Beer run to 3Floyds, April 2007

Taking the CT cross-country to bring back some of the country's best microbrews.

3Floyds brewery and pub in Munster, IN has numerous beers on ratebeer.com's top beers in the world. Your's truly is a shareholder of the brewpub, which not only serves the 3Floyds beer on tap but also has excellent food. I was running low on 3Floyds at home and needed to stock up. The weather forecast looked good for April 19th so I decided to go.

Dallas' weather was perfect. Some congestion on the ramp

Topped off the tanks at F51 with 92 octane. Here's a view leaving the pattern.

Crossing the Mississippi just north of Cape Girardeau. It was starting to get bumpy, and no altitude except way up high, with a 30 kt headwind, was smooth.

The flight through Illinois was hell. Too bumpy to use the autopilot. I had to hand fly a 3.5 hour leg into a 30 kt headwind/crosswind. And it was starting to get cold. And the ceiling was getting lower and lower. I thought about putting it on the ground in Decatur, but Champaign approach said there was blue sky so I pressed on, 1200 feet above the ground. Effingham, IL, is known for the world's largest cross (I guess).

It actually cleared up but still rough, 10G17 at KIGQ when I landed, 8 hours afer leaving Dallas. KIGQ, Lansing, IL, is a very friendly airport with two excellent runways. They also happen to be a mile from 3Floyds.

The entrance to 3Floyds brewpub

A view of the interior. Thanks to Tony from PNS tuning, a Munster resident and 3Floyds fan, for picking me up at the airport.

The next morning was beautiful. I wanted to check my skip/slid indicator, so I did a short flight over Lake Michigan. Industry in Hammond and Gary, IN.

As close as I could get to downtown Chicago without busting the TFR. Oprah must have been in town

4 cases of Alpha King, and 5 bombers loaded onto the plane

The trip back was uneventful, except for strong gusty winds in TX. Addison was 17G24 when I landed. Not something to write home about, but the plane will fly again.