Delivery In South Dakota

Since the aircraft we will be flying in Iraq are already pre-positioned, our final flight mission was to deliver our 6 aircraft to C-23 units in WA, OR, SD, OK and GA. My crew was assigned to Rapid City, South Dakota. After fuel stops in Kalamazoo, MI and Sioux Falls, SD (during a blizzard) we made it to Rapid City in just over 8 flight hours. By making the trip in one day, we were able to sightsee for a day in the northern Black Hills, which reach over 7,000 feet and receive their name from the heavily forested slopes that appear black from afar. We bypassed Mount Rushmore to take in the Wild West gaming town of Deadwood, which was created as a result of the gold rush in 1875. We stopped by the Homestake Mine in Lead, SD to view the “Open Cut Mine”, which is 1,250 feet deep and goes 8,000 feet underground. On the way back, we stopped in Sturgis--The Mecca of Motorcycling—where since 1936, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is held every August, attracting over 500,000 bikers annually. Next on the agenda…a commercial flight to Philadelphia, PA.