Day 35: Los Angeles, CA and the Malibu Colony

Day 35: July 4th, Los Angeles, CA and the Malibu Colony. The day began at the Benjamin house where James showed off his Lemonade stand. A true entrepreneur, he would operate his stand in front of the house, serving fresh squeezed lemonade to passers by. This would fund his addiction to Legos. He was very proud of the fact that he was able to buy certain Lego specialties using his own money, earned at the Lemonade stand. I think that this provides him an excellent connection between work and reward and should be encouraged among today's youth. James is extremely creative with Legos and he not only builds the prepackaged designs but comes up with his own designs which are very functional, symmetrical, and innovative. I think his dream job would be to build Lego monstrosities at LegoLand.

For breakfast, I managed to meet up with a good friend from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). We went to school together, were roommates for a time, and were active amateur radio operators. Greg and I also engaged in an adventure or two. On one trip, we took my 1990 Volkswagon Golf and drove from NY to West Virginia for spring break. We were counting on warmer weather, but that wasn't quite south enough I guess. We camped out, rode our mountain bikes, and operated ham radio from the car and campsite. I remember knocking on a farmer's door asking permission to camp on his property. We woke up to snow on our tent, a rude awakening for college students seeking a real spring break. In another interesting episode, we traveled to the Shawangunk preserve, a rock climbing paradise near New Paltz, NY. Greg taught me how to climb there, and we stayed at his dad's cabin in the woods. Once again, we brought a shortwave ham radio rig along to make some contacts, but unfortunately, we neither had a microphone nor morse code key. In true McGuyver form, we fashioned a morse code key out of two butter knives, tapping the knives together to transmit. We made several contacts. One of our contacts sent us a QSL card, which confirms the communication. On it, he wrote "Thanks for the buttery QSO (contact)" in the notes section. Greg now works for the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in Pasadena and designs Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) arrays. Yep, a rocket scientist.

Today, I would also be treated to a real Hollywood fourth of July. I was staying with friends Larry & Diana Benjamin, and Diana has a friend that owns an exclusive Malibu beach house. The house is located in the Malibu Colony, a strip of very private Malibu beach that features homes owned by stars such as Sting, Tom Hanks, Howie Mandell, Bill Murray, Linda Ronstadt, Jeff Bridges and many others. Oftentimes, you see these stars just strolling along the beach. Beach access is through private homes only, so it is a very exclusive spot. While I'm not one that necessarily becomes star struck, it was very entertaining to share the beach with the colony residents. I witnessed beach parties, the likes of which I had never seen before. Jim Carey threw a huge beach party bash, but I never did see the man himself.

Larry, Diana, James, and I pulled up to the Colony and found a parking spot a block or so away from the party we were attending. As we walked along the row of beach houses, I noted that the portion that faced the street were rather unassuming. In fact, some of them were just small ante-houses in which the larger beach house was further inside. The other interesting detail I noticed was that many of the homes had private valet services parking cars for party goers. It was difficult not to miss the Valet Girls (obviously a play on Valley Girls), an all-girl valet service that was servicing one of the homes. The reason for valet parking is that there is limited parking along the road, and I'm sure many of these party-goers are used to the royal treatment. Luckily, we came early enough to find a spot for ourselves.

Our hosts owned a lovely Malibu beach house situated a few doors down from Sting's house (which rents out at $25,000 / month) and the house that hosted Jim Carey and Jenny McCarthy's fourth of July party. There was a large turnout at our beach house to witness the fourth of July festivities. I met a diverse mixture of people that included a recording artist and a scientist who manages an instrument aboard one of the Mars Rovers! Of course, I was more impressed with the scientist and marveled "How cool is that, you work on a different planet!" He expressed interest in my little trip around the country and thought that was impressive, but it is hard to top a title like "AstroGeologist"!! There was a lot of food and drink to be had and many people to meet.

Larry and Diana weren't sure how I would interact with this diverse group of people, but their questions were answered when they stumbled upon me surrounded by a crowd as I wowed them with magic tricks. I had them eating out of my hands, kids and adults alike. The most amazing photo I've seen of me presenting a card trick was taken by Larry. As the deck falls, the top card is supposed to be flipped over by the motion of air and should sit on top of the deck face up. Larry caught this perfectly as the card began turning mid-flight. After performing these tricks, one of the party-goers asked for the deck and performed a few amazing tricks of his own. We ended up becoming a tag-team magic show and drew quite a crowd. He taught me several of his tricks which ended up being some very subtle slights of hand that were advanced beyond what I was doing. Unfortunately, I couldn't master them in the short time he had to demonstrate them to me, and I don't remember them now.

A tradition for this particular party was to dig a huge pit and to present the challenge of trying to jump across the abyss. The pit is dug down deep enough to hit the water level, which ended up being about 7 feet. It took most of the afternoon to complete in shifts. Larry, Diana, and I each put some time in to shoveling out sand to complete the pit. Once the pit was complete, the vaulting competition began in earnest. A line was formed in which kids and adults both had a long running start and made their best attempt to leap across the crevasse. The pit was wide enough that nobody made it across, although some of the stronger jumpers came close, landing on the far edge. The smaller kids didn't have a chance, but they would jump and literally vanish into the pit below. It was a little bit unnerving, but the soft sand below provided adequate cushion. There was a long line of jumpers waiting to jump the "pit" until dark, some from the neighboring homes. There was an overly-tattooed rock-star who jumped, but I have no idea who he was.

