Another Happy New Year to you all. As you can see, I finally finished my website migration and theme update. I hope you find it a little easier to read. This time I automated the rotation of the aviation quotes and the random aircraft photos so you’ll see something new each time the page loads.

Way back last year I flew out a couple of times for fun and have been meaning to tell you about the good times. One flight was to the Minden-Tahoe Airport (KMEV). It’s a pretty short flight (41 NM) if you go direct from Stead (KRTS), but that requires transiting the Reno Class C. They (NORCAL Approach – go figure) are usually pretty friendly and have no problems with the transition. The whole flight can be made west of their main runway centerlines. The occasion was a meeting for lunch that I had been trying to schedule with a fellow NWA retiree. Our schedules finally coincided with good weather up here in the mountains. Doug-1 (you’ll see the reason for the number in a minute) had just sold his C-150 taildragger and purchased a 180HP RV-6. That’s quite a step up in performance. I was really interested in seeing his new ride. When I had last talked to him he said that he thought another former NWA pilot might be interested in coming along, too. I assumed he was going to fly up with Doug-1, but it turns out that Doug-2 flew up in his own plane – a Wittman Tailwind. Doug-1 is based at the Auburn, CA airport (KAUN) and Doug-2 is based at Grass Valley (KGOO).

It was a really nice lunch meeting. We had all flown together on one type of airplane or another while we were with Northwest – so there were plenty of stories to go around. Funny, none of us regrets being retired. Doug-1 was the only one of us who had an option in the matter, though.  We vowed to have another ‘ old guys fly-in’ and to see if we can’t make it a regular thing.  I decided to take the ‘long’ way back to Stead  rather than traverse the Class C again.  I headed northeast out of Minden and flew up the next valley to the east of Reno until I got to Pyramid Lake and then turned toward Stead. It was a nice flight with light winds and I got a little more time on the plane.

A week or two later I woke up to another beautiful day in the mountains and decided it was time to go fly someplace for a late breakfast. I hadn’t been to the Auburn airport for a while and I knew they had a nice restaurant on the field, so I pointed myself that way. It was a nice 40-minute flight, mostly downhill.

The field elevation of the Stead Airport is 5150′ and the Auburn airport is at 1531′, but Donner Pass is between the two airports. Going west I usually cross over the pass at 10,500′ and east at 9500′.  That day the winds were light again and there were only a couple of light bumps going over the pass.  On the way there you can see the Grass Valley Airport off in the distance to the north. You can also just make out the Sutter Buttes in the central valley of Northern California – a bit hazy in the valley that day.

This happened to be a Saturday morning, so when I got to the restaurant I found all but a couple of tables already occupied. I grabbed a small table along the wall and then watched two more planes taxi in. Good timing.

I had a nice omelet and read a back issue of Light Plane Maintenance that I had brought along.  After a short stroll through the local Pilot Shop I headed back home  with a new t-shirt in hand to prove I made the trip. I flew back to Stead at 9500′. This first photo is out the left side of the plane, looking toward the north as I crossed Donner Pass. You can see that I’m just about at the tops of the mountains on the north side of the pass – though the pass itself is posted as being just a bit over 7000′.

This next photo is the view to the south-southeast in the same area.

In the foreground you can see Interstate 80 which in this area runs between Reno and Sacramento. Just past the highway you can see the Boreal ski area at the Donner Pass summit. We just finished the driest December on record, so that is all man-made snow on the slopes.

The water on the left side is Donner Lake. Right on the edge of the photo above the lake you can see the edge of a brown area that is the location of the Truckee-Tahoe Airport (KTRK). Tthe ski area on the mountain in the background is the Northstar at Tahoe Resort ski area. Just over the ridge to the right of Northstar you may be able to make out a little of Lake Tahoe.

Great weather, beautiful flying, good friends and $200 omelets – what more could you ask?

Is the old dog ready for new tricks?

