The wind continued to blow. Unlike the normal patterns, it is generally from the west or east and gust factors stay in the double digits. Sandra is still having confidence problems and cannot continue in these conditions anyway. I schedule a right seat “lesson” for May 11 and it is as big a disaster as the first one.
On May 17, we went to Eastland for lunch. Nothing special in Eastland, we just needed to give the Mouse some exercise. The flight there was smooth and uneventful, just the way we like them, even though the heating was showing that it would be bumpy coming home. Passing just south of Mineral Wells with my hands in my lap and my feet doing their light tap dance on the rudder pedals, I looked at my favorite Redhead and said, "this is what it is all about, isn't it?". She just quietly smiled in agreement.
"We're doin' just fine."
"Y'all come for lunch? We're just starting the hamburgers. If y'all like hamburgers." "Sounds like a good idea to me."
He hollers over the tail, "Hey Rick, throw on 2 more."
This bunch of guys is from the local EAA chapter, cleaning up the airport for a fly-in next weekend. There are 6 or 8 of them coming and going, and they apparently constitute the bulk of the Eastland chapter of the international ABS (Airport Bums Society). We spend a most enjoyable 2 hours with them, swapping tall and not so tall tales, some about the people we all know. The food was great, lean meat burgers, fresh tomatoes, onion and lettuce, iced tea, beans and some of the best cornbread I have ever eaten. Some ate and left and replacements quickly took their place. With our bona fides sitting on the ramp, we were treated as if we had all known each other for years.
We would have stayed until late afternoon, but the clouds were thickening to the west and we needed to stay ahead of them. We departed about two into very bumpy air. I re-earned my license on the way home. We stayed at 3500' because the cloud bases were around 5000' and the legal eastbound altitude is 5500. By the time we were out from under them, we were nearly to Mineral Wells and going higher there was fruitless. Sure enough, just across Eagle Mountain Lake, we were brought down to 2500 to cross Alliance airport and fly just south of Texas Motor Speedway. Over Lake Grapevine, we were brought down to 2000. Holding the assigned heading and altitude was a full time job, but soon, we were swinging onto the downwind at Aero Country. Simply because no one was watching, I pulled out one of my top ten landings. We taxied over to the pumps and filled the tanks back up then back to the hangar. Yes, this is what it is all about.
Then, the heat starts.
Sandra flew with Young Dave on June 15 and did pretty well. And we planned a trip to Holdredge, NE for a BAC fly-in on the 22nd. We were packed and ready on Friday, but there were building lines of thunderstorms across Kansas and we chickened out. As a consolation, we decided to go to Weatherford, OK on Sunday. That’s where we would have been that day anyway on the way back.
The entire flight there, I am having to apply a lot of left rudder to keep the ball centered. Sandra mentions that she had noticed that on her flight last Sunday. Other than that, it is a good flight and we eat a good lunch and return to the FBO.
On September 6, we check out the Red Barn in Sulphur Springs and find it is still a good Hamburger stop. On the 14th, we check out the café at Hicks and find that it is still good.
After much discussion, we decide that having a GPS would make our trip to California a little easier. After much comparison of prices and features, we decide on a Garmin 495. We purchase it locally from a company located in Arlington, which means we have to go pick it up. Besides. I need some practice with Bravo airspace before the big trip. On the 20th, we fly to Arlington (GKY), get the unit and then hop over to Lancaster for lunch. Then return home to check out our new toy.
After playing with it for a week, we make a short flight on the 28th to see what it is like in flight. No problems with its functions or our being able to use them. So we inspect the plane carefully and start an oil change when we get back.
Tuesday morning, I go to Tex-Air to get oil, filters and a tire and tube for the left main. After replacing the tire and tube, oil and filter, the bird is now ready to go.
California, here we come!
The annual meeting of the Beech Aero Club (BAC) is scheduled for Oct 8-10 in Santa Maria California, and we are going if the weather gods will allow. The plan is to leave here on Sunday and arrive in Santa Maria on Tuesday afternoon. Since the festivities don’t begin until Wednesday evening, that gives us a full day for delays, etc..
By Friday night, the plans are made and we are watching a slow moving front that may block us. On Saturday, it looks like that it will clear El Paso and not extend very far to the south as it moves east. Maybe we can get around the south end of it. We will leave anyway (it should be clear here) and see how far we can go.
Day one, to Sweetwater, TX.