Next came the fashion show, another tradition. The girls put on their finest and strut along the beach. The paparazzi start shooting off photographs, wondering who these famous girls are. We shoot our own photographs and the girls are in their glory. There were all sorts of poses: girls holding their hats, girls whispering to each other, just the girls of Malibu beach. It was just like a scene from the TV show "The O.C.".

Larry and I walked the full length of the beach to marvel at some of the homes and the parties being hosted there. We discretely took some pictures, and I found it amusing when a little boy ran past us and said "No Pictures!" Clearly, he was the progeny of one of Malibu's famous denizens and was trained to run from the paparazzi. We had no idea who he was and didn't really care. We were easily able to identify Sting's house based on its southwestern adobe architecture. While we didn't run into any stars along the way, we marveled at some of the magnificent architecture built right along the beach. Also, some of the outdoor parties were obscenely opulent, featuring beachside seating on outdoor couches enclosed by flowing sheets. DJ's could be seen mixing dance tunes, waiters catering gourmet food right at the beach, and security guards were subtly keeping out the riff-raff. One of these parties was hosted by Jim Carey and Jenny McCarthy. Jenny was sporting her new black bathing suit, and Jim, ever the comedian, later emerged wearing her bathing suit, much to the amusement of the paparazzi. I almost built up the courage to start entertaining guests at Jim's party with card tricks, but it never happened.

As the sun set over Malibu beach, we lit a fire on the beach and awaited the fireworks. I had seen the fireworks barge move into position earlier. It was almost directly across from the house and not very far away. This was to be an impressive Hollywood show, with a beautiful full moon as a backdrop. I snapped this photograph of our fire and our host kneeling down in his red, white, and blue shirt. Moments later, a video camera recorded the same scene and it ended up being shown on CNN as part of a montage revealing the fourth of July festivities at the Malibu Colony. In that video, you can clearly see our fire and our host in his red white and blue shirt (Check out the scene beginning at 0:36).



Finally, the fireworks began and we experienced a spectacular show. The show was accented by the full moon which hung in the distance as an eerie backdrop. When the show ended, we packed our things and began to say our goodbyes. It was a long and enjoyable day, and I'm sure Larry and Diana's son James was exhausted from launching himself into the pit all day. We left the house and started our way towards the car. As we did so, we passed many of the homes on the road and could see that there was a flurry of activity by the valets. We passed the Jim Carey party house and a valet pulled up to the house shouting "Black Porsche .. Black Porsche" .. Since nobody spoke up, I said "Right here!" Unfortunately, they weren't buying it. What a delightful time with the Benjamin's and a truly unique LA experience.

Day 34: Leaving Las Vegas for San Diego and LA

Day 34: July 3rd, Las Vegas, San Diego, and LA. Today would present some flying challenges, but not of the type I have been experiencing throughout the trip: weather, mountains, and density altitude. Today, I would have my first mechanical problem that would prevent me from flying. On the day before, I had brought my compass to an avionics shop for servicing. The glass had been cracked for quite some time; however, the fluid never leaked. With the extreme temperatures I had been experiencing on this portion of the trip, the compass fluid began seeping out through the crack and dripping in the cockpit. This presents two problems. With the compass fluid low, it is tough to get an accurate compass heading. Also, the fluid itself has a particularly nasty odor which is quite distracting in flight and unhealthy I'm sure. I removed the compass and had the mechanic in Vegas overhaul it. I then reinstalled the compass in the airplane, but needed to calibrate it. On the airport is a large compass rose painted on the tarmac. By taxiing the airplane onto the rose and pointing it north, you can compare your actual northerly heading to what the compass is reading at the time. Next, you try E, W, S, and other headings such as 150 degrees, 330 degrees, etc. The compass may never be 100% accurate, but in order for the airplane to be airworthy, you must write down on the compass card what the compass actually reads when the airplane is heading north, south, east, west, etc. There are also two adjustment screws that you can use to calibrate the compass, but with two degrees of freedom, it is difficult to calibrate the compass perfectly. I spent over 1/2 hr on the previous day just taxiing around trying to optimize this calibration. The problem with this is that the airplane is being operated at near idle for an extended period of time. This can cause plug fouling, particular for the spark plugs located on the lower side of the cylinders.

Unaware that I had fouled some plugs, I got into the airplane, bid Jim farewell, received my IFR clearance, and taxied to the active runway. During the engine runup, I noticed that the left magneto was running very rough. I've dealt with plug fouling before and know that if you run the engine at high RPMs while leaning aggressively, you can normally burn off or clear up whatever has built up on the plug electrodes that are causing it not to fire properly. I spent some time attempting to clear the plug, but was unsuccessful. Failing this magneto check meant a certain no-go! I called ground, asked them to cancel my IFR clearance and requested to taxi back to the ramp. Jim and his friend were waiting for me as I pulled in. They called their local on-field mechanic and had me taxi over to Jim's hangar. Unfortunately, I didn't have a plug socket, something I had meant to obtain prior to the trip. Plug issues are fairly common and it is nice to have the ability to swap in a spare plug in the field. I looked through Jim's tools, but many of his tools from Albany hadn't arrived yet, so I still did not have the proper plug socket. I began asking some of the folks in neighboring hangars while we waited for the mechanic. I was able to borrow a socket and began the process of removing the spark plugs that ran from the left magneto. The mechanic soon arrived and we removed all the plugs so that he could bring them back to his shop and clean them properly. He noted that my plugs should be replaced since the formerly round center electrode was oval, indicating quite a bit of wear. Upon returning, he told me that one of the plugs wouldn't fire properly at all and he gave me a replacement. We put all of the plugs back in and the airplane was running smoothly again. The tower held my IFR clearance and I was able to continue on to the west coast. I bid a fond farewell to Las Vegas and got one last look at the Las Vegas strip before heading into the mountains on my way to the west coast. Farewell Sin City!




