I previously discussed my desire to mix aircraft and downhill skiing (Ski Truck) and reported setting up my aircraft to carry my downhill snow skis (Ski Truck Epilogue), last week I got the chance to give the setup a whirl!
I got the call from my RV-4 friend late in the afternoon that the following day was THE day for downhill skiing. The weather conditions were not going to be perfect and it was not a cheap lift ticket day but a storm system was to move into the area in the next couple of days and this was likely to be the best window of opportunity for a few weeks so, it was time.
I loaded my skis, boots, poles, clothing, and lunch into the plane the night before.
Bright and early the next morning my RV-3 and my friends RV-4 were sitting on the run-up pad warming up together. We departed before sunup and headed northwest to get around the Albuquerque airspace. There was a layer of clouds on the distant horizon so the sunrise was not the typical “spectacular New Mexico sunrise” but it wasn’t a disappointing one either! After passing Albuquerque, we flew north up the west side of the San Juan Mountains, the Valles Caldera, and over Jemez Springs to Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Total of about a 70 minute flight. The headwinds at 10,500′ were fairly brisk so we dropped down and found more favorable conditions.
I had several surprises waiting for me at Pagosa Springs. The first was the WIDE runway – a behemoth compared to what I am accustomed. After shutting down and dragging my gear out of my plane, my buddy handed me a hammer and chisel and told me to dig out the tie down rings while he got the car! Gasp! What?? Work?? Ugh… Yes, the tie downs were buried under about an inch of HARD ice. Six tie downs later (after hitting my own hand with the hammer about six times), the airplanes were safely tied down.
The drive up to the Wolf Creek Ski Resort takes about 45 minutes. Funny that we flew 160 nautical miles in nearly the same amount of time that it took to drive 15 miles (line of sight)!
The conditions were good, the snow conditions fairly good. Wolf Creek is light on snow and there were some rocks to avoid but it was great to be back downhill skiing so I am certainly not complaining! I didn’t get the chance last year so I was very grateful! The beauty of the mountains in the winter (actually, any time) is always something I love to behold.
Sadly, about noon, I started feeling rather odd. I suspect that I was fighting a case of the flu but am not positive. My head started aching, I felt nauseous, and had the chills. I had all my ski clothes on, the outside temps were pleasant, and I was freezing! I spent some time in the lodge, in the bathroom, made about three more runs, and then my bud said it was time to go. This could have been an altitude problem as the top of the hill is around 12,000′, I dunno.
Lucky for me. I didn’t feel any worse the remainder of the trip home. It is easy to find aviation stories about pilots that are flying when they should not be and the silly decisions they make to get themselves into seemingly ridiculous situations. I had no desire to become one of those stories so took it easy and double thunk every decision. It was a good flight home and we took a few minutes to fly over Jemez Hot Springs to take a look at all the vent locations – pretty neat stuff!
There seemed to be some concern over my decision to haul skis in the back of a Van’s RV-3B. I’m not entirely sure why. I can only guess that it was from the fella’s that need to have a complete set of instructions or spec sheets that tell them everything that they can and cannot do. I’m never sure what to call this but we seem to see it more and more – union/ government/non-thinker mentality. Ya, that will probably offend someone – too bad I guess – it is reality. My job forces me to work with large government entities and I see this every day – loads of non-thinkers, checklist followers, decision deferrers in those places. It is nearly the exact opposite of entrepreneurial people like me – grew up working on a ranch doing whatever was required every single day. There were never “instructions” , someone to call for help, nor someone else to make a decision – you had to think thru a problem and then fix/solve it. In this case, it is pretty simple in my mind – keep the weight and balance in the acceptable range and do not interfere with the flight controls. Obviously, you have to use your head – start cutting thru spars and/or making structural changes and you are being dumb. Opening a bulkhead cover that is held on with six little bent up tabs of .020″ aluminum is plainly not a structural change. One only has to momentarily engage the brain to figure that out. Since we are talking about 15 pound skis, that isn’t very hard. The ski truck approach worked just fine – the airplane flew wonderfully (which is the way it always flies). The really great aspect is that my little aircraft – that many think is a toy and not useful for doing anything but local flights to breakfast – now has added utility. She has taken me all over the country in a fairly efficient manner and has hauled my ski equipment, camping gear, and work equipment. That is pretty swell!
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