We are up early Sunday, anxiously checking the current weather. The clouds now extend further south from the TX-NM border than we can get around, but it is clear as far west as Midland-Odessa. We will use the originally planned route and get as far west as we can. The cloudy areas associated with the front are narrow and should pass any given point within 12 hours.
The nearest airport is Sweetwater. We head for it and close out flight following. We land and taxi up to the gas pumps. The surface wind is brutal, and the clouds look even worse than they had a few minutes ago. Bring the tanks up to 45 gallons and go inside to weigh options. There is no internet access, and Flight Service offers no encouraging words about continuing today.
We make arrangements and put the bird in the hangar. A nice lady from the motel comes to get us. After checking in, we walk over to the next door Subway for lunch, bring back large glasses of tea and settle in to watch the Cowboy game.
About 7, we walk down, around and up the other side of I20 for dinner. An item on the menu catches my eye; pork wings. They are barbecued pork shanks and they are delicious.
Day two, to Wink, Santa Teresa and then Phoenix.
The weather briefing tells of a band of cloudiness between Big Spring and Midland and clear skies from there to the Pacific. We are airborne at 8:30 and approach the band shortly after turning on course. Level at our cruising altitude of 4500 the line slips beneath us and thins out then disappears over Big Spring. We cruise on and descend on Wink for gas.
We fly on just south of the airport, over the city and begin our descent just past the mountain that divide east and west El Paso. We land at Dona Ana County airport and taxi up to Blue Feather Aviation, where the line boy is tying us down before we can start getting out of the plane.
Albuquerque Center hands us off to Phoenix Approach and we get a real shock. “Four Lima Bravo, cleared to Falcon, maintain VFR, remain clear of Bravo air space.” This is a switch. The Dallas Class B is like an upside-down wedding cake, with only a few pieces added or missing. When told to remain clear of Bravo, the object is to stay out of the cake. Normally, the Dallas controllers will admit you to Bravo and vector you to your destination. A quick glance at the sectional shows the Phoenix Bravo to be a labyrinth of weird shaped blocks some of which are “supported” on the Class C airspace of the many airports in the area. All we have for guidance is the sectional chart and the GPS, neither of which can give us a large enough picture to stay ahead of the plane. We make it anyway and get taxi instructions to Tango One.
Button up the plane, order fuel for tomorrow, pick up the rental car and maps to the motel and we are out of there. Somehow, we figure out that we have gained 2 hours from Sweetwater, and after checking in at the motel, it is still not yet 5:00.
Sandra calls the family we are here to see and gets directions and we set out. After losing our nerve and re-calling them, we finally get there about 5:30. Kyle was one of her special needs students, many years ago and is now all grown up. We bring him pictures and a DVD of many of the kids and teachers that he knew and visited with them for an hour. Then we went looking for a place to eat. What we found was a nice Mexican restaurant where the food was excellent. Then back across town to the Motel for the night.
Day three, on to Santa Maria.
We are in the air at 10 for the 2 ½ hour flight to Banning. We immediately run afoul of Phoenix ATC. Their first instruction again is to remain clear of the Class B. It turns out that the only way to do that from Falcon is to depart to the southeast, remaining at or below 3500’ until between Mesa and Chandler. Then turn west, passing south of South Mountain. Then northwest until over Goodyear. At that point, we can climb to our cruise altitude and “resume own navigation”.
The next thing I learn as I am flaring for landing is that the runway has a slope down that is twice my descent rate. We land firmly, only a little long, and taxi to the ramp. The line boy is standing by the fuel pumps with chocks in hand. Check the tanks and decide how much fuel is needed to get to Santa Maria, then off to the Loo.
There is no courtesy car and no snacks in the vending machines. It is not yet noon here and the flight to SMX should be less than 2 hours. We have one pack of crackers left in the plane, so it is on to Santa Maria.
We can see the Los Angeles basin as soon as we turn on downwind. At 4500’, we contact Approach and are cleared immediately to the Riverside VOR. Soon, we can see all of the city and the suburbs and we turn slightly to the right towards the Van Nuys VOR. We pass almost directly over the Rose Bowl and then climb to 6500. Then from Van Nuys, to the Fillmore VOR. We are now a few miles inland, but can still see the Pacific over the hills. Next is the San Marcus VOR at Santa Barbara and 40 miles down the valley to Santa Maria. We are cleared straight in to runway three zero and we can see the hotel with 2 mice parked outside as we are on final.
Days 4-6, BAC Fest 2008.
