Route: KFFZ ~ EED ~ PTV ~ O63 407 nautical miles
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| Six AM comes early in the Desert! |
Took off early this morning from Falcon Field, Phoenix, Az when it was cool, (90+ degrees) headed North skirting Phoenix until we were outside the Class "B" & "D" airspace then turned West for Needles, CA.
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| Heading North from Falcon Field, dodging mountains etc, trying to stay out of Class "B" Airspace. |
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| Still heading North, a varied country side of agriculture and housing. |
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| No emergency landing down here! |
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| Private landing strip at Skyranch @ Carefree |
Coming across the Colorado River it was hard to see where Needles airport (KEED) was, good thing my GPS was accurate and pointing the way! Finally saw the airport to the West on the Alluvial Plain leading West to the mountains!
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| Finally I can see the airport, now figuring which runway has the least amount of X-wind! |
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| Opposite Runway 20, I made a left downwind for Runway 2 and landed almost into the wind. |
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Kenny Macklin, U.S. Navy Veteran, Ham Radio Operator |
We flew North, then west trying to keep out of the Class "B" Airspace, leaving the Falcon Class "D". It took quite awhile to dodge mountains etc heading north past Scottsdale, Az then Prescott, Az, then finally west just north of the MOA's and then we headed west toward Needles, California. There we met an exceptional man (Kenny Macklin), had quite a conversation with him - he loves airplanes! Kenny was getting ready to leave for back home in the South to take care of his ninety-two year old Mom and Auntie. Good Luck to you Kenny and your trip!
Took off from Needles climbing back up to a cooler altitude of 6500' and proceeded West again.
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| Leaving Needles and climbing over the ridge to the west this is what you see! |
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| West of Needles, East of Barstow |
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| Greg & Cindy's Retreat near Yermo, California |
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| Dagget Field near Barstow, California (KDAG) |
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| Some sort of Radar testing Facility? |
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| I could tell you what this is, but then THEY WOULD KILL ME! |
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| Palmdale Regional (KPMD) |
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| Fox Field (KJWF) |
Hooked up with Joshua Approach for flight following and flew back over the desert and mountains into the Valley, turned right and landed at Porterville, California for lunch at the Airway Cafe ("Where you can land a good meal!") Which we did! A 3 1/2 hour flight, fueled up and fifteen minutes later we were landing at Exeter Airport. In the next few days we will continue on over to Oceano, a mere 99 NM away and stick our toes into the Pacific and complete our journey!
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| Crossing Ridge South of Bakersfield |
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| Heading North to Porterville, Ca |
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| Parked at Porterville (KPTV) and headed in for Lunch! |
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| Home at Exeter, Ca (Oscar 63) |
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| While I was fueling up the plane, CDF Airtanker 100 paid KPTV a visit and cooled things off! |
Katie enjoyed the walk to the beach, only about a quarter of a mile, however we weren't dressed for the cool breeze off the the Pacific. We found more sand dollars in a hundred yards of beach than we have in the last 20 years! A quick rest on the sand and then we noticed that the waves of fog coming in had changed to a overall overcast with departing planes veering to the north on take off and coming over the beach heading for the blue sky showing to the North. We started back and stopped at the "Beach Burger", a location that used to house a very nice Italian Restaurant. I guess Burgers sell to a wider selection of visitors. Anyway the Sweet Potatoe Fries and Cheese Classic were Yummy! Walking back to the airport took little time as the beach is easily walked in 10-15 minutes! We had a good conversation with the banner towing pilot which we had talked to the last time at Oceano, and who I had met when he towed banners in Tulare at the World Ag Expo 2012 this February. By the time we had checked out his J-3 65hp Cub, T-6 Texan, and 1943 Stearman the fog had cleared off to a steady blue sky which we took advantage of and headed home to Tulare.
