The real winds of November!

[Vance]

I finished up at 10:50 and headed off to the airport.

I had the top down so I could tell how cold and windy it was.

The air was clean because of the storms that had just passed though.

Santa Maria ATIS had the winds 330 degrees at 17kts gusting to 24kts.

Lockheed Martin said it was only going to get worse and there was airmet Tango for moderate turbulence below 8,000 feet. There was also mountain obscuration so VFR was not recommended. Let’s not forget icing above 5,000 feet.

Things were just as bad and predicted to get just as worse at San Louis Obispo.

It wasn’t as bad at Santa Barbara but I had learned to stay out of the Gaviota pass with turbulence and the ridgeline between Santa Ynez and Santa Barbara is well known for creating turbulence and it is 4,000 plus feet high along its length.

I have decided not to fly to Long Beach for the AOPA convention so I wanted to make the most out of my last two days to fly before I leave on Wednesday morning.

I decided to fly to Santa Barbara for lunch just because it was a challenging thing to do.

I have found that when I press on things that I have wonderful experiences.

I have only flown direct to Santa Barbara once and I had extra trouble with ATC.

Having the power to climb over the hill was exciting and I hadn’t used it in a while. The cold winter air should keep the engine cool even at high power settings.

My last challenging flight was to El Mirage and the Ken Brock Freedom Fly In and it was great fun but a while ago.

Everything went well and I called the tower holding short of runway 30 ready for departure, request a right down wind to the South East. It was approved as requested.

We were at 1,300 feet before I turned crosswind. I have to be careful with my heading on down wind or I will cross the centerline for the approach end of 30 with a lot of fast commercial traffic. I headed for Lake Cachuma climbing steadily.

The air was clear and the view was magnificent in every direction. As we climbed our world expanded.

Around 10 miles before we reached Lake Cachuma we were at 4,500 feet and could just see the silvery ocean on the other side of the ridgeline.

I felt like I was opening a treasure box with the sea gleaming back at us.

I had trouble picking up Santa Barbara’s ATIS until we were about 8 miles out at 5,500 feet over Lake Cachuma. I was very cold and it seemed like when I called approach that both my mouth and brain weren’t working well as I read my radio call sheet.

When I tried to write down my squawk code I found that my hand could not grip my wet erase and I promptly dropped it. I fished another out of the flight bag and managed to scribble some things on my kneeboard.

Radar contact was established and altitude was verified.

Approach wanted me to make a right down wind entry for 33 right and that meant flying out over the ocean about 2 miles. I asked to land on runway 25 and was told to contact the tower.

By this time we were getting bounced around over the ridgeline at 6,000 feet around 6 miles from the airport. We caught a little lift and continued to climb with the power well back. I felt very insecure with so little noise out back. I wondered if it would come alive when I advanced the throttle. My carburetor icing memories came flooding back.

When I contacted the tower he asked if I had the airport in sight.

I had the airport in sight almost 6,000 feet below. For me there is something extra intimidating when we get bounced around that far above the ground. It seems like the fall lasts longer and it is hard to quantify just what has happened.

I wondered how to get down in an orderly way. When I slowed down the bouncing got worse. When I dropped the nose it felt like it was going to keep dropping. It felt like were bouncing around a lot but not moving at all. A part of me was thrilled with the intensity of the experience. Another part of me was anxious.

I was to make a 2 mile right base entry for runway 25 and watch for opposite direction traffic. I find that it is hard to judge distance from that altitude and it was a 45 degree angle back to the airport and we were 5 miles to the north so the GPS couldn’t tell me where a two mile right base was.

ATC asked me to square my base turn for traffic clearance and I called turning base. The tower said “Experimental 2 Mike Golf, Roger!”

I found that I was 2.8 miles from the runway 25 as I turned final and I again let the tower know and again he said, “Experimental 2 Mike Golf, Roger!”

A regional Jet was ready for departure on runway 25 and was told to hold short for landing traffic.

