Moving Across the Country in my 70-Year-Old Airplane! Michigan to California Part 1

I've lived in Michigan my whole life, and in today's video, that's about to change. We're starting a three-day trip flying the Bonanza all the way from Michigan to California. On day one, we'll fly from Ann Arbor, Michigan to Wichita, Kansas with one fuel stop at Kilo 52 in Monroe City, Missouri. On day two, we'll fly from Wichita, Kansas to Phoenix, Arizona with two fuel stops, first in Amarillo, Texas, and second in Albuquerque, New Mexico. On the third day, we'll take off from Phoenix and land at 2-1 Charlie's new home in Camarillo, California. I've never done a long trip like this, and I am so excited to take you all along for the ride. So let's go. ♪ Oh, what would you do with you? ♪ All right, so this is the packing situation. I've got 30 pounds in the baggage compartment, and then the rest of the stuff is in the back. I didn't want to put too much stuff in the baggage compartment because I'm obviously going to be up front, and I also have my backpack, and there's a duffel down in the bottom, so. ♪ It's always sunny where you are from, I know ♪ ♪ It's no wonder you're, you're so bright, you're so bright ♪ ♪ I'll take you away to where the sun shines ♪ I can't forget this. Pumpkin cream, it's so good. All right, it is a windy day out there. Seatbelts are good, doors and windows. Flatched circuit breakers, check in. Electrical switches are all off except for beacons and nav lights. Avionics master's off. We're on the left tank, we're indicating the left tank. All of our tanks are full. Cow flaps are open, carpet's off, mixture's rich. Prop auto, full forward, throttle. Two turns, keys are on both. iPad's set, let's do it. Clear! Yep, some noise canceling on, and avionics master's coming up. Ann Arbor tower, ATIS information, Delta 1453 Zulu observation, wind 290 at 15, gust 25, visibility 10, sky clear below 1,200. Ann Arbor ground, Bonanza 5921 Charlie. Bonanza 5921 Charlie, Ann Arbor ground. Bonanza 5921 Charlie is at the northeast east of information delta, ready for taxi for a southwestbound departure. Bonanza 21 Charlie, runway 24, taxi via alpha. 24, taxi via alpha, 21 Charlie. It's a little cloudy, and it's definitely very windy. Rather have it windy on the takeoff than the landing though, so. Oh, this is gonna be my last takeoff out of here for a while. It's like still just kind of starting to hit me that this is happening, kind of crazy. Fuel selector, we're on the fullest tank, indicating the fullest tank. We have full, full, and full. Flight controls, green, correct. Time for takeoff, mixture's rich. Bottles coming up, mag check. All right, prop is down and waiting to come back up. In the meantime, mags are good. Carb heat is in, good. Engine instruments, so fuel is good. Oil temp and pressure both in the green. Fuel pressure's good. Fuel flow is good, that came back up as expected. Manifold pressure looks good. Suction is good. Throttle back to idle. Turn our taxi light off. Flight instruments checked and set. Air speed is good, altitude indicator is up. Altimeter is set, turn coordinator is level. Landing indicator is accurate, vertical speed is zero. That all looks good. Suction's good over there again. Radio transponder, we want to be on tower. Doors and windows, close and latch. Flaps are up, and I think we're good. Gas is on the fullest tank, undercarriage light, indicator mixture, full rich, prop forward, auto and seatbelts adjusted and locked. Ground, Bonanza 5921 Charlie, request if able. Bonanza 21 Charlie, say request. 