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Fort Myers FL to San Diego CA in a Cessna 150
The Story
PRE-TRIP CHECKOUT:
(TEST PILOTS) Saturday 01-08-05 0900 hours loaded N60374 to our estimated trip takeoff weight. Purpose was to simulate and evaluate the aircraft performance being about 100 lbs over-gross weight.-- Balance OK. Results are as follows:
The next thing to find out was, how high will this baby go? 9,800 ft . was max., just above stall. In cruise attitude the plane was descending. We found the aircraft would maintain altitude of 8,500 ft MSL This was a good thing to know when flying amongst mountains and towers charted at 9,700 ft. MSL. The next thing on this test flight was the second pilot becoming familiar with the handling and feel of a over gross Cessna 150. After doing some stalls, turns and so-forth it was time to do touch and go landings. On approach to runway 22 Venice I noticed a little engine roughness. Full throttle for take-off was smooth and 2400 RPM. After a slow climb to 1000 feet, I suggested a magneto check. Right mag good, left mag was out! Aircraft engines have two magneto's and two spark plugs per cylinder. If we had one a spark system, we would have been descending, powerless. Called a dead stick landing. We left Venice airspace 2,500 ft direct to Page field., got straight in to runway 05 with priority. Made arrangements to have N60374 magneto repaired. This being Saturday meant no work would be done until Monday. Our plan now was to depart early Tuesday. 01-11-05 Tuesday 01-11-05 thru Sunday 01-16-05 was a no-go.
DAY 1 Enroute from Albany, GA to Alabama we overheard radio communications to a Cessna 172 behind us and 1500 feet below. 'You are overtaking a very, very slow moving aircraft. Maintain heading. And altitude. Traffic no factor.' A short time later, we saw the passing plane going swiftly out of sight. This and the cars and trucks on the highway below going faster than us was a discouraging sight. But a short time later our course started to turn toward a westerly heading. That quarterly tailwind gave us a happy ground speed of 100-115 mph. It's sure nice to be passing the vehicle's below. We touched down at TCL Tuscaloosa, Ala. just before darkness. It was almost a 10 hr. flight. We gained one hour moving to central time. This was our first lay-over at Cecil's daughter and son-in-law's home.
DAY 2 After pulling up to the fuel pump and shutting down the engine, not a sound was heard, except some rusty hanger doors rattling from the light breeze. A dirt road from somewhere was the only way in or out. There was a nice western style ranch building behind the locked self-service fuel pump. We walked into the empty room and yelled, "anybody here" silence; yelled again and silence; went down a hallway that had 3 or 4 closed doors. Probably someone in one of those rooms, didn't hear me. Knocked on each of the locked doors that must have been locked as someone left. Made use of the very clean restroom. Cecil and I walked around some of the locked hangers. We went back to the plane, and thought we would have seen a sign, "gone for lunch." After a while longer a friendly man arrived to unlock the fuel pump. By the time we got back on course, we knew we wouldn't make our destination Bulverde, airpark, San Antonio, Texas before dark. So we selected College Station Texas for our layover stop. We knew when we had crossed into the state of Texas because air traffic was signing off with, "ADIOS.” Arrived at Easterwood airport, College Station, Texas early evening. Used the free shuttle to our Motel. and capped the day off with some Texas beef.
