Day of the noobs

Sac Arrow

Sac Arrow

Touchdown! Greaser!
PoA Supporter
Joined
May 11, 2010
Messages
20,703
Location
Charlotte, NC
Display Name
Display name:
Snorting his way across the USA
Question: What did the Sac Arrow do for Thanksgiving?

Answer: Went flying! Over to KHAF for a salad type thing with some bay shrimp on it for lunch.

I'm ten miles to the north out of the ocean. I hear "Half Moon Bay Traffic, Arrow XXX is entering downwind for three zero" in some sort of Middle Eastern accent. Good call.

"Half Moon Bay Traffic. Arrow XXX is switching to left pattern one two." Um, why? Winds are calm and probably favoring three zero. Right pattern three zero is the calm wind runway.

"Half Moon Bay Traffic. Arrow XXX is on left downwind for three zero." What? Now not only did you switch again, but now you're on the wrong side of the field.

"Half Moon Bay Traffic. Arrow XXX is turning final for three zero."

"Half Moon Bay Traffic. Arrow XXX is final for three zero."

"Half Moon Bay Traffic. Arrow XXX is short final for three zero." WTF?

Chatty Habib finally lands. I enter the pattern.

"Half Moon Bay Traffic. Warrior YYY is two miles to the South, looking for advisories on the right pattern to enter."

"Half Moon Bay Traffic, Arrow 3SA is right downwind for three zero." (Me.) I turn base, then final and announce. I miss my base call because he's babbling a bunch of stuff.

"Half Moon Bay Traffic, Warrior YYY is turning right base for three zero." I touch down.

"Half Moon Bay Traffic, Warrior YYY is final for three zero." No problem Warrior, I'll be off the field before you land.

"Half Moon Bay Traffic, Warrior YYY is going around."

"Warrior YYY, Arrow 3SA will be off the field before you land." He still goes around. Can't flaw him for that. Maybe he was practicing go arounds.

The Sac Arrow proceeds to assemble his bicycle, strips off his jeans and jacket to reveal a taught, spandex clad superhero body, flexing a bit as the lady passengers from the other Arrow walk by. Alas, the only two restaurants that are open on Thanksgiving are NOT the local seafood joints. Mezza Luna is open but I don't want foo foo overpriced Italian. Half Moon Bay brewing company is open but it is the only other game in town that is open and there is a line out the door to get in. Homey don't play that. Homey does do a good 20 mile sprint down Highway 1 and back past the line of virtually parked cars.

No spinach salad thing with bay shrimp on it for the Sac Arrow. Sigh. Burger King will have to do. A double whopper with cheese, no bun, and a side salad feeds the need. Fast forward to the trip home. The Sac Arrow disassembles his bike, stuffs it in the back through the passenger door and fires the airplane up.

"Half Moon Bay Traffic. Arrow XXX is at transient parking, requesting taxi to three zero." Huhhhhhh????? Same guy. He's obviously not a student pilot, he has passengers, including some random dude and a couple of really hot chicks.

"Half Moon Bay Traffic, Arrow 3SA is also taxiing to three zero." I normally don't announce taxi calls but since dude pal will obviously be sharing taxiway space I figured I better. I mean, we don't want to trade swords (or Arrows hahahahaha!) Yeah yeah, keep the day job.

I beat him to the runup area. Not because I'm going faster than he is but he apparently doesn't know where he's going and eventually ends up following me. I run up, taxi for departure and leave. Then I hear:

"Half Moon Bay Traffic, Arrow XXX is taxxing to the hold short line for three zero."

"Half Moon Bay Traffic, Arrow XXX is taxiing out on to three zero."

"Half Moon Bay Traffic, Arrow XXX is lined up with three zero."

"Half Moon Bay Traffic, Arrow XXX is departing three zero to the North." I **** you not, this guy actually, for real, made all of those calls.

Anyway, I'm done venting. Time to start pounding shots of Jameson and eating some of those deviled egg things and some sort of spinach dip stuff except I dip broccoli and celery in it, not chips. Turkey will be done later.
 
Last edited:
Chatty Habib trying to impress the chicks with all the pilot talk?
 
pbramlett said:
Chatty Habib trying to impress the chicks with all the pilot talk?
Click to expand...

I'm guilty of that. Except I didn't do it on the radio. In the 172 I always would say the checklists out loud, and when I would reset the DG I'd say "recalibrating inertial navigation system" :rofl:

I'm a stereotype, I guess.
 
DavidWhite said:
I'm guilty of that. Except I didn't do it on the radio. In the 172 I always would say the checklists out loud, and when I would reset the DG I'd say "recalibrating inertial navigation system" :rofl:

I'm a stereotype, I guess.
Click to expand...

