Day 1, Fairbanks to Tok

Well, we got a slow start this morning finishing the last couple necessary items to prepare for the trip and close out our affairs in Fairbanks. We also had to taxi to the pumps and get gas prior to departure. We finally said goodbye to Fairbanks at 1210.  

Making it to Tok was a bit of a challenge. There was a lot of build up, virga, and several rain showers. I tried to get on top, and was successful at 9,500 through just North of Delta. At that point we descended and battled the dynamic air and showers all the way to Tok.   

Additionally, all three children had to visit the Gatorade bottle lavatory and one graced his pull-up with a #2. The Stationaire has a great deal of space, but nothing has enough space for all that.

There was a shower over the approach end of 25 at Tok upon arrival with a bit of a down draft. That and a poor approach yielded a positive arrival, noteworthy bounce, and a butter smooth second landing. Nailed it!

The self-serve pump is next to 40-Mile Air on the Notheast corner of the ramp. Transient parking is located on the south side ramp marked by green/yellow cones. There are about 5-6 spots. Only one other spot was taken. Fast Eddies is across the highway North of the field with a restaurant and Young's Motel.

After the hustle of the morning, getting jolted around below the scattered to broken layer, and battling with the kids' personal needs, we were exhausted. We elected to stay the night in a cabin and charge ahead earlier tomorrow morning. The decision allowed us a solid nap and some relax time with no work to weigh us down. Ahhhh.

The 40-Mile 206s and 207 looked great on the ramp. They really highlighted the value of having a smaller nose wheel with 8.50s or 26s on the mains. They're all sitting nice and level while mine is almost a taildragger. Getting the nose strut services last week really put me nose up and the load of stuff exacerbates the issue. Now that the Airglas STC has been modified, I'll have to go to an 8.00 or even 7.00 on the nose.

All in all, we made some headway and shook out some bugs. I don't often have a 3,400 lb load in the airplane and need to acknowledge that when I'm setting up the approach and landing. We'll also get an earlier start to hopefully take advantage of some morning stable air. The wifi is out at the lodge, so I'll worry about weather later. The plan before checking is Whitehorse, Watson Lake, and either McKenzie or ???.

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