I let the tower know that I was making 38kts of ground speed and could slow up to allow traffic to depart and he came back, “Experimental 2 Mike Golf, Roger!”

ATC asked what my destination was and I said, Signature. “Experimental 2 Mike Golf, turn right at Bravo and contact ground.”

The winds were 310 degrees at 18kts gusting to 28kts. The beginning of the landing was ugly but the touchdown was nice and at Bravo. We quickly scooted off the runway and contacted ground. I had trouble hearing ground’s instructions because of the departing regional jet.

I had a 20kt tail wind during most of the flight. My best previous time from SMX to SBA had been an hour and five minutes. The tachometer time was .8 hours. I asked the line person to top her off because I would be fighting a head wind back to Santa Maria. The line person thought the Predator was “coooool!”

Given their recent arrest at gunpoint I was surprised to see John and Martha’s business jet on the ramp as I walked to the FBO.

The people at Signature were very nice and I headed for the Elephant Bar for a nice lunch. I was the only one eating outside on the blustery November day.

I found many ways to delay our departure but eventually ran out of excuses and called clearance delivery for a departure to the Northwest and was to take off from one of the 33 runways. I asked which one and they said the tower would let me know. My read back was correct.

I called ground and they modified my clearance for runway 25 with everything being the same after flying runway heading. I called the tower ready for departure and they came back, “Experimental 142 Mike Golf, taxi to runway 25 via Juliet.”

The winds were whipping around even more as we began our take off roll but the takeoff was still nice and we climbed out at over 1,000 feet per minute. The tower turned me over to departure and radar contact was established and altitude verified. I was to resume own navigation at appropriate VFR altitude. I mentioned that meant turning East and then North over the gap and departure repeated the instructions.

We cleared the ridgeline and headed down the other side toward Lake Cachuma. I soon began to lose radio contact and they turned me over to approach on a different frequency. It wasn’t long before I lost them all together and tuned the transponder to 1200 and listened to Santa Ynez. 5 miles from Santa Ynez I tuned in the SMX ATIS and couldn’t hear it. We were still 24 miles out. I tuned in the tower frequency in time to hear “142 Mike Golf, are you up and on frequency?”

I responded that I was and they told me that Santa Barbara had lost me and had called them to look for me. I was to make a straight in for 30 and report 3 miles.

The bumpy ride continued as did the 25kt head wind. I ran her up to 75kts indicated airspeed and was making just over 50kts of ground speed. The airspeed indicator was bouncing through 20kts. We were slowly descending and sometimes climbing as the engine rpm picked up RPM with the reduced altitude.

I was to fly heading 310 to allow a fast twin to pass to my left. I guessed and aimed at a distant spot that seemed to be about 310. She was yawing left and right in an uncommanded way so my vertical card compass was not very helpful.

It all worked out and the landing was one of those where we stopped over the runway and descended gently to the ground.

It took quite a while to get the rotor stopped and I sat in the afterglow for a long time.

The trip back took 1.2 hours and it felt good.

The weather is supposed to be much better tomorrow and I have less work to do.

Thank you, Vance

 

[Vance]

A few more pictures.

A few more pictures.

Flying high!

 

[ms80831]

Vance

Winds can be fun, to a point ...

Our local weather man said today (was 70F) will probably be the warmest for the rest of the year.

Snow is forecast for Thursday, and next Monday.

So instead of our weekly flight next Monday, I may be sitting by the fire reading about yours on my laptop.

Mark

 

[Vance]

Steady winds are fun!

Steady winds are fun!

I find the gusty bumpy conditions less fun and more challenging.

I found the challenge alluring.

I could not see my foe but I knew where he might be hiding.

I was able to manage his efforts but it felt good to be back at SMX in one piece.

I feel fortunate that we have so many good flying days here.

You are always welcome to come along Mark; it makes it more fun for me.

It is hard to describe the joy I found in the less than perfect conditions yesterday. I have been playing the flight over in my mind and it was as pleasurable as a flight on a perfect day with the winds calm and 70 degrees.

