Blair wrote:

I'm a low timer (110 hours) scheduled to fly from Palo Alto to the
Bermuda Dunes in the Palm Springs area Thursday afternoon..... But
I'm concerned that it could mean strong gusts at ground level
and/or significant turbulence in the Cajon and Banning passes that
I'll be traveling through.

I live in Tehachapi, work in Mojave, and fly in this area often.
Winds will be an issue from Bakersfield through the Tehachapi pass
into the Antelope Valley (to Rosamond) and then again as you get near
Big Bear. I'd recommend NOT going through the Cajon/Banning passes,
but going around Big Bear to the north and east, and then cutting
south to Palm Springs. You'll still get bumped a bit, but it'll be
less than going through the passes - especially Banning.

I'd actually be more concerned about the winds tomorrow (Thursday)
just east of the windmill farm on the Tehachapi ridge - when winds are
over 20-25 kts, you get a pretty good rotor going, and even when there
are no clouds to point it out to you, it's there. I've gotten beat up
pretty good going back and forth over that ridge. Stay at least 2000
ft. over the ridge - going east, be at 9500 ft, and west, 8500 ft.
The winds in Mojave/Edwards are supposed to be in the 40-50 kt. range
- sometimes, it's relatively smooth, with 5 kt. gusts, and sometimes
it's bumpy with 20 kt. gusts. Check the Metars before you leave to
see what's up.

All that said, the turbulence is rarely more than light to moderate -
it's bumpy, and not a lot of fun, but hardly dangerous.

Although there is one pilot at work who got flipped inverted at 800
ft. AGL on downwind at Mojave by the rotor, but that's rare :-).

--
Marc J. Zeitlin
http://www.cozybuilders.org/
Copyright (c) 2007