Little ol' me and an International Airport
Yesterday I managed to get two of my solo navigation flights back-to-back on the same aircraft (N268ND) - so I planned a route that would take me north up to Lake Havasu and Bullhead International Airport. It was a fantastic flight - flying over areas that were new to me, and upon reaching Lake Havasu my breath was taken away. What an awesome place, and from 4500 feet up I had a good view of the lake, the city, and the old London Bridge. For those not familiar with the tale:
In 1962, London Bridge was falling down. Built in 1831, the bridge couldn't handle the ever-increasing flow of traffic across the Thames River. The British government decided to put the bridge up for sale, and Robert McCulloch, Founder of Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and Chairman of McCulloch Oil Corporation, submitted the winning bid of $2,460,000.
The bridge was dismantled, and each stone was carefully marked. Everything was shipped 10,000 miles to Long Beach, California, and then trucked to Lake Havasu City. Reconstruction began on September 23, 1968, with a ceremony including the Lord Mayor of London, who laid the cornerstone. On October 10, 1971, the bridge was dedicated.
This first photo is a view of the city and the lake as I approached from the south.
I transitioned over the top of Lake Havasu airport and continued north towards Bullhead City International. I called them up and asked permission for a full-stop landing, and when granted a straight in approach I began my descent and prepared for landing. Fortunately everything went really well, and the ATC ground controller was very nice and gave me excellent directions to the parking facility. I parked up, and while tying the aircraft down a guy on an airport buggy came over and offered me a lift. I hopped on, and was driven over to a building where I could arrange fuel, grab a drink, and have a chat with some other pilots. Once the fuel was taken care of, I got a lift back to the Warrior and got everything ready for departure. ATC were again very good with me, and in a matter of minutes I was airborne again, heading south back to Phoenix. I took a different route back, travelling down the west side of the lake - here's a pic of the lake, showing London Bridge:
Another great picture I took was this next one, it's the Colorado river as it runs south out of the lake. It's a great picture, it looks kinda like an artists impression to me - too flawless to be real. Maybe I'm just getting all emotional in my old age:
I made it back to Goodyear safe and sound and only ten minutes later than I should have been. Quite an achievement in itself that, especially as I was late leaving due to me needing full tanks.
I'm really glad now that I planned this trip - it let me take in some awesome scenery but also gave me the opportunity to do a full stop landing at a busy airport - something I have to do again to get my CPL in a couple of weeks time.
I've taken all the video clips I took and put them together into one clip, unedited. Feel free to take a look, but it's probably a bit dull apart from the view.
One last thing. The other day I was playing with Play Doh with Georgia, and knowing how much she likes my laptop I made her a little one. Her reaction shows she didn't think much of it compared to mine:
In 1962, London Bridge was falling down. Built in 1831, the bridge couldn't handle the ever-increasing flow of traffic across the Thames River. The British government decided to put the bridge up for sale, and Robert McCulloch, Founder of Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and Chairman of McCulloch Oil Corporation, submitted the winning bid of $2,460,000.
The bridge was dismantled, and each stone was carefully marked. Everything was shipped 10,000 miles to Long Beach, California, and then trucked to Lake Havasu City. Reconstruction began on September 23, 1968, with a ceremony including the Lord Mayor of London, who laid the cornerstone. On October 10, 1971, the bridge was dedicated.
This first photo is a view of the city and the lake as I approached from the south.
I transitioned over the top of Lake Havasu airport and continued north towards Bullhead City International. I called them up and asked permission for a full-stop landing, and when granted a straight in approach I began my descent and prepared for landing. Fortunately everything went really well, and the ATC ground controller was very nice and gave me excellent directions to the parking facility. I parked up, and while tying the aircraft down a guy on an airport buggy came over and offered me a lift. I hopped on, and was driven over to a building where I could arrange fuel, grab a drink, and have a chat with some other pilots. Once the fuel was taken care of, I got a lift back to the Warrior and got everything ready for departure. ATC were again very good with me, and in a matter of minutes I was airborne again, heading south back to Phoenix. I took a different route back, travelling down the west side of the lake - here's a pic of the lake, showing London Bridge:
Another great picture I took was this next one, it's the Colorado river as it runs south out of the lake. It's a great picture, it looks kinda like an artists impression to me - too flawless to be real. Maybe I'm just getting all emotional in my old age:
I made it back to Goodyear safe and sound and only ten minutes later than I should have been. Quite an achievement in itself that, especially as I was late leaving due to me needing full tanks.
I'm really glad now that I planned this trip - it let me take in some awesome scenery but also gave me the opportunity to do a full stop landing at a busy airport - something I have to do again to get my CPL in a couple of weeks time.
I've taken all the video clips I took and put them together into one clip, unedited. Feel free to take a look, but it's probably a bit dull apart from the view.
One last thing. The other day I was playing with Play Doh with Georgia, and knowing how much she likes my laptop I made her a little one. Her reaction shows she didn't think much of it compared to mine:
posted by Simon Davidson @ 11:49 AM
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