Catching up; Mount Vernon, IL

It wasn't easy but I finally managed to leave from Beckley, WV.

Only at around 4PM the fog started to clear and the airport had the very minimum weather conditions for VFR flight. I did not think it twice. Everything was packed and ready. I escaped!

The good thing is that from Beckley to my new destination was all "downhill" and clear of weather.

The winds were mild to moderate and allowed me for a pleasant trip East of about 370nm. I landed in Mount Vernon, Illinois at 7:30PM, in the vicinity of St. Louis.

The route today was Beckley, VW - Lexington, KY - Louisville, KY - Evansville, IN - Mt Vernon, IL. I crossed the Ohio and the Wabash rivers.

Before selecting this airport as my destination I had checked the hours of operation. It said until 20 hours. But when I went to the FBO it was already closed, and no one around.

Luckily there was some activity going on in one of the far away hangars. There I found Henry, Cristy and their kid William who were winding down after trying to fly with their ultralight. They were very extremely kind and helpful. They provided tie downs for N669TW and also offered themselves to give me a ride to the hotels in downtown. I am so glad they were there!  Otherwise I would have had to sleep in my tent. (With the inconvenience of not being able to charge my devices).

 My hotel for 2 nights in Beckley. The Country Inn.

 The weather looking in my travel direction while in Beckley. Not very encouraging.

Visiting Tamarack. The best of WV. A very interesting exhibition of folk art. All West Virginia made.

 Dramatic clouds in the background of the Tamarack building.

 A bent metal beam piece of the New York World Trade center in downtown Beckley as a memorial to the victims of 9-11.

N669TW awaiting for the weather to improve at the Beckley airport.

 Waiting area at the Beckley airport. The books in between the seats were all bibles. There were like 30 of them. (??) No comment.

Leaving Beckley. Miles and miles of wooded mountainous terrain. With nowhere to land.

A reservoir along the way.

Finally flatter terrain with meadows.

Lexington, KY from above.

The Bluegrass airport in the outskirts of Lexington.

Crossing the Ohio river.

Another view of the Ohio river.

Nice farmland landscape getting closer to my destination in Mt Vernon. Notice the shadows of the trees, denoting the sun being low in the horizon ahead of me.

The prairies looking south.

Late arrival at Mt Vernon airport.

These are Henry, Cristy and little William, in front of their pickup. A very kind family of pilots who were extremely helpful to me tonight. They gave me a lift to the hotel and all kind of recommendations for dinner and about the local weather.  Many Thanks!



There is no track log available today for my trip from Beckley, WV (KBKW) to Mount Vernon, IL (KMVN). My guess is that the memory space of the Stratus device is full.  (However in theory it should overwrite prior track logs, but it does not seem to behave this way). I have now deleted all logs in the device. Tomorrow I will be able to confirm if this is the reason for my lost track logs).  


Totals for the day:

• 370 nm
• 3 hours 42 min.

All Best,
Eduard