Perfect weather, as usual: light SW winds and +10 visibility. SoCal... ahhhh.
One of the guys from work was going to fly with me, but he decided instead to go to Tijuana the previous night... those guys got home while I was checking the weather over a cup of coffee this morning- LOL!
So I was all alone, which suited me fine- I was a little nervous anyway about making this XC, which went near some high, rugged terrain, with two adults and full tanks.
Took this pic just after it dawned on me that I was embarking on my first solo Champ XC. Heady stuff. And what a view!!
Skimming the Gillespie Class D.
Another pic of San Vicente, which marked my first course change.
Not sure exactly where this valley is, but ain't it purty?
The reservoir west of French Valley... had the window slid wide open for this one. Hauling the mail at about 87 mph indicated, at 3500 MSL. The wind was tumbling over the hills... it was pretty bumpy, especially on the way back.
Right downwind for 08L at Chino... I had just gone through my usual "where the hell is it/no, this is the wrong lake/wait, no/hey, there it is!" moment and found myself in a perfect spot to call Tower for an easy 45-degree entry. Tower asked me to ident... it was fun telling them I couldn't, because I had no xponder. I could almost hear them thumbing through the FAR/AIM...
Well, the taxi to the transient ramp got me excited... and the museum was even better!
Next: Planes of Fame Museum- part 1
I think it's time I flew somewhere other than southern Wisconsin, where there's fields, fields, fields, and more fields, no purty' valleys or mountains. 8-)