I dont have a problem with it. But announcing on the radio is a bit much. I do like your recalibration however.

Somehow i think the girls would like the mooney a whole lot better than a 58 yo Cessna tailwheel anyway. :D
 
pbramlett said:
I dont have a problem with it. But announcing on the radio is a bit much. I do like your recalibration however.

Somehow i think the girls would like the mooney a whole lot better than a 58 yo Cessna tailwheel anyway. :D
Click to expand...

Chicks dig RV's. ;)


:rolleyes:
 
I'm willing to bet that with all the chatter he didn't bother to LOOK
 
Sac Arrow said:
....Burger King will have to do. A double whopper with cheese, no bun, .
Click to expand...


HUH..:dunno: No bun.... how the hell do you eat it?

Sounds like a fun day flying sac.... Glad the newbies didn't cause you to have a stroke.. I would have been laughing so hard I would have had to land and regroup.........;):rofl:
 
pbramlett said:
I dont have a problem with it. But announcing on the radio is a bit much. I do like your recalibration however.

Somehow i think the girls would like the mooney a whole lot better than a 58 yo Cessna tailwheel anyway. :D
Click to expand...

I know one girl who is way more impressed that I fly a cub than I own a Mooney. We are going to fly to Boerne in the Mooney saturday morning and then hop in the cub and fly it to lunch.

Unfortunately, I think I'm stuck in the friend zone with that one, but there is nothing wrong with having really good looking friends!
 
My son-in-law is a competition triathlete. I comment that he dresses like some colorblind superhero.
 
DavidWhite said:
I know one girl who is way more impressed that I fly a cub than I own a Mooney. We are going to fly to Boerne in the Mooney saturday morning and then hop in the cub and fly it to lunch.

Unfortunately, I think I'm stuck in the friend zone with that one, but there is nothing wrong with having really good looking friends!
Click to expand...

I wish I had female friends that even knew what a Cub or a Mooney were.
 
Quite a lot of folks train nontowered at KHAF. I see familiar tail numbers there almost every time I go.

But, frankly, I have many many MANY more troubles with people just blasting in on straight-ins without paying any attention to the pattern.
 
N801BH said:
HUH..:dunno: No bun.... how the hell do you eat it?

Sounds like a fun day flying sac.... Glad the newbies didn't cause you to have a stroke.. I would have been laughing so hard I would have had to land and regroup.........;):rofl:
Click to expand...

With a knife and fork! But when dude asked for a taxi clearance I was SO tempted to say "Arrow XXX this is Half Moon Bay Ground. You are cleared to taxi to three zero via Hotel, Whiskey and Bravo."

Arbiter419 said:
Celiac?
Click to expand...

Yep.

MAKG1 said:
Quite a lot of folks train nontowered at KHAF. I see familiar tail numbers there almost every time I go.

But, frankly, I have many many MANY more troubles with people just blasting in on straight-ins without paying any attention to the pattern.
Click to expand...

In fairness, approaching 12 from the North and 30 from the South is jacked up due to the terrain just East of the airport. I had no problem with Warrior making a base entry vs. scraping the trees maneuvering for the full pattern.
 
Sac Arrow said:
With a knife and fork! But when dude asked for a taxi clearance I was SO tempted to say "Arrow XXX this is Half Moon Bay Ground. You are cleared to taxi to three zero via Hotel, Whiskey and Bravo, immediate departure, proceed on course under radio silence."
Click to expand...
There ya go
 
....except you didn't cause that would be against the rules.
 
Yeah huh.... Although I wonder what rule would be violated by faking an ATC facility that doesn't exist?
 
Sac Arrow said:
Yeah huh.... Although I wonder what rule would be violated by faking an ATC facility that doesn't exist?
Click to expand...

How about

"arrow xxx, half moon bay tower, prepare to copy a phone number"
 
Sac Arrow said:
Yeah huh.... Although I wonder what rule would be violated by faking an ATC facility that doesn't exist?
Click to expand...
FCC has jurisdiction over ground operated radio...just think about the liability if the Arrow bends metal (not implying that you would do anything like that).
 
Sac Arrow said:
In fairness, approaching 12 from the North and 30 from the South is jacked up due to the terrain just East of the airport. I had no problem with Warrior making a base entry vs. scraping the trees maneuvering for the full pattern.
Click to expand...

Though it's a bit disconcerting to stare right at Montara Mountain, there is enough space there to overfly the field at 1500 and teardrop into the right 45 for 30, when arriving from the south. Especially in a Warrior where you have lots of visibility during the turns (but I do that in a Cessna as well).

