My virtual guests were finally ready to fly back from Dullsville Lake Havasu, and wanted to seek out the Hassayampa River in Wickenburg, so I flew them there in the Cessna I had left parked at the airport (after Scotty beamed me to KHII from Denver, of course).
The flight went well. This was one of those very rare flights that I've flown direct, as there was no significant terrain or unusual airspace between Lake Havasu and Wickenburg, and it was only a 85-nm trip. I just set my heading to 110 with the Nav-O-Matic, and set out at 7500 feet for E25. I verified my position by watching for Alamo Lake, which I passed over exactly as planned, and then used the Needles and Buckeye VORs to steer my way to the airport.
Landing was very smooth. The heat was oppressive.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Aspen - Denver / Beechcraft Baron 58 (N2751W) / IFR
I filed IFR for this early morning flight because I knew it would still be rather dark and difficult to see terrain below. As it turned out, it wasn't so bad, with the sun rising during the flight, and the weather was excellent.
I filed the LINDZ5 departure out of Aspen, and the LARKS6 into Denver. My little Baron was just strong enough to meet the climb constraints for the departure, with my two virtual passengers. We had to climb from the airport elevation (7820 feet) to 16000 at 462 feet per nautical mile, which I just barely managed. Then it was up to 17000 for the rest of the way over the mountains, with me and my passengers enjoying supplemental oxygen.
At MURFE I was able to get a descent to 15000, then down to 10000 after SIGNE to pick up the ILS runway 25 approach at ETHAL. Everything went very smoothly, right to touchdown on runway 25. I was (semi-)surprised to hear “Air Force One” on the frequency, apparently inbound for ILS 26 (which is why I took 25, to avoid turbulence) … but then again, in the world of virtual flight, with its abundance of youthful male pilots, it's not unusual to encounter Air Force One, or fighter planes with scary Hollywood names like VIPER or KILLER, and so on. As long as they follow the regulations, I don' t care. Because of the plethora of Air Force Ones on VATSIM, though, the Presidential aircraft does not get any special consideration in virtual flight (otherwise the country would be peppered with TFRs for every seventh-grader who wanted to pretend he was the personal pilot of the POTUS).
After landing on 25, I taxied—forever, it seemed—over to the general aviation area. Denver International is so huge that I think you sometimes spend more time taxiing to parking (even if there are no other aircraft in your way) than you do flying to the airport.
I filed the LINDZ5 departure out of Aspen, and the LARKS6 into Denver. My little Baron was just strong enough to meet the climb constraints for the departure, with my two virtual passengers. We had to climb from the airport elevation (7820 feet) to 16000 at 462 feet per nautical mile, which I just barely managed. Then it was up to 17000 for the rest of the way over the mountains, with me and my passengers enjoying supplemental oxygen.
At MURFE I was able to get a descent to 15000, then down to 10000 after SIGNE to pick up the ILS runway 25 approach at ETHAL. Everything went very smoothly, right to touchdown on runway 25. I was (semi-)surprised to hear “Air Force One” on the frequency, apparently inbound for ILS 26 (which is why I took 25, to avoid turbulence) … but then again, in the world of virtual flight, with its abundance of youthful male pilots, it's not unusual to encounter Air Force One, or fighter planes with scary Hollywood names like VIPER or KILLER, and so on. As long as they follow the regulations, I don' t care. Because of the plethora of Air Force Ones on VATSIM, though, the Presidential aircraft does not get any special consideration in virtual flight (otherwise the country would be peppered with TFRs for every seventh-grader who wanted to pretend he was the personal pilot of the POTUS).
After landing on 25, I taxied—forever, it seemed—over to the general aviation area. Denver International is so huge that I think you sometimes spend more time taxiing to parking (even if there are no other aircraft in your way) than you do flying to the airport.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Echo Bay - Desert Rock / Beechcraft Bonanza A36 (N3759W) / VFR
After loitering around Echo Bay for a time (very boring), I decided to visit the Department of Energy's airport just on the border of the Nellis Range. The DOE is always happy to let me visit their Desert Rock airport.
The wind was still from the east, so I took off over the Lake Mead and stayed over the water as I moved towards Sin City, mainly because it somehow seemed cooler over the lake (it was blistering hot at Echo Bay). I was cleared into the Las Vegas Class B and I advised that I wanted to make the Cortez transition, which was approved at 4500 feet.
The Cortez transition starts over Wash Marina, which is hard to spot apart from a small expanse of concrete, and right now it's pretty far from the water. I had the coordinates, though, and put those into the GPS just to be extra sure. From there, I was to cross the El Cortez Hotel, which is mighty hard to spot (it has a hokey sign on it, but I still had trouble spotting it)—fortunately I had coordinates for that, too. From there, I turned towards North Las Vegas Airport. After crossing the airport, I slipped to the west side of Highway 95 (the “E.T. Highway”) and stayed on the west side all the way up to the Mercury NDB (which is out of service, but I've been this way before so pilotage sufficed). I know that as long as I'm on the west side of the highway, I'm not in restricted airspace.