We taxi in to the Hotel ramp and shut down. Go in and register, then bring a rack out to the plane for our bags. We move the plane into a tie down spot and secure it, then take our stuff to the room which overlooks the 3 mice now lined up on the ramp. We walk over to the terminal building to get a bite to eat and when we return, we meet the people already there. The rest of the afternoon is spent swapping tales with the other early arrivals; Chris Linderman who owns the Sierra on the left side of the Mouse, Bob Lewis who owns the Sport on the right side and Steve Cote, the NE Regional Director, who flew in commercial. We mutually decide on a Seafood place for dinner and pile into Chris’s Trailblazer about 6:30 for the trip. We all contribute navigational assistance and after retracing several steps, find it. It was good, but not great.
We are back at the hotel by 4:00 and Sandra takes a nap while I help welcome new arrivals.
The official festivities start at 5:30 with a cash bar reception. By 7:00, there a large number of Mouse Drivers and spouses in attendance. We slowly adjourn in groups to the hotel dining room for dinner and then to the bar for nightcaps.
Thursday morning we have a group breakfast and then the members have seminars all morning. Having wheels, Sandra gathers a posse and heads out to see the sights. We all meet for a BBQ lunch in the FBO hangar and then the women head out some more while we have some more seminars.
Thursday evening, we all go to Pelican Point in Pismo for dinner in a restaurant overlooking the ocean. Good (but expensive) food and a fantastic view of the sunset.
Friday morning is open and I take advantage of a very heavy dew to clean the poor Mouse up some. There are dual luncheons for members and spouses with the members being subjected to the annual business meeting while the spouses get a speaker. That evening is the banquet. Excellent prime rib, good speaker and much fun and fellowship. The annual gathering has been a huge success.
Day Seven, Half Moon Bay and San Francisco.
Saturday Morning, we are ready to start for home. The long way. We take off at 10:00 and head north. There is a TFR for firefighter training over Big Sur, so we stay inland over the Paso Robles VOR, then to the Salinas VOR and across Monterey Bay. We can see San Jose and the other cities that make up the Bay Area over the ridges as we fight a headwind into Half Moon Bay. I fuel up the Mouse while Sandra gets the car. And then we head up the coast to San Francisco.
After the air show, we start back. We go round and round in the bumper to bumper traffic, taking a wrong turn and making the trip back across the bridge an hour long ordeal. The traffic in San Francisco is no better and it takes another hour to go from the bridge to South San Francisco on the 101.
We finally make it back to Half Moon Bay at dark and check into the motel. Then dinner at the restaurant recommended by the innkeeper. It was great.
Day 8, Half Moon Bay over San Francisco to Fresno
We are off the ground by 9:30 on Sunday morning to get across San Francisco before the air show TFR starts at 11:00. We fly north just off the beach at 2500’, which allows us to see the city over the ridge. Very quickly, we can see Golden Gate Park and the bridge beyond it.
We continue across the strait to the Sausalito VOR with Sandra furiously snapping pictures. Over the VOR, we turn east. We are now looking at the sunny side of the bridge, and then the San Francisco downtown in bright sunlight. Passing just north of Alcatraz and Treasure Island paralleling the Oakland side of the Bay Bridge, the view back at San Francisco is awesome in the morning sun.
Over Modesto, we turn right and head for Fresno. We land and taxi up to a deserted FBO. They are not open on Sunday, but the old terminal building is. Sandra calls Lawanna and soon, they are there to pick us up.
We go to their house for snacks and yaks, and later to the local Quizno’s for something more substantial. We get a quick tour of their home town of Kerman, and then back to the airport where I give them both a short ride back over their home. I let Chad fly a little and he seemed to enjoy that very much. The landing with Lawanna was one of the top 10 grade. Back in town, we yak some more and then eat a fine home cooked meal. More yakking with these good people and a daughter, then to bed.
Day 9, to Las Vegas.
We are all up early as they are going to drop us at the airport on their way to work. On preflight, I discover that the air hoses have slipped of the muffler cuff. Put them back on and taxi over to the fuel island and bring the tanks up to over 50 gallons. The flight to Las Vegas will be 320nm and we will probably have a headwind. If it gets really bad, we can stop in Barstow for a refill.
We take off, shortly after 8:00 and climb to 5500’ with the early morning haze partially hiding the mountains to the east. We fly over the Visalia VOR and then towards Bakersfield. There, we climb to 7500 and start looking for the route through the Tehachapi mountains into the Mojave Desert. We make the crossing a little over 8000’ in very rough air from the headwind and nearing Palmdale, begin turning easterly. When we can clear the Edwards AFB restricted area, we turn towards Barstow and the Daggett VOR.