My first stop today was Montgomery Field in San Diego. Here, I was to have lunch with an old friend from St. John's Prep School, the high school I attended in Danvers, MA. Martin Furey and I had known each other in high school and worked on the school newspaper together. I knew that he had attended Williams College as an undergraduate in Williamstown, MA, a town where I would later spend much time myself. After that, I had lost track of him. We hadn't really seen each other or spoken since graduation day in 1984, so a full 25 years had passed since we last met. Nevertheless, Martin picked me up at Mongomery Field and we headed out for lunch at Island Prime C Level, which provides spectacular views of downtown San Diego over the bay. I enjoyed a Lobster & Fontina BLT with a side of sherried lobster bisque. I should have expected no less from the self-proclaimed campus epicure!

After enjoying a wonderful lunch by the bay and despite my being late, Martin indulged me with a trip through Balboa Park, which provides a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere for people to gather and enjoy museums, street performers, and people watching. He told me that this was the site of the highest density of museums you will find in the United States. It is touted as the nation's largest urban cultural park. There are 13 museums here, ranging from art, photography, automotive, Japanese friendship garden, model railroad, and of course my favorite, an air and space museum, complete with a SR-71 Blackbird parked out front, the second I've seen on this trip. Even if museums are not your thing, the sheer beauty of the architecture and the freshness of the happy folks strolling the park will tickle your fancy. In addition, the park features one of the largest outdoor pipe organs in the world at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. Martin says that he has come to enjoy several of the free organ concerts featured on Sundays from 2pm - 3pm.

I really enjoyed my visit with Martin in San Diego and got to experience some of the best the city has to offer in such a short period of time. I thank Martin for taking extra time out of his work day to give me a tour of Balboa Park. Anyone visiting San Diego must stop here and experience this wonderful place. From here, Martin returned me to the airport where I activated my flight plan to Los Angeles. Breakfast in Las Vegas, lunch in San Diego, and dinner in LA. Wow, life is good.
So, I departed San Diego and headed north towards Los Angeles. I would land at one of my favorite airports, Van Nuys (KVNY). This airport is the subject of the amazing Brian Terwilliger documentary, One Six Right, named after its primary runway. I was cleared to land on 16R, the very runway romanticized in Brian's movie. I met Brian at Oshkosh after viewing it on the largest digital projection system and screen. I mentioned my friend Larry and he remembered Larry right away, as Larry worked on some of the audio for the One Six Right DVD. It was my friend Larry Benjamin who was there waiting for me as I taxied into Pentastar Aviation. I can tell you, having flown across the entire country, there is nothing better than seeing a good friend awaiting your arrival after many hours of cross-country flying. In the photo to the left, you can see Larry's perspective as he photographed me taxiing in. I buttoned up the airplane and Pentastar parked me on their ramp next to some business jets. I was amazed that I was parking my airplane in LA and there was no ramp or parking fee! Van Nuys truly welcomes and caters to general aviation pilots like myself. No fees and yet they offered us complimentary beverages at the FBO.

We returned to the Benjamin house where I met up with Larry's lovely wife Diana and his son James. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner outside on the patio and I entertained everyone with card tricks, as usual. James couldn't believe that the card he picked magically ended up INSIDE the fish tank, facing out at him. How did that card get through the glass? It was delightful to be in LA with one of my best friends and his family. We would enjoy several days together before I moved on to Thousand Oaks, not far from LA, to be with my friend Ron.

Day 31 - 33: Viva Las Vegas

Day 31 - 33: June 30th - July 2nd, Las Vegas, NV. For the next few days, I would experience the two cities of Las Vegas: the strip and the rest of town. It is interesting to note that Las Vegas is not just a casino town, and I got to see the other Vegas, the city that the local residents experience. Jim Holden was my host in Vegas and he was able to share the local experience with me. When I arrived in town, he was just moving into a new house and was settling in. I was, in fact, the very first guest in his new house. Jim's daughter also lives in town and I was lucky enough to arrive when Jim's wife Carole was also in town. Jim and Carole operate a real estate appraisal company and maintain offices in Albany, NY and Las Vegas. Up until a year ago, Jim maintained his residence in Albany, but the ever-changing real estate market brought Jim to Las Vegas about a year ago, as his business was booming there and diminishing in Albany. Jim is a fellow pilot and had maintained a hangar in Albany. We would frequently fly with the Albany pilot group for breakfast on Sunday's, sometimes flying in formation. While we understand that the economic changes demand changes, the Albany pilot group misses Jim and wishes he'd return. Just recently, he let his Albany cell phone number of 25 years expire. Now in his new house with his Las Vegas phone numbers only, we realize that he is there to stay.

Jim, his wife Carole, and his daughter Michelle and I went to dinner at the clubhouse. They live on a golf course. Many of the homes here are in gated communities or have deed covenants that prevent the rif-raff from disturbing the neighborhood peace. It is a great place to live.

Carole had to return to Albany the next day, so I offered to drive her to the airport. Since I was near the strip, I decided to stop in and try my luck at the casinos. I stopped in at Mandalay Bay and was able to easily find parking for Jim's big red pickup in their parking garage. My first stop was the craps table. I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing, but I seem to be able to win at craps most times. As a mathematician, I know that there really is no way to actually win in Las Vegas. Statistically, the odds are tilted slightly in favor for the casinos. That is why they are there and can afford such opulence. Craps actually has the best odds for the player, and perhaps that's why I gravitate towards it. The house has only a 0.60% edge over the player, meaning for every 497 winners, there are 503 losers. Keno is the worst game in the casino, with a 25% house edge. They make big money on this game. Anyway, I made $80 at the craps table in 5 minutes. I love Las Vegas!

