Who's gonna be first on the list?

Just made arrangements to rent a car so we have additional transportation options for people.
 
The 'kota came back from the A&P after a 100 hr inspection on the engine. Routine maintenance only (it had been 100 hours since the annual last December) - re-gapped plugs and re-timed mags. Good to go for launch on Friday but first a trip to WWW tomorrow. Afternoon weather in the hills looks normal for this time of year so return to FTG tomorrow afternoon may be "interesting" (and put off until Thursday morning).
 
Another year where other events get in the way. Past years it's been kid college stuff, this year it is a makeup vacation due to us being hurricaned out (from Irene) last year.

Brad and Diz, we will make it one of these years.

Gary
 
Watch out for fire TFRs if you head north at all, Clark.

Listening to Larimer County dispatching on two new brush fires up that-a-way just in time for the President's visit, and they just announced that they've ordered up a SEAT.

Going to get sporty up there with the Prez TFR and new fires.
 
denverpilot said:
Watch out for fire TFRs if you head north at all, Clark.

Listening to Larimer County dispatching on two new brush fires up that-a-way just in time for the President's visit, and they just announced that they've ordered up a SEAT.

Going to get sporty up there with the Prez TFR and new fires.
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I usually go up near the state line then point it west. Around or over the TFRs, no biggie and the Stratus gives Foreflight a plot of 'em.
 
denverpilot said:
You receiving ADS-B that far north now?
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Yup, there's a tower near the Springs that is visible when up high north of FNL. I think I lose signal around 8K.

I figure the zoomies wanted ADS-B for their new Cirri so the Springs got it early.
 
Looking again this morning, I've got to file just to (maybe) get through the 30 mile ring. Hope "workload permits" this morning...
 
Gary said:
Another year where other events get in the way. Past years it's been kid college stuff, this year it is a makeup vacation due to us being hurricaned out (from Irene) last year.

Brad and Diz, we will make it one of these years.

Gary
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Gonna hold you to that Gary!!! Although I can't quite figure out why your "makeup vacation" wouldn't be in the middle of the Ottawa National Forest. :D :rolleyes:
 
Dizaster said:
Gonna hold you to that Gary!!! Although I can't quite figure out why your "makeup vacation" wouldn't be in the middle of the Ottawa National Forest. :D :rolleyes:
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It will happen!! Last year we rented the usual house at Cape Hatteras, the hurricane made it impossible to get there. The owners did the right thing in giving us a "free" week this year, so long as it was after Sept. 1. So thats the week.

steingar said:
Long flight in a Cherokee.
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True, but not so bad if we make a few stops to see the sights along the way. Wife has always wanted to see the Ford museum in Dearborn (and a few historic homes on the way), so if we take 3-4 days to get there, not so bad.

Gary
 
Gary said:
ITrue, but not so bad if we make a few stops to see the sights along the way. Wife has always wanted to see the Ford museum in Dearborn (and a few historic homes on the way), so if we take 3-4 days to get there, not so bad.

Gary
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True enough.
 
flygirl34q said:
And you are going to make it this year for sure?? :D
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Completely wx dependent. My main worry is flying over unpopulated terrain and water at night. I hypothesize that if the sky is clear and I can see the stars, I can discern a horizon between them and the dark ground. Mind you I say hypothesize, I've never attempted this before. I am thinking similarly for the over water part. Should the latter be too difficult, I can always follow the shore line, though this will necessitate a fuel stop. Might need one anyway, this is close to the maximum distance I'll fly the Cherokee without a fuel stop.

To make a long story short, I won't know if I can get there until I get there. I just hope to hell I don't have to stop in Bay City again. Didn't like that place the first time.
 
Hope you're able to make it - safely, of course - Steingar. :)

I'll be needing two fuel stops. :-( But, at least I have a plane ... And, it's a Soooper Yooper Yankee!
 
Unfortunately, I threw a large degree of safety out the window when I committed to flying at night. But I promise to abort if it doesn't look and feel right. There is a lot of new stuff in this flight for me, to be certain.
 
I'll probably be arriving sometime tomorrow afternoon. Who else is coming on Thursday?
 
