A literal cross-country trip

The mission for this trip was to ferry the AOPA Sweepstakes Cessna 170B from Spokane, Washington, back to AOPA headquarters in Frederick, Maryland. My dad, Steve, would accompany me on the trip. During the trip, his nickname became "Otto" (as in Otto Pilot) so he could help me with some of the flying duties. But once power is set and trim adjusted properly, the 170 basically flies itself.

We flew 20.6 hours, flew over 12 states, poured at least 10 quarts of oil into the original Continental O-300 engine, put more than 200 gallons of fuel into the airplane, performed eight takeoffs (one aborted) and seven landings, crossed four time zones, flew for three days, had one stuck valve due to years of lead fouling buildup, and flew a little more than 1,850 nautical miles. Our altitudes ranged from 1,500 feet to 11,500 feet msl.

We joked and teased a good bit. I got a little stir-crazy and made helicopter noises, he sang John Denver's "Country Roads" when crossing the Ohio-West Virginia border, and "Otto" spent a lot of time counting tree stands in the middle of farm fields while saying that much of the middle of the country all looks alike. We also stopped off in Ohio to say hello to my cousins.

Having my dad along (even as a non-pilot) was wonderful on such a long trip. He would help with flying while I was taking a snack break, help me pick out traffic, and helped keep me entertained during the long trip. And doing a little father-son bonding on such a long and memorable trip was a huge bonus.

The majority of my flying (including primary flight training) has been in Cessna 172s and 182s, a brief couple of hours in a friend's C140, and the C170B being my most recent logbook addition. It flies as well as every other Cessna I've flown; being predictable, smooth, easy to handle in the air and on the ground, and comfortable.

The full article can be found at https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2022/october/07/father-son-bonding-clear-across-the-country and I have more photos and videos of this airplane than anyone would ever want to see.