From there, it was on to the Luxor, which is the large pyramid-shaped casino with an Egyptian theme. The beam of light emanating from the top is comprised of 45 xenon bulbs and is the brightest beam of non-coherent light on the planet. It has been noted by astronauts aboard that space station and shuttle.

I was able to purchase some Criss Angel tickets for his 7:30pm show at a reasonable price. It was quite an interesting show. It was more Cirque Du Soleil and less magic. I enjoyed watching his TV show Mind Freak, but I was left wanting more magic and mentalism. In any case, it was done up in true larger than life Vegas style, and I did enjoy it. The stage alone was quite elaborate, customized for Criss's show. At one point during the show, he was performing an illusion in which he created doves out of thin air. All of a sudden about thirty doves flew off the stage in a swarm and headed to a roost just above and behind my seat. One poor dove didn't make it, and ended up hitting something and fell down by the feet of an audience member just in front of me. The dove seemed fine. I was very entertained and rather impressed with the grand scale of the stage devices used, but this is Vegas, so anything goes and money is no object.

My next stop was the New York, New York casino which features a pretty impressive roller coaster ride. It is amazing how they recreated the NYC skyline, complete with the Statue of Liberty! I've been to the casino before, but had never ridden the roller coaster. After my daredevil experiences at Epcot, I figured I was up for the challenge. Before you board the roller coaster, they warn you about a variety of medical conditions, including anxiety, which I had plenty of waiting in line. Anyway, I boarded the roller coaster car, which looks like a NY City cab car, and braced myself for what was to follow. The coaster slowly climbed up the track and I was launched into a 5 minute long continuous scream! This coaster has a full loop and portions of the track that twist a full 360 degrees, turning you upside down. I really enjoyed it and rediscovered my inner daredevil. Maybe skydiving is next on the list.

I had scheduled to depart Las Vegas on July 1, but the weather did not look promising, so I stuck around for another day and had a chance to meet the North Las Vegas pilot group for dim sum. The group meets regularly for dim sum and also holds barbecues on the airport grounds. It's too bad I didn't get a chance to fly with the group, but it was nice to meet everyone.

Jim, Michelle, and I later dined at a Las Vegas favorite, the buffet! There are casinos located far from the strip that tourists never see. These are for the locals. In this case, there is a casino called Alliante Station located close to Jim's house.

I spent the night planning for the next flight: San Diego. Using FltPlan.com, I filed an IFR flight plan from the North Las Vegas airport to Montgomery field, which is just to the north of San Diego. As usual, I had everything planned very carefully and was able to properly time wakeup, takeoff, and meetup with my contact in San Diego for lunch. I had also planned to continue directly on to LA for dinner. My aircraft had other ideas, however. I would have mechanical issues to deal with in the morning. Little did I know, I had set the stage for these problems the day before.

Day 30: The Grand Canyon & Las Vegas

Day 30: June 29th, The Grand Canyon & Las Vegas. If I thought that my takeoff out of Winslow, AZ was an elementary education in density altitude, I would earn my Ph.D. in density altitude today. I shared a cab ride to the airport with a roommate from the hostel in Flagstaff. He had called for a cab the day before, but of course, they didn't remember in the morning. Even though the cab was late, I assured him that he would make his commercial flight. Marc is from Fyvie in Scotland and is here touring the United States this summer, stopping in many of the same places that I am. I was dropped off at the general aviation side of the airport and he was then brought to the commercial side.

I carefully preflighted the airplane and proceeded to the approach end of runway 3 at Flagstaff. This airport has the highest elevation of any airport I've ever operated from in my life: 7,015 ft! After my takeoff, it would be the highest airport I would ever even consider operating from. When the temperature and pressure is factored in, the density altitude was 9,000 ft, which was also the highest for me. Unfortunately, the takeoff performance chart for my plane stops at 7,000 ft and indicates that the chart should not be extrapolated beyond this. That is not say that the airplane can't take off above 7,000 feet, but that they are not providing you with hard data. You are on your own and accept the liability for such a takeoff. The runway length at Flagstaff is 8,800ft, which is over a mile and half long. Thankfully, I was taking off in the morning, before the afternoon heat pushed the density altitude to 10,000 ft and beyond. In any case, I had estimated that I would have adequate runway for the departure, based on my experience in Winslow . I began the takeoff roll and spent the first 3,000 ft on the ground, still trying to develop lift. Finally, the airplane left the ground, but I kept in mind ground effect and allowed it to accelerate a bit before attempting the actual climb out. The climb out was extremely shallow. There were no real obstacles to speak of at the end of the runway, and yet, I was concerned that I was not producing adequate lift to yield a climb. I departed the runway environment no more than 50 feet above the terrain and continued my feeble climb to the north. I made a very shallow right turn, so that I would be close to the airport should I encounter a downdraft (sink) which might render me incapable of maintaining altitude. Once back in the pattern, I felt safe again and began to climb very slowly. With a few hundred feet under me, I felt confident enough to depart the pattern and continue my trip to the Grand Canyon.

This is NOT a departure that a low-time pilot should ever consider. In order to eek out my feeble climb, I had everything optimized. I was configured for a max performance short-field takeoff obstacle climb, meaning that I had two notches of flaps and was climbing out at my best climb speed Vx. I also had leaned the engine to peak RPM just before takeoff. A novice pilot in this situation may not have been proficient in the short-field takeoff procedure and may have forgotten to lean out the engine, since this is only done for high density altitude takeoffs. In that situation, the airplane most assuredly would have been in the trees. Even after taking all of these precautions, the takeoff was really a nailbiter. This was truly the absolute limit of my airplane. Any heaver or any hotter, and this would have been an NTSB report.

