Michael
Pattern Altitude
Still trying to get the Mooney back from Gastons. Mark B is flying with me back to Havasu..if we ever make it. We decided to land in Sante Fe yesterday and continue on this morning for the final leg into Arizona. Nick B. Flew out from ABQ yesterday afternoon and we enjoyed some great conversation. This morning Mark and I arrived at the airport around 6am, plan was for an early departure to try and keep density altitude to a minimum. During the runup when i switched to the left mag, the engine started poping. I leaned out the mixture and tried to burn off any excess carbon on the plugs, to no avail, it seemed to have gotten worse. So we taxied back to the FBO and called in a mechanic, who after several hours, pulled all the plugs out, and determined they were so bad, some were not even firing. He sandblasted them and put everything back together. The post mechanical runup proved successful, and the Mooney was purring again. Problem was, now it is almost 1pm and the DA is getting awfully high, as well as the winds. I decided to make a run for it, Takeoff with a pretty strong crosswind, while uneventful, proved challenging. After reaching 8500 we noticed the headwind was around 40 mph. and we had some nice size mountains to clear. The updrafts and downdrafts started to get a little exciting, when we reached apox 20miles west of sante fe, the winds and Downdrafts would not let me hold altitude. There was rising terrain below us and I quickly decided to make a 180 back to Sante Fe. As soon as we turned around, the ground speed was showing over 200 as we came screaming back at the airport. The Atis reported a direct crosswind gusting to 29. and tower confirmed it. I gotta say that was the hardest landing I have ever made. you could hear the gusts coming through the windows and instantly picking up the plane several feet above the runway. at one point we had turned almost sideways. I eventually got us straightened out and landed. What a workout. I don't care to repeat that.
Good news is, nothing got bent. Bad news is...7 days after Gastons..I am still 3 hours from home.
Wish us luck for an early takeoff in the morning.
Michael
Good news is, nothing got bent. Bad news is...7 days after Gastons..I am still 3 hours from home.
Wish us luck for an early takeoff in the morning.
Michael