- Joined
- Oct 30, 2003
- Messages
- 18,450
- Location
- Santa Maria, California
- Aircraft
- Givens Predator
- Total Flight Time
- 2600+ in rotorcraft
It is 9:00, 16:00 Zulu, and I can just see the street. The fog is blanketing the valley. I will write about Friday’s adventure to manage the gyroplane withdrawal.
LOL...boy that was putting it mildly!
Friday Ed and I took off from a busy SMX toward Santa Barbara with assurances we would have a tour of the tower and meet the people that are trying to keep Ed and I safe as we fly along the coast, land and depart from SBA.
I was a little apprehensive about going to the tower. I wasn't sure if they were just humoring us or truly sincere.
SBA is class C airspace and I have had challenges communicating with the tower. I finally developed a two page kneeboard sheet that has a lot of blanks to fill in that works pretty well. My relationship with SBA ATC has been improving and a face to face meeting seemed like the next step. We received more than we expected.
Vance works very hard at communication and I have to say it works very well. It manages to keep him focused especially at times when especially rather hectic up in the airspace around Santa Barbara.
So the better we can communicate with the tower the better it will be for us!
The hills of the California Coast are green this time of year and we were storing the memories for when the hills turn brown. Brown is still beautiful, but the lush green and the smell of the flowers make this a special time of year.
The view is fantastic and the smell of the fragrant Wild Lupine makes me long for the warm sultry summer days...of my childhood laying amongst the California Poppies and Luppin collecting Caterpillars, Butterflies and Ladybugs. Oh and not to mention Blue Bellied Lizards and Horney Toads too! Good Times I miss!
The Predator was climbing well over the Lompoc Valley and we flew over the Gaveota Pass at 3,000. We usually fly through it at 1,700 feet. I called approach from 18 miles west after listening to a very long ATIS three times to make sure all my notes were correct. Approach gave me a transponder code to squawk and radar contact was reported, I was to follow the 101 highway and make a base entry for 15 right. I try to stay one frequency ahead so when I am told to switch to tower or ground I can do it with the flip flop button on my radio. This helps me to focus on my flying and manage the radio and transponder when I am not busy.
I can tell when Vance is very focused, he looks like the man behind the curtain on the Wizard of Oz flipping switches and trying to maintain calm...Then the Wizard speaks "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain...I am the almighty powerful Oz why have you come!"
Ed and I can now converse over the intercom because of her mush mouth microphone. It is fun to share the excitement as we wander along the coastal mountains and beach. Unfortunately I am not able to talk to ATC with the intercom on so the conversations are often truncated.
I love to hear the chatter and try to figure out what's going on. It also helps me to help Vance spot aircraft that is flying in our vicinity. The Mush Mouth is nice because we seem to be able to communicate better.
There was no word from ATC as we approached our turn to final so I called, “experimental gyroplane 142 Mike Golf right base for 15 right.” I was told to continue east and they would call my final.
I'm constantly searching the area for aircraft. I it’s much harder to see when we are in a heavily populated area such as Santa Barbara.
There was an RV8 approaching from the east for 15 left so I flew against the hills. About a half mile past 15 right ATC told me, “experimental 142 Mike Golf make a 180 and you are cleared to land on 15 left.” I still didn’t have the RV in sight as we turned to head west.
As I said it hard to locate Planes too much people pollution. It's very frustrating to not be able to see the other planes; it keeps me on the edge of my seat until I see them.
Runway 15 left has a displaced threshold so I have about 150 feet before the first taxiway. If I miss the first taxiway I have to cross 25, their main runway, twice. I wanted to look cool so I worked a little too hard at hitting my spot and put the nose wheel down a little hard. We did make the first taxiway and we contacted ground and taxied to signature.
As usual the wonderful staff of Signature Flight Services was there to taxi us in...LOL
I called the tower and spoke to Mike, the manager. He said we were on for 1:30 and we wandered off to the Elephant Bar for lunch. The birds were especially entertaining and Ed got some pictures. We watched a Seagull swoop down on the table next to us that they hadn’t bussed yet, grab a chip, drop it in the water glass and fish it back out. The other Gulls stood back in admiration of his bold move and tried to get it away from him when he flew back to the grass.
Oh geezz I'm laughing so hard! It was just unbelievable that this bird actually did this and I was able to capture it.
It was very entertaining. I reminded me of something Harry in Florida sent to Vance it was a video clip with Crows being especially clever bending a wire to get a little bucket of seed out of a container. Bird Brain?? Pretty smart little Seagulls I think!!
The Signature FBO van gave us a ride to the tower and after a certain amount of confusion we were buzzed in, signed in, given badges and met with our tour guide, Mike the tower manager.
