XC to the KBFFI

[chipchap42]

Day 1:
The Ken Brock Freedom Fly In has apparently been running for 52 years. It’s the oldest and biggest gyro fly-in in the western US and the main event each year run by PRA’s Chapter 1. I had joined the chapter when I took up gyro flying at the end of 2015 but I’d never met any of the members and I was very keen to do that and to take part in the fly-in. So on Fri 9/23/16, I took the Friday afternoon off and flew in my Magni M16, known as Woodstock (yellow, and unusual, like Snoopy’s friend) from my home base of South County airport, close to San Jose, down to El Mirage near Victorville in South California. The weather was changeable for the few days before I left and the day before, the winds were gusting to 55mph in the infamous Tehachapi pass which is the lowest point from the Central Valley to the Mojave area and which was my best route. Initially the forecast for Friday had shown winds of 6mph, but over the preceding couple of days, the numbers had been creeping up and as I left the forecast that day was for gusts of up to 30mph.

I set off at just before 2pm, conscious of the time, as I knew I didn’t want to be trying to find or land on the dried-up lakebed where the KBFFI was happening as it was getting dark. I headed for Harris Ranch, via the San Luis reservoir. As I passed the reservoir, the mountains in the area gave way to the flat of the central valley and the wind, such as it was, came from behind me. I flew southeast at 95mph and around 600’ AGL, and there was nothing to get in the way. It was a hazy day, compounded by the continuing smoke from the huge Soberanes fire still burning near the coast. Without paying close attention to the GPS track, it was hard to identify any features in the landscape at all, in fact. I landed at Harris Ranch and topped up the tank from one of the spare fuel bladders I had in the back seat. I had plenty of fuel but I was nervous about the weather I might encounter at the pass, so having lots of fuel onboard would be one less thing to worry about. Also the hazy, featureless landscape was curiously soporific and I was glad to spot for a few minutes and clear my head.

It was a relief when the San Gabriel mountains loomed out of the haze as i passed Bakersfield, and I could see where the Tehachapi pass must snake through them. I climbed up to 6,000ft, conscious of the potential wind shadow of the higher peaks on either side. As I climbed, I could see a freight train below, coming down the pass. There were eight locomotives pulling it - a measure of how steep the terrain was. Although the air moved around a bit, there was no significant turbulence and I landed uneventfully at Tehachapi airport and filled up with 100LL fuel. A couple flying a Van’s RV7 came over and were very enthusiastic about the gyro. (Potential recruits, I think.)

Departing Tehachapi airport to the south-east I crested the pass and came across the largest collection of wind-turbines I’ve ever seen. A real confirmation of how windy it must get there. They were turning but only lazily because was no real wind, which was a relief. After the turbines, the land dropped and I was able to descend - which thankfully meant it started getting warmer! The countryside beyond Tehachapi was bleak and there was almost no vegetation. I could see the famous Edwards Air Force base off to the left and was careful to make sure I didn’t cross into their airspace. Quite a thrill to see the giant runways there and remember the Space Shuttle landings I’d watched on TV.

A mere 40 minutes after leaving Tehachapi, I saw a grey expanse in the distance and realized it must be the El Mirage lakebed. As I got closer, I could see a gyro flying over it at very low level. It was nearly 6pm at this point - the sun wasn’t setting but it was getting low and I was happy to see the trailers and gyros lined up on what must be the flight line. After a pass overhead, I came in for landing. I’d been warned that the featureless nature of the lakebed made it hard to judge height and that was true, but the landing, though not very elegant, was uneventful.

