chrisk Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 Yesterday I flew from KBAZ to KMTJ, with a bio break at KBGD. The first half of the flight was really easy. Getting into southern Colorado the clouds picked up and I had to divert for some rain. I was at 16,000 and right in the clouds, which made it hard to avoid build ups. I went up to FL180 and I was just above most tops. To minimize time over the mountains I flew direct from Pueblo to Montrose. I had one minor diversion for a build up, and one cloud over Gunnison was wet enough and cold enough to put a little light rime ice on the plane (yes this can happen even in August). Finally I make it over the last set of mountains and ATC has me at 13,000, and 10 miles out. The runway is 5700 feet. Talk about a slam dunk. I got to gear speed and dropped the gear. Deployed the speed breaks, and left enough power in to keep the engine warm. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmyfm20s Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 I will be heading to KMTJ tomorrow but from the west. The weather is looking good! I usually see a couple Mooney's tied down there. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 Not really a flight today, but a train ride. We just returned from visiting the Canadian Vimy Ridge Memorial in Vimy France. Ned, you were right it is truly awe inspiring. Seeing the names of almost 11,500 men who paid the ultimate sacrifice and who remain unknown was truly humbling. Clarence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1964-M20E Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 Not really a flight today, but a train ride. We just returned from visiting the Canadian Vimy Ridge Memorial in Vimy France. Ned, you were right it is truly awe inspiring. Seeing the names of almost 11,500 men who paid the ultimate sacrifice and who remain unknown was truly humbling. Clarence Several years ago I was in Busan S. Kora and went to the UN memorial cemetery yes it is humbling and sobering. Truly a sad testament to humanity that we have not risen above these types of conflicts and wars after many thousands of years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisk Posted August 14, 2015 Report Share Posted August 14, 2015 I will be heading to KMTJ tomorrow but from the west. The weather is looking good! I usually see a couple Mooney's tied down there. Today the weather was good in the morning. Around 4pm Telluride was getting dumped on with a thunder storm. I love Black Canyon Jet Center. They are really nice, and they are right across the street from Hampton Inn. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisk Posted August 17, 2015 Report Share Posted August 17, 2015 I left Montrose CO around 8:15 this morning local time. Landed at the home drome 4.5 hours later. I love my Mooney! It started off with an eastward trek at 17,000 to just past Poncha Pass and I then took a right for a direct route. I soon got bumped up to FL190. And after looking at the ADS-B weather, I opted for a slight eastern diversion. --A great day that could have been flown VFR the whole way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonal Posted August 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2015 I left Montrose CO around 8:15 this morning local time. Landed at the home drome 4.5 hours later. I love my Mooney! It started off with an eastward trek at 17,000 to just past Poncha Pass and I then took a right for a direct route. I soon got bumped up to FL190. And after looking at the ADS-B weather, I opted for a slight eastern diversion. --A great day that could have been flown VFR the whole way. kmtj_trip.JPG Wondering how long that trip would take by auto sounds like a nice flight. For us today we did a milk run to LVK and smoke had visibility down to 5 miles real crappy air but once at 5500 we wer just above the layer. Leaving LVK the ramp was 104 degrees so kept the speed above 125 for the climb to 6500 I don't like flying when it's really hot and smokey like today but still beats the crap out of driving. As a side note both landings were smooth as you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmyfm20s Posted August 17, 2015 Report Share Posted August 17, 2015 Today chrisk beat me out of Montrose! I departed around 10:15am. It was severe clear all the way home and took 3.5hrs. Nice and smooth with a few exception of predictable areas of turbulence. I have done the drive and it takes 14 hours. I go direct VFR at 10,500' on the way home which takes me by Lake Powell and over the Grand Canyon. Black Canyon Jet Center is always great with reasonable fuel prices. They even gave me a hat and a sun glass cloth, great people! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmyfm20s Posted August 17, 2015 Report Share Posted August 17, 2015 The flight path has some spectacular landscape. I always see something new! These are a couple of photos going there and back. