When I drove onto the airport I noticed that the local fire-fighting tanker base was open for business again this year. It probably has been for a month or so. We saw the Neptune making some runs to the south of us today. The weather has been fairly unsettled this week. Every afternoon huge storms have been building along the mountain ridge between Reno and the Lake Tahoe/Truckee area and also down south near Minden/Gardnerville. I would not be surprised if lightning from those storms set off a fire or two. The small aircraft in front of the tanker base are AT-802 Air Tractors. They are used for the smaller fires, while the Lockheed SP-2H Neptune is used for the larger ones.

Added July 16th:

I went out to the airport today to drop something off at the hangar and found a familiar sight on the ramp. It seems that our tanker base has added a Skycrane to it’s line-up.

I visited with a couple of friends at the airport and then dropped some things off in my hangar. On the way out I found that the row of jets normally parked at the east end of the ramp was now located at the end of my hangar row. Their normal parking area is now used as the ramp area for the Air Tractors.

The first jet in the row, with the 56 on the nose, is officially a Polish SB-LIM2 which is a Mig-15UTI (NATO name "Midget").  It was the Warsaw Pact’s advanced jet trainer.  Except for Poland, the Pact’s  primary jet trainer was either the Czech L-29 (Delfin) or L-39 (Albatross). The last three jets in the line are L-29s. The second jet in the line is a Polish LIM-5 also known as a Mig-17. this one is a single-place model. Other than the obvious distinction that one  of these is a 2-place and one is single-place, how do you tell them apart?  If you look at the large version of the photos and note the flow fences on the top of the wings, you will see that the Mig 15 has two fences while the Mig-17 has three. That seems to be the easiest distinction to me.

There are detailed entries in Wikipedia for both the Mig-15 and the Mig 17 if you are interested in doing a bit more reading on their histories and capabilities.

Reno-Stead airport is never short on interesting aircraft to look at and photograph – even on a ‘normal’ day.

Why, go flying of course…

Before we left Japan I had been corresponding with @Captain_Ron on Twitter and had asked him if he was going to go flying that particular weekend. He said he was going to be working and wouldn’t have the chance. I then mentioned that I was going to have a San Francisco layover on Saturday. Ron has a job with flexible hours, so he rearranged his schedule and offered to pick me up at the SFO airport after I cleared customs. It took a bit of coordination and a couple of actual telephone calls (rather than text messages) but we managed to arrive at the same spot at the SFO airport.

Ron is a member of a flying club that has a Cessna 172 tied down at the Palo Alto Airport (KPAO). After we exchanged a few pleasantries we headed off to KPAO.  Ron and I had only met once before – for lunch at the Sacramento Executive Airport (KSAC). That was the day that a group of us toured the aviation museum at the McClellan Airport.

Having just completed a Pacific crossing I wasn’t in any condition to fly, so I watched Ron preflight the plane and then strapped into the right seat. Ron completed a thorough pre-departure safety briefing and we confirmed that although I have a few more hours and ratings than he does, he would be the pilot-in-command and make all of the decisions concerning the flight.

Ron started the plane, listened to the ATIS broadcast , contacted ground and we were soon on our way to the end of the runway. We took off to the north and made a big sweeping left turn to head south and toward a low pass that led  toward the coast and Santa Cruz, CA. When we got to the coast we turned left and followed it south to just past the Watsonville airport (KWVI). From there we turned inland and maneuvered to enter the traffic pattern for a full-stop landing.

As we made our way to parking at Watsonville we passed a couple of hot air balloons being deflated. It turns out that we had arrived on the day of an airport event for handicapped kids. There was a lot of activity on the ramp with groups of kids being shown aircraft on display in a large roped-off area. The local fire department was also taking part and had  tanker and ladder trucks on display. There were also several vendor tents set up on the grass area next to the aircraft parking ramp.

We made our way to Zuniga’s Mexican Restaurant adjacent to the ramp at the airport and sat at one of their outdoor tables so that we could view all the days activities.  Ron was a very nice host and, though I tried to remain coherent  I probably didn’t do a very good job of holding up my end of the conversation. I hadn’t had much luck sleeping during my break on the flight to SFO. I always seem to choose the break time that has the most turbulence. The time went by fast and we were soon on our way back to the Palo Alto airport. As we flew back Ron pointed out the headquarters areas of both Apple and Google. Our route also took us just along the western edge of Moffett Field and the huge blimp hangars which are still there.

