(Apologies to our many friends who fly ? and flew ? for what we consider to be our favorite airline?.all in the spirit of fun and ?POS??..)
Before we left Houston for the holidays in Southern California, Louise had gotten a call from the Gulf Coast Oil Spill Command Center, pleading with her to return to Pensacola on January 2nd. They needed an experienced, senior person to help the cleanup efforts get going again after the Christmas hiatus. She told them that she had a commitment in California (the RV Big Bear NYD Fly-in) that meant she couldn?t leave until the afternoon of the 1st, and they told her they?d fly her from there, so we changed our planes (and planes) from a ?Mikey? trip to a ?Valkyrie? trip, as I?d be flying back solo. The plan was for her to leave out of Ontario (down the hill from Big Bear) after the lunch, and I?d fly back on Sunday, the next day.
Gary Sobek graciously offered Louise a ride down the hill, since he had flown up for the lunch, and that took me out of her critical transportation loop. Now here?s a great place to insert the lesson for today. I love RV?s. I love GA transportation. I love being able to go when and where I want. But?if I absolutely, positively need to be somewhere at a specified time for work (or other reasons), it is a far better option to buy an airline ticket. If you can afford to wait out weather or an airplane problem, then take the RV. But having the ticket in your pocket makes sense. And here was a perfect example ? as I turned out, the weather for Sunday (my planned return day) was a little ?iffy? at Big Bear. There are no forecasts specifically for the mountains, so we have to depend on forecasts f or locations such as Riverside, Palm Springs or Edwards ? all considerably lower than the lake. The predictions for when the snow would arrive ranged from Saturday night to Sunday noon, and changed back and forth the last few days. I knew I?d be kicking myself if I passed up a perfectly nice, sunny, Saturday afternoon and woke up to low clouds and ice, so the sensible thing was to leave at the same time as Louise, after the fly-in was over.
So then, why didn?t she just go along? Well, se the above notes on ?Absolutely, Positively, need to be there?.? Although the weather looked great, there are always the vagaries of airplane maintenance to contend with. Coupled with the fact that we?d be traveling on New year?s Day (night) made it unlikely that I?d find timely help for something simple, like a jump start, if required along the way. Heck, something as simple as an out-of-service self serve pump can throw a monkey wrench in to the plans. Since I had a day or two of grace to get home, it wasn?t a big deal for me. Oh yeah- one other thing. In order to take advantage of some rip-roaring tailwinds, I?d be wanting to fly high, and the temperatures were well below freezing. The back seat would NOT be a nice place to live for a six-hour flight, and I knew I?d be spending at least half the time back there!
So the decisions made sense ? Louise would stick to the original plans, and I would head back to Houston to get out of the mountains ahead of the next storm. (The rest of the trip was golden no matter which day I picked ? I just needed to get out of Southern California.) As the lunch crowd began cranking up and departing, Louise settled in for the ride down the hill with Gary, and they departed about 1330 (in a trail of smoke) to the west. I took a little extra time getting ready to go, launching about 1340 and turning to the east. Climbing to cruise, the Val and I settled in at 13.5K, full throttle giving about 59% Hp at 2500 and burning about 6.5 gph. The absolute range on the EFIS was well over 1,000 nautical miles ? enough to make the Texas Hill Country if I was willing to land on fumes (NOT!) Casa Grande is usually a good fuel stop because it is cheap, but it would have been silly to descend after only 1.5 hours, so I targeted direct Demming. About all I had to do was try and work out the math of three time zones and calculated sunset from the 696 to figure out when it would get dark. The beautiful snow on Mount Graham was just an example of the wonderful visual contrasts we?d experienced this trip:
By the time I got to Demming, the sun was almost set, and the shadows cast by mountain ranges across miles and miles of desert were stunning. I was still so fat on fuel that I elected to press on to Carlsbad NM where we had gotten the lowest price gas on the way out. By the time I was passed the Newman VOR, and headed direct CNM, it was solid dark, with no hint of a moon. Carlsbad, however, was already visible from my altitude, and the Guadalupe Mountains showed themselves only on my Synthetic Vision display. I planned a high speed descent into Carlsbad, it worked out perfect, and I touched down with a little less than half tanks. With temps already low and dropping, the FBO closed up (I would have had to call someone out to get a hangar), and the self serve pump working fine, I decided not to risk waking up to a frozen airplane, and press on to home.
