More fun flying The Predator.

[Vance]

What is on the new signs

What is on the new signs

For those that are interested here is what is on the new signs that we screw to the mast of The Predator when she is on display. It is blown up big so it is easy to read, laminated and cut to fit the mast.
The Predator
This experimental Autogyro was designed on a napkin in 1997 by Mark Givans and first flew in 1999. Mark is an airframe and power plant mechanic with no aeronautical engineering training. She is one of a kind and incorporates many unique features.
We purchased her in November of 2007, installed dual controls and soloed her after six hours of dual instruction. I received my private pilot license for Rotorcraft Gyroplane in June of 2008. In 2009 we installed a 160 horsepower Lycoming 10-320 B1A to replace the 135 horsepower Lycoming O-290 G. I have flown her for over 1,400 hours and took my Certified Flight Instructor practical test in her near the end 2015.
My back-seater is often my wife Edna. She is a very good photographer and loves to take pictures as we wander the country side.
Part of what makes an Autogyro special sort of aircraft is we can land with zero roll if the engine goes quiet so we feel we can fly safely five hundred feet above the ground in most rural areas. I practice simulated engine outs often though I have yet to have a real engine out in The Predator.
An Autogyro can’t stall or spin and The Predator will fly straight and level as slow as 20 MPH indicated air speed.
The rotor is powered by the wind and the rotor rpm is self-regulating. More weight or more altitude and she spins her rotor a little faster.
The Predator’s takeoff and landings are somewhat like a fixed wing aircraft. The takeoff roll is typically less than 500 feet. To land I approach the landing zone at a little over 55 MPH, began my round out at 30 feet and flair at about five feet.
The stick tilts the rotor to control her direction and speed and the pedals operate the rudder to keep her pointed into the wind. The yaw string is what I use to identify coordinated flight. The nose wheel is free castering and ground steering is by differential braking.
The Predator is a lot like a motorcycle in the sky.
The Predator is unusual for a gyroplane in having the thrust line pass very near the vertical center of gravity. This helps with pitch stability with power changes. Some people feel this high stance makes her appear ungainly. Most gyroplanes are much lower and have the thrust line well above the center of gravity.
She has an unusually large horizontal stabilizer to enhance pitch stability. The Vertical stabilizer is uncomely large as is the rudder. The empennage is unusually far back from the center of gravity and is made from steel tubing covered with fabric. All this helps with stability particularly at low speeds. The Predator has more power and range than most gyroplanes.
Continued on the other side:

Continued from the other side:
She handles winds well; my personal limit is 35kts (40 MPH) with a ten knot gust spread.
We have flown her as far north as Marysville, Ca near Sacramento and as far east as Buckeye, Az.
I have landed at more than 70 airports and flown in 12 airshows.
Length: 17 feet
Height: 10 feet
Width: 7 feet
Dry weight: 800 pounds
MTW: 1,400 pounds.
Fuel capacity: 22 gallons.
Rotor: 30 foot diameter, eight and a half inch chord Sport Copter blades.
Prop: 68 inch Catto three blade wood core Carbon fiber.
Consumption is seven gallons per hour at a cruise speed of 85 MPH indicated air speed. Range is 170 miles with an hour reserve. If I am in a hurry she will run along at 100 MPH at 75% power at 7,500 feet. VNE is 140 MPH. Rate of climb at gross weight is around 700 feet per minute.
I tipped a motorcycle over at Bonneville in 1995 at a little over 300 miles per hour and received a traumatic brain injury. I was never supposed to be able to stand unassisted, speak in complete sentences or manage any complex tasks. “Brain cells don’t grow back!” they said. I am also blind in one eye. I fly with a statement of demonstrated ability.
I was born in 1949.
I am a certified flight instructor and if the idea of flying a gyroplane appeals to you I will teach you to fly in The Predator or your own gyroplane.
I am based in Santa Maria, California at the Santa Maria Public Airport.
I have been known to give introductory gyroplane flight lessons at airshows or events time and weather permitting.
I can be reached at (805)680-9523 from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm.
If I don’t answer I am probably flying and I will get back to you’re the same day.
Thank you for your interest, Vance & Edna Breese

It is much more readable in big and the spacing makes more sense.

