When All Else Fails, Try Another Day

I'm working with several private pilots now on their instrument ratings. One of them, Sam, is on the verge of finishing his rating... as is typical, he has to finish his written(!), needs to get comfortable and consistently competent handling multiple approaches at multiple airports in quick order and we need to do the required IFR dual cross country flight. This flight has to be at least 250NM cross country flying IFR "in the system" with three landings and three different types of approaches.

I devised a plan of three airports and three different approach types only 277NM (straight line distance). The VOR 19 at Paso Robles, the ILS at Castle AFB and last the GPS Z 31R at Reid-Hillview. We had the plane for today.. the weather looked good, if not great, and everything was good to go. Well, it was good to go as of Thursday mid-day anyway.

Thursday night I get a text. A private pilot student says he needs the plane we had reserved Saturday for his check ride. I've received many many texts like this before and 9 times out of 10 the person ends up not doing the ride. So I told him we wouldn't give up the reservation but if he actually was ready to go and the check ride would happen of course he could take the plane. Late Friday night I get the expected text that he wouldn't be doing the check ride. We were good to go again.

I get up and feel better than I had all week as I was recovering from a cold. I check the flight plans Sam emailed to me. I notice the first flight plan had San Lois Obispo indicated as an alternate. Hmmmm... the previous night Paso Robles was forecast to be VFR or at least high enough ceilings to do the VOR approach. I looked at the weather and Paso had ceilings below 200 feet and < 1/4 mile visibility and it wasn't forecast to get better. I messaged Sam told him to just file SBP instead of PRB since we knew PRB wasn't an option.

When I get to the airport Sam was ready to go, except he forgot to change the flight plan for the leg to Castle now that we were going to a different airport. No problem, he could cancel the plan and we could re-file once we got down there.

Then in a final scan of weather conditions I look at the satellite combined with the current conditions and realize 3/4 of the route to SBP and all of 7/8 of the route from SBP to MER was currently and, on a quick check of the TAFs, was forecast to be below minimums for the ILSs available on the route. The high pressure system that made this a great flying day also capped the fog and that, combined with calm winds, met the fog was not going to burn off as normal.

I told Sam it's not a great idea to fly over an entire 100s of miles over a couple valleys socked in with fog so low that you can't land an instrument approach - in a single engine airplane. We would have no options if we had an issue that required a landing en-route.

Not to be deterred we decided to try a northerly route. Santa Rosa to Chico to Reid-Hillview looked promising. Plenty of airports with plenty of approaches well above minimums along the route, more than enough distance, this would work! Sam cancelled the other flight plans and filed a new one going to Santa Rosa. We'd try for the ILS and take the VOR if we had to. We were good to go!

We get in the plane, it starts up strong. Get the weather and we're ready to go... Sam radios ground and as he starts his call it goes from very clear to broken and unreadable. I see the TX light flashing in time with the broken sounds coming from our plane. Ground said they didn't understand. He tried again with no difference. I do the call and my radio works great so we get our taxi clearance and I tell ground that we'll troubleshoot the issue with the other radio. I joke with Sam that I could do all the radio work - but we both know that's not a great idea. The last feature of my cold is a the occasional coughing fit - not something you want flying IFR in the system.

As we turn onto the taxi way I was thinking, we had a lot of issues and we haven't even gotten off the ground yet, maybe this is not a good day to fly. I said to Sam, "I'm thinking of invoking the 3 strikes rule." He let out a breath of air he seemed to be holding in and said, "I'm glad you said that. I was thinking the holes in the swiss cheese are starting to align." We agreed to see what the radio did in the run up before making a final decision.

We got to the run-up and before doing anything else Sam fiddled with the mike switch to see if he could get it working again. His first test call worked for 75% of the call. I had him to it again and it was broken and unreadable again. That was it. We decided today is not our day. I radioed ground and got permission to taxi back to Squadron 2.

A beautiful flying day wasted. Or was it? Who knows why things happen the way they do. If there's one thing I've learned in aviation its do not try to force the issue. We have 4 alternate schedules set up for the required cross country flight. ONE of them will have to work. I hope. The initial forecast for our first attempt doesn't look great... but you never know what a week will bring.

Stuck Between Airspace and a Hard Place

I am learning, the longer one flies, the more opportunities are created for failures, and experience, to happen. Today's failure... a stuck switch made what should have been a routine flight into a mentally exhausting trip. Un-forecast constant light to moderate chop made the flight physically exhausting also.

I was flying to McClellan Airport, 82NM from my home field, to pick up my daughter. I checked the weather in the morning and strong surface winds were forecast for the afternoon but no AIRMETS or SIGMETS were active.  I was flying the club's Bonanza and expected about 45 minutes to get to McClellan once I was in the air. 

I got VFR flight following so I wouldn't need to dodge the Delta and Charlie airspace of three of the four airports in the immediate vicinity of McClellan. I wanted a simple flight after a long week. Immediately after take off I got turbulence instead. It wasn't bad... and I was planning on climbing above the scattered cloud layer where I expected the turbulence would be less. 

I was handed off to NorCal Approach and contacted them. As expected I was told to remain below 4,500 feet. With the clouds where they were I leveled off at 3000 feet and continued over Calaveras Reservoir and the hills north east of Reid-Hillview. The turbulence got worse and I was cruising over the hills in light to moderate chop. As the turbulence was not forecast and if I was feeling the roughness in a Bonanza I thought it would be good to report for the other planes that might be flying that day. 

I keyed the PTT and asked Approach if they had time for a PIREP. When I released the PTT I immediately realized that I was still transmitting. Ugh! This was not a frequency I wanted to block. Commercial traffic flying into Oakland used this frequency to sequence. I tried physically pulling the PTT button out but it seemed stuck. I tried resetting the radios turning them both off and on, no change. However, suddenly the transmission stopped. 

I was instructed to change frequencies to the next controller and was able to do my initial call. Then I was told to climb to avoid traffic. I attempted to respond and was unable to transmit. So I initiated an immediate climb and hit IDENT on the transponder to show I heard. I was given another instruction and when I tried to respond the PTT stuck in transmit mode again. This time I told the controller I was having problems with my radios, asked to cancel flight following and change frequencies. There was relief in the controllers voice when he told me to squawk VFR and frequency change approved. 

I switched the radio to 122.75 (an air to air frequency) so the transmissions would go to a rarely used frequency. I tried some of the same things I did previously that seemed to stop the transmissions. Restarting radios, switching frequencies, switching between radios. Nothing seemed to work but eventually the constant transmission stopped on its own. A quick review of IFR lost com procedures wandered through my mind along with the thought that, just that morning, I had told my husband I would be willing to take the Bonanza into IMC. Not any more - at least not for a while. *sigh*

McClellan is in the center of this picture, surrounded by airspace.

At the same time as this was going on I was being kicked around by turbulence and planning a route to get to McClellan (KMCC) without the benefit of radios. MCC is a non-towered airport and I wouldn't need a radio to land there. However, it was under the Class Charlie shelf of Sacramento International and right next to two other Class Delta airports, Sacramento Executive and Mather. The thought hit me... I'm stuck between airspace and a hard place (the ground). I'd have to blog this one!

I knew the thing I needed most right then was time, time to plan my route. So I slowed the bonanza down by dropping the gear ... slow enough that I was flying 172 ground speeds while I made my plan. I dropped down low because I knew the Charlie shelf was down to 1600 feet. Then I found some GPS waypoints for precise navigation between the Charlie and Deltas while I approached McClellan. I still couldn't transmit but I could receive so I got the weather and monitored McClellan's CTAF for other planes as I approached and landed. 

I taxied over to McClellan Jet Center and took an open spot. They weren't there to guide me in because no one heard me coming! My daughter was there and I spent a couple minutes planning my return trip to avoid airspace and hopefully some of the constant turbulence by climbing higher and flying south of RHV and cross into the Santa Clara Valley near Los Banos instead of over Calaveras. I turned on the bluetooth on my headset and called my husband after we started the engine to test it out. It worked, barely. I figured I would call RHV Tower from near San Martin airport and let them know I was coming in NORDO (no radio). 

We took off, still unable to transmit but able to receive. I used my handheld radio to make position reports at MCC but I doubt anyone could hear me. No one responded but it still felt better to try to say where I was. I climbed up to 5500 feet to cruise once out from under the Charlie shelf and hoped for smooth air. It was still constant chop but not as rough as it was before. Fortunately, my daughter is not at all bothered by turbulence. Eventually we encountered scattered clouds at 5500 feet. I chose not to climb further and descended again to 3500 feet. I had the power pulled back to 18 inches but the plane was still cruising at 150 knot ground speed with a powerful tailwind. 

