[January 17th 08:00pm PST] Westcoast fly-in: KVNY to KOKB

[Cyrus]

Cool. I think I'm in! (if I can stay up that late). If so, I'll probably be in a Cessna 182RG (so I'll be the one passing you by about 5 kts! lol ).

So I guess you're aiming for an 810/815pm-ish takeoff....?

I'll probably file the same route as you. Should be fun.

...oh, and you sure you wouldn't rather pilot a fully stocked F-16 instead for the in-law fly over? akkk akkk akkkk!

[djrisc]

8:10/8:15 sounds about right. (It all depends how many times I screw up the IFR clearance. lol jk)

I'll redline the 172 to try and keep up. lol (If you see a streaking fireball to the ground that's most likely me.)

I think I'm one of the few people that actually like my in-laws, so no F-16 needed. However, if I ever do need one my brother inlaw is a F-22 pilot. lol

Brett

[Cyrus]

I'll redline the 172 to try and keep up. lol

We should try and time it so that I hear "line up and wait" when you hear "next for takeoff"

Also, I've never tried pilot-to-pilot comms. I guess that's 123.45 ? Not even sure of the protocol required for P2P. Is it similar grammar/language to ATC, or more relaxed? Hopefully we can stay in touch with SoCal ATC while we occasionally compare scenery and progress...? (might have to dust off the "BOTH" Comm stack button).

And just so you know, I'm quite prepared to munch on a little turbulence wake of yours... but be nice! Oh, and I would never ask your Top Gun brother-in-law to take out your lovely sounding mother-in-law, so we'd better just let that go.

[Cyrus]

btw, how many people joined the planning session, i.e. how many others are expected this evening?

[djrisc]

A total of 0, lol. I figured it would start off slow though. I'll just keep doing this each week and I'm sure it will pick up as time goes on.

I'll probably wait around until I see other planes on the ramp, so I'm sure the timing won't be hard.

I've never done the pilot to pilot coms either. I'll have to look in to that, probably easier on VFR flights.

Brett

[Mark Hargrove]

Brett,

I just realized that you settled on Thursdays for the west coast fly-ins. That's the only night of the week I can't make it! I'll try to join for future planning sessions, though -- that's almost as much fun as flying the route for me.

-M.

[djrisc]

Ack!
Sorry Mark, it's so tough to coordinate something like this. If the response is poor for a few weeks I'll consider moving it. I just want to keep it constant for awhile and see how it goes.

You are more than welcome at the planning sessions. I actually sickly enjoy the planning as well. It's like some odd form of puzzle solving, which I enjoy.

Brett

[Cyrus]

Thanks for organizing, Brett. That was great! Although I think Keith is going to call Merriam-Webster and having them put a photo of me next to the definition for "faux pas" ! Anyway, all valuable learnings...

- Learn about TEC routes
- Always provide current/expected altitudes after handoffs (der!)
- No need to provide location information after handoff
- Don't panic if asked to hold
- Oceanside ATC is permanently at the beach (aka, purple means non-towered!)
- Don't panic when asked to contact CTAF (the robots are perfectly harmless)
- Who put that big a$$ office block half a click east of rwy 24 !
- Don't pretend you're still 20 and can make it on 4 hours of sleep

Anyway, here's a few postcards from the trip....

G'night. Off to squawk VFR in my bed now

Almost at Oceanside (from Van Nuys)

1- Almost at OCN.jpg (185.75 KiB) Viewed 6496 times

Two down, one to go...

2 -Two down, One to go (at OKB).jpg (332.31 KiB) Viewed 6496 times

Three little piggys

3- Three little piggys (OKB).jpg (274.13 KiB) Viewed 6496 times

[Steve Anderson]

I had fun meeting you all at Oceanside. Sorry I was late. $100 burgers on me!

[djrisc]

That was awesome! Thanks everyone who made it out. I saw a few more people landing in Oceanside as well! So thanks to everyone!

Thanks for the pictures Cyrus those are great!

I learned a ton too! My flight went pretty smooth other than I also got schooled on the "don't give your position if already in radar contact" tip as well.

I was using real weather and it was blowing me around like a piñata over Fallbrook, I felt like I was in a pinball machine.

Also, I hadn't looked up the Oceanside airport to know that it was non-towered. So that was my big mistake as I didn't know to close out my flight plan in a timely manner.

Also someone else landing at Oceanside wasn't talking on Unicom so probably didn't hear my landing call for 24 as they were landing on 9, so I had to quickly avoid a head on collision, but went around and made it down safe.

All in all I had an absolute blast! So much so I flew back to Van Nuys VFR via the coastal route.

I can't wait for next week when we do it again! Suggestions for our next flight are welcome, just drop me a line!!! (I'm thinking we need to hit Vegas soon if no one has any suggestions, as I haven't flown there yet.)

Thanks again to everyone for making the first west coast fly-in such a great time!

Brett