AOPA Pilot Blog: Reporting Points

If you were at Lake Tahoe Saturday night (9/27), perhaps among the thousands of people getting ready to run a marathon race today, you saw a Cherokee Six followed by a Diamond C1 above the lake at sunset. AOPA Pilot Chief Photographer Mike Fizer was in the Cherokee Six, and I had a great time flying formation behind him in the Diamond C1. We got some of the best photos and video Mike has ever captured. We staged out of Placerville at 2,500 feet, climbed to 9,800 to safely clear the mountains, descended down a valley to Lake Tahoe and entered the pattern at Lake Tahoe Airport at 7,500 feet. Look for Mike’s shots in future issues of Flight Training magazine, and check online for the video of the Diamond, still in weak sunlight at 300 feet, flying above a runway that was in the dark. Right place, right time.

A 1941 Taylorcraft slid off a mountain near Talkeetna, Alaska, April 17, catching on a rock just below the top and leaving the occupants dangling over a 1,500-foot drop. The two on board were not injured and the aircraft, recovered by a helicopter, suffered little damage but needs a new wing bow. The 21-year-old pilot and his passenger were looking for a place to go snowboarding, the pilot’s mother said. Crusted snow caused the skiplane to slide faster than expected, making the landing a few inches too long.  Details are in the “Anchorage Daily News.”

Click photo to enlarge. (Photo courtesy Alaska National Guard)