Those Signature folks are so nice!! I dreaded to walk all the way to the tower with all the layers I was wearing. Talk about sweating the work out...LOL
Mike took us back to his office and we spent about 45 minutes talking about the history of Autogiros and what my capabilities and limitations were. SBA is a training tower for TRACON and he said our unusual aircraft was a good training exercise.
And I was pleasantly surprised at how accommodating the Tower Boss was. He was an incredibly likable fellow who had lots of question for Vance too!
We then got the tour of the basement where they track everything on radar and saw Gordon, my initial contact, working his station. We watched an RV land at San Luis Obispo, SBP, and drop off the screen. It made me think again about using flight following.
I was trying really hard to be impressed and I was but my claustrophobia seemed to want to kick in, I hadn't had an attack in quite a while and this was very dark warm and enclosed...yikes!
The three of us climbed into a closet sized elevator and stopped three floors below the tower. It was stairs the rest of the way. The view from 11 stories up was spectacular and the stations are arranged well to hand off responsibility. We followed several flights through and I had a lot of questions that Mike patiently answered.
Then we had to ride half way up to the top in an elevator! Ok I'm 5' Vance and this other guy take up a lot of space and Air! I'm starting to panic this elevator was the size of a shoe box (well it felt like it anyway!) So I decided to focus on the conversation to get my mind off of the lack of oxygen an these two guys sucking it all down...LOL all the while my mind panicking!
Ahhh...the elevator door opens and what awaits us but even smaller stairwell that corkscrews to the top of the tower...oh man will this ever end?? Finally we make it to the top Thank God it opens up to the heavens of Santa Barbara. This is where Ground and Control Tower Talk to us. I always thought they were in two separate places.
The Tower was a hub of activity people being trained and monitor. It was fascinating to watch them in action. These poor guys are under a lot of stress!
On parting, Mike made it clear that he felt we were the reason he was there and he believed in customer service.
I truly felt his sincerity in taking good care of everyone that goes through their airport. Mike was very patient in listening and answering all our question. And not to mention Vance’s scenarios of what would happen if...??
We called Signature and the Van took us back for some free cookies.
Yup Vance does love those Cookies!
With a quick preflight and contact with clearance delivery, ground and the tower we were up up and away. We were stuck in a down wave and climbing very slowly as we headed west along highway 101.
About ten miles out we found some lift against the hills and we climbed to 3,000 feet and just peaked over the ridgeline. Our world expanded in that special way as we could see the hills rolling into the distant mist.
Leaving Santa Barbara was just beautiful there was a little haze in the sky that made it seem surreal, but it was enchanting!
Things were quiet on the IZA and LPC frequencies except for a parachute drop over LPC. We were high enough to receive SMX ATIS over the Lompoc valley and we called in over Harris grade, inbound at 1,000 feet with Romeo to land. We were to expect a base entry for 30 and report the Orcutt Y. There was a gaggle of Cessna’s descending on SMX and most were radio and taxiway challenged. We fit in between a couple of them and headed for the hanger.
Our airport seemed to be particularly busy. I could hear the urgency in which the Tower Boss spoke.
It was time for the monthly oil change, clean the screen, rotate spark plugs and torque the prop. Ed is a great help and doesn’t seem to mind getting dirty. We are developing a nice system of checks to increase my confidence that I haven’t forgotten anything. Ed filled out the paper work on the oil sample as I filled out the engine and aircraft logbooks.
No I don't mind, as a matter of fact I think it's important for the passenger to understand the way the aircraft works as much as the pilot needs to know. I look for cracks and leaks paying close attention to everything and bring it to Vance's attention. I'm a hands-on kinda gal!
There is one thing I do mind thou...like when I have a giant grease spot on my cheek and we are heading out to have dinner afterwards and Vance doesn't tell me...yea not so good Vance!!
I made a solo maintenance flight and was having so much fun I made 8 stop and goes as the sun went down. We didn’t get to dinner until 8:30. We had a long day of aviation adventures and we both learned a lot.
I managed to get some really great flying photos. Ever since Vance has been flying I have been up there with him so I hadn't taken any new photos of him flying Solo with my new Camera.
I just talked to Ed and she will try to download a photo stream before the fog burns off and we fly. Perfect flying conditions wait for no one.
I have a new laminated sheet for calling Lockheed Martin and it seems to make the interaction smoother. I thought that people at the airport were making fun of all my laminated reminders but I recently found out that several people have copied them.
I love the laminated thing, it's almost fool-proof. I think it's a really great idea because there is so much to think about sometimes you may forget things and this make s sure it stays the same everytime without error!
Thank you, Vance & Ed
PS. It is almost noon, 19:00 Zulu and I can just see blue sky over the Santa Maria Valley. SMX is still IFR but I expect that to change soon. We are off to fly!
