Post by Tom/CalClassic on Sept 17, 2019 20:11:48 GMT -5
Hi,
Just got back from a flight in a Diamond Eclipse with the son of the guy I go camping with, what a blast! We took off from the Placerville, CA airport (KPVF) and flew to Minden, NV (KMEV). Placerville is at 2680 ft, and we climbed to 10,000 ft to get over the Sierras. It was close to a straight shot from our takeoff on runway 5. At about 8000 ft he let me have a try, and we flew around the highest peaks and had me climb to 10,500 ft for an extra cushion. I then turned down a canyon to allow a 500 fpm descent to the Carson Valley, and turned north to where Minden lies at around 4700 ft. After he took back control, we made a straight in approach to runway 34 but wait, a Cardinal was approaching from the north and would arrive first, so he made some S turns to slow our progress. But this left us high, so he slipped us to get down faster. That was a little weird to experience, but he made it seem easy. We floated a bit due to our increased speed, but a nice landing resulted and the runway is plenty long.
After we taxied to the FBO and shut down, I treated him to a breakfast at the Taildragger Cafe which was pretty darn good. I was surprised I could eat anything after that experience, but sometimes I surprise myself. After the required trip to the restroom, we were off again over Spooner Summit where the amazing view of Lake Tahoe appeared. We actually flew in the valley for a while to get up to the required 8500 ft altitude first. I let him fly this leg so I could admire the scenery (and it was getting rather bumpy). We flew directly west across the middle of the lake climbing to 10,000 ft, went near Loon Lake, turned right, and headed down the canyon containing Hellhole reservoir. As we started a descent it was exciting to have mountains above us on both sides, but he carefully pointed out the places we would land if the engine quit. Always be prepared. We continued down the canyon to Stumpy Meadows Lake, which put us right on the track back to Placerville. He took us into a midfield crosswind entry to a left downwind, left base, and final to runway 23. His approach was a little low so he gunned the engine to bring the PAPI back to white and red and made a nice landing. At that my cool adventure over the Sierras was over. He refueled the plane and then took my friend’s wife for a scenic ride over Lake Tahoe and back, while we relaxed in the FBO reading Aviation History magazines. We finished off the day going wine tasting at the nearby Lava Cap Winery, a fitting end to a great adventure.
Just got back from a flight in a Diamond Eclipse with the son of the guy I go camping with, what a blast! We took off from the Placerville, CA airport (KPVF) and flew to Minden, NV (KMEV). Placerville is at 2680 ft, and we climbed to 10,000 ft to get over the Sierras. It was close to a straight shot from our takeoff on runway 5. At about 8000 ft he let me have a try, and we flew around the highest peaks and had me climb to 10,500 ft for an extra cushion. I then turned down a canyon to allow a 500 fpm descent to the Carson Valley, and turned north to where Minden lies at around 4700 ft. After he took back control, we made a straight in approach to runway 34 but wait, a Cardinal was approaching from the north and would arrive first, so he made some S turns to slow our progress. But this left us high, so he slipped us to get down faster. That was a little weird to experience, but he made it seem easy. We floated a bit due to our increased speed, but a nice landing resulted and the runway is plenty long.
After we taxied to the FBO and shut down, I treated him to a breakfast at the Taildragger Cafe which was pretty darn good. I was surprised I could eat anything after that experience, but sometimes I surprise myself. After the required trip to the restroom, we were off again over Spooner Summit where the amazing view of Lake Tahoe appeared. We actually flew in the valley for a while to get up to the required 8500 ft altitude first. I let him fly this leg so I could admire the scenery (and it was getting rather bumpy). We flew directly west across the middle of the lake climbing to 10,000 ft, went near Loon Lake, turned right, and headed down the canyon containing Hellhole reservoir. As we started a descent it was exciting to have mountains above us on both sides, but he carefully pointed out the places we would land if the engine quit. Always be prepared. We continued down the canyon to Stumpy Meadows Lake, which put us right on the track back to Placerville. He took us into a midfield crosswind entry to a left downwind, left base, and final to runway 23. His approach was a little low so he gunned the engine to bring the PAPI back to white and red and made a nice landing. At that my cool adventure over the Sierras was over. He refueled the plane and then took my friend’s wife for a scenic ride over Lake Tahoe and back, while we relaxed in the FBO reading Aviation History magazines. We finished off the day going wine tasting at the nearby Lava Cap Winery, a fitting end to a great adventure.