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Well folks, talk about weird...
Carl Ellis of Newburg OR. sold his F19 to a fellow in Chandler AZ at the same airport (P19) that I picked up a BC12d just 10 days prior and flew up here to Seattle for its new owner. The buyer of "Sweetie" Carl's old F19 needed it flown down to AZ and I got the call. Having just made the trip in a 65hp BC12d south to north, I was excited to have the chance to reverse direction and see how the increased performance of the F19 would affect flight time and fuel burn.
I was unable to get a ride from my airport outside Seattle down to Newburg OR. so Wednesday afternoon I jumped in my 46'bc12 and headed south to meet Carl Ellis at his strip (17S) After a quick inspection we loaded her up and I signed some papers for Carl. I had to head north for about 5 min to a place called Twin Oaks (7S3) to fill up the plane before heading south. Full of fuel and with less than 1 hr before sunset I headed south to Albany OR. (S12) At the south end of the runway the taxi way keeps going and you can park your plane right next to the hotels. I tied her down for the night and introduced my self to a nice man named Elmer that was also tying his C170b down. He too was heading south and had just come from Mount Vernon WA. We checked in to the hotel at the end of the airport and walked over to the Chinese restaurant for dinner. In the AM I was up before dawn hoping to get a good start and make southern CA by the end of the day. 1 hr later I was on the ramp at Roseburg OR. (KRSB) waiting for the weather to clear so I could make it through the pass and on with my little trip. I took the airport car for a short blast around town and found a place to eat breakfast. When I returned to the airport Elmer had just landed with his C170 and was fueling it up. We hung out in the FBO for about an hr until the sky had lifted enough to make a second attempt at the pass. I took off first and made a simple scud run following I-5 south into Grants Pass Or. calling back condition reports to Elmer in his C170 who was about 10 min behind me. By Sexton Summit the sky had cleared and I had started climbing and headed over towards MT Shasta in northern CA. Clear skys and a slight tail wind. What a great day to fly! Stopped just outside of Redding Ca, Benton airport (O85) for fuel and lunch. In the hangar was one of the original "SKY KING" c310's that had just been restored. After starting up the plane and taxing out for take-off I noticed that the radio was not working properly. On climb out I was checking the gauges and saw the amp meter pegged at +60 amps. I could smell the battery cooking in the baggage compartment. I cycled all the circuit breakers and nothing helped. Oh well, master switch off and no electrical system from here on south. Next stop was Madera CA (KMAE) I had lost my tail wind and picked up a slight headwind and the haze was limiting visibility to about 10 miles. If I was to get into Southern CA by night I would have to boogie!! Fuel and a soda-pop and were off. I made the mountains south of Bakersfield right about sunset. I wanted to make Agua Dulce (L70) my overnight stop, but the headwinds had slowed my progress and I could see the beginnings of fog settling in them California hills. I had just crossed in to the far west side of the Mojave Desert when the Nasty headwinds stopped and became massive down drafts (800+fmp) and moderate turbulence. With less than 20 min until dark I had to change plans quickly. I called General Fox airport (KWJF) a class D airport less than 15 miles east of my position, and told them my situation. No electrical, No lights, No transponder. Handheld radio only. They cleared me for landing and that was it. Now 7:30 pm, Dark and I had just taxied in and tied the plane down. Luckily the airport lobby was open and I was able to call a Cab and get a ride into Lancaster CA. for the night. Only problem was my taxi driver did not speak english, after a quick phone call to his buddy that could translate we were off to Hotel 6. Not exactly the airport I wanted to be at, but in the morning it turned out that it was a good choice because the hills and the LA basin were IFR, and I would have been stuck. Back at the airport the wind had picked up and I had a nice 15-mph tailwind heading east. After dodging military airspace I made one last fuel stop at TwentyNine Palms (KTNP) That nice tailwind made for a great headwind on landing and I made the first taxiway. Must have been about a 100' roll-out on landing. Just after picking up HWY 10 near Desert Center my tailwind shifted and by Blyth CA. it was a slight head wind. No big deal but it was getting hotter by the minute and I wanted down and out of this airplane. I touched down at Stellar Airpark (P19) in Chandler AZ at about 11:30 am. The new owner and I went over the aircraft, then it was out for lunch and off to the Phoenix airport to ride a 737 back to Seattle. I still have to figure out how to get back down to Newburg OR. and pick up my plane. The trip from OR to AZ was not that much faster in the F19 average speed was just a few mph faster but the headwinds and bad weather made it feel much longer. I liked the better climb rate in the F19 vs the BC12d, but the extra speed and fuel burn make it almost the same cost per mile as the 65hp plane. I don't need an electrical system for the type of flying I like to do so When I do the Rebuild on my plane I think I will stick with the BC12D-85 mod with 0-200 crank STC. High HP/Low weight/low cost! Thanks to both Carl Ellis and Mark Reisterer for choosing me to ferry the plane down south. Had a great time. Anyone else need a Tcraft moved???