As we neared Stockton Airport I noticed the PTT was transmitting again. I still had MCC's frequency dialed in and I was hoping I wasn't blocking transmissions there. The thought occurred to me to switch the "mic" to intercom instead of COM1 or COM2. When I did that my daughter could finally hear what I said over the radio instead of just by yelling. Score! I thought. I had her look up the ATIS for Stockton airport, dialed it in to COM2 and monitored COM2. I had found a way to monitor radio frequencies and not block them. I modified my plan for RHV. I'd call them on my phone and let them know I could receive but not transmit. That made me feel better. 

As we approached Los Banos and the turn across the hills between the central and Santa Clara valleys the turbulence increased. For the first time in my life I was starting to feel a tickle of nausea from the constant bumping and jolting, it was probably a response to the stress of the radio situation as well. It would not be good for me to throw up. I distracted myself by asking my poor daughter what her favorite song was. I slowed the plane down again and extended the gear as we went over the hills, just to stabilize the plane. We were almost clear of the hills and we decided it wasn't that bad. Gear up and bang - more turbulence. Oh well. I decided the quicker I got out of this the better and left the gear up until it was time to approach to land. 

When we were abeam San Martin and I tried to make my call to the tower with my cell phone. I don't know if it was lack of reception, something wrong with my head set or what but the call failed many times. I found myself getting closer to terrain than I normally do in my distraction and decided to discard that option. Fly the airplane, damnit! 

Then I tried my hand held radio multiple times ... we were within line of sight of RHV and I was hoping it would work. It didn't. I started to resign myself to the lost comm procedure and dialed 7600 into the transponder. I was annoyed. I could hear RHV clearly but the moment I switched to tower frequency we'd block that frequency. Then it hit me. Switch the mic to tower frequency when I want to talk, switch back to intercom to listen! So that's what I did. I switched the mic to tower frequency, made my call and immediately switched back to intercom. They responded with my tail number and I was in! Communications problem solved. I used that method for all other coms needed and it worked flawlessly. 

That wasn't the end of the adventure however. Remember the surface winds I talked about at the beginning? RHV was reporting winds 320@14G22 when we got the ATIS. I had the plane in a stabilized, if bumpy, approach to land when, over the airport fence, we got hit with the strongest gust I'd ever experienced on final. The plane jumped left about 40 feet and suddenly dropped. I had anticipated this and had some extra airspeed ready. I moved the plane back over the runway and rounded out, ready to go around if necessary. After some fighting we were in ground effect and able to land smoothly. On my landing rollout I heard the tower tell another plane winds were 350@20. Yeah, I'd agree with that. 

That flight was one of those "learning experiences" ... I experienced first hand how powerful distractions of troubleshooting problems can be. And I have a new trick in my tool bag to handle com issues in flight :) 

Cubbin' It

Sweet little J-3 Piper Cub

I had a great flying weekend this weekend. One I desperately needed after a long period of too much work, getting sick, slow recovery leaving me exhausted and major frustration with lack of progress in my flying.

First, Saturday morning I was finally able to make some progress on a flying problem I've been having. My CFI helped, of course, and I was able to end my lesson with a smile on my face and some optimism for the future.

Second, another pilot I know offered me a chance to go fly in his Piper J-3 Cub. It's a perfectly maintained cub from the 1930s and it was FUN FUN FUN! I've never flown in a tail wheel before, not to mention something so simple and pure fun as this plane. We kept the big window open... sometimes opened the door. The air was cool but comfortable and it was sooooo neat to be flying with wind in my hair and to go so slowly. I really did feel like a bird.

Me and the cub's owner.
BIG smiles all around!

We took off and flew slowly to the ridge line near RHV and did some maneuvers, coordination exercises, slow flight and stalls. Then we came back in and did some touch n' gos at RHV. Talk about different. I am not used to coming in to land absolutely unable to see straight ahead. That was a totally different type of landing. We did three and then it was time to come in ... the plumb bob fuel gauge indicated we had about 3 gallons left (we took off with 7 gallons and had an hour of fun on 4 gallons of fuel).

Third, after confirming I would be allowed to sleep myself out Sunday morning, I flew myself up to Willows to meet up with my husband and racing friends for dinner Saturday night. Willows is a special place to me for many reasons. For this trip it was just nice to do a solo cross country flight with nothing to do but fly. I've been having on heck of a month(s) and I needed a break. As requested by my hubby I did a little fly by of the race track to wave at the racers before turning to land at WLW.

Then it happened, I was on final for runway 16 at Willows with a 10-15 knot wind on my nose and I found myself flying a perfect final approach. It's hard to describe but the best way I can describe it is this. Nothing moved. I was looking at the runway and it wasn't moving left or right. The numbers weren't moving up or down. They just got subtly.... slowly....  bigger. It was almost disorienting. I've become so used to gusts, downdrafts and updrafts over the mall by RHV, and changing winds on short final. I've been working on not making unnecessary changes on final but I've not seen this particular view in recent memory. There was nothing for me to do but run through my pre-landing checklist until I was over the fence and ready to round out and land. The landing was good too! What a gift!

Small but mighty cub!

This morning I slept in and went by Nancy's for breakfast and to pick up the obligatory pie. I flew back mid day and the air was actually cool at 5500 feet. As I flew back I practiced observing the small visual and physical queues you can get when flying. I used the tips of my toes for very gentle rudder pressure to make 1 and 2 degree course corrections to fly exactly the course I wanted without using my hands. I monitored the oil temp and pressure gauges, EGT, fuel pressure, switched tanks and thought the engine never runs as smooth as I'd like it. The 1 hour flight went smoothly until I got on the leeward side of Mt. Diablo and the invisible winds kicked me around. That was not unexpected.

I requested the option when I came in to RHV so I could practice more of what I was working on with my CFI. The first touch down was close, so I did a touch and go and went around for another landing. I had to fight to keep the plane aligned with the runway on short final with the erratic winds but still did a good, not great but good touch down. I decided to call it a day. I'll come when conditions are better.

I'm tired as I write this... but it's a happy tired. I've got the "gotta fly" itch again - which is a great sign. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to fly in the awesome little cub (can't wait to do it again), make progress in my flying and be able to take a break and enjoy flying with some actual skill. I needed that. 

Desert Flight and Thunder

I'm pleased to report the club's Bonanza is flying again with a brand new alternator - thus removing the generator gremlin that was giving the A&P fits for the last few months. I had my husband fly the plane on two separate flights with long stops on each to verify everything would actually stay working before we took the plane across the Mojave desert to St. George, Utah last week.

Desert Flight

Edwards AFB - the compass rose is
in the lower right corner of this shot.

The plane kept working so we decided to go on the trip in the Bonanza. After careful weighing of people and cargo, calculation of weight and balance and fuel required we loaded up Friday before last and headed out to St. George. I flew the first leg. It was an uneventful trip to Bakersfield's Meadows Field airport. The plane (and pilot) performed flawlessly. We stayed overnight and picked up fuel to the tabs for the next morning's leg.

My husband flew the second leg to St. George and I handled the radio work. We were unexpectedly cleared to fly through R-2515, the restricted area over Edwards AFB. We got to fly over the dry lake bed near Edwards AFB and see the incredibly long runways and the largest compass rose I've ever seen marked in the lake bed. The best part was my teenage daughter - she actually enjoyed the trip and was having fun, looking around, asking questions, etc. That was a precious gift. We flew near Las Vegas and my daughter remarked the city seemed to be "missing the pizazz" from a distance. After another smooth trip we were in St. George.

We spent a week with my extended family exploring the stunning natural beauty St. George has to offer. Zion National Park, Snow Canyon, Dixie Rocks, Pioneer Park and, even better, we got to spend time together as a family. All of my brothers and sisters, my dad and I. Even more special, almost everyone had their whole family with them too. Cousins got to play together, grandpa got to take pictures and in-laws had fun. We hung out and swam and chatted and played games and drank and built lego airplanes with working propellers.

Chris and Katya after the flight

Of course, I had to take some family members for a flight! So I took my brother, Chris, and my sister-in-law, Katya out for flight. Chris is one that has been wanting to go flying with me for a long time "dying to go flying" is what he said. I told him not to say "dying!".  I decided to take them on a tour of some nearby amazing geology - the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon. My dad was worried, as usual, and asked me to send him my complete route, ETA for each leg, take off and landing times and who to call if we didn't come back!

We had an amazing flight over the Grand Canyon using the established VFR corridors. I flew southbound on the TUCKUP corridor and then north on the DRAGON corridor. The air was hazy in the canyon but the views were still incredible. Then I headed north to visit Bryce Canyon... it was great approaching the canyon from the south and viewing the Vermillion Cliffs and White Cliffs before the canyon itself. I circled over the canyon and headed back towards St. George. I didn't realize how close we were to Zion Park where we went hiking the day before and Chris and Katya caught some fantastic views of that canyon from the air. The flight was mostly smooth with Katya giggling in delight when we hit some turbulence over the canyon transitions. She said she loves roller coasters so I told her to come visit and I'd take her up for some more fun maneuvers - Lazy 8s would be really fun for her!

