Leg 1
|
Date
|
April 16, 2006
|
Type
|
Cessna C172S
|
|
Origin
|
North Las Vegas
|
Origin ICAO/ location identifier
|
KVGT
|
|
Destination
|
Grand Canyon West
|
Destination ICAO/ location identifier
|
1G4
|
|
Approx. distance
|
80 nm
|
Flying time
|
00:59h
|
After two days at the strange 24h hangover party that is called Las Vegas, our "Grand Tour of the American West" finally took off. "Us" was two non-pilot colleagues-turned-friends and myself, our toothbrushes and spare underwear, a LOT of drinking water and really not much else - C172 "payload" is not all that generous, plus the first part of the tour was in potential "hot & high" conditions.
Checking TA at North Las Vegas airport, prior to our first leg
Having done my 2006 biennial & checkout the previous day out of North Las Vegas (KVGT), on the very aircraft we rented, I felt sufficiently prepared to launch us into one of the busiest airspaces in the U.S.: Las Vegas class Bravo. Admittedly my adrenaline still was on a high level, but I opted for the same transition route the CFI had shown me the day before to keep things simple. This meant we headed straight for the "Monument" VRP, which happens to be the Stratosphere Tower and hence can hardly be overlooked, climbing to 5,500ft MSL and requesting an "over the numbers" crossing at Las Vegas International (KLAS) and from there direct Henderson Exec (KHND). The fast-talking, but super professional and cooperative controllers made this easy, so my pulse steadied quickly. The sights on the crossing itself are spectacular: one gets a grandstand view of the entire Strip, plus KLAS airport, all framed by a panorama of snow capped mountains.
Las Vegas McCarran Airport and "The Strip"
But vistas were to get even better: now heading east towards Grand Canyon, we tracked along the southern shore of Lake Mead, directly crossing Hoover dam. This is truly monumental, with its huge dam wall and the Colorado river disappearing into the Black Canyon, all spanned by a plethora of power lines (well, the power for ca. 8 million people has to go somewhere...).
Hoover Dam
We now continued our easterly track, climbing to a careful 9,500ft MSL, as we approached the Colorado Plateau which rises to almost 7,000ft MSL here. During my preparation I had carefully studied the airspace structure around Grand Canyon. While there is not much in terms of busy airports and associated airspaces (most are Class Delta or Echo), there is a "Grand Canyon National Flight Rules Area". Its main purpose is protecting the amazing natural environment and preserving as much of its natural quiet as possible. This means that aircraft have to stay high and/ or in clearly defined corridors at all times (with the exception of a few canyons kept open for helicopter tour operator thrill rides... and likely some military ops).
Crossing over the edge of the Colorado Plateau, we soon were able to start our descent to Grand Canyon West (1G4). This great little airfield sits right on the southern rim of the canyon, which makes for vistas during approach that can really distract! After an uneventful landing, we were marshalled into our parking spot, surrounded by a number of tour operator aircraft, mainly helicopters, Cessna Caravans, Twin Otters etc. Soon we were off to the lookout platform at Eagle Point, which in 2006 did not yet sport the "glass bottom walkway" it apparently features today.
Grand Canyon West airport
Map provided with friendly approval of SkyDemon. Click to zoom. Not to be used for navigation.
Leg 2
|
Date
|
April 16, 2006
|
Type
|
Cessna C172S
|
|
Origin
|
Grand Canyon West
|
Origin ICAO/ location identifier
|
1G4
|
|
Destination
|
Grand Canyon National Park
|
Destination ICAO/ location identifier
|
KGCN
|
|
Approx. distance
|
81 nm
|
Flying time
|
00:36h
|
Taking off for our next leg, we watched in amazement the sporty flying of the tour operators, with a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter flying low across the desert. After climbing to the altitude required by the Special Rules area, we set course towards Grand Canyon National Park airport. Aeronautically the flight was straightforward, but the sights were absolutely breathtaking. Standing on the Grand Canyon's rim one feels small, but it seems this effect is even exacerbated when crossing it in a small aircraft: even though you are moving at 100kts/ 180km/h or so, you seem to be standing still in relation to these huge canyons and rock formations. Here are some impressions:
Map provided with friendly approval of SkyDemon. Click to zoom. Not to be used for navigation.
Excerpt from FAA Grand Canyon VFR map. Click to zoom. Not to be used for navigation.
Leg 3
|
Date
|
April 16, 2006
|
Type
|
Cessna C172S
|
|
Origin
|
Grand Canyon National Park
|
Origin ICAO/ location identifier
|
KGCN
|
|
Destination
|
Page Municipal
|
Destination ICAO/ location identifier
|
KPGA
|
|
Approx. distance
|
75 nm
|
Flying time
|
00:52h
|
The third and last leg of the day started with the most excitement for me as the pilot - although not in a way I had hoped for.
I had planned the stop at Grand Canyon National Park (KGCN) in order to pick up fuel - and so we duly did. Normally, after the roughly two hours we had flown at this stage and with the hour we still had to run to Page/AZ (KPGA), it would not have been needed - but wanting to play it safe, I thought it would be a good idea.
At this stage in my flying, I did have quite some mountain flying experience from gliding, collected in the European Alps, the Pyrenees and the New Zealand Alps. But I was lacking experience in powered flying in the mountains, particularily when it comes to "hot & high". While in April, temperatures were not too high yet, what I did not factor in was that KGCN sits at an altitude of more than 6,600ft... so the "high" part was definitely a given. Add to this that we had fully fueled the aircraft and were at maximum takeoff weight. Lastly, I had not been taught to lean on the ground yet (only learned this about a year later in South Africa).
These three factors in combination made for quite an "interesting" takeoff run which basically seemed...endless. We did stagger into the air eventually, helped by a runway of ca. 9,000ft length and a downward gradient of about 1%. The climb that followed at best is to be described as modest.. but we did manage to get to the altitude needed for the Dragon corridor crossing. At least here previous experience kicked in and my well developed feel for the aircraft helped avoid stalling.
In order to cross over certain areas of Grand Canyon, small aircraft need to use one of four corridors (from West to East called: Tuckup, Fossil, Dragon and Zuni Point). We used Dragon corridor, the entry to which is marked by VPGCF visual reporting point less than 7 nm from KGCN, from which we flew northbound at 11,500 ft across to VPGCG reporting point, about 20 nm north-northeast. From here we set our course straight to Page/AZ, more or less following the amazing Marble Canyon, which neatly cuts its way through the surrounding flat plateau - an amazing sight.
Our approach and landing on runway 15 at Page was quite uneventful - little did I know how the next day's takeoff would go...
Marble Canyon
Short final for KPGA's runway 15
Map provided with friendly approval of SkyDemon. Click to zoom. Not to be used for navigation.
Excerpt from FAA Grand Canyon VFR map. Click to zoom. Not to be used for navigation.
