We left Iowa City this morning and decided to head SW towards Kansas, in order to avoid the center of the storm to the North, and the rainy conditions just below it. This is definitely a long way around to Alliance! But this way all we have to worry about is the fierce headwinds (50kt) which made the flight to St Joe's quite long; and the nasty gusting winds on the ground for landing. I flew this leg, which we did at 8000 feet under an IFR flight plan, over a pretty solid deck of clouds. The ride was smooth and pleasant, just quite long! Then, we made our descent through the clouds into a sunny day in St Josephs Missouri. The wind was howling and at about 30 degrees to the runway, but I wasn't about to take any nonsense from the airplane and took a firm grip, wrestled all the way to the ground, and it barely made a whisper as it touched down, practically kissed the ground. This could be the best crosswinds/ high wind landing of my career. We are taking a break now for a late lunch, and will set off on our roundabout cross country trip later in the afternoon so that we can arrive at our next stop (Hays Kansas) when the wind has died down. Barbara and Linda are arguing about whether we're in Missouri or Kansas right now. Linda Street-Ely and Elizabeth (Classic 39) are also here and we plan to meet them at Hays this evening also.
Alison,s a landing was a sight to behold. We were bumping down final twisting and turning as we went. As we got close to the runway Alison took a firm grip on the yoke and we settled as gently as possible. The little chirps the tires make when it is a really great landing were just audible. Spectators would have applauded if any were around. Bravo!
Aa