Brad & Diz went up today. Jenn, the kids and I will get there late afternoon or sometime tomorrow evening. If you have time over the weekend and want to earn some gas money for the ride home, I could use some instrument instruction. My written test score expires in October.
 
pilot117 said:
Brad & Diz went up today. Jenn, the kids and I will get there late afternoon or sometime tomorrow evening. If you have time over the weekend and want to earn some gas money for the ride home, I could use some instrument instruction. My written test score expires in October.
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I still have your daughter's name (which she wrote) in my log book.
 
steingar said:
Completely wx dependent. My main worry is flying over unpopulated terrain and water at night. I hypothesize that if the sky is clear and I can see the stars, I can discern a horizon between them and the dark ground. Mind you I say hypothesize, I've never attempted this before. I am thinking similarly for the over water part. Should the latter be too difficult, I can always follow the shore line, though this will necessitate a fuel stop. Might need one anyway, this is close to the maximum distance I'll fly the Cherokee without a fuel stop.

To make a long story short, I won't know if I can get there until I get there. I just hope to hell I don't have to stop in Bay City again. Didn't like that place the first time.
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Unpopulated, my ass. I live here all year. I agree that it probably is not a good idea to fly over our pristine wilderness at night. If you can't launch early enough after work just wait until the next morning. If somebody is unable to get into 6Y9 due to low ceilings consider IFR into KSAW. I might be able to give a lift to 6Y9 by ground if I get enough advance notice.
 
I'd be more worried about trying to land at an unfamiliar strip at night without a VASI. That's something I've never done and don't plan to. But overflying wilderness at night shouldn't be done either unless you're prepared to fly on the gauges... even if you're not IFR, approach the flight as if you were.

I don't think I'm going to make it this year either. I just had a killer first day of classes today and have another one coming up on Friday. I've been super stressed over some projects I'm not getting done on time anyway. I think I need to stay home and chill this weekend.

Have a good one up there, whoever goes!
 
Sorry to hear that, Liz. Was hoping you'd chime in with some good news or just surprise us with a visit ... looks like it's gonna be a good year.
 
azure said:
I'd be more worried about trying to land at an unfamiliar strip at night without a VASI. That's something I've never done and don't plan to.
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I have done that, and it isn't difficult at all.

azure said:
But overflying wilderness at night shouldn't be done either unless you're prepared to fly on the gauges... even if you're not IFR, approach the flight as if you were.
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If I can discern the horizon I will continue. If not, I plan on hitting the "nearest" button on the GPS, and landing right there.

azure said:
I don't think I'm going to make it this year either. I just had a killer first day of classes today and have another one coming up on Friday. I've been super stressed over some projects I'm not getting done on time anyway. I think I need to stay home and chill this weekend.

Have a good one up there, whoever goes!
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A pity I won't be able to meet you.
 
steingar said:
I have done that, and it isn't difficult at all.
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Earlier this year I flew up to KHYX and landed on 22 in the dead of night. It was pitch black, a black hole type landing. I had no visual means to tell how high I was above the ground and the runway, and I was a little nervous about all the darkness below me with not a light in sight. Without the VASI it would have not been a smart thing for me to try. (And if the VASI GS was f---ed up like that one in NY, well I would have hit the trees.)

I've never been to 6Y9 and maybe it's better lit than that. Some fields would not be a problem. But anything where all you can see is the runway lights on final, I leave to braver sorts than me.
A pity I won't be able to meet you.
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Likewise...
 
azure said:
Earlier this year I flew up to KHYX and landed on 22 in the dead of night. It was pitch black, a black hole type landing. I had no visual means to tell how high I was above the ground and the runway, and I was a little nervous about all the darkness below me with not a light in sight. Without the VASI it would have not been a smart thing for me to try. (And if the VASI GS was f---ed up like that one in NY, well I would have hit the trees.)
.
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You have a visual means, a great one, it's the same one you use in the day. You just look at the angle. Just takes practice...go do it with an instructor 10 or 20 times one night and you'll have it down.
 
Why would anybody take a risk of landing at a grass strip when it starts to get dark? Land at Sawyer and I can put several people up at my house in Marquette until the next day or two or whenever. KSAW is about 60 miles east of 6Y9. My wife or I should be able to pick you up from the airport. Mi casa es su casa. PM me for my phone numbers if you might need to use this option. I plan to drive to 6Y9 one or more days but might fly if I can muster the effort to remove the wheel fairings.
 
jesse said:
You have a visual means, a great one, it's the same one you use in the day. You just look at the angle. Just takes practice...go do it with an instructor 10 or 20 times one night and you'll have it down.
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Not sure what you mean. :confused: During the day, I don't "just look at the angle". I look at the runway, the ground features, terrain, the obstacles I need to avoid, everything. In a black hole approach, I don't have any of that, it's just a box made of runway lights in the middle of empty space. How do you judge height and distance from the point you're aiming at? How do you know you're not going to hit a power line (if there is one charted), or get your gear snagged in a tree?
 
