donkaye Posted April 21, 2021 Report Share Posted April 21, 2021 Yesterday started at 5:00 AM. I knew it was going to be a long day. Little did I know how much was going to fit into it and the challenges and rewarding experiences it would bring. The day's task was to pick up a new student in Hayward, fly to Stockton where the airplane had just gone through a pre buy and Annual, fly to Bend, Oregon for the purchase, visit Sunriver to look at property, fly back to Stockton where my plane was located, and drop my new student back in Hayward and fly home. Transition training would be in Stockton on another day. A couple of days earlier the weather enroute looked like it would be a non issue. But Nature had other plans. A cold front which became stationary developed on the border of California and Oregon and ran northwest to southeast. It would have to be crossed. The was no serious convection, so it seemed doable in the TKS Bravo. Early morning weather in Hayward with typical overcast meant that both an instrument approach into and departure from Hayward might be required. I arrived at the airport, preflighted my plane, and was met with the first surprise of the day when I opened my car truck to get out my flight gear and was met with a very scared bird who couldn't seem to get up the energy to get out. I have no idea how long it had been in there, but it could have been several days. I wasn't going anywhere until I got it out. After about 15 minutes I finally managed to coax it out. Cleaning up its mess would be left for another day. I had prefiled 3 IFR flight plans: one to Hayward, one to Stockton, and the last to Bend. Thankfully, the ceiling at Hayward was high enough that I was able to get there VFR, then fly South to be able to exit the overcast and get to Stockton in clear conditions. After a thorough preflight, I picked up my IFR Clearance to Bend and we were off. Flying early in the morning usually provides a smooth flight, and that was the case yesterday morning. The fun began as we reached the California Oregon border. I had been monitoring the weather on both the GDL69 that the plane had and my 760. The 760 earned its way this day. I had flown the plane from San Diego to Stockton a few weeks before, and met a similar situation which required the use of the TKS. So we only had about 3 gallons on board. If needed, it needed to be used wisely. While not seriously convective, the clouds ahead were somewhat billowy, so I really didn't want to go into them. Starting at 14,000 feet to minimize headwind, I first climbed to 16,000 then got a block 16-19,000. While this didn't get me on top, it did allow me to see the best way around some of them. So for about ½ hour I made my way around them. There came a time when that was not possible, but the clouds ahead became more stratus looking, so having previous primed the TKS, we entered the clouds. The temperature was -17°C. No ice developed for quite some time, then very light rime that was barely visible. After about 45 minutes we were through the front. Even a weak one looks intimidating. Coming into Bend we were met with very windy and gusty conditions typical of cold frontal passage. Within an hour the purchase had closed, and in turbulent conditions we were off to Sunriver. Sunriver, Oregon sits in a bowl at about 4,100 feet, so on a day like this you can imagine the conditions. It was very turbulent and gusty, but we made the landing without having to go around. The FBO there was very nice, and after lending us their crew truck we were off to see some properties. Thank goodness for the iPad. Oh no, wait. When I called Seattle Center, they didn't have it. They were kind enough to give me a clearance anyway. We had to go through the front again. It had become stationary, and its orientation was such that we needed to go through it a couple of times. But worse than that was that being the afternoon, thunderstorms had developed on the border. I had both ADS-B and XM weather on the 760 and the plane had a Stormscope and ADS-B weather. In this situation the Stormscope is better in my opinion. It showed a few strikes while the ADS-B and XM showed many. For sure this time no going into the weather. I was prepared to go out to the coast and then down to California if need be. It turned out that once again by climbing I was able to circumvent the serious stuff. Once into California it looked like the rest of the flight would be a piece of cake. Wrong. Arriving in Stockton we were met with winds 24G31 at a 30° crosswind with the turbulence to go along with it. So now it was back to Hayward. While I should have briefed the flight, I had made that trip so many times that "what could go wrong?" Well, it had become overcast, and there was no way to get there through the Livermore Valley VFR. I was on flight following and asked the Controller for the possibility of a Clearance into Hayward. He said if I waited a few more miles he could give me a Clearance without having to fly the airways. I was fortunate in that popup clearances into the Bay Area usually involve substantial delays. The overcast was thick and the turbulence matched it. I slowed down and briefed the approach. First, I was cleared to a waypoint on the approach, then cleared for the approach, then told to cancel the approach clearance and given vectors to intercept the final approach course, and then finally given the approach clearance the second time. Thank goodness I was in my airplane, and know the avionics backwards and forwards. I broke out at 1,500 feet looking at a crab angle of at least 25° to the runway. Thank you. Garmin for the flight path marker. We got kicked around in the turbulence, but the landing was OK. I dropped my student off and decided to fly back to San Jose VFR. The ceiling at San Jose was 2,000 feet. The wind was straight down the runway. Finally, no stress. I landed at 7:30pm. I had started the flying at 6:30am. It's been awhile since I had a flying day filled with so many challenges. It was good to be home. