New York City, the grand finale.

Touch down. 4 days, 2600 miles, over a dozen airports, landed in 10 different states and flew over many more. Can't describe the feeling of being handed over to the very friendly New York Air Traffic Control and seeing the city lights after breaking through a 5500' overcast layer after obtaining a temporary IFR clearance. San Francisco to New York trip comes to a happy ending. 



The conditions coming into NJ were quite interesting. We had a 40-50mph wind aloft pushing us south, and moderate wind sheer at KLDJ airport. We landed in a very dark, deserted airport. It was absolutely freezing outside. I called a taxi company, but it was completely unclear where the terminal building was. We ended up climbing over a 9' barb wire security fence to get outside, luggage included. It's good to be home. Already planning the next trip (hint: South of the border).

Landing in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Sweet parking spot between some jets in Santa Fe.

Charleston, West Virginia.

We got 3G's up here, 8500' above the Mississippi!

Last stop. New York.

We're off. Last day of flying, Nashville to New York. We are finally going to see some real  weather. Up to here it's been blue skies. I'm looking forward to it.

The FAA has a sense of humor.

Yesterday I notice an odd shape on my sectional while studying nearby terrain.

Peculiar shape in middle. Lake? Penis? Penis lake? Naturally we flew over to investigate. Proof that the FAA in fact has a sense of humor. You can see the lake below in no way resembles the sectional chart.

Day 1 Recap

We just finished Day 3 of flying, but wanted to post some pics from Day 1.  The route was:  PAO -> Yosemite -> Bishop, CA -> Las Vegas -> Hoover Dam -> Grand Canyon -> Scottsdale, AZ.

 Packing up the plane.  Solid IFR and fog in the morning at PAO.

VFR on top over the Bay Area.

Heading toward Livermore, CA with the Bay Area behind us--solid marine layer of fog.

Sierra Nevada foothills.

Yosemite.

 Half Dome.

Great day for mountain flying.

First flight using a tablet for charts.  Works very well.

Flying over the mountains on a nice day never gets old.

Mono Lake.  Just made it over the Sierra's to the east side.  High Desert.

Sierra's to the right (West) as we head South toward Vegas.

 

 Quick landing at Bishop, CA for fuel.

Landed in Vegas for lunch.  Had enough time for a few rolls at the craps table.  Tom requested a routing directly over the strip after takeoff.

Hoover Dam.

Getting close to the Grand Canyon.

Grand Canyon.

Leaving the Grand Canyon at Sunset and flying South to Scottsdale for the night.

Day 2 - smells like cows

Last night, well after sunset, I was flying a VOR/DME IFR approach into Amarillo class C airport. In a normal VFR approach, you see the runway from miles away and fly visually until touchdown. In an IFR VOR/DME approach, you see nothing. Your entire world becomes a handful of instruments, until you are about 300 feet above the runway. 10-15 minutes of complete darkness. Your faith lies in your instruments, and a sectional chart showing the field altitude (in this case nearly 4000 feet above sea level).

It was a pretty standard IFR approach, until out of nowhere it hit me like an 18 wheeler. The unquestionable, sweet smell of fresh cow shit. I quickly double checked my altimeter, knowing I was getting very close to the ground.  It read 4000 feet. The runway elevation shown at 3,607', less than 400 feet below me. I took off the hood,  look through the windshield, and see the beautiful runway lights in front of me. We're in texas. Cow country.

We touched down and taxied down the giant, 150' wide, 8000' long runway and asked the tower for progressive taxi instructions to our FBO. A few minutes later, in the midst of this giant airport, my landing light went out. Complete darkness. We stopped.

Tower radios, "Skyhawk 48 Golf your landing light appears to have gone out."

I respond: "Affirmative. We're going to an alternate light source, stand by."

Tyler pulls out a handy flash light, pops out the window, and shines it through the prop at the black tarmac infront of us. "Tower, 4-8 continuing taxi, left turn on Papa."

In the midst of this light chaos, we missed the turn and ended up at the hold-short line for runway 31. Tower came back, still very polite. "48 Golf Hold short runway 31. There is a regional jet behind you, taxiing down Papa. 180 and follow."

I do a swift 180 and follow the giant Boeing jet to our destination where we were greeted by friendly 24-hour FBO staff. Another exciting flight.

Texas smells like cow shit, and there is snow everywhere. Giant, 6' snow banks. They had one of their record snowfalls of all time just a few days ago. Snow is a rare sighting here.

This morning, we're leaving the South behind and starting to head North. It's going to be really cold. Good for engine performance, not so good for human performance. I will try to post more frequently.

Yesterday, we spent a few hours yesterday in beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico.  My good friend Emily Robertson picked us up at the airport. Here's a shot of the final approach of the santa fe regional airport runway.

And a sweet shot of a parking spot next to some private jets.

Day 1: Delayed in the Morning

SF and the Bay Area had completely clear skies every morning until Friday.  Checking the current conditions at PAO, SJC, SFO, etc. showed less than 1/16 to 1/4 mile of visibility with 100' ceilings.  No way we could depart at 8am.  Instead, we headed to Google for a leisurely breakfast.

Once the fog began to lift, we departed IFR To VFR on top.  Actual departure time, closer to 9:30am.

2 Days to Blastoff - Weather Across America

Tom and I have been tracking the weather systems across the US as we plan our route.  The West has been clear and looks to stay that way for the next few days.  Storms in the Midwest-Northeast seem to moving toward the Atlantic.  By Friday thru the weekend much of the country looks to clear--let's hope the forecast is corrrect!

NOAA National Weather

NOAA Aviation Surface Prog

6 days to blastoff!

Oxygen tank, check. Fire extinguisher, check. Army grade medic kit, VHF radio, extra flashlights, 0 degree sleeping bag, matches, emergency food and water. All present and accounted for. I glance over my preflight inventory and am reminded that the journey ahead is a serious undertaking.

In less than a week, just before sunrise, myself and copilot Tyler Peterson set off on a journey to fly coast to coast across america in a 1970 Cessna Skyhawk N7348G - a plane that is considerably older than either of us. Through mountain passes, over the world's deepest canyon, vast deserts and cities.
We're going to make daily updates on this blog from the air, and from land where we can find 3G or wifi.

I've been studying like crazy, reading aviation and meteorology books in parallel, and of course flying every free moment I have. I spent today flying in high altitude mountains. A few landings at Truckee and Minden airports, and back Palo Alto just as the sun is setting. My company up there?  A few Citation jets, a King Air, and a 421. Rich people going skiing for the weekend, black SUVs picking them up right from the plane.
Aviation is amazing. I can't wait or the adventures that lie ahead.