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Post by Tom Goodrick on Oct 18, 2008 10:39:45 GMT -5
Ben there is a problem with your panel design that is cutting off the control buttons on the bottom edge of the GPS map. One button there is vital to this sort of flying - the TERR buttone that turns on the terrain relief map showing all the mountains and valleys.
Others have complained about not seeing much scenery because of the high panel. Tap W for a better view when you have the aircraft trimmed and level. This is equivalent to having a camera mounted in the nose of a twin that shows a great view for use in making a travelog. There would be a monitor in the cockpit you could be looking at (when you press W).
Last night I finished the Fling with a flight from Echo Bay to Boulder City and then a direct flight to Yuma. (I did deviate to the right to avoid the blue restricted area for the US Army Yuma Proving Ground where they throw things out of airplanes at high altitudes and shoot artillery shells to 30 miles. They also work on laser weapons there.
My clock said 14:37 pm when I landed at Yuma in my Mooney Bravo. I started at 8 am in Granby and stopped just a few times. I made the last part of the flight on autopilot at 4500 ft because it was rather boring. I only had poor visibility the last 30 miles where I came down to 2500 ft and watched the terrain on the GPS closely. I came within 1200 ft of a couple bumps.
The only thing wrong with this Fling is that, to have fun and fly low over the river, we are all violating the law which specifies we must stay 3000 ft above the edge of the Grand Canyon (which would keep us at 9,000 - 10,000 ft msl).
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Post by Tom Goodrick on Oct 16, 2008 19:08:40 GMT -5
Dave Letterman, on his late-night comedy show, has been giving McCain all kinds of grief and bad press since McCain lied to him when cancelling a visit to his show a couple weeks ago. McCain had said he had to return right away to Washington DC to work on the economic crisis. But he went instead to another CBS studio in New York where he was taped for the Eveneing News interview with Katy Curic. So Letterman has been giving McCain a hard time. Today, McCain was in Philadelphia, finishing some campaign stops when he got on his campaign plane to fly to New York (actually Newark) to get to the show. The plane could not get a takeoff clearance as IFR flights were backed up into the New York area because of high winds and low ceilings.
So McCain chartered a helicopter for himself, his wife, a campaign aid and two Secret Service agents. The helicopter was taking off when the campaign plane finally got clearance. It must have been an interesting flight but they got to the Letterman show. The CBS Evening News showed a tape of him on the show.
That show can be seen tonight at 11:30 pm EDT.
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Post by Tom Goodrick on Oct 16, 2008 10:12:00 GMT -5
That least chapter in the Saga of the Cats has been finished. Momma cat recovered fine from her surgery. We had fun keeping the kittens safe for two weeks until we could give them up to the vet for adoption (the vet that fixed their mother offered to take the kittens for no charge. He'll charge a good price for the kittens but that's a special rich area east of Huntsville (over the mountain) where the average home value is $600,000.)
Momma cat first put the kittens in a box 18 inches high, shared with a reindeer (who was still assembled for Christmas display). That was good for their sleeping for the first two weeks they were their. (They were about 3 weeks old when she brought them). We hastilly put together a play pen for the kittens by simply taping four playwood boards together. Son Craig had those ready for shelving. They were 24x42 inches and made a very nice play pen for the kittens. But after a few weeks in there they started scrampling out. (They were not in there un supervised.) We were ready for that from our experience with the other kittens from her first litter. We laid down planks of 1x8 and 2x6 over the edges of the playpen making it more difficult for them to climb out. We also had a piece of old "wainscoating" board 42 x 48 inches that fit over the 1x8 boards and was held down by the 2x6 boards so the kittens were protected at night.
We had an additional problem with scavenging racoons at night that were a threat to the kittens. since we fed the Momma cat in dishes that were left out long periods, and we had to leave the garage door up about 6 inches for her to come and go, the racoons would come during the night.
The last four weeks we had them, the kittens lived in the play pen. I made it more secure by screwing in corner braces. They had a litter box in there from the first we started using the playpen. They learned very quickly to use the litter box so we had no stinky messes. (A new type of litter is very effective at controlling odors.)
