PILOT BRIEFING:
VATSTAR 800th Certification Celebration Flight
May 20th 1800z -- KCYS to KEGE
For our 800th Certification Celebration we are flying from KCYS (Cheyenne Regional / Jerry Olson Field) to KEGE (Eagle County Regional). Since both of these are towered fields, unlike our last event there is not a separate origin nor destination for a VFR versus IFR plan. Departures will be between 1800z and 1830z, and the flight should be a little more than an hour.
TAFs as of this writing (0130z) are as follows:
TAF KCYS 192322Z 2000/2024 {...} FM200800 17007KT 1SM BR BKN003
(... from 0800z on, expect winds 170 at 7, visibility 1 mile in mist, ceiling 300ft AGL)
TAF KEGE 192339Z 2000/2024 {...} FM201900 24005KT P6SM FEW090 SCT250
(... from 1900z on, expect winds 240 at 5, visibility 6+ miles, few clouds at 9000, scattered clouds at 25,000)
So as of this moment, the forecast appears more favorable for IFR on departure but possibly VMC upon arrival -- but you can make your own judgment! Note, the forecast does call for thunderstorms at KEGE at around 2000z with winds 15 gusting to 25 and visibility 5 miles -- so it might get rough if we get in late!
If you do happen to fly it VFR (if the weather is much better than predicted or you choose not to simulate real-world conditions) the general direction of flight is 217 degrees for 132 miles. Your best bet might be to fly 209 for 76 miles to Lake Granby, then follow the railroad 24 miles west-southwest to McElroy Airport (20V). That puts you pretty much at Kremmling VOR. From there if you fly due south 27 miles you'll pick up another railroad and highway that you can turn right and follow west about 23 miles to Eagle County Regional. To plot that on Skyvector, copy and paste this into the Flight Plan box: KCYS 400948N1055146W 20V 393648N1062648W 394212N1064217W KEGE
If you file it IFR, the basic routing would be KCYS CYS V361 VAILE KEGE, although in reality upon departure we would probably not fly direct to the CYS VOR but would likely be vectored to intercept the V361 southwest-bound from it. We would also likely pick up the LDA 25 into KEGE from Kremmling instead of following V361 all the way to VAILE. So really, we're flying KCYS V361 RLG KEGE, but we should file the whole route since we don't know for certain what ATC will do with us. Filed altitude needs to be 16,000 in order to meet the MEAs along the way.
For those who wish to try it via radio-navigation, here are the basic steps:
(1) prior to departure, have CYS (113.1) tuned and the OBS set to an outbound course of 203.
(2) we'll intercept that course per ATC instruction after departure.
(3) the first leg is Cheyenne VOR (CYS 113.1) out on the 203 radial to 58 DME (aka ALLAN). Altitude needs to be at least 15,000 by the time we pass DME 24 and at least 16,000 by DME 58.
(4) the next leg is Kremmling VOR (RLG 113.8 ) inbound on the 225 bearing, at or above 16,000. Be ready with the KEGE LDA 25 Approach chart upon reaching Kremmling.
(5) after passing Kremmling, assuming we've been cleared to do so, we're following the feeder leg on the LDA chart which is at a 184 outbound course. We can descend (again, if cleared) to 13,800 until DME 13.5, then further to 12,900 between 13.5 and 19.5.
(6) approaching 19.5 DME out from Kremmling we should tune the LDA (same as an ILS, but offset from the centerline) on 109.75 and course 246. On that signal we should find ourselves approximately at 17.2 DME (AQULA) and should still be holding 12,900 until inside 17.2.
(7) from this point we should track the localizer inbound and follow the charted altitude restictions until acquiring the glideslope: 12,200 to 15.3 DME (WEHAL), 10,400 to 10.8 DME (AIGLE), 9,800 to 9.4 DME (WASHI).
(8 ) from 9.4 DME we should be following localizer and glideslope to the runway. Minimums are quite high (8330 MSL if we have localizer and glideslope) so hopefully the forecast holds up!
(9) in the event of a successful touchdown, the General Aviation terminal is on the south side (a left turn-off from 25); in case we go missed, it's a climb going direct Snow VOR (SXW 109.2) then outbound on a 001 from SXW while continuing up to 14,500 and 24.2 DME.
REMINDER: Cessna Skyhawks very well might not be able to make this journey (particularly IFR) due to the high altitudes required! Also, if you're flying a fancy add-on aircraft such as something from A2A Simulations or similar, be sure you are aware that it could well simulate hypoxic effects at high altitude, meaning that you have to either disable that effect or simulate the use of supplemental oxygen for the pilot. So if you start to experience weirdness with your screen during the flight, that may be the cause!
All in all, it should be a fun flight! We look forward to talking with you in the TeamSpeak server at approximately 1800z!
