scard

scard

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Part 1
"To 'Rosie'mond we go"
Today's objective was to get from Georgetown to Paul and Victoria's house in Rosamond CA with as little excitement as possible. The previous few mornings at home had all begun with the standard summertime low crud. The forecast was pretty much the same for our departure morning. All the plans and contingencies had been hatched, and we rolled out of bed at 5am to get an early start. I had expected to look out the window at low IFR conditions this early and just go file my IFR flight plan that I had prepared. But, no, it was a beautiful VFR morning. This can be a little bit of a trick as we've found. Just as the sun gets high enough, you can be pulling the airplane out of the hangar and the weather goes from beautifully clear to what we call "flash IFR". So I dutifully filed my IFR flight plan just in case we got to the end of the runway and needed it. It was nice watching the sun rise during our 30 minute drive to the airport. I'm not a morning person, so it is pretty rare that I see the sun come up in all its glory over the eastern horizon. A beautiful sight indeed. Tanya had the airplane packed in short order, and I made one last check of our cockpit resources. Another oddity that I'm not used to is that our control tower wasn't open yet, so we were in uncontrolled airspace until 7am. As we started our climb into the beautifully clear morning sky, I noticed a controller in the tower cab setting up for the morning shift. We all waved as we passed his window at 90 knots.

First stop was Andrews (E11) airport in far west Texas about 15 miles NW of Midland. This is a standard location we visit for cheap fuel. Also, we like to do a pretty short leg as the first one in the morning. I only climbed to 8500' since it was smooth and I was looking for more speed than fuel efficiency on this leg. There just isn't much out in west Texas to write home about, and it was no different this time. We did a quick turn on the ground at Andrews to top off fuel and a pit stop. Back in the air, the next stop was St. Johns. This is another standard stop where we have gotten to know the airport manager a little. Passing Roswell to the northwest there is a bunch of restricted airspace that we have to go around. We ate our usual travel packed lunch at 10,500'. When Tanya dug the sandwiches out, she noticed a bag of chips that was really stressing at the seams. We cleared White Sands and turned west toward St. Johns to be greeted by what seems to be perma-turbulence over New Mexico, even at 12,500 feet. Tanya delivered some cookies to the airport manager, and another quick turn found us headed to Rosie'mond. We waved as we passed Sedona, we'll be back there sometime soon. We listened on the Center frequency as a King Air pilot said they were diverting to Flagstaff from Sedona. The controller asked why since they had other aircraft headed there. The pilot replied "For passenger comfort". He went on to explain that his passengers were not comfortable with the approach. We chuckled a little. I didn't see much activity on Lake Havasu from 14.5k'. When we saw Edwards AFB closing ahead, we knew it was time to start down. Seat backs and tray tables in the upright position, tighten the safety belts, double check guidance, and wiggle the toes. We threaded the needle between the Edwards restricted and class D of Fox airfield as we turned the corner to Rosamond. Just in case you didn't notice, there is an official nav fix on the IFR charts barely a mile south of the field named ROSIE. I haven't been able to determine its use or how it came to be there. Ok, we see a bunch of houses and roads, but where the heck is the airport! "We're only 2.5 miles from the field, do you see it?" "No, do you?" "It is right here somewhere, we're going to fly right over it in a few more seconds." I started looking down as much as around for the runway. "Well, I'm just going to keep heading toward it until it is right under us if we don't find it." "Got it!" I immediately rolled into a left downwind. Whew, that was exciting. By now, we're at a thousand feet and riding the desert bumps. Base, Final, ... Yep, a nice healthy cross wind just like Rosie had warned. I held a boot full of right rudder to keep the nose pointed in the correct direction. Ahh, we were down, but not done flying yet in these winds. Tanya reconfigured for ground ops, flaps up, pump off, wig-wags off, mixture lean, taxi instructions prepared. As we pulled up to the house, Paul was standing out there to point the way to parking. We were two very happy campers.

Picasa web albums pictures for Friday, Saturday, Sunday. (part 1,2,3)
 
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Part 2: "Terrain, Terrain, Pull UP!"

"Terrain, Terrain, Pull UP!"
The objective for Saturday morning was a little personal southern California flying tour. We planned to do a touch-n-go on 16R at Van Nuys (VNY) in honor of the movie of the same name, navigate the LAX class B, and have lunch on Catalina island. Upon arrival, we found that Paul and Victoria had cleared their schedule to give us a personal air tour. Wow. If you are ever in such a position, ask for "the Card tour". So, if you're ready, check the oil, pull out onto the ramp, and get the efis aligned.

