40th Birthday trip to Vegas
Some guys may want to ring in the big day with a backyard BBQ, babes in bikinis, beer and they buddies. If thats’ you, that’s cool. For me all I wanted to do was spend time with my mistress and my wife, cruise at 190 mph, sit at 11,000 feet, suck oxygen and smile the whole way to Vegas. And you know what…… that’s just what I got to do! Here’s how the adventure unfolded.
Friday May 20th was the big day and I was excited. I roughly planned out two routes from Calgary to Vegas. The Eastern route was Calgary – Great Falls – Salt Lake City – Vegas and the Western route was Calgary – Spokane – Boise – Vegas.
5 days out I was starting to eliminate the Eastern route because of weather. A massive system was developing in the Midwest (which eventually turned into the destructive tornados in Missouri) and Great Falls was forecasting rain. I kept calling Flight Services for weather updates but in hindsight this was a waste.
We are all pretty well versed in reading the various weather products and even 3 – 4 days out the weather is so unpredictable that no definitive plans can be made. For me, crossing the border, I had to pick my port of entry into the US so I could file my eAPIS forms and contact CBP so I was watching the weather closely and deciding on the best port.
A day out it was looking like Kalispell, MT and east were under cloud and rain so that was a no go and Spokane was looking better. Some weather existed between Calgary and Spokane and it was going to be marginal VFR. From there it was looking like smooth sailing.
So I packed up my bird, double checked my portable oxygen system, topped off with gas, checked oil, filed my eAPIS and called CBP. As an aside, to all those contemplating crossing the border, CALL CBP!!! I got in a small amount of kaka last time I crossed the border and didn’t call CBP. Lesson learned.
RV all warmed up and ready for the trip:
Departure weather:
Mom and Dad showed up at the hanger for a final birthday prayer and I was off. Can’t have too much prayer coverage in this business.
I flew under the clouds for a bit then got clearance for SVFR for a little over the cloud travel. As forecasted the skies cleared out and I made a greaser in Spokane. It took an hour and a half.
Happy Birthday to me! I cut a hole in the canopy so I could wear my hat.
My oxygen and pulseoximeter setup:
When it’s time for landing after an extended period in the seat I try to concentrate extra hard because if my landing is bad it will bug me for awhile. Just me I guess.
I cleared customs in Spokane, got gas, took a pee, ate a snack, in that order, then I was off for a straight shot to Ely, Nevada. To decrease the lead build up in my engine I lean aggressively upon start up and taxi as well as in the air. I started using this stuff called Decalin Runup at the suggestion of some on VAF. I throw a little in the tank each top off. Hopefully it will help. I’ll see on the next annual.
Enroute to Spokane:
Enroute to Ely I had beautiful scenery and smooth air. NO BETTER WAY TO SPEND MY BIRTHDAY!
The mountains thinned out as I headed South and the dry desert appeared under the wings of the -7. She was purring like a kitten and the gauges indicated that the fan up front was doing well and had no intentions of stopping.
So I sat back and enjoyed the ride. The Autopilot was doing all the work and I fiddled with the black, red and blue knobs when needed.
Heading to Ely, NV:
Splitting the mountains:
3 hours later I was in Ely, NV. Windy and warm but a welcomed stop. The RV has longer legs than my back or my bladder can take so 3 hours seems to be a good length for a leg. Note to self for future cross countries.
Gas in Ely, NV:
Same thing: gas, pee, snack and check weather again. I must say that the FBOs in the US are quite nice. Some of the places I stopped were down right luxurious ie. Spokane, Reno (on the way home), Yakima (on the way home). Leather seats, bottled water, computer, phone, carpet!! Very nice. Friendly staff. The best. Loved it.
So now it was time for the final push to North Vegas Airport. I had an open hanger reserved and that’s where I was heading.
Some more mountains to clear and I was there an hour and 15 later.
The RV’s are fast on the descent and coming down from a 11,500 cruise altitude to circuit altitude is a bit hard on the ears. I would normally do a gradual descent but when an airport (like Vegas, Cranbrook, BC) is encircled by mountains you have to clear those first then push the stick forward. I have to keep the speed of the aircraft under VNE yet descend quickly enough to enter the pattern. Glad to have that CS prop. I don’t like pulling the power to idle as she wants to backfire and pop quite a bit so I ease it to a lower setting slowly and give her time to bleed off the speed.
All was well but my landing in Vegas was a little bouncy. Rats, now it’s going to bug me for the next 3 days. I tied her down and hung out in another nice FBO.
Put to bed in Vegas:
My wife flew down on Air Canada so I got a car and went to get her from McCarran.
Vegas was great as usual. Did the Cirque de Soleil show, David Copperfield and this neat indoor skydiving thing.