I parked the gyro and got out to say hello. I had heard that the KBFFI was firstly, a "fly-in", and secondly, was something people "camped at”. I was therefore a bit surprised to find that the flightline was exclusively populated by large trailers. Clearly my little backpacker’s tent was going to look a bit funny here! I asked advice from some of the folks there and was told to put the tent wherever I liked. Conscious of the fact that it was going to get dark soon, I unloaded the gyro and pitched the tent, glad I’d brought a hammer - the lakebed was rock hard. Having sorted out some sort of bed for the night, I headed for the main area. The Chapter One team had done a great job, and there were tables, chairs, awnings and real infrastructure, including lighting; all of which had obviously been dragged out into the desert at no small effort. I headed for where the main group of people were gathered and almost immediately smelt the wonderful scent of grilled burgers. Although it was early, it had been a while since a light lunch and I was very happy when Teddy, (whose magnificent mustache I instantly recognized from his forum picture) said “grab a plate and help yourself”.

I sat down and got introduced to a number of people whose names I knew from the Rotary Wing forum. For a low-time gyro pilot, it was a great pleasure to meet real experts who have been doing this for ages, especially when they were universally friendly and seemed pleased I’d made it. I had a great evening talking to them and exchanging flying stories. Vance Breese joined us and after that I stopped trying to tell any stories, because with his fascinating history it’s a waste of time doing anything other than listening!

I was particularly interested to chat with Vance, as not only does he have huge gyro experience, but he had mentioned his route home to Santa Maria, near Santa Barbara and it sounded really interesting. Rather than flying the Tehachapi pass, I could fly back with him - it would be a detour but over terrain I hadn’t flown and would be really interesting to see.
(OK, if I can work this posting system correctly, I'll post Day 2 shortly).

 

[chipchap42]

XC to KBFFI - Day 2

XC to KBFFI - Day 2

Day 2:
When I got up the next morning, El Mirage was absolutely stunning. Although there’s no vegetation there, it has a kind of stark beauty, really based on its emptiness. The various flying machines - powered parachutes, parameters and trikes - flying around were taking full advantage of the flat calm and beauty of the early morning. However, I had to get going. After I’d booked to attend the fly-in, a friend who lives in Orange County had managed to get 4 extremely rare tickets for the filming of the introductory sequence of Amazon’s new show “The Grand Tour”, which is really the new version of BBC’s famous Top Gear program (if you haven’t seen it, I recommend trying it on YouTube or Netflix - my favorite TV show ever). This meant I had to get to Apple Valley, 20 miles east of El Mirage and my friends would pick me up at the little airport there and take me to where they were filming the event. The plan was I’d stay for a couple of hours and then head back to the fly-in.

I took off in the cool of the morning and headed east. I had to traverse the Victorville class-D airspace so contacted them and they asked me to climb to 4500ft and go straight over their main runway. That was a surprising sight. The airport is enormous and appears to be a boneyard for jets. But many of these were relatively recent and still in current livery - I spotted a British Airways 747-400 parked among dozens of other large jets.



I landed at Apple Valley and were met by my friends who drove us to the high school where we were due to meet. After that things diverged from the plan somewhat. Because there was such intense interest in the show (apparently an amazing 1.2M people had applied for tickets), there was a lot of security. We had to surrender phones and any other electronics that would record anything. No bags, no nothing. Then we learned we would be loaded onto school buses and taken out into the desert. On the bus, I learned that we would be brought back at 6pm. That was a problem. Not only would I miss the entire day at the KBFFI but by the time I got to Apple Valley and did a pre-flight, it would be too late for me to fly back in the light. Hmm - problem. "OK, well, try to find a solution for that later", I decided.

There were 2500 at the event after we’d all been unloaded from the buses. The location was well out of town and in the desert and in addition to lots of extremely expensive cars from manufacturers such as Lamborghini, McLaren, Pagani and so on, they had various vehicles that looked as though they’d come directly from Burning Man, including a sailing ship on wheels and a 30’ metal scorpion which belched fire. They had also built a large concert stage and explained that the Hot House Flowers would be playing on it. We were asked to watch the concert while the vehicles assembled on the other side of the lake bed and then streaked across towards us in a gigantic cloud of dust, filmed by helicopters, drones and cameras mounted on booms on Porsche Cayennes. The three presenters would be in three of the fast cars, up front, and they would then emerge and climb onto the stage and take over. Of course because this was filming, it all took many takes and lots of time, but it was entertaining to watch, especially when the presenters got on stage, completed their intro and just started insulting each other.

