Expanding my flying comfort zone (long)

Expanding My Flying Comfort Zone

Prior to getting my RV-6A I had perhaps 250 hours over 20 plus years.
My cross country experience was limited. I did not like to talk to
ATC. I had never flown in the mountains in all the years I had lived
in Colorado and less than ideal/good weather flights were avoided. I
considered myself a wuss when it came to bad weather and was very
proud of it. The following parts will detail how this grasshopper
went from a relative newbie pilot to one that is far less newbieish.

After getting the RV I gradually expanded my cross country experience.
Going to La Junta was a cross country technically but timewise trivial
in the RV. I took trips that could be done there and back on one tank
of gas then those where I needed fuel at the destination. Then I took
trips where more than one tank was needed. In the process of gaining
this experience I got the Flight Guide books from Airguide
Publications and the WAC version of the Air Chart Systems aviation
maps. These provided a lot of the info that I needed to conduct cross
countries.

At first I avoided MOAs but now fly through them. Some are little
used and not a concern but others like Vance I use flight following to
ensure separation. While I don't normally file a flight plan I do use
flight following with ease now. Talking to ATC or going into
controlled fields is not a concern.

I have made day trips to see Devil's Tower, Mt Rushmore, Meteor
Crater/Monument Valley/Shiprock NM, etc. Longer trips have been made
to Monument Valley and Death Valley, Kitty Hawk, Key West and the
Bahamas.

To overcome the mountain barrier to the west I took the mountain
flying course from the Colorado Pilots Association. The classroom
work plus the mountain flying with an instructor gave me the basics to
safely fly in the mountains. It was one of the best courses that I
took since it has opened up my flying to a region that is beautiful
beyond what many pilots will ever experience.

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...sPeakSmall.jpg

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...oach2Small.jpg

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/Leadville16Oct05.jpg

The weather issue remained the biggest limiter to cross countries as
recent as three months ago. While I did take instrument training
(never got the rating), seeing fronts that extend from the Gulf to the
Great Lakes with radar returns of rain all over was an automatic NO GO
for me. Then I planned a trip to Memphis for an air race, Kitty Hawk,
Key West, Bahamas and Crystal River to swim with manatees. I took off
knowing that the weather was not my normal "ideal." Some rain was
forecast as were lower than 12,000' ceilings. The initial region of
lower clouds was in Kansas or Oklahoma and I did consider turning
back. But I kept going since forward visibility was good, I was not
scud running and I kept checking six to ensure the 180 degree turn
option was good.

My fuel stop in Siloam Springs AR gave me the first real opportunity
to make a bad decision over continuing. The direct path to Memphis
placed me over terrain that may have come too close to clouds for my
comfort. So I diverted to the south towards Little Rock then followed
an expressway towards Memphis. This option only took 10-15 minutes to
clear the terrain and I got to General DeWitt airport easily.

Two days later I had to encounter more lower than desired clouds to
get to Kitty Hawk from Atlanta. What made it worse was that I had to
get low (2500 feet (?)) over water which I was not fond of. That made
me rethink whether I would make the trip to the Bahamas. A tropical
system that past north over the Bahamas cancelled the Bahamas and Key
West portions anyway and a charging system issue had me heading home.

On the way home I had the chance to overfly a cloud layer or try to
skirt it. Since it was of limited width (100-150 miles), well above
the ground, thin (300-500 feet) and temps well above freezing, I
overflew it. All conditions were acceptable and had I needed to
descend through it in an emergency I had my Trio autopilot to help
maintain a wings level attitude. It was a non-issue.

My overnight stop was Springfield MO. It was late in the afternoon
and I was headed towards the west. Ahead I saw what I though was a
cloud layer so I descended. Turns out it was just haze but I felt
better beinga bit lower so that I could use the ground below me for
attitude reference. While I learned to fly in Georgia, haze had since
become a complicating factor for flight decisions. When you can see
mountains 100-150 miles away, going back east is a dramatic change.
Nonetheless, I arrived home with my comfort zone enlarged.

