Capt. Ken's comments - January

	Long, lean, clean and ready for departure.
	Passing the Eastern fringes of Los Angeles.
	Turbo cruising at 126 knots TAS at 8,500 ft.
	The Sierros poke up  to 14,000 ft. Photos courtesy Ken Armstrong.

Have licence will travel

With a fresh American glider license in my possession, Diamond Aircraft asked me to ferry a U.S. registered Xtreme from a lease customer near San Diego to Vernon B.C.

So, the turbocharged motor glider known as N637TT and I became intimate.

Initially, I moved the aircraft from Palomar/Carlsbad airport to Gillespie field near San Diego during an acceptance/test flight then I awaited weather improvements as coastal marine layers of fog became prevalent.

The most direct route would take me over the desert and plateau regions of the states: California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, but I felt I would get more favourable winds in front of the mountain chain by flying up the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys with low pressure offshore creating a southerly wind. It turned out the choice was made for me as the coastal fog precluded the first option and the inland high offered attractive weather - not unusual.

BEATING THE HEAT

The eye catching bird and I leapt off runway 27R and quickly climbed to an assigned altitude of 8,500 feet for the flight over Ontario airport and then direct to Mojave (with a slight detour around the corner of the Restricted airspace near the test pilots' school at Edwards Airforce Base).

 The  "SoCal" flight following radar operator assigned me 8,500 feet on this flight and this meant meandering around some of the higher mountains north of the L.A. basin. Of course, flying VFR, I did have the option of climbing.

The AWOS at Mojave broadcast its high density altitude warning to a captive audience of hundreds of silent, mothballed airliners basking around the field in temperatures hovering around 100 degrees.

The 115 hp turbocharged Rotax 914 waives virtually all considerations related to high density altitudes as it can provide full power to altitudes well above my lungs' capabilities to sustain life.

This tricycle geared Katana Xtreme provides another gratifying landing and I quickly abandon the aircraft to the refueller while I seek the comfort of the closest air conditioned lounge.

A few minutes later we are accepting an intersection departure with an immediate left turn out on course over the silent sentinels that quietly testify to better times when airliners were filling the skies overhead.

While intersection departures may seem like poor airmanship, one must consider this long winged aircraft's capabilities. She is airborne in 500 feet and can safely and easily make a 180 turn back to the runway at an altitude of 200 feet!

Motor glider capabilities greatly expand safety margins in all flight regimes.

The direct flight to a high altitude airport near Lake Tahoe is thwarted by new restricted airspace surrounding a fire in the foothills near Lake Isabella in the Sequoia National Forest. For some incredible reason, the fire suppression agencies feel they need all airspace up to 13,500 feet and although this Xtreme is up to flying in that rarefied air, the limitation of lungs and legalities suggests a small eastward diversion to follow Hwy 14   and then scenic 395 towards Reno's Stead airport (where the September air races are held).

One must stay directly over or slightly west of the road to thread the open airspace between the Restricted areas formed by the fire and the China Lake Naval Weapons Center to the east.

We climb to 12,500 feet for two good reasons. Firstly, the headwinds from the NW are backing with altitude - rather than their normal veering - so we obtain a slight tailwind once we get above 9,000 feet.

Secondly, it gets the cockpit temperature to a manageable level with the surrounding air mass at 49 degrees Fahrenheit.

Normally, this thin air cruising would also allow me to escape convective turbulence. But, not so in the super heated air rising off the high desert floor in the 4,500 - 6,000 foot range.

Looking ahead I can see puffy cumulous clouds approximately 1,000 feet above and towering well above at altitudes with little life sustaining oxygen. Dang! This smooth flight is about to end.

Abeam Mt. Whitney, looming above us at 14,491 feet, the 55 foot wingspan is finding the lifting thermals and their balancing downdrafts and my head is occasionally finding the canopy. Even though the plexiglass is well above the padded electronic David Clarkes, (which are turned off due to the quiet cabin) and my harnesses are cinched down, the lofty punches are making this segment somewhat uncomfortable.

Since I can't reasonably climb high enough without supplemental oxygen, I comfort myself with reassuring thoughts about how strong the Diamond composite structure is compared to many other aircraft.

None to soon, the highlands begin to drop away and the convective clouds end up below our cruising altitude.

Diamond literature claims the Xtreme TTS cruises at 119 knots TAS and this might be true at lower altitudes, but this "blown" engine is capable of much higher airspeeds as

TAS increases with altitude with turbo charging and this engine can maintain full cruising power well above 20,000 feet. At 12,500 my TAS is typically 122-124 knots and the tail winds often get my ground speed approaching 140 knots. In fact, extrapolating temperatures and pressures, the turbocharged Xtreme is capable of true airspeeds of 140 knots at 22,000 feet and an eastbound cross country with today's winds would yield a ground speed of 181 knots!

This is one of the beauties of turbo charging - a wide selection of cruise altitudes that can often increase tailwinds or minimize head winds.

All grandiose thoughts as our flight path and flight following brings us in contact with Reno Approach Control. With Stead about ten miles north of the Reno international airport, I am kept high to avoid the IFR traffic landing  and departing this Gambling Mecca's main field.