 

[kyron]

awesome Vance!
Love it all! Thank for sharing!
Kyron

 

[Vance]

6:00 and ready to leave the house.

6:00 and ready to leave the house.

My pleasure Kyron.

Weather looks good with a three to five knot tail wind most of the way.

AIRMET Tango is in effect for the entire route for moderate turbulence.

Hope to be wheels up by 8:00 and arrive at Cable (CCB) before the TFR begins. With the stop at Santa Paula for gas it should be possible.

My LODA didn’t arrive and I can’t exercise it until I have it in hand even though it has been approved and mailed on Tuesday.

I will be wearing my heavy overcoat and gloves because it is 38 degrees at SMX so it will be hard for me to take pictures.

The Go Pro is charged up and ready to go so I hope to get some video of the air show performance.

There is a 50% chance of rain on Saturday but things look good for the Sunday show and the flight home Monday.

 

[Vance]

After dealing with a lot of last minute details I launched.

After dealing with a lot of last minute details I launched.

I left the top up for the drive to the airport.

I was a little bulky with thermals, thick socks, and a thermal top over the thermals, my flight suit and a heavy flight jacket.

Loading for several days is a slow careful process.

I did most of the preflight last night but it still took a while to check her over.

When I pulled The Predator outside my windshield immediately fogged up both inside and outside and the windshield became opaque.

Jim Jones was in the tower and wished me a nice trip. I suspect the red suitcase in the back seat tipped him off.

We were wheels up by 8:15 and flying into the morning sun. With my gloves and heavy coat made taking pictures impractical. It was beautiful after a week of rain the hills are starting to turn green and the scent of damp earth was a nice companion.

I wanted to reach Cable before the temporary flight restriction at noon and in time for the pilots briefing at 11:00 so I ran her along at seventy five to eighty knots. I quickly found the reason for AIRMET Tango as we rocked and rolled toward the San Marcos pass. The prevailing wind was a ten knot tail so I was seeing ground speed near 95kts to 100kts (115 MPH)

Santa Barbara approach was easy and I am getting better at entering the squawk code by feel. The rising and descending air kept me busy managing air speed and altitude with lots of wind shears over ten knots.

As I entered Santa Barbara’s class C airspace I asked for a descent from 3,500 feet to 2,500 feet. I pulled the power back smoothly and still climbed to 3,800 feet. “Experimental two Mike Golf; did you hit turbulence?” I reported 600 feet per minute rising air and wind shear at 15kts. For the next 15 miles I was his weather station as my tail wind became a head wind.

The cold made the entire experience even more vivid.

I slipped through no name pass and over Lake Casitas. The sun was getting a little higher making the view even nicer.

I listened to Santa Paula CTAF for a while before I heard runway four was in use. I flew upwind over the city for a right down wind for runway four.

The landing was magic and I headed for fuel. 1.1 hours of flight and I was more than half way. I aimed for and missed a 9:30 departure. My preflight kept getting interrupted by curious people passing by and asking questions.

We were pushing against a ten to fifteen knot head wind as I made my way toward Santa Clarita and Magic Mountain. The aerobatic box was empty. I was careful to stay wide of a TFR over Porter ranch for a gas leak. I had marked it carefully on my terminal area chart. It goes from the surface to 2,000 feet and very near my normal flight path.

I called Whiteman ten miles to the North West over interstate five at 2,500 feet. For some reason he had trouble finding me. I suspect I was a little low for his radar.

I asked for a transition to the east north of the two ten along the hills.

It took some back and forth to get it right so I am going to have to work on my communication. I flew under the edge of Burbank’s class Charlie airspace and except for the head wind and some turbulence seemed to be going very well.

I called El Monte and also had some communication challenges.

I called Brackett and somehow they thought I had left Cable. My lips were numb so I may not have been speaking clearly. I usual slow down when I use the radio so the wind noise may have been adding to the challenge.

Abeam Bracket ATC asked me to report Cable in sight. The mist was out and I could identify very little. I asked for a frequency change and it was approved as requested with no traffic in the pattern at Cable.

