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I'm flying a different airplane for this solo cross country. Our flying club just sold their 1964 Mooney 20E and bought a 1979 Piper Archer II. The Mooney was a fast plane but considered complex with retractable gears --- and the club insurance only limits 10 pilots to fly it. The Archer has about the same performance as the club's Cessna 172 - 180HP, definitely easier to fly than the Mooney, and anyone checked out by a CFI can fly it. I was checked out last Sunday and here am I already in a 150 direct miles cross country. Since the flying club just acquired this plane, there may be some surprises. And sure enough, as I was airborne, I found out that it has a sticky compass. At times, the compass heading stays in one position different from the actual heading. To avoid confusion, I decided to disregard the compass and navigate using the two VOR's (no GPS). The plane's VOR's were working great. The plan was to fly to Modesto VOR from Napa, then follow Hwy. 99 to Fresno Chandler. The flight was smooth and the plane's engine sounded strong. It's interesting that ATC keeps referring the Archer as Cherokee, so I just went ahead and use Cherokee in my call sign. Fresno Chandler is a very convenient airport just few minutes away from downtown. Since I arrived late afternoon, everything seemed to have closed already and no one responded the Unicom, I spent few minutes taxiing around looking for the transient parking. Finally I decided to park in front of the administration building. Although the building sign says "administration building", I'm not sure if it is still a functioning administration building because there's a restaurant inside (Mak's Café - but it was also close then). Called Enterprise for my rental car reservation as I shut downed and they were ready to pick me up as I was unloading --- that was quick! At one occasion, the hotel I was staying (Radisson) also picked me up from Chandler since it was just few minutes away. On my return flight, friendly staff at Memley Aviation let me use their computer to check the latest weather. There was also some sort of local pilot association meeting on that day inside the Memley building. Chandler has two fuel stations. One is BP Air managed by Memley. When I used it the first time, I found it a bit complicated - and they also ran out of fuel. The second one was a Chevron managed by Frank Ruiz Avionics. This one has a more modern station pump control and easier to follow. I found this airport well maintained, with friendly, helpful folks. The security gate requires several tries of entering the security code before I can get it to open. The pattern is surprisingly busy with helicopter, LSA's among those doing T&G's. Parking fee is $2.88 a night. There's another airport in Fresno, the Fresno Yosemite International. But because there are regular commercial flights to Fresno International, one has to go to security checks, and parking and fuel are more expensive. It's also farther away from downtown - thus, not as convenient as Fresno Chandler. Return flight was on March 26, 2010: There was an Airmet advisory the day before stating "VFR Flight Not Recommended". But on this day, sky was clear and the winds were low. There was a slight turbulence as I took off from Chandler but after passing Fresno and climbing to 4,500 ft., it was smooth all the way. The flight plan was just the reverse - follow Hwy. 99 towards Modesto VOR, then to Scaggs Island VOR. Because of good visibility, I was able to spot one of my landmarks -- Mount Diablo - and started heading towards it from Modesto following the Scaggs Island VOR. I am already getting use to fly this Archer that as I approached Napa, tower requested me to land at runway 24 then hold short for 18R (18L and 18R were the active) due to busy training traffic, and I was able to execute a short field landing at 24. This Archer is sure fun to easy and fun to fly. |
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At Fresno Chandler transient parking area.
This is the Piper Archer II I've flown cross country for the first time.
ATC keeps referring it as Cherokee, so I just use Cherokee in my call sign. |
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The administration building on the left. Mak's Cafe is inside. Memley Aviation FBO on the right building. |
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Memley's maintenance hanger and the BP fuel station. |
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At one time, Fresno Chandler may have been a towered airport. |
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It was a surprisingly chilly Fresno morning doing my preflight. |
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Over Carquinez Strait looking towards Concord on my return trip. |
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Over Carquinez Strait towards the mothball fleet and Benicia. Also view of Mt. Tam. |
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