Nearing Barstow, I am avidly watching the ETE numbers on the GPS. From Daggett to Henderson is about 100nm and near Barstow, we have been in the air over 2 ½ hours. At that point, the ETE is only slightly more than 1 hour and we should have more than 2 hours fuel remaining.
We forge on over a pass just south of Mesquite Lake with peaks 8000’ just south of us, rejoining I15 just south of Jean, NV. From here, it is downhill into Henderson Executive. I don’t quite make enough downhill and have to “S” turn a couple of times to lose altitude before entering a left base for 35R.
Entering the ramp, we are met by a “Follow Me” van that guides us to our parking spot. He is tying the Mouse down before we can get out. He runs Sandra to the FBO while I button up and then comes back for me and the bags. This flight was 3.9 hours on the Hobbs, the longest single leg we have ever flown. And we still had about 13 gallons of useable fuel left in the tanks.
When I get to the FBO, Sandra is on her way out to get the car. I take care of the paperwork and get directions to the motel and the Redhead is waiting at the door with the car. Load up the bags and go look for lunch.
Tummies quieted and toting large “to-go” containers of tea, we head for Hoover dam. The traffic jam caused by construction is not quite as bad as San Francisco, and we find a parking place on the Arizona side. We hike back down and across the dam, making lots of pictures.
Now, we drive back into town, taking the old Boulder highway to the north end of The Strip. We drive down the strip and after one navigational failure, finally make it back to the hotel to check in. This room is the plushest we have seen so far and for the cheapest rate of the entire trip. Sandra takes her afternoon “power nap” while I use the business center to check email, weather for tomorrow and the forecasts for the rest of the week.
On the recommendation of the desk clerk, we eat dinner at Rockfish Grill. This turns out to be one of our very best dining experiences ever. I had a grilled Mahi-Mahi, stuffed with shrimp and scallops that rivaled the stuffed flounder in Natchez. We waddled out after dinner and headed for bed.
Day 10, Grand Canyon and Tucson.
Again, with not a cloud to be seen, we take off about 9:00. Departure holds us at or below 4000 and turns us to 130 for traffic until we are nearly over Boulder city. We start our climb to 7500 while Sandra snaps a few pictures of the Dam. We continue on an easterly heading towards Grand Canyon West airport. When we intersect the 303 degree radial from the Peach Springs VOR, we turn right to follow it. This puts us just outside of the Park area, but for over twenty miles, we are never more than 5 miles from the river bed and often over the side canyons.
We fly along, less than 3000’ above the west rim plateau, furiously taking pictures and video. The views are spectacular as we pass over successive side canyons and can see the rugged drops into the main part of the canyon. Ahead, nearly into the sun, it is a little hazy, but straight out and to the rear, it is spectacularly clear.
As we near the VOR and the canyon bends away to the northeast, we fly on, silent in awe for a few minutes. This is another item on the Bucket List and probably the biggest item on our wish list for this trip, and we have done it. This has now clearly become the best trip yet. Next, we turn southwest for 10 miles or so to get over the valley that US93 uses to get from Kingman to Phoenix. We essentially follow US93 from there to Wickenburg, where we turn south to avoid another encounter with Phoenix Approach. Luke approach is very kind to us as we descend for fuel at Buckeye.
This is the first fuel island I can remember where you taxi straight in, gas up and then push back onto the ramp. We empty us and Sandra calls the Tucson FBO for car and bed (it was too early when we left Henderson) while I finish up and push the Mouse back out onto the ramp.
The 120 mile hop over to Tucson is nearly anticlimactic. We are lined up with the runways 20 miles out and cleared to land on 11R 10 miles out. We have a little confusion with read backs and hold short lines, but eventually get to the Premier ramp. They are waiting for us with the tie downs, red carpet and the rental car. They get us chocked, place the carpet, and move the car around to the back while we are cleaning up and getting out. This is service!
We get everything loaded up and go back to the FBO to do the paperwork. The desk people are all over us with recommendations and directions and finally we are ready to leave. We drive around a little looking for lunch and then go to the Pima Air & Space Museum. It has as much to see as the USAF Museum, but the outdoor stuff is badly weathered. We spend several hours there and then check in to our motel.
For dinner, we go to a steak house on the north side of town. It is nearly impossible to find, but the food is well worth the effort.
Day 11, Las Cruces and Big Spring.