I made my down wind, base and final calls and touched down as nice as could be and taxied to restaurant parking.

162 nautical miles (186 statute miles) in 2.2 hours is an average speed of 74kts (85 miles per hour).

I made the pilot’s briefing and flew a short practice a little after 13:00.

Things were going well till I did a zoom climb and started pulling the power back at 15kts. Instead of descending the VSI was showing 1,500 feet per minute climb as I hit the stop on the throttle. I turned right and let the indicated air speed build back up, added power and soon saw an eight hundred foot per minute descent. I flew the same path several times with much more typical results.

I climbed to a thousand feel AGL, slowed to near zero indicated air speed a pulled the engine to idle. It went well and I landed within a few feet of my target.

Bob Cable let me use the hangar with a nice man in a wheel chair flying a towed kite and a trike in the air show. When I left the hangar he and his helpers were preparing pyrotechnics for his night show.

Ed is stuck in stop and go traffic from a big accident and the sine says it will be another hour and fifteen minutes.

There is a big hangar party and Barbeque tonight.

My friend Scott gave me a call and we will visit tomorrow.

I love the adventure.

 

[Vance]

A lovely air show with no rain.

A lovely air show with no rain.

The air show went great today; dry and cold.

I was able to fly the Gyro Thingy (what it was called on the schedule) twice, got some nice go pro video of the first routine and Ed took some video of the second routing. Both need a lot of editing.

My friend Kyron showed up and went to Bob Cable’s party with me this evening. Just got back and it is time for bed. He had never seen The Predator fly.

Tomorrow will probably be even more hectic. With the survivors party in the Tumbled Gyro Hangar it will be a late night and I want to get an early start on Monday. I just wanted to let everyone know that The Predator is still in one piece and the FAA didn’t have anything bad to say.

The weather is looking good for tomorrow and for the flight home on Monday except for a chance of scattered showers near Santa Maria in the morning and early afternoon. Hopefully it will be a little warmer and I can get some pictures on the flight home.

Ed and I aren’t any good at editing so I will take Ralf, my head support person at Santa Mari Software to work on it. He is busy with price books now and repairing our server after we lost a hard drive.

 

[Vance]

Another perfect day.

The Predator is still in one place.

No accidents or incidents.

Survivor’s party ran late.

The weather is looking good for the flight home.

Time for bed.

 

[Vance]

Home Safely!

Home Safely!

Clear skies and light winds till severe turbulence near the Newhall pass.

Took some pictures despite the cold and will try to begin telling of the fun soon.

The Videos will take a long as they take. I would love to edit them so that it goes from back and forth between Ed’s video to the Go Pro. I will try to find a friend to impose on. I am not up to the task.

I am exhausted and have lots of things to catch up on.

My LODA was in the PO Box when Ed checked it and I need to work on understanding that first. There are several opportunities hanging fire over that.

Just wanted to let my friends know I am home safe and almost warm.

I also exceeded 1,700 hours as pilot in command on this trip and want to write about that in a seperate thread.

 

[Vance]

Flying in the Cable Air Show.

Flying in the Cable Air Show.

Saturday we were up at 5:30 so we could get The Predator from the hangar over to the display area and preflight her before the pilot’s briefing at 8:30. Preflight should never be rushed and the airshow is a difficult environment so it extends the time it takes.

I spent over a half hour on one little scratch in the paint on the cheek plates because I had a crake in that exact place at The Hollister air show three years ago and spent the day explaining why I was not flying in Sunday’s show.

Careful examination with a magnifying light indicated it was just a scratch in the paint. I still marked in and checked it after each flight.

At the Pilots Briefing the schedule had us listed as the “gyro thingy” between Doctor D and Marcus in his Super Stearman. I had corrected the Air Boss last year at the pilots briefing when the Cavalon was listed as a gyrocopter and this was Ryan’s response. We seem to be a source of comic relief during the very serious business of explaining the details of the waiver, the air box and the procedures for having a safe event. I gave my information about The Predator and the Pilot to the announcer and went over my routine.

