Page 14 - April 2017 Twin & Turbine

Jet Journal
Two Nights in Reno
A glimpse inside the glamorous life of a corporate pilot
by Kevin Ware
We arrive in Reno following a very bumpy descent out of FL410, with 25-knot crosswinds on the approach to 16L and a nasty wind shear being advertised by the tower. Our four veteran business jet passengers are on a recruiting trip for graduates of the construction
management program at the local college and they hustle off the airplane with a full schedule and all kinds of other activities in mind, leaving TL (the other pilot) and myself to figure out what to do with ourselves for the next two nights and three days.
The trip down was all business as usual from a pilot’s point of view. We left KBFI in the Lear 40 with a 1,500 overcast, 4-mile visibility and winds from the south, but a bit wet and unable to decide if they wanted to blow at 25 or 35 knots. All this being due to a large low pressure system from the Gulf of Alaska and now approaching the Washington coast, causing the local barometric pressures to drop like a rock. When the barometric pressure drops, it acts like a huge vacuum, pulling air and moisture in from hundreds of miles around the center low pressure in a counterclockwise, circular motion. Hence, the rain and winds from the south.
After takeoff, we encountered the expected low-altitude turbulence, then had about 20,000 feet of fairly smooth air, followed by all kinds of warnings from Seattle Center about icing, turbulence and tops above 30,000 as we approached the edge of the low-pressure system near the Oregon border. Our solution was to keep the climb rate up so we could top the system by the time we got there. It worked out fairly well, as we crossed the Columbia River at FL380 in smooth, clear air, listening to the turboprop commuter traffic beneath us looking for ride reports in all directions.
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