The Mooney really is a Time Machine. I have written before that we all have 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, and 52 weeks in a year. But if you own a Mooney, it sure feels like there’s more than 24 hours in a day, almost as if you are cheating time itself.
So, what can you do with a Mooney?
I needed to be at Vivian Park in Provo Canyon at 3:45pm local time for a river float on Saturday. The challenge was that I was starting in California, I wanted to get in a 50-mile bike ride before leaving, and I would be stopping on the way in St. George to pick up my father-in-law and bring him to Provo.
When planning I start with the final destination and work backwards. Here’s how the plan was established.
- Vivian Park – 3:45pm MDT
- Drive time from KPVU to Vivian Park – About 30 minutes, need to land by 2:30pm MDT to allow time to taxi, park, check-in at FBO, unload the plane, and get in the car. (15-minute buffer built in)
- Flight time from KSGU to KPVU – About 1:30, need to take off by 1:00pm MDT (KSGU also has a PPR currently where you reserve a time for landing and departing)
- Time on ground in KSGU to refuel and pick up father-in-law – Fast turn is about 30 minutes but I figured 45 to add in a buffer. Need to land at KSGU by 12:15pm MDT.
- Flight time from KFUL to KSGU – About 2:15, need to take off by 9:00am PDT (I’m losing an hour with the change in time zones.)
- Pre-flight at KFUL – About 30 minutes from arrival at the hangar to taking off, need to be at the airport by 8:30am PDT.
- Drive time from home to KFUL – About 25 minutes, but adding in an extra 5 to stop by the Golden Ox and pick up a breakfast burrito. Need to leave home by 8:00am PDT.
- 50-mile road bike ride – about 2:40 if I take the river trail to the Huntington Beach Pier and back, that’s if I’m pushing most of the ride. I need to be back from the ride by about 7:20am to put the bike away, feed the dogs, jump in the shower, get my weather briefings, load up the truck, and get on my way. It takes about 30 minutes from the alarm going off to being on the bike, so the alarm needs to go off at 4:20am PDT.
How did the plan work out?
The alarm went off at 4:20am and I rolled out of bed. I’ve found there’s no point in hesitating when getting up for an early morning workout, you just might talk yourself out of it. I went downstairs and woke up the dogs to send them outside for a few minutes. They came back in and laid down knowing it was way too early for their breakfast. At 4:47am I was on the bike heading towards the river trail.
It was a good ride coming in at 2:37 with an average speed of 19.0 mph and average power of 206W. I was a little behind schedule once I got the bike put away and fed the dogs. Fortunately, I had packed the night before and had everything by the front door so after getting ready, including my weather briefings, I was walking out the door at 8:14am.
When I got my briefing, the winds were better than expected the night before, showing a 2:07 flight time so I would pick up 8 minutes over my plan. I was feeling pretty good about things until I got stuck in the drive-through at the Golden Ox. It’s a roll of the dice there, sometimes quick, and sometimes like this morning the opposite of quick. It added 13 minutes to the trip, but I had a hot sausage and egg burrito on the passenger seat as I pulled through the gate of the airport.
I had fueled the plane earlier in the week, so I didn’t have to wait on the fuel truck and was wheels up at 9:19am, almost 20 minutes behind my plan. But I would be picking up about 8 minutes with the favorable winds, so things were looking good given the buffers built into the schedule.
Leveling off at 9,500’ I leaned it out, settled in, and let the autopilot do the work while I grabbed the still-warm breakfast burrito off the right seat and enjoyed my breakfast. It was delicious as always and worth the delay en route to the airport. I was starving.
There is a 5-minute window for your PPR and I was going to miss mine. I don’t think they really care if you miss by a little more than that, they’re just trying to control the flow of planes while work is being done at the airport, but I decided to see if a slightly later time was available. I’m always amazed when I can get better cell reception at 9,500’ over the desert than at some places on the ground in Orange County. There was a slot available for my anticipated arrival, so I booked it and canceled my earlier one so someone else could have it if needed.
The flight was great, I listened to more of my current audiobook, and at 12:26 MDT I was on the runway at KSGU taxiing to Million Air. The line guy pulled up, and I asked him to top both sides. I needed to buy 10 gallons at Signature in KPVU but would be burning about 15 gallons to get there, so why not get as much as possible at KSGU where it was $1.07 cheaper? He asked if I was just there for a quick turn. I told him yes and he said he would get it fueled right away. Thanking him, I headed inside.
My father-in-law was there with his grandson who had given him a ride to the airport. Hello hugs were given all around as we waited for them to finish fueling the plane. Another round of goodbye hugs after I settled up the fuel bill and we walked back out into the 102° heat. We didn’t make the planned 1:00pm MDT departure, but we were airborne by 1:07pm MDT, just 7 minutes behind the schedule. I’ve only taken him flying once before for a little sightseeing flight around St. George, but he has been in small planes and despite some bumps enjoyed the flight. It was beautiful climbing out next to the red rocks of Kolob. We stayed a little east of the intended route until past Cedar City due to a building thunderstorm to the west. Once back up at 9,500’ the outside temperature was a comfortable 58°F.
The beauty soon gave way to smoky skies from the fires burning near Beaver, and visibility went from the typical 50+ miles to about 6-7 miles. However, the best thing about the flight was I had a camera running and now have an hour and a half of just visiting with Kathy’s dad and hearing him tell stories. A lot of times if you try to record your parents they are uncomfortable and it’s awkward, but this was completely relaxed and natural. Just another priceless memory from our Mooney.
KPVU tower put us on a right downwind for runway 13, and at 2:41pm MDT we landed and taxied to Signature where Kathy met us at the plane. When we got in the car and put our destination in Google it gave us an arrival time of 3:41pm MDT, 4 minutes ahead of the plan. Actual arrival was 3:42pm.
A 50-mile bike ride in California, 601 miles flown with a total flight time of 3:39 including a fuel stop and passenger pickup, and arriving at your destination within 3 minutes of the original plan? I’m going to call that a win, or just another day when you own a Mooney.
Oh, if you’re wondering about the river float? It was amazing! If you ever get a chance, I highly recommend it.
