Logbook: Rock Chalk

2.15.2010 – N89EL (1989 Bellanca Super Viking)

KGTU – KCLL – KGTU

1.3 hours, 0.7 night

In February of 2010, I was about 5 months into my new job at xMatters.  I had already become good friends with my technical sales architect, who was a graduate of Kansas.  I am not sure why anyone would ever want to go to KU, but to each his own.  As most know, KU has a storied history in basketball.  They were going to be in College Station for a game against the Aggies, and this game coincided with some business travel plans Michael and I had made.  So, he said he’d buy the tickets if I would fly us over from Georgetown to College Station after our meetings in Austin that day.  Let’s see…I get to go flying and root against the Aggies.  Sold.

One of Michael’s friends joined us and we went launched into a clear, winter sky.  The flight was very short, about 35 minutes, and that was the point.  It would have taken over an 90 minutes to drive.  The interesting part of this flight was that I had just purchased a new Garmin 696 portable GPS/moving map.  I had been flying with a 496 in the panel for several years and I loved the XM weather display and radio capabilities that it provided.  After having flown a G1000-equipped Cessna Skylane for 4 years though, the 496 had a pretty small screen.  The 696 solved that problem in a big way.  Now, I could actually see the weather information without burying my head in the cockpit, and it had geo-referenced approach plates too!  Those turned out to be more useful down the road when I had to fly some really low approaches over the next couple of years.  More about that another time.

Michael and his other Jayhawk friend had never been to College Station, and as much as I hate to admit it, I have some connection to the town.  My Grandad was class of ’43 (and to my Aggie friends, that means something special).  Also, my bother had graduated from there.  I showed them around town, and we ate dinner at the Dixie Chicken.  It’s the one place you have to eat if you’re going to an Aggie sporting event.

The game was good.  It was close all the way, and KU pulled out a 59-54 win.  Bobby Knight was one of the TV Commentators that night, so I got to see him as well.  We loaded up and headed back to Georgetown, and I was home and in bed about an hour before I would have made it to my house had I driven.

It was just one of many great nights of watching college sports, compliments of my little time machine – N89EL.