First, the envy is a handful to supress when you see how some have traded in the 30 minute drive to the airport for a short 30 step walk to the airplane. I finished my morning Coke, and made the short walk to stand in front of the amazing machine that had transported us half way across the country only a few hours earlier. I nearly had to pinch myself as I stood there pondering where today's adventures would take us. When Rosie is involved, you just never know what could happen or where you could end up, but the unexpected is almost guaranteed. The cool desert morning air was blowing through the hangar without a hint of humidity. With preflights complete, Paul and Victoria, and Tanya and I saddled up, we got the engine start signal. The first objective was a short hop for fuel. We took off on a short interval and I caught up to join on the right wing. We were headed to Techachapi airport which is in a little valley over a hill. This statement works for many places in this area, but it was completely new to us. We cleared the peaks of this little ridge by about 1000' admiring the wind mills below. There isn't much room for a traffic pattern entry in the valley. We did an overhead approach and dropped in to a nice little field for fuel. This was our first real taste of up close and personal terrain. The GNS430 terrain warnings were at full tilt and Tanya was punching buttons in a slightly confused kind of manner. The terrain inhibit function isn't something we've become very familiar with. With the planes fueled up on the ramp, we did the requisite pictures. "Cheese!"

"So, where to next Rosie?" "Breakfast", he said. Kern Valley Airport. I thought the fuel stop was interesting. The next place is really down in a hole. We pulled out our maps to evaluate terrain, airspace, etc... Rosie was very kind to us flatlanders, but he pretty much just suggested to put away the map, keep him in sight, and he would talk us over to the breakfast location. We taxied out at a slower pace this time. I explained to Rosie that us -7A and -9A drivers with a heavy front end (constant speed prop) have a different gear geometry than the -6A that puts a lot more weight on the nose gear and necessitates a slower taxi speed. He was happy to accommodate. Another interval departure, but this time I closed the interval much more. There was no way I was going to let him get away. Being surrounded by terrain had my heart pumping a little faster. I could really feel the excitement building now. Up and clear of the immediate terrain, he gave us a guided tour on the radio as we did a couple of turns around a nearby famous railroad circle. We turned north into a valley that we followed to Kern. Tanya and I were in awe looking up at the mountains on both sides. In here somewhere we realized that we were going to have to deal with the 430 terrain warnings once and for all. A couple more buttons pressed and it was done. Up the valley, Rosie was doing a great job talking us through what we would see in the next mile or two, all the way to Kern. "Now Scott, up ahead we're going to make a slight right turn in this valley and descend above a lake. We're going to go to extended trail and follow the left side of the lake up the valley. Just keep me in sight and don't hit the side of the hill. The downwind leg of the airport is in a saddle in the terrain, and the right base leg is just after that. You can follow the valley a little further up for a longer final if that makes you more comfortable." We flew the route he described and continued to be amazed by the beautiful place that we were now flying IN. Rosie fell off the perch for the right base. He momentarily disappeared behind the hill and I commented "Holy cow, where is he going?". I know Tanya was thinking the same thing. We turned right base at the same place and did a nice close approach into the valley airport. I'm all for always keeping the runway made. On the ground, we had breakfast on the outside porch. This is pretty much your standard breakfast dive. The food was good and provided plenty of calories for the day ahead.
 
Part 2 continued

We launched from Kern Valley and did a quick climbing turn over the lake, headed further north up the valley. Rosie took us to see a cool water fall. We did a couple more scenic turns and headed toward Inyokern on the edge of China Lake to meet Axel and check out his RV4 project. We were back on the desert floor at Inyokern. This means hot. Axel had cool drinks back at his house and plenty of RV build questions as we picked over his project. Somehow I ended up with a spool of safety wire and safety wire pliers in my hand doing technique instruction. I'm not sure how that happened, this is a Rosie adventure after all... Off the ground again, we headed toward one of our original objectives, a touch-n-go at Van Nuys. Rosie managed the approach controllers and smooth-talked our way in as a two ship in trail. The VNY tower controller was very nice and gave us a straight in as their pattern sounded pretty empty. Objective achieved as the mains slowly spun up underneath us as I put the power back in on the go. Next we headed for the LAX VFR special airspace. This is an interesting piece of airspace. They have a specific block set on a VOR radial and altitude that you can fly straight through the middle of the class B right over the top of LAX. That space has its own ctaf frequency and special squak code 1201. No need to talk to controllers at all. Once we popped out the other side of the class B, we pointed out to sea to Catalina island. There was a solid under cast at about 1000' the whole way out. I never saw any water. It was amazing to see the island poking up through the clouds and started thinking "we're going to land there?". Once again, Rosie did a great job on the radio keeping us prepared for the plan and what we would see. We setup for a right downwind. Once we turned downwind and had the runway in full view, is when I got a good taste of this weird place that we were going to land. Both ends of the runway simply drop off into the ocean over a thousand feet below. Don't come up short, and don't land long. Oh, yeah, and the surface was reported to be in pretty bad shape. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, mostly with excitement, as we turned right base. This was the time for a nice slow deep breath and to dispel with any idea that this approach and landing is any different than any other that I had done before. And that is just how it turned out. The runway surface is in serious need of help. If left alone much longer, it won't be fit for an RV nose dragger. The logistics officer paid the twenty-five dollar landing fee, and we had a nice lunch.

