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Spring trip to the Southwestern US


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Update 5:  AOG in Wichita.  

 

After I installed our new Mountain High Oxygen tank with goodies, and did the walk around, the auxiliary fuel pump failed during the startup checklist.  Called Clarence and he told me that if I lose the engine fuel pump and this electric one is not working, I will be flying a glider. OK so no departure today.

 

Called Lacee with apologies and then Dave Marten showed up at the FBO (Yingling).  Dave knows a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a guy... well you know.  

 

Yingling did not have space for me till Thursday.  Not acceptable.  Dave took me over to Bevan-Rabell, just down the ramp from Yingling and they opened C-FSWR on the spot.  The fuel pump needed replacing - this one was installed in 1989.  We ordered a new Weldon pump for substantially less than the Dukes.  Works for me - Weldon is a better fuel pump according to many.  It will arrive at 10:15 tomorrow and we will be wheels up near 12:30 or 1:00 pm.  If I was ever to be AOG, then this is one of my three first choices for such a circumstance: Clarence's hanger ramp, Mooney factory ramp, or here in Wichita (where there is more aircraft maintenance per square inch than anywhere else I know).

 

We hope to make Albuquerque tomorrow evening with a stop in Tucumcari for gas and a bite (1950's era restaurant).  Only about an hour to Albuquerque after that.  

 

We have delayed the Vegas reservations by one day and we will depart for Henderson (closer to downtown than Boulder City) the next morning.  The plan is to land on the USS Sedona for lunch and then proceed north to make two of the corridors over the Grand Canyon under SFRA rules.  After we are back over the West wall of the canyon we will be direct to the BLD VOR for the approach into Henderson.

 

No fretting over any part of this.  It happens.  It is part of the adventure.  It has allowed us to plan three different stops on the way to Vegas. Tucumcari, Albuquerque, and Sedona.  Tomorrow there will be more pics.

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Update 6:

 

New fuel pump was installed and signed off by noon.  Then we launched into the blue and set out for Albuquerque.

 

Did you know that getting bounced around at 10,000' is not any more comfortable than getting bounced around at 2,000'? Sheesh!!  :wacko:

 

Dave Marten suggested a stop for lunch in Tucumcari.  I can tell you that the bouncing we were taking on descent nearly made me call it quits and head straight for Albuquerque, an hour further away.  If we were going to get bounced around like this, we might as well save the pain and finish it now.  In the end, it would not have made one iota of difference. Bouncing was today's watchword. Expected much worse on a pretty good landing with wind 20 degrees off centre at 20 mph gusting to 33.

 

Tucumcari airport is an untapped resource. Two courtesy cars (ex police interceptor/enforcer cars) and zero climb restrictions in any direction.  When I talked to the airport manager about the winds, he told me that they don't consider it windy until the winds hit 40 mph in that area.  I can see why they have so many windfarms in that part of New Mexico.

 

After launching for Albuquerque (and you can see that I never got ATC to actually accept the flight plan until we were 50 miles into it) most of the comm traffic was about the "quality of the ride."  I guess everyone was in the shaker.

 

And then the final updraft crossing the last ridge into Albuquerque.  I was expecting it, but still...  If I had had a g-meter on board, that one would have registered at least a 3.  Down and safe into Albuquerque and then dinner before planning for the Grand Canyon day (with a stopover aboard USS Sedona).

 

Some pics.

 

 

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Update 7:

 

Albuquerque to Las Vegas.  Today we expected the bumps and we got them.  

 

Lesson:  Try to avoid flying through a SIGMET for Moderate Turbulence calling for 30 knot headwinds.  

 

We expected it to take 1:45 to Sedona from Albuquerque.  It took 2:28.  One thing for sure, I may not like the bumps, but they no longer scare me. Lunch in Sedona was marvellous.  But while we were there we talked to some locals.  None of them would fly the Grand Canyon corridors today.  Too windy.  So, we took the hint and filed for straight to Las Vegas.

 

Out of Sedona, we waited until we were at the quiet and very smooth altitude of 12,000' before getting the clearance. Between Albuquerque Centre and LA Centre, they made a few route changes, but no problem.  The only difficulty I had was when they pried me out of a smooth 12,000' down to a bumpy 10,000' some 50 miles short of Henderson.  Go figure...