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carusoam Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 Texas original paint scheme with matching tail number! Very nice! Best regards, -a- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmyfm20s Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscar Avalle Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 Last Thursday a good friend of mine volunteered to help me with my BFR. It is not easy to find a certified CFI where I am now so when he told me that he would do it, I jumped on the opportunity. I had finalized my written part of the WINGS program so I had enough credits. so I just needed somebody to validate my flying part. We flew and I was lucky to have a photographer take some pictures of me landing and taking off. We did all the flying part, but then my friend realized that he was a CFI and not a CFII and that he was a CFI for a multi engine plane! So no luck, no BFR no WINGS program and again looking for somebody to help me with my BFR... or Flight Review as it is called now. But here are some pictures of the mooney... http://mooneyspace.com/gallery/image/36992-at-the-terminal-at-mgsj/ http://mooneyspace.com/gallery/image/36991-taking-off-from-san-jose-guatemala/ http://mooneyspace.com/gallery/image/36990-about-to-land/ http://mooneyspace.com/gallery/image/36989-final-approach/ http://mooneyspace.com/gallery/image/36988-taking-off/ http://mooneyspace.com/gallery/image/36972-guatemala/ http://mooneyspace.com/gallery/image/36971-volcanos-guatemala/ http://mooneyspace.com/gallery/image/36970-volcanos-guatemala/ http://mooneyspace.com/gallery/image/36969-guatemala/ http://mooneyspace.com/gallery/image/36961-pacific-coast-iztapa-guatemala/ http://mooneyspace.com/gallery/image/36963-pacific-coast-guatemala/ http://mooneyspace.com/gallery/image/36964-thumb-img-2268-1024/ http://mooneyspace.com/gallery/image/36965-thumb-img-2269-1024/ 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonal Posted August 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 Very nice David and Oscar, great pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBill Posted August 22, 2015 Report Share Posted August 22, 2015 Went to Harnett County (KHRJ) (Eastern NC) for their free lunch, cheap gas ($3.99/gal) and case oil deals $72.00 for W100. Today was burgers, chips and drink. nice place. Will be back. Bill 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonal Posted August 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2015 (edited) Went for a grocery run to day who would have thought that my primary Mooney mission would be for shopping on the way home we flew over the fire area that burned close to home just under 100,000 acres. Quite the moonscape. Edited September 6, 2015 by bonal Some one changed them 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonal Posted September 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2015 (edited) Watsonville was having a fly in today so we decided to check it out. Had a nice flight when we were getting close Nor cal was having a hard time hearing our transmissions we could hear them and all the previous controllers could hear us fine. Any way they were nice enough to call the temporary tower and advise them of our arrival when we were just outside of the delta there was so much traffic we had to orbit for over 15 minutes before we could get in. Once we got in had a long hold for a B25 that was on the taxi way in front of us. There was quite a big turn out. Met a nice young man that was getting ready to depart in an F or G his name was Ryan and he said he just got his plane 3 weeks ago. I asked if he was on Mooney space he said he was not but was going to join our band of misfits I let him know it's a great source for good fun and fantastic information. Edited September 6, 2015 by bonal 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonal Posted September 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2015 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonal Posted September 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2015 And there was this guy getting ready to leave any one we know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyNameIsNobody Posted September 6, 2015 Report Share Posted September 6, 2015 Flew up to PVB with my wife and dog yesterday. My son is in his final year of Engineering and we went up to have pizza (at our favorite spot) and then watch Bucky get his arse handed to him by a solid Crimson Tide squad. Oh well. My 85 year old mom came out for game. She is in process of packing for a move south from her long time Platteville home. Coming full circle with Wisconsin's new coach returning to Wisconsin by way of a state championship (as a then QB) for Hillmen. Good for Paul in achieving his dream of coaching the Badgers. His dad was AD of local college (George) and instrumental in bringing the Bears to P-ville in '85 fwhen a then punky QB (Jim McMahan) took them to a super bowl win. I remember running into Jim (who played barefoot) while with my dad. My son and I enjoyed a nice round before pizza on my old home course. Groundspeed on way up was 160 knots. Decent from 5500 into Platteville was uneventful at 170ish knots. Talking to a young Cherokee driver on a straight in for 15. I did left turn to downwind flying pattern midfield. Fun to watch him land from that perspective. Nice squeeker and a smile from my wife for the effort. New replacement ear seals for my Bose and new i-pad air worked great on the yoke mount giving winds/runway and nice runway extension with barber poles (in Garmin Pilot). Mom let me take a nice cast tiffany style lamp...that I used to enjoy in my Grandmother's house...just down the street from my home. Very fragile so Kelly thought flying it home was "ill-advised". Bag in baggage, golf clubs in back seat behind me. Dog in rest of backseat. Lamp stand in baggage. Blanket in baggage. Lampshade in. Ezzy-peaszy. Enjoyed a 113 ground speed return at 4500. 