Josh Flowers and Chelsea Smith fly their Sling TSi over Louisville to a camping night at Lee Bottom and remember Bill Cloud, who led their build.
What the video covers
Written in our own words. It only describes what the video shows and says.In this Aviation101 film Josh Flowers and Chelsea Smith use their Sling TSi for a string of trips in a few autumn weeks. After a final adjustment to the prop governor and a test flight, they fly non-stop to Florida for a friend's wedding in Naples. With prior permission they land on a grass strip nearby. Chelsea makes the soft field landing after about four and a half hours in the air.
Ohio County, Louisville and Bowman Field
Back in Kentucky they plan a night of camping at Lee Bottom with their dog Millie, who is staying with Chelsea's parents in Louisville. Chelsea has weighed everything: with the fuel on board, Millie and her gear, they expect to be about 50 pounds under maximum gross weight. Before the take-off from runway 21 at Ohio County they brief the engine failure plan. With a low engine failure they put the nose down and land ahead. Above 800 feet they consider a turn back or the aircraft's parachute.
Louisville Approach asks them to stay north of the active restricted airspace at Fort Knox. The usual routing from this side takes them straight over Louisville International (SDF), home of UPS Worldport. In the cockpit they compare it to flying the LAX SFRA. Josh then lists the numbers of the hub: 5.2 million square feet, a little over 400,000 packages an hour and about 2 million a day. Bowman Tower then clears them to land on runway 24. Josh also covers the history of Bowman Field, whose terminal dates from 1929. During the Second World War medical crews for air evacuation trained there. In 1947 the airlines moved to Standiford Field, which is today's international airport. Bowman became the city's general aviation airport, about five miles from downtown. At the old terminal Chelsea's parents hand over Millie. A pizza from Bearno's across the street goes on board too.
Along the Ohio River to Lee Bottom
Departing runway 24, the tower asks them to overfly Six Mile Island and then proceed on course. They follow the Ohio River northeast through the busy practice area east of Bowman. Lee Bottom is a privately owned grass strip that is open to the public, so no permission is needed to land there. They land on runway 18, beside a steep bluff, with the Ohio River just past the far side of the field. They stake down a tent next to the Sling, light the fire ring and Chelsea cooks pho on a camping stove. Josh points out that the drive from Kentucky to Florida takes 12 to 13 hours, while the flight takes about four.
Remembering Bill Cloud
The film is also a tribute to Bill Cloud of The Airplane Factory, who led Josh and Chelsea through the build of their Sling in California. The day before the camping night they had heard from the factory that he had passed away. Bill guided them through the fuel tanks, the control surfaces and thousands of rivets. He was there for their first pop of the rivet gun and for the first engine run. He had served his country and spent his career in aircraft maintenance before building Slings. The video ends with a call to phone the people you have been meaning to call and take them flying.