Off of Catalina island, we aimed for the nearest land for the easy ride back over the under-cast. Rosie pointed out some landmarks along the way and guided us back over the hills toward Rosamond. By this time I was starting to get the feel for maneuvering around the previously intimidating terrain. Headed back down to the desert floor on the other side, the pounding hammer of turbulence was in full swing with the afternoon heat. This was a time when I had to trade in a little flying finesse for some more aggression to keep things stable. We landed long for a known cross wind turbulence spot on the field. This isn't a place you would want to go into if you were timid with wind or cross winds. I was prepared and didn't have any problems. After shutdown, it was obvious how many bugs we had picked up on this little adventure. It was just too many to let sit. Rosie handed me a bucket and a sponge and I went to work. Tanya dried behind me and the airplane was all clean for the next big adventure only eighteen hours away. Once pushed back into the beautiful hangar, I had to pause once again. Amazing.

Oh, but wait, the day's adventures aren't quite complete. After a quick shower, Rosie transformed his ramp into a movie theater. Out came some chairs, up went the screen, the popcorn maker started emanating an inviting smell, and a neighbor showed up with a completely decked out surround-sound system. As the sun started going down and the stars began to appear, the patrons started to arrive with their chairs, blankets, and munchies to share. They kept flowing in until the ramp was holding about 40 friends anxious for a movie. The stocked fridge handed out beverages and the movie started to roll. What do you watch after a day of flying adventures and enemy (terrain) avoidance? Star Wars, of course! Whew, what a day.
 
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Part 3: Time for Some Refreshments

California Tour Day 2 took us from Rosamond to San Luis Obispo on the central coast. It was a short hour flight and only gave us one small hurdle, TERRAIN. We found ourselves about 8 miles from the airport but not being able to descend due to a pesky ridge between us and the threshold. A quick recalculation turned us to the south of the field down the valley a few miles to give us the distance we needed to make the approach a reasonable one. After the usual dance with the FBO, we changed transportation modes and headed to Paso Robles a half hour north to enjoy a winery called Justin. My sister thought we might need an excuse to take a trip, so she gave me a gift pass good at a select few wineries, and this one was on the list with a good location for launching Day 4's adventure. Since we were on the ground for the rest of the day, we sampled some wines, took a tour, and brought a few bottles home. Anyone in the Austin area is welcome to come help us wash down the port if you hurry and bring some quality cheese, crackers, and chocolate. After the winery and a brief respite in the hotel, we drove down to Pismo Beach for some dinner at a very busy dive called the Cracked Crab. Their menu changes daily based on what they caught the day before, so the fish was fantastic. We were both a little roly-poly after filling our bellies, so we took an after dinner stroll to the end of the pier. We were treated to an ocean sunset and VAF hat sighting.

The drive back to the hotel turned a bit eerie as we traveled over the hills and watched the fog roll in to some of the valleys after topping the terrain on the coast. The sky was nearly black under some of the fog banks as they enveloped the land below. Just as quickly as we drove under a fog bank, we emerged from it on the other side to crystal clear skies. That sure isn't a sight we ever see in Texas.
 
