Okay, let me back up here: In August I flew the Scenic Yellowstone FOTM. Then I was off to Hawaii to wait for this flight, but in September there was that extra feature in Egypt (which was actually to make up for the lack of a flight in August??) Aaaanywaaaaaaaay, from Hawaii I was off to Egypt via Singapore and Mumbai and then I spent some time on assignment for Peter Stark in the Mediterranean. [PHOTOS- 1 , and 2 ]Now I get this FOTM from Dick sending me off to Nevada. Immediate problem number one is that the instructions say to deliver the BRAC packages the evening of Saturday October 1st and it’s already Sunday October 2nd. Oh well, that’s what I get for never checking messages Saturdays. Furthermore, I’ll tell ya, I’m going to save you the grief of hearing where all I’ve been in the past 6 weeks and we’ll just pick up the story from PHFC (since that was my original plan anyway!) I pushed back from the gate at 5:30 AM Hawaiian time which means the clock was reading 06:00. I taxied the AirTours DC-10 out to 17L for departure. [ PHOTO-3 ] I climbed initially to 7,000 feet and joined the airway to California finally cruising at MACH 0.79 at FL370. [ PHOTO-4 ] While I expected to come into SanFrancisco and then get shuttled across the bay, ATC took me in with all the LosAngeles traffic and I actually made landfall at SantaBarbara, then [ PHOTO-5 ] turned on the I-5 corridor northbound for 75 miles before starting down into San Jose. Skies were clear, visibility was 20 miles and winds were light out of 225° but ATC brought me straight-in for runway 33L [ PHOTO-6 ] and I shut down at 13:38 Sunday. [ PHOTO-7 ]
Tony has done a great job on all our Flight Club repaints and other than the flights for Flight Club Airways, it seems that the planes rarely get used for FOTM features – so this month I’m flying exclusively in Club Aircraft! (Not that you’ll get to see much as a good part of this FOTM will be after dark – maybe I’ll have to do both night and day tours?) Quickly now, I had to get to the pick-up point in Reno by 17:00 to pick up my aircraft and papers…so I climbed into the Club-Execs. Lockheed Jetstar II and departed San Jose just after 14:00. [ PHOTO-8 ]
Tony has done a great job on all our Flight Club repaints and other than the flights for Flight Club Airways, it seems that the planes rarely get used for FOTM features – so this month I’m flying exclusively in Club Aircraft! (Not that you’ll get to see much as a good part of this FOTM will be after dark – maybe I’ll have to do both night and day tours?) Quickly now, I had to get to the pick-up point in Reno by 17:00 to pick up my aircraft and papers…so I climbed into the Club-Execs. Lockheed Jetstar II and departed San Jose just after 14:00. [ PHOTO-8 ]
The flight to Reno was easy, quick and uneventful and as soon as I had been handed to ground for taxi I requested Parking 2. Once there I shut down at 14:47 and reloaded real weather as well as my stead for the night, the Flight Club-liveried KingAir200 compliments of The Collector. Then I had about 3 hours to get a good meal and a nice hot shower.
Back at the KA200, I recognized Big Richard bringing out the papers well before he arrived at my plane. The guys’ about 6’4”, weighs somewhere’s around 280# and was wearing a 1960’s-era US Air Force blue uniform which probably USED to fit. Kinda made me feel small in my denim shorts and red Aloha shirt…course considering it would take 1-1/3 of me to equal Dick’s height and two of me to equal his weight I guess I WAS small. Oh well, harder to catch - especially with that limp he has from a shrapnel-in-the-hip wound.“You are EXACTLY, 24 hours LATE!” he groused.
“Yes, sir” I responded.
“There are no Air Bases open on Sunday. You’ll have to leave in the morning. All the directions you need including navigational aides and altitude restrictions are all noted on the…….”
“ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ”
Finally he was done and I took the folder, gave a sharp salute and silently walked off the tarmac back to my room for the night.
“Since you were LATE…” Dick yelled after me, “Don’t expect any of the pay or perks when you arrive in Vegas!”
“What – EVER.”
That evening the quiet motel room allowed me the chance to go over all of the paperwork Dick had so diligently laid out for us. Looks like I’ll be departing Monday, October 3rd at 07:00 with the plan to arrive in Las Vegas BEFORE 13:00. Then what? I don’t drink, I don’t gamble, I have NO DESIRE to catch a show…I could tune in to http://www.plr.org/ but why listen to that in Vegas when I could go back to PHFC? So that was my plan. I phoned ahead to have MY plane waiting and fueled at McCarran for Monday evening.
I was a couple minutes late getting into the King Air Monday morning, then I had to go through start-up and requesting clearances etc. With Dick’s thorough paperwork I didn’t file a plan but figured I could call myself VFR and just use the VORs and headings he has given us. [ PHOTO-9 ] I left Reno/Tahoe at 07:10 from runway 34L. I turned to heading 080 and climbed to 10,000 feet.
I landed on runway 31L at Fallon NAS and taxied to south parking. [ PHOTO-10 ] I was on the ground from 07:35 to 07:57, departing again from runway 31L.
Next was a tough approach into Sweetwater USMC [ PHOTO-11 ] where I was on the ground from 08:19 to 08:45 [ PHOTO-12 ] Man, this approach is tight – I’ll have to come back and try this in the Club’s C-130 sometime!!
Then Tonopah Test Range. Time in 09:14, Time out 09:43. [ PHOTO-13 ]
[ PHOTO-14 ] shows Alamo Landing (L92 – because that route took me OVER Area 51) [PHOTOS- 15 and 16 ] from 10:05 to 10:40. It was 83° F on the ground. [ PHOTO-17 ] leaving.
[ PHOTO-18 ] shows my circuit through Indian Springs AF Aux, 11:00 to 11:16. [ PHOTO-19 ] is my pass through Nellis AFB, 11:42 to 12:00. 
[ PHOTO-20 ] shows heading into Vegas at 12:18.
With my mission accomplished for this FOTM I settled into the cockpit of the Flounder-One Exec. Jet and programmed the FMC with all of the details to get me back to PHFC via the LAX VOR. I contacted Vegas ground and requested pushback at 14:36. I departed via runway 25R [ PHOTO-21 ] and enjoyed the flight back to Hawaii, [PHOTOS- 22 and 23 ] arriving uneventfully [ PHOTO-24 ] at 17:44. [ PHOTO-25 ]
Dick, this was a great flight although I’m not sure why you wanted us to fly at night ‘cause it looks good in the day! Anyway, thanks for the bit of a change…now if only I could explain this shot! [ PHOTO 26 ]