As I departed the Flagstaff area, I truly felt at the whim of the atmosphere. My airplane is so underpowered for these higher altitudes, that atmospheric updrafts and downdrafts would prove stronger than my engine and would either push me to higher altitudes, prevent me from climbing, or push me lower. For this reason, I had to rely on my knowledge and skill as a sailplane pilot, as I had before with David Page years ago when we flew this same airplane to 14,000 feet in the Rockies. Several miles to the south of Flagstaff, I encountered a small hill. Knowing the wind direction, I approached this hill on the windward side hoping to catch some orthographic lift as the wind was pushed upward along the ridgeline. I did get a little lift, but when I reached the western end of the ridge, I experienced a strong pocket lift. This was not orthographic lift, this was a much stronger thermal, an updraft caused by heating of the ground below. I dipped my wings to the right and began a tight clockwise circle trying the keep the airplane over the same point on the ground. This is no different than the spiraling turns you may see a hawk perform as it also seeks these thermals for a free ride to higher altitudes. The thermal provided more climb performance than my engine could at this altitude, so I stuck with it, climbing from 7,500 feet all the way up to 10,500 feet. Once there, I leveled the wings and proceeded on my trip to the Grand Canyon. It was at that moment that I was so thankful for all of the years of sailplane flying which had given me the ability to seek out and really work a thermal like that. I thought of my sailplane instructor Jim Norton, and my dearly departed friend Justus Taylor, who had introduced me to sailplanes. I felt Justus's presence and know that he would have relished the opportunity to join me on such an adventure.

As I approached the Grand Canyon airport, the Grand Canyon itself came into view. WOW! Just the day before, I had witnessed the most amazing geological scene I had ever witnessed, Sedona, AZ. Now, the most impressive geological feature in the United States was being revealed to me from 10,500 feet. I was in complete awe at both the size and depth of this feature. A few decades ago, the airspace over the Grand Canyon was modified and there are now many "no-fly" zones in which a small airplane like mine are prohibited. I had reviewed the charts on my computer the night before, but I did not have the special charts you need to navigate over the canyon on board, so I could only see it from a distance and approach the airport. I would cross over sections of the Grand Canyon later on my departure. While an overflight might have been impressive, I must say that the view on the ground from the rim is impressive enough, an awe inspiring vision.

The landing was uneventful. The airport elevation is at 6,600 feet and the density altitude was probably about 9-10,000 feet. This is not an issue for landing, but would again be an important factor for takeoff. I taxied in and was directed to a parking spot. One thing I noticed on the ramp is that there were no underpowered Piper Cherokee's like mine on the ground at the time. There were more powerful turbocharged singles and twins. Hmmm, should have been a good hint, huh? Anyway, the lineman gave me a ride to the terminal and I walked into the office for Grand Canyon Airlines. This is a commercial tour operator, providing aerial tours of the Grand Canyon by airplane. There was also extensive helicopter traffic, more tours. Here, I was able to purchase my pass to the Grand Canyon National Park. With pass in hand, I was able to pick up a shuttle bus to the park itself. After a 25 minute ride, we arrived at the information center where you could connect to any number of other shuttle buses that would take you to various points along the south rim of the park. I asked a young park ranger where the best views of the canyon are and what I should do since I only had a few hours to spend at the park. He indicated that I should take the blue shuttle to the Bright Canyon Lodge, then walk along the rim to the red shuttle. On the red shuttle, he recommended getting off at Pima point and walking to the westernmost portion of the park, Hermit's Rest. I did just that.

I arrived at the Information Center, and from here, one could experience their first view of the Grand Canyon from the rim. A short hike to the rim revealed the magnificent Grand Canyon in all its splendor and glory. As the canyon came into view for me, a tear actually came to me eye. I was overwhelmed with emotion as I first laid eyes on the canyon from this perspective. Such a magnificent sight, and to realize that I brought myself here in my own airplane, flying all the way from NY, I was truly convinced that ANYTHING is possible. You simply need to establish a goal and continually work towards that goal. For this trip, the goal is to visit almost every friend in the country and while that seems overwhelming on the surface, it is indeed achievable, but not in one big step. I am achieving it one flight at a time over two months. It really hit me upon seeing the Grand Canyon that I was achieving a dream. I was seeing people and places I've always wanted to see. My family never did any traveling when I was young, so it was my duty to realize this goal on my own, and I was doing it now at 43 years old. The Grand Canyon was the most amazing thing I had ever seen in my life. If you have never witnessed it for yourself, make it a point to see it and experience the awe and wonder I did at this moment. Do it now!

From here, I took the bus to the Bright Canyon Lodge and walked east to visit the El Tovar Hotel, a magnificent lodge built in 1905 located right on the south rim. Here, I checked in with the concierge to purchase several postcard stamps for postcards I purchased a bit earlier. I then walked west towards the red shuttle which makes its way to Hermit's Rest. There was a long line, because this is a popular route, but luckily two buses arrived and I was the last person on the second bus, so my tour would fit within my time window. Based on the bus driver's recommendation, I stopped at the Abyss along this route to marvel at the sheer drop of 3,000 feet to the Tonto Platform. Also visible from here are several isolated sandstone columns, the largest of which is called the Monument. The stop was well worth it, and I was completely alone here for some time to enjoy the grandeur in silence and solitude.

