New Friends and Weather Trends

One of the best things about creating this blog is the amount of new friends I've made over the past year. It has been a great way to meet new people that share similar interests.

Last month, one of this blog's readers contacted me about getting together during a visit to Arizona. He was coming out in March for Spring Training and then heading to Las Vegas for a few days of fun. He asked if I wanted to fly up there with him. After working out the details and finding out that neither of us were closet axe murderers, we decided to do it.

Last Thursday, we got together for breakfast before heading over to Stellar to pick up the plane. The weather was looking iffy from Phoenix to Northern Arizona. I had an IFR plan filed to North Las Vegas but had a few concerns. First, what fun is a flight in IMC to Las Vegas? No mountains, no Grand Canyon, no Lake Mead and Hoover Dam. Second, the freezing levels were predicted to be right at the MEA of our flight plan. Third, thunderstorms were developing all over the route.

Southwest had an anytime fare of $238 r/t, which was definitely cheaper than renting a 172. But how much fun would it be? After checking the weather again, it appeared that the low causing the poor weather in Arizona was not a factor 75 miles West of Phoenix. Some quick calculations showed that a VFR flight from Phoenix to Wickenburg to Lake Havasu and then up the Colorado River to Bullhead City, Boulder City and then Las Vegas would be just fine. I decided it was a go. Thunderstorms were building to the South and West moving Northeast. The window of opportunity was narrow.

We took off from Stellar and picked up flight following from Phoenix Approach. By the time we were handed off to Albuquerque, the controller was rude and said she didn't have time for us. Oh well, the weather was clearing and looked beautiful to the west. The winds had shifted and were in our favor the entire way, which was good. Our VFR route was considerably farther. Our ground speed averaged 145kts and at times reached nearly 160kts! We decided to land in Bullhead City to stretch our legs for a while. I had listened to LA Center on the way to Bullhead and by the number of holds being issued, it sounded like Vegas had flow control issues. I only like to fly into Las Vegas with flight following or an IFR plan and figured the easiest way to get through to North Las Vegas would be IFR.

Thanks to the favorable winds, our flight to Las Vegas (airspace, at least) only took about 35 minutes. Las Vegas approach is proud of the desert and wanted to show us as much of it as they could. We saw State Line, I-15, Pahrump and all points in between. It was a very nice tour. Finally, they vectored us to North Las Vegas and we were cleared for the visual 30L.

As we descended, I called up North Las Vegas tower. No response. They were talking to others and answering other callers. I called them another time. Again, no acknowledgement. I tried a third time, again with nothing at all. Finally on the 45 to the downwind, the controller says, "Use caution. There's an unidentified 172 in the pattern that has failed to contact us." I immediately broke in and said, "This is Cessna N*****, I have called three times in the past two minutes with no acknowledgement. I am IFR, cleared for the approach and squawking ****. Please mark the tape." Two other pilots came to my defense and said they had heard me. Finally the controller says, "Fine. Cleared to land 30L" Grump. Why is it so difficult for some people to admit when they're wrong?

We tied down, headed over to the FBO to order fuel and check the weather. Things in Arizona had deteriorated. The freezing level had dropped to 6,000 feet, there was a convective sigmet and severe weather from Flagstaff southward. At that moment, I was glad that I planned ahead and brought an overnight bag just in case. This was a just in case moment. There would be no flight home tonight.

We shared a cab with two other pilots from Vail, CO and shared stories about the controller at North Las Vegas and wondered if he was having a bad day. We arrived at NY, NY and met up with my friend's other friends.

My friend's name is John. He's a firefighter and aspiring pilot from Illinois. We met his other friends Scott and son Garrett at the VIP check-in at the hotel. John told Scott about my dilemma and without hesitation he said, "Any friend of John's is a friend of mine. You're welcome to stay in our room." That was a really nice offer, but one I couldn't accept. I did ask if he could use his influence to get me a nice room, which he did. It was a very nice room on the 34th floor with views of the strip. It was only two doors down from their room, which had something mine didn't: a 180 degree view of McCarran airport. A pilot's dream view. You could see the entire airport and almost all ops. Next time I go to LV, I'm staying at NY, NY and requesting a room with that view!

