Bob Bement
Pattern Altitude
The temperture in Vale, Or. was about 6 degrees when I went to the airport and warmed up the oil and added a quart for the trip south. My son gave me a ticket to the BCS championship game. I had been waiting for 5 days for a break in the weather and this looked like a good chance to make the trip. I had my GPS route all plugged in and the fuel tank full. I had some folks from my coffee shop come out and help me get the doors open on my hangar and see me off. I had to shovel snow one day so I could get the doors open. I started the plane up let it warm up a little and then went back and helped close up my hangar. The flight from Vale to Ely, Nv. was good the air was solid and I had to climb up to 11,500 to get over some clouds in the Elko, NV. area. When I landed at Ely for fuel the engine almost died as I was taxiing in and I had to keep the carb heat on and the mixture set for the 6200 ft field elevation. The guy at the FBO was trying to get the fuel truck going as I had called in about 8 miles out and informed him I would need some fuel. The gal at the office informed me that it was - 20 degrees below 0 and so the man working on the fuel truck came in for a short while to warm up before refueling the plane. I flew to the Wilson Creek VOR and then had to make a turn east to stay our of a MOA I was happy to find out that the temp in St. George UT. was much warmer than ELY. I got a little more fuel there and continued on toward Buckeye, AZ. my destination. I had to make a couple more deviations around MOAs but arrived in Buckey under clear skies at 3:05 Just 6 hours after I had lifted off from Vale, OR. The old 182 ran great and I had a little tail wind that showed me ground speeds of 172 miles and hours at times. A great flight.~~~