Let'sgoflying!
Touchdown! Greaser!
Had a great day today. A new friend who is about to start fixed wing training and his visiting dad wanted to go see all the RVs (Van's aircraft) at a local fly-in. We planned to leave at 8 or 9 but the wx was rainy at the fly-in airport and there was bands of heavy showers with embeddeds on the route so we delayed til about 1 when the showers were much less on the radar and El Paso was vrf.
The flight there was pretty neat between layers with glimpses of the mountains and ranches below and quite a bit of imc - I let my pal fly right seat and he did excellent (he is an army helo-instrument pilot) but his comment was what a lot of work it was. (I thought he did excellent from the right seat despite little fixed wing time, and too many hours with an a/p in the helo!) Santa Teresa 5T6 just into NM from El Paso does not have their iap up yet so we expected to do the ELP loc approach hoping to continue vrf around the Franklin mountains but it had cleared enough that we were able to cancel and get below the dissipating clouds, just past El Paso.
Soon we were in the pattern at ST and looking down at over a HUNdred of these slick, sleek machines. They parked our machine in the very last row and we spent an hour oogling and drooling as we walked around all these beautiful a/c. All kit built, all looked like they could smoke my Viking, and do it with less hp and gph. Was looking for some G1000's but not a one. However a lot of Efis and other very cool flatscreens on the panels.
I had mailed Don Jones of Las Cruces (30mi north) my cell ph # before leaving and he & his wife Emmy (hope I go that right Don!) met me, it was great to meet you two, Don! Please find an excuse to visit us sometime in your Warrier!
Wanted to beat night so we left vfr around 5pm and did a bunch dodging around heavy showers and very dark skies back to Alpine for dinner with our ladies, then I hopped back over the mountains in the dark to home base, with more nasty clouds to the NW. Haven't seen so much water on the ground in my 14 years here, it is pouring here again at home.
Some pics of the fly-in below.
The flight there was pretty neat between layers with glimpses of the mountains and ranches below and quite a bit of imc - I let my pal fly right seat and he did excellent (he is an army helo-instrument pilot) but his comment was what a lot of work it was. (I thought he did excellent from the right seat despite little fixed wing time, and too many hours with an a/p in the helo!) Santa Teresa 5T6 just into NM from El Paso does not have their iap up yet so we expected to do the ELP loc approach hoping to continue vrf around the Franklin mountains but it had cleared enough that we were able to cancel and get below the dissipating clouds, just past El Paso.
Soon we were in the pattern at ST and looking down at over a HUNdred of these slick, sleek machines. They parked our machine in the very last row and we spent an hour oogling and drooling as we walked around all these beautiful a/c. All kit built, all looked like they could smoke my Viking, and do it with less hp and gph. Was looking for some G1000's but not a one. However a lot of Efis and other very cool flatscreens on the panels.
I had mailed Don Jones of Las Cruces (30mi north) my cell ph # before leaving and he & his wife Emmy (hope I go that right Don!) met me, it was great to meet you two, Don! Please find an excuse to visit us sometime in your Warrier!
Wanted to beat night so we left vfr around 5pm and did a bunch dodging around heavy showers and very dark skies back to Alpine for dinner with our ladies, then I hopped back over the mountains in the dark to home base, with more nasty clouds to the NW. Haven't seen so much water on the ground in my 14 years here, it is pouring here again at home.
Some pics of the fly-in below.