Soon, another red shuttle pulled in and I boarded it so that I could be taken to Pima Point. From there, I hiked about 1.5 miles to Hermit's rest. It was a beautiful day and a fantastic short hike along the south rim. I found some unique flora an fauna along the way and took some photographs. There weren't too many people hiking the path in the desert heat, but I was glad that I had decided to do it. Upon reaching Hermit's rest, there was a small lodge here which stocked some snack food, so I rewarded myself with a lemonade and a little ice cream before making my way back. Knowing the bus schedules, I had planned it perfectly, such that boarding the bus at Hermit's Rest by 3pm should get me back to the airport by 5pm so that I could continue on to Las Vegas.

On the bus ride back, I used my iPhone to calculate density altitude at the Grand Canyon airport. At 6,600 feet elevation and 84 degrees Fahrenheit, I calculated a density altitude of 9,450 feet, which again broke a record for my flying career. I carefully considered whether I should take off or not, but was able to rely on my experience at Winslow and Flagstaff. There were factors that weighed in my favor, but several were stacked against me. The higher density altitude and the taller trees at the end of the runway were definitely not in my favor. The factors in my favor included: lower weight, having burned off fuel from the flight over from Flagstaff; longer runway (8,999 feet); and having a better feel for the performance (or lack thereof) of my aircraft. I began the takeoff roll and didn't become airborne until about the 3500 foot mark. I again experienced a very shallow climb using my best short field takeoff procedure and with the engine leaned to peak RPM. I was seeing something on the order of 50 ft/min in the climb and at one point considered aborting the takeoff. Finally, I reached the point of no return and continued the feeble climb out of the Grand Canyon airport. As I crossed over the trees at the departure end, the tower had to call out a cell phone tower, which I had to steer left of to remain clear. I was still below the height of that cell phone tower! Finally, I was out of danger and began my climb to 10,000 feet for the trip to Las Vegas. In the process, I crossed a portion of the Grand Canyon and took some amazing photographs.

Approaching Las Vegas over Lake Mead, I was given the following instruction: Navigate direct to the Stratosphere and then direct to North Las Vegas. Well, I guess I could have responded that my airplane can't get anywhere near the stratosphere and that I could only maintain about 10,000 feet. Of course, he meant to navigate directly to the Stratosphere Casino, which is the tallest casino on the strip. It is basically a tower and shows up prominently on the sectional map. Having been to Las Vegas before, I recognized the Stratosphere immediately and visually navigated towards it. Unfortunately, I never did see the Hoover dam when I traversed Lake Mead.

As I descended into the North Las Vegas airport, the air vents began to feel like heat vents as I entered 100+ degree temperatures once again. I taxied up to the self-service fuel pumps and there was Jim Holden waiting for me in his car. He tossed me a cold bottle of water, a most welcome relief after the hot descent. One of the best parts of the legs of my journey is to arrive in a strange place only to have a good friend there waiting for me. Despite a few problems we had with the fuel pumps, we topped off the tanks and taxied the airplane into the tiedown spot for parking. Jim gave me a brief tour of the airport, culminating with a visit to his hangar. His hangar looked as it did in Albany, with the same tools, photos, and his Cessna 182 Skylane. For a moment, I felt like I was back in Albany. Everyone in Albany misses Jim, but I can see from his hangar that he is settled in and here to stay.

Later, we joined his wife Carole and daughter Michele for dinner. It was another amazing day: Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon, and Las Vegas, all in one day. For the next day, I would explore the strip in Vegas.

Day 29: Portales, NM; Winslow, AZ, Sedona and Flagstaff, AZ

Day 29: June 28th, Dallas to Flagstaff, AZ. Today would include some of the most challenging flying in my aviation career. Combine thunderstorms and high altitude airports, and you have the recipe for potential disaster. I had to rely on my 11 years of flying experience and knowledge of the weather and high altitudes to safely navigate my way from Dallas, TX to Flagstaff, AZ. Because of the potential for thunderstorms on this day, I needed complete this trip under visual flight rules (VFR). The problem with conducting such a flight in the IFR system is that you must be at a high enough altitude for radar and radio coverage and that most certainly would put me into the clouds. While being in the clouds is not inherently dangerous for the trained IFR pilot, there is danger when convective activity or thunderstorms may be lurking within these clouds. I do not have on board weather radar, so once in the cloud, I must rely on air traffic control alone to help me navigate around thunderstorm cells. Their primary job is keeping aircraft separated, and I can't help but remember a safety video I viewed online in which an IFR pilot navigated right into a thunderstorm cell and experienced an in-flight breakup due to the energy of the storm. I hope not to be featured in the next such video. When I tell people about some of the extreme situations I find myself flying in during this trip, I explain that I always leave myself an out. In this situation, I would always keep a potential landing site in mind so that I could turn around at any moment to land and reevaluate.

You can ask my host Susan, I was a bit worried about the weather the night before as I labored over the computer looking for a good potential route. The forecasts called for thunderstorms along my route of flight, but the radar indicated that these would be scattered and that I should be able to visually navigate around them. My intended route was through the Texas panhandle into Portales, NM along the New Mexico / Texas border. This was to be a perfect fuel stop since it was at the halfway point and the fuel price was quite reasonable. A quick look at the forecasts in the morning and at the current conditions and George and Susan brought me to the Northwest Regional airport. I decided that an early departure would be best, since the thunderstorm potentials increased as the day progressed, so I got up at 6am. I knew that as long as I could get through the panhandle and New Mexico early enough, I would minimize my exposure to the thunderstorms before they got the chance to feed on the sun's energy. Once I reached the Arizona / New Mexico border, I would be in the clear.

