The San Fernando Valley is notorious for being much hotter than the coast and as we crossed over the pass, there was a sudden jolt and a very rapid rise in OAT. The cockpit became noticeably hot.
pb84 called up Van Nuys and we made a landing and take off there, just for fun. No PPR, no fuss, no landing fees - just do it.
While taxying back to the threshold, besides the usual boring biz-jets, we saw two CL 415s and a couple of Skycranes:
plus some oddly painted T-6s with Luftwaffe markings:
Did I mention it is hot in The Valley? It was over 40C on the ground at Van Nuys.
From VNY to SMO, the VFR route follows I-405 through the Sepulveda Pass and past the Getty Museum:
Shortly after this flight, pb84 had his inadvertent, night IMC experience at the same location:
http://www.pprune.org/private-flying...l-day-2-a.html
I like to think that if I had been doing the flying, I wouldn't have flown straight into the cloud. My SOP would be: "pb84, stop messing about with your maps. You have control!"
It was early afternoon as we arrived back, so there was just the normal, light freeway traffic
:
That was my first flight in a Maule. A delightful aircraft and so much more sociable than a tandem taildragger, although the shoulder room is a bit lacking for big lads like us! Thanks again, pb84, for a great flight.