What a summer! I’ve been going Mach 90 with my hair on fire – but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
On the flying front, I’ve had a whole lot of new adventures.
On June 10, 2011, me and my CFI Extraordinaire, Andrew I. Garcia, flew my first cross-country IFR Flight in the Bonanza. Awesome would be an understatement.
We left Gateway (IWA) and headed to William J. Fox Field (WJF), in my hometown. We 94JV parked at Fox Field overnight and got to hang out with my parents for the evening.
Early the next morning, we left Fox Field and headed to the coast looking for the best IMC conditions we could find – we found them! Flew through the soup to Santa Barbara (SBA) and landed there (got to use the Mustang crew car).
Our original plan was to land at Van Nuys Airport, but the instrument runway (16 right) was closed. I had casually suggested that we go to Burbank instead. Andrew said “Well, why not!”
You have to understand the importance of Burbank airport to me. This very well could be where my love of aviation began. Whenever the family would head up to see Grandpa, we’d go to Burbank airport to fly commercially. I couldn’t believe that I would be on the “other side of the fence,” actually operating my own airplane into Burbank!
I got on with So Cal approach and was vectored for the ILS runway 8 approach. It was such an awesome feeling to be flying amongst “the big boys.”
Jake on SoCal Approach (Audio)
After we parked, we upgraded to the BMW 5 (which I could not park to save my life – I can still hear the snickering of the couple in the minivan as I tried to get this dang car into a parking spot).
We got ready, copied our clearance and booked it to Big Bear airport (L35).
I had such an incredible time on that flight – definitely a huge learning experience. Not only was I able to log quite a bit of “actual” time, but I was also able to experience operating in some of the most complex airspace in the world!
Another huge highlight of the summer was singing at the Showdown Rodeo in front of 4000 plus rodeo fans. Joined by Miss Molly Wineland, we entertained the crowds with pre-show and had the honor of singing our National Anthem. This was the first time we had done it together as a duet – Molly rocks!
Each Night after the rodeo, we took to the stage for the Van Dam Barn Dance! We even got to join Hollywood Yates during his set for a little “Save a Horse Ride A Cowboy.” We sang while everyone two-stepped and cha-cha’d till those cows came home!