Grand Canyon Finale, and one amazing FBO!!!

Yet another eventful day!

The goal was to get from the Grand Canyon (which is more than warm enough!) to an even warmer location which is Palm Springs!

As you will soon see, today's adventures included a most unexpected surprise!

Anyone who flies can tell you that high-altitude airport operations are completely different from operations at an airport nearer to sea level. Like people, smaller airplanes (like the ones that we are flying!) don't particularly like high altitudes. The air is thinner, and this results in significant decreases in engine performance. Airplanes don't climb so well at high altitudes, so getting to the cruising altitude you have planned for takes a lot longer.

To offset this, we can use a couple of tricks, but only up to a point. One of them is to take off before the heat of the afternoon kicks in. Hot air is much thinner than dense air! By taking off early in the morning, we make sure that the air is as dense as it can possibly be, and that the plane will have a little bit of an advantage.

The second trick that you can employ is to do your best to keep the plane as light as possible! A light plane is not bound to the earth in the same way that a heavy one will be. If one remembers the four basic forces of flight, they will note that weight is opposed by lift. If we generate more lift than weight, then the plane will fly. If weight is more than lift... well... I am sure that you get the picture!

So then, what can we do to keep our planes light?

Well, one of the most obvious items is that we can carry less baggage! Long before we embarked on this trip, we carefully calculated the baggage that we could carry (incidentally there is a reason those airline guys ask you to limit the weight that you carry as well!) and committed to carrying less than the maximum that our planes could carry. However, now that we are actually executing this trip we can't really reduce our weight any further. We are all now pretty well committed in terms of the baggage that we are carrying. We all need our socks and underwear, so ditching them is not really not an option! (A few of us, however, will confess that there are a few pairs that are yet to be laundered that we may wish were ditched!)

So then, what to do?

Well, for our part, one of the only things that we can do is carry less fuel. Fuel weighs about 6 lbs per gallon, so shedding a few gallons of fuel can lead to significant savings in terms of weight. This means the plane will be less sluggish on the takeoff roll, and that it will hop heavenward with a greater rate of climb.

Reducing the amount of fuel, however, comes with a serious and potentially dangerous trade off.

Less fuel means less endurance and range! We cannot stay in the air as long now, nor can we fly as far! Less fuel in your car might not be a big deal. If it quits, you pull over. If your airplane quits, then you are in trouble. We all agreed that carrying less fuel was the way to go, but we also made a very conscious decision to fuel up further at an airport halfway to Palm Springs, and very nearly at sea level! The town that we agreed on was one that none of us had ever heard of before... but it was perfectly on our route. Further investigation also reveled that they were advertising fuel at the cheapest rate we have ever seen... Bonus!!!

Without a doubt, however, none of us were aware of the surprise that was awaiting us!

We took off early morning towards the rim of the Canyon, and then headed roughly west so that we could skirt some high terrain that was in the way for our journey to Palm Springs. In a short while, the full magnificence of the Canyon stretched out below us. We overflew the Western sector, soaking in the amazing width, depth, and breadth of the creation below us.

After overflying the Peach Springs VOR, (and watching our flags flop!) we headed nearly due south for Lake Havasu, our fuel stop.
Coming from the east, you literally "drop in" on Lake Havasu. Initially, you are at an altitude of 8500 feet or higher as you clear the mountains to the east. After doing this, you have to descend to nearly sea level for the airport! Talk about ear popping! After two days of being at altitudes above 6,000 feet, our bodies told us a0ll the way down that the pressure was increasing. Our water bottles that we had drunk from became "raisins" as the difference in pressure compressed and squeezed them. Now we know how our pressure instruments work!

The approach into Lake Havusu is absolutely breathtaking. As was mentioned before, it is surrounded by mountains to the east, and north. To the south, there is a lake filled with pleasure goers and boaters, fed by the clear waters of the Colorado River. Amazing!

Shortly after touchdown, it was what happened next that was a surprise to all of us. As we taxied to the apron, we saw two golf carts with different colours and logos racing towards us at breakneck speed. The two of them were obviosly vying for our attention, with bright flashing lights and waving arms! However, each golf cart seemed to try and pull us in a different direction. Who to follow? They both wanted our business, and it showed! In the end, we followed the cart with the price posted on the back... $2.75 a gallon! Desert Skies FBO. Wow! Can't miss!

Desert Skies is definitely not a run of the mill FBO. They have a Monster Truck and a souped up V8 Hot Rod Lawnmower. They have a couple of restored classic trucks, low fuel prices, and an "I love my job attitude." What's more, they have a low fuel prices! They handled our aircraft with speed, precision, and a great deal of friendliness. They welcomed us to have a look at all of thier neat "toys," firing up the lawnmower, and letting us pose with the monster tuck. Whats more, we were able to slug back some free slurpees... (Does a Canadian run this place?)

We highly recommend Desert Skies to anyone in the area looking for fuel!

You never really know when an "ordinary" stop is going to turn into something extraordinary. Funny how there are so many things in life like this little stop. Just another boring fuel stop, and whamo! Something neat comes out of the woodwork. As one of the employees at Desert Skies said... "this is all about having fun! If we can't have fun at what we are doing then we might as well be working!"

Life is full of little surprises, and they often turn out to be good ones!

Our day finished with the journey to Palm Springs. Tonight, we'll review some shared learning experiences, reflect on a few of our adventures, and then move forward and onward!

Next up, we hope to reach Van Nuys, the coast, and Six Flags!!!

Stay tuned!