I made a smooth landing at Desert Rock, this time checking to see that the wind was in my favor. Desert Rock is just as bleak as Echo Bay, but I scarcely intend to linger here. I did manage to fill the tanks.
The wind was still from the east, so I took off over the Lake Mead and stayed over the water as I moved towards Sin City, mainly because it somehow seemed cooler over the lake (it was blistering hot at Echo Bay). I was cleared into the Las Vegas Class B and I advised that I wanted to make the Cortez transition, which was approved at 4500 feet.
The Cortez transition starts over Wash Marina, which is hard to spot apart from a small expanse of concrete, and right now it's pretty far from the water. I had the coordinates, though, and put those into the GPS just to be extra sure. From there, I was to cross the El Cortez Hotel, which is mighty hard to spot (it has a hokey sign on it, but I still had trouble spotting it)—fortunately I had coordinates for that, too. From there, I turned towards North Las Vegas Airport. After crossing the airport, I slipped to the west side of Highway 95 (the “E.T. Highway”) and stayed on the west side all the way up to the Mercury NDB (which is out of service, but I've been this way before so pilotage sufficed). I know that as long as I'm on the west side of the highway, I'm not in restricted airspace.
I made a smooth landing at Desert Rock, this time checking to see that the wind was in my favor. Desert Rock is just as bleak as Echo Bay, but I scarcely intend to linger here. I did manage to fill the tanks.
Valle - Echo Bay / Beechcraft Bonanza A36 (N3759W) / VFR
This Bonanza has been sitting at Valle Airport (40G) next to the Flintstones amusement park for almost a month, so I figured it was time to brush up. I decided to fly with some virtual friends to Echo Bay (0L9), next to Lake Mead.
Essentially I just flew direct to the Peach Springs VOR, then rode the 290 radial until I was over the lake, then turned north to Echo Bay. All went well, and I was able to stay at or below 6500 for the whole trip.
My only mistake was landing on runway 24 at the tiny Echo Bay airport. I didn't bother to look at the windsock at the airport, and in fact I was landing with a significant tailwind, so it took quite a while to touch down, and the runway was short. The landing was just a tad bumpy, testifying to my lack of currency in the Bonanza, but otherwise all was well. I parked and my passengers went off to have fun at the lake.
Essentially I just flew direct to the Peach Springs VOR, then rode the 290 radial until I was over the lake, then turned north to Echo Bay. All went well, and I was able to stay at or below 6500 for the whole trip.
My only mistake was landing on runway 24 at the tiny Echo Bay airport. I didn't bother to look at the windsock at the airport, and in fact I was landing with a significant tailwind, so it took quite a while to touch down, and the runway was short. The landing was just a tad bumpy, testifying to my lack of currency in the Bonanza, but otherwise all was well. I parked and my passengers went off to have fun at the lake.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Sedona - Lake Havasu / Cessna 182RG Skylane (N7109V) / VFR
Late in the afternoon, I set out from Sedona again with my virtual pax, this time heading towards Lake Havasu.
I planned to fly more or less to the Drake VOR, then roughly west-southwest to get past the mountains, then slightly north again to get to KHII. It went pretty well. I didn't want to fly too high, so I climbed to about 7500 feet west of DRK and made a slight detour around the mountains west of Jerome and then headed back towards the VOR.
After crossing the VOR, I wanted to pick up the 246 radial and head out over Bagdad. I set the Nav-O-Matic (I can't believe that's its real name—what was Cessna thinking?) to 246 and maintained about 7000 (less than 3000 AGL). I kept drifting south off the radial (which was just as well, because terrain was lower), and finally got back to the radial only as I reached Bagdad.
Over the Bagdad airport I turned to 270, which I figured would take me through the mountains where I could turn and head towards Lake Havasu (ignoring winds). Somehow, though, I ended up drifting over the southern part of the Hualapai Mountains, and I had to climb a bit to stay in my comfort zone. Then I saw a big lake off in the distance, and incorrectly assumed that it was Lake Havasu. It wasn't until I was about 40 miles from the Needles VOR (which I was now tracking) when I plotted my position on the chart and realized that the lake was just east of Needles (it didn't have a name on the chart, unless it's technically part of Lake Havasu?), so I turned to 210 to head further south towards Lake Havasu, which was visible when I looked for it.
