R
Rutus
Doug, I will apologize in advance if this is a bit off topic, but it does involve another passion (besides flying and RVs) that is close to your heart, so bear with me... 
Why go to broiling hot Las Vegas at the end of June? Well, if you obtained a pair of tickets ($$$) to see Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood at the MGM Grand on June 27, you would definitely want to make that flight!
Laurie and I launched from Bremerton late Thursday morning, got up above a pretty solid undercast, and had a smooth ride into Lakeview, OR (KLKV) for gas. Lakeview is a large, easy to find airport just north of the CA border, and Bert and the rest of the FBO crew there were friendly and helpful as usual. We had planned to stop in Carson City for the night, but there were late afternoon t'storms moving through that area, so we opted for Susanville, CA (KSVE) instead. After a short but somewhat bumpy flight to Susanville we tied down at Susanville Aviation, where Ed, Angela, and the rest of the staff were super friendly and helpful. We grabbed the crew car and toured the town, and got a room at the High Country Inn and dinner at Mazatlan Grill. Both were very good.
Friday morning found us out at the airport early to take advantage of cool, smooth air, and that is just what we got. After a smooth, easy flight of ~2.2 hours we descended under the Las Vegas Class B and arrived at Henderson Executive, where the "follow me" van directed us to parking and handled our bags for us. This FBO has received many kudos on Airnav.com for fabulous service, and we were not disappointed.
A short cab ride had us in Vegas and we entered a very strange world (I've never been there before). We stayed at the Signature by MGM, which is next to the MGM Grand but is designed for a quieter, less raucous crowd (i.e., old fudds in their late 40s like us...). A very nice suite and great service, but expensive in all ways ($6 for a bottle of Bud? are you kidding me?)
The object of this whole expedition - besides some great RV flying and a getaway weekend with my lovely wife - was the concert Saturday night, and that met all my expectations, and then some. I won't get into lots of detail, but it was AWESOME - everyone in the band at the top of their game, lots of energy, amazing guitar work by both Eric and Stevie.... it was heaven. It is really something to to see guys in their 60s playing with the skill and experience of their true age, and the energy of someone 30 years younger. If you want more details, take a look here: http://www.whereseric.com/tour/clapton-winwood-tour/27-June-2009_clapton-winwood-mgm-grand-arena-las-vegas-nv.html.
Despite a late night at the concert, we wanted to be off the ground early Sunday to beat the heat, and managed to lift off about 0810 local, at which point it was ~85F and heading towards a projected high of 106 for the day. Though we had planned an overnight stop on the way home, Laurie was leaning towards heading all the way home, especially with the excellent weather forecast for the whole route. A smooth trip up to Lakeview for gas, thence direct to Olympia (KOLM) and into Bremerton, arriving 2PM for a total of 5.3 hours flying time plus the 30 minute fuel stop.
What about LOP operations? After my big cross country trip last month, several folks posted questions about my fuel burn, and leaning technique. this trip I decided to experiment more with LOP operations, and while my carbureted O-360-A1A does not seem happy trying to run LOP at lower altitudes and/or higher power settings, I found that at the 8,500 - 11,500MSL altitudes we flew on this trip, I could get really smooth operation at about 20-25 degrees LOP, 20.5 - 21.0 MAP (wide open), and 2430-2440 RPM on the Hartzell. This produces a little less speed (say, 165 KTAS rather than 170) but a drop in fuel burn from ~8.5 GPH to ~7.6 GPH. CHTs were nice and cool, too.
So, operation slightly LOP does seem to work well for my engine at these high altitudes, and having that slightly lower fuel burn not only saves a few $$ but also extends the range a bit, which adds to flight planning flexibility.
Finally, one goal of the trip was to have Laurie take a long RV trip (5-6 hours), since her few prior trips have been 4 hours or less. I think that smooth air is the single most important element for a comfortable and enjoyable flight for the passenger (and the pilot sure likes it, too), so we made conscious efforts to plan and time the legs to avoid the bumps if at all possible. We have a little work to do on cockpit amenities, but all in all it was a successful trip and a fun adventure - with some truly exceptional music as icing on the cake.