A neighbor found out about the kittens and was happy to take one of the kittens. Another neighbor found out from him and took another of the kittens. So we had only three during the last week. Finally on the 14th we took the three remaining kittens to the vet's office over the mountain. (The car does not like climbing mountains so it's good we are done with that.)
We miss the little rascals, of course. We avoided naming them so we would not get too attached. (We still have Alex, Buddy and Charley from the first litter.) These kittens in the second litter were completely normal, happy kittens with no cares. We made sure they are friendly to people and enjoy being held. The guys from the first litter were so severely traumatized from their encounter with dogs that they remain very jumpy to this day. They probably would not have been adopted. But they are now very neat and beautiful adult cats. One is normal in size but two are very big. They are about ready to take on our two dogs for control of the house!
That battle will probably be Chapter 3.
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Post by Tom Goodrick on Oct 16, 2008 9:43:34 GMT -5
Flaming, that golf course was probably "The Falls" near Henderson, NV. It is one of the neatest courses in the Woods'08 for the Wii. Several holes have elevation changes on the order of 100 feet.
I finally got back to flying the Grand Canyon and finished the leg to Echo Bay (Overton, NV). Neat scenery but no surprises. The distance scale on the GPS map gave me plenty of warning for starting the climb from the river level to the upper deck for the Grand Canyon West airport. The trick was then getting back down for Echo Bay at 500 fpm (no pressure in the Mooney Bravo).
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Post by Tom Goodrick on Oct 9, 2008 19:07:32 GMT -5
[This was written yesterday (10/8). I have not beem able to get on this Forum for more than 24 hours. Don't know why.]
I can't get onto the Forum this evening because we've had a lot of hard rain today and the phone lines are all screwed up. But I wanted to pass along to you the problems I have had landing at U07 and KPGA airports on the Fling. In each case I was following the river at very low altitude. But the airports are on elevated terrain. I could see from the map that they were in line with my flight path. But I could not see them from 5 miles out. The solution was to climb to 1000 ft above their published altitude 4167 for U07 (Bull Frog Basin) and 4316 for Page, AZ. Then I could make a normal visual approach and a decent landing.
I am flying the Mooney Bravo. I stopped first at Glenwood Springs and then flew direct to Bull Frog Basin. Then we stopped at Page for lunch at the Pizza Hut. John should try the Fiesta Family Restaurant one mile from the airport for a decent cup of tea. Next is the long Grand Canyon stretch.
So far I have only a brief encounter with low clouds. I think it was just south of Rifle that I encountered clouds as I entered a canyon. I tried to keep low but was ready to climb if needed. After a brief entry into the canyon, I decided to climb 4000 ft as fast as I could. Just after starting the climb I passed out of the cloud and could see no other clouds below or around me. I resumed my low altitude flight.
Most of my flying has been on manual control, trimmed at about -2.9 degrees for 159 KIAS. It stays very level as I do gentle turns to stay with the river.
At Page the dam is an ugly thing that rises up from the land on both sides! Microsoft really messed up the terrain in this area. They can't seem to grasp the idea that the terrain near the river on one side of a dam is higher than on the other side where the canyon is deeper. The same thing can be seen other places such as the Tennessee River. It is too bad. They have messed up some good scenery.
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Post by Tom Goodrick on Oct 7, 2008 10:25:12 GMT -5
By the way, Ben, click on the Terr button under the GPS Map. It gives you terrain relief information you need when flying near mountains or along the sea shore. This is vital when doing the Colorado River Fling.
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Post by Tom Goodrick on Oct 6, 2008 23:44:30 GMT -5
If you were flying Sunday morning, you obviously did not wait for my email which gave you the weather file and the flight plan.
Have fun.
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Post by Tom Goodrick on Oct 6, 2008 9:30:40 GMT -5
The wind was different. That would affect the takeoff. Nothing affects the FD files except editing or copying new FD files.
If anyone else wants to fly the Baron 58P (pressurized and turbocharged) on this Fling, just drop me a note.
By the way, if you can, stay below any clouds so you can see the ground. But this can be tricky as it is in real life. It is hard to see the difference between a horizon and a mountain dissappearing into clouds. (Been there, done that).
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Post by Tom Goodrick on Oct 6, 2008 9:24:12 GMT -5
I did not know you wanted a file for the Colorado Fling. I am sending you one. You can change the Mooney to a Baron 58P. The weather file will put some snow on the mountains.