I have been exchanging emails and post comments with one of my readers (I’m going to call him Tom to keep things simple) who is just getting back into flying again. He  had not flown for a considerable period – measured in decades rather than years – but wanted to try it again. Tom remembered the feelings of accomplishment  and the enjoyment that he had experienced when he first took up flying and wanted to feel that again. There was a hurdle to overcome, though – all the changes to airspace, regulations and technology that have taken place since he stopped flying. It seemed like an insurmountable mountain of new information to learn and he wasn’t so sure that the time and money that would need to be invested would provide a sufficient return on the investment.

Tom decided that he’d first try auditing a groundschool class at the local airport with no intention of actually flying. It would simply be an attempt to catch up with the current flying environment. That started out well, but soon turned south…

After two interesting sessions of ground school, both modules dealing with FARs and such, the G.S. session is a bust.  Two of the four students had serious occupational conflicts.  Number three could continue, but we became subject to the minimum population rule.  I, as a mostly non-rev participant, had no vote.  We are trying to reform the group, with one or two more students, for late fall. I’m disappointed of course, but as a non-rev guest, I have no voice.  I’ve got some books and study guides and I’ll read them…   After only the two (long) sessions, it was perfectly clear to me than any returning pilot in 2011 and more than 2-3 years stale, ought to take a nearly full refresher course before flying.  Yup!  Those rules and regulations DO change quickly!

As you know, my purpose was not to fly again, but simply to understand the current methods and procedures of IFR flight a bit better.  There is a delay, but I’ll get there.  The modern toys and tools are simply amazing and I’d like to understand them a bit better.  As a funny aside, although 30 years stale, I easily out navigated my student peers (on paper) during the initial assessment evaluations.  While great fun… no one uses those old tools anymore – save an old pilot who might get lost. I still think it is fun to know how it is done.

Now Tom has changed his approach to the problem. He has found a retired professional pilot who now flies for fun. The two of them are making regular flights to ‘exotic’ breakfast locations and Tom is regaining his ‘air sense’ through actual application.

As the re-learning process progresses I’ll include the experiences that Tom passes along to me.  Perhaps some more ‘old dogs’ will realize that they can learn the new tricks in today’s flying environment.

The Key: Get out there and do it – don’t just sit there and try to remember what it was like…

There were a lot of people out flying yesterday even though it was a weekday morning. I’m assuming it was because they had seen the same weather report that I had. A major cold front is supposed to be moving through the area again, bringing more winds and much colder temperatures – and possibly a bit of snow. According to the latest METAR as I write this, the winds are arriving:

KRTS 301815Z AUTO 34019G25KT 10SM CLR 03/M08 A3033 RMK AO2

(The Reno-Stead Airport’s new digital AWOS system is now available online and through the popular aviation weather applications – we’ve made it to the ‘big time.’)

I guess we all figured that if we wanted to go flying we had better get it done yesterday. I elected to fly to my favorite breakfast destination. The first photo was taken on the return flight.

Shortly after the previous shot I turned a bit north and took this of a railroad passing through a grove of pine trees – Christmas trees in the wild. If you weren’t aware that the Swift had leading edge slots, you can see the left wing slot out there just short of the wingtip. They direct air flow over the ailerons at higher angles of attack giving you positive roll control at virtually all speeds. Just inboard of the landing light is a strap that goes around the wing. It is actually a removable cover for the gap between the inner and outer wing sections. Removable at the annual to inspect the wing attachment hardware and fuel and electrical lines running through the wing.

This is just another shot of our high desert area around Reno – taken just west of Pyramid Lake as I headed back to the airport. The previous photos were taken just past the second ridgeline  visible on the left side of this shot. The lighter v-shaped area is a glider port that I’ve mentioned in previous articles.

When I left Stead to get breakfast there were 4 planes in the traffic pattern and another took off just behind me. Now, as I headed back there were three different planes in the pattern. As I listened it was apparent that two were using runway 08 and one was using runway 26. Hmmm.

One plane was in the pattern using 08 and one was just about to cross over the field to enter downwind on 08. The contrarian had just taken off of 26 and was returning to land on 26. I took my time getting back to the airport  to see how things worked out. Lots of discussions on the radio. One plane gave up and left. The other two, operating on opposite runways managed to time things to not conflict and safely got on the ground.