Desert Thunder

We were sitting in the
crosshairs, just north of the storm.

Saturday, everyone packs up and heads home. I have to get my husband to the Las Vegas airport by 9AM so he can catch a flight to Brazil. My daughter and I wanted to go home too. We figured out a way to fly all 3 of us plus luggage to Las Vegas that morning and pick up fuel there. However we were thwarted by early morning thunderstorms in the Las Vegas valley. So I ended up driving my husband to Las Vegas and then driving back to St. George so we could fly the plane back the following day. I went to the airport and had the plane filled with fuel and did a through pre-flight. It was an exhausting and frustrating day.

Both Katie and I were highly motivated to get back Sunday, with everyone gone, we wanted to return home. I monitored the forecasts closely and figured if we got up at 6AM we could be well out of the area before the storms forecast for 12 that day. I even woke up in the middle of the night to check the updated forecasts, just in case something changed.

I woke up before the alarm went off and checked the radar and found things changed while I slept. Now there was a line of thunderstorms between St. George and Las Vegas and it was moving north. Not good and not a darned thing I could do about it. I tried and failed to go to sleep for a bit longer. I finally gave up and spent more time looking at the weather radar and trying to determine the pattern for the storms. Would they keep building and streaming north or was this a line of storms that would pass? Weather on the other side of the storms was clear, weather further north was getting more active with storms - cutting off my "plan B" route.

Katie in front of the Bonanza - storms in the distance

With nothing to do but wait for the storms to pass we packed up, checked out of our hotel room and got breakfast at a nearby diner. As we ate the thunder and lightning passed overhead and we started to see blue sky in the distance. We waited and waited and I kept mentally pushing out our departure time from 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM. As the blue sky patch got bigger our spirits rose. It appeared we would be able to depart after all.

We headed to the airport and when we arrived we saw dark clouds all around - except our direction of flight. There was an occasional roll of thunder in the distance and mammatus clouds just east of our position. This is the type of weather that's almost never seen in the Bay Area. I remembered storms like this from growing up in the desert and on one hand I was thrilled to see the power, on the other hand I wanted to GO!

Mammatus clouds to the east. 

The winds were past and the ground was damp as we loaded up the plane and did another pre-flight. I was feeling very hopeful as I watched a couple planes take off and a couple more pilots getting their planes ready as well. It seems we all had the same idea, depart to the south.

After getting the plane ready I went back into the FBO to return the rental car and get a full weather briefing from a briefer. I didn't want my own wishful interpretation of the weather briefing I got electronically to color my judgement of the situation. The briefer barely mentioned the rain to the north of the airport. The heavy clouds we could see from the ground were just an "area of light precip" to his equipment. Everything looked great for a 10:00 AM departure and 3.5 hour flight back to RHV.

We used the bathroom one last time to make sure our bladder endurance would match our fuel endurance and headed out to the plane. The plane started up very strong and we taxied onto the runway for take off.

Lined up on the centerline I started the take off roll and the moment the ASI came alive a rear window popped open with a whooshing noise. "What's that?!" said my daughter as I put power to idle and put on the brakes smoothly to abort the take off and taxi clear of the runway to fix the problem. Katie secured the window again and I taxied back to the runway for a 2nd attempt. When I announced I was taking the runway again a Cessna in the pattern said, "Didn't you just take off a minute ago?" I laughed. If this was the worst of our troubles for the day I'd be thrilled.

We did a successful take off the second time and headed towards the clear blue sky to the south. The return trip was uneventful yet again with only some turbulence at the expected points crossing mountain passes. Less than 3.5 hours later we were on short final for 31L at RHV. Then the tower threw in the last bit of fun by switching me to 31R over the mall. I slipped over to 31R and landed well. We taxied back to parking and shut down.

The trip was done and I was extremely glad that I was able to share it with my daughter. She's going to be 17 this month, moving on to her own life in a year. I know these types of trips with her will be fewer and further between - precious moments indeed.

The clear path home. 

Because We Can - 12 Airports in One Day

Sunset Over the Bay

It amazes me how flying has become somewhat routine, yet still magical. That's probably one of the things I love most about it. One can reliably transport oneself from point to point with freedom, speed, and relative comfort in the air of all places. And I'm one of the ones that can do it. I cannot and do not want to escape that feeling of awe and gratitude that I can do it at all.  Annnyyyyway... that's not what I'm writing about, I'm writing to share a story of a really neat flight or two.

It's Labor Day weekend and I was going to be up in Willows, CA for another NASA auto racing  event. Given it was Labor Day weekend, driving to Willows was out of the question. So I flew! The flight up to Willows was one of the more beautiful flights I've flown with slanting sunlight, clouds and haze making the sky merge into the ground in one amazing painting. I'll share some of the photos here.

My friends Craig, Kim and little Alexis were flying that weekend too. They went up to a fly-in at Trinity Lake near Mt. Shasta and then met me in Willows so we could all fly somewhere, anywhere, together on Labor Day. This was a rare day that we were all free from work and other obligations on the same day.

While the family had a great experience at Trinity Lake, little Alexis was congested and she was not a happy child on descent into Trinity or even a very gentle descent into Willows. Her parents purchased some medicine from the nearby Walmart but we weren't sure the medicine would relieve her congestion enough for her to not be in pain during climbs or descents on Labor Day.

The Plan

We had toyed with the idea of visiting Shelter Cove because I'd never flown there before, but to get there we would want to climb high and we weren't sure Alexis' ears could handle it. So that sent us to the other plan. Both Craig and I learned to fly from the same CFI. That CFI had flown to 35 airports in one day with his brother over a decade ago. The thought of doing a trip like that had drifted through my mind several times over the last few years. I knew Craig liked airport hopping on his trips, so I suggested landing at 10 airports neither of us had been to before as a fun flight we could all do together. We agreed that was the thing to do, hoping staying low between airports would result in no discomfort for Alexis' ears.

Craig and I sat down at the bar in the best Mexican Restaurant in town and spread out a sectional to plan our our flight. I had spent the last two days thinking about it so I had a pretty good idea of what I thought would be good. After some discussion we agreed on 10 airports between Willows and RHV to land at. Two of them I had been to before but Craig had not so I figured that was good enough. 

Our Route

We would start at Willows and then fly north to Haigh field in Orland, CA, east to Chico Muni, south to Oroville Muni, duck under the Beale Class Charlie to visit Marysville (or Sutter County), south east to Lincoln, south to Mather AFB, then to Rancho Murietta. We would stop in Rancho Murietta for lunch and then continue on. Next stop was Sacramento Executive, then Franklin, Byron and finally finish at Reid-Hillview. 

The total straight line distance 210.8NM and flight time, if we never stopped, of a little over 2 hours. We would land and taxi back at each airport since Craig wasn't in the habit of doing touch n' goes in the 172 he was flying. To reduce any stress about "staying together" in two planes when we weren't going to fly in formation we agreed to wait for each other at Oroville and Rancho Murietta. I expected to be much quicker than they were in the air because I was flying a faster plane. What I didn't realize was, while I was taking it easy flying at 65% power on the short legs between the airports, Craig would be flying at "full rental power" in the 180HP 172 so he kept up with me just fine. 

More Planning

After agreeing on our route and spending more time hanging out we retired to our various hotel rooms to do the rest of our planning. Remember, pilots are required to have "all available information" pertaining to the flight. Well, that's a lot of information when talking about 10 new airports in addition to RHV. The first thing I did was get online and check for NOTAMs at each airport and for TFRs. Then I looked up key information for each airport. Runway orientation, length, field elevation (FE), traffic pattern altitude (TPA), pattern direction, any approach notes for the class Delta airports, potential hazards (deer for instance), etc. I didn't have my knee board with me so I scrounged around my hotel room for something to write on. Below you see the result. 

I'm not a CFI yet.. but I did stay at a HI Express last night!

I had 10 little sheets of paper with everything I needed, including approach and departure plan, for each airport with the exception of Willows and RHV of course. Those airports I already had covered. 

I remember my first cross country flight plan took over an hour for one airport. This time I planned for 10 airports in an hour! What a difference a couple years of practice makes :) 

I did one more check of the weather forecast - relatively calm winds, hot, with some smoke aloft - then I went to bed. Happy to be sleeping in until 7 am the next day. 

Pre Flight

We agreed to meet at Nancy's Airport Cafe for breakfast at 8 the next day so we could leave at 9. I woke up at 6AM anyway so I used the extra time to get a weather briefing. The forecast winds were changed from the night before. Now the forecast was for gusty winds north of our location, especially after 10AM. No other big changes there. I got ready and walked out to the plane early to add some oil and get her ready to go. 

