What did you do with your RV this Weekend (3/14-15/2020)

[bforsyth]

Have you ever taken your headset off in flight?
Cats and dogs have sensitive ears, why do only the humans have hearing protection? Just an observation, and question, maybe a vet or hearing specialist could comment..

[intothinair]

Heading south across the Mexico–United States border.



Flying over the warm waters of the Gulf of California.



San Felipe (port of entry with friendly customs agents). Mexican military inspected my plane for contraband.



San Felipe to Loreto.



The drive from Loreto to San Ignacio for whale watching. I received a $200 gringo shakedown near the town of El Azufre. After 15 minutes of negotiation, the fine was dropped.



Roadside shrine. Driving along Hwy 1, Gulf of California from Loreto to San Ignacio.



Whale Watching - San Ignacio Lagoon



A clumsy but spirited baby grey whale approached our panga.



45 ft female grey whale.

[N941WR]

I sound up giving rides to a bunch of girlscouts, a firefighter, and some parents.
Totally unplanned.
One of the neighbor's kids put up two fire stations on our little airport, complete with fire extinguishers (halitron) and crash axes for a merit badge, thus all the scouts.

I ended up giving something like seven or eight rides. All to very appreciative passengers.

[Andy612]

I've been a long-time lurker, but this is my first attempt at posting a story. A rare (for March) huge ridge of high pressure over the Yukon and South-east Alaska gave me the opportunity to do some local site seeing this weekend. And beautiful it was. Super clear skies and almost no wind or turbulence. The air was smooth as glass. Very quiet radios, hardly any traffic.

Pulling her out of the hangar:


Fueled up and ready to go:


South-eastbound approaching Atlin Lake:


Southern end of Atlin Lake:


Southbound approaching Llewellyn Glacier:


Southbound towards "Devil's Paw" mountain, just to the left of the nose:


More southbound over the mountains:


More southbound over the mountains:


Continued...

[Andy612]

...continued


Heading back northbound over Juneau, Alaska:


Northbound over the Lynn Canal with the Fariweather Range in the distance:


Another shot from northbound over the Lynn Canal:


Village of Haines, Alaska just off the nose:


Old School!


Track log:


A track log of the flight is here, if the link still works. 2.4 hours airtime and 17.7 gallons of Avgas consumed by my bought-flying RV-4. Priceless!

[petehowell]

Just beautiful! All you guys have some beautiful pictures!

The Canadian Rockies are spectacular!

[mbauer]

Flew to Denali again for some photos. The peak was covered in clouds, however the lower mountains were absolutely stunning.

Flew above Mt Spur after crossing Cook Inlet. Here is one of the photos of one of the glaciers that is part of the view on the way to Denali


Last time I flew up this way, flew to the East side and headed west as I flew past. This time flew to the west and headed east. After a photo run turned south and headed home, here is one of the parting shots of Mt Denali and Mt Foraker.


Great day for flying: Smooth and cold. -10c at 17,500ft.

Best regards,
Mike Bauer

[Vlad]

Mike, Andy thanks for report from remote garrisons! Incredible weather in your part of the world. Please keep posting!

[catmandu]

Originally Posted by bforsyth

Have you ever taken your headset off in flight?
Cats and dogs have sensitive ears, why do only the humans have hearing protection? Just an observation, and question, maybe a vet or hearing specialist could comment..

You're a young aviator, aren't you? Status Quo when I started flying was no headset, no hearing protection. Hand mic and a speaker.

But, to answer your question, yes, I have removed headsets in flight. In my RV-6A, I would not want to fly more than 20 minutes, even if I could (no mic, no speaker). The RV-10, I could do one long flight.

One off rescue flights for dogs and cats, I don't worry about it, risk vs. reward and all that. If I had my own animal flying with me all the time, I might consider Mutt Muffs and such.

[mbauer]

Andy, those are some fantastic photos!!

More photos from my Saturday Flight. My RV-6 does not have a working heater, going to fix that on the next condition inspection this month.

For this flight Army surplus canvas mukluks with felt liners and warm winter gear was the ticket, Oh, and the heated seat covers I made a couple of winters ago. With the sun providing warmth it was quite comfortable despite the outside temp of -10c. Didn't wear gloves until on the ground.

One of the photos I'm going to post has some ice crystals forming on the canopy....Total of 479 photos taken.

Route Flown Time Etc. Garmin Aera 660 Screenshot:


Mt Redoubt foreground, Mt Iliamna in the background. Just crossed Cook Inlet at the East/West Forelands, climbing through 11,500 for 17,500.


Mountain left of cowling is Mt Spur. Over flew it on the way to North. This route puts me to the west of Denali and Foraker. To the west of this route where I'm at is part of the Lake Clark Wilderness Area.
Mt Spur & Lake Clark Wilderness area:


Mt Hayes part of the Mt Spur chain of mountains is the peak to the right.


Level at 17,500 and outside temp.


What Mt Denali & Foraker look like zoomed from the south west side.


Denali, The Great One:


Mt Foraker from the South East.


Mt Denali and the head of the Ruth Glacier


Ruth Glacier


Hope you enjoyed these. Fantastic day of smooth air to be able to get this close without any turbulence! The clouds were stable: not moving on both peaks.

Best regards,
Mike Bauer