21 Charlie, I'd like to request a flight following to Kilo 52, it's in Kansas called Monroe City. We'll start with 4,500 and I have a type Bravo Echo 35. Bonanza 21 Charlie, roger, stand by for squawk. And 21 Charlie, I said it's in Kansas, it's actually in Missouri. Bonanza 21 Charlie, I got K52 in there for you at 4,500 and squawk 4116 and departure frequency is 118.95. Squawk 4116, departure 118.95, 21 Charlie. Ann Arbor Tower, Bonanza 5921 Charlie, holding short runway 24, ready for departure southwest bound. Bonanza 5921 Charlie, Ann Arbor Tower, runway 24, cleared for takeoff, on course approved, wind 320 at 15 gusts 27. Runway 24, cleared for takeoff, on course approved, 21 Charlie, and this is my last flight out of here. I'm moving to California, so I just wanted to thank you guys. I learned to fly here three years ago, so thanks for everything you guys do. Bonanza 21 Charlie, roger, and you're welcome and have a great flight. Thank you. Here we go. Big old crosswind correction in there. Airspeed slowly coming alive, temperature and pressure both in the green. Gear's up, gear's up. Ooh, bumpy. We'll go ahead and bring that prop back. Bonanza 21 Charlie, contact Detroit Departure, 118.95 for VFR flight following, have a great day. 118.95, 21 Charlie, have a good one. Detroit Departure, Bonanza 5921 Charlie, 1,900 climbing 4,500 if able with the clouds. Bonanza 5921 Charlie, Detroit Departure, ident, altimeter 29.86. 29.86, 21 Charlie. 21 Charlie, traffic alert, traffic, one or two o'clock and three miles southeast on up indicates 2,300, type unknown. Looking for traffic, 21 Charlie, traffic in sight, 21 Charlie. 21 Charlie, roger, radar contact four miles west of the Ann Arbor Airport. Position text, 21 Charlie. Everything is looking good, and we took off at about 11.25, so we'll switch fuel tanks in about 45 minutes. We're actually gonna level off here. Approach, Bonanza 5921 Charlie, just to let you know, I'll be leveling off here at 2,800. 5921 Charlie, roger, thank you. I'm hoping that these clouds rise or just go away. Everyone in Kansas and Missouri was clear at a million, so hopefully that happens soon. That'd be nice. 5921 Charlie, contact Great Lakes Approach on 118.65, good day. 118.65, 21 Charlie, have a good one. Great Lakes Approach, Bonanza 5921 Charlie, 3,200. You can call out a 6-2 contact, Detroit Approach, 118.95. Great Lakes Approach, Bonanza 5921 Charlie, 3,200. Detroit Approach, Bonanza 5921 Charlie, a tread calling, Great Lakes on 118.65, but I haven't heard anything back from them. Bonanza 21 Charlie, roger, damn fine. They might want you to call Toledo, hang on. Thanks, 21 Charlie. 21 Charlie, try 127.3. 127.3, 21 Charlie, thank you. Approach, Bonanza 5921 Charlie, 3,100. November 5921 Charlie, Great Lakes Approach, good afternoon, Jackson Altimeter 2988. 2988, 21 Charlie, thank you. November 21 Charlie, maintain VFR at or above 3,500 for traffic, 10 miles northwest to your position of Skyhawk Southeast on a 3,000. Bonanza 5921 Charlie, unable due to the cloud cover. November 21 Charlie, roger. November 21 Charlie, turn right heading of 320, vectors for traffic. Right heading 320, 21 Charlie. 21 Charlie, contact Great Lakes Approach, 119.2. 119.2, 5921 Charlie, have a good day. Thank you, too, enjoy your weekend. Thanks, Great Lakes Approach, Bonanza 5921 Charlie, 3,000. Bonanza 5921 Charlie, good approach, downwind to 2999.5. 299.5, 5921 Charlie. So we have exactly three hours to go. We'll stay at about this altitude until we get to the clear area, then we'll climb up to either 4,000 or 6,500. 15 minutes until we're gonna probably switch tanks here. I just remembered I have a coffee, so my day just got like 10 times better. Guys, this is crazy! It's done! Ann Arbor is done, like I'm done there. So you're probably wondering why I'm moving to California, and I have an answer for you. I've lived in Michigan my whole life. I grew up in the Grand Rapids area on the west side of the state, and then I went to school in Ann Arbor at University of Michigan. I graduated in May of 2020, and in September 2020, I was supposed to move out to Northern California to work for the company that I work for now, and I also interned in California for them in 2019. And the plan has always been to move back out there because I do work in tech, so that's kind of like the place to be. And if you're curious, I do mobile app development for a software company out in California. But obviously, I did not move to California in 2020 because COVID happened