To be continued...................
Some guys may want to ring in the big day with a backyard BBQ, babes in bikinis, beer and they buddies. If thats’ you, that’s cool. For me all I wanted to do was spend time with my mistress and my wife, cruise at 190 mph, sit at 11,000 feet, suck oxygen and smile the whole way to Vegas. And you know what…… that’s just what I got to do! Here’s how the adventure unfolded.
Friday May 20th was the big day and I was excited. I roughly planned out two routes from Calgary to Vegas. The Eastern route was Calgary – Great Falls – Salt Lake City – Vegas and the Western route was Calgary – Spokane – Boise – Vegas.
5 days out I was starting to eliminate the Eastern route because of weather. A massive system was developing in the Midwest (which eventually turned into the destructive tornados in Missouri) and Great Falls was forecasting rain. I kept calling Flight Services for weather updates but in hindsight this was a waste.
We are all pretty well versed in reading the various weather products and even 3 – 4 days out the weather is so unpredictable that no definitive plans can be made. For me, crossing the border, I had to pick my port of entry into the US so I could file my eAPIS forms and contact CBP so I was watching the weather closely and deciding on the best port.
A day out it was looking like Kalispell, MT and east were under cloud and rain so that was a no go and Spokane was looking better. Some weather existed between Calgary and Spokane and it was going to be marginal VFR. From there it was looking like smooth sailing.
So I packed up my bird, double checked my portable oxygen system, topped off with gas, checked oil, filed my eAPIS and called CBP. As an aside, to all those contemplating crossing the border, CALL CBP!!! I got in a small amount of kaka last time I crossed the border and didn’t call CBP. Lesson learned.
RV all warmed up and ready for the trip:
Departure weather:
Mom and Dad showed up at the hanger for a final birthday prayer and I was off. Can’t have too much prayer coverage in this business.
I flew under the clouds for a bit then got clearance for SVFR for a little over the cloud travel. As forecasted the skies cleared out and I made a greaser in Spokane. It took an hour and a half.
Happy Birthday to me! I cut a hole in the canopy so I could wear my hat.
My oxygen and pulseoximeter setup:
When it’s time for landing after an extended period in the seat I try to concentrate extra hard because if my landing is bad it will bug me for awhile. Just me I guess.
I cleared customs in Spokane, got gas, took a pee, ate a snack, in that order, then I was off for a straight shot to Ely, Nevada. To decrease the lead build up in my engine I lean aggressively upon start up and taxi as well as in the air. I started using this stuff called Decalin Runup at the suggestion of some on VAF. I throw a little in the tank each top off. Hopefully it will help. I’ll see on the next annual.
Enroute to Spokane:
Enroute to Ely I had beautiful scenery and smooth air. NO BETTER WAY TO SPEND MY BIRTHDAY!
The mountains thinned out as I headed South and the dry desert appeared under the wings of the -7. She was purring like a kitten and the gauges indicated that the fan up front was doing well and had no intentions of stopping.
So I sat back and enjoyed the ride. The Autopilot was doing all the work and I fiddled with the black, red and blue knobs when needed.
Heading to Ely, NV:
Splitting the mountains:
3 hours later I was in Ely, NV. Windy and warm but a welcomed stop. The RV has longer legs than my back or my bladder can take so 3 hours seems to be a good length for a leg. Note to self for future cross countries.
Gas in Ely, NV:
Same thing: gas, pee, snack and check weather again. I must say that the FBOs in the US are quite nice. Some of the places I stopped were down right luxurious ie. Spokane, Reno (on the way home), Yakima (on the way home). Leather seats, bottled water, computer, phone, carpet!! Very nice. Friendly staff. The best. Loved it.
So now it was time for the final push to North Vegas Airport. I had an open hanger reserved and that’s where I was heading.
Some more mountains to clear and I was there an hour and 15 later.
The RV’s are fast on the descent and coming down from a 11,500 cruise altitude to circuit altitude is a bit hard on the ears. I would normally do a gradual descent but when an airport (like Vegas, Cranbrook, BC) is encircled by mountains you have to clear those first then push the stick forward. I have to keep the speed of the aircraft under VNE yet descend quickly enough to enter the pattern. Glad to have that CS prop. I don’t like pulling the power to idle as she wants to backfire and pop quite a bit so I ease it to a lower setting slowly and give her time to bleed off the speed.
All was well but my landing in Vegas was a little bouncy. Rats, now it’s going to bug me for the next 3 days. I tied her down and hung out in another nice FBO.
Put to bed in Vegas:
My wife flew down on Air Canada so I got a car and went to get her from McCarran.
Vegas was great as usual. Did the Cirque de Soleil show, David Copperfield and this neat indoor skydiving thing.
To be continued...................
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