On the bottle now

One thing about the hangar community is you meet other pilots; my goal is to learn at least one thing from each one I meet.  Jumping in a cockpit with another pilot and you'll recognize the procedures and checklists, yet to meet two pilots who do everything exactly the same.  My neighbor Bob invited me for a ride along in his Bonanza and showed me a blind-spot I had regarding the use of oxygen.  Thanks to Bob my situational awareness improved.

After living in Colorado for 14 years and climbing too many peaks to list here, then flight training and memorizing FARs pertaining to oxygen use, I've heard of hypoxia; watched dad certify in the altitude chamber at Plattsburgh AFB; and listened to ATC recordings of a hypoxic pilot over western Colorado.  I can recite hypoxia's symptoms, contributing factors, and treatment, and led kids in discussions about high elevation activities at Boy Scout meetings. I've had a few experiences with mild hypoxia while hiking and biking in the high-country, usually aggravated by dehydration. Even with all this awareness, training, and experience, I had a gap.

Bob, my personal oxygen ambassador, invited me to take a ride in his beautiful Bonanza.  He said we'd take it high; he loaded a bottle in the backseat and outfitted me with a cannula.  I love my Cheetah, but she's no straight tail Bonanza, we climbed through 10,000 feet in 4 minutes.  Bob reaches in back and turns up the O2 bottle, then leans over to the glove box grabs a pulse ox sensor and starts checking his levels.  Meanwhile, I'm flying the plane with the cannula coiled up in my lap...thinking to myself, what's up with Bob?

                                      Used SkyOx 4-port system bought from a retiring pilot

Bob was about to teach me something about FAR 91.211 that I will not forget.  5 minutes into the flight, on a standard day, still less than 11,000 feet (cabin pressure altitude), he hands me his oximeter.  My oxygen saturation read 84% and continued to drop steadily, I put on the cannula and watched recovery in under a minute.

$39 pulse Oximeter bought from Amazon

I've flown plenty higher and longer while solo over the mountains without oxygen, and felt fine.  I believed the regulation to be a good guideline, while incorrectly crediting myself for the mile high life and ignorantly congratulating myself for above tree-line stamina.  This attitude is wrong headed, a broken link in my chain.  It's corrected now; let the O2 flow...thank you Bob!

Lesson Learned:

Based on the oxygen saturation readings at 10,000 feet, 91.211 is a regulation, rather than a best practice; using it in place of good judgment is poor judgment.

Part 91.211

(1) At cabin pressure altitudes above 12,500 feet (MSL) up to and including 14,000 feet (MSL) unless the required minimum flight crew is provided with and uses supplemental oxygen for that part of the flight at those altitudes that is of more than 30 minutes duration.

Action:

Oxygen goes on me and my passengers above 10,000 (density altitude).  This means every trip west I'm on the bottle now.

Benefits:

- Better cognitive reasoning - might come in handy

- Stay awake - fair enough

- Avoid altitude sickness symptoms like headaches - good

- Huffing O2 in-flight result in any stamina boost on the trail? - Seems like it wouldn't hurt

It might have been interesting to fly the edge of the regulation with one pilot on gas and the other not; taking oximeter measures, though I need no more convincing.

BV no go...Salida good alternate

Mission 1 - planned Buena Vista but changed in-flight to Salida

The pre-flight weather observations and forecasts were iffy with moderate winds in the high-country.  I had an external factor, Kathleen wanted me home to watch Liam by 12:30.  This meant the first outing would be short, which worked well, since the weather was foretasted to deteriorate in the afternoon.  Buena Vista (KAEJ) is a 50 minute flight from Metro, with an early start you can land by 7:30 and make the trail head by 8 for a 2.5 hour ride.  

According to web sites, BV has some respectable trails starting from the downtown park.  Having never been there, I found the website vague and rider reports inconsistent.  To know is to go and find out.  My plan was to wake up at 5, check weather and eat, make the airport by 6 and take off by 6:30.  I would make BV by 730, borrow the courtesy car, drive to the park, and ride.

