It was a good day for soaring, but not a great day. We had been talking about flying up to Truckee and back again from William's, so we took one last look at the BLIP Maps before we launched that fateful day in September. The BLIP map's told us the lift was lower in the area just north of T-15 (max altitude to expect in that area between the end of the Mendicino Range and the Trinity Alps (just west of Redding) was about 9,000 ft MSL). We made it up to the end of the range ok. Key was at T-15 and I was at T-16. Key couldn't get above 10,500 and he said he was heading north towards Weaverville. I was climbing through 10,000, but I felt I was at the top of the lift. As soon as Key said he was going north, I announced the same - even though I was three or four miles to the east of his position. I didn't want him to get too far ahead. I knew from the forecast it was going to get dicey. Going through 9,000 ft in his glide to the north, Key said maybe this wasn't a good idea, and was considering turning back. I announced I was below nine thousand in my gliding descent, and felt I was beyond range for making it back to the lift at T-16. I said I was committed to finding lift further north. Key apparently felt the same way, as we continued northward. We found lift only 500 ft over the tops of the various peaks south east of Hayfork and south of Weaverville. We were wandering northward, keeping either Benton (near Redding) or Weaverville Airports within glide distance. After 30 or 40 minutes of fruitless searching, I committed to going to the Trinity Alps, with Weaverville as my emergency landing spot. I got up to eight or nine near Weaverville and coasted into the Trinities where lift was solid up to 11k. It was past 3:30 in the afternoon. Earlier, Milt had been talking to William's on the radio and we already knew that Aero Retrieves were not available for the rest of the day. Rex and Kenny already had other commitments. I suggested to Key that maybe we should just go to Montague, and get a tow out of there the next morning. Key was talking about going to Hayfork for a landing. I took a tour around the Trinities while Key and I discussed our next move. Here is the last part of my flight trace... 
After a bit of miscommunication, we finally agreed that Montague was our new landing destination for the night. Key joined me. We climbed to 13,000 over the Trinities, hit a couple of thermals enroute, and were soon looking for lift over Cottonwood Peak, hoping to make a quick dash over the Oregon border, less than 7 miles away, but it wasn't in the cards. We left the area north of Cottonwood and made a beeline for Montague, landing and securing the birds in less than 30 minutes. It was now nearing 6 PM, and although we had the birds secured for the night, we needed to find a motel The FBO was closed. I called the number on the wall, but only got to talk to an answering machine. Luckily, there was a nice couple there - Eric and Donna who were riding their bikes, just for fun. They put the bikes back into their pickup and gave us a ride to town. By 7:30 we had already showered, phoned home, and reported back to William's that we were on the ground, and now we were in the Italian restaurant, sipping wine and eating Salmon steaks. Life is good. But things were about to become more difficult. Next morning we started walking out to the airport, with one thumb in the air, trying to solicit a ride. After 30 or 40 minutes of walking, we made contact by cell phone with the new owners of Montague, Kristine and Ellis. But they were taking the day off - probably for the first time since July, when they had taken over the business from Larry. We caught a ride to the airport from a guy who Ray Gimme had taught to fly back at Chico in theh 1960's - small world. Once back at Montague, we received plenty of help from the couple who were helping the owners enjoy a day off, Linda and her husband, as we arranged for a tow for Key, and prepared for our launch. About that time Eric Greenwell happened by, enroute from southern California back up to Washington, with his glider in tow, and his digital camera in hand. Eric snapped the following photos during our preflight activities..... Key and Peter - Two big thumbs up on our successful flight TO Montague.... 
Click to enlarge the photos. Refueling the 15 Meter DG800B 
Key and I agreed that 12:30 would be the right time to launch. The tow plane was right on time, and I taxied out as he taxied in. Our plan was to fly directly to Antelope Peak on tow/ under power. We arrived there and were rewarded with lift right up to 9,500 feet. Foolishly, we took a short cut and headed directly on course in the direction of Mt Eddy and China Peak. Some 20 or 25 minutes later, Key landed at Weed, and was calling for a tow, and I was doing a relight in the valley not far from Montague. Here is my flight trace on the first part of that day.... (the red line is when the engine was runing)..... 
Click to enlarge. The dark blue arrows are the first flight, and the light blue arrows indicate the flight after the relight. After a succesful inflight restart, some 1500 ft above the ground, I returned to the lift at Antelope, and this time, after climbing to over 9,000 I went to nearby Duzel Rock, which, as everyone knows, provides the highest and strongest lift in the area. Sure enough, I was at 11,000 in no time, and the tow plane was now enroute to get Key back into the air out of Weed Airport. I loitered at Mt Eddy but couldn't get above 10,500, as I waited for PS to be pulled up to the top of the mountain. As he approached, I headed out. We found another thermal 15 miles to the south, and then another a few miles past that, but there was a distinct wind shear at 9,500 that caused the thermals to shift. It was a challenge to get above that shear. After the second thermal, I occasionally hit a a bump, but generally, was in a glide, and I went from 10,000 down to below 4,000 as I prepared to enter the traffic pattern at Weaverville. I had glided nearly 30 miles, and failed to find a bit of lift -- talk about not selecting the correct route! I kept Key informed of my altitude, and he stayed well to the left of my track, using Redding and Benton as his safety airports. Weaverville is surrounded by trees, and the runway slopes steeply uphill to the northeast, however I was close enough to clearly see the runway, and had a safe traffic pattern within reach when I found the one and only thermal that saved me from that landout/relight. I climbed had a bit of lunch, and was once again on my way. The only problem, was that it was getting late (about 3:30) and we were going to be hard pressed to make it back to William's. Here the trace from that part of the flight..... 
