Slipstream December 2021

A Beautiful Day in Half Moon Bay - November Fly-out (KHAF) (11/13/2021)

Photos and text by Grace Crittenden
We have been talking about flying to Half Moon Bay for quite a while. It is always an “iffy” destination. It is about as far as we go on a fly-out, and the weather is always a concern. Situated right on the coast and just south of San Francisco, fog and wind are often a problem, but fall is prime time for blue skies and less wind.
We were so lucky, having picked the date so far in advance. The contingency plan was if Half Moon Bay was not clear, we could go to Watsonville or Salinas. The weather and winds were perfect! It was a two hour flight each way, and two of the planes made a stop in Paso Robles each way to pick up and drop off passengers.
Eric Paton flew down the coast in the Cirrus with his daughter, Avery, and his student, Alice Sukhostavskiy (the name is Ukraninian) who is studying at Cal Poly. Robin Shatto picked up her sister Gay in Paso. Dana Davis had her mother, Carol Mackey, in the right seat and picked up Cynthia Douglas in Paso on the way. I had Maggie Temler and Terese Theiler flying with me. 
It was clear and warm in San Luis so we could get a relatively early departure. We had a reservation for lunch at the Mezzo Luna at noon. Robin Shatto had flown up to KHAF a couple of weeks earlier and found that the restaurants were very busy on the weekends. When we arrived, there were several planes tied down at the transient parking and it seemed like a steady stream of incoming planes.
 
Half Moon Bay Airport has a YouTube video that suggested a teardrop entry over the 30 runway to enter right traffic. There was a little turbulence on the right downwind over the hills, but none over the water on final. What a scenic location for an airport.
While we topped off fuel for the trip home, we noticed that there were not many hangars at the field. The sun was bright and warm, and the restaurant was just a short walk outside the gate at the south end of the field [see photo below].
We had 4 planes and 11 people for lunch. The food was good and lots of good conversation. There were beautiful views of the bay from the restaurant.
All of a sudden there was fog coming over the breakwater. That was not in the forecast… 
 
We all headed for our planes. A cold wind had kicked up and there was a bank of fog at the end of the runway with wisps of fog blowing in front of us as we taxied out. Now it was time for some excitement! Everyone got off without a problem, and as we turned to right downwind, we could see that there was just a very thin layer of fog at the coastline. Maybe that is why there are so few planes based at KHAF.
The rest of the flight home was clear, beautiful and unremarkable except for a surprising amount of air traffic. There were little triangles all over my Foreflight chart until we were south of Salinas. 
 
It was the perfect day for flying and like us, everyone was out enjoying the day.

Flying to the Bay Area (11/20-21/2021)

Photos and text by Grace Crittenden

It was a remarkable weekend to fly to the Bay Area. Flying north there was a magical haze below the clouds south of Monterey. The Bay Area was so clear. After taking off from Palo Alto, we flew west to the coast before heading home, and it was so clear that looking north, you could see Half Moon Bay, Point Reyes and Mount Tamalpias.

Emmi Sturckow Wins SLO 99s Scholarship

By Dana Davis

Congratulaions to Emmi Sturckow, recipient of the SLO 99s fall 2021 Scholarship. Emmi is a Cal Poly student completing her Private Pilot license and working towards her Instrument rating and more. She also works on the line at ACI, so introduce yourself next time she fills up your airplane! 
Here is a note from Emmi: Hello everyone! I got my start in aviation by flying gliders with my dad. He has been a huge inspiration in my journey. Currently, I am working on finishing up my Private Pilot License. I plan to use this scholarship for the remainder of my Private Pilot training, and possibly some of Instrument training as well. I am so grateful and excited to be a part of the SLO 99s. I can't wait to continue learning and growing as a pilot.”

Minutes of the General Meeting (11/3/2021)

By Anele Brooks

Location: ACI Jet Center

Attending: Grace Crittenden, Susan Connor-Steeb, Theresa Theiler, Liz Weaver, Wenonah O'Rourke, Janice Odell, Dana Davis & Erin Ayers (via Zoom), Anêle Brooks