Where am I taking the girlfriend?

[ircphoenix]

scored yourself a lil hottie there, irc!

I lucked out.

 

[SkyDog58]

I lucked out.

Obviously!

 

[Mason]

Negative. She mirrored it for some reason. If you notice, mics are on the wrong side.

A subtle hint at who's really in command.

 

[ircphoenix]

A subtle hint at who's really in command.

Hey... I wear the pants in this family!

She picks them out and tells me to put them on, but I wear them, dammit!

 

[MAKG1]

I was up by Salinas Friday afternoon. Between the haze, the marine layer creeping in, and the smoke, I couldn't quite make out what I was flying into. ATIS said clear... but I turned my happy butt around. Wasn't in the mood to get trapped.

On Saturday, I needed a clearance to get through there. Visibility got below 1 mile in patches, up to at least 8000 feet.

But you should be able to pass in the clear on the coast side of the TFR, or over the top.

Yes, Monterey has a good restaurant on the field, and several excellent ones in town.

 

[MAKG1]

Tahoe's not a day trip from SoCal unless he's got a jet.

It's not THAT much further than Monterey. But it's hard to plan this time of year, 'cause the air gets unstable in the afternoons. It's a spectacular flight in calm winds.

 

[ircphoenix]

On Saturday, I needed a clearance to get through there. Visibility got below 1 mile in patches, up to at least 8000 feet.

But you should be able to pass in the clear on the coast side of the TFR, or over the top.

Yes, Monterey has a good restaurant on the field, and several excellent ones in town.

So the inland side was smoke that I was in? Visibility was terribad. Didn't smell smokey though.

 

[MAKG1]

So the inland side was smoke that I was in? Visibility was terribad. Didn't smell smokey though.

Probably.

You can see the smoke plume pretty clearly on the visible satellite image. It fans out in a cone toward the southeast. There is nothing along the coast or over Monterey.

 

[ircphoenix]

Probably.

You can see the smoke plume pretty clearly on the visible satellite image. It fans out in a cone toward the southeast. There is nothing along the coast or over Monterey.

Good looking out. I may go up the west side. Hopefully the aussies won't be jumping into 2513 on Saturday and I can just do a straight shot over the TFR. If not I'll stick to the west after SBP. Just don't like scooting over the water if I can help it.

Thanks for the pirep!

 

[Tampico Trauma]

Petaluma -O69... Great restaurant on the field and a short uber to a cool downtown. Stay the night and enjoy it. Cheaper than APC and a small bit further than MRY


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[mr_happyland]

El Monte? She'll be real impressed! Lol

Since you live right by the water...a change of scenery could be nice. Palm Springs or Vegas could be a fun overnight trip.

 

[ircphoenix]

So friggin' annoyed. Marine layer at home and at the destination is preventing me from taking off. No winds. No rain. No lightning. No hail. No freezing conditions. Just a layer of clouds probably 200 feet thick.

Guess all the more reason to pursue my IFR.

 

[eman1200]

So friggin' annoyed. Marine layer at home and at the destination is preventing me from taking off. No winds. No rain. No lightning. No hail. No freezing conditions. Just a layer of clouds probably 200 feet thick.

Guess all the more reason to pursue my IFR.

yeah, I keep thinking the same thing about my IFR. still want plane first, then IFR, but who knows.

 

[Tampico Trauma]

And people ask me why I live in Bakersfield


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[Tampico Trauma]

We shagged up to KVCB today after stopping to look at a Maule at KPVF. Now we are at the outlets. Someone shoot me.

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[ircphoenix]

And people ask me why I live in Bakersfield


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I'd rather deal with the marine layer... Lol

 

[MAKG1]

El Monte? She'll be real impressed! Lol

Since you live right by the water...a change of scenery could be nice. Palm Springs or Vegas could be a fun overnight trip.

This time of year?

No FN way. It was 105 in Palmdale last week. Both Palm Springs and Vegas would be even hotter.

 

[ircphoenix]

This time of year?

No FN way. It was 105 in Palmdale last week. Both Palm Springs and Vegas would be even hotter.