I had mentioned this plan to George the evening before, but Susan was asleep and didn't know of my early morning departure. Once I woke up and showered, I told George that I was ready at about 7am. He woke Susan up and she decided to come along, so she quickly woke up and prepared to leave with us. I can tell you that I didn't earn any brownie points for this short notice, but she understood that as a pilot, I had to go when the weather dictated.

Once we arrived at the Northwest Regional airport in Dallas, I preflighted the airplane and packed my bags on board. George and Susan bid me farewell and waited by the truck to wave goodbye as I took off. Once airborne, I rocked my wings goodbye and I was off for Arizona, or so I thought. I quickly called up Dallas approach to request air traffic control services. It was at that moment that I realized that I could not find my cell phone. I panicked! My iPhone has been a critical component throughout this trip, as I am able to keep my website up to date, check my email, and check the weather no matter where I am. Also, all of my phone numbers and addresses were stored on the phone. I told Dallas approach that I would need to return to the field and quickly made a 180 degree turn. While returning to the field, I tried to determine what I should do, because I knew that George and Susan had probably already left and I neither had their phone number, nor a phone to call from! This was a real problem. I approached the airport anyway, and my mind reeled as I tried to come up with ideas to retrieve the cellphone. Just as I lined up for final on the opposite runway, I saw a pickup truck driving down the road near the airport. Luckily, it was George and Susan and they stopped on the road once they spotted me and began waving. I broke off my approach and quickly circled overhead the truck at a low altitude and tried to wave them back to the airport. I landed, and thankfully, they had gotten the message and returned in the truck. I felt incredibly lucky. I hopped out of the airplane and opened the back door to their truck where my cell phone sat. On the flight out to the airport, I had used the phone to call flight service to receive a weather briefing and in my haste to get started, I left it resting on the back seat. I was incredibly lucky to have seen them on the road and quickly retrieved the phone.

I hopped back in the plane and took off, once again rocking my wings goodbye to Susan and George. What a story we would all have to tell about the lost cell phone. I called up air traffic control, and they remembered me from the previous launch attempt and began providing services. The plan was to navigate VFR to Portales and steer clear of the scattered thunderstorms that may await. This route was relatively uneventful, but I deviated to the North to steer clear of building rain showers, utilizing a valuable resource available to pilots for many decades, Flight Watch. This service involves a trained weather briefer who can provide real-time updates concerning the ever-changing weather situation. Portales was in the clear and I was able to land and refuel there.

The next segment of the flight would be the most challenging VFR flight segment I have ever flown. My goal was to fly from Portales, NM to Socorro, NM and then onto Winslow, AZ. This route was established based on looking at a radar image on the ground in Portales. I had been relying on Flight Watch on the frequency 122.0 to provide me with weather updates since I did not have an on board weather device to be able to view the radar. I really must commend Flight Watch for not only providing me with accurate and up to date weather, but also for their recommendations concerning deviations, keeping me out of the worst of it. During this phase of flight, I did encounter a stretch where I was pushed lower and lower due to the cloud cover. At one point, I was skimming along the desert at 500 feet. The desert was relatively flat, but there were terrain features I had to be mindful of. While it may sound like I was flirting with danger, I always maintained an exit strategy. I would push ahead, always being certain that the path to the airport behind me was good. There was one point where I had considered turning around, but even though I was low, I could see well ahead of me across the flat desert floor. There were a few bumps I had to navigate around, but finally, the ceiling lifted, and I was able to climb again.

At one point, I had a rather large cell on my left side, and I could see cloud to ground lightning. This was a little unsettling, but I kept a good distance away from it, and the path ahead and to my right was good. Also, I was only about 10 miles outside of Socorro when I noticed two rain shafts developing ahead of me both to the left and right. Between them was a clear spot where I could still see the city ahead. I was navigating for this opening, when the showers merged and became an impenetrable line of heavy rain. It was amazing to see weather develop right before my very eyes. I turned to the north and contacted Flight Watch again for some guidance. They could see the showers I had just encountered as well as other storms ahead, but they gave me a routing that they thought should keep me in the clear. Indeed, their route worked flawlessly and kept me to the North of the worst weather. As I crossed into Arizona, I breathed a sigh of relief because I knew that good weather was ahead. The skies cleared and nothing but Arizona sunshine awaited me.

Years ago, as my friend Pete and I listened to the Eagles song "Take It Easy", we talked about buying Harleys and riding them out to Winslow, AZ so that we could stand on a corner. The thought stuck with me and I knew that I had to make Winslow a stop on this trip. I landed at the Winslow airport and despite having a staffed FBO, I was one of only two airplanes at the entire airport. This was a harbinger of what I later encountered in town. Luckily, the FBO had a crew car that I could borrow. It was an early 80's station wagon that just barely ran, but it was good basic transportation.

Just about the only thing you can do in Winslow is visit "Standin' on a Corner" park, which a consortium of businessman developed in 1999. In paying homage to the song that put Winslow on the map, this park features a two story brick facade with a mural depicting a girl in a flatbed Ford slowing doing to take a look at me. It also features a bronze statue of a 1970's man standin' on a corner, leaning up against a lamppost. Several tourists stopped by and I had one take my picture and served as photographer for a while, taking other folks' photos to commemorate their visit to this famous spot. After entering some of the souvenir shops located at this corner, I realized that I was on historic Route 66! I bought a Route 66 mug.

