As you might remember, last year around Christmas time, Mark and I took off and headed for Reno for the holidays. We never made it.
This year, it was different. With a new prop and engine, we planned to skip over the Rockies to Reno between spells of bad weather - or at least give it a go and get a hotel anywhere along the way as needed.
On the ground in Longmont at dawn on December 22nd, it was cold but clear.
Fifteen seconds after take-off, the turbulence kicked in. At first mild, then proceeding to get bit worse as we climbed. We headed south along the Foothills, climbing at times (when lift took us up) at 1000 feet per minute and at other times, losing up to 500 feet a minute. It became abundantly clear we might be going further south than Castle Rock before we had the altitude needed to go west over the mountains.
Beverage service was cancelled and lapbelts tightened as the plane dipped at turned - under my (?) control. It was going to be a rough day.
Climbing through 10,000 feet, the air was still challenging and Mark reminded me that we could take turns flying. It's fairly exhausting trying to hold course and keep an eye on altitude while being shaken and stirred! We cranked up the oxygen and climbed higher still.
Further south than we had originally planned, but staying clear of weather that was clearly chasing us down as it sped south too, we seemed to be within spitting distance of Albuquerque for a ridiculous period of time because of our 50 mph headwind. Then, like a Christmas miracle, the edge of the front appeared and we saw sunshine behind it. We were now in Utah. Orange canyons and meandering rivers blanketed the ground below and Cal Black Airport was just a half hour away.
You might remember Cal Black from previous posts. It's the only airport to offer auto-gas as well as avgas (100LL) for miles. A cheaper alternative that N303B drinks just as happily. Landing at Cal Black is pretty cool. The runway is long, but a bit narrower than what we are used to. Base to final is kinda over a canyon and the couple that run the FBO and live on-site are super sweet. We had last visited this airport 14 months ago, but as we stepped off the wing onto the ramp, we were greeted with familiarity and welcomed back. (Ok, so the guy remembered just me and inquired as to whether I was in the same plane as last time or with the same guy... But still.... Nice to be remembered!)
We spent 15 minutes at Cal Black. It was a welcome firm footing after our 3+ hour bumpy flight. I noticed a crib behind the front desk and asked. Yep, since we were last here our cute couple has had their first child! Charlotte, just 4 months old, was adorable. She made a short appearance to meet us and I got an easy-going smile from her.
Mark flew the next half of the trip to Reno. I was ready for a nap. My flying had taken us as high as 15,700 feet over the Rockies. We didn't need to go that high now, but it was still bumpy up until about 12,300 feet on the way to Nevada.
I took the opportunity to shoot some pics out the passenger window. :-)
We stopped briefly in Yerrington, NV for more fuel and the Realtor in me was horrified with the lock box situation. Normally the Pilot's Lounge or facilities are locked and the lock box typically is the radio frequency we use when landing. This was different. From a security perspective, I might also go as far as calling it pointless!
Landing at Reno before the sunset, we were greeted by Lew Gage. Bonanza legend and author. Mark has been listening to Lew's advice from afar for years and to have him offer us the use of one of his hangars for the holidays was both a really a nice gesture and fantastic opportunity to meet him.
Our Christmas holiday had began. And this year, we had made it slowly but safely all the way to Reno.
This year, it was different. With a new prop and engine, we planned to skip over the Rockies to Reno between spells of bad weather - or at least give it a go and get a hotel anywhere along the way as needed.
On the ground in Longmont at dawn on December 22nd, it was cold but clear.
Fifteen seconds after take-off, the turbulence kicked in. At first mild, then proceeding to get bit worse as we climbed. We headed south along the Foothills, climbing at times (when lift took us up) at 1000 feet per minute and at other times, losing up to 500 feet a minute. It became abundantly clear we might be going further south than Castle Rock before we had the altitude needed to go west over the mountains.
Beverage service was cancelled and lapbelts tightened as the plane dipped at turned - under my (?) control. It was going to be a rough day.
Climbing through 10,000 feet, the air was still challenging and Mark reminded me that we could take turns flying. It's fairly exhausting trying to hold course and keep an eye on altitude while being shaken and stirred! We cranked up the oxygen and climbed higher still.
Further south than we had originally planned, but staying clear of weather that was clearly chasing us down as it sped south too, we seemed to be within spitting distance of Albuquerque for a ridiculous period of time because of our 50 mph headwind. Then, like a Christmas miracle, the edge of the front appeared and we saw sunshine behind it. We were now in Utah. Orange canyons and meandering rivers blanketed the ground below and Cal Black Airport was just a half hour away.
You might remember Cal Black from previous posts. It's the only airport to offer auto-gas as well as avgas (100LL) for miles. A cheaper alternative that N303B drinks just as happily. Landing at Cal Black is pretty cool. The runway is long, but a bit narrower than what we are used to. Base to final is kinda over a canyon and the couple that run the FBO and live on-site are super sweet. We had last visited this airport 14 months ago, but as we stepped off the wing onto the ramp, we were greeted with familiarity and welcomed back. (Ok, so the guy remembered just me and inquired as to whether I was in the same plane as last time or with the same guy... But still.... Nice to be remembered!)
We spent 15 minutes at Cal Black. It was a welcome firm footing after our 3+ hour bumpy flight. I noticed a crib behind the front desk and asked. Yep, since we were last here our cute couple has had their first child! Charlotte, just 4 months old, was adorable. She made a short appearance to meet us and I got an easy-going smile from her.
Mark flew the next half of the trip to Reno. I was ready for a nap. My flying had taken us as high as 15,700 feet over the Rockies. We didn't need to go that high now, but it was still bumpy up until about 12,300 feet on the way to Nevada.
I took the opportunity to shoot some pics out the passenger window. :-)
We stopped briefly in Yerrington, NV for more fuel and the Realtor in me was horrified with the lock box situation. Normally the Pilot's Lounge or facilities are locked and the lock box typically is the radio frequency we use when landing. This was different. From a security perspective, I might also go as far as calling it pointless!
Landing at Reno before the sunset, we were greeted by Lew Gage. Bonanza legend and author. Mark has been listening to Lew's advice from afar for years and to have him offer us the use of one of his hangars for the holidays was both a really a nice gesture and fantastic opportunity to meet him.
Our Christmas holiday had began. And this year, we had made it slowly but safely all the way to Reno.
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