Flying across America

Our route today from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Santa Maria, California

What is often such an incredibly beautiful flight across America ended up being a lot of high cloud and freezing rain. (Yes – icing in New Mexico!).

The first 2 hours was spent changing altitudes to remain clear of any freezing conditions. Icing is a danger pilots learn about early on. Ice adds weight and changes the aerodynamics of the aircraft. We eventually went up to 14 000 feet and put on oxygen

There were some breaks in the clouds along the way so I was able to get some shots of the incredible landscape below

Descending over beautiful fields of California

A glimpse of the Pacific Ocean in the distance

We spend the night in Santa Maria and will prepare for the ocean crossing tomorrow en route to Hawaii.

We’ve been planning for this crossing for a number of weeks now. Firstly, arranging for the stops that work across the Pacific – confirming we are able to land and that fuel will be available. Secondly – checking the winds across the Pacific daily to see if they would work. Flight plans and fuel calculations are made based on distance and winds. So with a crossing from the California coast to Hawaii – a leg close to 4000 km- with no land in between – it is very important the winds work with us and not against us. Ferry pilots can end up waiting for days – waiting for the right winds that will bring them across. The flight will be about 14 and so at about hour 7 the pilot will need to decide – based on winds and fuel – to continue on or go back and try another day.