The trees look right to me. Of course, they are not perfect representations but from a pilot's perspective, they look right.
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Post by Tom Goodrick on Oct 5, 2008 20:46:02 GMT -5
I will send everyone a Flight file called Colorado_Fling_Start that will have a Mooney Bravo parked at Granby. When you start it, you will find there is already a flight plan entered that will draw straight lines through all these airports. These airports pretty much define the river's course though they zig-zag a little over the river. You do not have to follow each leg exactly, just use the red line as a guide while following the canyons that contain the river. But you will have to pass over each airport in order to trigger the the next leg and see miles to the next airport. If you don't trigger each leg it just means you will see a white line instead of a red line and will not see the proper distance for the leg. But that's no big deal. Do with the flight plan what you wish.
i recommend you use an airplane with a turbocharged engine. You can even use turboprops like the Beech 350 or the Beech B200 or the Piper Meridian (on my site). The runways are of reasonable length but these need only a 3000 ft runway, even at high altitude. There are 6 other turbocharged aircraft on my web site: Cessna 340A Cessna 414A Beech Duke Aerostar 700 Piper Mirage Piper Turbo Aztec (I thought there were some turbocharged Cessna singles but couldn't find them when I looked just now. I know I did a 182, 182 RG and a 206.)
These are all setup (along with my FD for the Mooney Bravo) with proper engine power and auto mixture so you just leave the mixture at full rich for climb and cruise.
It will be difficult to start non-turbo aircraft at Granby.
I have found a suitable weather file which will be included in the Start Flight. It is from November 2, 2006. It is clear except for some haze as you approach Yuma. There are some interesting winds and cold temperatures.
You can land at any airport (no rules). But I intend to land at KGJT, KPGA, 0L9, KHII, KYUM, MM20 and MM0G. I may hop down the Sea of Cortez a ways and then cut across the Baha Peninsula and come north to KSAN. By the way, you won't find much of the Colorado below Yuma. It has been split up into several small rivers and creeks for irrigation in Mexico. Also, so much water is diverted from it in the US that very little reaches Mexico.
I'll send out the Colorado_Fling_Start file shortly. There is no specific start/stop time. Taking a month would be appropriate.
I'll make the flight first in the Mooney and note my flight time to each stop.
I'll be having breakfast at Remington's, a mile from the Granby airport before 8am which will be the time on the Start file. There's good food at The Mesa Cafe on the field at Grand Junction. The Fiesta Family Restaurant near the Page airport sounds good. "Tail of the Whale" sounds good in Overton, NV (3 mi by shuttle bus from 0L9). There are new facilities at Yuma Airport including the Yuma International Restaurant on the field that was beiing built when I was last there (1998). My guess would be it would serve great Mexican food and even greater Marguritas. There are many nice motels with a couple miles. You can easily spend a week or two seeing each airport or fly the whole thing in a day from breakfast at Granby to supper at Yuma.
The Start file was sent as of 9:30pm CDT. Let me know if you don't get it. I may not have your latest email address.
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Post by Tom Goodrick on Oct 4, 2008 19:03:18 GMT -5
So far, I have tried two files, October 25 and 26 2006 where a front moves through Denver dropping snow on the mountains. The second one is good down to the Grand Canyon because it clears up behind the front and our path is on the back side of the front. But at the Grand Canyon it shows broken Cumulus IN the canyon. That spoils the fun. Now I know to check the Canyon first.
But it may be that we must use "Fair Weather" to fly in the Grand Canyon. I have only 26 more files to look at. I'll check Oct 27 2006 which lets the front get farther east.
The whole point of this is to fly in the canyons. Unfortunately FS has a habit of putting low clouds in canyons. But the RW files do show snow on the mountains as they should. That is one value of using RW.
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Post by Tom Goodrick on Oct 4, 2008 9:20:55 GMT -5
Yes, I have noticed the ads shown on each page often bear a close relation to the topics discussed. The ads are never objectionable but some are interesting. What does "Plastory" have to do with writing a blog?
Indeed I may register these kittens with iams.com after we give them to the vet. After all, they have been eating Iams cat food for a couple of weeks now. They prefer it over the fresh meat their momma brings them (which they avoid and we remove as soon as we see it).
