USA Travelreport 1996

Click onto the links to see the pictures of my journey

Hi everybody !

As promised, here is a short report on my trip to the States:

I started my journey on May, 18th from Munich, Germany on a Delta Airlines flight to Phoenix, Arizona stopping at JFK, New York.

The route from Munich was via Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Newcastle and Glasgow crossing the Atlantic at FL310 and a GS of 530 mph. At Goose Bay we climbed to FL370 passing Presque Island and Boston before landing at JFK on Rwy 22L after 8 hours flying time having covered 4000 miles.

At JFK we departed from Rwy 22R westbound and arrived at Phoenix Skyharbour after a 4.5 hours flight at FL310 and a GS of 500 mph.

In Phoenix I met my friend Robert who is a 1st Officer flying DC9s with Austrian Airlines. Together with him I wanted to visit the southwestern part of the USA.

The next day (Sunday,19th) we went by car to Falcon Field (FFZ) to the flight school "Prism Aviation" where we chartered a Cessna 177 Cardinale with retract- able gear. Having checked out the Cessna we flew to Scottsdale (SDL) in the NE of PHX where we faced a problem during approach: the flaps didn't work! Our flight instructor put her down on the runway with app. 80 knots - it was a very 'postive' landing. As you can imagine we lost our confidence in that plane after such a serious malfunction. Back at Prism Aviation we were lucky that there was another plane available for our trip, a Cessna 172. Although this plane had no retractable gear and was therefore about 20 knots slower than the 177 it was fully IFR equipped and apparently in a good condition. In addition to this, it was a real bargain costing only USD 48 per hour including fuel.

On Monday morning our big adventure began. We departed from Falcon Field(FFZ) to Sedona (SEZ) in the North where we had breakfast. From Sedona we had a look at the Meteor Crater and the Sunset Crater National Monument. Further on we climbed to 11500 ft which is the minimum cruising altitude for the northbound Grand Canyon Corridors. Due to some crashes between private pilots and commuter airlines which do sightseeing flights in this area, the whole Grand Canyon is subject to special flight rules. We passed the Grand Canyon A/P(GCN), Dragon Corridor to the North, the Colorado river, went to Marble Canyon and onto our destination of that day: Page (PGE). As Page is located on the banks of Lake Powell we took the opportunity to rent a boat for a trip.

The next day (May, 21st) we departed from Page early heading Lake Powell and the famous Rainbow Bridge. We then flew westbound to Monument Valley and a village called Mexican Hat with a stone sculpture which resembles a sombrero. From there we headed NE to our destination of Salt Lake City. Before getting to SLC we had to climb to 11500 ft in order to get over some high mountains. Shortly before the descent to SLC we went through our worst experience in this fortnight: we encountered a very strong turbulence causing our luggage to be thrown against the ceiling of the plane. If we hadn't fastened our seatbelts really tight we would probably have broken our necks. After such an experience I would strongly recommend everyone to fasten their seatbelts during any flight, even if the "fasten seatbelt" sign is switched off, as one cannot see these CATs which can be really harmful. Soon after that bump we encountered another problem during our flight; the GPS which had led us reliably to all our waypoints failed exactly when we needed it most on our approach to SLC. SLC International has a very large Class B Airspace which we didn't want to enter, as it was our intention to land on the Bountiful Skypark Airfield (BTF) north of the SLC International. In order to achive this a very steep descent was required after passing the mountains on the east side of the city. In such cases a GPS is realy useful during an approach, it gives you the exact direction to the airport as well as a moving map display with all relevant airspaces. In the situation when we relied on the GPS most it failed due to poor GPS coverage! In the end we found our way home, but it was a quiet busy approach as the airport came into sight very late and - to our surprise - it was located in the middle of some refineries and between large gas tanks ! Could you imagine a European airport having such a location ? After this turbulent flight we spent the evening in the hotel and tried to relax and prepare the days ahead.

Wednesday morning (May, 22nd) started with bad weather; the sky was obscured and the mountains in the North of SLC were in clouds. Therefore we had to abandon our plan to go to the Yellowstone National Park and consider an alternative. Las Vegas seemed to be a suitable alternative as the weather forecast was encouraging. We departed from Bountiful Skypark following the southbound transition which led us west of the SLC International passing over Lake Utah to our first stop Cedar City (CDC), where we experienced a lesson in American hospitality. Having fount there was no restaurant at the airfield we were generously offered a car to go to the nearby city to eat. The operations manager gave us the keys and we set off. No deposit, no forms, just some suggestions where to eat best and a friendly 'Have fun'- this was a pleasant surprise for us Europeans.