I wanted to make a low high speed pass over the north taxiway with the open hangars as a back ground and Bob Cable, the Air Boss (Ryan) and the FAA all needed to approve and this was likely the only time during the day they would all be in one place. It was approved as requested and a zoom climb and low slow pass was added to the things I could do over the north taxiway.

We would have two 15 minute flights, one at 11:00 and one at 15:00. This worked out great because I could tell people that missed the morning flight that they could catch it again in the afternoon. My friend and student Kyron showed up too late for the first show so it worked out well.

Two representatives from the Riverside FSDO gave the Predator a careful examination and studied my paperwork and log books at length. The complimented the detail in the log books and it was all very friendly.

Many people have asked what to do with a gyroplane in an air show. I have a low fear threshold so I am not as aggressive as some I have seen and don’t do anything I haven’t practiced at length. I have an outline of the maneuvers on my kneeboard but I seldom get to fly the show as planned.

The routine: When I hear that the air box is mine I pre-rotate and get the rotor up to 220 rotor rpm before we reach show center. At show center I advance the throttle and we are off in about 120 feet.

I keep the nose down and accelerate to about 80kts before we make a zoom climb and a hard right 180 so I can get a downhill run for my high speed pass.

I wanted to be level past show center at around 90kts indicated air speed but
I found it hard to be precise.

Each show was progressively better typically seeing between 94kts and 98kts on the GPS and getting progressively lower and flatter.
There winds were light and variable most of the time.

Near the end of the taxiway we do an aggressive zoom climb with a hard turn to the left seeing over 2,200 feet per minute on the VSI.


I do some steep left and right turns to show the roll rate and then some slow (35kts) tight turns to demonstrate maneuverability.

At 800 feet AGL we slow to near zero ground speed, start a slow 180 and I pull the power making a near vertical descent.

I tried to disappear behind the hangars for theater before lowering the nose and adding power but the timing was tricky and I only got it right once. We accelerate close to the ground and then pop up with another zoom climb climbing to 300 feet agl, make a descending turn over some power lines and then slow flight (less than 25kts) about 20 feet above the ground to past show center.

Just past the crowd I pick up some speed and climb up to 500 feet agl, slow to 29kts indicated air speed and pull the power for an engine at idle stop and go.

This all takes about eight minutes.

I let Ryan know I am finished and he usually asks for a couple of passes and some stop and goes to make the schedule work. The first day in the second performance he doubled my time. I felt silly just flying around for 15minutes trying to make the same maneuvers look different but the Super Stearman was not yet warmed up.

This routine is never routine with many interruptions to manage the constant flow of traffic.

Part of why I sometimes land and depart on the north taxiway is to keep the runway clear. Ryan warns the inbound traffic of the proximity of the “gyro thingy” and tells them I will stay clear of the runway. The north taxiway makes the engine at idle landings a little tricky because the wires are only about 30 feet from the taxiway.

There was a lot of nice feedback from the people who watched the show.

Kyron joined me for the party at Bob Cable’s hangar Saturday night and we had a lot of fun. Ed was feeling under the weather so she missed the fun. The people in charge had nothing but nice things to say and the FAA representative defined what I was doing as aerobatic flight but felt I was not doing anything dangerous. He has more than 30 years with the FAA.

I am going to try to get an ACE endorsement this year to take that controversy off the table. The problem is getting the FSDOs (San Jose, Van Nuys and Riverside) to agree on who can sign a gyroplane off for aerobatics.

For those interested in such detail there are three separate definitions of aerobatics in the FARs and I am prohibited from doing aerobatics without an ACE card even in waivered airspace.

The Predator was very well received and I encourage experienced gyroplane pilots to fly air shows. I find a lot of joy and I learn a lot about flying a gyroplane.

I don’t know when I can get the video edited and posted. It is too much for Ralph so I need to find a friend to take advantage of. There is some exciting footage and some not so exciting footage. I would like to go back and forth between Ed’s video and the Go Pro.

Time for bed.

 

[Vance]

Another day of revelry!

Another day of revelry!

Sunday morning came early and Ed was feeling rough.

We picked up The Predator at the hangar and ran it over to our parking spot. I finished the preflight before we headed off to the Pilot’s briefing.

