Alphabet Challenge Leg 4 KDLO - KEMT
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 8:55 pm
Pilots,
Another fun flight in the (alphabet) soup. I've really enjoyed the real world moderately crummy weather that has been stationed over central/southern California these last few days. Nothing like banking while climbing on departure and entering actual IMC to get that awesome vertigo sensation. Delano has a departure ODP so you should get up to at least 3000 before turning south and that put me in the clouds while turning. If I were to do it again I would have cheated the turn 100 ft early and stayed below until level to avoid that...
Lessons Learned:
I was robbed of the chance of creating any more craziness with an actual instrument approach as ATC preempted me with vectors to a visual on 19 at KEMT. That said I must confess I was getting a bit stressed about identifying DARTS. I vowed to go /A and not to use the GPS and DARTS is a real PITA to tune in and intercept. It took me a good 3 minutes at least to figure out that it was SLI R-319/25 defining it from the southeast! SLI is almost off the page and the id box is way south of SLI itself! Anyway.
It's also kind of evil that BERRI is has you switch to LAX R009/17 and doesn't give you a nice "circle/box" 17 on the chart to define the intersection. I know it's no problem for you rated pros, but for us amateurs that's a lot of task saturation tuning, iding,switching navaids just to make the turn to DARTS Oh and make sure you have PDZ tuned in ahead of time too because being at DARTS without is like missing the "board" altogether...
Also after crossing the mountain range to the north, you are inconveniently HIGH at DARTS. Like between 9000 and 5000 ft -- closer to 9000 and you have to drop like a rock to get down all the way to KEMT whether you get VOR A or visual. Slow up early - a lesson I find hard to heed in the Bonanza - will really help you out. I was descending at 1800-2000fpm and got close to violating the minute to live rule especially since...
I found it REALLY hard to identify KEMT visually. So another lesson learned may be to try to download some scenery for it if it exists. What saved me was the Green Taxi/Ramp areas because the runway textures never cleared turned up until very short final...and my heart skipped a beat despite me visually confirming the orientation of the airfield as I saw this...crossing the threshold.
Looks like some idiot overpainted the 1 in 19 with some taxi offramp line. Grrr.
That's about it other than the distraction posed by ATC absolutely reaming out some guy up at KSFO. Apparently there's a new "Riot Act" that can be read. I'd never heard an "offender" be ordered to take the PE Training Syllabus as a remedial training and get threatened to account suspension. I wish I had heard the other side of it Might make fun listening..That said, I am all for helping chronic offenders "help themselves..."
Todd
Another fun flight in the (alphabet) soup. I've really enjoyed the real world moderately crummy weather that has been stationed over central/southern California these last few days. Nothing like banking while climbing on departure and entering actual IMC to get that awesome vertigo sensation. Delano has a departure ODP so you should get up to at least 3000 before turning south and that put me in the clouds while turning. If I were to do it again I would have cheated the turn 100 ft early and stayed below until level to avoid that...
Lessons Learned:
I was robbed of the chance of creating any more craziness with an actual instrument approach as ATC preempted me with vectors to a visual on 19 at KEMT. That said I must confess I was getting a bit stressed about identifying DARTS. I vowed to go /A and not to use the GPS and DARTS is a real PITA to tune in and intercept. It took me a good 3 minutes at least to figure out that it was SLI R-319/25 defining it from the southeast! SLI is almost off the page and the id box is way south of SLI itself! Anyway.
It's also kind of evil that BERRI is has you switch to LAX R009/17 and doesn't give you a nice "circle/box" 17 on the chart to define the intersection. I know it's no problem for you rated pros, but for us amateurs that's a lot of task saturation tuning, iding,switching navaids just to make the turn to DARTS Oh and make sure you have PDZ tuned in ahead of time too because being at DARTS without is like missing the "board" altogether...
Also after crossing the mountain range to the north, you are inconveniently HIGH at DARTS. Like between 9000 and 5000 ft -- closer to 9000 and you have to drop like a rock to get down all the way to KEMT whether you get VOR A or visual. Slow up early - a lesson I find hard to heed in the Bonanza - will really help you out. I was descending at 1800-2000fpm and got close to violating the minute to live rule especially since...
I found it REALLY hard to identify KEMT visually. So another lesson learned may be to try to download some scenery for it if it exists. What saved me was the Green Taxi/Ramp areas because the runway textures never cleared turned up until very short final...and my heart skipped a beat despite me visually confirming the orientation of the airfield as I saw this...crossing the threshold.
Looks like some idiot overpainted the 1 in 19 with some taxi offramp line. Grrr.
That's about it other than the distraction posed by ATC absolutely reaming out some guy up at KSFO. Apparently there's a new "Riot Act" that can be read. I'd never heard an "offender" be ordered to take the PE Training Syllabus as a remedial training and get threatened to account suspension. I wish I had heard the other side of it Might make fun listening..That said, I am all for helping chronic offenders "help themselves..."
Todd