Assuming the winds would be from the west, I selected runway 32 and announced a right downwind thereto (although it has a left-hand pattern, but nobody else seemed to be in the pattern). I did pretty well in the pattern, and the landing wasn't too bad considering the crosswind of 10 knots or so. I don't plan to linger in Havasu City as it is blazing hot, and I long to again dance the skies on laughter-silvered wings.
I planned to fly more or less to the Drake VOR, then roughly west-southwest to get past the mountains, then slightly north again to get to KHII. It went pretty well. I didn't want to fly too high, so I climbed to about 7500 feet west of DRK and made a slight detour around the mountains west of Jerome and then headed back towards the VOR.
After crossing the VOR, I wanted to pick up the 246 radial and head out over Bagdad. I set the Nav-O-Matic (I can't believe that's its real name—what was Cessna thinking?) to 246 and maintained about 7000 (less than 3000 AGL). I kept drifting south off the radial (which was just as well, because terrain was lower), and finally got back to the radial only as I reached Bagdad.
Over the Bagdad airport I turned to 270, which I figured would take me through the mountains where I could turn and head towards Lake Havasu (ignoring winds). Somehow, though, I ended up drifting over the southern part of the Hualapai Mountains, and I had to climb a bit to stay in my comfort zone. Then I saw a big lake off in the distance, and incorrectly assumed that it was Lake Havasu. It wasn't until I was about 40 miles from the Needles VOR (which I was now tracking) when I plotted my position on the chart and realized that the lake was just east of Needles (it didn't have a name on the chart, unless it's technically part of Lake Havasu?), so I turned to 210 to head further south towards Lake Havasu, which was visible when I looked for it.
Assuming the winds would be from the west, I selected runway 32 and announced a right downwind thereto (although it has a left-hand pattern, but nobody else seemed to be in the pattern). I did pretty well in the pattern, and the landing wasn't too bad considering the crosswind of 10 knots or so. I don't plan to linger in Havasu City as it is blazing hot, and I long to again dance the skies on laughter-silvered wings.
Phoenix - Sedona / Cessna 182RG Skylane (N7109V) / VFR
With some virtual friends aboard, I left Phoenix VFR via runway 26. I was cleared for 5500 or below with a right downwind departure approved. I made my pattern turns but had my VOR set to the wrong radial. I had intended to fly over Camelback Mountain and up towards Carefree before turning towards the Verde River (in order to clear the Class B sooner), but I went too far and ended up heading directly north to Scottsdale, then making straight to Bartlett Lake from there.
Flying over the Verde River valley in excellent VMC, I was able to stay at 5500 feet for the whole flight. This put me pretty low and I had to take care to stay in the valley, but I did all right. I set my VOR to Flagstaff and followed a radial up to LYRIT (based on my DME), then turned towards the airport. The landing was glassy smooth; my passengers scarcely realized we had touched down.
Flying over the Verde River valley in excellent VMC, I was able to stay at 5500 feet for the whole flight. This put me pretty low and I had to take care to stay in the valley, but I did all right. I set my VOR to Flagstaff and followed a radial up to LYRIT (based on my DME), then turned towards the airport. The landing was glassy smooth; my passengers scarcely realized we had touched down.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Gila Bend - Phoenix / Cessna 182RG Skylane (N7109V) / VFR
I haven't flown in a while, and this was a very pleasant early morning flight from hellish Gila Bend to hellish Phoenix. Fortunately, my cockpit was fully air-conditioned with an automagic system (virtually STCed) that has no effect on aircraft performance, so I didn't have to deal with the 110° F heat outside the aircraft. Except with respect to performance calculations, that is. At 110°, the density altitude at Sky Harbor was 4660 feet, which is closer to the actual altitude of Sedona (4800 feet) than that of Phoenix. Fortunately, both airports have runways that are more than long enough for my small Cessna, even in hot weather.
I flew by pilotage exclusively, as I know this area very well. I climbed to 3500 feet and headed north until the bend in the road (Interstate 10), at which point I turned east. I could already make out the downtown area of Phoenix, and I knew that the airport was just to the right of that, so it was easy to make my way in. I was cleared into the Class B and made a straight-in approach to runway 8. The landing was so smooth that I almost didn't hear the gear touch.
From runway 8, I taxied over to Cutter Aviation on the other side of the field and parked there.
I flew by pilotage exclusively, as I know this area very well. I climbed to 3500 feet and headed north until the bend in the road (Interstate 10), at which point I turned east. I could already make out the downtown area of Phoenix, and I knew that the airport was just to the right of that, so it was easy to make my way in. I was cleared into the Class B and made a straight-in approach to runway 8. The landing was so smooth that I almost didn't hear the gear touch.
From runway 8, I taxied over to Cutter Aviation on the other side of the field and parked there.