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Part 4: Don't Fly in a Straight Line

I finally let Scott sleep in, if you can call it that since we still had Texas time running through our veins. A tasty breakfast passed the time while the morning clouds evaporated. We made our way back to the airport and prepped 22C for a leisurely flight up the coast form Morro Bay to Monterey Bay. The northbound departure off San Luis Obispo had a few terrain obstacles that Scott needed to navigate before heading for the coast. For the initial portion of the cruise, Scott kept our feet dry and right over the coastline. It soon became apparent that if that tactic were continued, CFIT would be in our future. We slid slightly out to sea while always maintaining the Pacific Coast Highway within gliding distance. Our eyes were enticed by the various blues displayed by the ocean below and the fierce white as waves crashed up on the shore. We weaved our way along and smiled at the beauty of it all. We didn't think we'd have an APRS track as we traveled below the ridge line with not much more than a few small coastal villages below. We were later proven wrong, which was a pleasant surprise.

Half Moon Bay on the south side of San Francisco was the original destination for lunch, but the fog was determined to foil that plan. It failed to give up any more than 600 feet of clearance by early afternoon, and we chose not to force the issue and fly in IFR. Instead, we stopped at a dive in Hollister that turned out to serve a fantastic egg salad sandwich, a good burger, and a welcome breeze. That little tiny airport in the middle of nowhere had a full security perimeter and access codes. In fact, back at San Luis Obispo, one of the FBO workers received a letter from the TSA that he was observed not waiting for one of the gates to close behind him. We are not looking forward to the time our local airport is subjected to the insanity. After lunch, Scott continued the day's tradition of not flying a straight line and cruised around some more terrain on the way to the next stop in Merced.

Pictures from Days 4-6
 
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Part 5: Remember to Look Up

Remember to Look Up

Our last play day in California arrived with yet another sun drenched morning, a perfect day to enjoy Yosemite. What an amazing contrast to our often thin layer of low crud that plagues us during a central Texas spring. We were very pleased to say goodbye to the Best Western in Mariposa. As we were leaving, Scott picked up an email from Wil Heslin, who lives about 25 miles out of the park offering a personal tour. The timing wasn't going to allow for that, but I took the opportunity to give him a call and see what wisdom he could share. He didn't let us down and provided his 'Yosemite in a Day' list. Hey Wil, if you're listening, you need to compose that list and post it. I basically planned our trip via VAF, so it would be a fantastic resource.

The drive to the park was destined to be a whole lot more interesting than it should have been. We filled up the rental car with mogas before heading in to the park since it seems that gas stations near the park are about as hard to find as airports with mogas. About half an hour into the drive, the scenery was interrupted by a stop light that sent traffic across the swollen Merced river to a one lane road due to a rock slide that had parked itself on the original highway. After we were stationary for a couple minutes, a loud 'ding' made its presence known indicating an empty fuel tank. We looked at each other a bit bewildered since we filled up about 20 miles back. I remembered a symbol on a map I was perusing earlier that said mogas was supposedly available a few miles ahead. We hatched a plan to acquire some fuel there to confirm that we didn't have a leaky fuel tank on our hands. Fortunately, it only needed a gallon and a half, and we concluded it must be an instrumentation issue. Sure enough, any time we stopped for more than about 30 seconds, Ding - you're out of fuel.

With my heart rate finally back to normal, we made our way into Yosemite valley. We weren't able to utilize the first tip as the road we needed to take was closed due to construction. So, on to the next tip and we stopped at a rather long pull-out. This is where we realized that we were going to have strained necks by the end of the day. We had to keep looking straight up to take in all the wonders around us. As suggested, we wandered about a hundred yards into the meadow between the valley walls and were rewarded with an astounding view as the trees parted. The waterfalls were incredible, and it sounds like we might have been there at the perfect time as the snow melt was a little late and unseasonably warm weather the few days before had unleashed the melting with a vengeance. The Merced river we followed on the way up had very few patches that weren't raging white water rapids.

The entire trip up was a meandering road, so we continued the theme and meandered our way to Happy Isles and the trailhead to take us to Vernal Falls. The sign said .8 miles, we smiled at each other naively thinking that would be a nice walk, and took off down the trail. We kept straining our necks looking at the sheer rocks climbing hundreds of feet around us as the nice flat trail quickly played a Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde transition and started heading up on a serious grade. That .8 miles felt like 10 to us flatlanders. As was indicated by our virtual tour guide, the pain was worth it. We picked up our jaws off the bridge and continued the climb to the top of the falls. It may not sound plausible, but the climb was stopped short not by the terrain but by the spray off the falls that was making the trail slick and threatened to drench us. We weren't prepared to deal with the soaked shirts and britches the returning hikers were donning, so we turned around to endure the pain of the steep descent.

