Grand Canyon

OK, now I've had a day of rest after hanging out on Catalina for a day and I got to stretch the legs a little by hiking around. Its Monday and time to go check out the Grand Canyon.

Flying over the Canyon is carefully regulated to make sure:
1. Tourist aircraft get the best possible views.
2. Private aircraft don't ever hit tourist aircraft.
3. Some areas of the Canyon remain free of aircraft noise.
4. Private aircraft have some chance of not hitting each other.

The tour operators get to fly helicopters below the rim of the canyon, you can't do this in private aircraft. Evidently flying below the rim is an amazing experience. Makes me want to quit my day job and fly for a living there. The tour operators have special flight patterns that are approved by the FAA. All the Private aircraft must stay above these routes. People Camp in and on the rim of the Canyon and deserve to do so without a constant stream of aircraft and associated noise for this there are Flight Free zones. To help private aircraft avoid hitting each other different areas of the Canyon have different frequencies that aircraft are supposed to monitor and announce when they are passing certain points. This is pretty normal: The same type of systems is set up at every airport that doesn't have an air traffic control tower which by a huge majority I mean most of them. The system works very well.

So from Long Beach, CA we depart for Kingman, AZ to get fuel, stretch our legs and maybe eat. about 2 hours to get to Kingman. Flight Service says that there are several reports of NASTY turbulence over Ontario airport which is on our route. I'm not familiar with the area and I ask what the best route was for a light airplane and the briefer suggested that I head Southeast and then east across Palm Springs then direct Kingman. I have been out to Mt San Jancinto before and Palm Springs and it's rather nice terrain so I decide to take that route.

Turbulence isn't usually a big deal but this time there a 2 reports of Severe Turbulence around Ontario one from a little plane, which usually I blow off as some guy who can't hold on to his lunch. The problem is there also report of severe turbulence from a business jet. here is the definition:

Severe: Turbulence that causes large, abrupt changes in altitude and attitude, and large variations in airspeed, with the aircraft temporarily out of control. Occupants are forced violently against their seat belts and objects are tossed about, with food service and walking impossible.

Now that paints an ugly picture. Light planes get tossed by turbulence much easier that Jets and the pilots are typically more experienced than your average Sunday driver so when they make reports like that you pay attention.

We take the long way and are rewarded with a smooth ride, good views of the wind Generators at Palm Springs, The Salton Sea, Mt. San Jancinto and the desert.

On the way to Kingman I start screaming a stream of expletives in the front seat and make my brother a little nervous. My sunglasses break and I'm a little Pissed off. Oh Well, That's why I look so screwy in some of the pictures. My brother thinks I look like the guy in Waterworld. He graciously loans me his sunglasses when I need them.

We land Kingman. It's something of a bone yard for United Airlines and USAir commuter planes. They are everywhere. We find the fuel pumps , get fuel and ask about the restaurant and it happens to be closed every Monday. We depart for the Grandest of Canyons with my brother's stomach rumbling and him grumbling. about 30minutes later we are over the Canyon and it's spectacular. Big, Deep ditch! Words can't do it justice, you have to see it. With My brother still whining about his hunger I call on the radio down to Grand Canyon West airport and Ask if they have food. I get a response from a tour operator pilot that they have food but you have to take a free bus to get there. Jackpot! I set up and Land Grand Canyon West. This means dodging a constant stream of helicopters and dealing with a mean cross wind. Good fun.

We taxi up and park next to an enormous plane called a Navajo which to most people looks microscopic... well anything is enormous compared to my plane. We park and ask about food. The nice guy says that the pilot was a little misleading: The bus rides are Free for the commercial pilots not us private pilots. We end up having to Pay $33 each for a bus ride to an overlook there there is Native American food in a buffet style. Well it's only money right? We cheerfully pay and take the ride to the overlook. It turns out to be a great view, right on the rim and the food is pretty good too. Obviously this is a tourist trap at $33 per person for a little bus ride and food but the view was spectacular. We get out and walk around Guano Point, named for the product they harvested from the cave under the end of the point. We throw a few rocks in the canyon and see how long it takes to hear them hit. There isn't much else to say. You just have to go and see it for yourself.

So we take pictures, some of me acting like I'm a jackass about to fall in the Canyon... Then we take the bus back to the airport. We depart, fly over the canyon some more and then head west back to Long Beach.

Along the way I call Flight Service on the radio and ask for updates on the weather and especially the turbulence situation. I get the green light. No reports of turbulence and smooth sailing. Sweet. 1:30 later we are passing back into the the LA basin, over the mountains and suddenly my physical model of how the world works ends. The plane is tossed gently at first but abruptly gently turns to a good solid violent thrashing. Things are flying around the cockpit, the attitude of the aircraft is all over the place and I don't much feel like a pilot but a steerage passenger. As soon as I can I turn the autopilot off, slow the plane down and ask if Matt if he is OK. He bumped his head through the padding of the headset but is otherwise fine. Ouch. This was probably a scaled down version of what we would have experienced that morning if we didn't heed the earlier turbulence reports. I'm exaggerating a bit it really wasn't that bad but still not a good experience.

30 minutes later we are in Long Beach and I take the Line service guy for a ride. CJ, employee of Long Beach Air Center, was a super standup guy getting my airplane parked and taking care of us even though they usually don't have small aircraft on their ramp. He is a pilot with a few hours of flight time and so I install the rear seat stick so he can fly the plane. We take off about 15 minutes before sunset and fly around Catalina Island and watch another day end. Spectacular!