They invited me to hand with them as if they'd known me for years and I was part of the original plan. It was a lot of fun. We played everywhere from NY, NY to Downtown, where the Lady Luck's blackjack tables were good enough to me to cover the cost of the room and some. Not being a huge player, I decided to quit while I was ahead and make my way back to the hotel. John, Scott and Garrett were doing VERY well at the roulette table. I thanked them for their hospitality and went back to NY, NY to get some sleep so I could leave first thing in the morning. No storms in Arizona last more than 24 hours, right?

I woke up at 6:30 a.m. and called Flight Service. The briefer said that things along the same Colorado River route looked good until 18Z, about 11 a.m. Arizona time. The freezing level was forecast to be 8-9,000'. If things got bad, I could file for a pop up IFR clearance.

I got off the ground by 8 a.m. Vegas approach, in usual form, refused to let me transition and gave me another tour of the barren Nevada desert. Thanks guys. Once on course, I headed back the same route I had flown up. Crossing Bullhead City at 7,500', I began to see gray in the distance. I switched on the NEXRAD and saw nothing but ugliness 50 miles ahead. I descended to 5,500 and by the time I got to Lake Havasu, the weather was deteriorating rapidly. The temperature dropped considerably. I pressed on another 10 miles and started to pick up rime ice. CRAP. There was no way to safely go IFR home at that point. I turned around and headed back to Havasu, where apparently every light aircraft pilot in the known universe had decided to divert. There were literally 40 planes at the transient ramp. This confirmed that others agreed with me. It wasn't safe to fly a light aircraft in that weather. I spent an hour there hoping for clearing skies. What I got was deterioration. To the South and East, it was LIFR and the freezing level had dropped to 4,000'.

A note about NEXRAD: The picure it gives you is delayed 5-15 minutes. When there are fast moving/developing storms, it only tells you the weather sucks, not where it is specifically. I have heard of pilots that use it like real radar. That could get very dangerous, very fast. The Garmin G1000 glass cockpit has a lot to offer, but I can see how some of the tools it offers could give the wrong person too much confidence.

If I had to spend the night somewhere again, I didn't want it to be Lake Havasu. The airport is a long way from town, there were no rental cars available and hotels were EXPENSIVE. I got in the plane and flew back to Bullhead. With Laughlin across the river, there was at least something to to. Sun Western Flyers topped off the plane and called the Riverside Resort shuttle for me.

I didn't want to spend more time in a casino filled with acrid, carcinogenic smoke and it was too early to decide about staying over night so I went to a movie. It was "Shooter" starring Mark Wahlberg. It was a typical conspiracy thriller, but better than hanging out in the aforementioned ashtray.

When the movie ended, I called Flight Service. The weather had mostly cleared and short of a few scattered thunderstorms, the route home looked good. That was all I needed to hear. I was ready to be home.

The flight home was smooth and easy. It felt good to see the lights of Phoenix. Timing was nearly perfect. A pretty big thunderstorm had just dissipated near Stellar. The winds were still strong, but the lightning and heavy rain had subsided. I managed to grease the landing with a 15 knot crosswind on a very wet runway in the dark, which tells me I'm finally getting comfortable with Cessna's. They're not difficult in crosswinds, just different.

I made it home in time to read to my kids and kiss them good night. A perfect end to an eventful two days. It felt good to be home...for a few days at least.

John took some cool photos. As soon as he gets them to me, I'll post them.

John, Scott and Garrett from Illinois: You're all first class individuals and it was a pleasure to meet you all. I hope to see you guys again sometime.

Gentlemen...Toss Your Cookies

Er ladies, actually. More on that in a few.

Last night, a friend called me in a panic. "I need to get to Grand Canyon Airport tomorrow. My car is in Tusayan and I lost my ride there. Can you take me?" I'm really not in too much need of single engine time, but she's been a good friend and has helped me a lot this past year. It would also be an opportunity to fly. Why not?

We set off this morning, planning on an 11 a.m. departure. Of course this being general aviation, our departure time was closer to 1 p.m. The hot weather that California was experiencing last week had found its way to Arizona. By noon, it was 96 degrees. Did anybody tell Mother Nature that it's only March? It's not even Spring yet!

My wife and daughter came along for fun. That put the G1000 172 I had reserved at max gross weight. Density altitude for the airport was about 4,000'. We took 3,000' of runway to get airborne and best climb was about 500' per minute. We hit clear air turbulence over Sky Harbor and lost nearly 400 feet. Climb performance was terrible. It took nearly 20 minutes for us to climb to 8,500'. By that time, we just told Albuquerqe Center that we were going to stay at 8,500' instead of 10,500' we had requested. We didn't want to take another 15 minutes to get to 10,500.

