Day 1 - Acclimating to Life in the Right Seat Flying VFR to Concord...

The Air Race Classic is truly my VFR refresher course each year, and this year VFR begins way before the race. Sue flies daytime VFR, and so the flight to the Start will be flown under the same flight rules as the race. Good for me, because I'll be well broken in BEFORE the Start this year. In previous years, I'd use that IFR ticket to get out to the Start.



The view looking back on San Marcos HYI as we departed.

Leaving San Marcos TX (HYI), we flew off for the ARC, but with a slight detour down through Big Bend National Park, where Sue had many memories of camping and traveling in that area. So it was fun for her to see and give me a tour of this great place from the air. Amazing terrain and rock formations. Rugged and desolate too.



Sue is on her right base leg setting up to land at 6R6. 

Navigating out of HYI was a little more challenging than anticipated with some storms blowing up around us. If you go to flightaware.com and enter our tail # N450BA, you'll see an interesting flight path to our first FBO "picnic" lunch stop at Terrell 6R6. We met a couple border patrol helicopter pilots searching to rescue some Mexicans who were lost in this desolate and dry area. It drove home the point of how dangerous this area could be.


Big Bend peaks

Leaving 6R6, we angled down to overfly 89TE Lajitas International Airport and 3T9 Big Bend Ranch State Park and then on to El Paso TX (ELP). It was a hot and bumpy ride. At some point, I took the controls to begin to get a better feel for flying the Beech Sundowner from the right seat. It was time to renew valuable skills that have grown a bit rusty - very different vantage point and different instrumentation. No autopilot, which means more work to hold heading and altitude. So by the end of the race, my flying skills should be a whole lot sharper.

The Slowdowner was getting tossed a bit from summer heat thermals causing turbulence. As I was getting bounced about while flying and looking down and around to scan instruments positioned a bit different from my own plane and from an unfamiliar angle. Queasy stomach set in, and for the first time in 10+ years and 1400+ hours of flying, I lost my lunch. It was time to learn how to operate the SicSac instrument - aka barf bag. Fill, twist and tie off - and try not to cause your pilot to gag. Things got a bit better after that, especially by the time we were on the ground in El Paso.

Enjoy the pictures from around Big Bend National Park...