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Posted By:
Hal Brown
Date Posted:
Jul 17, 2014
Description:
The morning forecast was daunting: big winds for the desert, low clouds in the coastal valleys, with the possibility of mountain storms mixed in. Checking the best of bad alternatives, the tentative flight plan included an early departure, a race to the pass at Palm Springs, and the hope that the clouds around LA weren’t all that low. Early was at daybreak, but I was wishing I’d gotten up thirty minutes earlier (or had just bypassed the detour to the Mexican restaurant that had my credit card….it was closed anyway).
Date Taken:
Jul 17, 2014
Place Taken:
Blythe, CA
Owner:
DanNickens
File Name:
Early_Off.jpg - Photo HTML
Full size - <img src="/show.php?splash=SZDQ30000h">
Medium - <img src="/show.php?splash=SZDQ30000m">
Thumbnail - <img src="/show.php?splash=SZDQ30000s">
Category:
502, N346PE
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Click on photo to view the original size. |
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Read what others had to say:
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Dan Nickens - Jul 17,2014
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It won’t be long now before the energy starts to flow and the wind begins to blow.
| | Attachments:
Waiting for Sunshine
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Dan Nickens - Jul 17,2014
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There were some long shadows on short stuff. Easy to spot down low where the early winds were not so brisk.
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Long Shadows
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Dan Nickens - Jul 17,2014
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The mountains were looking pretty sharp in the long shadows. They aren’t so attractive, however, when they make the winds tumble so.
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Mountains in the Morning
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Dan Nickens - Jul 17,2014
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Gardening theme? So, this is why they call it “Palm Springs”? I didn’t see a water spring, so maybe it’s palms springing from the desert.
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Palm Plantation
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Dan Nickens - Jul 17,2014
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At Banning Pass the forecast became worse reality. Big winds funneled through the gap in the mountains, slowing my airspeed to a slow crawl. That was nothing nearly as bad as the knocks Puff was suffering from the turbulence.<br /><br />It is foolish to fly the Banning Pass in big winds. The turbulence there is extreme.<br /><br />That wasn’t the only barrier. At best the low clouds there would mean flying an inch or two above the cacti. It wouldn’t take much of a bump to end up in the dirt. And, if it was clouds all the way down, it would get too deep real fast.<br /><br />How about flying over the clouds? A quick check of weather in the basin showed lots of red dots. The clouds were a thick blanket. There would be no option of quickly ducking under for fuel. And, worst of all, I’d have to turn on the radio. That would totally blow my flight plan to sneak across the country without talking to anyone.<br /><br />It was decision time. Time for some real Pilot-In-Command stuff. Turn around and safely park at Bermuda Dunes? Wait a few days for the weather to settle down? Or face the howling desert winds? <br /><br />The prospect of waiting on the ground made me turn away from the pass and head north into the desert.<br />
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No Passing
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Dan Nickens - Jul 17,2014
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Some big rocks surround the desert. Some people camp between them. It is sure to help some with their perspective.
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Rocky Camp
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Dan Nickens - Jul 17,2014
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Old trucks. Derelict campers. Even a hot tub! This place would be fun to explore at ground level.
| | Attachments:
Junk Collection
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Dan Nickens - Jul 17,2014
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While flying overhead I’ve often wondered about what’s going on inside some of the houses on the ground. This one was open to answers. The answer this day: “Not much.”
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Interior View
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Dan Nickens - Jul 17,2014
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It was supposed to be less windy on the western side of the hills, but there were solid clouds and showers in that direction.
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No Way West
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Dan Nickens - Jul 17,2014
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Don Maxwell - Jul 20,2014
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It looks like one or two might have been watching you--from above. If you had had engine trouble right there, they might have lent you a special Rotax 914. Maybe.
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Don Maxwell - Jul 20,2014
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The camera resolution is good, Dan, but not quite good enough to read license plates. Tsk. <br /><br />(Hm. Do UAVs have N-numbers?)<br /><br />But triangular packing crates! What requires a triangular crate?
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Dan Nickens - Jul 20,2014
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Tsk indeed, Don! What kind of double naught flying spy would reveal their xtra high res capabilities in an almost public forum! Bamboozling the resolution to avoid divulging Super Secret SeaRey Sky Spy Stuff - SSSRSSS - is just good ole Intelligent trade practice.
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Kenneth Leonard - Jul 21,2014
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What requires a triangular crate? Three bladed propellers that are <br />shipped with a contract that says they are delivered ready to install.<br />With no special knowledge myself, I will bet anyone lunch they are in <br />flight adjustable and cost more <br />than a factory built searey.
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Kenneth Leonard - Jul 21,2014
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Don, I will bet those aren't rotax any more. I'm thinking those burn <br />kerosene. At only $80,000 per <br />engine for the rotax, where is the profit in that?<br />Beware the military industrial complex...
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Dan Nickens - Jul 17,2014
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Before water flows out into a dry lake bed, a bit of its wetness is captured. I don’t know why. Maybe just because water is so precious in the desert.
| | Attachments:
Edge of Dry
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Dan Nickens - Jul 17,2014
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At the pass. Now what. Are the clouds high enough? Is the wind slow enough?<br /><br />Yes and yes, but it’s very cold on top.<br /><br />I stopped for fuel at Tehachapi. A shivering camper looking like a refuge from the sixties was huddled up next to a blazing fireplace in the line shack. “Yesterday I was burning up in the desert,” he explained. “Today I’m freezing.”<br /><br />What could I say. “One day it’s global warming. Next it’s a new ice age. Welcome to Earth.”<br />
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Over the Top
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