After the main filming was completed, everyone was asked to sit around a relax and told there would be a highlight event at the end. However, I really need to get out of there if I was to get back to the gyro in time. I found a friendly member of the crew and spun him a story about why I needed to leave. He was sympathetic and shortly afterwards my two friends and I were on my way back to the high school and my friend’s car. He dropped me off at Apple Valley and headed home. “But…”, I thought, "I know where the event is. They’re still there, probably still doing cool things. And I have a flying machine"… Well, it would have been rude not to go and look at it, wouldn’t it? I checked there were no TFRs in the area and headed for the desert.

As I got close to where I knew the location was, I noticed some smoke hanging in the air beyond a ridge of mountains and realized that must be the place. I figured the smoke was probably the result of some pyrotechnics from the finale. I also saw an odd formation of the buzzards we’d been watching all day. There had been hundreds of them, spiraling in the thermals. But these 7 were in a geometric formation. And they seemed to be moving awfully fast... Belatedly I realized they were jets, not buzzards - a display team, to be specific - and they were heading for the lake bed and the event. I cut the power and dropped towards the ridge. I knew they weren’t coming at me at that point, as I could now see the tent and stage and the rest of the event, but I wasn’t sure where they would head once they’d overflown it. I had a few nervous moments but they had done their two passes and left. So I flew over the site, orbiting it and taking a few pictures. It was very tempting to land, but I could see a large “R” that someone had scratched in the sand, plus there were 50 or so school buses snaking their way across the lake bed to pick everyone up.



So I left and headed for Victorville. I had to get some beef for the “bring your own beef” barbecue at the fly-in. I called Victorville tower and heard Vance talking to them and about to land too. I landed and was able to park next to a 747 and a 767. The gyro looked slightly out of place but they were friendly in the "Million Air” FBO and offered fuel and the use of a crew car to find some beef in a local supermarket. I was back quickly and headed for El Mirage, as the sun began rapidly sinking towards the horizon.


As I landed, the sun was close to setting and it was really hard to judge the height. The landing wasn’t too bad but I wasn’t going to do any touch-and-goes. I shut down and took my beef to the barbecue. Of course everyone had already eaten (why do people want to eat so early? It was the middle of the afternoon as far as I was concerned?!) But the coals were still hot and there still a few things to add to the beef. I had an excellent plateful and sat down to share stories of the day.

Shortly afterwards, Terry announced the start of the Awards dinner and began to hand out awards. It was a really nice ceremony and there was a great atmosphere. After the award for the “Furthest trailered gyro”, the next was for “Furthest Flown”. It was announced that Vance had won this, having flown 185miles. I clapped with the others, but thought, “Well I came further than that”. As the new guy, I wasn’t going to complain, but Vance immediately spoke up and protested he’d not come the furthest - it was “that British guy called Peter, flying a yellow Magni". After a few people had pointed out that my name was Paul, Vance explained that he had a British friend called Peter and we all sound/look the same anyway - fair enough. I was thrilled to win something in my first fly-in and the award now has pride of place in my hangar back in E16, near San Jose.

The rest of the evening was very peaceful. I’ve always enjoyed flying-folk, but the gyro flying-folk seem the friendliest I’ve ever encountered and it was a great pleasure, chatting or just sitting around fire and listening to more stories.

