M18--> KGBD--> KAPA--> pow pow

[gotyacovered]

leaving this afternoon for Copper Mountain to go skiing... making an overnight pit stop in Great Bend, KS to eat dinner with my grandparents who just celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary. Flying into KAPA, renting a 4 door jeep that is supposed to be on the ramp waiting on us when we get there... hope to be skiing after lunch tomorrow.

need a little luck on the return trip from a wx standpoint, looking a little iffy for our schedule. i will post a full pirep when i have time after we get back.

[Pistol Pete]

Be safe and have fun!
Uh.... Goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. Pics 😉

[GusMcRae]

Hope you had fun with the blacks and they didn't beat you up too bad.  Hope you got some "good white powder". 

[gotyacovered]

Be safe and have fun!
Uh.... Goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. Pics 😉

i have a few pics, but i have a bunch of video i will post after some editing...

Hope you had fun with the blacks and they didn't beat you up too bad.  Hope you got some "good white powder". 

haha, that video was classic hahahaha

[GusMcRae]

haha, that video was classic hahahaha

Wish I could figure out how to post it here.  LOL!

One day delay getting home?

[gotyacovered]

Wish I could figure out how to post it here.  LOL!

One day delay getting home?

nope, got up and back with no problems!!!

[gotyacovered]

Copper PIREP

so we departed M18 around 2:30 on the 12th for Great Bend, KS (GBD) to see some family, especially my grandparents for the 65th anniversary.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N42653/history/20150212/2030Z/M18/KGBD

great flight other than i forgot to turn the camera back on for the landing. it was pretty uneventful... slow trip though, stiff headwinds. this is the 3-4th time i have gone thru this area and i EVERY TIME i have the same thought... after you get handed off out of OKC approach and get on with Kansas city, the controllers are just not as nice (friendly). but they do great work, so not biggie.

departed out of KGBD at around 6:30 and flew directly into a very stiff headwind... cost me about 40mins of flight time... one little note, at 7:00 in Kansas, it is still dark... departed in the dark... made for a beautiful flight.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N42653/history/20150212/2030Z/M18/KGBD

we had perfect weather including 10-12 inches of snow (maybe more) anda  great ski trip... turned out to be a great flying trip also...

we slept in on the 17th, grabbed breakfast and made out way back to Denver. KAPA was the worst radio performance of my flying career. that place is very busy... i got cranked up, picked up the numbers and called clearance and it went perfect...

me: n42653, VFR M18 11,500 with Serria

clearance: no altitude restriction, standard turn on course approved remain clear of Class Bravo, and he gave me the denver approach freq

started going down hill when i got on with ground...

me: centinial ground skylane 42653 ... yes sir i am at tacair with clearance and serria ready to taxi
ground: skylane 653 taxi to Alpha at Alpha 4 to Alpha 16 number 2 behind the king air

(there were 2 king airs) and i was following the wrong one, fortunately he was headed to Alpha at Alpha 4 also. i ended up cutting off the king air. the king air i was suppose to follow was parked directly in front of me at tacair and apparently was slow to begin his taxi and there was a king air already at Alpha/Alpha 4 intersection so i was on the move.

as i am passing thru 7000ft on course the tower tells me to squawk VFR radar services terminated and to have a nice day. i realize that i never requested flight following. so, i contact denver approach and request advisories. he gives me a beacon code and a heading to fly for a few mins (towards class bravo) then approves me on course. i am climbing this whole time... as i am passing thru 10200ft the controller tells me that i am in the class bravo (floor is 9800ft) and i need to vacate... wilco. i guess i screwed up... In the FAA's eyes for sure.... but dang why centennial tower told me to squawk 1200 is beyond me. when he did that i did not follow my VFR clearance issued from centennial. bad deal. i also noticed i forgot to turn on the gopro until i was 15mins into the flight...

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N42653/history/20150217/1930Z/KAPA/M18

i had to pick my way thru some big fluffys and go around multiple snow showers. could have gone direct under it all but my wife and daughter dont like the bumps. i cruised anywhere from 9500 to 13,500 and saw great tail winds all the way there.

here is the video from M18-->KGBD-->KAPA-->M18. kinda boring and short a landing at GBD and a take off at APA.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0yzk6wokxo228yx/Copper%20Travel%202015.mp4?dl=0

[Pistol Pete]

I'm glad you tell of your comm miscues, I've had a couple over the last few months and it's embarrassing. I keep telling myself that they simply want to have understanding.
I was denied flight following from Mobile as I was flying home from KPQL. Didn't help that I taxied to 35 when tower instructed me to 17. Winds were calm and he allowed me to use 35 after informing me with displeasure in his tone.

