Flight to Las Vegas Pirep -- Part I

However, some time ago you posted about some "idiot" who landed at your
airport in a snowstorm after what must have also been an exciting flight.
There was no end to the reaming he got here. He himself however thought he
did fine, and demonstrated superior skill.

We don't know if he, himself, thought he did fine. I think it's more likely
that he considers himself lucky to have survived. A snowstorm is not
comparable to a windy day in any way -- but I get your drift. (No pun
intended... :-)

This angle points up several problems inherent with writing about our flying
adventures in this forum:

1. Interesting writing is, by definition, creative. Within the limits of
the facts, one must build tension -- and release it -- in order to maintain
interest. Otherwise, it's a travelogue, and we all know how interesting
those are.

On this flight there was no need for embellishment or exaggeration -- it was
exciting enough! -- but some people apparently read more into my words than
are actually there. Within the confines of truth, I endeavor to make my
writing as interesting as possible, which some people may read as hyperbole
or bluster. In this case, anyway, it wasn't.

2. Writing about transcontinental flying in Spam Cans opens one up to
criticism and back-seat flying of all kinds, simply because so few people
actually do it. Most of the pilots on our field -- and, probably, here --
never fly beyond the confines of their $100 hamburger flights, ever, and
probably regard attempting a flight of this magnitude as foolhardy.

3. My threshold for danger may be different than yours. Some folks might
regard what we did as foolhardy -- but many people regard flying Spam Cans
at all as insane. At no point on this trip did I feel threatened, out of
control, or in danger -- but I will allow that this fact may be a product of
our many cross-country (not cross-state) flights over the years. In other
words, I've flown in worse conditions than this flight, and may therefore be
more immune to a sense of danger than others.

4. It's impossible to include every shred of information about the
decision-making process that goes into a flight of this length in a
descriptive narrative. By necessity, some details simply must be left out,
and in any story I always concentrate on action, not deliberation. This may
make parts of the flight look more like a "hip shot" than they really were.
As Jim outlined in his excellent post, his flight planning was detailed,
extensive and cautious -- but conditions simply weren't as predicted.

So, long story short, I understand what you're saying, but -- in this case,
anyway -- I feel that it doesn't apply.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

("Jay Honeck" wrote)
1. Interesting writing is, by definition, creative. Within the limits of
the facts, one must build tension -- and release it -- in order to
maintain interest. Otherwise, it's a travelogue, and we all know how
interesting those are.


From the OP:
"A few ideas were bandied about, but Las Vegas kept coming up as a fun
option. Cheap food, abundant sunshine, and ample entertainment beckoned us
westward. The fact that none of us gambled didn't seem to matter much -- we
just wanted to see something other than snow, ice, and mud! So, Vegas
became the destination of choice -- but how to get there?"


"...and ample entertainment beckoned us westward."

That slays me! :-)


Montblackjack

So after your 1st go around, why didn't you divert to an airport with less
severe crosswinds?

Mike Schumann

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:qIzUf.879212$xm3.440468@attbi_s21...
I would think that when you are flying IFR and you are worried that the
IFR rated pilot is about to be incapacitated and the co-pilot is VFR
only, it's time to call it a day. Breaking the landing gear is just
confirmation that this flight should have been cancelled earlier.

After Hutchinson, we were flying IFR in VFR conditions. We had a $20K,
altitude holding, S-tec autopilot, and, as a 1000+ hour pilot, I've been
very close to taking my instrument check-ride. I'm confident that, had
the pilot keeled over, I would have been able to land the Aztec. I was
keeping a close eye on conditions -- as should any co-pilot -- but that
turned out to be unnecessary -- Jim never skipped a beat.

There was no bad judgment here, and to imply otherwise is a misreading of
the situation. Had Jim felt like he was in any danger of becoming
incapacitated, we would not have departed Hutchinson. There were three
pilots on that airplane, and we all got back in that plane at Hutchinson
without a second thought. If any of us had felt threatened or endangered,
we would have spoken up.

Should we have spent the night in HUT? With 20/20 hindsight, sure -- but
for comfort reasons, not aviation safety reasons. Conditions were severe
clear VFR, and we knew we could stop at any of half a dozen airports along
the way -- but none of us knew that the turbulence would be unrelenting.
The fact that the wind came up higher than predicted was just bad luck,
and Jim's skill salvaged what might have been a far worse situation.

We would do that flight again today, under the identical conditions. Mary
and I have analyzed the flight from every angle, and at every step of the
way Jim's flight planning and decision-making process was sound. At no
point was there an obvious "no-go" condition that we missed, nor was there
any pressure to actually get anywhere in particular that day -- a fact I
think I made clear. "Get-there-itis" was NOT a factor at all.

It was just an exciting flight, which is something that occasionally
happens if you actually use GA aircraft for long cross-country flights.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Cumulomammatus cloud.
Indicates potential hail activity resulting from vertical up/down-drafts.
Sometimes greenish-gray in appearance.

Are you referring to this pictu
http://makeashorterlink.com/?V36B648DC
??

That's the one!

Then, it was off once again into the high density altitude. With St.
John's sitting over a mile high, the Aztec rolled a bit longer than normal,
but -- even at max gross -- those two 250 hp Lycoming IO-540s effortlessly
pulled us skyward.

