Flight to Mesa AZ via Monument Valley UT

[Ron Lee]

My hanger mate has been considering buying a RV-6A for a few months.
We made one trip to Texas to view one but that did not work out.
Today we went to Mesa AZ (Phoenix area) from Colorado Springs CO to
view another one. My planning generated a trip that straight line
was about 478 nm. But that was not good enough. There were several
targets of opportunity along the way.

First was Ship Rock NM (NW corner), the Meteor Crater and if time
permitted Monument Valley in SE Utah. The trip was close to 544 nm.

The planned 0700 liftoff was actually 0725 with expected cruise
altitude of 16,500 feet. After passing to the west of the Fort Carson
restricted and a south turn and we have a great view of the Sangre de
Cristo Mountains.

http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/MesaAZMarch2004/SangreDeCristoMtnsSmall.jpg

We made a realtime change and elected to cross through Mosca Pass
since that would bring us over The Great Sand Dunes National
Monument. The following pictures show Mosca Pass as we approach it
(at 14,500 feet), then the pass with the Sand Dunes on the west
side,,,and finally a slightly better pic of the dunes.

http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/MesaAZMarch2004/MoscaPassSmall.jpg
http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/MesaAZMarch2004/MoscaPassSandDunesSmall.jpg
http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/MesaAZMarch2004/SandDunesSmall.jpg

After crossing La Manga pass near the CO/NM border, we were
approaching Farmington NM and soon saw our first planned
sight.....Ship Rock NM. The following three pics show it from various
angles.

http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/MesaAZMarch2004/ShipRock3Small.jpg
http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/MesaAZMarch2004/ShipRock8Small.jpg
http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/MesaAZMarch2004/ShipRock10Small.jpg

Soon after leaving Ship Rock and heading towards Monument Valley Utah,
Dub noted that we were close to the four corners area (where NM, Utah,
CO and AZ meet at one spot). Since we were mere minutes away, we
flew up there and snapped a few pictures. One follows. You can see a
road leading from the front of the left wing just outboard of the fuel
cap. A circular area is where the four corners plaque is located.

http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/MesaAZMarch2004/FourCorners3Small.jpg

From there we went to Monument Valley where many westerns were filmed.
I had wanted to fly a bit lower than we did but not having the proper
frequency to announce intentions, we overflew it then headed south
towards Mesa AZ (Falcon Field..FFZ).

http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/MesaAZMarch2004/MonumentValley1Small.jpg
http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/MesaAZMarch2004/MonumentValley2Small.jpg

That path led us almost exactly over the Meteor Crater in AZ.

http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/MesaAZMarch2004/MeteorCrater1Small.jpg

The airplane inspection went well and we returned IFR (north to I-40
east to I-25 north) The return trip was about 580 nm and took 4.3
hours. The trip down took 4.1 hours including all the picture taking.
The pictures were taken with a 1.3 megapixel camera and do not do
justice to the beauty of the area we covered. At one point we saw a
mountain in the distance that was perhaps 90 miles away.

It was a great trip and I finally flew to several places that have
been on my list of places to visit since I got the RV. It was another
mountain flying experience that surpassed anything I have done since
my mountain flying course last summer.

Ron Lee

[Larry Dighera]

On Tue, 23 Mar 2004 02:44:18 GMT, (Ron Lee)
wrote in Message-Id: >:

>From there we went to Monument Valley where many westerns were filmed.
>I had wanted to fly a bit lower than we did but not having the proper
>frequency to announce intentions,

What exactly prevented you from flying lower?

Terrific pictures. Thanks for sharing them.

[Ron Lee]

I thought that there was a frequency that pilots use to announce their
positions. Since I did not have it, I elected to stay high rather
than risk a mid-air. My understanding is that air tours fly through
there.

I am still looking for that frequency so I can make another trip and
get closer pics.

Ron Lee


Larry Dighera > wrote:

>On Tue, 23 Mar 2004 02:44:18 GMT, (Ron Lee)
>wrote in Message-Id: >:
>
>>From there we went to Monument Valley where many westerns were filmed.
>>I had wanted to fly a bit lower than we did but not having the proper
>>frequency to announce intentions,
>
>What exactly prevented you from flying lower?
>
>Terrific pictures. Thanks for sharing them.

[Ben Jackson]

In article >,
Ron Lee > wrote:
>I am still looking for that frequency so I can make another trip and
>get closer pics.

