?I don?t know what he is doing up there?.....ATC Controller
 

Yesterday I returned from my first West Coast trip in the RV-6A. The plan was to go to Page AZ to take photos at Antelope Canyon, hike out to the Wave, go to Catalina Island via Big Bear City airport (L35), then up to Fresno to see Yosemite.

The trip out to Page from 00V was uneventful. Of course we have the obligatory Pikes Peak photo on the way out.



This is a picture of an area in Utah that reveals the rugged nature of the terrain. My opinion is that if you have to land here you will be lucky to survive and have the plane be undamaged. You may never get the plane back.



Also note that some areas not far west of where I live have limited radar coverage below 17,000’ so flight following is not 100%. I carried some survival gear, water, food, adequate clothing for cold conditions, a sleeping bag, fire starting material and my 406 MHz PLB. The PLB is beside me ready for quick activation if needed.

Part 2: Antelope Canyon
 

This is an overhead view of the upper Antelope Canyon area. It is not long and the thin opening in the top is what allows enough sunlight in for pictures and the light beams around summertime.



Several pictures from this trip are below:

Part 3: The Wave Attempt, Bear Lake, Catalina Island
 

The next day I tried to get a lottery for the Wave hike but was an hour late due to different time zones (duh). The next day I was there on time but out of over twenty applications only three were selected. On the way back to Page I did stop at another trail to see toadstool formations. This is a red toadstool:



I decided to blow off getting to the Wave and the next day started the trip to Catalina. My trip took me over the Grand Canyon, Fossil Corridor.



Then on to Big Bear City where the fuel price was reasonable. This is a gorgeous area and I wonder if LA area folks go there for breakfast flights. I sure would.



After I left Bear Lake I made a climbing left turn to the west and when I was north of the airport tried to contact LA center (?) to initiate flight following before I got well into the LA basin. I was sent to another frequency. Details of any other frequency changes or “please hold” are not absolute since I had no need to recall that. I did note that trying to make contact was difficult.

It was not until I was already at RV cruise altitude of 12,500’ just north of the Riverside area that I heard a pilot state that he had the aircraft on TCAS. At that time I saw a jet to my 1-2 o’clock above me likely heading to LAX. An ATC person made the comment, “I don’t know what he is doing up there.” Most likely he was referring to me. Soon thereafter I finally got flight following to Catalina and somewhere ATC apologized for not getting back to me sooner.

Once over Catalina I descended. As I turned base to final I saw a Cessna on final below me. I don’t recall hearing him at any time....certainly not on final (nor downwind or base). I made a left 270 to re-enter final and ended up high so I went around and landed.

This is a picture taken during the descent (blue is water) and next is one on the ramp at Catalina.

Part 4: On to Fresno
 

I did not spend much time at Catalina since I needed to make a fuel stop and get to Fresno. I climbed a bit over Catalina before contacting LA approach. I was cleared through Class B as I climbed to 10,500’. This is a picture of part of LAX as I passed it off-shore heading north.



The path north was to Camarillo, Santa Barbara, Monterrey for a T&G then Marina for fuel. I skipped the T&G and stopped at Marina for reasonably cheap fuel. The trip to Fresno (FAT) was uneventful and the only odd part was having to enter left downwind for 29L at 2500’ MSL which is 1200’ above the normal pattern altitude. Since the FBO was at the end of 29L I asked to land long. Tower told me to land normal. Of course it is hard to fly a normal pattern when you start 1200’ higher than normal. Landing long would have made everything faster.

I went to Corporate Aircraft. I had called from Marina to get a rental car which was waiting when I landed. The only concern was that there were no tie-downs despite this on Airnav “Aircraft parking (ramp or tiedown).” They had nice facilities and the service was great.

The next day I went to Yosemite and it was awesome. The waterfalls were very nice. Below are three of the major falls and the Valley view which is best in the afternoon.

Yosemite Falls (lower close and above it Upper). You have to walk towards the falls to the left of the observation deck to get this picture. A bit of low level rock scrambling is required.



Vernal Falls: Again you have to walk up from the first bridge observation area.



Below is Bridal Veil falls.



Valley View: Bridal Veil Falls is visible to the right. El Capitan is to the left and Half Dome is in the distance towards the center.



The return flight yesterday was from Fresno to 00V via Las Vegas then Page for fuel. I started out flying around the MOAs between Fresno and Las Vegas. Once I was handed off to a military controller I was able to cut through two MOAs which helped. Flying over Las Vegas was not a problem. At Page I had to rethink my normal return path due to forecasted moderate to severe turbulence over the Rockies. I went almost due east and crossed the mountains east of Taos NM at 17,500’. The strategy worked and I did not encounter any turbulence (occasional light) until near Raton NM.

At that time I was abeam the high level mountain wave type clouds. Perhaps it was a coincidence. I was flying around 135 mph indicated from west of Taos until I landed and did have to deal with mountain wave downdrafts almost the entire trip north along the Front Range. I was getting 195-203 knot groundspeeds when eastbound (prior to getting to Taos NM).

I landed in a 18G23 knot crosswind...my highest yet. It was not difficult although the actual touchdown was not as smooth as normal.

Part 5: Post Flight Review
 

The apparent “incident” trying to establish flight following as I approached the LA basin remains questionable. I don’t recall whether I was not aggressive enough trying to call in the very short transmission openings or if I was put on hold (possible) and forgotten. Since I saw no restrictions on flying at 12,500’, and that is a typical flight altitude for me, I don’t see where that was a bad decision on my part. Flight following...had it happened much sooner...would have provided adequate separation with jets. FSS mentioned the VFR corridors during the preflight briefing but I don’t use those. I fly over Class B.

Going around the MOAs added unnecessary time. I asked the military controller if there was a way to get MOA status on the ground. He stated that if I am VFR I can fly through them then get activity updates from the appropriate controller. So from now on, MOAs are no different than non-MOA airspace. I will continue to use flight following and talk to MOA controllers as appropriate.

Trip
 

This was an exciting trip and the pictures are exceptional. Thanks much for sharing. We love this country too. Bill

Hairy airspace
 

Ron,
You are correct that flying over the LA Class B is completely legal because the upper limit is 10,000 feet. But all of the LAX bound arriving aircraft decend through the top of the Class B. If you take a look at the Paradise Four Arrival for LAX you will see that all arrivals from the east and southeast are funneled over the Paradise VOR and then split off onto the 4 ILS approaches and instructed to cross TEJAY intersection (3.7 west of Paradise) "at or above 12000." In that area I prefer to go under the Class B since the bottom is 8 or 9 thousand feet.

John Clark
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA

Having spent quite a bit of time flying in MOAs while in the military I acknowledge you can do that. I will not fly in there if the area is in use. I know what goes on in there and I don't have an ejection seat in my RV. Do whatever you want but you must be willing accept an increased risk. It is an error in judgment to assume "MOAs are no different than non-MOA airspace"

Spectacular photos!

Sounds like you had quite a trip!

This is very motivational and inspirational!

Thanks!

:) CJ

Beautiful pictures...
 

.....indeed...many thanks.

FWIW, we are smack dab in the middle of a MOA here and fly routinely, any day of the week, spraying crops. We also use the RV for transition training and see many jets go over and around us all the time...for 25 years now!

A controller told us that during local flights to always squawk Mode C since they have even better than TCAS in the Military jets which helps them as well.

Regards,