and we've all been remote, and we're still working remote. They're still letting very limited people into the office, and honestly, I have no desire to go back to the office anymore. Working from home just gives me so much flexibility to do things like this. I still wanted to move to California, but I am in desperate need of some sunshine this winter. I swear every Michigan winter just gets worse and worse and worse. So I picked Southern California because the weather, obviously. I also have a ridiculous amount of friends at the airport I'm moving to, and it's really all over SoCal. I have a ton of friends, and there's a lot more flying that goes on, and it's a really great place to have an airplane. So I'm really, really excited to be moving out there. I already have a, it's not an apartment. It's like a little house. And I also have a hangar out there, which is super exciting because it's hard to get hangars out there. I really do love Michigan, and I'm super sad to be leaving. It hasn't really hit me yet. Seriously, it's underrated, like especially during the summer. But for now, it's just time for something different. We've got a long ways to go. All right, we've burned eight gallons out of the left tank here, so I'm gonna switch to the aux. Fuel flow looks good. Fuel pressure looks good. And let's turn that on. I realized that I haven't talked much about being a software engineer on my YouTube channel. If you follow my Instagram, which you should, I talk about it a little bit on there. But I went to school for computer science engineering. I went to the engineering school, graduated with an engineering degree. And I've always been interested in mobile app development, so that's just what I'm doing now. Two-One-Charlie, traffic, 11 o'clock, three miles, eastbound, altitude in case 2,700, type unknown. Two-One-Charlie has the traffic in sight, no factor. Bonanza Two-One-Charlie, record contact southbend approach, 118.55. 118.55, Two-One-Charlie, have a good day. Southbend approach, Bonanza Five-Niner-Two-One-Charlie, 3,200. Bonanza Five-Niner-Two-One-Charlie, southbend approach, open altimeter 2-Niner-Niner-Niner. 2-Niner-Niner-Niner, Two-One-Charlie. We're about to pass southbend. We're also up to like 3,600 now. Hope that the clouds kind of rise up so we can actually follow the VFR altitude rules. Okay, it's time for the pumpkin cream cold brew. It's so good. If I spill this on myself, I'm gonna be so mad. Bonanza Two-One-Charlie, contact Chicago Center, 132.5. 132.5, Two-One-Charlie, have a good day. Chicago Center, Bonanza Five-Niner-Two-One-Charlie, 3,700. Bonanza Five-Niner-Two-One-Charlie, Chicago Center, welcome. Thank you for your help, Bonanza Three-Zero-Zero-Seven. Three-Zero-Zero-Seven, Five-Niner-Two-One-Charlie, thank you. Really? A giant high pressure system moving through, I guess. I am extremely lucky. There is a giant high pressure system moving through the whole country. Planned this trip a few weeks in advance, took time off from work, and ended up getting probably the nicest weekend of the whole fall to be able to do this. I have never done a long solo trip like this. I have done some long trips with friends, though. I did go alone on purpose. By the way, I do have friends. I know you guys see me flying alone all the time, and you're probably like, if I didn't do it this time, I probably would never do it. So, logistically, a lot of my clothes are in here, and then a lot of airplane parts, my camera gear, and this Yeti cooler in the back that has all my snacks. I am, again, so lucky, one, because of high pressure system, and two, because my mom is driving my car, and I have a two-door Jeep Wrangler, so it's not like a comfortable car to be in. My mom is driving my car out to California. Last night, my parents came to my apartment building in Ann Arbor and helped me pack up everything. Her and I will actually arrive on the same day. That's kind of why I'm taking that extra day in Arizona on this trip, so that I arrive at the same time as her, and plus, it'll be fun. We're starting to cruise along a little bit faster here. We're doing 132, and we're doing 135 indicated. 