I left my favorite MTB shoes at the office, so I picked them up on the way to the airport, not a big deal but it cost me 10 minutes.  So, I was wheels up by 6:40, still in good shape.  As I mentioned, the winds were active (not ridiculous) but in the mountains a little can go a long way.  Leaving this morning, I knew to be respectful and be ready to turn around.  There were periods of chop, but mostly smooth air with a steady 20kt headwind the whole way.  After I crossed Wilkerson Pass, the radio picked up automated weather from BV, it looked like we were in business wind 140 at 15 knots, that's a go for me.

As I neared the west side of South Park the report updated to 110 at 25 gusting to 28 and I could see some small rotor clouds forming over BV just above my altitude of 12,500.  It's best to be respectful of these signs, I can certainly handle a 15 knot crosswind, but add in the changing wind on the field, deteriorating forecast, and small suspicious looking clouds above...best to leave BV for another day.

Salida is 30 miles south, has a nice airport and also on my list to checkout.  I tuned into the AWOS and winds reported 200 at 7 and the sky looked clear, so Salida is our date, only there was no plan for what to do after landing.  The field was easy to find and the landing smooth.  The approach end of runway 24 sits on the edge of a Mesa...wish I'd thought to take a picture.  Plenty of parking and the ramp was in good shape, the FBO was open, I checked out a curtesy car.  Now after 815, I was 30 miles further south of BV, so riding was getting unrealistic. I left the bike in the Cheetah and headed out to check out Salida, driving into town and get information...I knew with the time constraint a ride today was iffy.

Notes:

-wind aloft @ 12000' was 220 @ 20-25kt (a good upper limit for SW wind)...lower your limit if the wind is from west to north

-tie down fee $3, but I just used chocks (free)

-Curtesy cars are two retired police cars, big enough

-Drive time from Airport to base of Tenderfoot Hill 10 minutes by car (downhill)

-the bike ride back to airport is a slow incline until the last 1/2 mile (steep climb to the Mesa top)

-downtown is sleepy in April, but plays hosts to many events in summer

-F street seems to have everything: the park, shops, restaurants, bars 

-pleasantly warm for 830 in the morning in April

-the town is welcoming to dogs, bikes, anglers and paddlers

-many riding options south of the airport and away from town,but all require a car

-must return and ride here 

Lessons learned flying:

-have ride plan for alternate airports ready, BV experienced an isolated weather event a common thing, I'll gain agility with experience and do more research

-Recognizing the weather and rotors forming was good, but I should have taken a picture of them for the blog. These clouds don't look like much, but can be bad news.  If you see these near the airfield and winds are changing, you could find some wicked turbulence with them.  If you land safely, will the weather be fun on the ground?  Put your macho in check:)

-Leaving Salida at 1030 was good, I hit a few small pockets of moderate turbulence on the way back, the weather deteriorated shortly after noon.

Lessons learned bicycle:

After I landed at home, I took the bike out and put it together, things to improve:

- forgot to shim the brake pads, if you have disk brakes don't forget this (rookie mistake)

- my front tire still has a slow leak, new tube installed before leaving this morning - action: need to find the goat head in the front tire and verify it holds air in advance

- after I reassembled the front derailleur was not able to pop to the big chain ring from the top three granny gears. Action: fabricate better protection for the derailleurs, readjust and test shifting before next weekend 

-bike repairs away from the comfort of the hangar - must minimize

*In general be militant about bike maintenance and prior proper testing, or the ride may not happen

* these faults would have cost 20 minutes for each bike, must do better

In the posts ahead, I'll write a bit about oxygen and discuss considerations around weight and balance.  It also appear a few people read my intro post, I hope you liked it.

Salida KANK

old school mountain town - it's obvious the place is nuts for the river and biking scene.  Bike racks everywhere and it sports a large parking lot at the base of Tenderfoot Hill on F Street across the river, look up you'll find bike trails.

 There are several coffee shops on F Street, this was the first one I walked past, owner was very friendly and coffee and cinnamon roll good.  This is a block from the river and head for Salida's MTB trails. You start out from the nice park on the edge of downtown.

