Can you get from Barstow to Lone Pine in a C172?

breadwild
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Can you get from Barstow to Lone Pine in a C172?

Post by breadwild »

Watching the first workshop video from Keith on charts and airspace http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1YEKGW0ve8 was enlightening, to say the least. Learning to fly in the Midwest, you can fly for hours and not tangle with a MOA, Restricted, or even a Class C, let alone a Class B west of O'hare.

As talked about around PilotEdge, flying in the SoCal area can be a challenge for the weekend warrior. We used to camp in the Lone Pine/Bishop area so I started looking at that area—what challenge to get there. So I thought I'd plan a flight from Barstow to Lone Pine in a C172. I was planning on 8,500 and watching the mountains. I flown in mountains and the leeward side can be a tricky with the winds coming over and down. So my only real concern in this flight is not getting to close to the Sierras. Maybe I'd be better heading a little more east as I head around that last Restricted area.

Of course I'd ask for flight following to help me out with the MOAs.

Here's my route. http://breadwild.com/barstow-lonepine.html

What did I miss?

{B}
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Keith Smith
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Re: Can you get from Barstow to Lone Pine in a C172?

Post by Keith Smith »

From an airspace planning standpoint, you didn't miss anything, nice job. As you pointed out, the downdrafts from those mountains could be an issue, so I would either leave at 6am and/or I would ask for entry into the restricted area if you can get it and go slightly east to put some distance between you and the mountains. Otherwise, I would potentially consider the windward side rather than the lee side so you might get some lift rather than downdrafts which you can convert to forward speed (I did this in X-Plane once back in v8 on a coast to coast trip and gained 15kts indicated) :)

Nice job!

I recently flew Stovepipe Wells (just east of Lone Pine) to California City and then on down to Fullerton on the network, VFR with no GPS or any kind of moving map. Parts of it were a challenge, no doubt! I went via Trona, the dry lake then down to California City...it was easy enough after that.
breadwild
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Re: Can you get from Barstow to Lone Pine in a C172?

Post by breadwild »

Right! I also wondered about going from KSNA. You've got the Class C's at KSNA and KONT (easy after watching your V2 video), and then if you're afraid of heights you have to wind your way up through the Cajon pass. So much for "as the crow flies," or as a friend used to say "time to spare, go by air."
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Re: Can you get from Barstow to Lone Pine in a C172?

Post by Keith Smith »

How funny that we ended up planning virtually the same flights! Mine was a run for FSEconomy. I had left my plane in Beatty as part of a lucrative set of flights, except I took a 3 month break and when I came back, the flights were gone *gasp*. So I came up with Plan B and picked up some gear from Stovepipe Wells, heading to Fullerton in a 2 part flight (diverted to California City to help out on the scope when it was busy one night). Here's the approximate route: http://skyvector.com/?ll=35.17650237231 ... :A.K2.KFUL

This was almost all done visually except for one radial interception to help me call the left turn after the mountains towards EMT.
breadwild
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Re: Can you get from Barstow to Lone Pine in a C172?

Post by breadwild »

You are the guru. That is crazy. I just drew it, you flew it. Especially like the dog legs betwixt Palmdale and Burbank. Though Hargrove would chide you for coming too close to R-2524 (he's overly cautious in his video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApzUapJII6M. He'd rather fly a single windmill over the ocean than flirt with the Restricted around Camp Pendleton (swimming vs being blown out of the sky). I'm going to replicate your flight this weekend with PE. Your controllers will think I'm crazy, but hey, the boss did it. Thanks for sharing.
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Re: Can you get from Barstow to Lone Pine in a C172?

Post by Keith Smith »

I was sweatin', I won't lie, particuarly since I came up with the route about 45 seconds after retracting the gear in the Baron out of Stovepipe Wells. I was looking at the sectional saying, "alrighty, we'll head south and then we'll......oh $*%*@, this'll be intersting." :)

The leg from BTY to Stovepipe was so much more relaxing! That said, I actually had trouble finding that field initially, too, I ended up using a bend in the highway near the edge of the mountain to find it. Love the sectionals, just love 'em.
breadwild
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Re: Can you get from Barstow to Lone Pine in a C172?

Post by breadwild »

Quick questions? Altitude(s)? Flight following? Who'd ya talk to?

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Re: Can you get from Barstow to Lone Pine in a C172?

Post by Keith Smith »

6500 or 8500 on the way down from Stovepipe Wells. I started with LA Center on 124.62. See the low enroute chart just SE of Lone Pine, there's a postage stamp box that says "LOS ANGELES 124.625 Keeler." That means the low enroute freq in that area is 124.625. Yes, I had flight following for Stovepipe Wells to California City, and then from CC to EMT. However, I didn't utilize FF between Beatty and Stovepipe.

Here's the flight from California City to EMT: http://peaware.pilotedge.net/flight.cfm?id=27307. Notice the quick jaunt up to 6500ft? That was for the westbound section...Socal pointed out oncoming traffic (a King Air, as it turns out) eastbound at 5500.
breadwild
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Re: Can you get from Barstow to Lone Pine in a C172?

Post by breadwild »

Awesome thanks. I'll give this a whirl on the weekend.
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breadwild
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Re: Can you get from Barstow to Lone Pine in a C172?

Post by breadwild »

So, you started in KBTY or Stovepipe? Just curious as I do my flight planning.
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