G1000 time!

I had a brief morning slot with one of the aircraft today so decided to go early and grab breakfast at a nearby airfield. With a ceiling of just 1800ft, my options were limited and I took off into light haze for the short 20 minute flight to El Monte airport. There was a display day on, so I parked up on the apron next to some old warbirds, before tucking into a huge American breakfast.






During the afternoon I had a chance to get more acquainted with the G1000 system, plugging the aircraft into a GPU (Ground Power Unit), and playing around with the thousands of options, menus and submenus, and even reading the manual (I'm ashamed to admit!!). After a couple of hours playing, and having already had a checkout on the VFR flight aspects of the system with an instructor, I took a flight up over the hills and away from the hazy weather in the basin, to the high desert.

My destination was Apple Valley airport. It was one that had been recommended to me before I came out to the US, and an interesting name to add to the logbook. I tracked over the hills, following the route on the G1000 (and simultaneously on my iPad until I'm more comfortable with it), and with smooth air, had a chance to get the camera out and take a couple of shots of the scenery.

The airfield was easy to spot away from the low cloud of the valley, and although there was no tower, the "SuperAwos" system, gave me the surface wind, and I made my approach accordingly. There was no one on site, which was a bit eerie, so after a quick "check of the facilities", and 15 minutes sitting in the sun, I got ready to depart.

On the way back, the sun was just starting to set over the ocean giving me some fantastic views, and by the time I arrived at Long Beach, I was again guided in by the runway lighting.

Boneyard

British Airways Aircraft ready for return to service

After what felt like an eternity today waiting for the cloud to clear, I finally got airborne at 16:30, having planned to depart at midday. My options were still limited by surrounding cloud cover and hills, so I retraced my route of yesterday evening, up into the desert, this time heading for the Southern California Logistics Airport at Victorville. This is another airplane boneyard but rather than the planes being sent here for scrap, they are kept here for reuse when required, so most of the aircraft were in good condition, with just the engine cowlings and windscreens covered up to protect against the dust and strong sun.

 The FBO (fixed-base operator) here, also had one of the best gimmicks I've seen so far - a putting green on the apron! I did try and sink a few balls, but failed miserably, and decided to head back to base, flying over the local prison on the departure.

Victorville Prison

My tiny Cessna next to a Boeing 747

Despite the good weather when I left, and a forecast of a 2900ft ceiling at my destination, as I approached Long Beach I could see the scattered cloud thickening into a solid base. As I had the benefit of the G1000 showing traffic and terrain, as well as my iPad, and plenty of fuel should I need to divert out of the basin and back up to the clear skies of the desert, I descended through the thickening cloud, and after a few minutes of concentrating on my instruments, got below the ceiling at around 1700ft - still 300ft above the minimum safe altitude for this part of the route. Once below, the cloud it was incredible how much darker it was, and it felt like a night landing as I touched down on my usual runway.

Primary flight display of the G1000

Moving Map Display - showing traffic, terrain and airspace