We met up for breakfast and I showed Craig and Kim my stack of notes. It turns out Craig did the same thing but he had his kneeboard so he was able to keep it a bit more neat. He added little airport diagrams to his planning materials while we ate. After fueling our bodies with food I had to fuel my plane with 100LL.

When we walked outside the wind was gusting and I could see smoke or dust blowing across the ground. This was not as forecast, but not the strongest I've experienced at Willows by any means. Definitely time to go.

Time to Go

Willows Ramp

There were six or seven planes on the small ramp at Willows (three taking off including us) and two or three more planes in the pattern when we left. All of the sudden this sleepy airport became as busy as our home class Delta, without the benefit of a tower. Craig was ready to go first so I told them to go ahead, then I was stuck behind a twin that departed towards the runway without talking. So I decided I would do my run up in a corner of the ramp near the fuel tank. A Cherokee on the ramp decided it needed fuel. I didn't want to blast them as they fueled up. I would wait in line at the runway end to do a run up there. I started taxiing towards the far end of runway 34. Just then a Bonanza lands and exits the runway on the one taxi way between me and the end of the runway. He realized he was blocking the taxiway and crossed to the other side of the taxiway to give me room. After all of that excitement we were finally able to take off.

The twin Apache took the runway and announced he would do a pattern and touch and go before heading north. Craig took off after the touch and go was done. I programmed the full flight with all of our stops into the GPS to give Craig time to get well ahead of me so there'd be no chance of us meeting in the air with the unexpectedly limited visibility. All of the airports I checked reported at least 10SM visibility but the haze and smoke was much worse than we'd expected.

Airport Hopping

I flew to our first stop, Haigh, and was approaching as Craig was on downwind. Craig reported rather strong headwinds on final. The winds were strong but straight down the runway. Craig landed on the numbers and taxied clear of the airport. Craig waited for me and let me taxi ahead to lead the way east to Chico.

Chico Muni is a class Delta airport with a strange runway setup. One runway was roughly 6000', the other 3000'. The 3000' runway was wasn't a separate paved area like we're used to. It was just part of a large asphalt pad. The pattern was strange two, both runways had pattern entries from the same direction, one inside the other. I requested a stop and go from Chico's tower and was cleared for downwind for the larger runway. A normal pattern for the larger runway would be right over the smaller one. I asked the tower if there was anyone using the smaller runway and they said no. Alright. I flew a normal pattern, did a touch and go and headed south to the next stop, Oroville. On climb out I had to switch my little pieces of paper around on my kneeboard. That was more difficult to do on a touch and go than a stop and go.

I would climb only to 2500 feet between these initial airports because there was so little time between them. Oroville had a more complex runway configuration but was simple to fly and land. If I recall correctly, it also had a dip in the middle of the runway that made for an interesting optical illusion. I waited there for Craig and family only for a few minutes before they arrived. Off to the next stop - Marysville.

Marysville was more interesting. Marysville was situated just east of another small airport, Sutter County. Both airports sat under the Beale AFB Class Charlie airspace that started at 1600 ft. I flew at 1300 feet to Marysville, looking for it in the haze and smoke. I figured I would see Sutter County first, it was slightly further north, then Marysville to the left of Sutter County. Craig called me on the air-to-air frequency we used to check my groundspeed and altitude. It seems I was cruising at the same speed as he was. He could see me on the GPS display in his plane via ADS-B and he didn't want to catch me in the haze.

I saw Sutter County and swung east of that airport to set up for the approach to Marysville. I still couldn't see Marysville. As I passed Sutter County I realized the airport had two runways instead of one and they were marked with the same runway numbers as Marysville. That was Marysville. I was on the wrong side of it to enter the pattern correctly so I announced I was crossing midfield from east to west (to let Craig know what I'm doing) to do a tear drop down to the 45 for my desired runway in Marysville. I flew right over the real Sutter County airport to enter the pattern for the correct airport and landed.

Craig landed shortly after me and asked if I wanted to land at Sutter County. I said no because I already "visited" it. Kim asked if I didn't want to go there because it would be airport number 13. I said, "that too!". Next stop Lincoln. I stayed low under the Class Charlie shelf and altered my course away from a completely direct route to get out from under the shelf quicker. There was a helicopter doing pattern work at Lincoln. He was a friendly pilot and landed on the parallel taxiway to give me room to land on the runway. It was odd to be landing parallel to a helicopter. Craig landed shortly after.

Next stop Mather AFB to the south. I'd been there before and researched how they would set us up for entry. When they told me to make a right base for 22R (only 6000' long) I was well positioned for the approach. This time Craig was further behind and he was doing his initial call when I was already on final. I requested and got permission for a touch and go on the "little" runway and, with more note juggling on climb out, headed east to Rancho Murietta. The Mather tower controller was very helpful keeping an eye on traffic nearby.

My note for Rancho said "Deer!" This airport was known for deer, especially at night according to the AF/D. I didn't want to encounter any deer this time. As I monitored CTAF there I heard a couple planes in the pattern one landing after another. I was midfield downwind and one plane took off, then when I was abeam the numbers a second announced it was taking the runway to take off. I hoped any deer would be scared away by them. I extended my downwind and looked for deer when I was on final. I had a deer free landing, taxied over to transient and shut down. Time for lunch!

Lunch

An Arrow, shutdown on a ramp in the summer, is an instant sauna. I popped open the door and window and used my sectional a sunshade to try to keep the plane cool. Craig and family taxied up and shut down next to me. Craig immediately got out and said something about needing an airplane with air conditioning. I pointed out the fact that at least he was flying a Cessna with built in shade.

We were all too hot to feel hungry but we walked to a nearby pizza place to get something to drink, some food and some air-conditioning. We found our appetites after we cooled down and enjoyed the food and company. Alexis was doing great with no problems for her ears and we were all having a great time.

We both pushed our planes over to the fuel island to top off the tanks before our last few legs. We weren't sure we needed fuel, but we weren't sure we didn't. So we erred on the side of caution.

Four More to Go

Next stop, Sacramento Executive, another class Delta. I closed the door on the Arrow and was immediately covered in sweat. It was hot, hot, hot! I couldn't wait to get up in the air to cool down but this time I didn't want to juggle my little sheets on climb out after the touch and go at the next stop so I took the time to set up the sheets for my next two stops ahead of time.

I was finally ready to go and took off for Sac Exec, this was another airport I'd been to before but never from that direction and it had three runways. I was expecting to get runway 20 so I did my approach planning based on that. I contacted Sac Exec and was cleared for a touch and go on 20. On departure from there I requested climb out to the south to head towards Franklin. This time I only hear Craig call in as I left Sac Exec's airspace.

Franklin I was curious about. It was a waypoint on my long solo cross country but I never saw it on that flight. Franklin had two runways and no weather reporting. I used Sac Exec's winds to plan my approach and flew the approach to runway 18, right over a pen full of cows. There was a definite crosswind on final which I wasn't expecting, I was floating down the runway too and decided to go around and do that one again. I announced my go around as Craig started to approach the runway. He asked what happened and I told him I was going to come around again for 18 instead of the runway better aligned with the wind. I wanted the crosswind landing. Next time around I landed just fine and taxied clear, letting Craig know there was a definite right crosswind. After I taxied clear of the runway I finally found the windsock, showing a good direct crosswind. Craig handled it well. We took off on the runway better aligned with the wind (also better aligned with where we wanted to go). Next stop Byron.

We had 30 miles to cruise this time so I climbed up to 3500' I could see the top of the haze layer from this altitude the air was pretty smooth and time seemed to fly by as I peered through the haze, looking for Mt. Diablo and the lake situated in front of Byron. Finally found the airport and came in to land with another crosswind. Not a problem. This airport was pretty busy but we were all using the same runway. I didn't have long to wait before Craig and family landed behind me. The next and last stop would be Reid Hillview.

I took the runway to leave Byron and realized I was getting tired. I was glad my last stop was coming. I climbed out and headed towards the busy Livermore/Calaveras corridor. I monitored NorCal approach to get some hints on any traffic issues they saw but didn't get flight following. As I approached Calaveras I started scanning up towards the hills where planes tend to drop down into the area and head towards the Sunol grade. I was glad I did. I saw a Cessna on a converging course with me that didn't appear to see me. I turned behind him and watched as he continued on over Sunol, blissfully unaware of my presence. I wondered how often I was that other plane, oblivious to traffic nearby.

I got the ATIS for RHV and called in for landing over Calveras. I was cleared for 31R and flew my normal approach. Craig called in shortly behind me. So close, in fact, that the tower had him ident to make sure they knew who was who. They told him to follow me in to land. I flew my best approach of the day into my home airport and landed nicely. I taxied clear of the runway and was switched over to ground before Craig landed behind me.