LOL...boy that was putting it mildly!
Friday Ed and I took off from a busy SMX toward Santa Barbara with assurances we would have a tour of the tower and meet the people that are trying to keep Ed and I safe as we fly along the coast, land and depart from SBA.
I was a little apprehensive about going to the tower. I wasn't sure if they were just humoring us or truly sincere.
SBA is class C airspace and I have had challenges communicating with the tower. I finally developed a two page kneeboard sheet that has a lot of blanks to fill in that works pretty well. My relationship with SBA ATC has been improving and a face to face meeting seemed like the next step. We received more than we expected.
Vance works very hard at communication and I have to say it works very well. It manages to keep him focused especially at times when especially rather hectic up in the airspace around Santa Barbara.
So the better we can communicate with the tower the better it will be for us!
The hills of the California Coast are green this time of year and we were storing the memories for when the hills turn brown. Brown is still beautiful, but the lush green and the smell of the flowers make this a special time of year.
The view is fantastic and the smell of the fragrant Wild Lupine makes me long for the warm sultry summer days...of my childhood laying amongst the California Poppies and Luppin collecting Caterpillars, Butterflies and Ladybugs. Oh and not to mention Blue Bellied Lizards and Horney Toads too! Good Times I miss!
The Predator was climbing well over the Lompoc Valley and we flew over the Gaveota Pass at 3,000. We usually fly through it at 1,700 feet. I called approach from 18 miles west after listening to a very long ATIS three times to make sure all my notes were correct. Approach gave me a transponder code to squawk and radar contact was reported, I was to follow the 101 highway and make a base entry for 15 right. I try to stay one frequency ahead so when I am told to switch to tower or ground I can do it with the flip flop button on my radio. This helps me to focus on my flying and manage the radio and transponder when I am not busy.
I can tell when Vance is very focused, he looks like the man behind the curtain on the Wizard of Oz flipping switches and trying to maintain calm...Then the Wizard speaks "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain...I am the almighty powerful Oz why have you come!"
Ed and I can now converse over the intercom because of her mush mouth microphone. It is fun to share the excitement as we wander along the coastal mountains and beach. Unfortunately I am not able to talk to ATC with the intercom on so the conversations are often truncated.
I love to hear the chatter and try to figure out what's going on. It also helps me to help Vance spot aircraft that is flying in our vicinity. The Mush Mouth is nice because we seem to be able to communicate better.
There was no word from ATC as we approached our turn to final so I called, “experimental gyroplane 142 Mike Golf right base for 15 right.” I was told to continue east and they would call my final.
I'm constantly searching the area for aircraft. I it’s much harder to see when we are in a heavily populated area such as Santa Barbara.
There was an RV8 approaching from the east for 15 left so I flew against the hills. About a half mile past 15 right ATC told me, “experimental 142 Mike Golf make a 180 and you are cleared to land on 15 left.” I still didn’t have the RV in sight as we turned to head west.
As I said it hard to locate Planes too much people pollution. It's very frustrating to not be able to see the other planes; it keeps me on the edge of my seat until I see them.
Runway 15 left has a displaced threshold so I have about 150 feet before the first taxiway. If I miss the first taxiway I have to cross 25, their main runway, twice. I wanted to look cool so I worked a little too hard at hitting my spot and put the nose wheel down a little hard. We did make the first taxiway and we contacted ground and taxied to signature.
As usual the wonderful staff of Signature Flight Services was there to taxi us in...LOL
I called the tower and spoke to Mike, the manager. He said we were on for 1:30 and we wandered off to the Elephant Bar for lunch. The birds were especially entertaining and Ed got some pictures. We watched a Seagull swoop down on the table next to us that they hadn’t bussed yet, grab a chip, drop it in the water glass and fish it back out. The other Gulls stood back in admiration of his bold move and tried to get it away from him when he flew back to the grass.
Oh geezz I'm laughing so hard! It was just unbelievable that this bird actually did this and I was able to capture it.
It was very entertaining. I reminded me of something Harry in Florida sent to Vance it was a video clip with Crows being especially clever bending a wire to get a little bucket of seed out of a container. Bird Brain?? Pretty smart little Seagulls I think!!
The Signature FBO van gave us a ride to the tower and after a certain amount of confusion we were buzzed in, signed in, given badges and met with our tour guide, Mike the tower manager.
Those Signature folks are so nice!! I dreaded to walk all the way to the tower with all the layers I was wearing. Talk about sweating the work out...LOL
Mike took us back to his office and we spent about 45 minutes talking about the history of Autogiros and what my capabilities and limitations were. SBA is a training tower for TRACON and he said our unusual aircraft was a good training exercise.
