Yesterday was one of those knock-you-to-your-knees kinda of day. Started off o’dark early at 3 A.M. for a pre-brief with my pilot at 4:30 a.m. At 4:45 a.m. we launched into the cool and tranquil darkness of Central Iowa. Out first target was a wind farm in Northwestern Iowa. About halfway to the site, the winds started kicking up from the northwest. They were much stronger than all the aviation weather forecasts had predicted. Almost to the point where we were going to scrub the flight. The pilot and I decided to work with the wind and keep safety first. Which we did.
After battling a raising headwind for an hour and half, it was time to head to a nearby field and refuel. These World War II era hangars were manufactured by the Butler Corporation. The gentleman who ran the FBO said he had only seen this type of hangar at one other field, a small airport in South Dakota. This was the first of three fuel stops we made and none of the fields accepted credit cards for fuel. They gladly billed us.
After refueling, we headed north into Minnesota to shoot a second wind farm. That was a quick twenty-minute flight. In the interim, the winds rose even higher and a cloud deck settled in. My pilot and I agreed it was time to wait the wind out for a few hours. We landed at the Springfield, Minnesota field. A small single-runway airport manned by Sonny, a gregarious and kind-hearted eighty-two year old native of Springfield who gave us a lift to the local diner for lunch.
Sonny also arranged “transport” back to the field for us with the local law enforcement officer. I often meet the greatest people when I fly into small towns. The back of the squad car is a bit cramped and sparse, but then it is not really designed for comfort.
Eventually, the winds died down and the cloud deck started to break apart. We lifted off around four in the afternoon and headed for Northeastern Iowa to shoot a huge wind farm that spanned several miles. The light was amazing: crisp and clean plus the clouds created wonderful shadow play on the freshly planted fields. We shot until sunset and then headed back to Des Moines.
When we landed, the Hobbs meter read 9.1 hours. That is a long day! 17 hours from eyes open to eyes shut.