At Saturday’s briefing Ryan had moved Sunday’s pilot’s briefing up to 8:00 but it appeared that very few had heard him so the briefing started at 8:30. You can’t start a pilot’s briefing with no pilots.

The message was basically do what you did yesterday because it worked.

There was red streamer strung around the chairs like police tape and it had all come off of the towed hang glider. It would get hooked on the different planes and trail out behind them. The pilot made a note to himself to use a different brand of streamer.

The schedule was basically the same with some extra flybys squeezed in. The “gyro thingy” was still between Frank’s Taylor Craft and Marcus in the Super Stearman at 10:30 and 14:30.

Frank is very precise so I just watch him and when he rolls up to the warmup area I get ready to go. It takes a minimum of five minutes to get The Predator ready to go and do the run up. My hand held was giving me trouble so the Air Boss called me on my cell phone to let me know he had moved things up about 15 minutes. We were already getting ready because we had seen Frank roll up to the run up area. We can’t start the prop near the crowed so we had to push The Predator up the hill to the taxiway. Most of the people working the line are even older than I am so Ed and I pushed her up ourselves. Ed was feeling diminished so I was quite winded by the time I climbed in. I called the Air Boss ready to start and was to start and taxi to the run up area just as they were recovering the towed hang glider and Frank was pulling out on the runway and holding.

I love watching Frank (Doctor Ds old time aerobatics) fly. He is the consummate professional with nothing out of place. He shuts the engine off and stops the prop in his clipped wing Taylorcraft and does some more aerobatics before performing a dead stick landing. He comes rushing by me in a hard slip to touch down at show center. The extra speed is in case the wind changes and he needs to extend his glide. The air boss tells me to position and hold as soon as Frank is past and I began my take off roll as soon as he is clear of the active unless I am launching from the north taxiway.

I was starting to feel more comfortable with the routine and my field of vision was expanding. They had added some extra flybys and I was better able to track them and adjust my route before hearing from the Air Boss.

My waves to the crowd got a little longer and less tentative.

The crowed seemed about the same size as Saturdays but more involved with the flying.

The air boss asked me to extend for five minutes so I did another stop and go and low slow pass.

Sunday’s crowd seemed more excited with more waves and thumbs up.

It was a big help being able to taxi with the rotor turning. I was out of the way quickly and had more time to thank the crowd.

A lot of people came by asking questions and saying it looked like fun. The fun of flying seems to be what I communicate best.

The car show drive by was great. It was reminiscent of the small town cruise night down Main Street with the addition of an announcer who described each vehicle. There were some remarkable vehicles.

For the afternoon flight I had to pull out away from the crowd to get any peace for doing my preflight. They assigned a ground handler to help push because Ed was still feeling rough. He was nearly as old as me but seemed to hold up well.

We were running about five minutes ahead of schedule as Frank touched down until a DC 3 giving rides bounced a landing and went around putting us ten minutes behind. It helped me understand what a great job the air boss was doing as I heard him manage the backed up aircraft. There were five airplanes and two helicopters on all sides of Cable.

The second DC 3 landing was picture perfect managing the sloping runway well.

I was told to position and hold on runway 24. I had been idling for 15 minutes so I did another magneto check and was launched as soon as the DC 3 cleared the runway. There was something cool about waiting on a DC 3.

The flying was a delight with The Predator responding well to the slightest input. The winds were less disruptive and for the first time when I told the Air Boss I was finished I heard; “Vance, runway two four clear to land, nice show.”

There was a lot of waving and thumbs up as we taxied past the crowd.

I had promised Jared a ride after the show so I needed to work through a preflight. The show was over at 15:30 and the crowd started to thin out around 15:45. I sent Ed back to the motel in the hopes a little rest would fix her up.

Scott Schultz; an ATP and Jared’s uncle helped with the passenger briefing and we were ready to taxi at 16:00. The temporary tower was very busy launching people and managing low approaches. They took the time to understand my request for maneuvering just north of the field over the quarry below 2,500 MSL. “Experimental two Mike Golf we will try to fit you in, let me know when you are ready.”

