A Tale of Two Trips
Sometimes, logistics get complicated. I needed to be in Carson City to approve the placement of our new house and hangar on our lot, and I wanted to get the Valkyrie out west (the beginning of a vast migration). Our Four-Runner was parked in our Big Bear hangar in SOCAL ? and I needed it in Reno for the week. Hence ? fly to Big Bear, and drive to Reno the next day. Two trips, two modes of transportation. Guess which was faster?
The RV-8 trip followed our usual route from Houston to Big Bear Lake via the El Paso keyhole (the space between the White Sands restricted areas and the Mexican border). I had an unusual tailwind of 20 knots across east and central Texas, and while I could have made Demming in one hop, their fuel prices are a little higher than in Pecos, and Pecos has those great homemade burritos. So I stopped early in Pecos, enjoyed some conversation, scratched the dog?s bellies, ate my burrito, and was on my way. Once I had climbed to 10.5K, the winds were still not on my nose, and fuel calculations showed that I could skip the usual stop at Casa Grande (south of Phoenix) and have 8 gallons (an hour?s worth at current usage) remaining at Big Bear. The satellite and radar showed it to be clear and a million all the way to the west coast, and I hate descending all the way into Phoenix when the temps are in the three-digit range, so I kept an eye on things, figuring I could always bail out to Blythe if the headwinds picked up.
Crossing Casa Grande, I saw I was able to go Direct Big Bear (L35) without impinging on any airspace and punched that in. On the 396, I zoomed in on a small red circle just south of Big Bear ? sure enough, a Firefighting TFR had popped up over the Banning Pass area. Hmmm?that must explain why I couldn?t yet see San Gorgonio Peak from over the Colorado. I wonder what the winds are doing?.holy smokes! Big Bear was 220@15G27! With the runway heading of 08/26, the 220 is always a bit problematic ? the wind burbles over the ridge to the south, and things can get bumpy. Now this was interesting. Fuel was Ok, but not more than an hour at the destination. Apple Valley and Hesperia to the north of Big Bear had winds that were worse. Banning was right on the TFR rim, and Hemet had little wind, but I?d have to run around the TFR. Twenty-nine Palms was an easy retreat back from the mountains if I needed to bail ? but did I recall hearing that they did or did not have fuel?
As I approached the mountains, the smoke plume from the fire showed the strong southwest winds coming over the highlands, and I cranked down on the harness ? really tight! I was glad I did ? there were some serious bumps in those burbles. Coming up on Big Bear, I called ten miles east, and the guys at the FBO came back with ?Welcome back Paul ? it?s blowing pretty good!? (I figured that meant that they were making popcorn to watch with?). I have always maintained that until you get right on the ground, there is little harm in shooting the approach to see what you get, so that is what I did. It was sporty, but I got all the pieces stopped on the runway, still attached to the airframe. Knowing that you have to land long on 26 under those conditions helped. A Cessna that had been approaching from the west called from downwind ?so, how was the turbulence on final 8PD?? I allowed as how it was probably the most challenging landing I had shot in quite a while. ?Thanks 8PD, I think we?ll just go home then!? Good decision Cessna?.
Fortunately, the fuel tanks at the self-serve acted as a wind break, or I would have had to get someone to hold the airplane while I got out. I pumped in 32 gallons, so there was plenty to go elsewhere ? and I was only going to give myself one look and try before doing so. No use fooling around. The flight from Pecos was 4:52 ? the longest single flight I?ve made in the -8 to date. Total for the day about 7.5 hours and 1400+ nautical miles.
The other trip? Well, that was the next day. 0415 departure (my body still on central time) in the Toyota Four-Runner, down the mountain and across the deserts of the Antelope Valley to the lava flows of the Owens. Got stuck behind a convoy of wide loads for fifty miles on two-lane before China Lake. Got stopped for half an hour of one-lane road construction on the west side of Topaz Lake at the Nevada border. Nine hours of driving ? an hour (plus) more than the whole trip the day before. Not quite as bad as driving Texas from east to west?but it?s a contender. The scenery up Hwy 395 beats the heck out of Texas however?.
RV travel ? hard to beat!
__________________
Paul F. Dye
Editor at Large - KITPLANES Magazine
RV-8 - N188PD - "Valkyrie"
RV-6 (By Marriage) - N164MS - "Mikey"
RV-3B - N13PL - "Tsamsiyu"
A&P, EAA Tech Counselor/Flight Advisor
Dayton Valley Airpark (A34)
http://Ironflight.com
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