What a Difference a Year Makes

Co-Pilot Delia enjoying a SF Bay Tour sunset.

A Quick Trip Down Memory Lane

Nearly 1 1/2 years ago, I took my “maestra” on her first small airplane ride. It was December 2008 and I’d only had my pilot’s license for about 5 months. Strangely I remember that flight like it was last weekend. Up to that point, I’d only flown one non-pilot passenger in my aircraft and I was still getting used to the idea of having passengers (since then I’ve flown more than 10 people). Granted at the time, I was flying a 2-seater Cessna 152, that I so jokingly deemed my little 747 (the N number for the aircraft was 747ZP).

Delia's first flight with me back in December 2008.

That day back in December 2008, I decided to take Delia (my maestra y buena amiga) for a short flight down to Monterey, CA for lunch. It was a beautiful day…just perfect for that type of trip. As we prepared to depart the aircraft, I remember Delia being so shocked at how small the 2-seater was and how she kept making sure the door was properly secured, because she was slightly afraid that she might fall out of the aircraft. What was also ironic on that flight was that for nearly the last year up to that point, we had begun speaking to each other in Spanish only (in every conversation…including meetings at work). But I remember being so nervous about both the flight and my Spanish that I asked her if we could only talk in English during the flight. I didn’t want to get all confused and end up speaking in Spanish over the radio to ATC by accident.

My little "747" parked on the tarmac in Monterey back in 2008.

During that flight down to Monterey, I remember climbing up to 5500 ft so we could enjoy the beautiful views of the Santa Clara Valley, while also peaking across to the Monterey Bay. I distinctly recall having to manuever a bit to elude a Southwest 737 on arrival into San Jose Airport. Just the idea of being in the same skies at the airliners gave Delia a slight sense of amazement. When we arrived at Monterey, I parked my lil 747 on the ramp with a cool view of the Monterey Coast and we took a short walk to the airport terminal for lunch. Unfortunately, I was so wound up that day that I was able to eat much. I can remember being so anxious to make sure everything went smoothly that I couldn’t bring myself to just relax and enjoy the magnificient views of the ocean and the jet landing along the Monterey runway. Our flight back was smooth and pretty much uneventul and I think I was more relieved than excited that I had done it.

Fast Forward to May 2010

Now fast forward 1 1/2 years to this past Thursday evening. Delia and I were out enjoying sangria, tapas, and our monthly spanish chat, when she proposed the idea of going up on a sunset bay tour. A couple of weeks prior, I’d taken one of our colleagues, Tessa, on her first sunset bay tour and I think the photos of that trip sparked Delia’s interest. Given that we were both enjoying more than our fair share of sangria, I gave her until the next morning to confirm whether she wanted to go or not. By 10am on Friday, I booked the plane and we were set. Friday afternoon, I had a quick meeting over at LPCH and then decided to work from home the rest of the afternoon. It worked out anyway, since I needed to get home and take my roommate (Brad) to SFO airport around 5:30p for his flight down to San Diego for the weekend. Ironically, as I was exiting the highway and heading to Palo Alto Airport (PAO) after dropping off Brad at SFO, I pulled up to the stoplight and Delia was right in front of me. Perfect timing!

Well I knew the sunset was officially at 8:02p, so we met at the airport at 6:45p – which gave us enough time to prep the aircraft, runup, and takeoff by 7:25p. On our previous flight, I flew Delia in a 30 year old, little Cessna 152 2-seater…and now she was seating the co-pilot seat of 10 year old, Piper Archer III 4-seater with leather seats. It was definitely an upgrade.

A couple of weeks ago when I flew Tessa, I decided to take the scenic route by flying out of the area to the Livermore Valley, up past Mt. Diablo, and then into the Bay at Berkeley. However, this time I figured that I’d fly direct to the Bay by flying through Oakland’s airspace (Class C). I knew it would cut down the time of the flight by a few minutes and also allow us to fly over Oakland on the way up and past SFO on the way back down the Bay. The previous weekend, they weren’t allowing Class B transitions (over SF and SFO) due to the SF Giants game. But I was sure to check the schedule on my iPhone the night before to ensure that wouldn’t be an issue.

Heading Out to the Bay

Transitioning through Oakland's Class C airspace while flying the runway 29 final.

We departed PAO, took a right 45 degree departure, and climbed to 1500 ft before being transferred over to Oakland tower. OAK Tower essentially allowed me to fly the approach for runway 29 on my way through their airspace. As I arrived near the airport, we were vectored over the Oakland Colesseum and then along the I-880 Nimitz freeway at 2000 ft. But unlike my previous bay tour flight, we arrived in the Bay a little bit earlier than expected.

Spectacular...I'm so lucky to be able to share this with people.

The short flight direct from PAO only took about 15-20 minutes, so we arrived in the Bay with about 20 minutes to spare. Ironically that actually made it kinda fun. Rather than flying in and seeing the sun setting over the mountains, we were able to fly a couple of “holding patterns” over the bay, which gave us time to enjoy the sunset, the city, and Bay for more than 10-15 minutes. Ironically, I’ve noticed that there typically isn’t alot of traffic in the Bay around sunset, which makes it great for me. I literally feel like I have the entire area as my own playground. The views were breathtaking as always and, per usual, we spent every other second snapping photos.

Friday Night Class Bravo Transition

Downtown SF at Sunset.

After a two full loops around the Bay, we headed back over downtown SF and along the 101 freeway. It was about 8pm at this time, which was pretty ironic since Brad’s flight out of SFO would be leaving around the time we would be flying over the airport. And flying over SFO at 2000 ft is always a sight to behold. Well I didn’t get a chance to see or hear his aircraft takeoff because we were getting pushed by a pretty heavy tailwind. On the way up to the Bay, I noticed that we had about a 20 knot headwind, which meant that on the way back down the Bay we were getting pushed by a 20 knot tailwind and given our proximity to the ground, it was very noticeable. I remarked a couple of times that I’d never flown that fast in the Archer – the GPS showed groundspeeds between 140-145 knots (roughly 155-160 mph).

I always love flying over SFO.

We flew back south along the I-101 freeway and I tried to fly a route that would allow Delia to see her house in Menlo Park. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to pick out along the way. We returned to PAO from the west, which allowed us to enter the left downwind approach. As we turned base to final, we enjoyed a few final seconds viewing the magnificent Bay Area sky as the fading sun said “goodbye.” While my landing wasn’t as gentle as the one on my flight with Tessa, it was satisfactory for my dear passenger. As we taxied back to the ramp I noticed that I didn’t have that usual sense of “oh man, I want to keep flying.” It wasn’t because I didn’t have great flight, but rather that I knew I’d be flying again in a little over 12 hours…which I have to say was a really cool feeling.

Estoy Mucho Mas Relajado

Buenas noches, al sol!

As we departed the airport, Delia mentioned that she could really tell a noticeable difference in me as a pilot. To put it simply, I’d progressed in my approach to being a pilot and was considerably more relaxed during this flight. I was so relaxed that we spent nearly the entire flight chatting in Spanish…even though I was talking to ATC in English. I have to say that it’s really nice to receive that type of feedback from someone who had just witnessed my evolution over the last year and a half.

Well ironically, my weekend was only just beginning. Right after our flight, I hopped in the car and headed back up to SF for a Meetup of Spanish Speakers at a lounge in the city called Medjool (check out that story at Jarard.com – El Viajero). Though I needed to be back at the airport by 10am the next morning for my flight to Napa, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to practice my Spanish skills and possibly meet some new, interesting people. It was a fitting way to transition from my sunset bay tour flight with my “maestra” into my weekend. Thanks for a great flight, Delia! 🙂