Took off from Grand Canyon West and followed the entire route of the Colorado River through the canyon to the northeastern end of the park, landing at Marble Canyon. Incidentally, that NE end of the park is also the NE end of the ZLA coverage area. I've been here before. I can pull off the runway onto the ramp and stay connected to Pilotedge but if I taxi north to the building I will get disconnected before I get there. So I always park at the south end just off the runway.
I only climbed to an altitude of 6000 ft, give-r-take, although I did pretty good I think and maintained a speed of just under 100 kts, no flaps. At times I was above the rim and didn't follow the little squiggles of the river. Most of the trip, however, just over an hour of it, was below the rim, trying to not bounce off the canyon walls that were pretty close a number of times. Making a 300° left turn with canyon walls on both sides of you is pretty hairy, even in a sim! Rock out your window and sky out the other, but you know there's rock over there too! I literally found myself white-knuckling the yoke a couple times and I will admit I heard the stall horn for about a half second during one of those turns. Let the nose get too high.
I painstakingly mapped the entire trip in to my GPS in case I got lost and I'm glad I did. There were a few tributaries off the main river that could have maybe lured me in that direction had I not known. That could have left me in a sticky wicket! Going vertical in my little 182 to escape a dead end. So I'm was grateful for having planned ahead on that one.
I realize this is something a person only gets to try in a simulator but it was fun to fly basically precision slow flight. Thank God it was a sim because I had to pause it a couple times and walk away for a few minutes while the feeling came back in my fingers!!
Try it sometime if you're bored. It was fun, and challenging also. Slow flight with some tight turns at times.
Just thought I would share.
Blue Skies!