We are now in the final stretch of our journey. We have been watching the weather in Texas since Monday and it ain’t looking good. A Pacific storm has been pumping moisture across Mexico into Texas and New Mexico. This has caused a large area of cloudiness and light rain that effectively blocks our return home.
Today, the clouds seem to lie from El Paso just west of I20 and extending on into Oklahoma and northwards, slowly moving east. It is still cloudless here, but getting any further east than west Texas today looks doubtful.
We are ready to go, slightly before 8:30, knowing that if we do get to West Texas, we will lose two hours to time zones. We taxi out, again having some confusion with read backs. Cleared for takeoff on 11R, we have to wait for a coyote to clear the threshold and then we are off. The sky is clear and we pass by the Bone yard at Davis Monthan, climbing towards 7500’.
In cruise, I again sit with my hands in my lap most of the time as we fly over the Cochise VOR and turn towards the San Simon VOR. It is apparently out of service as we never do pick it up even when we can see it on the ground. It would not be a problem, even without the GPS as we simply fly outbound from Cochise until we cross I10, then turn east. We pass south of Lordsburg, then Deming and soon can see Las Cruces in the distance.
We descend and after hearing conflicting wind reports on successive cycles of the AWOS, make a straight in landing on 4. It is one of those where I am afraid to drop the flaps because I am not sure the wheels are on the ground yet. We taxi in and shut down in front of the “terminal” building. I determine the fuel required for the next leg and we go in to eat lunch in the Crosswind grill.
A quick check of the weather and call to FSS says that we can probably make it as far as Big Spring before running into weather. So off we go. We easily climb to 7500’, bending slightly south to avoid one of the restricted areas at Holloman AFB. But we can easily see White Sands up the valley.
Over the Newman VOR, north of El Paso and on towards Salt Flat VOR. We are now back in Texas. We drone on, back past Guadelupe Peak and for the first time since leaving Texas 10 days ago, we begin seeing clouds. By the time we reach Odessa, we are skirting through scattered clouds and the decision to stop at Big Spring becomes the better part of valor.
We park next to a gorgeous T34 and go in to see about fuel, transportation and lodging. Having lost the two hours to time changes, it is 5:00PM and Enterprise is closed. The airport manager helps us find a room and volunteers to take us there and pick us up in the morning. The motel is nearly a dump, mostly populated by construction workers repairing the local refinery. But the restaurant next door has good food. We chow down on Chicken Fried Steak, by now needing some good Texas comfort food.
Day 12, home at last.
When I step out of the room, it is completely overcast. What a change from the last ten days. We are dressed, breakfasted and ready to go when Mr. Little arrives at the motel to pick us up just before eight. We know that we are going to sit in an FBO for at least several hours, Even though it is a nice new fully equipped one.
We meet the couple who own the T34. They are on their way (hopefully) to Tullahoma for the annual Beech Party and have been stuck here for two days (they had the courtesy car last night). We talk a while with them and Sandra piles up on one of the couches to take a nap.
The guy and I go out to admire each other’s planes, do preflights and swap lies. About 10:30, they depart in hopes of being able to continue (They are VFR only, also).
By noon, we can see the beginnings of clearing, so we take the courtesy car into town for lunch. Before we can get into the restaurant, the sky has become mostly clear. When we get back, I check the current conditions. McKinney is still below minimums as well as Addison. But Gainesville and Bridgeport are clear and Denton is doable, so we launch.
Level at 5500’, there are some scattered clouds in our path and off to the right. Off to our left, it is continuing to clear fast and soon, the bank of clouds is getting further away to the south. By Abilene, they are no longer a concern. We negotiate with Regional Approach and are going to take our normal inbound path to Aero Country from the Milsap VOR (Mineral Wells) over Denton and down US380. We descend to 3500 before Eagle Mountain Lake and on down to 2500 at Denton. The clouds have caught back up with us, but knowing the area, we can see Aero Country from the east side of Lake Lewisville. On in to a decent landing. We are back.
Summary
This is the longest trip we have taken, over 3000 miles total. We have landed at 13 new airports and added 3 new states. Total flying time is 34.9 hours, but most of it has been with my hands in my lap. We have flown in the Class B areas of Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas. We have flown higher than we ever did before and 5 of the 14 legs were more than 2.5 hours long, including the 3.9 hour leg to Las Vegas. And outside of Texas, we never saw a cloud.
But it was all worth it. The credit card bill hasn’t come in yet, but no matter. We have scratched two major items off the Bucket List. And seen and done several other things that we will always remember, like landing at Banning. The Mouse has now taken us from sea to shining sea.