 

[chipchap42]

XC to KBFFI - Day 3

XC to KBFFI - Day 3

Day 3:
When I got up in the morning, it was another calm, beautiful day and I was enjoying watching the powered parachutes. However, Vance suddenly came up and reported he’d just received a weather briefing and the wind was going to pick up - a lot. Literally as he spoke, it started gusting. (“How does he do that?”, I wondered). In a very short time the wind was blowing to the point where packing my tent up was a challenge. I had promised to help with the breaking down of all the gear, but Terry and Teddy told me that getting back safely was definitely a higher priority and we should leave. Grateful for the understanding, we did, but I did feel bad about not helping - next time, guys! (No, really.)


It was 9am exactly as we went wheels up and headed southwest towards the Soledad pass, via Palmdale. We climbed to get into the pass and talked to Palmdale to let them know what we were up to. Climbing through the pass into Soledad Canyon, we were talking on an air-to-air frequency, with Vance in full tour-guide mode. He pointed out that what looked like mist on the hills to the side of us was actually a sand storm - I’d never seen one, so that was very interesting, but something I wanted to keep well clear of, especially as it was actually higher up than we were.


We passed Agua Dulce airport and then flew over the Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park, still at 2-3 thousand feet AGL to avoid turbulence that Vance explained could often occur there due to the complex topography of the area.


We headed into the Santa Clara river valley towards Santa Paula, our first stop, descending now we were in the valley and clear of some of the more significant possible sources of turbulence. As we got close, Vance explained the procedure and how narrow the canyon was at that point. The wind was carrying us along very fast (I saw 120mph on the GPS at one point) and we were quickly downwind in the patter. Turning base, I was getting moved around a lot by gusts and was happy to see Vance already down and clearing off the runway. I followed him in, and the mechanical turbulence from the hangars and structures there made it quite a challenge.

On the ground we filled up with fuel and Vance chatted to a weather briefer on the phone. “OK, it’s like this”, he said, coming back. “There’s a motel near here and we can stay tonight, no problem”. My heart sank. I really didn’t want to have to wait an extra day there. “Or”, he added, “we can push on and see what it’s like near Santa Barbara, but it may get quite rough”. We chatted about it and decided that with Santa Barbara right there as an alternate, we could always divert there instead, so we’d go for it. (Thinking about that afterwards, I realized that although Vance had been confident he would be OK, he was prepared to spend the night just if I was not comfortable with flying - that’s really something.)

The takeoff was pretty wild. The wind must have been gusting to nearly 30mph, and it was straight down the runway at the end. But halfway down, there was a big hit and I saw the tetrahedron was showing a direct crosswind. Vance had already headed out as I found my bearings and the bumps cleared a bit. I could hear him clearly on the radio but was surprised not to be able to spot him. We traded position info and were apparently at the same altitude, which was a bit worrying. I was looking everywhere but I couldn’t see him until I looked behind me and somehow I’d got ahead of him. We were now within 20 miles of Santa Barbara so we called approach for class-Charlie clearance. A professional and very helpful controller warned me of traffic at 1 mile - “that’s OK, I’m with him”. As we left the Santa Barbara area, Vance thanked her for “giving good radio”. I thought that sounded vaguely suggestive, but it was probably just the result of listening to too many of his highly entertaining stories the previous nights.

We decided to carry on to San Luis and have lunch. We flew past Santa Ynez, and saw Santa Maria, Vance’s home airport, off to the West. Getting closer to San Luis Obispo, I also saw Oceano airport and the Pismo Beach dunes in the distance - definitely something for another trip. When we headed into the Spirit of San Luis diner, it was clear from the reaction of the hostess and waiting staff that this was not Vance’s first trip. And indeed it turned out that there was a signed picture of him on the wall of the bar!

Back on the ramp after lunch we said goodbye and I hope very much to be able to fly with him again - that was great fun. I carried on north to Paso Robles, threading the needle between Paso Robles and the Restricted area to the west, towards Salinas. At Soledad, I thought, “Well, I’ve done this route before, why not hop over the mountain range and try the next one”. I love the way that you can do that kind of thing in a gyro, and just trust that any winds you encounter are going to be OK. When I used to fly a trike I would never have dared to do it. I cleared the ridge at 3,000, avoiding the condor area at Pinnacles national park and was rewarded with a wonderful view of it to the south.

