As dawn lit up the morning sky on Saturday, May 15th, 2004, misty patches of ground fog rolled gently through the surrounding trees and fields.  Jim, Karl, Troy and Randy had planned to depart just after daybreak for the Carolina Sport Flyers' Spring Fling at Holly Hill, but the fog kept us at bay for over an hour. 

    Shortly after sunrise, Ron Lindsey called to report that Anderson FSS was predicting ground fog along our intended route until about 10:00am. After Ron's report, Randy decided it was a "no-go" for him ... based on his fuel capacity.  Had there been a problem landing at Orangeburg, he would not have had enough reserve fuel for the return trip.  Having adequate fuel capacity for the entire trip, Karl, Jim, and Troy decided to "go for it" ... with plans to do a 180, if the weather situation deteriorated. However, conditions steadily improved, so takeoff finally occurred at around 8:00am.  Randy followed in his truck with additional fuel and served as "ground crew".  

  

    After an intermediate stop at Orangeburg (about half way), conditions had improved substantially, so the group continued on their journey to Holly Hill. An 8-10 mph headwind substantially slowed progress.  At one point, Karl reported a ground speed of only 37mph. 

    The group arrived at Holly Hill around 10:00am (below) ... just as the winds and thermals began to pick up substantially.  Randy arrived just in time to snap the following photos of Jim's and Karl's arrival.

  

     Jim descends (above left) on runway 22 and then lands (above right) while several attendees observe. Click on the above photos for a closer look.

Karl arrives only a minute or so later ... after getting some erroneous pattern information.

The flight line at Holly Hill Airport.  As you can see, this is Challenger country!

Karl Fields poses with his Spitfire at Holly Hill above. Karl's extra wing tanks gave him plenty of capacity for the trip.

     Troy White poses with his Rans S-9 Chaos at Holly Hill. Troy made the trip down in only about 45 minutes ... and the return trip took only about 32 minutes. At 100+ MPH, one can do that!

     Jim Summers poses above with his Kolb Twinstar. He and Karl kept fairly close together on the way down and back.  Much of the time, Randy could hear their radio communications from the highway ... and even communicated some aeronautical chart information once.

The main hangar is shown above at Holly Hill.  The Carolina Sport Flyers sponsored a great hamburger lunch and a wonderful rib/chicken dinner that evening.

Around 2:00pm, a fabric covering seminar was held.  Several members and attendees are shown getting some hands-on experience.

Then, some safety wiring tips were given. Several attendees are shown safety wiring the prop bolts on a member's Challenger.

    Above, Karl, Jim and Troy prepare to depart Holly Hill for home at approximately 7:00pm. They decided not to stop at Orangeburg on the return flight. The winds were favorable on the return leg, so the trip back was much faster.  Troy made it in about 35 minutes; Karl and Jim made it in about an hour.  Randy arrived by road about 8:30pm ... just as dusk was settling over Whisper Field.  After a bit of a false start, it turned out to be a wonderful day of flying fun!