Maybe he meant overnight... as in that's when I should be flying there. =D

 

[mr_happyland]

This time of year?

No FN way. It was 105 in Palmdale last week. Both Palm Springs and Vegas would be even hotter.

Yeah but but people actually go to Vegas and Palm Springs to enjoy themselves....can't say that about Palmdale

It was suggested as an overnight idea....leave early in the morning when it's cool and you'll be sippin' drinks with umbrellas poolside by 11am. Sounds like a good way to please a girl. Beats taking her to an airport restaurant. Vegas was 102 today...that's a great pool-side temp.

 

[ircphoenix]

So I finally ended up flying myself and the girlyfriend up to Monterey. We left around noon due to the marine layer being a little late burning off.

Girlfriend was given the task of ADS-B watching, courtesy of the Stratux I bought from @Archammer (YOUR SUCTION CUP SUCKS, BTW, LoL) and a Samsung tablet.

Wanted to take the mini route northbound over LAX, but there was a stubborn bit of layer hanging around off the coast, so the mini route was closed. Went up the special flight rules corridor. On the other side of the corridor over SMO, I noobed it up over the radio picking up flight following.

Uneventful trip up. We flew over the TFR north of Santa Barbara and got some interesting looks at the fire on the ground, as well as firefighting aircraft flying up and down the canyon. We got a look at the Chimney fire's plume. And got to breathe in the smoke from the persistent Soberanes fire.

We got forgotten about when going into Monterey. A helpful "Norcal Approach, we have Juliet" got us set up for a slam dunk approach into the right runway while a commercial flight was landing on the left. Never had that happen before, but it was fun. After I landed I felt like a pro, because I'd never been to Monterey, and I managed not to screw up the taxi instructions. Taxied into Monterey Jet Center... and immediately felt like a poseur. My little Cherokee 140 taxied meekly between the rows and rows of fancy expensive jet aircraft. This weekend was the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance... which is apparently a rich people with fancy cars thing. All I know is I got charged a $100 dollar handling fee because of it. Normally the fee is $45 bucks, waived with fuel. I certainly understood, as the ramp was bustling with activity with carts and ramp guys running all over the place. I told the line guy to make sure to move my plane way out in the back somewhere so nobody would have to be embarrassed to see their big plane parked next to my beater.

We purchased our aquarium tickets from the Jet Center, which saved us 15 bucks per ticket, which was cool. The people working at the FBO were incredibly busy. 8-10 people walking around in the lobby. Cars coming and going from the gate. The people working the FBO were all first rate. Treated us no differently than the jet setters with money. That was nice.

We ubered it to the aquarium where we spent 3 hours or so looking at various stuffs. Absolutely puts the Long Beach Aquarium to shame. The place is very well put together inside, there was quite a bit of thought that went into the layout, and the exhibits are beautiful. If you have little ones, there are even kid centric areas where they get to play with water.

The ceilings started closing in, and we had a dog waiting for us at home, so we ubered it back to the airport. It was much calmer when we got back around 5:30. We settled up with Marissa at the counter, who gave us something to remember the Jet Center by... and also apropos for the reason for our trip.

We were going to stop in Santa Barbara for dinner, but we were already running late due to the late start, so we just flew directly home. Plus side was that I got to do my first non-towered landing at my home drome since the tower closed when we were arriving. And to cap it off, here's a gratuitous LA basin shot from the cell phone.

 

[PaulS]

We shagged up to KVCB today after stopping to look at a Maule at KPVF. Now we are at the outlets. Someone shoot me.

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Every one of those stores should have a couple couches and recliners for the non shopper to lounge on while waiting.

 

[MAKG1]

Wow, nice trip, and good photos.

The smoke was annoying yesterday, but VFR was feasible. It's nice to have 50 miles vis, but we can make do with 6. The marine layer was persistent; I wanted to take CAP cadets to Half Moon Bay, but CAP rules don't allow that kind of mission IFR, so we had to settle for San Carlos. And it was HOPPING with activity. Reid was real quiet, though; I got cleared for landing over Calaveras Reservoir, on initial contact.