[Pistol Pete]

Btw, I noticed some 180 knot performance on the way back. Feels nice doesn't it?
I went to FYV a month back to watch us get stomped by Ole Miss. On the way back, after I got to 7,500 ft it took 37 minutes to get to SUZ. 150+ kts.

[GusMcRae]

I'm glad you tell of your comm miscues.

I was going to say the same thing.  Seems like I can screw up a departure in a heartbeat.  Call Clearance and they tell me to call ground, or visa versa.  At busier towered airports when the traffic is lining up, the pressure seems to pile on, not wanting anyone to have to wait on me. 

Haven't had time to watch the videos. 
Sounds like a great trip.
Those mistakes we make seem to be the best lessons.  Have had my share of "lessons" this week. 

[gotyacovered]

I'm glad you tell of your comm miscues, I've had a couple over the last few months and it's embarrassing. I keep telling myself that they simply want to have understanding.
I was denied flight following from Mobile as I was flying home from KPQL. Didn't help that I taxied to 35 when tower instructed me to 17. Winds were calm and he allowed me to use 35 after informing me with displeasure in his tone.

KAPA was the busiest Delta i have been in... i am particularly disappointed as i am "good" on the comms, it comes from my dad being hard on me in traiing and running the radios on in the 414/BE-58 while IFR....

[gotyacovered]

Btw, I noticed some 180 knot performance on the way back. Feels nice doesn't it?
I went to FYV a month back to watch us get stomped by Ole Miss. On the way back, after I got to 7,500 ft it took 37 minutes to get to SUZ. 150+ kts.

only beaten by the trip back from great bend after hunting!!!

200kts

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N42653/history/20141117/1630Z/KGBD/M18/tracklog

[gotyacovered]

I was going to say the same thing.  Seems like I can screw up a departure in a heartbeat.  Call Clearance and they tell me to call ground, or visa versa.  At busier towered airports when the traffic is lining up, the pressure seems to pile on, not wanting anyone to have to wait on me. 

Haven't had time to watch the videos. 
Sounds like a great trip.
Those mistakes we make seem to be the best lessons.  Have had my share of "lessons" this week. 

i may miss a beacon code here and there, i may input the wrong freq, but i never mess up the flow and i for sure never enter bravo airspace without clearance, i let assumptions get in the way... i THINK (not sure) i could have avoided reprimand b/c of how it went but the bottom lines is i busted airspace technically and it sucks. little ding to the pride.

radio work to me is 100% practice, lotsa folks out there dont follow procedure (even multi-thousand hour pros) and it leads to one mistake after another. i try to do it by the book every time... i dont even say "checking on" or "with you" anymore... N# and altitude, that is all. the only 2 non-procedural things i do is

1. i will say good morning when requesting advisories and checking on for the first time
2. i add "if you have time" at the end of the request for flight following

the more procedural i am the more forgetful i am... which is what i want--to be forgotten

[GusMcRae]

Finally had a chance to look at the go-pro footage.  Nice work.  The footage that my pilot buddy took and sent me was not even close to being that clear.  Fuzzy and boring,,, I won't be posting it.

In regard to the radio speak, interesting observation with the FE and the CFII from metroplex area, both used the term "no joy" when telling ATC they did NOT have a visual yet on an aricraft in our vicinity (I had a hood on so that was their job).  I recently read an article that "no joy" and "tally ho" are military terms that civillian pilots should not be using, only military pilots.  Although since I started flying, I've heard lots of civillian pilots use the "no joy" term.   

[gotyacovered]

Finally had a chance to look at the go-pro footage.  Nice work.  The footage that my pilot buddy took and sent me was not even close to being that clear.  Fuzzy and boring,,, I won't be posting it.

In regard to the radio speak, interesting observation with the FE and the CFII from metroplex area, both used the term "no joy" when telling ATC they did NOT have a visual yet on an aricraft in our vicinity (I had a hood on so that was their job).  I recently read an article that "no joy" and "tally ho" are military terms that civillian pilots should not be using, only military pilots.  Although since I started flying, I've heard lots of civillian pilots use the "no joy" term.   

i use no joy quite a bit for various reasons, but with traffic i always say "looking for traffic, negative contact". i am actually unsure if that is proper or not.

that gopro is amazing, wish i would have got in on that stock when it was cheap!!! BOOM.