Augusta, Kansas

After an uncertain start with the fog this morning, we made good time and managed to reach Augusta Kansas in a day!

The morning seemed to be full of hope for a rush to the south, but we happened to be foiled just as we backtracked our runway for takeoff. As we reached the far end of the runway, a thick and heavy fog started to roll in, and the visibility dropped to less then 200 feet within literally a matter of seconds. Wow! The fog was of the freezing sort, and even though we were on ground, our props and wings collected bits of the white stuff. With the visibility near zero, we most certainly were not about to go anywhere! Dejected, we headed back to the base, and shut out aircraft down.

We quickly deiced the aircraft and covered them... then headed inside to hope for and watch for better weather. We were not at all disappointed... it did not take long for the brilliant sunshine to start punching through the thick billows of fog, and blue skies beckoned us just shortly after 9AM. We took off as soon as we could, and it was pretty much clear sailing to Fargo, North Dakota, where we cleared customs.

Next up, was Tekamah, Nebraska. Where is Tekamah? Well, its in Nebraska of course! Why did we go there? Because it was there, on our planned track, and the fuel prices couldn't be beat! The guys at J&D Aircraft were great, taking care of us and our airplanes. They ensured that not only were our aircraft fueled, but that we had a snack to go as well! Thanks bunches guys!

From here, it was next on to Augusta, Kansas, where we will be bunking for the night. We touched down shortly after sunset, with the many lights of Augusta and Wichita twinkling across the inky black of the prairie landscape below.

Oh... one more thing,,, we decided that while we were on this trip that we would call FEIN our "flagship." Before we all took off, we thought that it would be a great opportunity to take along a Canadian Flag and show off our boundless patriotism and love for our great country. Both FEIN and the students are carrying the flag well, and you'll be sure to see us with this flag wherever we go in the days to come.

As a matter of fact, a few of us are even quite literally "wrapping ourselves up in it!"