DAY 3
DAY 4 However, we had a telephone number to call for service. An outside telephone was a few feet away, but it was out of service. Nobody in sight anywhere. Just us and some tumbleweeds blowing around the airport. Luck was with us as there was a very small village across the street with a U.S. Post Office. Cecil went over to the Post Office and they got in touch with the airport manager. He finally arrived with a huge ring of keys. He started trying each key in the padlock. Luck again. After a dozen or so tries the fuel pump was running. Fuel tanks full to the brim it was time to pay up and get back on course to El-Paso. We were informed that fuel sales are cash only and he didn't know how much per gallon. Solution was "how much did you pay at your last stop?" Ok, $2.52 per gallon it is. This is no fudge, true story. On course El-Paso. Arrived after dark at Horizon airport, West Texas. The runway had approach and runway lights, and being on flight following, we were handed off to El-Paso approach control. We were directed to a tie down by a 90 some very nice Texan. A warm welcome being the first arrival of the day. We rented a car for the trip to our motel. The nice man had given us a map on how to get out of the boonies, but a wrong turn put us on a hole-strewn dirt road; we were gagging from all the dirt coming inside the "Rent-A-Wreck". At last a sign, "City Dump". Lesson learned - don't try to navigate with the map held upside down. This was our 4th lay-over. DAY 5
Friday 01-21-05
Horizon West Texas airport El-Paso to Cochise airport. New Mexico. I was very concerned about our fuel situation to say the least. One tank on empty and the other reading less than 1/4. I knew my fuel gauges are accurate within reason, because I had done a few pre-trip dip checks. This kept the blood pressure down a little. I made a high approach and on base leg decent the engine sputtered a couple of times. and my co-pilot said, "what's that?" my reply, "out of fuel." On short final-80 mph indicated - full flaps (40 degrees) and the nose pointed right at the runway threshold---nice landing if I do say so. That was no time to be doing a go-around. Gallons of fuel taken on-board showed we had only 2.5 gal. useable in both tanks. Lesson learned: 30 minutes of fuel reserve flying out West is not enough where the fuel locations are far between each other. Closely monitored fuel management is must for us pilots who do not like running close to empty. Another check on the weather was the same, V.F.R. all the way and no pilot reports. After some refreshments and full fuel, we departed Lordsburg, N.M.. We again headed for Cochise airport which was the only possible way (maximum altitude being 8,500 feet and the mountains and towers being 9,000+ feet.) The mountain tops were covered with snow, a beautiful sight. No camera, no pictures. Remember our already over-gross weight condition. Another sight was huge round circles. Green in color and in groups of four to six laid out in the dry light brown earth below. Being at 8,500 feet and not 35,000 feet (airline cruise altitude) we could see they were agriculture circles with a rotating watering pipe for irrigation. At about this time we were following I-10 (IFR = I follow roads). We also had railroad tracks to follow. Looking down was like looking at toy cars, trucks and railroad trains going the same way. Those clouds we previously had in our path were gone, moved someplace else, guess where? You’re right - right over Cochise airport. Here comes another flying lesson: Remember "Go-I- tis” which means , Go For It.
Here’s the scenario: Before we started our decent to Cochise airport, flight following was notified that, "because of lowering clouds we would be landing at Cochise airport." Air Traffic Control: “Do you have GPS?” Our reply: “Affirmative.” Shortly after securing N60374 the Fix Base Operator received a telephone call from air traffic control inquiring about our getting safely into Cochise airport. Thank you flight following service and thank you Garmin GPS. While at Cochise a Fox News Helicopter was there covering a murder in Wilcox City. The helicopter pilot told us how these mountain canyon pilots handle low clouds around here. If I've got 200 feet minimum altitude in a canyon pass, I'll go for it. you'll have much more altitude. on the other side. My reply was," Oh , all the towers and wires are on the tops of those mountains." Well no, was his reply. Thanks, but we are not mountain canyon pilots and our machine will not go straight up-down-backwards and etc. He was a very nice pilot to talk to. The camera crew returned and they departed through that 200 - 300 foot canyon pass. Cecil and I had a good supper, played 500 rummy, went to bed and listened to the pouring rain.
DAY 6 It was another beautiful flying day. We were flying along route 10 at 8,500 ft and the heading was towards Phoenix Arizona until it was time follow route 8 west and Yuma, NAS. At Yuma we topped the fuel tanks and had soda and crackers for lunch. We were now only a couple of hours out of San Diego. At Yuma Cecil was suppose to call wife Donna for estimated time of arrival. Cecil took the left seat to fly N60374 into its new home nestled between Lindberg Field. and Miromar NAS (Marines). Our decent from 8,500 ft over the lower mountains had a light chop; the only noticeable turbulence during the whole trip. MYF approach control gave us straight in to runway 28R. Visibility 5 was statute miles with Haze. Wind 240 at 7 knots. It's a beautiful sight to see the Pacific Ocean on approach to San Diego. I've seen it before. 14:30 Pacific Time; N60374 secured. No camera's No bands No greeters and no daughter to take us home. During the wait we had time to get all the clutter out of the aircraft. Daughter Donna arrived and took some pictures. I patted baby Cessna on her cowling and told her to be good to Cecil as she had been to me. ================
TRIP FACTS:
SAFETY AIDS: Cell phone-----Credit Card-----Cash
PRE-Trip Advice:
THIS LAST ONE IS THE PROBLEM SOLVER
JACK SLOSS Photos (click for enlargements)
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EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION
2941 S.W. 10th Place |
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