13 with a nice squeeker. 10 gusting to 20, but was close enough down runway to be another easy landing. I love GA. I love my Mooney. Life is Good. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Posted September 7, 2015 Report Share Posted September 7, 2015 Got mine back in the air again! Put her together,mine quick lap around the pattern went great, even dodging diving buzzards on final . . . They did make me land long, though. So I popped over to KALX, a whopping 15 nm. Long field, variable uphill on 36. Had a Cessna on floats behind me, stopping for fuel on the way to Florida. The haze was awful. Thought maybe I could get pictures of the largest video board in college football, but it was not meant to be. We will have good visibility one day this fall. Our first home game is next Saturday, everything will be ready. Maybe Friday? Have to see what the weather does. oh, just saw another thread that this weekend is Triple Tree in SC. May end up there, we'll see. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisk Posted September 8, 2015 Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 Yesterdays flight was from Montrose CO to Georgetown TX. 700 miles in 4.2 hours. There was some beautiful scenery on the trip. Very rugged mountains and some fogged in valleys. And it is odd to be at 17,000 and see a mountain top only a few thousand feet below you. The trip was largely uneventful, except I lost my vacuum pump 10 minutes from landing. It made me glad I had the Aspen as primary! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonal Posted September 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2015 (edited) Today's flight is actually yesterday and today. My wife and I took to the sky to get away for a couple days we left for E45 Pine Mountain up in the gold country and stayed at the old Groveland Hotel. There was another fire burning to the east and being pushed away but just before we left another broke out to the N/W of our destination filling the area with heavy smoke. As usual Nor Cal approach was great and helped us locate the small field which only became visible at 6 miles form 5500 AGL. Today the smoke was very thick and some might say too thick for a VFR departure we engaged the AP and contacted departure for flight following and were cleared to 8500 and for a good bit of the climb we were close to blind and advised ATC of the conditions. When we reached 8500 there was better visibility but we were still in the heavy haze until half way accrss the Sacramento valley. Trimmed out auto pilot working and smooth air I spent most of the time thinking of our Lost fellow Mooney pilot which made for a somber flight. My wife slept almost the whole trip. Looking back to the flight listening to all the comm with ATC my thought was I am very blessed to be part of an incredible group of people that reach for the sky and do something most people can't even emagine doing. Once again my prayers go out to those left behind. Photos from yesterday's arrival today's departure was way worse. I'm sick of these damn fires. Edited September 12, 2015 by bonal 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carusoam Posted September 12, 2015 Report Share Posted September 12, 2015 Photos? What photos? i click on the .jpg file, but only get a black square where photos are supposed to be... best regrds, -a- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PMcClure Posted September 14, 2015 Report Share Posted September 14, 2015 Sunday saw the rare combination of clear skies, smooth air and free time! I have not had much time to fly this year and barely have keep currency. I set off of KPLR with not much plan except to do some flying. The air was as clear as I have ever seen in Alabama, unlimited visibility and bright, golden sunshine. After breaking off a RNAV 3 approach practice at the home drone, due to too much traffic, I punched KGAD in the Garmin and loaded the RNAV 36 approach and hand flew it. Taking off, I headed east to KPYP, a country field near the GA boarder. The sunshine and clear air called me north to Ft. Payne, then over to Scottsboro then finally to Guntersville, where I landed at the new 3300 ft runway. The farms and low hills of Eastern Alabama make for some beautiful sightseeing. After flying home to KPLR, I landed, cleaned the windscreen, fueled up and did several night approaches and landings. I imagined how jealous the folks on the boats below must have been to see me have total freedom. 3 hours total, three approaches, over 10 landings and 4 new airports, never used the A/P. Late Sept and October is hard to beat for flying in Alabama. I may start a plan to check off all the Alabama airports. Pictures attached. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishpilot Posted September 14, 2015 Report Share Posted September 14, 2015 Awesome pics! Sent from my Galaxy S5 via Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.