Hayley Herberg flies a Diamond DA50 from Minden over the Sierra Nevada to Camarillo, California, for the US Aircraft Expo.
What the video covers
Written in our own words. It only describes what the video shows and says.Departure from Minden and climb over the Sierra Nevada
Hayley Herberg works in aircraft sales, flies Diamond aircraft and owns a 1966 Beechcraft Debonair. She starts at her home airport in Minden, where she says seeing a DA50 is a little trippy. She expects about two hours of flying, westbound over the Sierra Nevada and then southbound into Camarillo, California. She takes off from runway 16, which she says is not normal at Minden, in windy conditions, and spots what she calls a little tornado near the runway. After takeoff she notes a fuel flow of 15 gallons, compared with 22 in her own airplane. She circles five miles south of the field to gain altitude, then heads west over Kingsbury Grade, where she wants at least 8,500 feet to cross the pass.
Clouds, oxygen and flight following
Clouds over California shape the rest of the climb. The airplane has oxygen, but Hayley did not bring her cannula, so she first stays at 10,000 feet. She then climbs through a gap to 11,500 feet to get on top, because she does not want to get stuck with mountain obscuration below. Once VFR on top she asks NorCal Approach for flight following, and the controller checks that she really is in a DA50 and not a DA40. She transfers fuel from the right tank to the left and is handed to Oakland Center. Over Fresno she reports a 30 knot headwind and says she somehow always has a headwind on her ferry flights. In cruise she likes to listen to audiobooks.
Descent and arrival at Camarillo
After a long time at 11,500 feet without a cannula she asks for a descent to 9,500 feet, which she says still clears the mountains east of Camarillo. A report of an overcast layer makes her prepare to pick up an IFR clearance in the air, but Bakersfield Approach gives scattered clouds at 3,500 feet as the last observation. Point Mugu Approach approves a VFR descent, and she finds a gap in the clouds. Camarillo Tower gives her right traffic for runway 26, and she lands behind a Cessna after losing a lot of altitude on the way down. She taxis to Channel Islands Aviation and sets off to find the US Aircraft Expo. The video ends at the Airbnb where she stays for the two days of the show.