The first bike shop to open on Saturday (9AM), it's April so the towns still sleepy, Subculture Cyclery, met Jason and he gave me the lay of land and a trail map.

 

Tenderfoot Hill (the one with the big "S" on it)

Jason handed me the free Cycling Guide and said it had maps of several popular trails, for a day trip this is all you need. He said the topo map showed more trails and the camping area.  It covers all of Missouri Park, Sand Park, Maxwell Park, and more so I bought one, because I'm a map geek. http://www.subculturecyclery.com/ this shop has a good vibe, they rent, sell and repair bikes; free of tourist t-shirts and plastic trinkets.

Nice tailwind on the way back the ASI reported 100 knots while the GPS ground speed registered 150 knots. Just Northeast of this picture I experienced a short patch of  moderate turbulence, enough to make me cinch my seat belt tight to keep my head from bouncing off the canopy.

Pulling through the doldrums

In 2008 I began working on my pilots license, it was something I always dreamed of.  Additionally, I was newly divorced and achieving this was purely a 'me' thing.  In my mind, flying would be the catalyst into a new life...and it is, I certainly have seen my confidence grow and feel a sense of peace after I take to the skies.

Not to be overshadowed, I fell in love and married an amazing woman during this journey, she encouraged me through my training plateau, stating to me "you should fly more".

Upon getting my ticket, there was initial glee from the accomplishment and  I found enjoyment from taking someone out for the proverbial hamburger.  Still, it felt like something was missing, the experience was anti-climatic. I continued flying with the club where I started and became too comfortable in the pattern at KAPA and performing steep turns in the SE practice area.  I wanted more from flying than I was getting.  I religiously combed the typical magazines and frequented the used aircraft sale ads...and dreamed of what it would be to own.


In July 2010, while reviewing the hangar link from the http://jeffco.us/airport, I stumbled on a wait list for the city owned hangars at Metro (KBJC).  It was free to put your name on the list, in aviation there are very few FREE opportunities, so I signed up and followed my name down the list every month until March 2013.  You'd thought I won the lottery when I was notified an empty hangar was available...I just needed to reply, place a deposit and start paying rent; committing to a lease with in 5 business days. To be fair to others on wait list behind me, the airport lease specifies I must maintain an airplane registered to me in the hangar within 90 days.  I signed the lease and got serious about shopping.

It took me just under 5 weeks to find and buy my Cheetah (again Kathleen (wife) encouraged me by stating "if this is something you want to do, you should make it happen".  The Cheetah certainly invigorated my flying.  Now only starting my second year of ownership, I realize there has to be more...seriously, what's wrong with me...still something missing?

Last week, it struck me, my satisfaction comes from the mission, though the act of flying is wonderful; absolutely fascinating in fact, it is only a vehicle.  I didn't have these doldrums while training, I jumped out of bed on Saturday at 5AM and prayed for good weather. When I bought the Cheetah, the mission became transition training...again it's the mission not the airplane or the pilots license which brings me satisfaction.

As cool as my Cheetah is, without a mission, I'm going to lose motivation without finding satisfaction from it.  I joined a few groups and attended meetings, but nothing really strums me. I need a personal  mission. It is to mash up aviation, mountain biking, the Colorado mountains and write about it.

I'm not a writer and have never blogged.  Currently I have 0 subscribers to Wings & Spokes...This is the first post, actually it's the second draft written, the first one required editing and pics to be added, I became bored with it and started over.

This will serve as my introduction, if one person reads it, my expectations will be exceeded. This blog brings aviation, cycling and back-country together.  I'm a  passionate husband, father, pilot and outdoorsman. I'll share my successes and lessons while mashing my passions.



my Cheetah

 mountain bike goes in a bag

bag goes in the back

we'll fly it high and go west

Hopefully we see some neat stuff,  ride some respectable trails and write the experiences down...if nobody ever sees it, we'll call it a journal; fulfilling my 10th grade English teacher's wish.  Wings & Spokes