Back Home

We shut down, got our hobbs time and put away the planes. Both Craig and I were eager to figure out the total time and record the 12 airports in our log books. I had 3.8 hours, Craig had 4.0. I was amazed at how easy the whole thing was. I imagined it would be much harder to fly to 11 different airports in one day, but I was wrong. The trip was 12 airports counting Willows. Planning ahead definitely helped. Having my little pieces of paper made all the difference in the world as I managed the flight solo. The speed at which the airports came helped also. While we spent quite a bit of time in the air, it felt like it went by very quickly. It kept me too busy to feel tired.

We all had a great time, even little Alexis did. She always loves flying in airplanes. It was definitely worth the time and effort to do. Craig and I are already talking about trying to beat the Squadron 2 "record" of 35 airports in one day set by our CFI. We will definitely wait until the weather cools and do it in one plane so we can leverage the brains of two pilots and split responsibilities. Hopefully we can do that this fall or winter.  It's funny though, when my husband told some co-workers in the UK about my adventure they kept struggling with one question... "Why?" All I can say is, "Because we can!"

Queen of All I Survey

I went for a long solo cross country flight today. Just me and the plane to a place I'd never flown before. It was the type of flight I haven't done in a very long time. I had a good enough excuse to go, a friend wanted to meet me for lunch and show me the planes he works on at Camarillo Airport down in Southern California. It was my first trip into LA airspace VFR. The flight was mostly smooth and I flew high to enjoy low fuel burn and high air speeds.

The visit in Camarillo was great. Great food at Waypoint Cafe. Great company there and a whirlwind tour of a very busy airport with many unique planes. After visiting I hopped back in the plane and flew back to home base. And this is where I felt it again.

A two hour return flight, just me and the plane. Scanning the instruments, maintaining heading and altitude. Watching the ground slide beneath my wings. Scanning for traffic. Looking left to the ocean and right to the Sierras. Feeling a bit sad at how brown the hills and land have become. Looking for smoke from the fires I know will be happening in this drought year. Switching frequencies with air traffic control. That zen state of flying that I get sometimes when flying cross country alone. Totally in the moment.

As I approached my home airspace I recognized the distinct shapes of hills and valleys. I relished the memories of different flights I've taken up the familiar valleys and past familiar peaks. The fun flights and the not so fun flights. Ah yes, this is the area where I was caught in a 2000+ per minute downdraft. Here is where I passed my commercial check ride. Right there, in the dip between this hill top and that one, is where I performed accelerated stalls for the DPE. There is the airport that my most memorable flight lessons happened at. There is the valley with the really good steak house. Over there, that ridge, that's where you aim to cross the ridge line for an easy descent onto the 45 into Watsonville. In front of that observatory is a great place to practice maneuvers. There's an area to avoid, too many student pilots training there. There - where I flew between clouds and peaks to get back into the Santa Clara valley. The wonderful long trips that ended with descents starting above this airport.

I recognized the sweep of the land all the way from the sea to the mountains. I knew it intimately and it was mine. Not the land itself, land belongs to no man, but the view, the moment. The past, present and future in the moment. That was mine. I was queen of all I surveyed. What I surveyed was good.

500 Hours

The 500th Hour

Me at 500 hours

My 500th hour of flight turned out to be three different flights.

The first portion of my 500th hour was flying to Reid-Hillview on a return from a 12 person fly-in at San Luis Obispo airport for lunch. A friend of mine joined me for the flight to and from San Luis Obispo and we had a great time. The ramp there was packed with planes and we had great company and good food.

The second portion of my 500th hour was the following Monday morning where I took my husband in the plane with me to demonstrate two Power Off 180s. Flying with my husband can stress me out and I have tended to do poorly with him in the plane. Especially landings. Though recently that hasn't been the case as much. In any event, I wanted him to ride with me and to be as annoying to me as only a loved one can be so he could be a "stress test" for my Power Off 180 abilities. Could I nail two Power Off 180s with him in the plane? If I could that would be a positive sign.

We taxied out with calm winds on the ATIS and I requested my now standard "two short approaches" from the tower. The first landing I did was a bit longer than the standard my CFI has me flying to, but well within the PTS spec. The second one was about 10' short of my intended mark but 30' beyond the threshold, which was my 0' mark. Also well within spec. With that I parked the plane with 0.3 on the hobbs. Stress test completed and passed.

My plan for the 3rd portion of my 500th hour was to fly with my CFI that afternoon and do 4 more short approaches, 2 on the left and 2 on the right. If those four went well, all within spec, then I would feel confident to be signed off again for a re-test of that one maneuver.

That flight didn't go as planned. The winds were at 17 knots with some major up and down drafts. My CFI saw we were getting 1700 fpm climb rate out of a plane that does a best climb of 900 fpm typically. To complicate things further it seemed everyone wanted to do pattern work at the same time. We saw two planed struggle greatly to complete safe landings in those conditions. To top it off, 31R was closed because they were mowing the grass near 31R and the mower ran out of gas.

We tried anyway and got in one go around, one successful short approach (I was sent right traffic for 31L and managed to stick a power off approach anyway), one complete circuit of the pattern at pattern altitude and then got sent almost out of RHV airspace on downwind because of all of the traffic in the pattern. We decided it was not to be and brought the plane back in.

That was the end of my 500th hour of flight. I was stressed because I didn't have the flight I wanted to reconfirm to myself that I could do these power off 180s successfully all the time. My CFI was ready to sign me off, but I wasn't ready. True, I have, for some time now, been able to land a power off 180's not only within the PTS spec but within his spec. His spec was landing +/- 25 feet of a spot. But every once in a rare while I would do a go around because I would give up on an approach rather than make it happen. He told me to think about it and went up with another student. When he got back I told him I wanted to have 10 power off 180s all within PTS spec, straight, in my logbook before I would let him sign me off. Not counting the flight in the gusty winds I did that day. I looked back in my logbook and realized that meant I only needed two more landings to make it 10 straight.

Working on 501

So my plan was to go up today and do two more power off 180s with a target of being within his spec, not just the PTS spec. I did my work and then during lunch drove to the flight club for a quick flight (I have gotten to the point it only takes me 0.3 on the hobbs or 18 minutes, key on to key off to do two circuits of the pattern and two landings.) I told myself if I screwed up either one of these landings I would restart the 10 landings clock. If I did it well. I would let my CFI sign me off. Finally, if the winds remained reasonable I'd do my re-test today.

The winds weren't reasonable but I did my two power off 180s anyway. The first one I landed between the threshold and the letters in spite of a strong downdraft on short final. (Within my 25' of desired spot spec). The tower reported winds at 310@10 for that one. I turned that landing into a touch and go and took off again. The tower told me if I could keep it tight they could clear me for the 2nd short approach in a row. So I turned crosswind quickly and was cleared for a short approach. This one was for all the marbles. The winds were now reported 340@11, a 30 degree direction change in less than 5 minutes. I glided in for a nice cross wind landing within feet of my desired spot. With that I was satisfied.

I pushed the plane back into its parking spot and my CFI popped up and asked me what I decided. I told him he could sign me off but I wouldn't be going up for a re-test today. The winds were just too unpredictable for me to risk my one chance to pass the test. He endorsed my log book for my second re-test later the same day... he added a subscript to his endorsement "(This time I really mean it!)" We both laughed at that.

It's been less than a month since my check ride and I've gone through the crushing heart break of failing a check ride not only once but twice, through a crash course in "how to really fly a plane", to being able to not only do Power Off 180s but to landing Power Off 180s within 25 feet of a given spot. I am even able to laugh about my previous pain.  Oh, trust me, I fear failing again deeply. But I know I am 200% more the pilot now than I used to be. I've learned more about how to fly and handle a plane and what it does and doesn't do and how to use its characteristics to get what I want out of it and even more important, how to do all of that without thinking about it, in the last month than I have in my whole flying career to date. It has not been an easy road but its worth it.

In case you're wondering, no, I don't have my re-test scheduled yet. And no, no one but my CFI, the DPE, my husband and daughter will know when I go up until after I pass. :) But suffice it to say, I want it done as soon as possible!

Planning a Spring Adventure

I'm planning a flight this spring to the Minneapolis area to meet up with my brother Chris. Then I'll fly with Chris to Idaho Falls to meet with my other brother, Rob. Chris would fly himself back from Idaho Falls to MSP commercial and I would continue back home directly from Idaho Falls. I'm allowing myself three days of travel time to get to the Minneapolis area, two days of travel time to get from Minneapolis to Idaho Falls and two days for Idaho Falls to CA. I know it can be done quicker, even in the Cessna 182 I'm planning to fly, but I am allowing for diversions and Murphy's Law in my planning.