We set off after a good lunch and had a look at the ZION national Park with all its great monuments and arches. From there we flew SE to Lake Mead and had a spectacular view of the Hoover Dam. We contacted ATC for a Class B transition to our destination North Las Vegas (VGT). Fortunately we were vectored north of the Mc Carran Intl. A/P directly over downtown Las Vegas where we had a nice but misty view onto the Strip. After 3 ½ hours flying time we arrived then at North Las Vegas A/P.

As you can imagine, we spent an exiting evening in Las Vegas. The next day we joined a guided tour of the Hoover Dam and in the afternoon we visited the Stratosphere Tower before going for a walk along the Strip.

The next day (May, 24th) we headed for San Diego. We departed from Las Vegas SW bound over the Hoover Dam again, then southbound via the Colorado river to Needles. From there, SE towards San Diego where we chose the Montgomery Airport (MYF) as our next destination because our IWA companion Kevin Trinkle lives nearby. When I called Kevin in the evening he gave me some suggestions for our planned visit to Seaworld.

On Saturday we had a great day at Seaworld before meeting Kevin Trinkle at the air- port in the afternoon - the first intercontinental meeting of two IWA members! (from left to right: Robert , Kevin , Erich) - (Erich and Kevin) Thereafter we departed form Montgomery Airport northwest bound to the shore, from there onto Los Angeles. We passed LAX on the coast in the West before flying via Santa Monica and the Hollywood Hills to Van Nuys (VNY).

On Sunday (May, 26th) we spent some time in the famous Universal Studios in Los Angeles which is worth visiting because of the attractions offered there. What a brilliant day we had ! (picture from Waterworld) - (picture with white shark)

On Monday morning the weather was bad again (2000 OVC), so we were unable to go directly to the North. Instead, we flew through the valley and along the shore before going via Santa Barbara to Half Moon Bay (HAF) where we refuelled and got some information on the San Francisco approach. After depature from HAF our request for a Bay Tour was granted by ATC. So we headed directly to the Golden Gate Bridge and onto Alcatraz and Treasure Island before passing the Oakland Bay Bridge and reaching our destination at Oakland Intl (OAK).

On Tuesday we spent an enjoyful day in San Francisco, visiting Fishermans Wharf, Hyde Street Pier and the famous Lombard Street, the most winding street in town. Of course, we could not resist a ride on the Cable Car and a visit to the Cable Car Museum. (additional pictures from San Francisco: directly over the Golden Gate Bridge - Skyline at night))

On the next day (May, 29th) we said goodbye to San Francisco and left for Yosemite National Park. We flew via Livermore which is a restricted area due to national security regulations - guess why ! - and onto Modesto where we landed on a little airfiled called Mariposa. Having been previously told that it would be possible to rent a car there for our visit to the National Park we were disappointed that this was not the case. As a consequence of this we flew to Merced (MCE) from where we headed back to the Yosemite National Park. Having driven along the Merced River into a beautiful valley with many scenic highlights I can now unterstand why this park is considered by many to be the most beautiful National Park in the United States. It is here where you can find the biggest granite rock in the world, called 'El Capitan' which is an Eldorado for climbers. Nearby are the 'Yosemite Falls' where the Yosemite Creek drops into the valley of the Merced river in three stages by over 740 metres. In addition to this you can see the Mariposa Groove with the Giant Sequoias, the Glacier Point offering great views of the Yosemite Valley and many other wonders of nature.

On Thursday we completed the final chapter of our journey. It was our longest trip so far taking 5 h flying time and bringing us from Merced via Bakersfield to Palmdale which is adjacent to Edwards AFB with a runway of 15000ft, making it one of the possible landing sites for the Space Shuttle. Furtheron we flew to Twentynine Palms before reaching our final destination Falcon Field in Phoenix.

In Phoenix we decided to do some traffic patterns. Having flown our Cessna 172 in cruising altitudes I now had the chance to do even some takeoffs and landings which I found very exciting. Flying the Cessna 172 on the flight simulator is good but cannot compared with real flying. Next time I make such a trip, I will definetly take some flying lessons beforehand because flying is great fun for me.

So folks - I finally reached the end of my travel report and I hope that some of you will get the opportunity to take a similar journey. This really was the most exciting holiday I've ever experienced so far.

Best wishes from Erich Nager