My new route took be up towards Hollister, and as I reported position on their frequency, another aircraft just taking off asked if I’d really said “gyro”, then said he would come alongside on his downwind departure as he wanted to take a look. He did and waggled his wings as he headed out afterwards. I landed at South County and taxied back to the hangar. Overall it was 9.6 hours of flying and something over 700miles. I’d say that this trip was a once-in-a-lifetime experience but it’s the second long trip in 6 months about which I'd say that, so I'm not sure that really works.

I started writing this on a Southwest flight the following Tuesday, flying from San Jose to Santa Ana for work. I was on the RHS of the plane, seeing all the same landmarks. They go by so fast, and I’m so disconnected from them. Such a different experience from actually being there and seeing, feeling the wind and the temperature, smelling the air. It’s just such a privilege to be able to fly these great aircraft in this amazing scenery.

 

[Vance]

Very well written and nicely presented Paul.

Very well written and nicely presented Paul.

A great story well told.

Thank you for taking the time to share the fun.

I enjoyed our flight together much more than I expected and spent less time being afraid than I expected.

I am pleased the weather favored us.

I am grateful for our friendship.

 

[GyrOZprey]

I love your story & arrangement

I love your story & arrangement

Thanks Paul I really enjoyed your El Mirage journey - vicariously!

I like the way you inserted the pictures to the relevant story passages!

I'm sorry we did not get to visit more - you had a busy schedule & amazing opportunity for the Top Gear side activity!

Looking fwds to hearing of future flying adventures! :yo:

 

[chipchap42]

Likewise!

Likewise!

A great story well told.

Thank you for taking the time to share the fun.

I enjoyed our flight together much more than I expected and spent less time being afraid than I expected.

I am pleased the weather favored us.

I am grateful for our friendship.

Hey Vance,
it was a real pleasure flying with you (and I'm glad I didn't frighten you too often!) I've always found flying with others like that to be the best type of flying, especially when you're going somewhere new but the other pilot knows the area already.

I'm honored you consider me a friend and look forward to flying with you again.

Cheers,
Paul.

 

[chipchap42]

Thanks Paul I really enjoyed your El Mirage journey - vicariously!

I like the way you inserted the pictures to the relevant story passages!

I'm sorry we did not get to visit more - you had a busy schedule & amazing opportunity for the Top Gear side activity!

Looking fwds to hearing of future flying adventures! :yo:

Hi Chris,

Glad you liked the picture/text insertion - took me a while...

It was great to meet you too and I'm sorry I didn't have more time at El Mirage itself. I would have liked to have heard more about Farmer Jim, the Titanium Explorer and what your plans are now.

Best wishes,
Paul.

 

[Kevin_Richey]

Great story! Thanks for taking the time to post your words & photos, Paul.
It felt like we were there w/ you in your flying, something Vance does well w/ also.

 

[Wiplash]

I really enjoyed reading of your adventure.

Thank you for taking the time to share it with us.

 

[Steven]

Great Story!

Great Story!

Very interesting and worthwhile read, thanks Paul!
Hopefully when I get my new Sport Copter finished soon, it will be great to catch up with you in the air, since I only live a few miles north of where your gyro is based at South County (I'm near San Carlos, CA where Vance does one of his air shows).
Steven

 

[Vance]

Very interesting and worthwhile read, thanks Paul!
Hopefully when I get my new Sport Copter finished soon, it will be great to catch up with you in the air, since I only live a few miles north of where your gyro is based at South County (I'm near San Carlos, CA where Vance does one of his air shows).
Steven

Past tense Steven, The Hiller Aviation Museum scaled back the helicopter event and there is no longer an airshow attached.

