We flew from Nampa, Idaho to the San Francisco area to see the airshow for the U.S. Navy’s Fleet Week. The Blue Angels were the headliners for the airshow, but this was our first time seeing the Red Bull Air Races. That was even more exciting than the famous Blue Angels.
This would be our first long trip after getting our Garmin 396 which has the unique ability to display live weather information on a portable aviation GPS unit. I didn’t want any really bad weather, but I was hoping there would be something interesting about the weather that the new GPS would help us with.
While initially planning this trip, we thought we’d fly from our home airport of Nampa, ID to Oakland, CA which would take us 3.0 hours with no wind. When I checked the weather on Wednesday night prior to our Friday morning departure, the forecast winds aloft showed a significant headwind for the whole route. Continue reading San Francisco Airshow: Part 1
Saturday’s weather was perfect for an air show. No fog, no clouds, just clear blue skies with a little wind. We enjoyed fresh seafood for lunch before strolling west towards Municipal Pier. I had purchased reserved seats to make sure we had a good view for the show. The $20 tickets turned out to be a bargain considering that we had reserved seats right on the water. The reserved area provided plenty of room for us to walk around and enjoy the show without being trampled by the crowds behind the gate. Continue reading San Francisco Airshow: Part 2
Although I am more of a morning person than Nancy, it really was nice to sleep in and just wander around a bit in the city before heading to the airport. Many of our flying trips are in the summer, so we are in the habit of departing as early as we can to take advantage of the cool air before the afternoon turbulence and thunderstorms kick in. On this October day, there wasn’t any significant weather to worry about, which was a nice change. Continue reading San Francisco Airshow: Part 3