following the snow birds

by: Neil Amonson

By KAVU

December 17^th, 2019

This fall has been a season full of change. In the same three action-packed weeks.... I got married, sold my house, and moved to Arizona.

I’m still adjusting to the new scenery and change in routines but couldn’t be happier with the way things are working out. Right when you think you know whats around the next corner, life has a way of surprising you.

One of the many things about moving to Arizona that I was excited for is the winter flying. For the same reasons the snowbirds flock to Tucson (warm temps, sunny days and calm winds), I knew immediately that the airplane would be joining me down in the desert.

I made the drive in mid-October to get a feel for the new job and learn the lay of the land, then returned to Utah for Thanksgiving with the hopes of flying the plane south the following weekend.

When I arrived back in Utah, it was just hours prior to the first big snow storm of the season.

I managed to get the airplane in the hanger just as the snow started falling. Had I made it home 24 hours later, there would have been a two feet of snow on the plane and the whole process of moving it would have been pretty painful!

I had a “to do” list of maintenance I needed to get done before flying the plane south. None of which I would call safety items but, I knew that it would take some time to find a good mechanic in a new part of the country so.... I wanted to "button the loose ends" before showing up at the new airport.

It went in the same hanger the airplane got put back together in after buying it (with the wings and tail removed). While it’s not the first time it’s been in this hanger, it’s the first time it’s shared the space with six other planes in it!

I always joke with my mechanic that they must teach “airplane Tetris” at mechanic school because, it takes a lot of skill to cram this many airplanes in a small hanger.

Good luck getting from one side to the other without banging your head on something!

After a few days of turning wrenches, it was time to move the plane down to the Salt Lake Valley in preparation for the big flight. It had been two months since I'd flown the plane up to it's mountain airport, and last time I saw this view.... the city was bone-dry from mid-summer heat.

Now, with a fresh coating of the “greatest snow on earth”, I felt a strong connection to the city that I’ve spent that past 15 years in.... and a little sadness to be leaving it.

The next day I met Mike, another local pilot who would be joining me for the flight to AZ. Mike is a former fighter pilot in the US Navy so I was glad not only for the companionship but, for his airmanship skills as well.

The best part about Mike flying with me is that it was his own idea to tag along!

I figured he would find it a bit boring as he has his own bush-plane and is often found making runways on top of mountains with a pry-bar and weed-wacker. But it turns out, he likes a good old-fashioned adventure as much as the next pilot.

off we went!

We decided to divide the flight into two chunks, to limit the amount of time we would be sitting down each day.

Remember, in these little airplanes there is no isle to stand up in and no bathroom. I find three hours to be a comfortable amount of time before landing and needing to stretch my legs.

After a few hours of nothing but snow as far as the eye could see, we started to see a shift in the scenery. Getting close to the Grand Canyon, the terrain began to include vibrant red cliffs, orange plateaus, and silver ravines. Being that we were flying south, I mistakenly assumed we were flying over the last of the snow we would see.

It turns out the the highest terrain we would encounter was yet to come!

One of the ways you can check and see how efficiently you're flying in a small airplane is to pace yourself with cars on the highway.

If you are going faster then them, you are making good time. If they are going faster then you…. well, then you can guess what that means.

Luckily, both days of our flight had favorable winds and we kept pace ahead of the earth roamers, even if ever-so-slightly;-)

As the sun got closer to the horizon, we decided to land before dark in Flagstaff. I had no idea there was a place in Arizona that looked so much like Colorado!

Pine trees and snow as far as the eye can see. The airport itself is at 7,000’ and they even have their own ski resort. Not what I was expecting in Arizona.

We were fortunate to find a tie-down near an electrical outlet. With the evening low temps around 15 degrees, it was good to plug in the pre-heat system. This keeps the engine oil and cylinders warm and makes the process of starting the engine much more friendly the next morning.

Another important cold weather piece of airplane gear is a cowl blanket. The cowl blanket keeps the warmth created by the pre-heat system around the engine and prevents it from escaping. Its a very satisfying feeling to walk up to your airplane on a frigid morning, stick you hand inside the cowl blanket and find your engine toasty warm.

If you take care of your airplane, the hope is.... it will take care of you;-)

Watching the sun set that night, I enjoyed watching the bare aluminum surface of the fuselage reflect the colors of the last few clouds in the sky.

We had been very fortunate with the weather. The storm which had just hit Utah had passed and left clear skies and calm winds behind it. And the next storm was still on the west coast, allowing us a nice two-day weather window for our trip.

KAVU conditions indeed!

Before Mike decided to tag along on the flight, I was going to camp on BLM land during the over night part of the trip. While enjoying our hotel buffet breakfast, I decided that sleeping in a warm comfortable bed the previous night, and eating a hot meal, instead of sleeping in the snow was the right decision.

When Mike and I headed back to the airport to fly the last few hours south, we had to chisel our tie-down ropes out of the ice as they had frozen solid over night.

A quick pre-flight inspection and review of the weather and it was time to say good-bye to Flagstaff and get on our way.

The local airport cat keeps an eye on the airplanes overnight and makes sure no one messes with them. If you look closely you can see it has two different colored eyes.

Once airborne we followed the local highway south toward Phoenix. Most of the flight, we followed roads in case we had engine troubles. If so, we would just land on the road, or next to it. The southwest of the United States has some of the most rugged and remote parts of the country and we didn’t want to take the chance of putting the plane down far from civilization in sub-freezing temps.

The next two hours of flying were gradually "downhill" and the snow began to disappear beneath us. The temperatures also got warmer as we started to see cactus mixed in with the rocks, sand, and dirt. Mike took a turn at the controls which gave me a chance to enjoy the scenery and start thinking about the kind of flying I will be doing in this new part of the country.

kavu days ahead

About twenty minutes from our final destination, Mike spotted some airplane tracks in a dirt field. I asked if he wanted to land there and we both agreed putting the tires down on Arizona soil would be a great way to finish our trip. After a quick inspection of the field, we made a smooth landing and shut the plane down.

Mike and I both have a strong draw to backcountry flying so, we couldn’t have been happier about this spontaneous landing so close to my new home. Seeing dirt on my tires, surrounded by cactus and mountains, gave me lots of ideas of adventures on the horizon.

We walked around the field for about twenty minutes looking at the other airplane tracks and speculating how old they were and what kind of plane they might have made them. Not wanting Mike to be late for his commercial flight home, we decided to take off and officially finish the trip. Fifteen minutes later we were landing again, this time on pavement at an official airport where the plane will spend the next part of its life story.

Having not flown for two months, this was just the adventure this aviator needed to feel back in the "flying game".

I’m excited to meet new pilots in Arizona and learn some of the “secret spots” that every part of the country has, but are known only to the locals;-) Anytime an aircraft takes you safely from A to B, the bond between pilot and machine becomes stronger, and this flight was no exception. As we walked away from the plane, a childish part of me wondered if airplanes have feelings, and if so, they must enjoy these cross country flights as much as the pilots that fly them.