goat this year, and probably do some deer scouting for a buddy as well.
 
my cool/jealous meter is at 11. be great to see more pix, if you have and care to share. vfr flying in good weather only...?
 

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