 

Now we are in Vegas and we have a tour of Hoover Dam planned for tomorrow, and a helicopter ride to the Canyon planned for Saturday.  C-FSWR stays on the ground for 2 days and we will only launch on Monday, 5 April for El Paso. Yes, Lacee we are coming.  

 

Some pics.

 

 

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Clarence: works fine. Not really a lot I can tell you to make a comparison..... It has a different operating sound. Sounds more rugged? Thanks for getting back to me so quickly, by the way, to talk me through my options when the Dukes quit on me. It allowed us to triage our way through the options so that a shop could easily diagnose the problem and get us on our way. They also gave me the paperwork for entry into the logs. I will bring them with me for the annual.

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Enjoy Vegas, but please keep the photos to yourself. Some things should just stay in Vegas!

For the jaunt to El Paso consider a fuel and food stop at Ryan Field (KRYN). You'll overfly the PHX mess and it's just over two hours down the road from Vegas. Good SS fuel price and a Great restaurant (Todd's) http://www.toddsrestaurant.com/index.htmlTry the prickly pear ice tea.

Departing RYN you'll pass just south of Davis-Monthan AFB and should have a great view of the aircraft boneyard. All the MEAs are 11K or less if you're going IFR. Leave early in the AM to minimize bumps.

OR since you're only about 3+30 from HND to 5T6 so you can always skip the RYN stop and have time to see the War Eagles Air Museum http://www.war-eagles-air-museum.com

KHND BLD DRK MAIER PXR TOTEC SSO CUS 5T6

Have fun!

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Thanks Dave and Bonal:

 

Will keep these in mind when I do the flight planning tomorrow evening.  Current forecast is for rain on Monday.  As for pictures, there are some, but they are all G-rated.  Wait for it.

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Update 8:

 

Hoover Dam.  Don't know if it really rates being a Wonder of the World, but it is darn close.    Being an engineer myself, I am kinda biased.  Over 700 feet tall and over five years to build.  A marvel in my books.

 

No story to tell today.  Just wonder to show.

 

Pics.

 

 

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Enjoy Vegas, but please keep the photos to yourself. Some things should just stay in Vegas!

For the jaunt to El Paso consider a fuel and food stop at Ryan Field (KRYN). You'll overfly the PHX mess and it's just over two hours down the road from Vegas. Good SS fuel price and a Great restaurant (Todd's) http://www.toddsrestaurant.com/index.htmlTry the prickly pear ice tea.

Departing RYN you'll pass just south of Davis-Monthan AFB and should have a great view of the aircraft boneyard. All the MEAs are 11K or less if you're going IFR. Leave early in the AM to minimize bumps.

OR since you're only about 3+30 from HND to 5T6 so you can always skip the RYN stop and have time to see the War Eagles Air Museum http://www.war-eagles-air-museum.com

KHND BLD DRK MAIER PXR TOTEC SSO CUS 5T6

Have fun!

 

Dave:

 

Just so you know that is exactly the route I had already considered.  However, for some reason ATC does not wish us to travel V105 between BLD and DRK.  They made me divert to Kingman (IGM) when inbound past the the Prescott VOR (DRK) during our arrival from the USS Sedona.  Something special going on that creates a restriction (almost TFR-like).  I will see what happens when we depart.

 

We will plan for Ryan field.  Just for the heck of it.

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Staying over at MHV just a short hop from you right now. Weather here is more than perfect.

 

Bonal:

 

Mohave would be a good little jaunt for us, but it would have to be tomorrow, because Monday we start the trip back to Ottawa.  However, we had already booked our Grand Canyon tour for tomorrow so it will be difficult for us to fly over.  

 

It is one of those things where life is getting in the way of flying....

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Ned: "However, for some reason ATC does not wish us to travel V105 between BLD and DRK. They made me divert to Kingman (IGM) when inbound past the the Prescott VOR (DRK) during our arrival from the USS Sedona. Something special going on that creates a restriction (almost TFR-like). I will see what happens when we depart."

Dave: No TFR but you were in the way of LAS arrival traffic. On V105 they were probably moving you off the arrival routing for the TYSSN THREE and KADDY 1. The iron converges at KADDY at 12000. Now you know why you were pushed down to 10k. And a little SW of your planned route.