The flight across west Texas should be called ?chasing Sirius?, for the star was dead ahead on my course all the way. Orion shown above the canopy bow when I blocked the EIFS glow with my hands, and little lights twinkled two and a half miles below to show me the location of oil wells pumping away in the vast flatland. From Carlsbad, Midland was distinct, from Midland, the lights of San Angelo were visible. When I reached San Angel, I could see the glow of greater Austin and San Antonio ? and when I was over the Texas Capitol, I could already see the glow of Houston. With tailwinds averaging over 35 knots the whole way (and sometimes topping 40) I was disappointed to see only 25 as I crossed the hill country, afraid my ride was over ? but the numbers crept back up in to the 30?s again as the small farms of central Texas passed underneath.
This is, admittedly, when you dream of a turbocharger. 157 knots True is pretty good when you?re normally aspirated at 13.5K, but what if you could just turbonormalize? Another 15 knots would bring you back to ?normal? 8,000? cruise values, and added to that tailwind?..Hmmm ? it must be the altitude getting to me! I shouldn?t be complaining with the numbers I am seeing ? and simplicity is a virtue?
All too quickly I was doing the math for yet another descent, this time for home base. The numbers said I?d be landing about 2240 local time, just seven hours after leaving Big Bear (with a half hour spent stretching on the ground and fueling at Carlsbad). Louise?s flight was scheduled to arrive at 2300. Sure enough, I touched down at our little airpark almost on the dot as predicted, rolling up to the dark house and hangar. I secured the plane, unlocked the doors, and unloaded the luggage. A few minutes after 2300, the phone rang ? Louise was on the ground at Hobby. She?d catch a cab home, and we?d eat a midnight dinner together, our bodies still on Pacific time.
Now it is only fair to mention that the SWA flight from Ontario to Houston was ?Direct? ? meaning that it left Ontario and stopped in Oakland before heading across the mountains to Houston.
But, it was all she could get with a week?s notice. She had a great time with a seatmate who appeared to be coming down with the plague, but other than that, it was reliable transportation. No hard feelings all you Southwest guys?.as good as you are, nobody wins ?em all!
Paul
Before we left Houston for the holidays in Southern California, Louise had gotten a call from the Gulf Coast Oil Spill Command Center, pleading with her to return to Pensacola on January 2nd. They needed an experienced, senior person to help the cleanup efforts get going again after the Christmas hiatus. She told them that she had a commitment in California (the RV Big Bear NYD Fly-in) that meant she couldn?t leave until the afternoon of the 1st, and they told her they?d fly her from there, so we changed our planes (and planes) from a ?Mikey? trip to a ?Valkyrie? trip, as I?d be flying back solo. The plan was for her to leave out of Ontario (down the hill from Big Bear) after the lunch, and I?d fly back on Sunday, the next day.
Gary Sobek graciously offered Louise a ride down the hill, since he had flown up for the lunch, and that took me out of her critical transportation loop. Now here?s a great place to insert the lesson for today. I love RV?s. I love GA transportation. I love being able to go when and where I want. But?if I absolutely, positively need to be somewhere at a specified time for work (or other reasons), it is a far better option to buy an airline ticket. If you can afford to wait out weather or an airplane problem, then take the RV. But having the ticket in your pocket makes sense. And here was a perfect example ? as I turned out, the weather for Sunday (my planned return day) was a little ?iffy? at Big Bear. There are no forecasts specifically for the mountains, so we have to depend on forecasts f or locations such as Riverside, Palm Springs or Edwards ? all considerably lower than the lake. The predictions for when the snow would arrive ranged from Saturday night to Sunday noon, and changed back and forth the last few days. I knew I?d be kicking myself if I passed up a perfectly nice, sunny, Saturday afternoon and woke up to low clouds and ice, so the sensible thing was to leave at the same time as Louise, after the fly-in was over.
