Tahoe 2010 | Angel City Flyers, Inc.

Tahoe 2010

Our annual fly-out to Tahoe proved exciting yet again! While last year was a scenic picture-perfect VFR trip, this year was IFR all the way testing the pilots’ flight planning prowess and situational awareness. The reward was worth the effort, though, as the skiing was delightful and the flying successful.

On the day of the flight the weather was dubious. Three planes were heading up with instructors and we spent the morning checking weather and discussing plans. Icing levels delayed our departure from Long Beach as we needed to cross the Gorman Pass with it’s Airmets and Pireps for freezing conditions in the clouds. By early afternoon, though, the problems had passed and we launched our Twin Stars in rapid succession.

Fortunately our DA42s were FIKI approved (flight into known icing) because we were using it by Bakersfield. We were in and out of the clouds before we had a chance to descend to lower MEAs along V459 in the San Fernando Valley. We watched the weather closely as we closed to within 100 nm of KTVL as we would need to climb to 12,000 for the approach.

We started to collect ice quickly during the climb. The TKS was worked well, though, and easily kept up with the accumulation. We always had a plan should the situation have gotten worse: the clouds were broken so we could have stayed VFR and in the clear if we had needed to. The clouds bordering Lake Tahoe to the west were tall and cold but we were able to limit our exposure during the approach which thankfully proved to be uneventful. As it turned out, our three DA42s were the only aircraft to arrive that day (several King Airs had opted for alternates earlier in the day).

The next day the clouds parted and the sun came out. We drove to Kirkwood for a wonderful day of skiing then home the next day. The flight out of KTVL was as challenging as the arrival but we were in the clear within an hour or so.

Everyone enjoyed the experience and students and instructors alike had plenty to discuss and review in the following days. We each came to the same conclusion, though: we’re all going again next year!