The frequency for Mt St Helens is in the NW AF/D. It's something
pedestrian like 122.75. I never would have noticed it (I mean, who
looks in the AF/D for information about mountains?) but FSS volunteered
it when I got a briefing.

--
Ben Jackson
>
http://www.ben.com/

[MikeM]

Larry Dighera wrote:
> On Tue, 23 Mar 2004 02:44:18 GMT, (Ron Lee)
> wrote in Message-Id: >:
>
>>From there we went to Monument Valley where many westerns were filmed.
>
>>I had wanted to fly a bit lower than we did but not having the proper
>>frequency to announce intentions,
>
>
> What exactly prevented you from flying lower?
>
> Terrific pictures. Thanks for sharing them.

122.75 in Monument Valley. Not many tours flying this time of year.

I was just down there this past weekend. Helped the Utah Backcountry
Pilots clean up the Fry Canyon airstrip, and went on to "dewinterize"
the boat, and spent the night on Lake Powell. It was CAVU and 80+ degF;
gorgeous...

http://www.utahbackcountrypilots.org/airport_search.asp

Type in "Fry Canyon". UBCPA is hosting a flyin there next weekend.

http://www.utahbackcountrypilots.org/default.asp?newsid=26

Flying low over this country is a real treat; however, the slickrock,
and the red rock canyons afford few potential emergency landing sites.
I think of it as being similar to flying over the glaciers around
Denali, the glaciers near Mt St. Elias, or the fiords along the
Alaskan coast. If your are confident in your airplane and your
abilities, then the risk/reward is worth it! If you need 2000'
of pavement to land, and dont have confidence in your aircraft,
then maintain at least 3000 agl, and always know where the roads are...

MikeM

[Jeff]

looks like you had a good time, I flew into falcon field sunday and just got back
to vegas this morning.
not as much to see on the route between vegas and phoenix.

Ron Lee wrote:

> My hanger mate has been considering buying a RV-6A for a few months.
> We made one trip to Texas to view one but that did not work out.
> Today we went to Mesa AZ (Phoenix area) from Colorado Springs CO to
> view another one. My planning generated a trip that straight line
> was about 478 nm. But that was not good enough. There were several
> targets of opportunity along the way.
>
> First was Ship Rock NM (NW corner), the Meteor Crater and if time
> permitted Monument Valley in SE Utah. The trip was close to 544 nm.
>
> The planned 0700 liftoff was actually 0725 with expected cruise
> altitude of 16,500 feet. After passing to the west of the Fort Carson
> restricted and a south turn and we have a great view of the Sangre de
> Cristo Mountains.
>
> http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/MesaAZMarch2004/SangreDeCristoMtnsSmall.jpg
>
> We made a realtime change and elected to cross through Mosca Pass
> since that would bring us over The Great Sand Dunes National
> Monument. The following pictures show Mosca Pass as we approach it
> (at 14,500 feet), then the pass with the Sand Dunes on the west
> side,,,and finally a slightly better pic of the dunes.
>
> http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/MesaAZMarch2004/MoscaPassSmall.jpg
> http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/MesaAZMarch2004/MoscaPassSandDunesSmall.jpg
> http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/MesaAZMarch2004/SandDunesSmall.jpg
>
> After crossing La Manga pass near the CO/NM border, we were
> approaching Farmington NM and soon saw our first planned
> sight.....Ship Rock NM. The following three pics show it from various
> angles.
>
> http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/MesaAZMarch2004/ShipRock3Small.jpg
> http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/MesaAZMarch2004/ShipRock8Small.jpg
> http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/MesaAZMarch2004/ShipRock10Small.jpg
>
> Soon after leaving Ship Rock and heading towards Monument Valley Utah,
> Dub noted that we were close to the four corners area (where NM, Utah,
> CO and AZ meet at one spot). Since we were mere minutes away, we
> flew up there and snapped a few pictures. One follows. You can see a
> road leading from the front of the left wing just outboard of the fuel
> cap. A circular area is where the four corners plaque is located.
>
> http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/MesaAZMarch2004/FourCorners3Small.jpg
>
> From there we went to Monument Valley where many westerns were filmed.
> I had wanted to fly a bit lower than we did but not having the proper
> frequency to announce intentions, we overflew it then headed south
> towards Mesa AZ (Falcon Field..FFZ).
>
> http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/MesaAZMarch2004/MonumentValley1Small.jpg
> http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/MesaAZMarch2004/MonumentValley2Small.jpg
>
> That path led us almost exactly over the Meteor Crater in AZ.
>
> http://www.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/MesaAZMarch2004/MeteorCrater1Small.jpg
>
> The airplane inspection went well and we returned IFR (north to I-40
> east to I-25 north) The return trip was about 580 nm and took 4.3
> hours. The trip down took 4.1 hours including all the picture taking.
> The pictures were taken with a 1.3 megapixel camera and do not do
> justice to the beauty of the area we covered. At one point we saw a
> mountain in the distance that was perhaps 90 miles away.
>
> It was a great trip and I finally flew to several places that have
> been on my list of places to visit since I got the RV. It was another
> mountain flying experience that surpassed anything I have done since
> my mountain flying course last summer.
>
> Ron Lee

