Flight to Mesa AZ via Monument Valley UT

MikeM wrote:

I had wanted to fly a bit lower than we did but not having the proper
frequency to announce intentions,

122.75 in Monument Valley. Not many tours flying this time of year.

I called a flight service that goes into Monument Valley and they said
122.9. I know that is the frequency for Gouldings Strip but have two
supposed frequencies for announcing position while flying among the
formations in the Valley.

Ron Lee

looks like you had a good time, I flew into falcon field sunday and just got back
to vegas this morning.
not as much to see on the route between vegas and phoenix.

Ron Lee wrote:

My hanger mate has been considering buying a RV-6A for a few months.
We made one trip to Texas to view one but that did not work out.
Today we went to Mesa AZ (Phoenix area) from Colorado Springs CO to
view another one. My planning generated a trip that straight line
was about 478 nm. But that was not good enough. There were several
targets of opportunity along the way.

First was Ship Rock NM (NW corner), the Meteor Crater and if time
permitted Monument Valley in SE Utah. The trip was close to 544 nm.

The planned 0700 liftoff was actually 0725 with expected cruise
altitude of 16,500 feet. After passing to the west of the Fort Carson
restricted and a south turn and we have a great view of the Sangre de
Cristo Mountains.

http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/M...oMtnsSmall.jpg

We made a realtime change and elected to cross through Mosca Pass
since that would bring us over The Great Sand Dunes National
Monument. The following pictures show Mosca Pass as we approach it
(at 14,500 feet), then the pass with the Sand Dunes on the west
side,,,and finally a slightly better pic of the dunes.

http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/M...aPassSmall.jpg
http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/M...DunesSmall.jpg
http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/M...DunesSmall.jpg

After crossing La Manga pass near the CO/NM border, we were
approaching Farmington NM and soon saw our first planned
sight.....Ship Rock NM. The following three pics show it from various
angles.

http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/M...Rock3Small.jpg
http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/M...Rock8Small.jpg
http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/M...ock10Small.jpg

Soon after leaving Ship Rock and heading towards Monument Valley Utah,
Dub noted that we were close to the four corners area (where NM, Utah,
CO and AZ meet at one spot). Since we were mere minutes away, we
flew up there and snapped a few pictures. One follows. You can see a
road leading from the front of the left wing just outboard of the fuel
cap. A circular area is where the four corners plaque is located.

http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/M...ners3Small.jpg

From there we went to Monument Valley where many westerns were filmed.
I had wanted to fly a bit lower than we did but not having the proper
frequency to announce intentions, we overflew it then headed south
towards Mesa AZ (Falcon Field..FFZ).

http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/M...lley1Small.jpg
http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/M...lley2Small.jpg

That path led us almost exactly over the Meteor Crater in AZ.

http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/M...ater1Small.jpg

The airplane inspection went well and we returned IFR (north to I-40
east to I-25 north) The return trip was about 580 nm and took 4.3
hours. The trip down took 4.1 hours including all the picture taking.
The pictures were taken with a 1.3 megapixel camera and do not do
justice to the beauty of the area we covered. At one point we saw a
mountain in the distance that was perhaps 90 miles away.

It was a great trip and I finally flew to several places that have
been on my list of places to visit since I got the RV. It was another
mountain flying experience that surpassed anything I have done since
my mountain flying course last summer.

Ron Lee

Jeff wrote:

looks like you had a good time, I flew into falcon field sunday and
just got back to vegas this morning.
not as much to see on the route between vegas and phoenix.


We made the reverse trip on Saturday, from DVT up to 0L9 (Echo Bay). I'd
never been to Lake Mead before and it was a very interesting trip. Our
return was via the Grand Canyon corridors and a stop in Williams. Nice day,
but a little hazy* and bumpy in the afternoon - too early in the season for
the thermals to be so active.

Mike

* only by Western standards - visibility maybe 75 NM instead of the
usual 100+ :-)

ya flying into phoenix sunday it was a crappy ride, we got in about noon and
had a nice 80 degree x-wind at 15 kts with wind sheer alerts.
combination of that 90 degree temp making thermals, the wind whipping off the
rough terrain will do it every time.


Mike Adams wrote:

Jeff wrote:

looks like you had a good time, I flew into falcon field sunday and
just got back to vegas this morning.
not as much to see on the route between vegas and phoenix.


We made the reverse trip on Saturday, from DVT up to 0L9 (Echo Bay). I'd
never been to Lake Mead before and it was a very interesting trip. Our
return was via the Grand Canyon corridors and a stop in Williams. Nice day,
but a little hazy* and bumpy in the afternoon - too early in the season for
the thermals to be so active.

Mike

* only by Western standards - visibility maybe 75 NM instead of the
usual 100+ :-)

Jeff wrote:

ya flying into phoenix sunday it was a crappy ride, we got in about
noon and had a nice 80 degree x-wind at 15 kts with wind sheer alerts.
combination of that 90 degree temp making thermals, the wind whipping
off the rough terrain will do it every time.


I was going to mention that. I didn't fly Sunday but it was hot and
blustery here in Phoenix, and I suspected you had an "interesting" arrival.

Mike