There was quite a bit of turbulence and my wife was beginning to turn green. Cue Sic-Sac #1. She threw up the Dramamine she had taken as a precaution. That happened over Cottonwood airport so we decided to land there for some fresh air and water. Cottonwood has a nice little terminal. There was nobody there, but a nice selection of complimentary cookies and a cold water fountain to refill our water bottles. My wife decided that a snack of cookies might make her feel better. A few minutes later, the color was back in her face and we headed back to the plane.

We departed on runway 14. Density altitude was an issue again and Cottonwood's runway is only 4,200' long. A short field takeoff was definitely in order. Lean for DA, flaps 10, max brakes, full power...and then everything started to move...in slow motion. Finally we hit rotation speed and the plane just didn't want to climb. I can't believe how close the subdivision is to the end of 14. We could see the whites of people's eyes following us as we skimmed the neighborhood at best rate of climb (not much).

We climbed out Northbound over Verde River Canyon, using thermals to climb when possible. The air was really rough. Bweelchhh. BWEELCHHH. My wife was literally tossing her cookies...the one's she ate in Cottonwood. I thought she was going to kill me when I asked her if she was tossing her cookies, but she was too busy throwing up. At this point, she was not looking good, but there really wasn't anywhere to land. My wife said she could make it to the Grand Canyon, so we pressed on. It took us all the way to I-40 to make 8,500' again.

Soon enough, we were on approach to Grand Canyon Airport. Winds were 180 at 16, gusting to 25. We were cleared to land on runway 21. The gusty crosswind called for 20 degrees flaps and 75 knots on final. It was a little bit of a fight, but patience prevailed and she settled down nicely. We taxied quickly to transient parking where my poor wife promptly melted out of the plane.

We picked up my friend's car and set out looking for a place to eat. Maybe some food would make my wife feel better. We ended up at The Grand Canyon Lodge. It was one of the few places that had table service today. The main dining room was closed, so we had to eat in the bar. My daughter thought it was cool because a few of the bar stools are western saddles. (She loves horses and just started riding lessons this morning.) We finally had to tell her that it was against the law for her to sit at the bar to get her back to the table.

While waiting for our food, my wife warned me that she might not be getting back in to the 172 again today. Crap! I'm a pilot, not a logisitcs expert. Let's see, we have two boys at home with a 13 year old babysitter, no clothes or toiletries (very cheap at The Grand Canyon I'm sure), no hotel reservations and the 172 through 8 p.m. I went to the front dest at The Grand Canyon Lodge and inquired. $179 plus tax! Not bloody likely.

My friend called her office to update them on her whereabouts. She is a pilot for Air Grand Canyon. I have to give them a plug and say what nice people they are. When they found out about my wife's condition, they immediately started making calls to find a hotel for us. They found us a room at the Holiday Inn Express and got us the local rate of $69.

After eating, my wife said she felt better. Well enough to fly home. I knew she would feel better and the front seat would make a huge difference. We stopped by the Air Grand Canyon terminal and they set us up with a fresh supply of barf bags. We thanked them for their courtesy, said goodbye to my friend and headed back for Phoenix.

It was nearly sunset and the winds and temperatures had come down. We departed out. I lazily set the GPS course for Phoenix, dialed in 9,500' and sat back to enjoy the ride. It had been a long day and it was time to let the plane work for me. Just like I was telling my daughter earlier about the horse she was riding. It knows where to go and what to do, you just have to let it know who's boss.

The flight home was much smoother. Our route took us over Williams, Clarkdale, Jerome and then in to the Phoenix Metro area. By the time we got back to Phoenix, it was completely dark. I love night flying. We came in over Lake Pleasant to Deer Valley airport and then the East transition over Sky Harbor. By 8:30, we were on the ground at Stellar. Some of us more glad to be on the ground than others.

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Next week, it will be time to start studying CRJ systems again. I leave for Colorado in less than two weeks for the last phase of my flight training. I alsow plan on getting checked out in the top secret multi engine plane I discovered. It sounds too good to be true. We'll see.

Also, someone that I met through this blog is coming to Arizona next week too see some Spring Training games and visit with friends. We're going to fly to Las Vegas together on Thursday. That should be a lot of fun.