Normally, I plan a descent at 500 fpm and initiate same when the time arrives that I am two times my altitude from the airport. In this case, I am 8000 feet above Stead and would want to start down 16 minutes back. Instead, approach doesn't let me start down until I am approaching the Stead circuit. This is where the combination speed/dive brakes are really handy.

I reckon they increase the aircraft's drag by three times and the VSI needle quickly disappears at maximum deflection. There is so much drag that one could likely point the nose straight down and not exceed the 141 knot VNE!

After another rewarding squeaker (this airplane is too easy to fly) we pull up to the new tank-island self-service fuel stand. Surrounded by a myriad of ex military jet types, who silently admire the motor glider's sleek lines, we top off and quickly depart to escape the heat.

An hour later we are parked nearby F-15 fighters at the Klamath Falls mixed civilian/military airfield and the Xtreme is entrusted to the refuellers while I enjoy a fine supper in the terminal restaurant.

The favourable tailwinds continue and the next refuelling stop originally scheduled for Redmond or Madras are overflown enroute to Yakima where the remains of explosive Mt St. Helens are easily visible a short distance away.

The steadily lowering sun creates awe inspiring artwork on the rolling plateau below and my soul feels at peace in the serenity captured on this flight segment. If I have a complaint, it is the slightly restricted visibilities that deteriorate every year with increased World pollution.

Occasionally, a fast moving cold front will move across the country rewarding us with the magnificent view of scenery we took for granted decades ago.

With this heavy thought on my mind, I mistake the distance to the destination and overlook the GPS's obvious information to visually "correct" my descent towards a nearby town when Yakima is in fact hidden by a small ridge beyond. Eventually, realizing my error, we level off and motor into a strong headwind to eventually land on runway 27 with a soul satisfying touch down.

In the slight crosswind from the right, a tiny amount of right wing down is maintained through the flare and for once I leave the speed brakes retracted for a long landing to exit at the FBO near the end of the runway.

The right wheel's kissing the runway is unnoticeable and after a few thousand feet of unchanging position - as only a glider in ground effect can truly experience, I wonder if the aircraft is perhaps already down.

A small amount of left stick is greeted with the left wheel descending the last inch or so to caress the pavement. Once secured at the tie downs, the observers perched by the airport fence call over to tell me what a thing of beauty has just transpired with that landing. Credit the glory to that long, low-drag wing.

Early the next morning, with eight hours of flying accomplished on day one, there are less than two hours of gorgeous flight time remaining to Kelowna for customs followed by a hop over to Vernon.

The dawn's air is still and thick and the scenery spectacular as we levitate along the eastern extremes of: the Cascade Mountain range, Lake Chelan, the crystal-clean, twisting Columbia River and the soaring haven of Wenatchee.

To the west, the marine layer has enshrouded the mountains with IFR conditions, but our route is essentially clear with only small cumulous serving as heading references.

All too soon this glorious interlude is over as I am flying a convoluted circuit onto a downwind runway to follow in wake turbulence so the Kelowna tower operator can land a distant airliner ahead of me. Is this some sort of disease that is getting more prevalent in the west?

If I recall my early training, air traffic control is suppose to expedite the orderly safe flow of traffic - not create impediments.

Next, he directs me to the wrong end of the airport for customs. Although the ground controller apologizes for the foul ups, it makes me wonder where they are dredging up Canadian tower controllers from nowadays as these performances are becoming all too frequent.

Perhaps it is some new government policy to divert us to much more cooperative American airspace so Canada can further cut back services in consideration of the "bottom line."

Safety is a word tossed around frequently by government agencies; however, extending my circuit to land behind an airliner and downwind when I requested the into wind runway is gross negligence and incompetence.

With customs clearing this flying team back into Canada we launch for Vernon and over fly a lake that is arguably our country's prettiest waterway - Kalamalka Lake. The greens and blues need to be viewed from various angles to appreciate the phenomenal colours.

Another pleasurable landing and the motorglider portion of the adventure is complete.

Next, Ron Butler flies his 1970's Piper Arrow down from Shushwap Lake Estates for me to assess for a prospective purchaser. Our flight from Vernon to Victoria is accomplished in 1.6 hours into slight headwinds for a fuel burn of 71 liters.

As I take out my wallet to pay for the fuel, I calculate the turbo motorglider could fly that same distance in 1.85 hours and consume 1/7th the fuel! Some of this differential results from 1970's technology vs. this modern design, but a lot of the efficiency is a result of composite technology's slippery aerodynamic lines and the efficient Rotax powerplant. Of course, the Arrow operates with 50% more weight - but, it's difficult to justify a fuel flow 700% higher.

Summarizing the trip, the airline flights to San Diego required eight hours. Counting my ten hours of rest in Yakima, it took just under 24 hours to return to B.C. Total airline fees were $548.85 on a special discount fare and the Xtreme's total fuel cost was $121.76 U.S. for ten hours of flying.

The other difference was the immense pleasure of seeing some outstanding scenery at a relaxed pace. While there were occasional hassles with air traffic control, smog, smoke and turbulence, flying to one's own schedule still has to be the best way to fly. May we never lose our flying freedom.

Ken is a COPA director who lives in Victoria, BC. He provides services internationally in advanced training, expert witness, flight test and aircraft sales. He has logged 15,000 hours on 375 types of fixed wing and rotary aircraft. Soaring his Diamond Xtreme is what he does for pleasure.