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"Carburetor heat--cold." "Master switch--on." "Two strokes of primer." "Throttle in 1/4"." "Clear Prop!" I engage starter and the two blades of the prop begin turning slowly at first, then whirl into a shaded blur as mechanical life begins breathing. Oil pressure rises. Strobe light on. Radios on. Check the ammeter (it has its usual twitch in time with the strobe light). A quick check of ATIS, then over to Ground Control for taxi clearance to the run up area. A few minutes of twisting knobs and verifying that all systems are go, I give Tower Control a call. "Brackett Tower, Cardinal two eight whisky foxtrot, two six left for a straight out departure." "Cardinal two eight whiskey foxtrot, straight out departure approved, cleared for takeoff runway two six left." "Cardinal two eight whiskey foxtrot, cleared for takeoff, two six left." Taxiing across painted line that separates the taxi way from the runway, I cross over from the flat world of the ground into the three-dimensional world of the air. Lining up with the runway centerline, firm push on the throttle to the firewall and the engine lets out a great roar. The blades of the propeller that was shaping a darkened circle speeds to near invisibleness. "RPM up." "Gauges in the green." "Airspeed alive. Looking for 65." At 65 MPH, I increase back pressure on the yoke. A second later, the vibration created from the wheels across the pavement stops and the earth slips away... >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Debbie, Noam and I spent the morning doing all the last minute things one puts off until, well, the last minute! We had a late breakfast, then out to the airport. We came out last night and packed a great deal into the plane, so it was mostly last minute checks on the plane--Noam was a great help with these inspections (Below). It was a little smoggy in the LA Basis. I flew west along the San Gabriel mountains, then north sort of following the 5 freeway (see Route of Flight and Los Angeles). In the 50 mile or so radius where the LA Basin, the high desert and the San Joaquin Valley come together (which is where the San Gabriels, Sierra's and the end of the coastal mountains also come together), there was some pretty good chop in the air. Two air masses were coming together (one sliding over the other). As I passed through the invisible boundary between them, I enjoyed 500 foot roller coaster for about five minutes--great fun! Once I broke out over the San Joaquin Valley, it was smooth as glass and I picked up a tail wind. Landed in Modesto, California after about three hours. Took a break and picked up some fuel. The rest of the trip up the valley was uneventful. It was a bit hazy in the valley, but I could still see the coastal mountains 60 miles or so to the west and the Sierra's about 30 or 40 miles to the east for the whole day. The Sierra's are beautiful mountains. Jim met me at the airport. After a great dinner with some other guests Jim and Barbara were putting up for the evening, we did a little flight planning and I went bed. Jim and Barbara had to do all the last minute items they put off until, well, you know...
Doing our flight checks...
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