Trip To Reno Via Crater Lake !

Bekah and I set out for Phoenix a day early since the weather in Seattle was meant to deteriorate over the weekend.   First stop was Reno and made it down here no problem, got a bit bumpy in the Reno valley as expected, I don't think the air is ever smooth down here.  Anyway, Seattle to Reno in 3.5 hours, not bad.

I filed IFR Flight plan and had some build up over the mountains as we were passing crater lake.  I asked for slight deviation since I was a bit concerned about icing since we were already at 15K and we were able to stay clear of the clouds, and got some peek a boo views of Crater Lake.

Once we got down in Reno I tied the plane down good and stowed the control surfaces with the seat belt.  Very glad I did because there was a Dust Storm of all dust storms last night.  I was really horrified about the fact that my plane sat through a dust storm, but I don't think there will be any lasting effects.   My biggest worries are the canopy and the air intake on the engine.  Will go and make sure all is clean today as we are out and about, then tomorrow 6:00am we are off to Phoenix.

Orcas Island (Eastsound) to Paine field over the tulips

Took a flight Sunday with Bekah and Ariel up to Orcas Island.  Was a beautiful day in the northwest and I took video on the way home.   Sped it up a bit in certain spots and got the whole flight into a pretty cool 4.5 minute video.  Make sure to view full screen, and turn up the volume.   ;-)

Check it out here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7R_k41mdyz1TjR3emFfSTdJQTQ/edit?usp=sharing

Also, a couple pics from the day:

First IMC in the RV

I have been working with an instructor on and off over the winter on my IPC (Instrument Proficiency Check).  The most difficult part was getting used to my Skyview and the not so easy to work autopilot.  I love it and it works great, but it does take a while to get used to the menu driven options that power the autopilot.  Anyway, getting used to that and some refresher Instrument training and I was finally good to go with a signed of IPC.  I got a chance to go up in some actual instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) with a fellow instrument rated pilot just to keep me company.  Here are some photos of the fun times.

Here is a link to a video of us entering the IMC: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7R_k41mdyz1UFE2ZmRKMFpOZ0k/edit?usp=sharing

A Few Pics From The Windsock

Some local photographers hang out by the windsock on 34L and snap photos of planes coming in for landing.  I luckily was pointed to these great shots of yours truly..  ;-)

My Wing Camera Catches Washington State Landslide 20 minutes after it happens

Bekah and I decided to fly the Cascade Loop on Saturday, turns out our camera eerily captured more than we bargained for.  We left Paine field at 11, and traveled East of Arlington (KAWO) on our way to Darrington before turning North through the loop.  We didn't even notice but the Camera out on the wing caught probably the first images of the Washington State Landslide.  We came from the West and the majority of the landslide fell to the East, so from our perspective we didn't even notice it.  The cameral caught it though as you can see by clicking the below link.

Look just in front and below the spinner during the length of this video.  You will see the slide and also some smoke coming up from the center.  Also, the beginnings of the river being dammed up by the slide.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B7R_k41mdyz1OHktUVREb0ZzWWc&usp=sharing

Also, just to be clear, this video took place approx. 20 minutes after the slide, so the TFR was not in place at the time of our fly over.



Ariel's First Trip

We had some uncommonly nice weather in Seattle, so decided to take our new puppy up for her first flight, as well we got our first trip of the year to Friday Harbor.  Can't believe we have a place like this that we can fly into so close to home.  Grabed some dinner at Blue Water, walked along the docks for a while, then headed home.  Smooth Blue Skies.  Was a great experience.

 

 

Its been way too long since my last post !

So I have been maintaining and flying my RV almost for a year now.  I  have over 125 hours on it and have seen many places in it.   I will be starting my annual condition inspection in about 2-3 weeks and will post any findings from that inspection.  Also, I have created a map of all the airports visited thus far.   You can see it at the pic/link below.  I will continue to keep this updated as time goes by and this summer Bekah and I visit tons more airports and venture out to all corners of the country.   ;-)

RV-704CH Visited Airports