5-9-2-1-Charlie, contact Chicago Center, 123.75. 123.75, 5-9-2-1-Charlie, have a good day. You too. I don't remember who he told me I'm talking to. Chicago Center, 5-3-4-5-4-5. Chicago Center, Bonanza 5-9-2-1-Charlie, 4,000. For 5-9-2-1-Charlie, Chicago Center, altimeter Chicago, 3-0-0-2. 3-0-0-2-2-1-Charlie. Got about five gallons left in the AUX tank, and we're gonna go up to 6-5. November 5-9-2-1-Charlie, what's your cruising altitude gonna be? Cruising altitude will be 6,500, 2-1-Charlie. November 5-9-2-1-Charlie, 0-3. All right, let's switch to the right tank now. And we're watching our fuel pressure and fuel flow, both look good, so we switch to the right tank at 1-9-2. Roger, November 5-9-2-1-Charlie, contact Peoria Approach, 128.72, good day. 128.72, 2-1-Charlie, have a good one. Peoria Approach, Bonanza 5-9-2-1-Charlie, 6,500. Bonanza 5-9-2-1-Charlie, Peoria Approach, Bloomington Altimeter, 3-0-1-0. 3-0-1-0, 5-9-2-1-Charlie. We are just passing off of Bloomington, Illinois. We have about an hour left until our fuel stop today, which is Kilo 52. It's in Missouri, it's called Monroe City. I wasn't really sure where to stop for fuel, so I asked on my Instagram story. One person suggested this airport. The fuel was cheap, and it sounds like this place is really just run by people who love general aviation. I wanted to stop at one untowered airport, and I'd rather do it today. 5-9-2-1-Charlie, change to my frequency, 125.8. 125.8-2-1-Charlie. Bonanza 5-9-2-1-Charlie, checking in on 125.8. Bonanza 5-9-2-1-Charlie, Peoria Approach, Peoria Altimeter, 3-0-1-3. All right, we are passing Peoria now, and we have like 50 minutes left. Peoria 2-1-Charlie, contact Springfield Approach, 1-2-6-point-1-5. 1-2-6-point-1-5, 2-1-Charlie. Have a good one. You too. Approach, Bonanza 5-9-2-1-Charlie, 6,500. Bonanza 5-9-2-1-Charlie, Springfield Approach, Altimeter 3-0-1-4. 3-0-1-4, 2-1-Charlie. I passed through two MOAs here in a couple miles, and one of them starts at 9,000, so we're at 6,500, not a factor. And the other one ends at 6,000 feet, so also not a factor. Bonanza 2-1-Charlie, contact Kansas City Center, 1-2-7-point-2-7, good day. 1-2-7-point-2-7, 2-1-Charlie. Have a good one. Kansas City Center, Bonanza 5-9-2-1-Charlie, 6,500. Bonanza 5-9-2-1-Charlie, Kansas City Center, Altimeter 3-0-1-8. 3-0-1-8, 5-9-2-1-Charlie. Well, the most interesting things I've seen so far are some clouds. There's a river down there. That's it. We're still running on the right tank right now. I'll switch to the left before landing. We'll just listen to this airport's weather. Weather, wind 2-9-0, at 1-0, gust 1-8, visibility 1-0, clear below 1-2-thousand. Pull the power back even more. I'm gonna switch back to the left tank now. Oh, there's a Mississippi River. Kind of cool. We're officially west of the Mississippi. There's some glider activity up here, it looks like, so we'll just keep our eyes peeled for that. And we've got about 18 miles to go. We're gonna stay on the left tank. We're indicating the left tank. Our lights are on. Our runway options are 9 and 27, so we're gonna take 27, obviously. Bonanza 5-9-2-1-Charlie has Monroe City in sight. I think you forgot about me. Switch to the CTAF then, and squawk VFR. Monroe City traffic, Bonanza 5-9-2-1-Charlie, about eight miles northeast of the field. We'll be overflying the field for a left-downwind runway 27, Monroe City. Pattern altitude is about 1,700 feet. First stop, get excited! Monroe City traffic, Bonanza 5-9-2-1-Charlie, six miles northeast of the field, overflying the field for a left-downwind runway 27, Monroe City. I see, like, where the airport, I think, is. Oh, I see it now, okay. Monroe City traffic, Bonanza 5-9-2-1-Charlie, three miles north of the field, overflying the field for a left-downwind 27, Monroe City. Let's get the gear down. It'll make it a little bit more stable. Gear's coming down. Down and down, good. And prop is off speed. We can bring