The adventure is over for now, the last remaining task is to sum up the greatest moments and lessons learned.
Here is a pictorial record of the leak, the failed repair attempt and the UHAUL truck with the trike loaded:
I will prepare more thoroughly and try the circle again, probably as soon as in a year. On the following pages I have collected some thoughts on the different technical aspects of the flight. I am not a mountain pilot, meteorologist or an airplane mechanic, so these are just thoughts and if you have ideas to add or something to correct, please share it with me. I would like to learn more. These links will come on-line as I am finishing the corresponding pages:
Today morning I am packing the plane and loading it to a U-HAUL truck to go home.
It was a difficult decision to make influenced by the coolant leak that can only be addressed by installing a new custom radiator and the closing weather window on the North. Tomorrow the second cold front is supposed to pass here and the normal Autumn pattern of fronts seems to be establishing on the North.
It feels good that I got through the most difficult part of the trip by crossing the Sierras and Rockies on the North but then this is where the flight was supposed to become easier and faster.
The main point is – I WILL TRY AGAIN! I have learned a tremendous amount and I will use that next time.
More will come on the blog once I am at home in a few days.
Today I got up at 5am so I could take off at sunrise. I am still not quick and optimized enough to do the packing of the camping gear, loading the plane, checking the weather, doing a preflight, engine warm up etc. in less than two hours.It was very cold this morning. The wing had frost on it and I had to stop several times to warm up my hands. Flying was even colder, and after a while my toes and fingers got numb and I had to scrape the frost from the map holder to see the details.This was a flight between peaks way above my flight level and I ridge soared along the windward sides of the mountains to get more lift and avoid the turbulent rotors coming from the leeward sides. When coming out of the Rockies my ground speed was over 115Mph, which means I had a 45Mph tail wind. Big thermals were kicked off of the Eastern foothills; some with 900ft/min (15ft/sec) lifts with large downdrafts in between them. Around 1 pm, I had enough of wrestling through the thermals and landed at a small airport for the night. I spent the afternoon getting organized, maintaining the plane, and visiting the local diner (finally some real food).Tomorrow I am pushing more to the North and East along the Missouri River. Unfortunately, a few days of flying distance from here to the East, the weather is bad with heavy rains… But, the point is – my little plane and I made it through the Northern Rockies. I can not believe it – probably the most difficult part of the whole journey is over. Hurray!!!Youtube Video
Wing lowered to the ground ready for the forecasted high winds of the afternoon. I am taking a weather day as it is raining along my route. Tomorrow’s weather is supposed to be great for crossing the Rockies.
Landed on a grass field in the Rockies. Field elevation 6600 ft. I will fly along these peaks tomorrow; they are all over 10k.
By the afternoon, the winds picked up and reached 35 mph. I had to tie down the trike and keep sitting in it to hold it down. A fellow pilot came over and saw my miserable situation. He brought me water and a sandwich. I gave him one of my DVDs of my previous trike trip.
The unstable air pushed along by a cold front raising along the Rockies form mountain waves and these (lenticular) clouds. They indicate huge up and down drafts. It would be calling for trouble to fly close to these.
Today I took off at around seven, and started to fly north-east. The clouds were pretty thick and I had to turn left and right to avoid flying under them. (The plane does not fly well in rain, and in general, flying under this kind of clouds is something to avoid because of turbulent winds). After some time, the clouds merged into a solid, thick layer and there was no way around them. I chose to land at the airport that I had selected as an emergency airport when planning today’s flight. The weather got extremely turbulent as well, so it was a good idea to land. After landing, I tied down the airplane, but still hoped to be able to go on.
Morning flight – trying to avoid rain.
Waiting for these to clear.
Cumulonimbus clouds forming.
The weather gradually got worse and by the afternoon huge thunderstorms had developed around me, and I was really happy that I did not push to continue.Thunderstorms have such turbulence that even the airliners have to avoid them or fly over them. This is not an option for me because the ground level is between 3000-4000 feet, the cloud base is around 7000-8000 feet, and the tops of the clouds is way above 10,000 feet, so I cannot climb over them. (Neither regulations nor the plane’s ability allow me to an elevation of over 10,000 feet). As the saying goes: It is always better to be on the ground wishing to fly than being in the air wishing to be on the ground…
Yesterday I realized that at high altitudes the plane uses much more fuel than in normal conditions. At this rate, I knew that I would not be able to reach a fueling station without using some of the extra fuel that I always like to have in case of an emergency. After making some phone calls, I was finally able to get hold of a grocery store that promised to deliver some fuel to a nearby airport. I got up at four in the morning, took off at around 6:30, and picked up the fuel on a small airport on the Nevada-Oregon border at 8 AM.
I will spend the night in Glenns Ferry. This is where the travelers of the Oregon Trail crossed the Snake River. The town was named after Gus Glenn, the operator of the ferry.
Another interesting thing about this small town is its great little airport. A large fighter plane once made an emergency landing near Glenns Ferry. The Army had to build the massive runway so that the fixed plane could lift off.
Got up at 4:45 AM to get ready for a 6:45 departure. Had 4 layers of polartech under the pilot suite and it was not an overkill.Climbed to 10.000 feet to pass over the Sierras. Some of the peaks were still above my flight level, and they were close too. Winds were up to 45 mph at 10.000 feet increasing my airspeed to over 100 mph and generating big up and downdrafts. I used my glider piloting experience from the past, and soared the windward side of the valleys.Landed in Susanville to re-fuel. It is a lovely airport with friendly staff. Flew by the Burning Man event, talked to the temporary Flight Control.For the last hour the ride was very bumpy. Sometimes full control moves were needed to stay right side up. Happy to be on the ground now. Major dirt devils popping all around.Winnemucca is a lovely airport too, I am camping on the grass next to the taxiway. Tomorrow heading North.
Landed in Winnemucca. Top speed today over 105mph at Lassen Peak at 10.000ft – means 45kt wind…(The altitude profile chart shows the height of the mountains, not my actual position.)This is how Burning Man looks from 8500ft.(click here for a video)
