© C Blythe 2004

Getting up at 5.30 am on a Sunday morning is not something I think I have ever done before. A look outside showed it to be still dark. Today’s adventure would take us to Walla Walla via Lewiston; fancy coming across an Aussie sounding place name out here in the boondocks.

Missoula is not a big place, it’s different and it feels as if people have not been there long. We were not going to be there long either. First stop was to be  breakfast but in fact we stopped at a little coffee shack to get some real coffee. We picked up a couple of lattes for Sharon and myself to have with breakfast.  

By 8am we were at the airport again, loading the aircraft. It just gave me enough time to take some photos of the clouds hanging on the valley sides. It had not changed much from last night.  Sharon was going to lead us off.

Rich and Sharon preparing for the days flying - look at the clouds in the background

The departure from Missoula was really amazing. We did the KONNA2.RIVAL departure. At about 500ft AAL we passed through the scattered layer. We then climbed through an overcast layer another 2000ft later. Poking out of the cloud in the distance were mountain peaks. Lewiston, Idaho was a comfortable 120 miles from Missoula and it gave us all some time to get back into the swing. Our ultimate destination that night was Medford, Oregon and dinner with Field Morey, Rich’s father and the founder of the West Coast Adventure. The Enroute chart showing the RIVAL intersection where the transition to the airway is complete can be found here.

Executing the KONNA2.RIVAL departure from Missoula notice how local that cloud is around the airport

The scenery on the way to Lewiston changed again. Not long after passing the RIVAL intersection we changed time zone again too; we were now in Pacific Daylight Saving Time or GMT-7. We travelled VFR on Top until eventually the cloud just vanished. Gone were the rugged mountains with a MEA of 13000 ft. It soon dropped to 5500 ft where we were now over smoother ground. At Lewiston, which is Idaho’s only seaport – (get the map out and make sense of that!) we came across the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater rivers. Sharon made her approach and miss and then it was off to Walla Walla. If ever a place was forgettable it’s Walla Walla which is a shame because you cannot forget the name. All I have of Walla Walla is this picture of the restrooms set out by the self service refuelling point.

No sooner had we refuelled them it was time to set of again this time with me doing the trip to The Dalles with a practice low approach using  the ILS RWY 25 at Pendleton. This was done using the Walla Walla transition, basically a way to go from enroute to terminal. My copy of the approach plate shows how I had prepared for this approach. First, I had to depart WW using the Walla Walla ONE departure procedure, which looks pretty pointless. Basically you take off and ATC tell you how to get to where you want through radar vectors.

The approach into Pendleton went fine. I think by now I was getting well up to speed and managing to get ahead with the small things that catch you out like the next frequency etc. The only thing I was forgetting to do was actually flip the frequency over. It’s a bit embarrassing when you make the call to the tower and you are still on approach. The Moreys call this “ Miller time”. That is when you do that you have to buy a beer as a penalty. If Rich was enforcing that rule strictly, I would have owed him a crate of beer. The miss went OK but I fluffed the entry into the hold. Not so bad as to stray out of the protected area but enough to make the entry a mess. Once in the hold, things improved, but there was no “Nice job” from Rich. Two days ago I might have got a “Nice job”. The expectations were rising; the performance would have to rise as well. So much for thinking I was getting ahead of the game.

Leaving the hold at Pendleton we continued to The Dalles. The view was spectacular I was told, but under the hood I was concentrating on managing my flight along V112. Again we were into written exam territory as familiar VORs appeared on the chart. Here we did the VOR/DME approach flying the 15 DME arc. Plenty of step down fixes along the final approach course which was relatively short.

As we joined the arc we kept the auto pilot on as we had 22 miles to fly before joining the final approach course. As we passed MUGGZ intersection I knocked off the autopilot, dropped the gear and flaps and got into final approach configuration. Interestingly if the local altimeter setting is not available then this procedure cannot be flown. We were to land on RWY 7. As this is a circling procedure I turned downwind and made a good landing. As we taxied to the terminal, I got a “nice job” from Sharon which felt good. I think Rich was distracted.

The City of the Dalles is in Oregon; its airport is in Washington State across the Columbia River. The whole set up is pretty unusual. Little things like a notice saying that residents of Oregon do not have to pay Washington Sales tax at the airport on proof or residency.  We managed to grab a quick bite to eat and then it was Sharon to take us to Redmond a mere 82 miles away.

I had been looking forward particularly to this bit of the trip. First because we were going to fly higher than ever before, second we were aiming to go past Crater Lake and finally there was the chance to meet Rich’s father whom I had corresponded with by email in setting up the trip. The distance to Medford would be 150 miles allowing for the diversion to Crater Lake.

Then it was back under the hood for the final approach of the day, VOR/DME 14 to Medford, another place familiar from the exam.

Today must have been DME arc day because there was yet another one to do.  This approach is a sneaky one as the VOR is before the airport so you fly one approach course to the VOR and then as you pass the VOR there is a 7 degree change for the final approach course. This was just to see if I was still awake.  By now a pattern had developed where I was able to get done all I needed to do. The aircraft was now familiar and as I passed the VOR at 3600 ft It was then a turn to 146 degrees, twist the HSI course indicator accordingly, start the timer, and talk to the tower, the 4Ts. The last three miles to the missed approach point were at a level altitude and a mile out the hood came off and the landing made. It was getting to be routine but not to the extent that it was automatic. By now the basic skills of flying the procedures I had arrived with had improved immeasurably, the radio work was comfortable (apart from my generosity with the beer) and I was able to plan ahead and ease the workload. Being organised does make IFR flying so much easier.

The next two days were set to push the boundaries even further as we made our way into California and the “meatgrinder” of the Los Angeles Area. Anyway before that was a chance to relax enjoy dinner with Field Morey, probably one of the most accomplished aviators in the US. He is  the most interesting pilot I have ever met and now runs the Alaska and Rocky Mountain Adventures from his Medford base whilst Rich deals with the West Coast trip. The hospitality was generous and warm and dinner was delicious. I do not think I have had so much beef in one meal in my whole life before.

Unfortunately it was soon time to return to the hotel, complete another quiz and get some sleep before another early start the following morning – Monday.

Missoula to Medford 529 nm

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