"O Israel, hope in the LORD
From this time forth and forever." Psalm 131:3

Day 3

Ok guys so we are here in the Grand Canyon, but its a little balmy at 24 degrees Celsius. It's February 27th and our day had an early, but great start. Up at 5am we had to skip our continental breakfast and hitch a ride from the helpful folk at Double Eagle Airport to our planes for a planned departure of 7am. With full oil, plenty of fuel, clear skies and minimal winds we had both planes off the ground by 715am and en route for the Grand Canyon!



The flight went well and was fairly uneventful. With some minor flight plan confusion and a quick fuel pit stop for the Piper Warrior we were finally at GCN, the GRAND CANYON! We arrived with empty stomachs and hit the buffet at our hotel for a hearty lunch. With full bellies and time to kill we took off to the Grand Canyon National Park for some trecking. Following one of the trail heads we hiked about 2000ft into the canyon and spent some time messing around the cliffs, throwing rocks, and making our Prov Trip insignia on the mountain...unfortunatly our 1 american companion missed the spelling unit in primary school and results in Prov 0P, rather than Prov 09. Oh Mike.

With all our gear (no food, no water, and street shoes) we had to abort our mission to the bottom and head back up to the rim of the canyon. Finally we reached the top, exausted but satisfied we hunkered down and watched the sunset. We are back at the hotel now, satisfied with our hotel dinner these Canadian (with an exeption) pilots are hitting the sack with tired legs and our sites set on Palm Springs for tomorrow morning. The plan is to be gone by 930am and simply take a rest day in Palm while we wait to see whether the weather will permit us to continue flying West or if we might be grounded. We are thankful for all your prayers and you can see how tomorrow goes by tuning in around the same time tomorrow!










The four fly boys.

Day 2

Well, the end of day two finds the six of us in a two bed hotel room in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We're arranged in sort of a sardine can manner but it's a cost cutting measure and after spending as much time as we have in the heart of meno-land frugality is king.

We started off the day this morning at 8 am with the hopes of departing Hugoton by 10 am. Once we had eaten, all the planning was done and we were in the planes it was 10:30. We had been watching the winds intently during the morning and there were reports along our track of winds gusting up to 38 kts. We decided to go, loaded the planes, taxied to possition but neither of us had had any communication with the other by this point. We did all the trouble shooting that we could think of at the time but to no avail. We were not going to go with no communication so we taxied back and shut down. As it turns out it was just a simple misscommunication on frequencies but it brought us back to the ramp and as we looked at the wind again it was decided that in the interests of self preservation we should probably stay put. I am fairly certain that it was not mere missfourtune that made us have this mix up. It was yet another reminder that someone bigger is looking out for us.

We ended up getting away just after noon when there was a break in the winds We continued to have an exciting and uncertain flight through mountain passes direct to Albuquerque. The plan for tomorrow is to get up at 5 am while it's still cool and fly the remaining 2 hrs through the mountains to the grand canyon where we will spend the day.

Want to find out what happens to the group? Tune in tomorrow, same time, same channel!

Call it

Day 1!

Tuesday Feb 24th. We look outside the windows in hopes of getting an early start on our journey down south. Unfortunately all we see is snow, low ceilings, and bad visibility. Sadly going to bed, we get our hopes up for the next morning.

Wednesday Feb 25th. The students and instructor meet at Harv's Air at 7 am to finalize flight planning, study the weather, load the planes and defy gravity in a Piper Warrior, and a Cessna 172. Arriving in Fargo ND, we land safely and clear customs. Shortly after the planes are filled and the next flights are planned, we take off and point our planes south. The smiles get bigger as less and less snow appears on the ground. Shortly thereafter, we crossed the mighty Missouri River! After one more fuel stop in North Platte, Nebraska, we head out on a LONG night flight hoping to get to Hugoton, Kansas. The skies were clear of clouds, and shining bright with nothing but stars. The ground was black, except for a few towns and cities that we passed... and the random runways lights that suddenly came to life after clicking the com button several times in our planes.
At our near Mach 1 ground speeds of 55 KTS, we begin to get a little bored and decide to tell jokes and ask each other riddles.
After we finally arrived in Hugoton, Kansas at 1 am, we were all exhausted and ready to eat supper! Yup, that's right, supper. Harry Bartel, the owner of the FBO (airport), was very kind! He knew that we were coming, and he made sure that he went to a resteraunt early and had it waiting for us when we arrived. He fueled, and tucked our planes in for the night. What's more, he let us stay for the night, with sattelite TV, wireless internet, and some friendly conversation! Thumbs up to Harry and Hugoton! Thanks bunches!

Introduction.....

Every year, about the same time that Reading Week happens at Providence, a number of second year Aviation students set out on a 10 day migration towards places south of their training grounds.

During this trip, we will get a chance to try out our advancing skills, and we will get to log some serious air and cross country time! Hopefully, we will be able to visit places like the Grand Canyon, Phoenix, and quite possibly Van Nuys, California!

Friendships and contacts will be expanded and developed as we fly. We'll visit places like New Tribes Mission and Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles. Past participants of this journey have stories to tell that last a lifetime, and this trip will be no different!

This trip is one that will be remembered for years to come. Each one of us has spent months planning for it, and we are now eagerly approaching a date where we will have the opportunity to execute it!

So, for all of you who have heard and listened to these six excited young men talk about this upcoming journey over the past few months, this Blog is for you. We promise that it will be updated daily as we travel!

Feel free to post your comments, encouragement, and prayers as we travel. We enjoy hearing from each one of you as we reach our destinations.

If you want, you can check out last year's trip for a taste of what is yet to come:

provav2008.blogspot.com

Enjoy!

"Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?" Job 39:26