Our last flight in Betty the Beech
Grand Canyon via Las Vegas and Death Valley to Carson city!
With the threat of 40kt gusting 60kt and already many of the
local sightseeing planes being grounded, we rush back to the airport. Flippie
is in touch with his good friend Steve Hamilton in Carson city and the two
aviators decide that it should be possible for us to safely get across to
Nevada.
After take off it’s a final stunning flight across the
massive Grand Canyon! It is sooo immense and breath-taking!
 |
| can you spot the bridge and dam? |
After an hour we approach the Hoover dam at Lake Mead. It’s
one of the biggest dams in the world and one of the oldest constructed between
1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression.
 |
| flying straight over Las Vegas international airport in the Beech |
ATC then advises a routing straight over Las Vegas
International!
Fabulous views of big jets coming into land right below us
whilst others zoom across at high altitude.
It’s unbelievable how many golf courses there are! Seems
like every house has one…
Then we head for the mountains and the terrain gets rough
and winds challenging.
There are some severe bumps and I need to hold onto my seat – and certainly strap myself firmly in. Our speed drops to even less what you see here, right down to 71 miles per hour!
There are some severe bumps and I need to hold onto my seat – and certainly strap myself firmly in. Our speed drops to even less what you see here, right down to 71 miles per hour!
We climb to a record altitude of 13,500ft! It’s cold, it’s
shaky and I get to my limits again…
Heading further out towards the North-West we now approach
the desert of Death Valley. The wind certainly is blowing as we are surrounded by
massive sand storms. Luckily we are so high, they don’t reach us.
The turbulence continues and I am struggling to keep
upright.
Phil points out Mono Lake. Now that is a story of the
Dunningtons: It goes back to our honeymoon in 2004 when we drove from Denver,
Colorado via Santa Fe, route 66 and Death Valley to San Francisco. We had a
small hot air balloon in the back of our hired vehicle and I wasn’t a pilot
yet.
After 40 degrees heat in Death Valley we drive up to Mono
Lake which was a white winter wonderland. It is lunch time, sunny and flat
calm. Phil decides it’s so beautiful he would risk a balloon flight.
The two of us set the balloon up and Phil flies off. Into unknown
territory. And I am left with a car, but no maps, no radio and no phone signal.
The balloon quickly disappears behind a volcanic mountain and I have no idea on
how to find him. Trying to drive down a little side track, the car gets bogged
into the deep snow. I have to run 2 miles to the balloon.
With winds now being too strong we have to deflate and what
follows is a 3 hours carry out through deep snow! It is – it was nearly
divorce!!!
Anyway, this time it was not. In fact my mind goes back to
the incredible experiences we had and the many wonderful people that we met.
Despite the ups and downs I would not want to miss a single day!
 |
| flying into a snow storm |
We are by now surrounded by high mountains and flying
through a snow storm. But the final destination is in sight: Carson city!
At shortly before 1pm we touch down. Betty screams as she
always does when the ground is near. Is it joy – is it sadness? I am filled
with emotions. I am so relieved to be safely down but I shall miss this good
old bird! She has taken us safely over high mountains, vast oceans, dense
jungle, through snow- and sand storms, poor visibility, freezing cold and heat.
 |
| the welcome committee! |
She is 66, but she still goes strong and performed brilliantly!
Then Flippie turns the engines off as we park up in front of
her new home for the next months. Steve and Marilee Hamilton – good friends of
Flippie and Vlooi – and their friends Phyllis and Rick, greet us and help to
push the Beech into the hangar.
Sadly it’s all a bit of a sudden rush and no time for a
final sunny picture in front of Betty. So once we offload everything, it’s time
for a farewell photo.
 |
| from left: Steve, Rick, Phyllis, Flippie, Marilee, Phil |
 |
| Phil, Allie, Flippie |
The rest of the afternoon is spent at Steve and Marilee’s wonderful
house and down at THE ‘bar’!!! Steve’s passion are vintage cars and he has
painstakingly restored all of them himself. It’s a walk through history
followed by gin tonics, whisky and a delicious salmon dinner.
 |
| The 'boys' at the bar |
Thank you so much for having us here!!!
 |
| Steve at the controls! |
Well, that’s the story for now. I will feel relieved not
having the pressure of writing and sorting hundreds of photos each day anymore,
but I will also miss being ‘On the Beech’ very much!
 |
| Betty the Beech in her new home! |
Let’s see what the future brings and please keep checking
the blog as there will for sure be more on it. We still have to calculate the total
flying hours, miles spent in the air, sort videos and photos and will keep you
posted on what’s going to happen next.
And don’t forget if you would like to get in touch with
Flippie and Vlooi Vermeulen – or even better – join one of their outstanding
African flight safaris, see their website here: http://www.springbokclassicair.co.za/page.php?4
And if you are interested in anything ballooning or further
interest in the Beech 18 G-BKGM then find us through our website here: www.gonewiththewind.uk.com
And let’s not forget John and Anne Herbert who help out with
charity work in Africa and who flew us safely across the Atlantic: https://www.mercyair.org
Thank you so much for following us!
PS: we will be flying back up to Toronto via Dallas on the
19th and then overnight to London. Back finally in Bristol on the 20th.
No comments:
Post a Comment