The rough route I'm thinking of right now can be found at the link below. I hope to visit my friend near Salt Lake City on the way out to Minneapolis this time. After I cross the mountains east of Salt Lake City I'll be flying in what I call "the land of the great flat". This will be my first flight as PIC east of the Rockies. Chris and I will be flying near Devil's Tower in Wyoming and around the Grand Tetons in Idaho on the way to see Rob. I'll find a CFI in Idaho Falls to do a quick familiarization flight with the Grand Tetons before I try to tackle those mountains directly.

Flight Plan at SkyVector.com

I've been researching general weather trends in both the midwest and Idaho for that time of year and it seems to me there's a 50/50 chance of being able to make this full trip in any specific week in the spring and probably a 75% chance of being able to make the Idaho / CA only trek. Aside from early spring thunderstorms, late winter blizzards and lower freezing levels than I am accustomed to, I wonder what other potential adventures await!

Standing at 13,200 Feet

Here are some brief impressions of a two and a half day trek in the Eastern Sierras. Our trek was from the Onion Valley trail head at 9,200 feet, over Kearsarge Pass at 11,760 feet, past Kearsarge and Bullfrog lakes, down to Vidette Meadow (9,000 feet), and up Bubbs Creek all the way to its alpine lake sources and even further, to stand on Forester Pass. Forester Pass is knife edge ridge between Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks at 13,200 feet. It's the highest point on the Pacific Crest Trail. We hiked around 35 miles total distance and a few miles of vertical distance as well.

Acclimatization

Acclimatization works! I live at sea level. I fly, usually, at 5500 feet or below unless I'm going on a long cross country. There is no reason I should be able to hike with a 20 lb pack on my back at altitudes ranging from 9,200 feet to 13,200 feet without gasping and panting for air. No reason aside from the fact that, three days before our trek, my friend, Chris, and I drove up to Mammoth Lakes and worked and played at 7,600 feet to get our bodies used to the thinner air. The night before the hike we went down to about 4,000 feet at Independence, CA to have easy access to the trail head for an early start.

Trekking Poles

Trekking poles ROCK! They help you use your arms to pull your body up steps, up inclines, across level ground when the legs are tired. They help balance when crossing streams on little stepping stones. They provide extra balance and support for tired legs and knees when climbing down steep inclines and steps. They also double as tent spikes when needed.

Food

If you are like me and don't eat a lot when exercising, and plan to hike from dawn to dusk, pack about 1/3rd of the food you think you need. This will leave you with plenty left over when done with your trek. When you are done and have the finish of the trip made, find a new hiker on their way into the wild and offer them your extra food. Someone will take it and make your pack feel much lighter.

Sleeping At Altitude

It is cold at 10,700 feet at night. Even if the general temperature is significantly higher than it would be on a "standard day", the temp drops significantly when the sun goes down and gets even colder just as the sun peaks over the mountain tops. Bring extra wool socks. Wrap your cold feet in the "emergency blanket" you brought if you are feeling too cold. That works in a pinch. Expect strange dreams and unsettled sleep as your body keeps waking you up to complain about the oxygen you're not breathing. Don't hyperventilate, it wont' help. If possible sleep in a grove of trees or in a sheltered spot so the wind doesn't batter your tent and make you colder. If you happen to have a sunburn you can use the heat from the sunburn to warm your cold hands.

The Sound of the Wind

Gusts at night in the high sierras just sound amazing. They start off as a whisper, then a hiss getting louder, then a whoosh, then a roar and a bang as the gust passes your tent like a freight train. Suddenly the tent is flapping wildly, only to calm again to gentle twitches as you wait for the next gust of wind.

Rods and Cones

If you don't believe what your CFI taught you about rods and cones and the way the night adapted eye cannot see what its directly focused on, try following the motion of a satellite across the sky by looking directly at it at night. You can't. The only way to see that satellite is to look slightly away from it. All of the sudden it will appear. Look at it directly, it will disappear.

Standing at 13,200 feet It Isn't Easy but It's Worth It

Like anything worthwhile in life, reaching the tops of Kearsarge Pass (twice) and Forester Pass was not easy, by any stretch. However, it was totally worth doing and not miserable to do.  I highly recommend it.

What's it like to climb up Forester Pass? Go to the gym. Put on a 20 lb pack. Get on the StairMaster. Set it to random between 50% and maximum grade up and start climbing... for... three... hours. That's where the similarity stops. Here's what's different.

You can stop any time you want for a brief break. You've got your trekking poles to balance you and pull you up. The sights around you are out of this world. The air is sweet and pure and the breeze keeps your body comfortably cool while the sun is comfortably warm. There's usually a creek flowing near by, or an alpine lake sparkling in the rocks, or at the very least amazing vistas of mountains and rocks as far as the eye can see. Every time you stop you can see you've progressed significantly since your last stop. Every time you pause near a large rock you can lean on that rock to take the weight of the pack off your back. And whenever there is a particularly amazing view, you stop a bit longer to take a photo or two and that helps your legs and lungs recover enough to continue on.

After three hours you stand on the knife's edge and peek over the edge of the world. You take off your pack, sit down in the cool breeze, lean back on a comfy rock, and grab a quick lunch. You've accomplished the hard, the difficult, the unlikely and unusual ... and it feels good. Not at all unlike learning how to fly. :)

Smoke and Pop Up IFR

Sunday my daughter and I were flying back to RHV from Willows after a weekend of racing. The enroute forecast reported occasional smoke due to the fires that have been burning around California and Oregon for a couple weeks. I figured the occasional smoke would be either very low to the ground or very high and, either way, being "occasional", not an issue for my flight. My husband was flying another, faster, plane on the same route as well. He took off first, then I did my run up and took off. The sky looked OK from the ground.

On climb out I could see what looked like a wall of smoke, it appeared to start around 3000'. I kept climbing. It looked like I would climb on top of the smoke and be in clear air for the flight. My husband radioed back to say he could still see the ground but there was a lot of smoke. I leveled off at 5500' and it seemed like I was just at the top of the smoke layer. The air in front of me was clear but I could only see the ground looking directly down. The hills to the west were vaguely apparent in the haze and the sun light slanted through the smoke dimly as it set.

Since I couldn't see landmarks ahead of me I practiced my instrument techniques and flew the tracks I programmed into the GPS. The GPS "track" and "desired track" information to guided where I flew. I knew at my altitude I was in no danger of flying into terrain. I was in contact with ATC and under VFR flight following but there were almost no planes flying that night. My husband radioed back to say he was nearing Nut Tree and he couldn't see Mt. Diablo with all of the smoke, or any of the familiar mountain and hill landmarks that we used for flying in the bay area. He was going to stay high until he could see something specific and then descend.

I looked around, the sun was down, the smoke was still thick starting just below my altitude. I couldn't see any landmarks or Mt. Diablo either. I had a decision to make... I could continue the flight VFR (flight visibility met VFR minimums at 5500 feet) and stay high until I could see the mountains and hills. Or I could get a pop up IFR clearance and fly the remainder of the flight IFR. I hadn't flown IFR in that particular plane before, which worried me a bit but I couldn't see the very large landmarks, which worried me even more.

I asked ATC for a pop up clearance to RHV. It was easier than I thought it would be.

Travis Approach, Arrow 55X, with request.
Go head Arrow 55X.
Approach, I need a pop-up IFR clearance to Reid-Hillview.
Arrow 55X, standby.
Brief pause
Arrow 55X, I have your clearance, advise when ready to copy.
I already had "CRAFT" written on my notepad. 
Ready to copy, 55X.
Arrow 55X is cleared to the Reid-Hillview Airport via radar vectors, turn 150 and descend to 5000'. 

I read that back and with that I was "in the system" with ATC helping keep me from flying into any solid objects in the smoke and night. 

I turned to the heading and descended to 5000'. That put me directly into the smoke and true IMC conditions. The good thing was, the air was smooth in the smoke and the winds were consistent so once I dialed in good wind correction angle to stay on the heading I was given I didn't have to adjust it too often. I flew in the smoke for about 15 minutes just taking the headings ATC was giving me and knowing they were flying me east and south. If I had to keep getting vectors they'd probably vector me over the CEDES and then send me in on the approach.

I took my eyes off my scan for a moment every couple minutes and checked outside to see if I could see anything. Eventually the smoke cleared enough after passing the delta that I could see the ground and Mt. Diablo and the hills around the Livermore Valley and Sunol Grade outlined in hazy city lights. That was what I needed to see. I cancelled IFR and turned west towards the Livermore Valley. After crossing the valley I went into the Bay Area proper over the Sunol grade and was cleared to land immediately when I contacted  RHV tower.

After landing my husband met me at the plane. He stayed high as planned and was able to see well enough to descend after he passed the delta. In this case both methods (IFR and VFR) worked just fine. It was a good experience for both of us.