Jason
N43643
Carl Ellis of Newburg OR. sold his F19 to a fellow in Chandler AZ at the same airport (P19) that I picked up a BC12d just 10 days prior and flew up here to Seattle for its new owner. The buyer of "Sweetie" Carl's old F19 needed it flown down to AZ and I got the call. Having just made the trip in a 65hp BC12d south to north, I was excited to have the chance to reverse direction and see how the increased performance of the F19 would affect flight time and fuel burn.
I was unable to get a ride from my airport outside Seattle down to Newburg OR. so Wednesday afternoon I jumped in my 46'bc12 and headed south to meet Carl Ellis at his strip (17S) After a quick inspection we loaded her up and I signed some papers for Carl. I had to head north for about 5 min to a place called Twin Oaks (7S3) to fill up the plane before heading south. Full of fuel and with less than 1 hr before sunset I headed south to Albany OR. (S12) At the south end of the runway the taxi way keeps going and you can park your plane right next to the hotels. I tied her down for the night and introduced my self to a nice man named Elmer that was also tying his C170b down. He too was heading south and had just come from Mount Vernon WA. We checked in to the hotel at the end of the airport and walked over to the Chinese restaurant for dinner. In the AM I was up before dawn hoping to get a good start and make southern CA by the end of the day. 1 hr later I was on the ramp at Roseburg OR. (KRSB) waiting for the weather to clear so I could make it through the pass and on with my little trip. I took the airport car for a short blast around town and found a place to eat breakfast. When I returned to the airport Elmer had just landed with his C170 and was fueling it up. We hung out in the FBO for about an hr until the sky had lifted enough to make a second attempt at the pass. I took off first and made a simple scud run following I-5 south into Grants Pass Or. calling back condition reports to Elmer in his C170 who was about 10 min behind me. By Sexton Summit the sky had cleared and I had started climbing and headed over towards MT Shasta in northern CA. Clear skys and a slight tail wind. What a great day to fly! Stopped just outside of Redding Ca, Benton airport (O85) for fuel and lunch. In the hangar was one of the original "SKY KING" c310's that had just been restored. After starting up the plane and taxing out for take-off I noticed that the radio was not working properly. On climb out I was checking the gauges and saw the amp meter pegged at +60 amps. I could smell the battery cooking in the baggage compartment. I cycled all the circuit breakers and nothing helped. Oh well, master switch off and no electrical system from here on south. Next stop was Madera CA (KMAE) I had lost my tail wind and picked up a slight headwind and the haze was limiting visibility to about 10 miles. If I was to get into Southern CA by night I would have to boogie!! Fuel and a soda-pop and were off. I made the mountains south of Bakersfield right about sunset. I wanted to make Agua Dulce (L70) my overnight stop, but the headwinds had slowed my progress and I could see the beginnings of fog settling in them California hills. I had just crossed in to the far west side of the Mojave Desert when the Nasty headwinds stopped and became massive down drafts (800+fmp) and moderate turbulence. With less than 20 min until dark I had to change plans quickly. I called General Fox airport (KWJF) a class D airport less than 15 miles east of my position, and told them my situation. No electrical, No lights, No transponder. Handheld radio only. They cleared me for landing and that was it. Now 7:30 pm, Dark and I had just taxied in and tied the plane down. Luckily the airport lobby was open and I was able to call a Cab and get a ride into Lancaster CA. for the night. Only problem was my taxi driver did not speak english, after a quick phone call to his buddy that could translate we were off to Hotel 6. Not exactly the airport I wanted to be at, but in the morning it turned out that it was a good choice because the hills and the LA basin were IFR, and I would have been stuck. Back at the airport the wind had picked up and I had a nice 15-mph tailwind heading east. After dodging military airspace I made one last fuel stop at TwentyNine Palms (KTNP) That nice tailwind made for a great headwind on landing and I made the first taxiway. Must have been about a 100' roll-out on landing. Just after picking up HWY 10 near Desert Center my tailwind shifted and by Blyth CA. it was a slight head wind. No big deal but it was getting hotter by the minute and I wanted down and out of this airplane. I touched down at Stellar Airpark (P19) in Chandler AZ at about 11:30 am. The new owner and I went over the aircraft, then it was out for lunch and off to the Phoenix airport to ride a 737 back to Seattle. I still have to figure out how to get back down to Newburg OR. and pick up my plane. The trip from OR to AZ was not that much faster in the F19 average speed was just a few mph faster but the headwinds and bad weather made it feel much longer. I liked the better climb rate in the F19 vs the BC12d, but the extra speed and fuel burn make it almost the same cost per mile as the 65hp plane. I don't need an electrical system for the type of flying I like to do so When I do the Rebuild on my plane I think I will stick with the BC12D-85 mod with 0-200 crank STC. High HP/Low weight/low cost! Thanks to both Carl Ellis and Mark Reisterer for choosing me to ferry the plane down south. Had a great time. Anyone else need a Tcraft moved???
Jason
N43643
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