It took about five minutes to warm up and as soon as I said experimental 142 Mike Golf; Holding short runway 24 ready for departure; ATC launched us; “2 Mike Golf, no delay runway 24 clear for takeoff, right turnout as soon as safe for inbound T6, maneuver north of the field at or below 2,500 feet.”

Jared had a go pro on a stick and just as we crossed the hold short line the screen read full. We had found one more way to get a go pro not to work.

I could hear Jared whooping and hollering as we did each maneuver. Scott got a picture of the gyro grin when we landed.

Scott followed me over to the hanger on the other side of the field and gave me a ride back to the Motel. Scott is the one who chauffeured us around the first time we came to the Cable Air Show and has become a good friend. He is largely responsible for my opportunity to fly in the Cable Air Show.

The survivor’s party at the Tumbled Gyro Hangar was a lot of fun even though Ed couldn’t make it. A lot of people asked after her.

I feel like I am standing with aviation giants and learn a lot about how to be an “Aviator”. I love sharing time with my friends at Cable

I spent a lot of time hearing great aviation stories and got some advice on how to improve the show. I need to install my smoke. Several people felt that smoke was the key to making the back slide have more impact.

Two people were inducted into the order of the round engine and one was knighted. Marcus had to stand on a chair because the knight had bad knees and couldn’t kneel.

The show raised a lot of money for aviation education and planning was already underway for next year. Bob Cable wants to put The Predator on the poster for next year’s show.

 

[StanFoster]

Way to enjoy your life and sharing it Vance.

 

[scottessex]

Way to go Vance! Thanks for sharing.

 

[j bird]

Vance, I can picture your story in my minds eye, love reading all your life's adventures, all the pics are great, but the one with the snow covered mountain and wispy clouds in the background, I like best of all.
It's going to be interesting to hear about some of your training issues in the future.

 

[Vance]

Writing about the fun and sharing the enjoyment with my friends gives me a second chance to appreciate it Stan.

I am living a lot of the audience’s dreams and I get to share my fun at the Air Show. Somehow they can’t imagine flying the Super Stearman or having the skill of Doctor D. They can imagine flying The Predator and it shows in their questions.

I am probably living the dream of some on the Rotary Wing Forum.

I love the way it feels to peg the VSI at 2,200 feet per minute descent as we hurtle toward the ground watching the indicated air speed pass 100kts as the hangars rush by and then peg the VSI at the end in the other direction as I turn back toward the crowd

When I pull the power at near zero indicated air speed I can see everyone watching intently and I feel their relief when we gently touch down.

The air show is a wonderful excuse to explore the capabilities of The Predator and the proximity of the ground intensifies the sensations. I loved it that I was allowed to bring the experience so close to the crowed.


Glad to have you along Scott, you are a part of the fun.


That is Ed’s favorite picture too Jay. The picture says so many things on so many different levels.

The cool air coming off those snow covered hills added intensity to the whole affair.

It was interesting for Kyron to see the wild side of my flying after several hours flying together with my instructor hat on.

I spent some time reminding Kyron why not to try this on his own until he had lots of experience because it was all about timing and discipline.

 

[Vance]

Homeward Bound!

Homeward Bound!

I kissed Ed good bye at the hangar and worked through my preflight. I filled up at the self-serve and headed over to Mad Mike’s Café to wait for my ten o’clock passenger.

I marveled at the quiet that had descended over the Cable airport that had been the scene of so much intense activity the day before.

A finch jointed me near my table and seemed interested in my charts. I felt like I was consulting with a fellow aviator.

At ten I figured out I had been stood up and call Lockheed Martin. No AIRMETS or SIGMETS and only one TFR over the Porter Ranch for a gas leak along our route of flight. The biggest reported winds were seven knots near Whitman. We were wheels up at 10:20. The departure to the west from Cable is a little confusing. I make a left downwind departure turning north mid field and turning west past the 210 freeway. It makes for an interesting radio call.

Several people wished me well on the CTAF before I changed to the Bracket frequency. I described my position, altitude and intentions and the transition was approved. I called El Monte and went through the same thing. Everyone seemed particularly helpful. I feel like I am talking to a friend and they help me on my journey.

I love the solitude of flying and still find it nice to hear from my friends that are looking out for me in this busy corridor.

