donkaye

§ 91.159 VFR cruising altitude or flight level. Except while holding in a holding pattern of 2 minutes or less, or while turning, each person operating an aircraft under VFR in LEVEL cruising flight more than 3,000 feet above the surface..... I was going over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I was not in level cruising flight, but changing altitudes to avoid moderate turbulence. Once over the Sierras I started my descent into San Jose. I was over 3,000 feet above terrain for about 10 minutes. I was on Flight Following and in contact with ATC at all times.

My purpose in starting this thread had nothing to do with bad mouthing the Controller. That never occurred to me. It had everything to do with how to get what you want when things don't go as you would have liked.

One of the reasons we left Ogden later than I usually would was because of high pressure all the way to California. Several times going across the country on this trip I asked for and got block altitudes for various reasons. I wasn't denied once. Given all the Commercial traffic going into the Bay Area I didn't try that this time. Following the Mike Busch article, maybe I should have tried. I took the easy way out, as I have done a number of times traversing the LA basin when it was VFR and I had exhausted my other 2 options (asking for direct off of V459, then VFR on top to take the separation burden off the Controller, and finally canceling IFR).

I agree. In the past I have communicated with a controller about the need to descend due to potential ice. I have always gotten it. I did not say, "Request higher due to turbulence" this time. However, based on his attitude he was unlikely to give me higher anyway. That doesn't negate the fact that I should have told him the issue. I did give a pilot report to him when level at 17,500, and he didn't have the courtesy to respond. You and I both know, having listened to controllers for thousands of hours, when you get one who is just uncooperative. Luckily, it rarely happens.

Yes, a passenger who is susceptible to the Bends and headwinds going West.

One of the best articles I have ever read on ATC Communications was written by Mike Busch in the June 1994 Issue of IFR Magazine. It gave me clarity with my dealings with ATC. By being assertive but "nice" I'm usually able to get what I want when I want it. Yesterday was the exception. On the last leg of our trip back from AirVenture 2021 at about noon, it was time to cross the Sierra Nevada Mountains. As has often been discussed, flying early in the morning is best for avoiding both turbulence and convection from the heating of the land. However, after getting up early for the previous several days to avoid weather systems, this day looked to be clear and benign for the balance of the trip. so we got a late start. All went as planned until arriving at the Sierras. There was a 30 knot wind at our altitude running parallel to the Owens Valley. This created a venturi down the valley, and as we found out, significant turbulence at our altitude of 16,000 feet. My mitigation when this happens is to go higher to try and find smoother air. I called ATC and asked for higher. He said "Unable". I waited 5 more minutes, as the turbulence got worse. This time I asked politely if he was going approve higher anytime soon. He said "No". I said, "Cancel IFR" and immediately climbed to 17,500. It smoothed out at 17,000 to comfortably cross the mountains and complete at great 2 week trip.

The feeling is mutual. We're off to Cleveland tomorrow.

I got through all 4 hangars in a couple of hours. They spread things out very well, but Hangar C today was a madhouse with literally no social distancing. I couldn't get out of there fast enough. The Jeppesen customer service was outstanding, unlike its phone customer service. I spent over an hour with one of their specialist while she went over various scenarios to get me the best price on what I wanted. I wouldn't have been able to do it over the phone. In the end I terminated the services I had, got credit for the unused portion, and then got all the new services I wanted--with a show discount to boot. I went home and in about half an hour got everything updated to full US coverage; Garmin Pilot, Foreflight, JeppFD, and the Aera 760. I went over to EI and asked why I was constantly having to replace my EGT probes. He suggested I don't use the quick recovery probes, but use the robust ones. He said the response wasn't that much slower. He just happened to have 6 of them on hand, and I scooped them up at quite a reduced price. Bruce's Covers were there giving a 10% off show discount. It was time to buy another one. So much for not buying anything at this year's show...

I attended the Garmin seminar on the Smart Glide. While it is STC'd for the GTNs, it isn't as yet for the G5, and the G5 is part of the GFC 500. They say sometime in August. They made it pretty clear that it was an assist so that the pilot could spend valuable time looking up emergency checklists instead of doing mathematical computations. When the system is complete sometime next month, it will automatically take you to the center of the designated airport where it will tell you to complete the landing. They recommended practicing with it before there might be a time when you needed it. Leave it to Garmin to keep coming up with novel new things their products can do.