it back to full forward. It's on auto. Gas is on the left tank, indicating left tank, undercarriage light. Indicator mixture full-rich. Prop forward, auto, and seatbelts just in line. Temperature's good, temperature's good. Bye! Fuel selector is on the fullest tank. We're indicating the fullest tank. Flight controls. Rim set for takeoff, good. Mixture's rich, throttle's coming up. Magnetic, prop, manual, and down. Good, and back up. Fuel is good. Oil, temperature, pressure, both in the green. Fuel pressure's good. UGT, CHT, as expected. Fuel flow is good, and suction is good over there. That came back up, and manifold pressure is good. Auto coming back. Air speed is good. Attitude indicator is up. Altimeter is set. Vertical speed is good, and that is correct. And turn coordinator looks level. Flaps are at zero. That's neutral. Lights are on. Radio, we're on 122.8. And the city center is 126.225. There we go, that's in. Okay, doors and windows, good, good. Lights are on. Okay, gas is on the fullest tank, indicating fullest tank. Undercarriage light indicator. Mixture, full, rich. Prop, forward, auto, and seatbelts just unlocked, and we are going to be a left turn out of here. Bye! Monroe City Traffic, Bonanza 5921C, backtaxing runway 27 for departure. Monroe City. So, this airport was awesome. I got here, and they gave me biscuits and gravy and blueberry muffins. So, like, kind of the best thing in the world. Even better than I expected it to be. So, thank you to whoever gave me that recommendation. Yeah, this was great, so thank you. Monroe City. Monroe City Traffic, Bonanza 5921C, departing runway 27, Monroe City. A little bit of a crosswind correction here. Air speed's coming alive. Temperature pressure both in the green. Those people were awesome. All right, gear is up, confirmed. Prop's coming back. Monroe City Traffic, Bonanza 5921C, making a left turn out to the southwest and departing the area, Monroe City. As is flight, Bonanza, thank you for stopping by. Thanks for having me. We are on our way to Wichita. That airport back there is what general aviation is all about. Let's get some flight following here. Kansas City Center, Bonanza 5921C, VFR request. Bonanza 5921C. Bonanza 5921C is about four miles southwest of Kilo 52 Airport, 2,200, climbing 4,500, request flight following to Wichita. Bonanza 5921C, roger, Wichita Airport. Standby, 5921C. 5921C, squawk 1126. 1126, and airport is India, Charlie, Tango, 5921C. Roger. Number 5121C, radar contact five miles southwest of the Monroe City Airport altitude. Altitude is 3,100, 5121C. 5121C, roger. I just went to the airport Monroe City in Missouri. I get there and all these people come out to greet me. They help me do my fuel. They've watched my YouTube videos before. So I go into this room and they have biscuits and gravy from a fly-in earlier that day. And they put my YouTube videos on on the TV. Like, it was so funny. They were all so excited. And I was so excited. You know, you don't get that when you stop at big airports. The airport I stopped at was Kewa 52, Monroe City in Missouri. If you get the chance, you should go. Thank you to Dell. That was the best experience I could have asked for. So a great first stop on what is going to be a super long trip for me. We're about an hour and 59 away from Wichita. We're at 4,500 feet. And we are still on the left tank. We'll switch over to the aux tank here in a few minutes. It seriously just seems like there's nothing in every direction. It's so crazy. Switch to the aux tank now. Aux tank, looking good. N5921C, transit station line frequency 135.57. Is that 135.57 for 5921C? Affirmative. Bonanza 5921C, checking in on 3557. N5921C, thanks for the switch. Wind altimeter 3020. 3020, 21C. Well, this is pretty fun. I don't know, I'm having a good time. Kind of hanging out. Yeah, 123.97. Yes. So my composite radar is showing green over here. But there's not a cloud in the sky. So not really sure what that's about. Like, does it look like there's rain out there? No, it doesn't. N5921C, contact Davis Approach 123.95. 