I recently flew a rental plane up and down California, doing a “test run” of our California Wine & Dine aviation tour. This trip was challenging, incredibly fun, and generally awesome. For those of you who have asked for more than 140-character Tweets, well, here’s the whole story:
Day 1: Chicago to San Francisco. So worried about missing my extra-early (commercial) flight that I got no sleep at all. So when I finally got to West Valley Flying Club in Palo Alto, I was sleepy and not fit to fly. I spent the day completing their written exam (which managed to require the use of every performance chart in the Archer POH) and going over my planned route with instructor Don Styles. I rescheduled the flying portion of my checkout for Day 2, then headed into San Francisco for a restaurant site visit (but I won’t bore you with the details of my hand cut pasta with himalayan truffles, asparagus, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, and lobster cream.)
My sparkly Archer.
Day 2: Palo Alto (PAO) to Fortuna (FOT). After a good night’s sleep at quirky (in a good way) Hotel Monaco near Union Square, I headed back to PAO and completed my checkout flight with instructor Cory Burns. The flight went well, but I discovered it would probably take me some time to get used to the steam gauge panel. Oh, how quickly we become spoiled by the glass!
San Francisco to my right.
On my own, I was nervous about departing through SFO airspace — my first solo Class B transition! But, ATC offered excellent and friendly service, and soon I was flying just west of the gorgeous San Francisco bay, where I hear they have a Golden Gate Bridge (it was — as usual — shrouded by clouds). I then proceeded up the coast at 10,500 feet, accompanied by Flight Following.
I picked up a rental car in Fortuna and spent the afternoon driving through the Avenue of the Giants, where the towering redwoods blocked out all light and I got a “Land of the Lost” feeling (although, for once, I DID NOT actually get lost).
Lingering clouds at FOT.
Day 3 : Fortuna (FOT) to Harris Ranch (3O8) to Palm Springs (PSP) My takeoff was slightly delayed as I waited for the morning fog to clear from the runway, then the Archer made a labored climb to 11,500 feet. Even at that altitude, far above everything I worried about terrain avoidance. I am not used to flying around mountains!
The 30-ft wide runway at Harris Ranch.
I was pretty excited about the 30-foot-wide runway at Harris Ranch — so excited I came in high and fast. After a go ’round I managed to successfully set down on the center line, thanking my lucky stars there wasn’t a crosswind.
Harris Ranch is all about beef, and I am a vegetarian. But I managed to find a delicious spinach salad with my name on it. I then met with a manager to go over an impressive array of menu options for our tour, then I was off again off for Palm Springs. To avoid the scariest of the mountains, I opted for a non-direct 3O8 > PMD> SOGGI > PSP routing. Along the way, I had the Mojave to my left and mountains to my right. Incredible!
Palm Springs is in a valley, which I entered at 11,500 feet and thus had to make a rapid — very rapid — descent to a pattern altitude of 1,500 feet. My ears didn’t like this at all. But that was the only discomfort I felt during my time in Palm Springs. I feel in love with its gorgeous setting and sundress-climate — and felt pampered in my wonderful room at the Colony Palms. A phenomenal meal at Copley’s was just the final touch… I was about to start looking at real estate listings!
Flying through the Banning Pass
Day 4 : Palm Springs (PSP) to Santa Barbara (SBA). After a fidgety 7-hour wait in Palm Springs for the clouds in Santa Barbara to clear, I embarked on one of the more exciting flights of my life. There was an unforgettable climb-out through the Banning Pass — mountains, on both sides…WOW. ATC was busy, and I was kept on my toes with frequent traffic reports and hand-offs. There was low visibility (due to smog) in the LA basin to contend with, and … did I mention the mountains?! They were a persistent presence to my right the whole way. Upon arrival to SBA (which I couldn’t spot to save my life), I was vectored WAY out over the ocean, where I presumed there to be many big sharks waiting for me should I screw up. Since I still couldn’t spot the runway due to haze and glare, the darling man in the tower vectored me right into place. I finally found the runway — two miles out on final approach. Now that’s excitement!
3 seconds earlier there was a whale in the frame...
Day 5: Santa Barbara. No flying. Instead I spent a wondrous day kayaking around the Channel Islands, where I saw dolphins, whales, seals, and sea lions. What a treat.
Day 6: Santa Barbara. Another no fly day, this time unintended. I couldn’t depart Santa Barbara due to low clouds, so I spent the day at Atlantic Aviation, getting work done, watching Hulu, and wishing once again I had that instrument rating.
Day 7: Santa Barbara (SBA) to Palo Alto (PAO) to Napa. Not to be deterred by clouds another day, I arranged for my West Valley instructor, Cory Banks, to travel to SBA commercially in order to fly back with me in the Archer. Despite his busy schedule, he found the time to save me, and we had a great lesson enroute to PAO, which included nearly an hour of actual instrument flying for me. I even flew my first real instrument approach, although the word “precision” would probably not apply.
From here, I left the airplane and picked up a rental car. This would allow me to save money and avoid further flight delays since an enormous storm was on its way to Northern California. I spent a whirlwind two days visiting an impressive array of wineries, restaurants, and hotels as I finalized the sites for our tour.
When I got SFO it was raining sideways and I was happy to leave the flying to the professionals. 4-1/2 hours home to Chicago on United, and California was but a memory.
Categories: aerial tours, cross country