Soon, New Mexico -- yesterdays intended destination -- was sliding beneath
us. Santa Fe looked lovely as we droned ever Westward,

Going east to west, New Mexico generally comes before Arizona ;-)
---
Ken Reed
N9124X

"Jim Burns" wrote in message ...

snip
as we approached Liberal, KS where a regional
jet was shooting an ILS35 circle to land 21 due to blowing dust into a 45G51
knot wind. We began looking for a more suitable airport with runways more
aligned with the wind and hopefully lower surface winds than Liberal was
experiencing. Best port in the storm turned out to be Dalhart, TX. Beyond
Dalhart is Tucumcari (sp?) and not much else. I was not going to push our
fuel constraints passed Dalhart. We had an alternative route planned that
would take us further south towards Tucson and thus avoid some of the high
winds, however that route required a fuel stop in Liberal, KS, Dalhart, TX,
or Borger, TX. All airports have 17/35 & 3/21. Dalhart turned out to be
the best combination of lowest wind and runway length. Winds were said to
be 230@38G46, but in actuality they were more like from 260.

Without a doubt we could have stayed in Hutchinson, KS. With everyone
feeling better, the conditions at Hutchinson being better than forecast, and
the forecast showing acceptable VFR conditions, we chose to continue.

Jim

Jim,

What day did you and Jay come through here? You flew within 90 miles of my home base, KWWR if you were at
Liberal. I think I was in Houston visiting relatives but if you'd have let me know I would have made sure you guys
were taken care of and had a place to stay if you'd have diverted here. WWR has a 5/23 runway which would have been
better for winds out of 260 & 17/35 is 100 ft wide.

Listen you guys, this ain't a butt chewing but I want you to know that the conditions you experienced are not at
all uncommon in this area. The area around Gage VOR has a reputation as the beginning of tornado alley. Look at
this: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/storms/19470409/

Some really huge thunderstorms will begin rolling through here within the next few weeks if the drought breaks.
The distinction with our winds is often not necessarily their strength but also "the intense sharpness and high
frequency of the gusts". I've seen gust fronts with straight line winds that exceeded 100 mph and they moved cars in
the parking lots. When we say winds are 30 gusting to 45 we mean they can change that much in just a second or two
and then be right back where they were. And they can keep it up for hours or days on end. Just please be careful in
this neck of the woods! The cloud pictures you guys posted on Jay's site look all too familiar.

Engage flame suit mode.

As an aside, and hopefully so others will be a little more careful than myself... about a month ago the wife and
I were on a return flight from visiting our daughter at college. There was an oil drilling rig on fire due to a well
blowout about 30 miles north of the airport. We flew up there, avoided a TFR, and took a look. It was after dark
and so it made for a spectacular sight. Shades of Red Adair and all! When I turned for home, the turbulence was
quickly increasing and I had to hold a very high angle crab to maintain runway heading for a long straight in
approach. The AWOS was spewing reports similar to those you encountered at Dalhart. I chose runway 17 due to its
width. The wind was from 200. The ailerons were nearly going stop to stop and I reached over, snugged up the wife's
seat belt, explained the situation and told her to expect a go around. The darkness made for a real challenge
gauging wind drift and flare height while battling for control. The landing light beam was swinging wildly from
clear past the right runway edge one second to off the other side the next. I had just started feeding throttle in
for the go around when the gusts died down to about 30 knots and I was able to touch down with the rudder to the
stops and chop the throttle. I intentionally was trying for the upwind edge of the runway and my plan worked. We
touched down semi straight and nearly on the centerline. In my haste to get the nose wheel planted and get firm
control before the rudder lost effectiveness, I let the nose wheel down early. The plan suddenly wasn't quite as
brilliant. With the nose wheel cocked with the rudder a la' Cherokee, we veered back and forth several times before
I had her tracking straight down the runway. It was the most challenging landing I've ever made in my short 870
hours of piloting. I am still wondering if I did the right thing. I'm not sure if I should be proud of my piloting
skills or ashamed of even trying, it was that close... and I fly here in these winds all the time. The airplane
suffered no damage but I know I was pushing both its and my own capabilities and my wife was a passenger.

p.s. Within a few days of your passing through, about 700,000 acres of the Texas panhandle went up in flames
near your route due to those winds and tinderbox drought conditions. Firefighters from my hometown were among many
on the scene.

Joe Schneider
N8437R



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Joe, thanks for posting.
Local information such as yours is something we have all lost with the
FSS consolidations over the years.

I am still wondering if I did the right thing. I'm not sure if I should be proud of my piloting
skills or ashamed of even trying, it was that close... and I fly here in these winds all the time. The airplane
suffered no damage but I know I was pushing both its and my own capabilities and my wife was a passenger.

Great post, Joe. I suffered a landing like that -- in daylight,
thankfully -- in Rockford, IL ten years ago. Mary STILL gives me crap
about it! :-)

p.s. Within a few days of your passing through, about 700,000 acres of the Texas panhandle went up in flames
near your route due to those winds and tinderbox drought conditions. Firefighters from my hometown were among many
on the scene.

Actually, those fires were already ablaze as we flew over, and
dust/sand storms were making the whole state look more like Iraq than
the US.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Soon, New Mexico -- yesterdays intended destination -- was sliding beneath
us. Santa Fe looked lovely as we droned ever Westward,

Going east to west, New Mexico generally comes before Arizona ;-)

Crap, Ken, I proof-read that thing five times, and never caught that
error!

And I'm the one that's always bitchin' about the lack of geography in
the schools today, too...

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[...] 4. It's impossible to include every shred of information about the
decision-making process that goes into a flight of this length in a
descriptive narrative. By necessity, some details simply must be left out,
and in any story I always concentrate on action, not deliberation. This may
make parts of the flight look more like a "hip shot" than they really were.
As Jim outlined in his excellent post, his flight planning was detailed,
extensive and cautious -- but conditions simply weren't as predicted.

So, long story short, I understand what you're saying, but -- in this case,
anyway -- I feel that it doesn't apply.

Fair enough. As I said, I was not judging, but my eyebrows did arch a
bit.

Jose
--
Nothing takes longer than a shortcut.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.