123.95, 21C, have a good one. I'll smoke up my worms. Approach Bonanza 5921C, 4,500. N5921C, approach up north 3024. 3024, 5921C. Hour and 20 to go. There's Kansas City. Okay. I've never been over here before, so I didn't even realize that we were that close. Kansas City, Center Bonanza 5921C, 4,500. N5921C, Kansas City Center, hello, maintain VFR. The Kansas City, approach 3024. 3024, maintain VFR, 21C. We're 120 miles away, and just under an hour to go. All right, in a few minutes here, we're gonna switch from the OX tank to the right tank. Super exciting, I know. Let's switch it. I'm gonna go ahead and do the parachute jumping operation. I could literally be in Nebraska or Iowa right now, and I wouldn't even know. N5921C, contact Kansas City Center, 120.2. 120.2, 21C, see ya. See ya. Kansas City Center, Bonanza 5921C, 4,500. 5921C, Kansas City, hello, wish us all a similar 3027. 3027, 5921C. Wish us all a similar, for information, Hotel 2053, Zulu Wind 269, visibility 10, 5921C, Wichita approach, 134.85. 134.85, 21C, see ya. Wichita approach, Bonanza 5921C, 4,500, and we have hotel. Bonanza Center, Christian Skyhawk, 5921C, Wichita approach. Maintain VFR at or above 4,000, expect runway 19L. Maintain VFR at or above 4,000, expect 19L, and it is Bonanza 5921C. Bonanza 2-1-er Charlie, right? I've never been called a Skyhawk before. Finally almost there, get hype, woo! All right, let's switch to the left tank, just because it has the most fuel. So there's a bunch of airspace that we have to watch out for. I'm not sure if they'll vector us around it or how that works, so I guess we're gonna find out. Bonanza 2-1-Charlie, use caution, there is glider activity in your area today. I see one target at your 12 to 11 o'clock in five miles maneuvering type and altitude unknown. They were last reported around 4,500, but they changed pretty quick. Looking for the traffic, 5921Charlie, thanks for the heads up. Bonanza 2-1-Charlie, additionally, there is traffic 12 o'clock in four miles, 3,200, indicated appears to be descending for Jabara. I'll have lower once you pass that. Looking for traffic, 2-1-Charlie, thanks. Bonanza 2-1-Charlie, the breeze held traffic, no factor, you can resume own navigation and altitude for runway 19L. Resume own nav and altitude for 19L. Bonanza 2-1-Charlie, contact tower 118.2, we'll see you. 118.2, 2-1-Charlie, thanks. Wichita Tower, Bonanza 5-9-2-1-Charlie, inbound for runway 19L. Bonanza 5-9-2-1-Charlie, Wichita Tower, runway 19L, cleared to land, remaining traffic, one mile final. 19L, cleared to land, 5-9-2-1-Charlie. So we're on the left tank, we're indicating the left tank, we're gonna stay that way. We're going pretty fast here. Once we get closer, we will slower down and drop the gear. So prop and auto, runway is tight. Houston, 11G, Wichita Tower, runway 19L, cleared to land, following traffic, Bonanza 5-9-2-1. All right, number two looking for Bonanza, 9-3-1-1-Go. All right, gear's coming down, we're cleared to land. Gas is on the left tank, under carriage we have the light. Indicator is down, mixture's full-rich, prop is coming full-forward, auto and seatbelts adjusted and locked. Get some trim in, and here in a minute we'll work some flaps in as well. Gas is on the left tank, we're indicating the left tank, under carriage light, indicator mixture full-rich, prop full-forward, auto and seatbelts adjusted and locked. Gas is on the left tank, indicating left tank, under carriage light, indicator mixture full-rich, prop full-forward, auto and seatbelts adjusted and locked. Houston, 11G, Bonanza traffic now about a half mile final, you're 15 knots faster. All right, Wichita, 9-3-1-1-Go. Gear's down, gear's down. We made it to Wichita, taxiing to signature now. Hopefully they, in fact, do have a car for me, we'll see. Thank you guys for coming along on this flight. Hopefully the second video is posted pretty shortly after this, and hopefully the rest of the trip goes smoothly. I hope you enjoyed coming along for the ride. Be on the next flight. Bye.