[Jeff]

the best and easiest thing to do when VFR is to call center and get flight
following.




Ron Lee wrote:

> I thought that there was a frequency that pilots use to announce their
> positions. Since I did not have it, I elected to stay high rather
> than risk a mid-air. My understanding is that air tours fly through
> there.
>
> I am still looking for that frequency so I can make another trip and
> get closer pics.
>
> Ron Lee
>
> Larry Dighera > wrote:
>
> >On Tue, 23 Mar 2004 02:44:18 GMT, (Ron Lee)
> >wrote in Message-Id: >:
> >
> >>From there we went to Monument Valley where many westerns were filmed.
> >>I had wanted to fly a bit lower than we did but not having the proper
> >>frequency to announce intentions,
> >
> >What exactly prevented you from flying lower?
> >
> >Terrific pictures. Thanks for sharing them.

[Mike Adams]

Jeff > wrote:

> looks like you had a good time, I flew into falcon field sunday and
> just got back to vegas this morning.
> not as much to see on the route between vegas and phoenix.
>

We made the reverse trip on Saturday, from DVT up to 0L9 (Echo Bay). I'd
never been to Lake Mead before and it was a very interesting trip. Our
return was via the Grand Canyon corridors and a stop in Williams. Nice day,
but a little hazy* and bumpy in the afternoon - too early in the season for
the thermals to be so active.

Mike

* only by Western standards - visibility maybe 75 NM instead of the
usual 100+ :-)

[SeeAndAvoid]

"Jeff" wrote
> the best and easiest thing to do when VFR is to call center and get flight
> following.

I agree, although below 10,000' in that area there isn't any radar. It was
cool to see those pictures as that's the airspace I control. I've flown
through it too a few times, usually bumpy ride, in the summer anyway. That
area is crisscrossed with MTR's, and they are used on a regular basis. Lots
of B52's and B1's.

Chris

[Jeff]

Allot of this area is like that, get below a certain altitude and they lose you.

but at least at 10k-12k he wouldnt need to wear O2.

On my trip back home, flight following helped me out by seeing a airplane at my
12 o'clock climbing, had to give me vectors since they were not talking to him,
turned out to be a flight of 2 mooney's but center only saw one of them.

then in the baghdad MOA I think I had a couple of fighters use me for target
practice, I saw them comming at me then peel off together, then they was gone,
man those guys are fast.

SeeAndAvoid wrote:

> "Jeff" wrote
> > the best and easiest thing to do when VFR is to call center and get flight
> > following.
>
> I agree, although below 10,000' in that area there isn't any radar. It was
> cool to see those pictures as that's the airspace I control. I've flown
> through it too a few times, usually bumpy ride, in the summer anyway. That
> area is crisscrossed with MTR's, and they are used on a regular basis. Lots
> of B52's and B1's.
>
> Chris

[Jeff]

ya flying into phoenix sunday it was a crappy ride, we got in about noon and
had a nice 80 degree x-wind at 15 kts with wind sheer alerts.
combination of that 90 degree temp making thermals, the wind whipping off the
rough terrain will do it every time.


Mike Adams wrote:

> Jeff > wrote:
>
> > looks like you had a good time, I flew into falcon field sunday and
> > just got back to vegas this morning.
> > not as much to see on the route between vegas and phoenix.
> >
>
> We made the reverse trip on Saturday, from DVT up to 0L9 (Echo Bay). I'd
> never been to Lake Mead before and it was a very interesting trip. Our
> return was via the Grand Canyon corridors and a stop in Williams. Nice day,
> but a little hazy* and bumpy in the afternoon - too early in the season for
> the thermals to be so active.
>
> Mike
>
> * only by Western standards - visibility maybe 75 NM instead of the
> usual 100+ :-)

[Ron Lee]

MikeM > wrote:
>>
>>>I had wanted to fly a bit lower than we did but not having the proper
>>>frequency to announce intentions,
>
>122.75 in Monument Valley. Not many tours flying this time of year.