I asked the locals where the best place to have lunch is, and each time, they looked at the clock. Well, it wasn't 5pm yet, so that actually couldn't recommend a place. The only place that serves decent food is the La Posada Inn, and their kitchen doesn't open until 5pm. I didn't have time to wait, so I drove towards the interstate where I found a Denny's. I took half of my tuna melt with me and headed back to the airport.

Upon takeoff, I got to experience the next big challenge of my trip: Density Altitude. This can be just as deadly as a thunderstorm if you don't understand it and don't follow procedure. First, let me explain what Density Altitude is and how it is calculated. It is computed by taking your actual altitude and factoring in the effects of temperature and pressure. For aviation, the standard pressure is 29.92 inches of mercury and the standard temperature is 15 degrees C or 59 degrees F. When the pressure is lower and/or the temperature is greater, there are less air molecules present at any given altitude, and to the airplane, it feels as if it is actually at a higher altitude than actual. The higher the altitude, the less air molecules. Less air means less oxygen and power for the engine and less lift for the wings. So, the higher you go, the less performance an airplane has. Finally, you reach an altitude called the service ceiling in which the airplane will no longer produce a sufficient climb. You have reached the limit of that particular airplane. I can tell you that in the high desert, I reached the absolute limit of my airplane. At high density altitudes, the airplane demonstrates a very anemic climb profile. It may just barely climb. This means that you could take off out of a high elevation airport and skim along the surface at 100 feet for over a mile before gaining any significant altitude. It is this shallow takeoff performance that presents danger.

The Winslow airport is at 4941 feet, the highest airport I had dealt with throughout the trip to date. In the hot desert sun, however, the density altitude was about 8000 feet, a place where my aircraft's performance is not that great. You don't really notice it on landing, because gravity is doing all the work in terms of negative altitude change. You sit up and take notice when you takeoff in these conditions, however. Despite having a lengthy 7000 foot runway, I noted a very shallow climb profile and wondered when I was going to gain some altitude. I wasn't worried though because I took off over a relatively flat desert floor, so there was nothing to hit, and i could have landed on the desert floor easily if there was an issue. I finally was able to pick up some altitude and made my way to 10,500 feet. My airplane was woefully underpowered in this high, hot desert, but there were no real obstacles to speak of until I got closer to Sedona. There was, however, I very interesting geological feature.

This was a feature I had planned to see, but actually forgot about as I was departing Winslow. Luckily, I caught it out of the corner of my eye and flew over to have a closeup look. This was Meteor Crater. This crater was formed 50,000 years ago by a meteorite that was only 50 yards across striking the earth at almost 30,000 miles per hour! The crater is about a mile across and over 500 feet deep and is privately owned. I wouldn't have wanted to be around when that rock fell out of the sky! Its a darn good thing I didn't fly into the crater for a closer look. This from Wikipedia: "On August 8, 1964, a pair of commercial pilots in a Cessna 150 flew into the crater for a closer look but were unable to climb out due to downdrafts. They ended up circling the interior until their fuel was exhausted and crash-landed. They survived their ordeal and a small portion of the wreckage not removed from the crash site remains visible to this day."

Many of my pilot friends told me that I absolutely had to land at the Sedona airport, and I immediately understood why once I pulled into the area. Sedona is this beautiful town that lives in the shadow of tall red rock formations. In the center of town is a huge mesa whereupon the airport sits. It is an absolutely stunning site and was the most amazing geological and aviation site I had ever seen! Since Sedona was not my final destination, I made the wise decision not to land there. Instead, I took in its beauty from 10,500 feet. I knew that had I descended into Sedona, I would have only had to fight my way back to the precious altitude I had fought so hard to achieve. I would circle the Sedona airport at altitude and then turn to the north to reach my final destination for the day: Flagstaff, AZ. This would end a 9+ hour flying day. I was absolutely exhausted and my body ached from sitting in the cramped cockpit all day long.

The FBO in Flagstaff called a cab which brought me into downtown Flagstaff to a place called the DeBeau Hostel. I had done my research online and there were two hostels: DeBeau and the Grand Canyon Hostel. I don't know why I decided on this one, but I made the right choice. DeBeau was very clean and maintained an extremely friendly atmosphere. I knew it was perfect for me the moment I walked in the door. Yes, you can save a lot of money staying at a hostel if you don't mind bunking in dormitory-style rooming, but I can't tell you how many interesting folks I meet at a place like this. For $20 / night, you get a place to sleep, free Internet, a full shared kitchen, a nice living room area to relax in, and plenty of unique and friendly people to talk to, many of which are young travelers from all over the world! After signing in at the front desk, I was immediately invited to join in on a barbecue party and was served hotdogs and hamburgers. A group of school kids from Virginia were there and their chaperones announced to the kids that I was flying around the entire US. The kids thought that was pretty amazing and began asking questions. Next, the hostel staff began bringing out salads, corn, and more burgers and dogs and had a barbecue of their own. I was fed quite well, a welcome surprise after such a long and arduous day of flying.

Finally, the school group was winding down in the game room and I began showing them some card tricks. The look of astonishment on their faces demonstrated that I was really pulling off my illusions successfully. Normally, I won't repeat a trick, because if you do it a number of times, someone will ultimately catch on and destroy the wonder, but each kid wanted me to do a few particular tricks for them, so I ended up doing the tricks over and over and they worked every time. They were thrilled to be entertained and I was happy to share my magic with them. My only problem was exhaustion. I began the day at 6am, and had flown 865 miles in one day!! I could barely stand after I completed the card tricks, so I sat down with my computer for a while and headed off to bed. The next day would present more density altitude challenges and I would experience one of most awe inspiring moments of my entire life: my first glimpse at the Grand Canyon!