Due to that mountain, no one does B-52 patterns at KHAF. That can't be done.

Sometimes I wonder whose poop doesn't stink west of the field, that puts both traffic patterns on the uphill side (and over Moss Beach!).
 
I did Half Moon Bay in a scenic flight from Palo Alto many years ago followed the next day by driving a similar route thru the hills. It was just a touch and go but I do remember the whole area being a very nice place to visit. I think from Palo Alto by car took me 3 hours! We were in stop and go from the start.
All in all, I would have rather flown.
 
There are only three routes into Half Moon Bay, so if there is a reason all the city folk want to go there, it's going to suck. Those reasons are generally holiday related.

The problem with flying there is that the weather is below IFR minimums nearly all summer. It's much better spring and fall.

Having said that, I've never heard of a 3 hour drive there from Palo Alto. In January, that will be closer to 45 minutes, counting the mountain crossing. It can approach two hours especially right before Halloween.

It's all part of living in a resort. Us locals figure out how and when to get around. You're from MA; think about what folks on Martha's Vineyard do (well, except for JFK Jr).

The area around the Harbor has some of the best $100 hamburgers anywhere (it's immediately south of the airport). I'm partial to Sam's Chowder House, but there are a whole bunch of very good restaurants within walking distance.
 
Last edited:
The problem is that Highway 1 becomes a parking lot on weekends and holidays. The normal route from Palo Alto is to take the 92 from the 101. I usually take the 280 to the 1 through the Devil's Slide. The third way is to take the 17 through Santa Cruz and back up the 1.

KHAF does have approaches but the minimums are too high for them to be of much value. I dunno, maybe the new LPV approaches but that's not an option for me.

The Princeton Seafood Company is the Sac Arrow's go to place.
 
Santa Cruz is an hour drive from Half Moon Bay, and it gets mobbed by daytripping flatlanders as well. A much faster route is over 84, if 92 is plugged up. If your mountain driving is very good, you can try to pop over on Page Mill Rd. Don't do that if you drive mountains a few times a year.
 
I shouldn't be ok with being stuck in the friendzone. I gotta fix that.
 
I learned something about insects a couple weeks ago. Do you know the male dragonfly has two penises? The first sucks the semen out of the female dragonfly and the second does the deed.
 
I went to Sam's last month for the first and last time last month. That place is a ripoff and the lobster rolls are nasty! However, I did see a biplane doing aerobatics by KHAF which was cool.
 
ainokea said:
I went to Sam's last month for the first and last time last month. That place is a ripoff and the lobster rolls are nasty! However, I did see a biplane doing aerobatics by KHAF which was cool.
Click to expand...
I never had the lobster rolls but I like the crab louis salad. They put apples in it, which I've never seen done anywhere else.
 
MAKG1 said:
There are only three routes into Half Moon Bay, so if there is a reason all the city folk want to go there, it's going to suck. Those reasons are generally holiday related.

The problem with flying there is that the weather is below IFR minimums nearly all summer. It's much better spring and fall.

Having said that, I've never heard of a 3 hour drive there from Palo Alto. In January, that will be closer to 45 minutes, counting the mountain crossing. It can approach two hours especially right before Halloween.

It's all part of living in a resort. Us locals figure out how and when to get around. You're from MA; think about what folks on Martha's Vineyard do (well, except for JFK Jr).

The area around the Harbor has some of the best $100 hamburgers anywhere (it's immediately south of the airport). I'm partial to Sam's Chowder House, but there are a whole bunch of very good restaurants within walking distance.
Click to expand...
Okay... Probably a wee bit of exaggeration. It only seemed that way since I was driving a compact in 90 degree heat. This was 20+ years ago. I probably drove a total of 4 or 5 hours that day. Crossed over to Rt 1 and followed the highway south.
 
Arbiter419 said:
That makes two of us. :yes:
Click to expand...

It's not a big deal. I figure if I wasn't I'd probably weigh 300 pounds. It's a little bit tough to work around restaurant menus sometime but I usually manage pretty well. Chinese and Mexican are the toughest to deal with.
 
Sac Arrow said:
It's not a big deal. I figure if I wasn't I'd probably weigh 300 pounds. It's a little bit tough to work around restaurant menus sometime but I usually manage pretty well. Chinese and Mexican are the toughest to deal with.
Click to expand...

Yeah I finally had to start the diet last december. I've known for some time that I'm gluten intolerant, but it just caught up to me and started killing me. In about two weeks, I'll be 1 year gluten free, I only slipped up and poisoned myself two or three times. Chicken nuggets are my vice...so that sucks. I found a good pancake mix at walmart too.

I eat a lot of fruity pebbles though!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top