At that point I got to a 3-mile 45 degree entry to downwind for runway 08 (the runway best aligned with the AWOS-reported winds) and made my radio call. Just as I made my call the runway 26-user called taxing to runway 26 again. I made another call as I turned onto downwind – then I finally heard the other plane make a call that he was taxiing to runway 08. At last.  I had wanted to fly a few patterns but I wasn’t going to stay in the air of this guy was going to go nose-to-nose with me.

I completed my first touch-and-go and was back on downwind when I heard the FBO call the other plane and ask if everything was all right. Apparently the plane had just come out of maintenance and the owner had left to take the plane back to his home base but made an immediate return. The reply that all was fine – the door had popped open on take-off and he landed to get it closed securely.

So now we have the full story. Could the pilot have handled things better? Probably. We could say that about all our flights. The winds were light, but favoring 08. When he taxied out there was only one plane in the pattern and going to runway 26 was more than a mile closer than 08. I’m sure he intended to take off  and depart the area without interfering with the other traffic. But the best made plans sometimes go astray. First the additional traffic flew into the area. By that time he had finished his run-up at the end of 26 and was pushing the power up for take-off.

How many times have you heard of someone losing control of the airplane because a door came open on take-off and the pilot attempted to close it? Way too many! The first rule in any emergency is to FLY THE AIRPLANE.  This pilot did that. It probably startled him and it was probably noisy, but it wasn’t particularly dangerous if he kept control of the aircraft.

In ‘normal’ circumstances he could have made a couple of turns and landed on 08, but that third plane was just about to cross over the field to enter downwind. Flying a normal pattern – though opposite traffic probably worked the best for him. He could have helped with situation by stating why he was returning to land, but he didn’t.

There could have been other un-communicated circumstances, too. When I saw him take off while I was on downwind I noticed that there were two planes making a formation take-off. The second plane never made a radio call nor did the lead plane specify that they were operating as a 2-plane formation. If the other plane had been on his wing for the first take-off it would have restricted his return options considerably.

The two planes made a straight-out departure and I never heard from them again. I finished my third pattern just as two more planes called that they were in the area and maneuvering to enter the pattern for 08. I stopped at the fuel island, filled up all my tanks and put the plane away for a few days. Maybe it’ll be nicer next week – and I can log some December flying time.

Today was a really beautiful day for flying – clear, cool and light winds. I figured that I ought to take advantage of the nice day  while I could. When I got the the airport the temperature was 28 degrees(F) and there were already a couple of planes in the pattern.  There was also a balloon inflating out to the northeast of the runway. I stopped at the hangar and plugged in my home-made engine preheater, closed the hangar door and drove to a local Starbucks for some coffee while I sat there and read a magazine. I got back the hangar about an hour later to find the cowling feeling toasty warm.

The hangar across from me was open and my friend Paul was there and about to pull his 182 out to fly to breakfast. He had a friend with him who I had met before and they both asked if I was interested in coming along. Sure – they were going to South Lake Tahoe Airport (KTVL) to meet more friends. We did a quick briefing on our plan for the flight and headed out to the runway.  It was a nice flight to the lake and then a jog to fly down the eastern shoreline to the airport on the south end of the lake.

Lake Tahoe is 22 miles north-south and 12 miles east-west with an average water surface level at 6200 MSL. There are five major peaks around the lake with elevations from  9700 MSL to 10,900 MSL.  Today the water was glass smooth with hardly a boater in sight. At breakfast we had a short discussion about the hazards associated with flying down the center of the lake – following the imaginary CA-NV state line.  The glide ratio of the aircraft has to be a major factor in the decision as well as the cruising altitude. The Swift has a glide ratio about the same as a crowbar – so venturing very far from shore at our 9000′ cruising altitude wasn’t advisable.  The water temperature at Tahoe today was somewhere between 45 and 50 degrees (F). That means you would have 30-60  minutes of treading water before you were either exhausted or lost consciousness and 1-3 hours until death if you could stay afloat. Drop the water temperature below 40 degrees and you cut those times in half.  Minimize Risk – fly the shoreline.