And I was pleasantly surprised at how accommodating the Tower Boss was. He was an incredibly likable fellow who had lots of question for Vance too!
We then got the tour of the basement where they track everything on radar and saw Gordon, my initial contact, working his station. We watched an RV land at San Luis Obispo, SBP, and drop off the screen. It made me think again about using flight following.
I was trying really hard to be impressed and I was but my claustrophobia seemed to want to kick in, I hadn't had an attack in quite a while and this was very dark warm and enclosed...yikes!
The three of us climbed into a closet sized elevator and stopped three floors below the tower. It was stairs the rest of the way. The view from 11 stories up was spectacular and the stations are arranged well to hand off responsibility. We followed several flights through and I had a lot of questions that Mike patiently answered.
Then we had to ride half way up to the top in an elevator! Ok I'm 5' Vance and this other guy take up a lot of space and Air! I'm starting to panic this elevator was the size of a shoe box (well it felt like it anyway!) So I decided to focus on the conversation to get my mind off of the lack of oxygen an these two guys sucking it all down...LOL all the while my mind panicking!
Ahhh...the elevator door opens and what awaits us but even smaller stairwell that corkscrews to the top of the tower...oh man will this ever end?? Finally we make it to the top Thank God it opens up to the heavens of Santa Barbara. This is where Ground and Control Tower Talk to us. I always thought they were in two separate places.
The Tower was a hub of activity people being trained and monitor. It was fascinating to watch them in action. These poor guys are under a lot of stress!
On parting, Mike made it clear that he felt we were the reason he was there and he believed in customer service.
I truly felt his sincerity in taking good care of everyone that goes through their airport. Mike was very patient in listening and answering all our question. And not to mention Vance’s scenarios of what would happen if...??
We called Signature and the Van took us back for some free cookies.
Yup Vance does love those Cookies!
With a quick preflight and contact with clearance delivery, ground and the tower we were up up and away. We were stuck in a down wave and climbing very slowly as we headed west along highway 101.
About ten miles out we found some lift against the hills and we climbed to 3,000 feet and just peaked over the ridgeline. Our world expanded in that special way as we could see the hills rolling into the distant mist.
Leaving Santa Barbara was just beautiful there was a little haze in the sky that made it seem surreal, but it was enchanting!
Things were quiet on the IZA and LPC frequencies except for a parachute drop over LPC. We were high enough to receive SMX ATIS over the Lompoc valley and we called in over Harris grade, inbound at 1,000 feet with Romeo to land. We were to expect a base entry for 30 and report the Orcutt Y. There was a gaggle of Cessna’s descending on SMX and most were radio and taxiway challenged. We fit in between a couple of them and headed for the hanger.
Our airport seemed to be particularly busy. I could hear the urgency in which the Tower Boss spoke.
It was time for the monthly oil change, clean the screen, rotate spark plugs and torque the prop. Ed is a great help and doesn’t seem to mind getting dirty. We are developing a nice system of checks to increase my confidence that I haven’t forgotten anything. Ed filled out the paper work on the oil sample as I filled out the engine and aircraft logbooks.
No I don't mind, as a matter of fact I think it's important for the passenger to understand the way the aircraft works as much as the pilot needs to know. I look for cracks and leaks paying close attention to everything and bring it to Vance's attention. I'm a hands-on kinda gal!
There is one thing I do mind thou...like when I have a giant grease spot on my cheek and we are heading out to have dinner afterwards and Vance doesn't tell me...yea not so good Vance!!
I made a solo maintenance flight and was having so much fun I made 8 stop and goes as the sun went down. We didn’t get to dinner until 8:30. We had a long day of aviation adventures and we both learned a lot.
I managed to get some really great flying photos. Ever since Vance has been flying I have been up there with him so I hadn't taken any new photos of him flying Solo with my new Camera.
I just talked to Ed and she will try to download a photo stream before the fog burns off and we fly. Perfect flying conditions wait for no one.
I have a new laminated sheet for calling Lockheed Martin and it seems to make the interaction smoother. I thought that people at the airport were making fun of all my laminated reminders but I recently found out that several people have copied them.
I love the laminated thing, it's almost fool-proof. I think it's a really great idea because there is so much to think about sometimes you may forget things and this make s sure it stays the same everytime without error!
Thank you, Vance & Ed
PS. It is almost noon, 19:00 Zulu and I can just see blue sky over the Santa Maria Valley. SMX is still IFR but I expect that to change soon. We are off to fly!
Attachments
![[RotaryForum.com] - Tower Tour at SBA!](https://data3.rotaryforum.com/attachments/50/50964-70a128b7f903a4dfac6038191138030d.jpg?hash=6oeTVFibGY)
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