There was a bite to the air but it was not cold enough to be uncomfortable and the ride was smooth. I flew along at 60kts already feeling that the flight would be over too soon. A part of my mind replayed the highlights of the adventure of the last several days while another portion loved the moment.

The traffic was still snarled on the 210 freeway below making my 60kts seem blazingly fast. My ground speed exactly matched the indicated air speed with the winds out of the north.

I called Whitman and had a little trouble with communication because there is a hill in the way. “Aircraft calling inbound say call sign.” Once communications were established they had trouble finding me on radar and had me ident. Once they found me they were very helpful about staying out of Burbank’s airspace. It is tricky because the surface airspace isn’t round and there are places I can fly underneath. The floor is 3,500 as I fly over some hills and then I cut under a corner of it where the floor is 3,000. I didn’t want to diminish their gift by telling them I had my terminal chart out and was well aware of the location of the Burbank airspace.

I was to report intercepting the 210 freeway. I fly north of the 210 so this didn’t make sense to me. I asked for a clarification and ATC simply repeated the instructions.

I find it difficult to describe flying on the edge of the Los Angeles Basin so the pictures will have to tell the story.

It is thirty seven nautical miles from Cable (CCB) to Whitman (WHP) along the 210 Freeway. The pictures all look the same to me. My distaste for big cities is showing.

I couldn’t see down town LA for the smog and mist even passing just fifteen nautical miles away.

We encountered moderate turbulence abeam Whiteman and I reported it. It became severe turbulence on the edge of the Newhall pass.

I love the contrast in the flight from Upland to Burbank compared to Santa Clarita to Santa Paula so I will make that a separate part of the journey. For me part of the magic of flying is the way it ties such diverse scenery together.

 

[FRANK'S]

Vance i think you fly more then I work, good for you.
Fly like a bird and be free but more important be safe.

 

[Vance]

Santa Paula for lunch!

Santa Paula for lunch!

Thank you Frank, I have my priorities.

I was carefully watching my chart and had marked the TFR for Porter Ranch just off to the left in the first picture (#8).

I followed Interstate Five to Magic Mountain and turned left. That thing that looks like a birds nest directly ahead in picture #9 is the Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park and was my waypoint for staying out of the Porter Ranch TFR.

I love flying down the narrow valley but it has an aerobatic box so I listen to the frequency (122.775) and stay below the 1,500 foot floor. They have UAVs near Fillmore below 2,500 feet so this requires some precision.

I had a 12 to 14kt tail wind on a heading of 258 degrees so I imagined runway four would be in use.

I called inbound ten miles to the east for right traffic for runway four. Because of the proximity of the mountains that is a straight in to the downwind from my position. I heard several pilots using runway four so I thought I was good to go.

An RV reported calm winds and took off on the calm wind runway (22) so an inbound Luscombe who was headed for four changed to two two as did I. That meant an upwind over the City of Santa Paula at 1,500 feet with a left crosswind over the departure end of runway two two.

The yellow Luscombe pilot was giving good radio but I couldn’t find him till he turned base so I was extra cautious about my pattern entry.

There was a line at the pump and the yellow Luscombe was opposite direction so I was a little slow deciding how to clear the runway with the rotor whirling at a good clip.

After filling up while securing The Predator two friends came by and invited me to lunch at Café 126 on the field. It was fun sharing the excitement of the Cable Air Fair and Pat Quin was interested in how I managed the Class C Burbank air space. The last time he flew over the top at 5,000 feet and was very cold in his open biplane and he was looking for an easier, warmer way.

 

[gyroman]

Always nice reading your stories Vance..

 

[Vance]

Always nice reading your stories Vance..

Thank you Toby; glad to have you along.

I often wonder about how to communicate the joy I find in the sky and the process helps me to appreciate my good fortune.

I feel like I have photographed the local scenery too much and it is nice to leave the area.

I just realized I have not communicated the trepidation I feel flying over heavily populated areas of the Los Angeles basin. I am sure that as I got nearer the ground the landing spots would seem bigger. I am flying about 1,500 feet above the ground and from that vantage point things look foreboding. It lasts for more than a half hour from Cable to Whitman.

