Date Night

My wife had been asking me two questions:

1. When were we going to have a date night?
2. When does she get to fly in the Katana?

Yesterday's weather looked good. The Katana was available for more than 2 hours. All we needed to do was decide on a destination. Somewhere within 2 hours (that's about as long as anyone could stand in a Katana) and easy access to dining. We decided on Laughlin/Bullhead. It's about 1:45 each way. The Riverside Resort and The Colorado Belle both offer shuttle service to and from the airport.

We headed out to Falcon Field and checked out the Katana.

The further on the edge...the hotter the intensity.

Yes, the Katana is that small. My wife is nearly 5' 11" with very long legs. Her knees were nearly in her face. Thank goodness no photo exists of my fat a$$ sitting in there!

As we taxied, we enjoyed seeing several vintage aircraft including this B-25 Mitchell named "Barbie III". Falcon Field is home to the Arizona Wing of the Confederate Air Force. Their prize possession is Sentimental Journey, a fully restored Boeing B-17G that tours the US during the summer and winters at the CAF museum.

We flew VFR and our route took us to Lake Havasu City (where London Bridge is for the older guys, where Spring Break is for the MTV generation) and then North up the Colorado River over Needles, CA and in to Laughlin/Bullhead City.

In the photo below, we are descending in to the right downwind for runway 16. On the left is Laughlin, NV where the casinos are. On the right is Bullhead City, AZ where the airport is and most of the people reside. The airport is just out of the photo on the right.

To the North is Lake Mojave which leads upstream to Hoover Dam. To the south, the river feeds Lake Havasu and Parker Dam.

Base.

The bridge below is the only bridge across the Colorado river for nearly 20 miles. Since 9/11/2001, no commercial traffic is allowed over Hoover Dam and all of it is re-routed through Laughlin and Searchlight. That bridge see A LOT of traffic and many accidents.

Final.

After another smooth landing (easy in a Katana), we found a primo parking spot, tied down and headed over to Sun Western Flyers for a top off and ride to Laughlin. The people at Sun Western Flyers are always super helpful and friendly.

On the complimentary shuttle ride to Laughlin, we met two young pilots from ATP. They were friendly and talkative, but I was surprised when they neglected to tip the driver. I know student pilots usually aren't dripping with cash, but come on. If they expect to be airline pilots, they better learn to take care of shuttle drivers! 'Nuff said.

We had a nice dinner and then sat down for a few hands of blackjack. I'm not a big gambler and just enjoy playing blackjack and poker. A few winning $5 hands, a blackjack and a couple of winning double-downs paid for our dinner and some fuel. Very nice. We left with Laughlin with full stomachs, a slightly fatter wallet and smiles.

On the ride back, traffic came to a stand still. There was an accident on the bridge and it was closed. Chaos was ensuing. The driver quickly turned us around and took us to the Riverside, where we picked up the river taxi across to Bullhead City. We were fortunate to run in to the Riverside's shuttle driver who was more than glad to take us back to the airport, since he couldn't get back to Laughlin.

The bridge ended up being closed for nearly 3 hours. Luckily, nobody was killed this time. We were glad to hear that and also glad that we hadn't driven there.

The flight home was very smooth. LA Center couldn't have been nicer and the same for Albuquerque. When we were handed off to Phoenix approach, she even asked our routing preference to Falcon. Very nice. As we got closer to Phoenix Sky Harbor, my wife said she thought it would be neat to land there in a small plane. So I picked up ATIS and asked approach for a touch and go. After a brief "stand by", we were cleared for a visual approach and handed off to tower. We were cleared for a touch and go on 7R. It was fun, but then again, we are easily amused people.

After a quick "thank you" to Phoenix for their hospitality, it was back to Falcon Field. 10 minutes later, we were back on the ground. The ramp was so dark and full that it took nearly 10 minutes to find a parking spot. How about some ramp lights FFZ?

Overall, it was a fun date. It did feel good to get out of the Katana. 2 hours is about all I can stand in that tight cockpit. It's still my favorite aircraft to fly.