Gary F said:
Why would anybody take a risk of landing at a grass strip when it starts to get dark? Land at Sawyer and I can put several people up at my house in Marquette until the next day or two or whenever. KSAW is about 60 miles east of 6Y9. My wife or I should be able to pick you up from the airport. Mi casa es su casa. PM me for my phone numbers if you might need to use this option. I plan to drive to 6Y9 one or more days but might fly if I can muster the effort to remove the wheel fairings.
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Well, it depends on the grass strip and whether it's lit. I've been into a couple of grass strips that actually have lights, and one of them was a private strip! We actually took off from there after dark, though I've never landed at a grass strip after dark, lit or not. Unlike others on the board I could name! :hairraise:
 
azure said:
Not sure what you mean. :confused: During the day, I don't "just look at the angle". I look at the runway, the ground features, terrain, the obstacles I need to avoid, everything. In a black hole approach, I don't have any of that, it's just a box made of runway lights in the middle of empty space. How do you judge height and distance from the point you're aiming at? How do you know you're not going to hit a power line (if there is one charted), or get your gear snagged in a tree?
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You can look at a sectional and the approach plates for the airport to determine the terrain. You can also read the notes in the AF/D. I generally error on the "steep side" and set my self up for an approach that is a steeper angle than I generally would fly.

In the end -- It's all about the angle. One can fly a perfect pattern by simply judging their angle to the runway.
 
Argh, here I go again hijacking a thread. Sorry! Deleted.
 
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Good morning world - I'll be heading out in a few minutes and will hopefully be in the air in the Flybaby in a hour or so.
 
steingar said:
Long flight in a Cherokee.
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Not as bad if you fly direct but kinda scary going over all that open water. I flew to Dayton Ohio and back a few weeks ago. I flew direct down and stopped at Grand Rapids on the way back to run some errands. Don't push it.
 
azure said:
Earlier this year I flew up to KHYX and landed on 22 in the dead of night. It was pitch black, a black hole type landing. I had no visual means to tell how high I was above the ground and the runway, and I was a little nervous about all the darkness below me with not a light in sight. Without the VASI it would have not been a smart thing for me to try. (And if the VASI GS was f---ed up like that one in NY, well I would have hit the trees.)

I've never been to 6Y9 and maybe it's better lit than that. Some fields would not be a problem. But anything where all you can see is the runway lights on final, I leave to braver sorts than me.

Likewise...
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I have obviously caused a misconception. I've never landed a strip without some sort of runway lights. But with them I've been able to work things out satisfactorily without VASI information.

I would not even dream of landing a strip like 6Y9, short, occluded, and turf, at night. That was never the plan, I am nowhere near that courageous or skillful (take your pick). As Gary pointed out, I've been planning to land Sawyer (KSAW) the whole time. Giant runways, every kind of light there is and a control tower to boot.

WIth luck I'll see everyone Saturday morning. Quite of a bit of luck, indeed.
 
steingar said:
I have obviously caused a misconception. I've never landed a strip without some sort of runway lights. But with them I've been able to work things out satisfactorily without VASI information.

I would not even dream of landing a strip like 6Y9, short, occluded, and turf, at night. That was never the plan, I am nowhere near that courageous or skillful (take your pick). As Gary pointed out, I've been planning to land Sawyer (KSAW) the whole time. Giant runways, every kind of light there is and a control tower to boot.

WIth luck I'll see everyone Saturday morning. Quite of a bit of luck, indeed.
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Check the NOTAMs at Sawyer KSAW. The north 6,000' or so is closed but that still leaves you with about 6,000'. The tower is open until 10 local time. It starts to get dark after about 9 here.
 
Gary F said:
Check the NOTAMs at Sawyer KSAW. The north 6,000' or so is closed but that still leaves you with about 6,000'. The tower is open until 10 local time. It starts to get dark after about 9 here.
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Thanks Gary, that's good to know. No worries about the NOTAM, that runway was closed last time I was there two or three years ago.
 
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