A month later the Bahamas, Key West, manatee goals remained unmet and
I took off again. No issues until I got to Florida. I had been
watching the haze and noted that it had a uniform appearance that may
differentiate it from all clouds types. I got a briefing from Flight
Watch but without current satellite info, I elected to descend below
rather than get stuck above the clouds. I flew about 2500' MSL from
there to my unplanned fuel stop in Cross City then on to Ft Pierce.
Visibility was around 10 miles so I was never in MVFR conditions but
certainly marginal from what I consider normal in Colorado.

The next day saw yucky conditions to the east so I elected to try Key
West instead of the Bahamas. I knew that there were rain showers in
and around Key West. Launch to the south and instead of flying direct
I flew a bit east to fly over water in sight of the Keys.

The following picture shows some of the upper Keys off to the left:

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...West1Small.jpg

When I contacted Key West Approach they mentioned significant rain in
and around Key West. I elected to do a 180 then decided to land at
Marathon since it was below me. I checked the radar and talked to a
pilot who had just come from there. Based upon recent info, I
proceeded to KEYW and did have to get low and pass through some light
rain as you can see in this picture that shows the airport ahead and
to the right:

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...West2Small.jpg

This is on final to KEYW:

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...West3Small.jpg

After going to the southernmost point of the US, Hemingway's house and
a neat butterfly "zoo" I headed back to Ft Pierce.

The next day the morning weather was better so I finally put my
apprehensions on hold and started the trip to the Bahamas. I
initially headed south towards West Palm Beach then in that area
turned east towards Grand Bahamas. This is the Florida coastline
looking north as I commit to going out over the ocean:

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...amas1Small.jpg

The next picture shows the GNS 430 screen shot well out into the ocean
with MYGF (Freeport) as the destination:

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...amas2Small.jpg

This shows only ocean (plus clouds) below (no land):

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...amas3Small.jpg

Here I am approaching Grand Bahamas:

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...amas4Small.jpg

At this point I made the turn from Freeport to North Eleuthera Island
(MYEH)

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...amas5Small.jpg

Another shot of just water for landing although there are strips of
land in the distance:

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...amas6Small.jpg

At last I am on final to MYEH:

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...amas7Small.jpg

Here is the plane at the White Crown FBO. Note the official looking
large N numbers:

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...mas15Small.jpg

My objective on this island was to see Pink Sand beach. Unfortunately
it was not as pink as I had hoped although it is still a nice beach:

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...mas10Small.jpg

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...amas9Small.jpg

The trip back was not a problem. I did not violate the ADIZ and was
able to open my flight plan as I headed towards Grand Bahamas. This
picture shows the Florida coast near West Palm beach:

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...mas11Small.jpg

Here I am flying north along the coast to Ft Pierce. I am not sure
about whether I had to land at West Palm Beach if I crossed land there
so I stayed off-shore until I got closer to Ft Pierce.

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...mas12Small.jpg

The weather was not suitable for getting to Crystal River after I
cleared customs so I stayed at Ft Pierce another night. The next
morning was rainy. It was just in that area so once the weather
cleared to the south I took off that way with the initial thought of
skirting the rain. Once airborne I decided that it looked promising
"on top" so I climbed up to 10,500' and was able to get over the
localized clouds. This picture shows a plane going into Orlando and
why I use flight following:

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...mas13Small.jpg

The next morning I swam with manatees which was a great experience.
Back to Crystal River airport and looking at the
adds.aviationweather.gov cloud cover with VFR/MVFR/IFR condition
circles I knew that trying to head northwest was not in my newly
expanded comfort zone. The weather towards Atlanta was better so I
went that way. Spent the night at my brothers then made it from
Atlanta to 00V the next day in about eight hours (a record for one
day). Total flight time was 29.2 hours. In addition to further
expanding my piloting comfort zone, I got to do some neat
things....all thanks to a great airplane.

With that I will leave you with a picture that I took at the Homosassa
Springs State Park south of Crystal River:

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...mas14Small.jpg

Some nice photos. Glad you had a safe trip. Get that
instrument rating and some of the marginal weather
you were concerned about becomes far less of a factor.

Thanks for the post.

The following parts will detail how this grasshopper
went from a relative newbie pilot to one that is far less newbieish.

Great post -- thanks for sharing your experience!

The Bahamas flight is on our "definitely must-do" list...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"