A lovely flight to Camarillo!
A lovely flight to Camarillo!
Our Son Ryan is going to be working for Polaris Industries in Tennessee taking Katy, Easton and Lily with him so Ed is trying to get trying to get her grandma fix before they head out. Their house here and the one he is buying in Mount Juliet are in escrow so Easton and Lily will be less available soon. We are proud of Ryan’s progress but Ed is already going through grandparent withdrawal. I suspect it will hit me more after they are gone.
I watched the fog come and go over the Santa Maria valley and studied it carefully on the satellite pictures. I checked all the available terminal aerodrome forecasts (TAFs) and decided to give my flight to Santa Paula a try.
I was showing a tail wind the whole way and no pilot reports for turbulence.
The wet brings out the fragrance in the fields and I enjoyed the different scents on my way across the Santa Maria Valley. It is a special part of driving with the top down. Things cleared up nicely a couple of miles North East of SMX.
SMX was VFR when I got there. The tires hissed along the wet pavement as I made my way to the hangar. When I rolled the hangar door open The Predator looked pristine and ready to fly. I worked through what was left of my preflight and checked Lockheed Martin. There was an AIRMET Sierra for ceilings less than 1,000 feet and mountain obscuration; VFR flight was not recommended along my route of flight. There was also AIRMET Tango for moderated turbulence below 12,000 feet.
All the airports along the route were VFR except for Lompoc and the temperature/dew point spread was right at four degrees so I dressed for a little cool weather and pushed The Predator outside. An open aircraft requires a little move thinking about cloths and I dress in layers so I can adjust to temperature changes at my destination.
It was 8:23 pacific standard time when I pushed her outside. I don’t like the time change but it is better than going the other way.
She fired right up and settled down into a steady idle while I checked ATIS and filled out my radio call sheet.
I called ground from Mike with Juliet and was to taxi to runway three zero via Mike, Alpha, Alpha eight.
The wind socks I could see were all flaccid as we rumbled along.
She wasn’t quite warm enough for a magneto check when we reached the run-up area so I set her to 1,200 rpm and let her warm a bit while I worked through my pre-takeoff list. She came up to temperature quickly and the magneto check went well.
Transponder to mode C, taxi up to the hold short line and check temperatures and pressures in the green, change to tower frequency and check the preflight list. GPS set to destination, Spot working, radio call sheets in order, seat belt tight, helmet tight, full cyclic movement, full rudder movement, check transponder set to 1200.
I called for a right down wind departure to the east and soon heard; “Experimental 142 Mike Golf; right down wind departure to the east approved; runway three zero clear for takeoff. Have a nice flight Vance!”
We were at 1,192 gross weight for our weight and balance and she still climbed out nicely in the cool sea level air.
We were wheels up at 8:48. I wanted to stop at the Way Point Café at Camarillo for brunch and there is usually a wait so I was hoping to get there by 10:00 PST.
Climb out was so smooth I pulled out the camera. This is one of my favorite moments of the flight so I felt I should share it. This is when my challenges on the ground get smaller as we climb into the sky.
I pulled the power back to 2,300 rpm and settled on a 70kt climb to the 3,500 I would like to see before calling Santa Barbara approach.
As I climbed over the town of Orcutt off to my right (South) some fog was caressing the little valleys and occasionally spilling over the hills. I had better than 20 mile visibility straight ahead.
In about 15 miles the fog was pressing in a little harder but still more than ten miles off our route.
I found my ten knot tail wind and it was smooth and cool. When we reached 3,500 feet I lowered the nose a bit and ran her up to 75kts indicated air speed. The air felt so nice I increased the power to 2.350 and 80kts indicated air speed. I found a wonderful feeling of slicing smoothly through the air. At that speed the wind wants to snatch the camera from my hand so I check the tether before each shot and my aim is often a little off.
I called Santa Barbara Approach twenty miles West North West of the San Marcos VOR and after some challenges with my tail number he gave me a squawk code and altitude was verified. VFR transition was approved.
The Santa Ynez valley had the smell of wet hay and vineyards. As I neared the summit of the San Marcos pass I could smell the Barbeque at Cold Springs Tavern. About that time we caught an updraft and I was nearly at idle trying to maintain 3,500 feet at 80kts indicated air speed. The bottom dropped out as soon as we cleared the ridge line and after advancing the throttle to 2,450 rpm I asked for a descent to 2,000 and VFR descent was approved. I backed her off to 2,300 and coasted down the hill toward no name pass at 80kts indicated air speed giving me a nice steady descent.
I love the feel of the ocean air on my face and scent of the Pacific. The Channel Islands appeared to be floating on the mist above the water. The entire shore line was shrouded in a mist that softened the colors and gave it a hint of mystery.
ATC was busy but there was only one traffic alert for me near Carpentaria. As my radio reception became fuzzy at my request radar services were terminated and I was to squawk 1200.
As we exited no name pass Lake Casitas looked a lot fuller than Lake Cachuma had.
Ojai had a wet earth sort of scent mixed with lemon.
As we flew over the last ridge before the Santa Clara River Valley at 2,000 feet I could see Camarillo in the distance and went on high alert for the confusing mix of traffic from SZP, OXR and CMA. I picked up our speed to descend to the 877 foot pattern altitude for CMA and cause less conflict with the fixed wing traffic.
The tower was extremely busy with a very good controller. He got our tall number wrong the first time because of the cockpit wind noise. I shielded the microphone with my hand and became “experimental two Mike Golf.” I was to make right traffic for runway 26 and report a one mile forty-five. I have flown here enough that I have aiming points and I aimed first at the Saticoy Bridge and then at the little point of land that would take me to the forty-five entry for 26.
There was a Cessna 210 overtaking us and ATC had them make a left 360 twice. The concept of a standard rate turn seemed to be lost on the pilot.
As I turned down wind I was “number two behind an RV on a six mile final; report in sight.”
I could not find the RV in the ground clutter and heard “Experimental two Mike Golf; the RV is over the numbers runway, runway 26 clear to land number two.” I immediately pulled the power and entered a right base. The pattern is over California Highway 101 and less than a quarter mile from the runway.
I had to slow a little as The RV was a little slow getting off at Charlie. I greased the landing touching down at Bravo and was off quickly. I called ground on the tower’s instruction. It was bravo, foxtrot to restaurant parking.
It was 9:45 when we touched down averaging 94kts (108miles per hour) for the 89 nautical mile flight. For those interested in such things this is a typically a two hour 110 mile drive. For me it was the accident of a tail wind almost the entire way. I felt I had a much bigger adventure and a more vivid experience than someone droving down to Camarillo on the 101.
The wait was going to be an hour so I sat down with some inquisitive people wearing Harley garb and talked about my motorcycle in the sky. They were both familiar with the path I had just taken and had a 2007 FLHTC. He had worked at the nuclear plant at Diablo Canyon when they were building it. Sorry Paul, no pictures of these two people; I started asking for pictures after that. I prefer pictures that aren’t posed but as soon as I ask they feel they should pose.
More on that in the next post about the magic to be found hanging out at airports and Open Hangar Day at Santa Paula. I will try to finish that this evening.