Belen Takeoff: 10:20am Sandia Landing: 11:32am Airtime: 1.2

Friday, December 30, 2011
401st Cobra flight, 411th PIC, 2 landings
Manzano Mountains Crossing, Sandia Airpark
Belen Takeoff: 10:20am
11:32am
Airtime: 1.2
Friday, December 30, 2011
402nd Cobra flight, 412th PIC, 1 landings
Galisteo, Lamy, Pecos River Valley, Long grind
into the wind, Manzano Mountains, Rio Grande
Sandia Takeoff: 11:54am
Airtime: 3.9
I traded some email with
Chet about my flight
earlier in the week. He
invited me to come over
to east side of the
Sandia Mountains and do
some exploring out
there. I told Chet I
would leave Belen around
10am, and arrive around
at his airport around
11am. It took me a little
longer than normal to get
ready and I was in the
air at 10:20am.
The first leg of the trip
would be an adventure all
by itself, crossing the
icy Manzanoes. They did
not look too bad as I
flew up to the foothills.
Total PIC Time: 1030.2
1051.4
Sandia Landing:
Belen Landing: 3:41pm
Total Logged Time:
The forecast winds were light on the
ground, but aloft they were 20mph out of
the west. I flew to Comanche Canyon, the
deep gouge on the right side of the picture
that collects the winds and acts like an
elevator to take me to the top of the
mountain.
It was cold on top.
I looked over the backside and saw
snow to the horizon.
The flat top on the edge of the
Manzanos was piled deep with snow.
Right: The view from 11,000 ft over
Guadalupe. The Sandia Mountains are visible
on the horizon.
I could feel the wind now. I was crabbed
about 45 degrees heading downwind and to
the north towards Sandia Airpark. After
drifting about 7 miles east of the lower hills
on the north end of the Manzanos, I dropped
down in altitude to get well below any
aircraft approaching Albuquerque Airport.
I landed at Sandia Airpark about
20 minutes late, but Chet and
Dennis were patiently waiting for
me. The snow was piled 2 ft here.
Left: All three aircraft at Dennis
Sandia Airpark. Chet and Jeff at
the center.
Right:
Chet and his Rans S12 (left)
Dennis and his Kolb (right).
Left: Taxiing out to runway 9. We took
off downhill with a 10mph tailwind.
Right: We flew in formation for a while
to the north. This is Dennis’ Kolb on my
right wingtip.
Nice picture of my trike, taken by Dennis. Look at all that snow.
We flew past this beautiful mansion
in the hills. Chet said rarely has
seen anyone living here.
I noticed a Zorro style “Z” the side
of the house.
Next on the tour was a western
movie set.
Dennis left us at this time to
return to Sandia Airpark. Chet
and I pressed on to the north.
We flew up to the old western
town of Lamy. The railroad tracks
continued north through a scenic
narrow canyon.
We followed the railroad tracks to
the north Glorieta Pass and the
Pecos River valley.
Pecos Ruins State Park.
Looking upstream along the Pecos River to
the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
We had a strong tailwind flying down the Pecos River Valley. My GPS was showed a ground speed of over
90mph implying a tailwind of 35-40 mph. Chet said it is always windy here.
At this point, the Pecos turned sharply to the east. We left here to start our return to Sandia Airpark.
I turned east and saw my ground speed drop below 10 mph. If I let the bar out to trim, it dropped down to
5mph. Not good. Pulling the bar to my gut I could maintain 20mph. I slowly crept to the east. After
about 20 minutes, I made it to the edge of the wide valley (Canon Blanco). At least I had some decent
landout options available now. I had 15 gallons of gas in my tank, and 4 hours of daylight. I was sure I
could make it back to Moriarity or Sandia by nightfall. Chets’ S12 flies 20-30mph faster than my trike
and he pulled away from me.
I watched the wind slowly ease off
and my ground speed climb 20mph,
25mph, 30mph, 35mph. I was doing
40 mph when I crossed Highway 285
and I knew I would easily make it
back to Belen before dark.
Chet was 10 miles ahead of me and
flew back to join me for a while. I
passed on landing at Sandia Airpark
to save time.
I had one last challenge. Crossing the
Manzanos and I wasn’t sure how
strong the headwinds would be for
this final leg of the flight.
The winds turned out not too strong, and I since
I had to fly south quite a ways, I angled cross
the winds at 45 degrees.
I got a warm feeling (physical and psychological)
when I dropped down low and looked at the west
face of the Manzanos.
I finshed off the flight over the
smooth air above the Rio Grande.
This was a tough but fun flight. Here is my GPS track.
Belen
Albuquerque
Manzano Mountains
Sandia
Mountains
Sandia
Airpark
n
no
a
C
Lamy
B
co
n
a
l
C O
E
P
S
V
R I
E R