Have you ever been looking for a reason to fly? I love to fly but will admit that there have been occasions when I had the availability to fly, but just didn’t make the effort to get down to the airport and fly. I knew that I would love it once I’m in the air, but that wasn’t enough to get me there. Those are the times that having a purpose makes all the difference.
Back in September I celebrated my 52nd birthday. In honor of that milestone, my wife suggested that I should try to fly once a week for the next year (52 weeks). Maybe that sounds a little ambitious, but since getting our Mooney, I have tried to fly once a week as a way of staying proficient. However, there are still times that I would go a couple weeks without flying. There was also the time it was getting painted when I really started to get the itch to fly, but once a week for a year was going to take some planning.
I am 18 weeks in, and so far, have a perfect streak. I had to have a way of measuring the weekly period and settled on Sun-Sat. I could fly on a Sunday and not fly again for 13 days on the next Saturday and keep the streak alive. That is the technical difference between once a week and once every 7 days.
The planning aspect comes into monitoring my calendar and the weather to make sure I am not backed into a corner. We’re going out of town Wed-Sun of the coming week, so I need to get in a flight either Monday or Tuesday after work to stay perfect. The forecast looks good, so Week 19 does not appear to be at risk.
Going back to Week 18, the calendar looked free for a Saturday flight to keep the streak going. But, the weather was great, so I decided to go up for an evening flight after work on Wednesday. The winds that had been blowing for days but they were forecast to be done that evening, which typically makes for a beautiful flight with all the haze cleared out.
So, where to fly on a Wednesday night? There was the option to climb up to 10,500’ and fly over Pacific Palisades, but I was looking for a shorter flight, and with the fire not as active I didn’t think there would be much to see after dark. I also did not want to add to any traffic in that area. I considered a costal flight, but while those are beautiful at sunset, they just are not as great an hour after sunset.
I settled in on a tour of downtown Los Angeles, taking the Special Flight Rules Area over LAX on my way back to Fullerton. I filed a flight plan and just before leaving work at 5pm logged in to get a briefing. The TFR’s for the fires were still active but there were no other issues along my intended route.
I took off and headed to the northwest, leveling off at 1,600’ to stay well under the 2,500’ shelf of the Bravo and pointed the nose toward the Los Angeles skyline. There were a few bumps as I passed Rose Hills but then it smoothed out. The massive rail yards west of Commerce were lit up and all the freeways were just a string of lights with the evening traffic crawling along. I was glad to be cruising along at 156mph, enjoying the views.
The air was clear, and the lights of the city sparkled. At a glance, it was a sea of lights with each skyscraper blending into the ones behind it, but if you watched closely the buildings took shape and the roads between them looked like ribbons of red from the taillights of cars stuck in traffic.
Making a clockwise loop around downtown I continued to admire the scene below before heading to the northeast and looping past Dodger’s Stadium. The field was full of equipment and cranes as the $100 million updates to the aging facility moved forward. I flew west along the Hollywood Hills which only showed up as an outline against the lights of Burbank. There were no streetlights or house lights, and the Hollywood sign was dark.
I began a climb to 3,500’ looking west at the darkness that should have been Pacific Palisades, but just like Hollywood Hills, it was just a dark mass with an occasional light here and there. Before reaching the edge of the TFR I turned southwest direct to the Santa Monica VOR where I would line up to transit the Special Flight Rules. With the exception of the steady stream of planes arriving and departing LAX, along with a lone news helicopter flying the south edge of the TRF to get some footage, it was quiet.
I’m still amazed that you can fly right over the top of LAX at 3,500’ or 4,500’ and all you have to do is squawk 1201 and self-announce on 128.55. It doesn’t get old looking down at that complex as you fly overhead.
After exiting to the southeast, I began a turn to the east and my descent. I needed to be below 2,500’ just past the Compton airport to scoot under the 2,500’ Bravo shelf and let the speed build to 175mph as I headed downhill.
From that point you scoot along the north side of Long Beach’s Delta before calling up KFUL tower near the charted intersection of the 91 and 605 freeways. I had the ATIS and was moments from making my initial call when I heard:
80238: “Fullerton Tower, November 80238 is about two-thousand seven hundred feet over the 91 605 interchange with information Charlie inbound to land.”
Tower: “November 80238 enter a right downwind runway two-four.”
80238: “Right downwind for runway two-four, 238.”
I looked at my tablet, he was still about a mile west of the interchange and slugging along at a speed you would expect from a flight school Cessna. I knew that plane, I took my IFR check ride in it years ago. “Dude, you’re going 81 knots!” I said out loud to myself bummed that he got his call in before me.
This guy was about a mile south of me, 1,600’ above me, and two miles closer to the airport. I pulled the power way back thinking I was going to be stuck coasting along behind him. I was 11 miles out and he was 9 miles out. I considered my options as my speed continued to bleed off and just under a minute later decided to toss up a Hail Mary.
Me: “Fullerton Tower, Mooney 1015Echo, one-thousand one-hundred just north of the 91/605 we do have 80238 in sight, inbound with Charlie.”
I could see 80238 above and to my right and hoped that by letting Tower know I had him in sight, he might let me slide past into the number one slot.
Tower: “Mooney 1015Echo, Fullerton Tower, keep the speed up and I’ll call your right turn for a 45-degree entry runway 24 you’re 40 knots faster than him do not slow.”
Me: “Alright, we’ll keep the speed up, you’ll call my right turn for the 45, 15Echo.”
Tower: “Cessna 238, traffic 9 o’clock a mile and inbound pattern altitude a Mooney has you in sight, he’s going to be number one, let me know when you have him in sight for number two.”
80238: “Traffic in sight, 238.”
Tower: “Continue, you’re number two.”
80238: “Continuing number two, 238.”
My Hail Mary was caught in the end zone. (As an aside, why do we as pilots often say “we” on the radio when we’re alone in the plane?) Without the need to stay slow I pushed the throttle back in and although in level flight, watched my speed go from 146mph to 176 mph. I love that Mooney speed!
You can cover some decent ground at 170+ mph, and just over a minute later, Tower gave me my turn to enter the pattern.
Tower: “Mooney 15Echo, you can enter on the 45, you’re number one and winds are back and forth now a little bit out of the east, zero-seven-zero at four, runway two-four cleared to land.”
Me: “Two-four cleared to land, 15Echo.”
Tower: “238, he’s turning inbound on the 45, you’re number two, winds zero-seven-zero at four, runway two-four cleared to land.”
80238: “Cleared to land runway two-four, number two, 238.”
Just a few moments later I heard it for I think the first time since I started flying.
Tower: “Mooney 15Echo you can resume normal speed.”
Me: “We’re slowing it down, thanks 15Echo.”
With power pulled back to 15” I made it below the 129mph gear extension speed right as I passed the numbers on the downwind leg and dropped the gear, power back to 13” which along with the gear out started my descent from pattern altitude. Speed down to 100mph, the turn onto base, speed down to 90mph, turn to final, flaps down, speed down to 80mph and dropping as I crossed the fence, then settled onto the runway.
Tower: “Mooney 15Echo, two left turns at Echo taxi Alpha to southeast parking, Good day.”
Me: “Echo Alpha to southeast, have a good night, 15Echo.”
I was almost to the turn off to my hangar when 80238 was rounding out to land. Smooth clear air, a glistening city light tour of Los Angeles, and sliding past a Cessna for the number one landing slot, just another great flight in a Mooney.