We had a nice breakfast at The Flight Deck Restaurant on the airport. We had a group of 9 people. Some were vacationing at the lake and others had flown in from a fly-in community near Carson City, NV. They were in a beautifully restored Cherokee 180.

It was a very nice meal with good friends and new acquaintances. Of course the conversation was centered mainly around flying. One of the other pilots currently flies a Cessna Citation for a company in Carson City.  Really nice guy who knows just how good a job he has.  Yeah, I’m envious.

After our meal we all adjourned the the ramp to look over the planes. The Swift always seems to draw a crowd when it is on the ramp. At most airports it is an unusual aircraft and the polish tends to draw people to “the shiny plane.”

It was a fun day with friends. What flying is all about.

I just received an email from my friend Paul – he took this on our way back to Stead. You can see how smooth the water was on Lake Tahoe.

I mentioned in Friday’s article that I had flown the Swift early last week – before the major cold front blew through the area.  I had planned on flying sooner but ran into a maintenance problem that caused a few days of delay.

I pulled the plane out of the hangar after my preflight, got in and prepared to start the engine. I turned on the master switch and immediately got all the landing gear warning lights, the gear-unsafe buzzer and an operating hydraulic pump. (This plane has a red light and a buzzer that come on if the landing gear has not activated the down position micro-switches and the throttle is at idle – and the hydraulic pump will run as long as the gear handle is down and the micro-switches are not activated.)

I immediately turned off the master switch, then carefully got out of the plane and inspected the landing gear positions again – I had checked that they were safely down and locked during the preflight.  All looked good to me but something was obviously wrong. I put the plane back in the hangar and up on jacks to test everything again.

With the jacks in place and the tires 2″ off the ground I got into the plane and turned on the master switch again. Everything was normal – no lights, buzzer or hydraulic pump running. Hmmm.  I hate intermittent electrical problems.

After running the gear up and down a few times and pushing and pulling on the retraction mechanisms of both gear with and without hydraulic pressure on the system I found that without pressure in the extension direction the right landing gear could be moved about 1/16″ toward the retract position. That was enough to allow the micro-switch on that gear to indicate unsafe but not enough to actually make the gear unsafe – the hydraulic downlock was still engaged and the mechanism was over-center in the down direction. After sitting for a few days the hydraulic pressure had bled off in the system and moving the plane out of the hangar had put enough side force on the gear to move it off of that micro-switch.

There are recurring Airworthiness Directives(ADs) on the landing gear requiring checking several dimensions for wear. I checked all those again and found all to be within limits. The only thing left to do was to check the micro-switch itself. When I took it out to look it over the switch came apart in my hand. Hmmm, I think I had found the problem.

Luckily, Don at The Aeroplane Factory had a spare used switch that he could loan me to get back into the air. I picked that up the next day, installed it, checked all the AD dimensions again, ran the gear up and down and checked the emergency extension system again (I pretty much did another annual inspection on the landing gear). All was back to normal.

The next day was clear with light winds and about 58 degrees. A little chilly for a bikini, but great for flying. I’m not sure what the occasion was for the photo shoot – probably a calendar or something.  They were out there for about four hours.

I took the photo at the top of the page while I was flying north of Stead. the arrow appears to be drawn with fire retardant. I points to the south face of a ridgeline that has a fairly large burn area on the north side, out of view of the arrow. I’m assuming that it was drawn to aid in the fire-fighting efforts.

Yesterday I got a package from the Swift Association Parts Store with four new-manufacture micro-switches. When the weather turns warm, I’ll replace all of the one’s currently installed – two main landing gear, each with a switch for the extended position and the retracted position.

Another cold front is supposed to come through today – winds only in the 35MPH range this time. Slide Mountain (between Reno and Carson City)  is currently averaging winds of 50 MPH with gusts to 78. Probably pretty bumpy once you get above the ridges.