Click to enlarge. Before takeoff from Montague, the BLIP had indicated we would find a convergence area of lift running from the east side of T-16 northward, curving back towards Hayfork. My confidence in the BLIP Map's is so high that I was certain we would find something in the area. With a last climb on the peaks to the southeast of Hayfork, we headed towards T-16. At first, we observed a strong wind from the west (I saw 12 to 15 kts from the west on the GPS), but as we headed more towards the southeast, the air began to bubble, and we observed the wind decreasing. By the time we were abeam T-16 we could see the wind was coming from the south. Dr Jack's BLIP Map product had once again forecasted a reliable area of convergence lift. Thank you Dr Jack! 
Click to enlarge. However, that wasn't enough to get us home, and I knew it. We had enough altitude to safely glide to Rancho Tehama, but I didn't expect to find any more lift once we left the area of T-16. I then foolishly explored the canyon south of T-16 - Big Mistake! I tip-toed around one bend and then another., keeping a safe glide to Big Bluff. I gained some altitude but by the time I traveled in, and then out of that canyon, I had lost more than I had gained. Key was now ahead of me, following his GPS to a place he couldn't see, and a to place he had never heard of before, he glided southward on pure faith, but I assured him that Rancho Tehama was an excellent landing site. I asked him to locate Big Bluff as he flew past it, and to evaluate the landing area, because I was in dire need of a safe place to set up my landing pattern for my inevitable relight. I could no longer glide to Rancho Tehama. Not enough altitude! How could I be so stupid? I was well above glide for a proven site, Rancho, but took a chance at exploring that canyon near T-16 for lift, and now, I had to hope that Big Bluff was a suitable landing site! It was in the GPS, and the coordinates turned out to be accurate, but I didn't really know much about it, and I couldn't see it from four miles away, as I was only 1500 feet above the terrain as I approached it. Thankfully, Key had crossed right over it some five minutes earlier, and he vectored me in. As I was about to lower the gear, in anticipation of the relight attempt, I hit a bit of lift. Maybe only a half knot or so, but it was big enough to turn in, so I gave it a try, and was I ever so lucky. If I had tried to start, I would have been in trouble. I worked that last thermal until I had climbed a thousand feet, and was now able to just make it to Rancho Tehama. The thermal quit, and I was on my way. Key had climbed slightly at Rancho and had explored further to the south, but it was fruitless. It was now 5:30 PM and the lift was gone. We both agreed, it was going to take some horsepower to get us home. We had forfeited our ride with mother nature earlier that day by trying to take a short cut around Duzel Rock. We were now out of time. Key used his cell phone, talked to Rex, and Rex was going to fly Key's C-182 to Rancho Tehama, and drag him back to William's. With Key's retrieve now arranged, I entered the pattern, put the gear down, and went through the start sequence. Not much to it. Gear down, flaps set, check that circuit breakers are all closed, set the switches, slow to 45 knots, raise the engine, and press the starter button. It takes 11 seconds for the engine to extend. I heard the doors open, but after three seconds it was quiet -- except for the "pop" sound of the circuit breaker opening. I waited a few seconds, turned base leg, reset the circuit breaker, and hit the switch again. POP again! I knew from the sounds, and the indicator lights that the engine was partially up, but I couldn't see the prop in my mirror, and I had enough altitude to fly a new downwind, so I stop fiddling with the damn thing and proceeded to land. Once on the ground I tried it again, with the same result. That engine was not going to extend. I got on the phone and called William's. Thankfully, Rex was still on the ground. I asked him to bring a second rope -- a longer than normal one, so we could tow both PS and PK back home at the same time using a Dual Tow. Rex soon arrived. We discussed procedures, laid out the ropes and we were on our way. We landed back home and we had just enough time to get the birds back into their boxes before it was dark. What a weekend! It was an adventure for sure. Hopefully, we each will retain what we learned, and you too will have learned from our experience. Soaring is always a challenge. However you must always be up for the challenge. If you aren't up for a big challenge, leave yourself more options, but in no case, should you leave yourself no options. See you at the airport. P.S. If you want to see my analysis of, and the reason why the engine failed to extend, visit the web site I created to illustrate the problem to other DG Owners. Go to http://www.sonic.net/~pjkelly/dg2/dg2.html |