I called a flight service that goes into Monument Valley and they said
122.9. I know that is the frequency for Gouldings Strip but have two
supposed frequencies for announcing position while flying among the
formations in the Valley.

Ron Lee

[MikeM]

Jeff wrote:
> the best and easiest thing to do when VFR is to call center and get flight
> following.

Jeff,

FF is worthless at 1000' agl over most of the western US. In the
four corners area, ground is at ~4500'msl, no radar coverage
below about 8000 to 9000 msl. If you call Center for FF below
9000msl, they just say "unable"!

MikeM

[Jeff]

yes I know FF is use less at 1000 ft AGL, but he was at 16000 ft and did not
want to decend for fear of hitting someone.
I never mentioned 1000 ft agl.
I only suggested he could use it to get lower and not have as much worry about
hitting someone as much, lower being anything under 16000

MikeM wrote:

> Jeff wrote:
> > the best and easiest thing to do when VFR is to call center and get flight
> > following.
>
> Jeff,
>
> FF is worthless at 1000' agl over most of the western US. In the
> four corners area, ground is at ~4500'msl, no radar coverage
> below about 8000 to 9000 msl. If you call Center for FF below
> 9000msl, they just say "unable"!
>
> MikeM

[MikeM]

Jeff wrote:

> yes I know FF is use less at 1000 ft AGL, but he was at 16000 ft and did not
> want to decend for fear of hitting someone.
> I never mentioned 1000 ft agl.
> I only suggested he could use it to get lower and not have as much worry about
> hitting someone as much, lower being anything under 16000

No, when the OP said "I thought that there was a frequency that pilots use to
announce their positions. Since I did not have it, I elected to stay high
rather than risk a mid-air.", you replied: "the best and easiest thing to do
when VFR is to call center and get flight following".

I pointed out that FF does nothing to alieviate the OP's original concern, and
would not have helped him avoid low flying tour planes...

MikeM

[Mike Adams]

Jeff > wrote:

> ya flying into phoenix sunday it was a crappy ride, we got in about
> noon and had a nice 80 degree x-wind at 15 kts with wind sheer alerts.
> combination of that 90 degree temp making thermals, the wind whipping
> off the rough terrain will do it every time.
>

I was going to mention that. I didn't fly Sunday but it was hot and
blustery here in Phoenix, and I suspected you had an "interesting" arrival.

Mike

[Ron Lee]

MikeM > wrote:
>
>No, when the OP said "I thought that there was a frequency that pilots use to
>announce their positions. Since I did not have it, I elected to stay high
>rather than risk a mid-air.", you replied: "the best and easiest thing to do
>when VFR is to call center and get flight following".
>
>I pointed out that FF does nothing to alieviate the OP's original concern, and
>would not have helped him avoid low flying tour planes...
>
>MikeM

Exactly. At that point I was perhaps 10,500', having descended to
get closer pics of Shiprock not long before. And yes, I was
uncertain of the proper frequency then so I did what I considered to
be prudent. Since then, I have found out that the frequency is
likely 122.9 and the cruise altitude 6500' I also have the preferred
routing according to one tour operator.

That information makes for a safer low level sightseeing flight
through the area.

I know too well the hazards of other aircraft and "see and avoid" only
goes so far.

Ron Lee

[MikeM]

Ron Lee wrote:

Since then, I have found out that the frequency is
> likely 122.9 and the cruise altitude 6500' I also have the preferred
> routing according to one tour operator.

122.9 is used in the immediate vicinity of Goulding's strip, and
all of the other "back country" strips in Utah. Most of the tour
aircraft have a regular sightseening tour route between Page,
Lake Powell, Rainbow Bridge, Navajo Mtn.

At this time of year, there are not that many flights in/out of
Gouldings. I have been in there about ten times, and it is no
worse than sharing the pattern at any other uncontrolled airport.

Gouldings is a great lunch stop, with a restaurant within walking
distance of the strip. Lodging and sightseening tours are available.
If you need fuel, stop at U96 (Cal Black Mem), about 25mi NW of
gouldings.

MikeM
www.UtahBackCountryPilots.org
Skylane '1MM
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