Autogyro day conflicts with the Ken Brock Freedom Flyin or I would have been there this year. The last time I went (2014) the tower allowed me to do some takeoffs and landings near the museum in the Cavalon. The museum asked me to give a surprisingly well attended talk on gyroplanes.

I met my first Cavalon buyer there.

Glad to hear you are getting close to flying, it has been a long road for you.

The flight down to San Martin from San Carlos is particularly nice.

 

[Steven]

Vance,
Oh! I had no idea you come up here so frequently. By all means contact me on [email protected] when you're in the area and would like a good meal (on me!) and a freshen up at my place nearby, or indeed, if you wish to stay overnight. You are truly welcome!

Too bad about the scale back at KSQL. I had enjoyed the shows in the past including the one in which you flew.
Steven

 

[chipchap42]

San Carlos

San Carlos

Steven,

I flew in to San Carlos once and enjoyed it, though it's a lot busier airspace there than San Martin.

Do you live on the Peninsula? Definitely interested to get together and share gyro stories if so - I'm in Los Altos/Mtn View area.

Cheers,
Paul.

 

[Steven]

Hi Paul,
Yes, I'm in the mid peninsula in Belmont, near the San Carlos airport (KSQL)
Send me an email to get my phone number. I'd be honored to meet you!
I am in admiration of your recent trip to So. Cal. Doing that has been one of
my dreams.
Steven

 

[All_In]

Hi Paul
Was on a 3,900 mile road trip and miss these until just now!

VERY COOL!!!! Thank you so much for sharing the joy of flight!!

 

[Kevin_Richey]

Paul's El Mirage arrival was caught on camera!

Paul's El Mirage arrival was caught on camera!

I was flying around the lakebed @ El Mirage when I saw a yellow Magni gyroplane descending. "Cool!", I thought. "Paul made it".

On the ground, Sheri Eichmann saw him also, and she took these photos as he lined up and landed.

(Remember to click twice on each one to see it full-sized)

 

[Kevin_Richey]

More Magni photos

More Magni photos

More of Paul's landing @ the dry lakebed.

(Remember to click twice to view each photo full-sized)

 

[Kevin_Richey]

Impressive journey

Impressive journey

A partially enclosed gyroplane such as a Magni, or Vance's Predator, seem to make long distance flights more readily, compared to an open frame gyro!

(Remember to click twice on each photo to view in original size)

 

[chipchap42]

Pics

Pics

Hi Kevin,

thanks for posting the pics - glad I didn't know anyone was observing my landing that closely! The one where I seem to be impaled on the end of the kite is funny.

I'm sure you're right about the semi-enclosed gyros being much easier for XC flights. Even though we get a lot of wind, it's nothing like as much as you would get in the skeletal framed gyros. The windshield does a good job in the front (less so in the back).

Hope to see you again in the future at gyro events.

Cheers,
Paul.

 

[Kevin_Richey]

Tehachapi municipal airport

Tehachapi municipal airport

Paul: I was at the Tehachapi Airport last evening, stopping in to see if they have a shower available. There were a couple of pilots in the lounge, and one of them asked if I had an aircraft.

I told him I didn't have it with me at the time, but that I am a pilot. They asked what it is I flew and I told him I'm one of those gyrocopter guys . I was expecting to get a roll of the eyes or silence afterwards, as is common when pilots ask me that question.

This fellow replied that he likes gyrocopters, thinking they're pretty neat. He asked me a couple of questions regarding auto rotation, and then stated that there had been a gyrocopter land there at the airport a little over a month ago.

I asked him if it was a tandem, yellow one, and then he said it was. He thought it was nifty how it came down in the wind rather steeply and landed just about like a helicopter.

Figuring that it was you landing there, since you told us you stopped over on your way to El Mirage, because of the gusting wind conditions.

So, your stopover at Tehachapi municipal airport on your way to El Mirage was noticed by at least one pilot who appreciates gyroplanes and how they fly!