Day 57 - Seattle to Eugene

Tony Cacciarelli • August 10, 2020

Paine Field, WA (KPAE) to

Eugene, OR (KEUG) - August 10, 2019

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Well, that's not good :-(

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Parked at Eugene, OR

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Original Instagram Post

Woke up to pouring rain this morning that continued until almost noon. Finally things started clearing up and I was able to get my new friend [and absolutely amazing pilot] Alistair a look at the A5. We weren't able to take a flight, but I suspect there will be another opportunity in the future.

I set off south out of Seattle around 2:40pm with the intention of getting to Eugene, OR for the night. Things were mostly smooth, but some storms built up over and to the west of Portland, which was right along my planned route. I decided to head for Troutdale, just east of Portland. I wanted to make a fuel stop, but there weren't any self-serve options at nearby fields. The FBO at Troutman, Gorge Winds, was open for about 45 more minutes and I was 30 minutes away. I called them from the plane and made sure they weren't leaving early. One advantage of being low and slow is pretty good cellular service in flight. The weather at Troutdale was still decent, but threatening to get ugly, so I did a quick refuel and got on my way.

I had some amazing views heading down to Eugene, with storms over nearby mountains and sunlight shining through clouds. When I landed at Eugene I noticed some weird bouncing as I taxied. After parking, I found damage on the side of the front tire. Not sure when or how this happened, but it means I'm now grounded here until I can get a new tire installed. Of course, this happened on a Saturday, so there isn't a mechanic on duty - and even if there was the chances of them having the exact tire I need are pretty slim. I'll most likely have too wait until Monday to get a new tire shipped in and then get it installed and get on my way. So, looks like I'll be exploring Eugene, OR for a couple days.

😀👍🏼

A fitting end to my time in Seattle. This was a stop I was expecting so much from; a well-known seaplane playground and multiple ICON owners in the area. It made me all the more disappointed when things didn't come together as planned. I still had some amazing experiences and got to spend time with friends old and new.

This day was also my wife's birthday. I'd hoped to be back in time, but the earlier delays had made that impossible. She was able to celebrate with friends at home, so I was glad she wasn't alone.

Once the weather cleared up it was surprisingly bright and sunny for my departure out of Paine, but there were still some decent-sized storms to the south that I was heading towards. I had to revise my fuel stop on the fly. There were a few options, but Troutdale was the best option since they had an FBO and were still open.

It was a little close getting out of Troutdale as I could see the storms moving in. I probably had more time than I thought, but I certainly wasn't going to chance it. There wasn't much reason to hang around the Troutdale FBO anyway - they were about to close.

Things cleared up between Portland and Eugene and I had really nice flight with calm weather and amazing views. You wouldn't have guessed I'd started the day sitting in pouring rain.

I think what happened with the tire is that the low pressure a few days earlier may have been a slow leak. I checked the tire pressure during my pre-flight in Seattle but I suspect between my taxi at Paine, landing and taking off at Troutdale and the landing at Eugene it might've lost enough pressure that the sidewall rubbed up against the fork. That's probably what caused the damage. Fortunately, the tire never lost pressure so I didn't damage the fork or landing gear. That would've been a much bigger issue.

The folks at the FBO in Eugene were helpful with getting me connected up with a mechanic. I just had to wait for ICON to send the replacement tire, which would be a day or two.

In the back of my head I was reliving my time in Brainerd and hoping this wasn't going to be a repeat of that. But, the tire was a standard aviation type, so it didn't have the same potential for problems as the muffler.

I did weigh the option of driving down to ICON's headquarters in Vacaville to pick up the tire and bring it back. But, it would've been a 7 hour drive each way so it didn't really make sense.

The FBO hooked me up with a rental car and booked me into a hotel in Springfield (right next to Eugene). I got checked in and grabbed dinner at a brewpub across the street called Hop Valley Brewing.

During my planning I'd looked at McMinnville as a possible stop, since it's the final resting place of the Spruce Goose and they have a big aviation museum there. I'd ultimately ruled it out in favor of some other stops. With this delay I'd have time to go check it out, so I made that my plan for the next day.