After a gap of four years, conditions finally looked good for a flight to the 2006 annual Taylorcraft reunion in Alliance, Ohio. Conditions were so good that I couldn’t see waiting for my intended departure day on Friday, so I got an early start on Thursday afternoon, July 6th.

I flew my first leg almost directly to Glens Falls, NY, overflying Lebanon, NH in the process. I found out when I got to Glens Falls that I couldn’t camp there, as this was one of those airports with a chain link fence all around. The locals suggested that I fly another half hour to Piseco. Piseco is paved strip, nestled in a valley in the Adirondacks. A hiking trail goes past the end of the runway, so there is a large public restroom on the airport, but not much else. There are restaurants and a lake just a short walk to the south. It sounded good, so I headed off into the Adirondack foot hills in the setting sun. I managed to hit it dead on by sticking more or less to a compass course. This was a good place to camp. I had the place all to myself. The new asphalt ramp stored a lot of heat, so when I set my tent up on it, I was warm in the evening.

In the morning I flew down to Frankfort, just outside of Utica, and gassed up. This put me back on my intended course. Later that day I made lunch stop at the hill top airport at Orleans, amidst a large R/C aircraft rally. The rest of the flight was uneventful.

Attendance at the fly in was a little sparse, but I got a chance to examine a Swick-T, clip wing Tayorcraft up close.

An outfit with a hanger on the other side of the field has been working on an ultralight dirigible, and brought it out for us to see. It had only been taxi tested, so we didn’t see it fly.

Other aircraft of interest were a Fleet 10, a Lambert-powered Pietenpol, and a homebuilt Storch.

A local EAA chapter provided the Saturday evening meal, after which there was a general meeting and awards. This is where I collected my longest ownership trophy.

Sunday morning I topped off with gas and headed into the rising sun. I made good time, and arrived at Fulton, NY in time for a second breakfast at the airport diner. I gassed up and rested in the shade for awhile before continuing. One more hop got me back to Norridgewock in only 6.3 hours air time.