 

[Archammer]

Girlfriend was given the task of ADS-B watching, courtesy of the Stratux I bought from @Archammer (YOUR SUCTION CUP SUCKS, BTW, LoL) and a Samsung tablet.

Do you have the large suction cup or the old tiny one?

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[ircphoenix]

Do you have the large suction cup or the old tiny one?

Tis the big one. It's awfully flat though. Doesn't seem to grip so good. Haven't tried licking it first. =D

 

[Timbeck2]

You got air vents in the ceiling? How'd you get that? I just got the crappy floor level vents that keep your shins cool but nothing else.

 

[ircphoenix]

Wow, nice trip, and good photos.

The smoke was annoying yesterday, but VFR was feasible. It's nice to have 50 miles vis, but we can make do with 6. The marine layer was persistent; I wanted to take CAP cadets to Half Moon Bay, but CAP rules don't allow that kind of mission IFR, so we had to settle for San Carlos. And it was HOPPING with activity. Reid was real quiet, though; I got cleared for landing over Calaveras Reservoir, on initial contact.

The smoke up there wasn't good... but it didn't hurt too much. Coming back south was another story. Just north of Santa Barbara around the San Marcus VOR, the smoke was up to 8,000 feet pretty solid, and up to probably 11 or 12k in the main plume. My little Cherokee got up to 9,500 to clear the TFR and most of the smoke, but it was pretty thick below me. Marine layer up there was pretty annoying. The METAR didn't show it clear when we left, but I gambled that it'd burn off. It did. So we landed. Was a bit worried it'd close back in, and it tried, but we got out of there under the deck and legal. I could see that just off to the SE it was hazy but clear. So I figured it was the right time to leave.

 

[ircphoenix]

You got air vents in the ceiling? How'd you get that? I just got the crappy floor level vents that keep your shins cool but nothing else.

Plane came with them. Don't be too jealous. They don't do much. Nothing like a 172's air flow. And agreed completely about the floor vents. When you have to move your leg to try to get some air flow across your face... kinda weird. And the plastic is super brittle in the nozzles. Was thinking about getting the overhead vents replaced but I saw something like 140 bucks per nozzle or something ridiculous.

Guess that's just yet another thing on the interior overhaul list.

 

[SoCal RV Flyer]

Great trip and photos! Looks like you had an awesome time.

Tomorrow, I'm going to that garden spot of renown, Bakersfield, to try out the Rocket Cafe. I've had some great times at Buttonwillow Raceway to the west, so I think I'll circle the track a bit and reminisce.

 

[Timbeck2]

3D printing could be a possibility.

 

[ircphoenix]

3D printing could be a possibility.

But those wouldn't be TSO PMA FAA TFR BBQ WTF parts.

 

[Archammer]

Tis the big one. It's awfully flat though. Doesn't seem to grip so good. Haven't tried licking it first. =D

Ok good to know though, thank you! I've been debating on a different system and this helps with that. I'll keep you in the loop.

 

[Tampico Trauma]

Great trip and photos! Looks like you had an awesome time.

Tomorrow, I'm going to that garden spot of renown, Bakersfield, to try out the Rocket Cafe. I've had some great times at Buttonwillow Raceway to the west, so I think I'll circle the track a bit and reminisce.

What's your ETA? I could go for some chicken fried bacon tomorrow.


Watch out, it's smoky up here


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[Timbeck2]

But those wouldn't be TSO PMA FAA TFR BBQ WTF parts.

Ah yes but it would be a "locally fabricated" part.

I'm all about local fab to keep from paying overpriced flimsiness.

 

[ircphoenix]

Ah yes but it would be a "locally fabricated" part.

I'm all about local fab to keep from paying overpriced flimsiness.

I need to get a locally fabricated self installing interior.

 

[denverpilot]

Nice write up on the flight to Monterrey.

Why did they give you bait at the FBO???

 

[ircphoenix]

Nice write up on the flight to Monterrey.

Why did they give you bait at the FBO???

Damn right. Chocolate anchovies. Have yet to eat them. The tin looks too cool. LoL