After that, it was time to find some food. We parked the gas-gauge-challenged car and proceed to get some bad advice from a volunteer at the visitor center to get to the Ahwahnee hotel. She sent us on a round about, 3 transfer bus trip, when it could have been a quarter mile walk with one bus leg. Note to others: be sure to understand the transit system better than we did. The hotel lobby and dining room were very impressive, including the 8 foot tall fireplaces, but the food was mediocre and overpriced.

We found ourselves behind schedule to make it down to the largest grove of Sequoias at the park's south entrance, and the construction on the road pushing the drive time to an hour and a half would have made it an extremely bad choice. Fortunately, our virtual tour guide came through once again with the knowledge that the hike wasn't quite as bad as the literature suggested to Tuolumne Grove, so we navigated our way a half hour drive up another winding road. This time, we were traveling up and over the ridge lines, and it was time to look over and down. Oh my, what a looonnnnggg way down that was! The half hour hike wasn't nearly as rough of a grade as the hike earlier in the day. We found our way to the grove and soaked up the forest air for a little while. A wise old man carved a tunnel in one of the sequoias so that we could still get the appropriate photo without the lengthly drive to the south. We wound our way back down to the valley and made one last glance up just to make sure the neck strain would be a reminder for a day or two.
 
Part 6: The Final Episode

The Final Episode

We managed an early start since it was going to be a long travel day and arrived at the airport at 6 am. I returned the rental car while Scott starting freeing 22C from her tie-down. As he pulled off the canopy cover, he found a note from Scott Chastain, an RVer based in Merced. It sure is nice to know that we have friendlies all over the country if we ever find ourselves in a tough situation.

The return trip had its own share of adventures. It included our first ever flight over the really big rocks of the Sierras. We crossed south of Lake Tahoe so that we were always within gliding distance of a nice, fat highway that traversed the area. It was an eye-opener to experience mountain waves for the first time. The changes in airspeed and pitch as we moved through their leeward side were significant, but there wasn't much turbulence. On the windward side, we very much enjoyed the 50 plus knot tailwinds, and we topped 210 kt ground speed for the first time ever. Our first stop was in Tonopah, NV (TPH) to keep the leg relatively short. It was another one of the huge runways in the middle of nowhere. We paid for our fuel (FS) and were climbing in as a gentleman walked towards us. It turns out we were about to have the privilege of meeting Richard. He built and is still flying RV6 Serial Number 5 that he completed 19 years ago. It is a sharp looking plane.

The next fuel stop at St. Johns, AZ, proved to be interesting as well. The cheap fuel there is always a treat. A couple of officers walked into the building, and the manager of the airport told them they needed to look out for us and that the DEA might be interested. He was joking to some extent, but in fact they told us they were going to go out to the plane and have their drug dog take a tour. They made it very clear that she wouldn't put her paws on the plane, nor would they open anything up. We watched from inside in the AC as she made her rounds. They came back in afterwards and thanked us for our cooperation, which was an appreciated gesture. Turns our that the airport is a regular stop for drugs coming up from Mexico. The only downside is they didn't bring in the lab so that I could say hello. It was mid-afternoon as we left with 9,900 foot density altitude. Scott had a tough time keeping thinks cool and climbing. Maybe Leadville, CO (9927) isn't that big of a hurdle after all.

We encountered the perma-turbulence over New Mexico and dodged an isolated thunderstorm that was directly in our path. We weren't the only ones, we heard about 20 airliners at flight level 300 and up that were maneuvering around the same storm complex. The storm happened to be in the turn toward Roswell, and I think we had a few concerned APRS TV viewers that thought we may have been caught in a tractor beam. Fortunately, the beam released us as we passed over Roswell and we were off for our last fuel stop at Andrews. We arrived in the vicinity of home to find the air as soupy as we've ever seen it, even at 14,500 feet. This is home territory, and we couldn't spot the airport until we were within 5 miles of home. It finally came into sight, and as we touched down we pinched ourselves at the adventure we had just completed in an airplane we built in the garage.

APRS TV Archive Link
 
Scott and Tanya, thank you for sharing your trip with all of us. It gives those of still building a preview of what is to come.

It sounds like you enjoyed Yosemite. You did indeed see the falls and the Merced River at high water. The Mist Trail is well named, isn't it? I'm sorry you didn't see the Mariposa Grove as you wanted to, but the Tuolumne Grove has always been our favorite.

Please keep the trip reports comming, yours, Rosie's and others are always a pleasure to read.
 
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