We are about to go pick up Momma Cat - also officially known as "Little One". Her surgery went well. The total bill is only $126. She flunked the first blood test but passed the second. That does worries me with regard to the kittens. We'll hear her story all the way back over the mountain. It will be interesting when we let her out of the carrier. I'll be ready to jump back five feet. We have probably destroyed her recently-learned confidence in people.
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Post by Tom Goodrick on Oct 3, 2008 21:37:28 GMT -5
The other day I hit the highest score yet in tennis with Tom18: 2294. That was lowered on the next set and now I am down near 2190. It does not take much to drop back down. At 2190 you gain 20 points if the opposition gets no points in a set. At 2290 you get only 12. At 2190 giving up two points in a set still gains you about 5 points in the ranking score. At 2290 you would lose about 5 points. The maximum possible score is probably about 2350 where playing a perfect set gains you nothing. That's just a wild extrapolation from what I've seen. Nothing about this scoring is linear.
Today we took a firm step toward the aleviation of our cat problem. We took the momma cat in and had her spayed. There will be no more litters of kittens. But we still have the three six-month-old cats from the first litter and five from the second litter.
Since Momma Cat is a wild stray who's never even been in a house before, it was a neat trick getting her in the garage over night (no food or water before surgery) and into a cat carrier for the drive over the mountain to the vet's office - 30 minutes during which she voiced her opinion of us.
The vets we have previously used in this area are all too expensive to help us with the cats. They both charge $250 to spay or neuter a cat. My vet I have used for dogs for 15 years wnats me to pay him $50 per kitten so he can sell the kittens from his lobby for $40 each. What a deal! The lady vet who used to be our favorite cat vet would also charge $250 per cat to neuter the three "boys" we have from the first litter. We paid her $100 per cat for the first kitten shots. Those will be the last kitten shots she gives for us.
There is an organization that takes pitty on poor Government Pensioners that offers spaying for $50 and neutering for $40. A vet that does that did the work on Momma Cat today and will get the five kittens (which he will give away at no cost to us). Then Alex, Buddy and Charley will pay him a brief visit for neutering. But they will remain our favorite little scardy cats. They continue to be very jumpy about loud noises - especially loud dog noises.
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Post by Tom Goodrick on Oct 3, 2008 21:08:20 GMT -5
OK We certainly have plenty of interest. In my scouting trip with the 200 knot Baron 58P, I have reached CNY. That's not too much progress for three days. But I have been busy with some other activities ("honey Do's"). I am going to expedite my search for Real Weather files that are suitable. I have about 30 files covering 3 years in the time frame of mid October to mid November. I just have to run through them in different places along the route and pick one or more. If I can get one to work all the way, then I'll just save it in a "Flight" with the Mooney Bravo (the most suitable of the default aircraft we all have and give you a Flight file with the flight plan and the weather file all hooked together. I'll email it to each of you.
I am finding it no trouble to navigate (and thus I can enjoy the scenery) by using a GPS map on the panel showing the flight plan path. I don't fly that path but fly around it in the canyons that contain the river. But be advised the stock scenery (which is all I have) does not do justice to the river in all cases. It would be hard to navigate by pure eyeball because in some places the river dissappears or hides as a thin line on the walls of the valley. By looking at the relief map with the straight path shown, it is easy to figure where the river is going next. It is fun to run near the water and turn through the canyons following every bend in the river. But at 200 knots, it is a bit dangerous to follow every turn as the speed expands your radius of turn. The route would almost be well suited to a very slow aircraft like a Cessna 172. But then there are some very long stretches where you just want to get to the next airport. I have flown parts of the Grand Canyon before and know that will be neat going low and slow.
I'll get this set up shortly.
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Post by Tom Goodrick on Oct 3, 2008 9:59:24 GMT -5
Yes, Allen is right. The second GWS should be RIL and the nearest town is Rifle.
This route is shown on the Sectional Aeronautical Charts for Denver, Las Vegas and Phoenix. I have these and they are very helpful in figuring the path to take.
It is unanimous - no rules. Just enjoy the sights and say something about them. The first half of the trip will be made at fairly high altitude. This will make landings and takeoffs a little more interesting for some planes. Turbo-charged planes will have no problem.
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