"I don't know what he is doing up there".....ATC

"I don't know what he is doing up there".....ATC Controller

I just returned from my first West Coast trip in the RV-6A. The plan
was to go to Page AZ to take photos at Antelope Canyon, hike out to
the Wave, go to Catalina Island via Bear Lake airport, then up to
Fresno to see Yosemite.

The trip out to Page from 00V was uneventful. Of course we have the
obligatory Pikes Peak photo on the way out.

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...sPeakSmall.jpg

This is a picture of an area in Utah that reveals the rugged nature of
the terrain. My opinion is that if you have to land here you will be
lucky to survive and have the plane be undamaged. You may never get
the plane back.

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...gged2Small.jpg

Also note that some areas not far west of where I live have limited
radar coverage below 17,000' so flight following is not 100%. I
carried some survival gear, water, food, adequate clothing for cold
conditions, a sleeping bag, fire starting material and my 406 MHz PLB.
The PLB is beside me ready for quick activation if needed.

Antelope Canyon

This is an overhead view of the upper Antelope Canyon area. It is not
long and the thin opening in the top is what allows enough sunlight in
for pictures and the light beams around summertime.

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...nViewSmall.jpg

Several pictures from this trip are below:

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...r5966Small.jpg

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...r6002Small.jpg

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...r6029Small.jpg

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...r6074Small.jpg

The Wave Attempt, Bear Lake, Catalina Island

The next day I tried to get a lottery for the Wave hike but was an
hour late due to different time zones (duh). The next day I was there
on time but out of over twenty applications only three were selected.
I did make an effort to get to the South Coyotee Buttes area but at
some point when I was going downhill and the sand was getting worse I
decided that I was destined to getting stuck in a remote area if I
continued. I pulled off to a relatively firm area then walked back up
to determine my escape driving tactics. I did make it but effectively
wasted four hours. On the way back to Page I did stop at another
trail to see toadstool formations. This is a red toadstool:

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...stoolSmall.jpg

I decided to blow off getting to the Wave and the next day started the
trip to Catalina. My trip took me over the Grand Canyon, Fossil
Corridor.

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...anyonSmall.jpg

Then on to Bear Lake where the fuel price was reasonable. This is a
gorgeous area and I wonder if LA area folks go there for breakfast
flights. I sure would.

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...rLakeSmall.jpg

After I left Bear Lake I made a climbing left turn to the west and
when I was north of the airport tried to contact LA center (?) to
initiate flight following before I got well into the LA basin. I was
sent to another frequency. Details of any other frequency changes or
"please hold" are not absolute since I had no need to recall that. I
did note that trying to make contact was difficult.

It was not until I was already at RV cruise altitude of 12,500' just
north of the Riverside area that I heard a pilot state that he had the
aircraft on TCAS. At that time I saw a jet to my 1-2 o'clock above me
likely heading to LAX. An ATC person made the comment, "I don't know
what he is doing up there." Most likely he was referring to me.
Soon thereafter I finally got flight following to Catalina and
somewhere ATC apologized for not getting back to me sooner.

Once over Catalina I descended. As I turned base to final I saw a
Cessna on final below me. I don't recall hearing him at any
time....certainly not on final (nor downwind or base). I made a left
270 to re-enter final and ended up high so I went around and landed.

This is a picture taken during the descent and next is one on the ramp
at Catalina.

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...a6144Small.jpg

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...a6149Small.jpg

On to Fresno

I did not spend much time on Catalina since I needed to make a fuel
stop and get to Fresno. I climbed a bit over Catalina before
contacting LA approach. I was cleared through Class B as I climbed to
10,500'. This is a picture of part of LAX as I passed it off-shore
heading north.

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...e/LAXSmall.jpg

The path north was to Camarillo, Santa Barbara, Monterrey for a T&G
then Marina for fuel. I skipped the T&G and stopped at Marina for
reasonably cheap fuel. The trip to Fresno (FAT) was uneventful and
the only odd part was having to enter left downwind for 29L at 2500'
MSL which is 1200' above the normal pattern altitude. Since the FBO
was at the end of 29L I asked to land long. Tower told me to land
normal. Of course it is hard to fly a normal pattern when you start
1200' higher than normal. Landing long would have made everything
faster.

I went to Corporate Aircraft. I had called from Marina to get a
rental car which was waiting when I landed. The only concern was that
there were no tie-downs despite this on Airnav "Aircraft parking (ramp
or tiedown)." They had nice facilities and the service was great.

The next day I went to Yosemite and it was awesome. The waterfalls
were very nice. Below are three of the major falls and the Valley
view which is best in the afternoon.

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...s6211Small.jpg

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...s6227Small.jpg

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...l6302Small.jpg

http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/RV6A/...w6322Small.jpg

The return flight yesterday was from Fresno to 00V via Las Vegas then
Page for fuel. I started out flying around the MOAs between Fresno
and Las Vegas. Once I was handed off to a military controller I was
able to cut through two MOAs which helped. Flying over Las Vegas was
not a problem. At Page I had to rethink my normal return path due to
forecasted moderate to severe turbulence over the Rockies. I went
almost due east and crossed the mountains east of Taos NM at 17,500'.
The strategy worked and I did not encounter any turbulence (occasional
light) until near Raton NM.

At that time I was abeam the high level mountain wave type clouds.
Perhaps it was a coincidence. I was flying around 135 mph indicated
from west of Taos until I landed and did have to deal with mountain
wave downdrafts almost the entire trip north along the Front Range. I
was getting 195-203 knot groundspeeds when eastbound.

I landed in a 18G23 knot crosswind...my highest yet. It was not
difficult although the actual touchdown was not as smooth as normal.

Post Flight Review

The apparent "incident" trying to establish flight following as I
approached the LA basin remains questionable. I don't recall whether
I was not agressive enough trying to call in the very short
transmission openings or if I was put on hold (possible) and
forgotten. Since I saw no restrictions on flying at 12,500', and that
is a typical flight altitude for me, I don't see where that was a bad
decision on my part. Flight following...had it happened much
sooner...would have provided adequate separation with jets. FSS
mentioned the VFR corridors during the preflight briefing but I don't
use those. I fly over Class B.

Going around the MOAs added unnecessary time. I asked the military
controller if there was a way to get MOA status on the ground. He
stated that if I am VFR I can fly through them then get activity
updates from the appropriate controller. So from now on, MOAs are no
different than non-MOA airspace. I will continue to use flight
following and talk to MOA controllers as appropriate.