Santa Barbara ATC is always a challenge and it helps me to appreciate our little airport.

It is that perfect day I was talking about so I better go fly quickly while the memories of the challenging flight are still fresh.

Thank you, Vance

 

[willisbr]

Vance I have the same radio as you do. Are you pleased with it and have you considered upgrading in the future? My antenna is angled on the top of my rear keel. Sometimes I can't get good reception for ASOS/AWOS etc. unless I turn around and face my antenna towards the transmitter. And I have yet to be able to contact FSS to activate a flight plan at 2k feet.

 

[Kevin_Richey]

I enjoyed another one of your adventurous flights, Vance.

Gusty winds I don't enjoy. Not because gyros can't handle them, but to me, it's like charging down a chuck hole ridden gravel or dirt road in a automobile. The vehicle can handle it, but where is the enjoyment?

Steady winds are a lot more fun.

Thanks for showing us photos, also!

 

[SgurlEd]

Our Old flight to Brrrrr!

Our Old flight to Brrrrr!

This picture was taken back in Nov/Dec 2008 and was it cold...what's amazing is you can't tell the difference between then and now.

It's amazing how the weather is somewhat predictable in our area!
(except where we live there is a bit of a micro-climate)

The winds of late seem to be a bit more crazy than usual y difference!

Vance has been having so much fun and I love the fact that when faced with challenges he embraces them...I need to be more like that!
Cheers! Ed

 

[Vance]

The fun is in the challenge!

The fun is in the challenge!

Hello Brian,

In my opinion with Santa Barbara the radio problem is caused by the ridgeline. There antenna is on the ground at KSBA and the hills are made of iron and 4,000 feet high in their lowest parts. Most aircraft have this problem and radar loses sight of me below around 3,500 feet, sometimes as high as 4,000 feet msl.

Flight service doesn’t work around here unless I am above 3,500 feet.

I activate my flight plan with my cell phone while still on the ground.

The antenna for the Predator is imbedded in the fiberglass nose and seems to work well.

I was talking to KSMX from 24 miles out at 3,500 feet. ATC says that compared to most rotorcraft the Predator’s radio is very good.

I have a special leather and foam cover for the microphone.

I could not hear SMX ATIS from 24 miles out but if I pull out the squelch knob on the tuner I can usually make out what they are saying even from that far away.

I can barley pick up the ATIS for San Louis Obispo from 13 miles out. It is noisy and hard to understand.

The radio doesn’t work well at SBP when I am at 700 feet through the Avilla pass just 5 miles from the airport because I am below the ridgeline. If I am line of sight it works fine in that location.

The Predator has an Icom A200. Mariah Gale will have the newer Icom A210 only because I want to monitor two frequencies at the same time and interface with my Garmin 695. I might go with the Garmin SL40 radio if there is some compelling reason to pay the extra money. I don’t know it at this moment.

When it comes to the antenna I will consult with my friends, Paul Plack and Rocky who seem to know a great deal about such things.

On this flight a Sheriff’s helicopter was trying out all their radios and I could hear them loud and clear and another aircraft could hear them loud and clear as they went through about 4 different radios. They were low and about 15 miles out and the tower said they were too garbled to understand. The tower could hear both of us loud and clear as we relayed the position and intention information to the tower. Once the helicopter was about 10 miles out the tower could hear them but it was a little garbled. From 7 mile out it was loud and clear. I feel it has to do with the hills and the low altitude.

Hello Kevin, Glad to have you along.

The fun was in the challenge to dodge my invisible foe, to manage my trepidation at 6,000 feet AGL in turbulence and to manage my ground navigation from that altitude. I was at 6,000 feet to manage the wind over the ridge. The cold added to the challenge.

It is always a challenge to deal with SBA’s control tower.

The show off side of my personality likes to do nice landings in big winds just because I can.

I would have taken more pictures but between frozen fingers and being busy with the challenges I limited my photography. It was spectacularly beautiful and very big.