There are generally 3 routes East when coming from California; the Northern Route through Wyoming, the Central Route through Colorado, and the Southern Route through Arizona and New Mexico. The Northern and Southern Routes avoid the Rockys. if I take the Central Route I'll make one stop at Milford then on to Pueblo. If I make a stop flying alone I'll find the highest airport to refuel and go longer than 2½ hours. With Shirley it's a different issue. Early in my purchase of the TLS we discovered that she was susceptible to the Bends. Mitigation involves: 1. Prebreath O2 (we don't do that) 2. Take an aspirin 1 hour before flight 3. Slow ascent 4. Time aloft 5. Keep Hydrated. With those mitigations she hasn't experienced any symptoms for the past 20 years. The aspirin and time aloft are the major influencers, so I keep the legs shorter than 3 hours and usually file 15,000 to 17,000 depending on direction of flight. 3 hours gets you a respectable nominal 500 nm. A bonus is that there is never any bathroom issues.

I bought a weekly parking pass. I don't need it. If anyone would like it for free let me know here or on my cell phone at 408-499-9910.

I attended a couple of their Seminars today. As usual they have a lot of discounts going plus an additional discount for attending one of their Seminars. It looks like some of the technology of their autoland system is making its way over to our type of airplanes. They now have a Smart Glide update to the a number of their products where if you have an engine failure the Garmin Autopilot will activate, pitch to best glide airspeed and calculate the best airport to go to and proceed there taking into account winds and a number of other things. You still have to make the landing. And it is a free update to the GTN Xi series GPS, the GI275, the G500 TXi / G3X Touch, the G5, and GFC 500. I saw Trek Lawler and discussed a minor issue I'm having with the latest update to the G500 TXi. He said he'd look into it. They have upgraded their location tone fully air-conditioned. It is huge. I stopped by Bose and had them change out the ear cups on both my headsets. I watched it being done. This person really knew what he was doing. It took him about 2 minutes per headset. It would have taken me about one hour per headset. Shirley loves Blimps and we watched it come in and circle AirVenture several times before setting down.

AirVenture seems almost normal. It was a lot easier to get in today. I'm not sure if it was because of the traffic changes made or a little lighter attendance so far. There were a lot of people on the grounds; very few wearing masks, but I haven't gone into the Hangars, yet. Too many Seminars and other things to see.

As Steve Jobs once said, "It's not just the destination, but the journey that is important." I love the challenges and decision making of a true cross the country cross country, and this year so far has presented a number of them. What makes it comfortable, though, is the technology that we didn't have even 15 years ago. From not knowing what you didn't know to knowing is a giant leap. Except for this day, the maxim of flying in the early morning and being done by noon has proven to be correct. Our first leg from San Jose, California to Ogden, Utah started out that way. We were over the Sierras just after 8:00 am. The trip across Nevada and into Utah was smooth but the smoke from all the fires made the visibility poor. Midway there the beginnings of afternoon convection began to show its ugly head. We made it through none too soon. I would predict that had the flight been done one hour later there would have been uncomfortable issues to decide. Later in the day Salt Lake was deluged with rain and thunderstorms and looking North showed many supercells. It all dissapated by the next morning when we started the next leg of our journey. I had planned for Ogden to Lusk, Wyoming at 15,000 feet. I hadn't been there before, but the runway was long enough and the fuel prices were the cheapest around. As usual, after getting over the Wasatch Mountains, we were getting constant light chop. My solution, go higher. I asked for and got a block altitude of 15-17,000. In “flyover” country that is usually not a problem, and ATC gave it to me. By 16,500 the turbulence subsided. Watching the animated Nexrad, it was apparent that Lusk was not to be in the cards. A quick check of airports to the South of the burgeoning storms showed Laramie, Wyoming to be the best bet. I called ATC and asked for a destination change, then headed direct there. We hadn’t ever been there, so it was a new experience. Laramie is at about 7,300 feet and the DA was reported at 9,000. Once again, turbocharging to the rescue. Fuel prices were actually not bad there, and the FBO was great. After fueling up we were off again to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. If you check out Flightaware (N9148W) you’ll see we stayed to the South of the storms we avoided by not going to Lusk. Again having current weather on board made for a comfortable flight. This time I got a block altitude for a different reason. Instead of going higher, I wanted the option of going lower to stay out of the clouds if necessary. With convection around you never want to go IMC due to possible imbedded storms. I kept the block 13-15,000 all the way to the descent into Sioux Falls. We use Maveric FBO. They have always given great service. I had the plane put in a hangar, rented a car and then the fun began. It’s just not possible to make a reservation ahead of time when you don’t know if you will get there because of weather. I thought we might have to sleep in the car. All places I checked were full. I was told this summer has been that way with everyone want to go traveling, after have been confined to home for the past year. Finally, the Sheraton came through with a room. Whew! The best part of the day for Shirley occurred while I was getting the car. Two big black YukonXL SUVs pulled up to Maveric. They looked like the FBI caravans seen in the movies. Shirley thought she recognized one of the people getting into one of them. I said I didn’t think that was possible. Maveric is the smaller of the two FBOs in Sioux Falls. However, when I checked with the front desk later, I was told that sure enough it was the Governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem. The next morning we were delayed because there was a cold front blocking the way to our final destination of Madison, Wisconsin. We waited a few hours to let it pass, and the hour and a half flight there was uneventful. Once again the Mooney “magic carpet”, brought us to AirVenture. We’re looking forward to an interesting week.