After a very nice landing,  a post-flight refilling of the Cessna’s fuel tanks and returning the aircraft to it’s tiedown space Ron drove me to my layover hotel and our quick visit was over. I had a great time in spite of my sleep-deprived state and really appreciate that Ron was willing to take time out of his schedule to spend a few hours with me. I think he really wanted to go flying anyway and I was a convenient excuse – as if as pilots we actually need an excuse to go flying.

I got a great night’s sleep that night and the next morning headed for the SFO airport with the rest of our crew. I was the relief pilot for that leg and was able to get this shot of the Golden Gate Bridge as we crossed the coastline on our way back to Tokyo.  This was one of my better layovers and one I would be more than willing to repeat at any time.

We have seen several different types of fire-fighting aircraft at our local base. This first photo is one of the two Air Tractor AT-802 aircraft that are used for the smaller fires. This one is sitting in front of the fire fighter operations building on the east end of our ramp. A few days ago I sat in my back yard and watched one of the Air Tractors and the P-3 Orion Tanker fly back and forth to a fire  very near to where their Minden base used to be.  I walked out of my hangar yesterday and both of the Air Tractors flew overhead in close fingertip formation.

Our local base also is home to a Lockheed P2V Neptune that has been converted into a  water bomber. It was out making drops somewhere today. I caught it coming back for a refill as I was leaving the airport tonight. I heard it take off a couple of times, but never noticed the jet noise.  The big radials make the nicest sound anyway. The traffic pattern was pretty full today, but when one of the tanker aircraft needs to depart everybody clears out and lets them get to work.

The past few days we have also had a Huey helicopter, a twin Otter and two squads of fire jumpers/fire fighters staying on the airport. Their equipment identifies them as from the Boise BLM (Bureau of Land Management), probably on temporary duty in Nevada during our fire season.

The last of our resident fire fighting aircraft is the Sikorsky S-64  Skycrane . It is operated by Erickson Air-crane based in Oregon. One of their other Helitankers (named Elvis) made a big hit at EAA’s AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI this week. The first video below is of their “arrival show” . The second video is of the Helitanker making a water pick-up using the long hose on the bottom of the copter and then dropping the load on a fire. It is an excellent example of the utility of the aircraft in its fire fighting role.

As great as it is to see all these aircraft fly, I really hope that this year they spend a lot of time just sitting around.

This year’s class had 36 pilots in attendance. Eleven of the pilots were new certifications, nineteen were currently certified (attending to get more race practice) and six were race instructors. Each day the pilots received briefings on the race rules and procedures and were given time on the race course to practice. They were required to show proficiency  in formation flying and proficiency in various aerobatic maneuvers. Classroom time also provided the new race pilots with tips on negotiating the race course. Safety is a priority during the instruction and each pilot was required to perform a ‘mayday pull-up’ from the race course to a landing on one of  the  runways at Stead.  For a rookie biplane pilot’s view of the PRS course you can read about Marilyn Dash’s experiences on her site.

My wife and I were interested bystanders, standing on the edge of the ramp watching the action and taking a few photos. Ron Klutts, a friend of ours who we met on Twitter as @Captain_Ron,  flew his Cessna 172 up from the San Francisco bay area to take in the day’s action. Ron was nice enough to allow me to include a couple of his photos, here. The rest of the shots that he took can be found on Ron’s photo website.

Celebrate your freedom to fly

This year, celebrate July 4 by taking wing! For 233 years, America has led the world in defining and defending individual freedoms. Our unwavering commitment to these ideals has brought us rewards unimagined by the generations who passed them on. Among them is the ultimate expression of freedom—flight. Today, more than 500,000 Americans from all walks of life fly, continuing the tradition of inspiration and innovation that only freedom brings. On that holiday weekend, plan a flight to celebrate your freedoms, and share it with a friend or colleague who may not yet wholly value what general aviation has brought our nation over the past century.

For as long as I can remember I have made an effort to go flying in some sort of aircraft each December 17th to celebrate the Wright brother’s first flight. However, considering the pressures being put on general aviation these days it seems as though it might be just as appropriate to celebrate the freedoms that we enjoy in this country by going flying on July 4th.

So, why not join in a very loose formation and, wherever you are on July 4th, exercise your freedom of flight even if it’s only a trip around the pattern. Start the planning process now by fitting some time into your holiday schedule and reserving your plane if you are a renter or choosing a destination if you have your own aerial vehicle. If the weather on July 4th doesn’t match your capabilities or those of your aircraft don’t pressure yourself. The intent is to celebrate our freedoms with aviation in mind.

Get up in the air and celebrate the day! Start your planning Now!

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