AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2020 - 47

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"Because weight was a consideration,
we packed dried food and trail mix," Hans
said. "Plus, a half-gallon jug of water that
we refilled at each fuel stop."
The pair left home from the airport at
Monett, Missouri, at 1 p.m. on February 13,
with each fuel and overnight stop en route
to the Grand Canyon carefully planned. As
with many best-laid plans, however, deviations were required.
"Headwinds ate up much more fuel
than we expected," Hans said. "Our first
fuel stop was planned for Oklahoma City,
which we made without a problem. From
there, we hoped to make it to Amarillo for
the night but couldn't quite get that far. We
had to stop again in Elk City, Oklahoma, for
fuel. There, the card reader on their fuel
pump was broken, so we had to stay overnight in a motel until it could be fixed the
next morning.
"The next day, we couldn't make it to
Amarillo because of bad weather, so we had
to stop short at Perry Lefors Field in Pampa,
Texas, to wait for low clouds to pass. When
we finally spotted an opening, we climbed
through the clouds and flew to Tucumcari,
New Mexico, where we fueled again. By
this time, we realized the journey would
take three days, instead of the two we had
planned for. From Tucumcari, we fueled
again in Moriarty, New Mexico, then flew
into Albuquerque, where we spent the night
in the pilot's lounge."
The next day, after a fuel stop in Gallup,
and another at the Winslow-Lindbergh
Airport in Arizona, the duo arrived at Grand
Canyon National Park Airport at 3 p.m.
Although the following day's hike into
the canyon and a night under the stars
offered a reprieve from the quarters of the

Cessna, after climbing back out of the gorge
the next day, the boys were at a loss. They'd
seen, they'd conquered. What remained?
"They called me," their father said, "asking me what I thought they should do next.
They could go anywhere they wanted, fly
on to California, or maybe down to the Gulf
Coast, but they didn't seem interested. They
were ready to get back into their second
home, the Cessna, and head back to their
first one. The emphasis, for them, was on
flying. Hiking the canyon, as it turned out,
was more of an afterthought."
With tailwinds to facilitate them, their
flight home was made in two days instead
of three with an overnight stop made in the
pilot's lounge in Amarillo. They touched
back down at the Monett Airport at 3 p.m.
on February 20.
"Mechanically, the Cessna performed
perfectly," Hans said. "I learned a lot,
though. In higher altitudes it takes a lot
more time to get off the ground. On one
takeoff, I wasn't quite as high as I thought I
was, and my wheels touched back down. It
kind of startled me. Luckily, though, I had
room to continue the climb."
"I was glad to have them back home.
Although I encouraged them to spread their
wings, I looked forward to those telephone
calls they made every time their wheels
were on the ground," Graybill said.
"I think Wilbur was missing them more
than I was," his wife said.
Hans and Arthur, although glad to be
back home, are already thinking about their
next trip in the Cessna: probably to Niagara
Falls, they said.
SHEILA HARRIS, a freelance writer, lives in

southwest Missouri.

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2020
