Cross country flights are always fun, especially when  you are in good company. This trip was from Pompano Beach Florida (KPGP) back to Las Vegas (KVGT)in the new to us 888HA. 8HA is an R44 Clipper II we are adding to our tour fleet.  We were specifically looking for  a ship with fewer hours and minimal options for weight.  8HA fit the bill to a T with with its beautiful candy apple red paint and gold trim. My co-pilot Cade is working on his commercial and my daughter Talia (8) is working on VFR chart familiarity and airspace, she’s not doing to badly either.  We learned a lot along the way and  met some great folks as well… here are the highlights.

Flight Following

Helicopter pilots don’t seem to use flight following as often as fixed wing pilots do but they should. There are so many advantages that will make your flight more enjoyable and safer.  Traffic alerts,  weather information, and just handling getting you through all the smaller class D  air spaces around a large Bravo.  On this particular flight our plan had us landing at  Hammond Regional (KHDC) in Louisiana. The chart has it as an un-towered  airport but as we were arriving ATC switched me over saying ” 888HA contact Hammond tower on 120.5″ …. I had to scratch my head  and wonder did he have me at the wrong airport?  The chart clearly showed it did not have a control tower. I switched frequencies and sure enough in the last month the airport had opened a new tower that would not be updated until the next cycle of charts. I would not have know this without flight following.

Hammond Air Center

Not only did they have amazing fuel prices, but they gave us a complimentary home brewed soda of our choice and a six pack of the local brew….. NICE!  Audry, behind the desk was extremely helpful with everything and Bilad, the lineman, got us fueled up and ready to go in a flash.   They have a really nice pilots lounge and on staff maintenance if you have any trouble.  If you are looking for a place to stop in Louisiana, this is it.

Special  Air Traffic Rule 93

Everyone learns about part 61 and  91, but take a look at FAR part 93 if you are planning any long cross country to any unfamiliar airports, they may be subject to special air traffic rules. These rules can seem confusing but what is nice is they are laid out clearly for you in each sub-part of the chapter for each effected area. In our case we had two such areas, the Valparaiso  Florida area and Luke Air Force base outside of Glendale AZ.  Our flight plan had us stopping in Destin Florida, beautiful beaches and lots of sun but the charts look daunting. luckily we were able to look up plenty of information online  and found it was really easy to transition east to west along the coast without a hitch.  In Arizona pretty much the same thing, we simply needed to establish contact with Luke approach before entering the area. a few  simple radio calls and we were on our way back to Vegas.

For more information about the Destin Florida special air traffic rule, check out this course on faasaftey.gov

Something Special Cafe, Glendale Arizona

Unbelievable food!!! If you are looking for the $100 dollar hamburger this is the place to go.  The menu is not huge but that allows the owner to have only the freshest ingredients. The soups are made fresh daily and the sandwiches are to die for. I had the gourmet grilled cheese and black bean soup…. so good.  Please let your friends know this is a great destination for breakfast or lunch… check them out.

So we did over 22 hours in our R44 and saw some amazing things…… if you ever get the chance to go on one of these journeys do it ….. you will love it..

Brian Lorenz

702 Helicopters