Flying with an Open Door

Since I started flying I've been listening to LiveATC. This site streams live audio from various airports (tower, ground and clearance delivery) and en-route air traffic control facilities like TRACONs. It is a great learning tool to help a new pilot get used to the terminology and cadence of aviation communications. Particularly interesting, sad or funny audio clips are often captured by listeners and posted to the site for later review.

The Hazards of an Open Door

One recording in particular stays in my memory. It is a recording of a pilot taking off from Montgomery Field in San Diego, CA for a flight. He was flying an experimental and all was normal until shortly after take off. Suddenly he reports to the tower in a panicked voice that his canopy was open and he needed to land. The tower cleared him for an immediate landing on whatever runway he wanted. We never hear from him again. The recording goes on with other pilots that were on the approach to that airport offering to try to find the plane and the resulting search. In the end the pilot crashed the plane and died.

I don't know what type of plane the pilot was flying and I don't know if, in that type of plane, a canopy opening is really an emergency situation or something that one can continue to fly on. The thing I do know is, for the planes I fly. An open door is not an emergency situation, the passengers will not fall out and the plane will not fall out of the sky. I resolved a long time ago, probably when I heard that recording, that I would not be a pilot who panics with an open door and dies.

My Open Door

Yesterday I got to test that resolve. My daughter and I were flying back from Columbia, CA to Reid-Hillview in the Arrow. We had just had a fun afternoon eating a fantastic meal at El Jardin Mexican Restaurant, wandering around the little mining town state park and getting some ice cream at a the ice cream parlor with our friend Randy. The density altitude was over 4500 feet when we took off. My recent high altitude and high DA flying definitely came in handy.

Right after take off we heard a loud POP noise. My first thought was I had left the baggage door open, but I hadn't. Katie's door appeared closed, the top was still latched, the plane seemed fine. So I kept climbing out. Then Katie said the bottom of her door was open. I looked near the back of the door and could see from my position about a 1/4 inch of blue sky starting about 1/4 of the way down the door frame all the way to the bottom of the door.

We had two options, return to the airport we just left and close the door or continue the flight. The door seemed secure on the top latch. The plane was flying fine. I knew this was not an emergency. I asked Katie if she was comfortable flying home with the door the way it was. She was, of course. I double checked she had her seat belt on good and tight and kept on course for home. I flew as smooth as possible and enjoyed the extra cool air circulating in the cockpit. Katie fell asleep.

The flight was totally normal until we arrived at RHV. I don't know why but the tower asked me if I would do a short approach. "Unable short approach." I told them. My response was instinctive and immediate. They readjusted whatever their plan was and cleared me for a normal approach and landing. I declined because I didn't want to do any sharp maneuvers with the door open as it was. Especially with my daughter being on the "low side" of the plane for a right pattern short approach which was what they wanted me to do. I knew the way I was flying so far, normal and smooth with no large banks, was working well and I didn't want to find out the hard way if a short approach and the more sudden and steep maneuvering required was a bad idea with an open door. I'll have to ask my CFI about that.

In the End, Just Another Flight

We came in for a normal landing with me putting the plane down on the numbers nicely. Even my daughter said the landing was good. She's become a critic now that she's a landing expert with 4 landings under her belt! Since she asked I let her steer the plane on the taxi back to parking. She even did some flying on the way to Columbia. All in all it was a great day with an uneventful flight with my daughter enjoying flying more now that she's had an opportunity to fly herself. Who could ask for more?

Don't Go By Air

If you absolutely, positively, have to be there... don't go by air. A common joke in the GA community and one that should be taken to heart whenever planning a trip to a place that you need to get to via light airplane. If you really need to get there, especially by a specific time, always have a plan B.

The Plan

In our case we were planning on flying a new-to-us plane from San Jose to Centennial Airport near Denver for the bi-annual family reunion last week. The route was to be similar to the route we flew two years ago. South around the southern Sierras then crossing the Rocky Mountains at either La Veta Pass or near Santa Fe, New Mexico. The plane is a Beech Debonair similar in design to the Beech Bonanza we flew to Centennial two years ago, but a little slower and able to carry a bit less payload. This Debonair was fresh out of annual and my husband had spent almost 4 hours flying it to get acquainted with the plane, none of it in cruise flight aside from brief trips to/from practice areas. This was going to be my first flight in it. While I could legally PIC the plane, being high performance and complex endorsed, I would not be PIC of this flight having not flown a Bonanza in more than straight and level or gentle descending flight and never flown a Debonair. It felt weird not being PIC, especially for a cross country trip, but I suppose my husband should be allowed to be PIC once in a while.

The New Plan

The day of our departure the weather was fine in Northern California but afternoon thunderstorms were building southeast along our planned route of flight and the following day's forecast for the same route seemed worse. The weather briefer suggested going to Reno and staying there for the night and then taking a northern route through Utah and Wyoming into Colorado instead of south towards Needles (one of our possible stopping points for the first leg south) and the rest of our original route into Colorado. "At least Reno has a lot of hotels. Better than being stuck in Needles!" The briefer said.  We also have good friends who live in Reno and liked the idea of having an excuse to visit them. That seemed like a good plan. We were both familiar with the route to Reno so we got into the plane and took off for Reno with no more planning done.

The Flight

I quickly got introduced to the ancient seeming avionics in the plane. They still worked but this was the oldest set of radios I'd ever used. Both of them were labeled COM1 but the top one was COM1 and the bottom was COM2. To switch frequencies we used a three step process. Program the new frequency into the radio not in use, then switch the monitor to that radio and then switch the mike. If you wanted to talk inside the plane you had to switch the radio to intercom.  For someone that is used to radios that have "flip/flops" on each radio and being able to talk inside the plane at all times, this took some getting used to. COM2 had better sound than COM1. I could barely hear what the controllers said on COM1 and we resorted to yelling to each other rather than switching between intercom and radios. Our "system" worked well until the PIC forgot which radio we were talking to ATC on and set the wrong radio to ATIS for Reno. Normally I would have written down the frequencies but I was working very hard at not being PIC and deliberately didn't do some of the things I normally do when I am PIC in order to make sure I knew who was. Looking back this was a mistake. In any case, between the two of us we remembered one recent frequency. We switched to that frequency and then were redirected to the correct frequency.

The PIC asked me to fly the plane as he "worked out some things". We were getting close to the Sierras now and Blue Canyon airport. I was very familiar with the terrain and the route to Reno having flown this same route on my solo cross country adventure less than two months before. I asked him to turn off the auto-pilot so I could get the feel of flying the plane. It seemed reasonably responsive to control inputs and easy to hold in straight and level flight. He kept calculating and recalculating something, but I didn't know what. I did notice we weren't going any faster in ground speed than I did on my prior trip in the 182 and this was supposed to be a faster plane. It was then that I realized that I didn't know what the winds aloft were near Reno. I would know that if I had planned the flight. I didn't like not knowing if our "slow" ground speed was due to winds or something else.  I didn't even know what to expect from this plane as "normal". It turns out our PIC didn't either, but there were other things on his mind.

We were lucky to have smooth air over the Sierras until we started descending for Reno. Lucky for us, if there is one thing my husband is good at is putting a plane where he wants it. We were high coming into the Reno airspace and he was able to easily get the plane down using the gear as an air brake. He was caught a little by surprise by the high ground speed at the high DA airport (Reno is about 5000' elevation) on landing and his hand slipped off the throttle after we landed. He asked me to pull the throttle out as we rolled forward on the runway. I had to quickly determine which of the three "knobs" was the throttle. Fortunately he had already had me work on the mixture during the flight and the blue knob was obviously the prop, so that left only one. I pulled the throttle to idle and the PIC kept control of the plane on the runway and we were good.

The New New Plan

Our friends met us at the airport and we went out to dinner and spent some time hanging out. It was great to have an excuse to spend time with them and we were lucky they were available and had room for us to stay the night. Through dinner and spending time with our friends I could tell something was bothering the PIC. I didn't quite know what it was but something was up. He explained he wasn't sure if the plane was OK for sure. The airspeed seemed off, the oil temperature and pressure didn't behave as he expected on climb out and cruise on the way to Reno. Even accounting for the fact that IAS would be different at higher altitudes than near sea level, something was strange. He was pretty sure the plane would be able to continue the flight but, it was bothering him.

After dinner was over we spent considerable time working out our route to Centennial with plenty of potential stopping places if the weather (or the plane) turned bad. He was still researching what could be going on with the plane when I went upstairs to get some sleep. When I went upstairs I got online and checked for available flights on Southwest Airlines from Reno to Denver. Surprisingly, there were 10 different flights with seats available for the next day. I had credit on Southwest from previous tickets so even the cost seemed attractive.

Exchange between dad and daughter.

