Vermont for the 50xChallenge

My trip from New Hampshire started bright and early as the construction crew returned to Claremont Airport to work on the building they had torn apart the previous day.

Within 45 mins I arrived at Hartness State Airport which on a good calm weather day is possible to fly back and forth between the airports and even a third airstrip which are all around 7 miles apart. With permission, to fill with water and park I tucked my camper into the corner of the parking lot.

The wind turned cold and with it rain and even some snow flurries. It turned out I hadn’t got the correct code into the FBO but was able to get a faint WIFI signal and fired up the generator to keep the computer running and use my electric heater since my furnace was on the fritz again.

I spent the day editing videos, working with tech support to identify the problem with the furnace and follow up on several things that needed my attention.

Late in the afternoon Mackenzie whom I had been connected with by Kris at SkySportsUSA came by the airport since he has a Hanger. He got me access to the FBO and we made arrangements to monitor the weather over the next few days.

New Oakley Sunglasses thanks to my buddy Ronnie for arranging them.

Friday was spent in the FBO on my own for most of the day where I unboxed my Sun Glasses and made a couple of videos that I posted on Instagram and Facebook. That evening I was also resituated with some power and closer proximity to the wifi which both came were extremely helpful in making my stay much more comfortable and enable me to spend more time in my camper.

Saturday rolled in with the weather still not shaping up. I also met Chris courtesy of Mackenzie who also flies Paramotors and lives just off the airport. I don’t know what happened to the rest of Saturday, but the time passed by very quickly and as the forecast was looking good, I made arrangements with Chris and Mackenzie to attempt our flights at 08:00 Sunday morning.

The forecast was dead on and it was a zero wind morning, although VERY COLD. We had all got an early start and eager to get in the air. By 07:20 I was in the air and not much later Mackenzie and Chris braved the extreme cold as we flew around Hartness State Airport.

Harley, Mackenzie, and Chris at Hartness State Airport

Thank goodness for heated gloves which without, would have been a really short flight. I did wish I had a neoprene facemask given my nose nearly froze off. I still had an absolute blast and it makes me so happy when I get to fly with others. Though we had all landed by 09:00, the weather held and even warmed. Sadly we didn’t take advantage of it.

We had also planned an evening flight based on the forecast. Sadly it didn’t shape up well, and even when the winds dropped on the ground, I found out very quickly when I did launch why Mackenzie and Chris had opted to stay on the ground.

The airport is in a bit of a fishbowl, with lots of rolling hills around and more trees than a box of matches. While not the worst flight I’ve been on, it was really hot, and I’m not sure posting any of the videos would do it much justice. When you go from 2 knots on the ground to vertical lift and parked at 800 feet on a Snake 1.2 18m, then you know you got some serious Winds Aloft, and we won’t mention the trampoline ride. While I wouldn’t recommend it, I had wanted to use the flight to develop some experience and got a ride I will remember for a while.

Thank You, Mackenzie, Chris and Shane for making Vermont come together for me.

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