701 to Copperstate #3

. . deviated to the south to avoid the restricted airspace around Edwards Air Force Base. Then I headed east for an hour prior to turning southeast again toward Palm Springs. As I got closer, I began to hear the controllers directing other airplanes around a massive forest fire that was raging to the west of Palm Springs. There was a TFR up to 10,000 feet over the fire. Looking west, I could see great billowing columns of smoke engulfing the whole area. I would later learn that, tragically, this fire took the lives of five firefighters.

As I came out of the mountains I descended into the valley east of Palm Springs. Bermuda Dunes was my second fuel stop. BDD is an uncontrolled field with a full service FBO. The line guys went to get the fuel truck and I gave instructions to fill both tanks to the top. I ran into the office to use the facilities and pay for the gas. There were 3 hours of daylight left for my last three hours of flying. I would be cutting it close.

I returned to the plane as the fuel truck pulled away. Out of habit, I made sure to look for the 100LL markings on the truck (we’ve all heard that Jet-A makes the Rotax engine run a little rough…) The airplane had been flying really well in every respect, and I was in a big rush to get airborne. I hesitated at the thought of the time delay required, but nevertheless, I forced myself to complete a thorough preflight. As it turned out, omitting the preflight checks would have been a very bad decision. To my astonishment I found that one of the gas caps had been just set loosely back on top of the filler neck without being turned to secure it. Just sitting there, the cap looked as if it had been properly replaced. Only by actually putting my hand on the cap did I detect the line-boy’s mistake. From inside my high-wing plane I wouldn’t have noticed the steady stream of fuel that would have been sucked out by the low pressure above the wing. I have no doubt that I could have put my plane down safely in some part of Arizona’s forbidding moonscape. But, at best, that would have meant at least one very long, very cold night in the middle of nowhere...

A couple of hours east of Palm Springs it seemed that due to slight headwinds and the few deviations for airspace, sunset was now closer than my destination. The big question: Do I press on to Casa Grande or divert north to ensure that I can be on the ground before dark? Diverting would involve a huge inconvenience that would include spending the night in Buckeye, Arizona. An airport facility guide indicated that Buckeye did have a motel in town, six miles from the field. But did they have any vacancies? How would I get to town? Also, my friends were waiting for me at Copperstate. I was fully qualified to fly at night (on my private ticket) and my airplane was equipped with lights. But... The destination airport was unfamiliar to me, as was the terrain that I’d have to cross to get there. I was sure that I would be fine if I just stayed high and let down over the city lights. But... How close was the airport to the city lights? The safest thing to do would be to divert and land before dark. No... Diverting is ridiculous. I am a good pilot. If I continued I would be landing in Casa Grande one half hour after sunset. Therefore, it would still be twilight almost all of the way in. If I continued on, the night landing might be a bit of a challenge but that’s part of the fun and excitement of flying. Worse case, I’d bounce a time or two on landing. So what’s the big deal? I would be fine.

With a simple twist of my wrist, the cap was secured and I was on my way again. The GPS helped me dodge various chunks of restricted airspace. I heard other pilots asking permission to pass through this or that restricted area but ATC continued to reply that it was all “hot.” I was content to fly around.