He came upstairs finally. I said, "Hey, would you feel any better if I said we could fly commercial?" He looked a bit relieved. "Yeah", he said. "I'm thinking the plane is telling me something and its not happy." Both of us had that instant feeling of "rightness" that comes from making a decision that your gut knows is the right one. We weren't convinced the plane was really having a major issue, but we both felt better not to have to prove it by flying it to Centennial.

Thus we had Plan C. We would all fly to Denver via SWA. My daughter and I would fly directly back to San Jose on SWA when our vacation was done. He would fly back to Reno a week later when his work was done and fly the plane back to home base.

I texted my Dad to let him know about the change in plans. I knew he was worried about us flying out with the weather that was going on and didn't want him to worry any more. My Dad has a PHD in Meteorology so he was not only worried, he was knowledgeable about the weather risks in the late summer monsoon season. This led to an amusing exchange.

Afterword

Right now, my daughter and I are home safe and sound, the plane is sitting in Reno and my husband is in Denver working. This coming Sunday (or Monday depending on weather) he will fly the plane back to RHV and we'll figure out what the plane was trying to tell us. In the mean time I've learned quite a few lessons from this little adventure:

• When taking a new plane out for  a long cross country trip, its a good idea to do a short cross country trip, or at least spend some time doing normal cruise flight, before departing. Thus you know what "normal" is. 
• Even if I'm not PIC, it doesn't hurt for me to do a little PIC-like planning and research on the plane I'm in for a long cross country flight.  For one thing I would be more comfortable and for another I'd be more useful. 
• And even if I'm not PIC, it doesn't hurt for me to do my normal drill of writing frequencies, knowing the route, etc, etc. for the same reason.

A good pilot is always learning, even when that pilot isn't the PIC :)

DSWT Day 9 - Heading Home - MYF > RHV

The Feral Chihuahua

After breakfast with the whole family Sunday it was time to go back to the airport and head home. First I had a little side track to enjoy, The Feral Chihuahua. My husband and I rode up to the airport in a taxi and Jerry was waiting for us with a big grin on his face. We introduced Jerry to N20791 and he checked out the plane for a bit. Then we dropped off our bags under the plane and went with Jerry to his hangar. Jerry introduced us to his plane. He built the plane himself and you could tell he knew every nut and bolt on the plane and exactly what he was doing when he modified it for speed. I'd never seen an RV-6 up close and was amazed by how small and light it was.

He did a pre-flight inspection and showed me every bolt he checked and why, then we hopped in to do a short flight. We took off to the west and as soon as we were level he handed me the controls. I had never flown a plane with a stick instead of a yoke and this plane felt like a Lotus Elise compared to the truck that was the 182 I was flying. I was quick to get the hang of the stick though and with small movements had the plane flying the direction and altitude he wanted.

The Feral Chihuahua

We went out over the water and did some turns between the water and the clouds. The plane was a lot of fun to fly. I really liked it's light touch and responsiveness. It seemed very stable in the light turbulence we flew through, especially for such a small plane. We had 195 knots ground speed with seemingly no effort from the plane. We came back towards the field and he took the controls on the 45 for the airport. We had a 195 knot ground speed and I wondered how we would slow down. A couple twists on the prop and a little less power and suddenly our ground speed was closer to 120 knots. A touch of flaps and speed was down to 100 knots and we were on final then on the ground before I knew it. I was all grins when I got out of the plane. It was a real special treat to top off my stay in San Diego.

Time to Go Home

Northern San Diego
County coastline

After more time chatting with Jerry, a weather briefing and talking with my hubby before leaving him for a week, it was time to go home. One final solo leg of my "big adventure". I filed and departed on an instrument flight plan, mostly to have ATC working for me as I flew through San Diego's class Bravo and over LA's class Bravo airspace. I filed for 10,000 feet which gave me plenty of clearance over the mountain range between the LA Basin and California's long central valley, of course it would... instrument routes are required to have 2000' clearance over mountainous terrain :) Normally the winds would be from the north but this afternoon the winds at my planned altitude were strong from the south, helping me on my flight.

The clouds had burned back to the San Diego coast and scattered by the time I took off so I got no actual on my instrument departure. This time I hand flew my clearance and route until after the first major waypoint at Oceanside VOR I needed to work on my tracking and knew I'd have at least two hours to practice. I quickly got back into the groove of holding a proper ground track on an instrument flight plan. My route took me along the southern California coast from San Diego to Los Angeles.

Catalina Island and a cloud free shadow

The strong tailwinds were giving me a ground speed of 165 knots and sometimes more in smooth air. I looked out over the clouds low over the Pacific Ocean to my left and saw Catalina Island created its own clear weather on its downwind side. I saw a large fire in the mountains far to the east but no sign of smoke near the Lake Hughes VOR which had a TFR near by. Air traffic was relatively light at the altitudes I flew and I saw, but didn't hear, the jets flying into the LA area airports below me. I flew right over downtown Los Angeles and just east of Van Nuys and Burbank airports. I even spotted the country club I had lunch at with my friend Rick a couple days before.

The mountains north of LA.

As I approached the mountains that marked the northern edge of the LA basin I expected to feel some turbulence. I estimated the winds had to be 20-30 knots at my back and they would hit those mountains and have to go somewhere, namely up, when they got there. I got closer and closer to the mountains and the air was so clear it seemed the mountains were only a thousand feet below. I double checked the altitudes of the peaks below and I had plenty of clearance. I took pictures but I was ready for a good bounce as I crossed the ridge line. I approached the Lake Hughes VOR and ATC told me to cross Lake Hughes VOR then I was cleared direct to Reid-Hillview. A nice side benefit of flying on a Sunday afternoon when the jet traffic was lighter and MOAs were cold.

Fun Riding the Air

I crossed the first ridge with no turbulence but I noticed I was flying a straight and level attitude at 10,200 and climbing. I pushed the nose down and was still climbing. I pushed the nose down more, still climbing! I needed to be at my assigned altitude. ATC was bound to call me soon. Sure enough, "Skylane 20791, say altitude, altitude reporting 10,400 feet". I responded back with my altitude, 10,400 feet and said I was in an updraft and correcting. "Roger, report when back at your assigned altitude." I got back down to 10,000 feet with the wind whistling through the plane as my airspeed increased. I reported back at altitude and was ready for the inevitable downdraft. Another Skylane heard my report and asked ATC where I was so they would be ready for the same conditions. A minute or two later the downdraft came and I was ready for it. My airspeed slowed towards 100 MPH as I raised the nose to maintain altitude. For the benefit of the other Skylane I contacted ATC and let them know I was now in the strong downdraft but was able to hold altitude. They said roger and told me to contact Bakersfield approach and relay the conditions to them as well.

Folds in the earth between the
central and coastal valleys.

I spent another 5 minutes or so maintaining altitude in the up and downdrafts. It was fun. Then the air turned a bit turbulent. I was flying on the eastern edge of the larger coastal range and I thought the turbulence was probably from winds coming over the range. Either way it was nothing I couldn't handle. My ground speed still hovered around 165 knots and I watched the GPS count down the time to arrive back at my home airport much faster than I thought. I was over the south central valley and would be home in less than an hour.

I was absolutely comfortable alone at 10,000 feet - almost two miles over the valley surface, flying an instrument flight plan, riding a bit of turbulence, watching the clouds to my west, the low mountain range below and the valley to my east slide by. I monitored the instruments and engine gauges, my heading and altitude, and was totally at peace. No thoughts of anything else but just that moment. I wasn't bored or in a hurry, I was just there.

Expedited decent.

ATC interrupted my peace. They had a reroute and wanted to know if I as ready to copy. The reroute was clearing me direct GILRO, the Initial Approach Fix for my airport. It was time to be planning my approach. In spite of being over 60 miles from GILRO the final approach was coming soon. I was going to use this opportunity to practice flying a proper glide slope on approach this time. ATC cleared me to descend to 6000 feet about when I expected. Then they asked me to expedite my descent for crossing traffic. Well, if there's one thing I was getting good at, it was expediting my descent! I expedited and got the plane down to 6000 feet quickly. I got the weather for RHV and winds were variable at 6 knots. The next step down was 4000 feet and I was cleared for the approach. I intercepted the glide slope and followed it down from 4000 feet to 1300 feet then I came in on the VASI and landed.

I taxied off the runway at Delta and contacted ground. Then I was taxiing back to Squadron 2. As I turned down the row to my parking spot the realization washed over me, I did it. I was home from a nine day tour of California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona as PIC of a small aircraft. I flew to airports with altitudes of 135 feet, 7,600 feet and everything in between. I flew over some of the least and most populated areas of this country. I did all of the planning, the flying, everything, myself. I had dreamed of this trip for so long and I did it. I couldn't wait to do it again!

N20791 back at Squadron 2. We're home.