So the phase 1 hours are flown off... permanent Special C of A in hand. Bugs tamed. Time to go places!
I am a big Rush fan (Canadian LEGENDARY band). My old boss is a BIGGER Rush fan! And to boot, Rush is touring again.
They are starting off their '70 Something' tour in Los Angeles, which is where they finished their last tour.
The Sportsman is packed. Camp gear, bike, food, clothes, tools, spares... and off we go.
Day 1:
It's been 10 years since I flew across the US border. And even then it was only once. Luckily the process was pretty much the same.
EAPIS, Flight Plan, call the port of entry - and do all that 2 hours before. It's only a 15 min flight from my airport to Bellingham to clear, so that was easy. Got to the airport before 7, filed EAPIS, called, then filed flight plan. And off I went!
Stopped at Arlington to see the Glasair folks, which was cool. Had a break, returned emails, then off south.
The US air traffic system is pretty darn cool. They hold your hand (especially if you use the 'unfamiliar' vernacular).
Flew through Seattle (west) and landed in Astoria for fuel. First gulp of 100LL for my 520T. I added the appropriate amount of Declin (TCP). Hopefully that works.
After fueling in Astoria, looked at the weather. My plan was Florence, OR - but Newport (in between Astoria and Florence) was showing IFR in Foreflight. Started off south from Astoria and started looking at the clouds. I could probably have gotten through, but I dont know the terrain from the air. Looked down and saw Seaside airport. So landed there, tied down, loaded up, found a hotel and off I went.
The only issue so far was the aircraft cover! Being on the coast it was windy... I only put it on once before, in the hangar. The wind has other ideas, but i was NOT going to be beaten. Luckily it is colour coded about what is front and what is back, and I had that from pics I took in the hangar. Must have taken 30 min to get the cover on and secure. Then it was off to the hotel for the night. Well, and find something to eat.
Great first day overall.
The plan for tomorrow (Thu, June 4) is to get into California - hopefully far into California. Would be nice to be parked in Santa Monica on Friday.
Day 2:
Headed out of Seaside for Florence, OR. Easy peasy, and gorgeous.
Florence was awesome. Rene and Don greeted me, and made sure I had no problems fueling. An awesome cup of coffee, and then onto Crescent City, CA.
The wind was WILD in Crescent City. Was happy to be on the ground in one piece. The FBO there was so welcoming. Another cup of coffee, and a great chat with Cameron - commercial pilot flying a Pilatus on charters. I was trying to figure out where to go. Finally ended up on Concord, so I could hang a visit on Paul - who is building a Sportsman with a UL520T. 2.3 hours from Crescent City to Concord.
Great visit, and got to saw Paul's project. Work of art. So incredibly awesome to see.
Paul was so generous to let me park the Sportsman in his Hangar.
Day 2 track...
Day 3:
Fuel prices in Concord are... 'very high'. Nut Tree airport to the north was about 1/3rd cheaper. And Paul had never flown in a Sportsman, so off we went!
Flew over Travis Air Force Base!
Taking a rest for the rest of the day (pun???). Just over 2 hours from LA / Santa Monica. Going to be a good day!
Day 4:
Departed out of KCCR at 7:45. The coastal route did not look great, so headed inland and followed I5 to Bakersfield. Not the most scenic route, but got me going. Stopped at Bakersfield for about 3 hours waiting for the weather to break. Was a nice rest.
I thought I had a fitting on the right header vent coming loose, but it wasnt. Nothing leaked. But fixed none the less.
Got out of KCCR OK. Passed off to Oakland Approach. Flight following is so absolutely awesome. They are so accommodating, its just awesome!
Flight following most of the way to Bakersfield Municipal.
The FBO at Bakersfield was awesome too. 100LL was 6.25 a gallon (which is why I went there). Had a rest, coffee, and stressed about what came next. LA... and LA airspace.
Departed out of Bakersfield. Was 33 degrees C on the ground, and the cylinders were in the yellow. Had to get to 7500, so step climbed slowly... Did some orbits along the way as Grapevine was coming up quickly. Initially talking with Bakersfield Approach, who passed me to LA Center, who passed me to Van Nuys approch, who finally passed me to Santa Monica tower. All the controllers were great. They don't know my aircraft has 45 hours on it and was built in a garage... LOL.
Found parking... and luckily I looked at the Santa Monica airport website... you need to register to park, and they give you a specific gate code. A group landed just before me and asked me about the code... "I'm Canadian, never been here before. But I have a code...". LOL
Biked to the hotel. 15 KM. Through some not so nice neighbourhoods. Lots of homeless, people living in RV's, and trash everywhere.
Day 4 route:
No comments:
Post a Comment