Thank you my Sweet Edna,

I do embrace challenge.

It was probably a poor aviation decision to fly, I don’t think you would have enjoyed it and you would have been very cold no matter how bundled up you were.

The turbulence wasn’t as bad as that day in the Gaviota pass but she still rolled around a lot with your occasional big drop. It was great to have the power to better manage it and not have to worry about carburetor ice. I love the IO-320B1A and the Catto Propeller.

Thank you, Vance

 

[All_In]

Almost missed this post, another COOL adventure.
I liked all of it but the frozen fingers, not looking forward to that.

Thank you for sharing!

 

[Vance]

No permanent damage.

No permanent damage.

Glad to have you along John.

There was no permanent damage John, only a temporary inability to grip the wet erase.

It was only uncomfortable above 5,000 feet MSL.

It is no different than riding a motorcycle in the snow except with thick gloves I can’t operate the radio and transponder.

By the time we landed the feeling in my feet had returned and there was very little ice left on the Predator.

Thank you, Vance

 

[ms80831]

Very Little Ice Left

Very Little Ice Left

...8 miles out at 5,500 feet over Lake Cachuma. I was very cold and it seemed like when I called approach that both my mouth and brain weren’t working well as I read my radio call sheet...

....When I tried to write down my squawk code I found that my hand could not grip my wet erase and I promptly dropped it....

...I do embrace challenge. It was probably a poor aviation decision to fly, ...

...Lockheed Martin said it was only going to get worse and there was airmet Tango for moderate turbulence below 8,000 feet. There was also mountain obscuration so VFR was not recommended. Let’s not forget icing above 5,000 feet.....

...By the time we landed the feeling in my feet had returned and there was very little ice left on the Predator....

Vance

Those are all YOUR WORDS.

I am speechless. What am I missing here? What happened?

Mark

 

[willisbr]

Thank you again Vance for a thorough and informative response. Eben emailed me and advised that I should try a di-pole antenna setup because he has had great success with it. I am a novice when it comes to avionics and radios so I will look more into this.

 

[Vance]

Vance

Those are all YOUR WORDS.

I am speechless. What am I missing here? What happened?

Mark

I am not sure what you are asking Mark.

I have lost the feeling in my extremities many times riding a motorcycle well above freezing because of the wind chill. It was windy enough to where the windshield did not keep the wind out of the cockpit. As we descended and I warmed up the feeling returned to my feet and hands and my brain and mouth worked better. My teeth had stopped chattering by the time we landed.

We picked up a little ice as we came over the ridgeline at 6,300 feet. The humidity was very high and the ice just formed for no particularly reason.

As we descended the ice melted and by the time we landed it was mostly just water with a little ice in odd places.

There was no snow on any of the hills. I have ridden through snow on my motorcycle in this area a few times but it is unusual for it to snow that close to the ocean. The ridgeline is about 7 miles from the shoreline at the point I crossed over it.

Your welcome Brian,

It is the blind leading the blind because I know very little about radios.
There are people on this forum that know a lot about radios, I am not one of them.

When I have a challenge I try to find out why and quantify the scope of the challenge.

When I come through the Gaviota pass I can’t hear Santa Barbara and they can’t hear me. As soon as I emerge from the pass and I am line of sight of SBA the radio works fine and we are around 20 miles west of the airport at that point.

When I am low and 17 miles to the east there are hills and cliffs between the Predator and the airport and I can hear them but sometimes my transmission is too gargled for ATC to understand. They tell me to call back and it usually works fine around 13 miles east when I can see the harbor and just make out the airport. Some days it works better than others.

I have talked to many local low flying pilots and this is not unusual in these places.

As my alternator was in it’s death throws I had a squeal in my side tone and the tower could hear it but could still understand my transmissions. It was nice when it was gone.

I love it when my radio works well.

Altitude seems to improve my radio performance.

Good luck with your radio challenges.

Thank you, Vance