It can't be disabled on the G500/G600.

You had better hope Garmin isn't monitoring this site. For a certified system you cannot make changes to the STC. Before I knew that, Garmin was monitoring this site and I got blasted by them for changing something in the setup to minimize a porpoise I had. Until you change it back, while I'm not an insurance person, there's is a good chance you don't have insurance on your plane because you are operating it outside of an airworthiness STC (Assuming you did it to you Bravo).

John, I guess you have me confused. I teach when on approach, Pitch for airspeed, Power for rate of descent. Speed brakes in strong winds are a recipe for problems. As a test for a more stable approach, I once ran an approach in strong winds where there was a large ditch at the approach end of the runway. Had I not retracted the speed brakes, even with the Bravo, there might not have been enough power to climb. The excess power used with speed brakes extended is power not available to climb if necessary. In a strong crosswind use less or no flaps, increase your speed for better rudder control and higher stall speed (you're done flying when on the ground at a higher speed) and fly the airplane onto the runway. Once on the runway and slowing keep adding aileron into the wind to hold the runway. When slowing and having added full aileron into the wind, if you can't hold the runway centerline, you're then in a position to immediately add power and go around. Running a "Dive and Drive" instrument approach is different. In this case you're using the speed brakes to increase the descent rate without increasing speed, then retracing them during the level portion, and then extending them immediately after touchdown for increased drag.

While not totally analytical, a good gauge of engine/prop performance is to check maximum ROC on your plane. Then compare it with book value. This should be done regularly, especially if you are planning any flights into high DA airports. It's best to do it at GW or adjust for your current weight.

When I check in in IMC conditions, I always say on the initial call up that I can give them 170 knots on final. Usually that suffices, and I am put in the que. A couple of times I've been vectored, most likely due to wake turbulence issues with larger airplanes. It is a great airport. Oftentimes, I'll do extensive transition training landings there and they are unbelievably cooperative with me, moving airliners to the other runway to accommodate our landings. If they are not able to do that, we'll play "switch runways back and forth". Only a couple of times have they been unable to accommodate me. I was surprised when calling in after my extensive time being away from the airport while my panel was being upgraded, I was met with a "Where have you been?" response.

Thank goodness "dive and drive" approaches are nearly a thing of the past if you have a modern WAAS GPS. However, if you do have to make such an approach with multiple step downs, the best way to keep it stabilized without constant big power or other configuration changes in my opinion is to use the speed brakes for the descent portion. You can easily get the 1000 ft/min I like for NP step down approaches, and then level off with minimum effort. Of course, this can't be done in freezing conditions. That configuration is part of my "flying by the numbers" for NP approaches without GP (assuming you have speed brakes). There's no one "right way" of teaching approaches. The method taught comes from the particular experience of the instructor.

At which time you will get the call, "Approach cancelled, Turn left 270° RV off the final approach course. Expect 15 minute delay vectors for faster traffic." Seriously.

As a flight instructor, the hard part of all of this is remembering which units disengage the AP and which do not. As for my airplane, I personally like that the GFC 500 does not disengage on the missed.

I thought I was going to miss it, having used it with the KFC 150. After over 2 years with the GFC 500, I find I haven't missed it at all. Considering there is CWS in the experimental version of the GFC 500, it is apparent it wasn't an accident that they left it off with no current option to have it. If someone knows the reason, I'd be interested in knowing what it was, since it is included in the GFC 600.

That would be nice, but the disconnect button is just that, a disconnect button. Treating it as a CWS button you would first need to push the AP button on the 507, which would turn the AP on in the default ROL and PIT mode and then push NAV or HDG for lateral navigation and VS or IAS for pitch--not exactly like the simple release of a CWS button as in the KFC 150.

What GPS do you have? The determination is from GPS altitude.