Why go to broiling hot Las Vegas at the end of June? Well, if you obtained a pair of tickets ($$$
) to see Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood at the MGM Grand on June 27, you would definitely want to make that flight!Laurie and I launched from Bremerton late Thursday morning, got up above a pretty solid undercast, and had a smooth ride into Lakeview, OR (KLKV) for gas. Lakeview is a large, easy to find airport just north of the CA border, and Bert and the rest of the FBO crew there were friendly and helpful as usual. We had planned to stop in Carson City for the night, but there were late afternoon t'storms moving through that area, so we opted for Susanville, CA (KSVE) instead. After a short but somewhat bumpy flight to Susanville we tied down at Susanville Aviation, where Ed, Angela, and the rest of the staff were super friendly and helpful. We grabbed the crew car and toured the town, and got a room at the High Country Inn and dinner at Mazatlan Grill. Both were very good.
Friday morning found us out at the airport early to take advantage of cool, smooth air, and that is just what we got. After a smooth, easy flight of ~2.2 hours we descended under the Las Vegas Class B and arrived at Henderson Executive, where the "follow me" van directed us to parking and handled our bags for us. This FBO has received many kudos on Airnav.com for fabulous service, and we were not disappointed.
A short cab ride had us in Vegas and we entered a very strange world (I've never been there before). We stayed at the Signature by MGM, which is next to the MGM Grand but is designed for a quieter, less raucous crowd (i.e., old fudds in their late 40s like us...). A very nice suite and great service, but expensive in all ways ($6 for a bottle of Bud? are you kidding me?)
The object of this whole expedition - besides some great RV flying and a getaway weekend with my lovely wife - was the concert Saturday night, and that met all my expectations, and then some. I won't get into lots of detail, but it was AWESOME - everyone in the band at the top of their game, lots of energy, amazing guitar work by both Eric and Stevie.... it was heaven. It is really something to to see guys in their 60s playing with the skill and experience of their true age, and the energy of someone 30 years younger. If you want more details, take a look here: http://www.whereseric.com/tour/clapton-winwood-tour/27-June-2009_clapton-winwood-mgm-grand-arena-las-vegas-nv.html.
Despite a late night at the concert, we wanted to be off the ground early Sunday to beat the heat, and managed to lift off about 0810 local, at which point it was ~85F and heading towards a projected high of 106 for the day. Though we had planned an overnight stop on the way home, Laurie was leaning towards heading all the way home, especially with the excellent weather forecast for the whole route. A smooth trip up to Lakeview for gas, thence direct to Olympia (KOLM) and into Bremerton, arriving 2PM for a total of 5.3 hours flying time plus the 30 minute fuel stop.
What about LOP operations? After my big cross country trip last month, several folks posted questions about my fuel burn, and leaning technique. this trip I decided to experiment more with LOP operations, and while my carbureted O-360-A1A does not seem happy trying to run LOP at lower altitudes and/or higher power settings, I found that at the 8,500 - 11,500MSL altitudes we flew on this trip, I could get really smooth operation at about 20-25 degrees LOP, 20.5 - 21.0 MAP (wide open), and 2430-2440 RPM on the Hartzell. This produces a little less speed (say, 165 KTAS rather than 170) but a drop in fuel burn from ~8.5 GPH to ~7.6 GPH. CHTs were nice and cool, too.
So, operation slightly LOP does seem to work well for my engine at these high altitudes, and having that slightly lower fuel burn not only saves a few $$ but also extends the range a bit, which adds to flight planning flexibility.
Finally, one goal of the trip was to have Laurie take a long RV trip (5-6 hours), since her few prior trips have been 4 hours or less. I think that smooth air is the single most important element for a comfortable and enjoyable flight for the passenger (and the pilot sure likes it, too), so we made conscious efforts to plan and time the legs to avoid the bumps if at all possible. We have a little work to do on cockpit amenities, but all in all it was a successful trip and a fun adventure - with some truly exceptional music as icing on the cake.
