AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2023 - 54

For the next few days, that little Tri-Pacer became all we
talked about. Of course, Tulis checked its Vref value, called back
to headquarters and talked about it with our experts, and called
his brother to discuss financing. At one point Rose said, " I'm not a
pilot, but if you don't buy it, I will, " hammering home the idea that
this was a great deal and would probably fetch more outside of a
museum shop in sleepy Hood River. By the end of the week, Tulis
was shaking hands with Brandt, sealing the deal.
Into the wind
The one person Tulis left out of his deliberations was his wife,
Lisa. I kept saying I thought that was a problem, but Dave T was
staying mum. From October until March Tulis planned how he
was going to get this 135-horsepower, 110-mph flier home from
across the country. Honestly, you really cannot imagine a place
farther away from our central Maryland home, and Tulis with
his grand ideas thought he'd first fly west and touch down on
the Pacific and then fly home to pass Frederick and touch down
on the Atlantic. That idea eventually died when he was finally
able to get out to Hood River to get checked out in and fly home
his new airplane.
Before he left, he did sit down on a pretty, cool evening with his
wife on their patio-in-progress with a glass of wine and broached
the subject of buying an airplane. His younger brother Martin
had helped him with the purchase, and he'd told daughter Lauren
about his buy, so she was relieved that her mother finally knew.
Sanguine, Lisa accepted the idea but with the stipulation that he
finish their patio (it's still not done).
TacAero CFI Lars Ljungqvist put Tulis and N3328A through
the wringer before allowing them to begin their journey. Winds
howling at 24 knots, Tulis thought his orientation would be
Travels with Dave T
Day 3:
York Municipal Airport (JYR),
Nebraska: Landed for fuel
because I didn't think I had
enough to make it to the
next planned stop. Right
tank puttered out almost
directly above the airport.
Message from above?
Airport manager/worker
Gayle Radcliff (below right)
Met workers Maureen and
Michael (right). And Steve
ferrying a Grumman from
Portland, Oregon, to the East
Coast. Fairfield Inn, near
airport on Stillwater (FBO
recommended).
met me at ramp, asked if I
heard him on radio saying
he didn't have fuel. Uh, well
I heard static! Swell guy-he
donated free fuel for helping
get the fuel truck back
online.
Columbia, Missouri, for
evening. Dodged snow
showers north of my route,
so dipped more southerly
than planned. Still had to
54
AOPA PILOT / August 2023
grounded but Ljungqvist said " No, we're going. " The veteran
flight instructor knew Tulis would be facing rougher mountain
and wind challenges on his way over the Rockies, so he wasn't
going to give him a pass. Three intense hours later, Ljungqvist
said Dave T was ready.
Tulis had mapped out a route home from deliberations with
colleagues such as Hirschman and AOPA Content Producer Alicia
Herron who knew the area. There'd been a lot of " go this way " and
" no, go this way " but Tulis thought he'd settled on a path home.
Within the first several hours, the " best-laid plans " went south.
First, he was a day late starting out because of some last-minute
repairs, then Hirschman's initial two 250-mile legs became
Herron's one 300-mile leg ( " She was right, I couldn't have physically
gone any farther that first day, " Tulis said). And the winds just
would not abate (see " Travels with Dave T " below).
" I'd thought about getting someone to ferry it home but that
wouldn't be much fun, " Tulis said. " But I did not realize what a
significant challenge this would be. "
It takes a village
Back home, we were rooting for him. On the road, the kindness of
strangers and the helpfulness of the aviation community benefited
our intrepid traveler. He was feeling optimistic bouncing in the air
out of Hood River-it is called the Windsurfing Capital for a reason-but
was both awestruck and scared when he faced the cold,
the snow, the mountains, and the desolate area below him, flying at
9,000 to 11,500 feet msl.
Taking off from Hood River, the terrain steadily climbed to
9,000 feet and he says he looked out his left window to see " mountains,
Christmas trees, and snow as far as the eye could see. " Then
he looked right, thinking there must be civilization somewhere.
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2023