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Update 9:

 

Grand Canyon.  I was disappointed that we could not overfly the Canyon on the designated corridors, but today I got over myself.  Going in by helicopter was the better approach.  No personal restrictions.  No worries about flying or communications.  Just enjoy the views from a cabin that can go places mine cannot.  

 

It is said that Hoover Dam is the most visited tourist trap in the US, but I think that is because it is far more accessible than the Grand Canyon.  While Hoover Dam is a testament to what we can accomplish, the Grand Canyon is a site that tells me how small we actually are in the larger scheme. The Canyon forces me to take a few moments and ponder the force and power that created those painted walls. For Ute, it was a bucket list event and the smile on her face in the pictures is evidence of that.  My mission there was accomplished.  I am good.

 

Tomorrow, we will depart relatively early for Ryan Field in Tucson, AZ.  It will be dead calm compared to the two days it took to get here from Wichita. See the windsock pic from our stopover in the Canyon. 11,000' with oxygen and a two knot tailwind.  Planned flight time is 2:27.  We will get there at 11:30 or so (in the same time zone). After lunch and some Todd's Prickly Pear Iced Tea, we are headed to Dona Ana County airport (with the hour added to change time zones) to meet Lacee (our own RocketAviator on Mooneyspace).

 

I need to call Mooney tomorrow from Tuscon to arrange a visit to the factory the next day.

 

My bucket list event was to take my transcontinentally-capable machine and cross the continent with it.  Did that.  Now we just enjoy the ride with the places we have left to visit before we go home.

 

More pics.

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Bonal:

 

Mohave would be a good little jaunt for us, but it would have to be tomorrow, because Monday we start the trip back to Ottawa.  However, we had already booked our Grand Canyon tour for tomorrow so it will be difficult for us to fly over.  

 

It is one of those things where life is getting in the way of flying....

No worries just nice to know a couple of Mooney travelers were in the same zone just a big giant desert apart. Hope you enjoy the canyon and have continued safe travels.

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Update 10.

Not much to report today. Two interesting flights with lots of turbulence. Henderson field in Los Vegas to Ryan field near Tucson Arizona. Then Ryan field to Santa Teresa airport near El Paso, Texas. See the fight path pics.

Then, Lacee (RocketAviator) took us in when we landed in Santa Teresa. Lacee has now taken in one Canadian Family flying their mooney through during each of the past two years. Such generosity and consideration should not go unnoticed. He has made it known that he would like another star or two. So I gave him one.

Tomorrow, we leave for Kerrville, Texas. We will have pics from the Mooney factory.

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Update 11:

 

We left Lacee and Billie this morning, climbed to 9000 feet and headed east to Kerrville.  Yesterday was a real success even after we found Todd's restaurant (Ryan Field) was closed.  Lacee and Billie were great company and fantastic hosts.

 

A little shy of three hours later, it was time for the LOC 30 approach into Kerrville with 1200' ceilings.  I chose this one because the MDA is 100' lower than the other circling approaches which were only 300' below the forecast ceilings.  Bringing C-FSWR home after 50 years felt good.  The folks at Mooney were very nice.  Rick Bossner has only been there one month, but he seems keen.  He was very willing to show us the line.  In all there were 15 aircraft in various stages of completion.

 

The tour was sufficiently short that we were able to file and depart for the 30 minute flight to Stinson Field around 4:30 pm. This allowed me to take Ute to dinner on the Riverwalk.  She was happy with that.  Tomorrow we visit the San Antonio de Valero Mission - otherwise known as The Alamo.  We will have more pics then.

 

Today's pics.

 

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Clarence:

 

Thank you for the kind words.  I have not really considered getting a new one, although this trip has convinced me of the utility of a turbo normalizer.  If you, and any others, feel I should now have one, I will be willing to commence accepting donations to purchase one.  It should take about 15 years or so of fundraising to get the amount needed.  

 

What do you think?

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Clarence:

 

Thank you for the kind words.  I have not really considered getting a new one, although this trip has convinced me of the utility of a turbo normalizer.  If you, and any others, feel I should now have one, I will be willing to commence accepting donations to purchase one.  It should take about 15 years or so of fundraising to get the amount needed.  

 

What do you think?

What happened in Las Vegas? I know "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" the Mooney factory certainly would have taken all those chips as down payment. :)

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