I often imagine strange noises or peculiar vibrations.

There are wires strung everywhere.

 

[Vance]

The final leg

The final leg

I called for an abbreviated briefing from Lockheed Martin and things were looking good.

I made a straight out departure from runway 22 with a turn to the west over the Saticoy Bridge. We quickly climbed to 4,500 feet in the cool air on a magnetic heading of 270 toward the San Marcos VOR.

The world seems to open up as we climb and I loved the look of the sun reflecting a path across the Pacific Ocean.

We flew over Lake Casitas high enough that we didn’t need to use no name pass.

I called Santa Barbara Approach he gave me a transponder code and verified altitude. He reminded me that the top of his airspace was 4,000 feet but thanked me for checking in. He did give me two traffic alerts. One was for a helicopter at my 11:00 at 3,800 feet just as I was starting to descend over the San Marcos Pass. I stopped my descent till he passed directly below me.

It was nice to be in the familiar skies near home and I slowed a little to savor the feelings.

I checked the SMX ATIS and called the tower from ten miles out. I was to fly direct to the numbers and report three miles. Five aircraft called after me with four to the South East as I was including a reginal jet. The tower told me to report a left down wind for 30 and when I questioned it he changed it to a right down wind and asked me to fly a heading of 210 degrees and report established on a right down wind. He had pilots making left or right 360s and vectoring them all over the place so they would not arrive all at the same time and wouldn’t run into each other. I was just about to ask for a clarification when I realized he was asking me to fly up wind over the city and enter a right down wind for runway three zero on the forty five. About a mile out he asked me to make a base entry behind the reginal jet, number two, runway three zero clear to land. I ran her up to 90kts and landed long for wake turbulence avoidance and had to wait for the jet to taxi by on taxiway Alpha. The others landed in rapid succession.

“Thanks for the help Vance, taxi to parking via Alpha 4, Alpha, Mike, monitor ground.”

I read back the taxi clearance and taxied to the hangar. I spent almost a half hour in afterglow before I worked through my shut down list.

As I drove home I felt constrained by the lanes, intersections and speed limits. The heater felt nice.

 

[Vance]

Two weeks of rainy weather in California.

Two weeks of rainy weather in California.

I haven’t flown since I returned from Cable because of the weather. It has been rainy and overcast for the last two weeks with a few breaks in the weather that I managed to miss. The day after a storm there is usually a lot of wind. I repaired a leaking brake hose and managed some other maintenance on The Predator as well as getting the hangar and the van back in order after my rush to leave for Cable.

The Garmin 295 I purchased used is in great shape and works well.

Because of the color screen it takes six batteries instead of four. It interfered with the windshield and the vertical card compass. I decided to think on it some more instead of trying to get it finished before leaving for the Cable Air Show.

I had my 696 on a kneeboard for the flight to Cable.

For no particular reason I tried the on button on the Pilot III on the flight down and it came to life. It was what I used for all five air show flights for ground speed. It stopped working on the trip home.

As part of setting the 295 up I walked around outside and found that unlike my 696 the 295 was very hard to read outside even under overcast skies and nearly impossible in direct sunlight.

A friend of mine in Vancouver, Washington had a couple of Garmin 196s and sold them to me for $200 for the bundle. They arrived Saturday Morning and I felt like a little kid at Christmas as I opened the package from my friend. They are both in great shape and the gray scale screen is much easier to read in direct sunlight. The 196 is slightly smaller and thinner than the 295 because it has two less batteries so I just need to fabricate a bracket and I can mount it where the Pilot III was without moving the vertical card compass. I need to keep the antenna a ways from the vertical card compass or it affects the compass reading.

Unlike my Pilot III the 196 still has updates available. The more I play with it the more I like it.

The 196 has two features that I particularly like; it shows the glide ratio and has an automatic log book. My 696 has those features and I have come to like them. I find the glide ratio useful to demonstrate to a student how important best glide speed is when the engine goes quiet and the log book is a handy back up in case I forget to enter a flight in my log book or I am writing about a flight and am not certain about the details.

None of the brackets that came with the 196s will work for my application so there is still some thinking and fabrication to do.