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.