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thinwing Posted April 21, 2021 Report Share Posted April 21, 2021 that is a long day Don...and as I have found crossing over into ore from northern ca,with any kind of weather ,alitude is your best friend and you were flying a FIKI Bravo .The only thing I would have done differently ,knowing I would be crossing the siskous again with less than 1/2 TKS would have been to refuel in BEND where they have TKS fluid and crew car to Sunriver.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donkaye Posted April 21, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2021 3 hours ago, thinwing said: that is a long day Don...and as I have found crossing over into ore from northern ca,with any kind of weather ,alitude is your best friend and you were flying a FIKI Bravo .The only thing I would have done differently ,knowing I would be crossing the siskous again with less than 1/2 TKS would have been to refuel in BEND where they have TKS fluid and crew car to Sunriver.... We topped off the TKS in Bend. The flight to Sunriver was necessary for tax purposes. You're right, though, Sunriver is only 17 nm from Bend. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry 5TJ Posted April 21, 2021 Report Share Posted April 21, 2021 Ah, a “California Board of Equalization flight.” Done those myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thinwing Posted April 21, 2021 Report Share Posted April 21, 2021 22 minutes ago, Jerry 5TJ said: Ah, a “California Board of Equalization flight.” Done those myself. yes for interstate commerce exemption in favor of a business...even with all the requirements ,logging,proofs of business relationship...it is far from a Slam dunk... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carusoam Posted April 22, 2021 Report Share Posted April 22, 2021 Wow! Great details Don! Fantastic information for anyone considering IFR training... combined with business... Or for purchasing a great Mooney for IR flying... Thanks for sharing the great day! One question... what did the new student think about your updated instrument panel? Kind of like seeing a new Bravo fresh from the factory... Best regards, -a- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry 5TJ Posted April 22, 2021 Report Share Posted April 22, 2021 12 hours ago, thinwing said: yes for interstate commerce exemption in favor of a business...even with all the requirements ,logging,proofs of business relationship...it is far from a Slam dunk... We went through the CA process including the 6 month test and presented extensive documentation. A 3” stack of paper as I recall. After a couple of letters requesting clarification of minor items, at long last, 2 years after the purchase, the state did send us the letter of exemption. A happy day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeeBee Posted April 22, 2021 Report Share Posted April 22, 2021 The CA Board of Equalization makes the IRS look like amateurs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry 5TJ Posted April 22, 2021 Report Share Posted April 22, 2021 1 hour ago, GeeBee said: The CA Board of Equalization makes the IRS look like amateurs. The California board is better than some other states in that they eventually issue a letter of determination. Some states just drop the claim if you prevail leaving you in a perpetual tax limbo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thinwing Posted April 22, 2021 Report Share Posted April 22, 2021 interesting...my letter took 2 years to arrive also...they disputed one of the flights (tucson ) i believe...cant remember the reason ,but what saved the day was i had the fbo change the oil and that logbook entry was proof Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kortopates Posted April 23, 2021 Report Share Posted April 23, 2021 I was pretty lucky and got my CA exemption letter within a couple months of filing my paper work. But I had hired a professional since this was my first time going through the process and heard enough horror stories.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeOH Posted April 24, 2021 Report Share Posted April 24, 2021 On 4/22/2021 at 4:03 AM, GeeBee said: The CA Board of Equalization makes the IRS look like amateurs. I really want to laugh, .... but, as a Kalifornia resident I know only too well how true your statement is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thinwing Posted April 26, 2021 Report Share Posted April 26, 2021 even the name"board of equalization"has friends in other states saying "you live in commie ville"what is it steal from the rich and give to the poor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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