So then, why didn?t she just go along? Well, se the above notes on ?Absolutely, Positively, need to be there?.? Although the weather looked great, there are always the vagaries of airplane maintenance to contend with. Coupled with the fact that we?d be traveling on New year?s Day (night) made it unlikely that I?d find timely help for something simple, like a jump start, if required along the way. Heck, something as simple as an out-of-service self serve pump can throw a monkey wrench in to the plans. Since I had a day or two of grace to get home, it wasn?t a big deal for me. Oh yeah- one other thing. In order to take advantage of some rip-roaring tailwinds, I?d be wanting to fly high, and the temperatures were well below freezing. The back seat would NOT be a nice place to live for a six-hour flight, and I knew I?d be spending at least half the time back there!
So the decisions made sense ? Louise would stick to the original plans, and I would head back to Houston to get out of the mountains ahead of the next storm. (The rest of the trip was golden no matter which day I picked ? I just needed to get out of Southern California.) As the lunch crowd began cranking up and departing, Louise settled in for the ride down the hill with Gary, and they departed about 1330 (in a trail of smoke) to the west. I took a little extra time getting ready to go, launching about 1340 and turning to the east. Climbing to cruise, the Val and I settled in at 13.5K, full throttle giving about 59% Hp at 2500 and burning about 6.5 gph. The absolute range on the EFIS was well over 1,000 nautical miles ? enough to make the Texas Hill Country if I was willing to land on fumes (NOT!) Casa Grande is usually a good fuel stop because it is cheap, but it would have been silly to descend after only 1.5 hours, so I targeted direct Demming. About all I had to do was try and work out the math of three time zones and calculated sunset from the 696 to figure out when it would get dark. The beautiful snow on Mount Graham was just an example of the wonderful visual contrasts we?d experienced this trip:
By the time I got to Demming, the sun was almost set, and the shadows cast by mountain ranges across miles and miles of desert were stunning. I was still so fat on fuel that I elected to press on to Carlsbad NM where we had gotten the lowest price gas on the way out. By the time I was passed the Newman VOR, and headed direct CNM, it was solid dark, with no hint of a moon. Carlsbad, however, was already visible from my altitude, and the Guadalupe Mountains showed themselves only on my Synthetic Vision display. I planned a high speed descent into Carlsbad, it worked out perfect, and I touched down with a little less than half tanks. With temps already low and dropping, the FBO closed up (I would have had to call someone out to get a hangar), and the self serve pump working fine, I decided not to risk waking up to a frozen airplane, and press on to home.
The flight across west Texas should be called ?chasing Sirius?, for the star was dead ahead on my course all the way. Orion shown above the canopy bow when I blocked the EIFS glow with my hands, and little lights twinkled two and a half miles below to show me the location of oil wells pumping away in the vast flatland. From Carlsbad, Midland was distinct, from Midland, the lights of San Angelo were visible. When I reached San Angel, I could see the glow of greater Austin and San Antonio ? and when I was over the Texas Capitol, I could already see the glow of Houston. With tailwinds averaging over 35 knots the whole way (and sometimes topping 40) I was disappointed to see only 25 as I crossed the hill country, afraid my ride was over ? but the numbers crept back up in to the 30?s again as the small farms of central Texas passed underneath.
This is, admittedly, when you dream of a turbocharger. 157 knots True is pretty good when you?re normally aspirated at 13.5K, but what if you could just turbonormalize? Another 15 knots would bring you back to ?normal? 8,000? cruise values, and added to that tailwind?..Hmmm ? it must be the altitude getting to me! I shouldn?t be complaining with the numbers I am seeing ? and simplicity is a virtue?
All too quickly I was doing the math for yet another descent, this time for home base. The numbers said I?d be landing about 2240 local time, just seven hours after leaving Big Bear (with a half hour spent stretching on the ground and fueling at Carlsbad). Louise?s flight was scheduled to arrive at 2300. Sure enough, I touched down at our little airpark almost on the dot as predicted, rolling up to the dark house and hangar. I secured the plane, unlocked the doors, and unloaded the luggage. A few minutes after 2300, the phone rang ? Louise was on the ground at Hobby. She?d catch a cab home, and we?d eat a midnight dinner together, our bodies still on Pacific time.
Now it is only fair to mention that the SWA flight from Ontario to Houston was ?Direct? ? meaning that it left Ontario and stopped in Oakland before heading across the mountains to Houston.
But, it was all she could get with a week?s notice. She had a great time with a seatmate who appeared to be coming down with the plague, but other than that, it was reliable transportation. No hard feelings all you Southwest guys?.as good as you are, nobody wins ?em all! Paul
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