As I’m writing this, I am preparing to set out for Oshkosh. I’m so excited that so many SLO 99s will be there, whether driving or flying in. Thank you to everyone who was able to sign up for a shift to volunteering at the 99s booth. What a great way to meet so many other aviation lovers and other 99s. I have my tickets and campsite already reserved and my route planned. Oshkosh, here we come!
New Cuyama volunteers fixing the traffic circle
New Cuyama(L88) Progress - Call For Support
By Charly and Rene Schaad
The good people working towards a reopening of the New Cuyama airport have published an update on their progress on their Facebook page(https://www.facebook.com/flycuyama/). I, for one, can’t wait for them to reopen and add this very special airport to our list of nearby culinary fly-out destinations.
before
after
The owners(Blue Sky Center) with help from local Duncan Farms, and many volunteers and donors have managed to clear the runway and safety zones, repair various equipment, repair the traffic circle, and apply weed treatment(repeatedly).
A professional assessment and a number of tasks do remain, however, and the estimated cost to complete those is around $20’000. They do ask us to consider donating to the project:
Grace and her four-legged back-seat driver in King City
Fly-out to Hollister - Full of Action(7/11/2021)
By Grace Crittenden
Another beautiful day for a fly-out, but it was projected to be HOT in the valley but only about 90 degrees in Hollister. With a pretty strong northerly headwind, Maureen Curran got an early start with her Super Cub but could not make much headway or groundspeed and had decided to make it a local flight about the time I was taking off. A friend was in the right seat. My plane was just out of annual, headwind or no headwind, I was glad to be flying. There was an inversion, so the temperature actually went up as we climbed out of KSBP.
Robin Shatto was picking up her sister in Paso on her way to Hollister, and we heard her on the radio with Oakland Center. She was right on schedule to be in Hollister for lunch.
It was smooth over the hills as we headed north on a bee line to Hollister. We were just east of King City and anticipating flying by Pinnacles and lunch ahead when I realized the oil temperature had taken a sudden jump and the oil pressure was below the green line. I had checked the oil in the preflight. The fresh oil was so clean that it was hard to see but was at the seven and a half quarts. The EGT cylinder temp was still normal. We had been monitoring the CTAF at King City, so I just pulled the power back and announced that I would be entering right downwind for 29. We could see from the windsock that the wind was right down the runway, and it made for an easy touchdown and landing. The tarmac was completely empty except for a Cessna 152 tied down with not a sign of life at any of the hangars.
Approaching King City from the east
Cessnas have a reputation for not doing well in hot climates but it did not seem to be that hot. Officially(on my phone) it was 100 degrees at King City but the wind blowing made it fairly pleasant. We tied down the plane facing the wind. I tried to check the oil level, but the dipstick was so hot I could hardly hold it and the oil was so thin it was like water. It did not appear that any damage had been done. There was no oil on the ground and no oil on the plane so we decided to just let the engine cool down and reassess. Thank goodness for cell phones. I called Al Yecny. He always seems to available by phone and he reassured me that it was probably just the high ambient temperatures and that I could call him again if I had any concerns.
The pilot lounge was clean and pleasantly cool. It as a relief to get out of the wind. We made contact with Robin. She had her sister had made it to the restaurant, so we asked her to bring us some fish tacos on their way back.
Fellow stranded Cessna and Terry’s the mechanic’s Mooney
While we were waiting, a big helicopter set up for agricultural spraying came in and landed by one of the larger hangars, and then a Mooney arrived and taxied up by the 152. Terry is an A&P and had flown in from Watsonville to take care of the 152 that had landed at King City because it had been"running rough”. Terry has had lots of experience with Cessnas and is the owner of the FBO at Watsonville. He thought the engine issues would be due to the spark plugs, but when he took off the cowling he also found a bird’s nest on the engine. It was a bit of a challenge handling the cowling in the constant wind. Soon he had the nest cleared out and the spark plugs fixed. Once he had the cowling back on the 152, he offered to take a look at my plane. As expected, everything was fine and by now the oil and the engine had cooled down. He took the 152 up for a test flight around the pattern, and it was running like a top. With the 152 tied down, Terry hopped into his Mooney and flew off into the wind.
Just about that time, Robin and Gay landed. They said the Mooney pilot had warned them that there were two hungry women waiting on the ground. The food at the restaurant in Hollister had been very good, but the service was really slow. By the time our lunch arrived, my friend and I were getting hungry and those fish tacos tasted so good.
About the same time a Cub landed. They were flying back to Hollister from a Cub fly-in a Lompoc when they realized that with the relentless headwind, they were not going to have enough fuel to get back. The pilot knew there was no longer fuel available at King City but thought it would be better to land at an airport than to run out of fuel on his way home with an off field landing. He was calling to get someone to bring some fuel when the helicopter pilot drove over to see what was happening. The helicopter pilot saved the day when he brought over his fuel truck to fuel the Cub.
Once we had inhaled those yummy tacos, the plane and I were ready to fly. It had been a long day in the sun and wind. Robin was heading back to Paso, so the plan was for us to fly together. If I had problems with overheating, I could land at Paso. If the oil pressure was ok, I would fly on home. There were a few tense moments when the oil temperature was going up and the oil pressure going down, but it did stabilize just a little below the green line and well above the red line. We called to Robin that we were on our way home.
Another day of flying and another adventure! The next two days the airport was closed to traffic, and of course when I took the plane up in our coastal temperatures everything was fine, and the needles stayed in the green. So now I have an excuse to stay out of hot weather. It should be cool for the next fly-out to Santa Paula.
Grace on the way home from the unplanned stop in King City
Minutes of the General Meeting(7/7/2021)
By Anele Brooks
Attending: Susan Steeb, Maureen Sherwood, Elizabeth Dinan, Janice Odell, Erin Ayers, Grace Crittenden, Carla Cary, Anele Brooks
Susan Steeb called the meeting to order and asked the group what aviation activities they had been involved in. Grace told the group she had spent the last four days on an“owner assisted annual”. She retired the previous Wednesday and spent the first few days working with Al Yecny on the 172, which she really enjoyed.
Dana Davis showed off the Cheetah pants she was given after the purchase of her Cheetah. She is based on the West Side and just purchased a hangar for the plane. She and her husband took a“sunset flight” Tuesday in the new plane.
Janice just replaced a cylinder in her plane. She has been busy trying to finish her house. She is also looking for an instructor for an IFR currency check before she leaves for Oshkosh. She also asked if anyone had issues trying to register for the joint Northwest/Southwest Section Meeting in Las Vegas.
Carla Cary shared details of her plans to create a home out of a mothballed UAE Boeing 777 200L. She believes the project will be complete late in 2022 or early 2023. She and her husband are currently in escrow on a piece of property in the Paso Robles area. They will build a tiny home to live in and rent out the 777. Their plan is to create two apartments out of it. The contents of the aircraft are being auctioned, if anyone is interested in anything they are welcome to bid on it. She has posted a video on our Facebook page if anyone would like more information.
Chairman’s Message
New Cuyama (L88) Progress - Call For Support
Fly-out to Hollister - Full of Action (7/11/2021)
Minutes of the General Meeting (7/7/2021)