I just finished my first week as a full-time flight instructor at Sunrise Aviation. Suffice it to say that with record levels of rainfall and a storm system that has parked itself over Southern California for the past week, I haven’t been doing much flying.

That’s ok, though. It’s given me a chance to get some ‘check-outs’ done. I’d like to teach in the really advanced airplanes (DA-40 Diamond Star, Cirrus SR20 and SR22, etc) that Sunrise has available, so I’ve been keeping busy going through the aircraft manuals and Garmin 1000 materials. I also got a backseat checkout for the Citabria/Decathlon so I can instruct in those aircraft.

There’s more to say on this, but it’ll have to wait. In the meantime, feel free to browse through some photos I just uploaded from Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

Yesterday everything was fine. A little rain, but nothing looked abnormal out there.

Today? Well, today the Corona Airport looks a little different.

I spent the whole day helping people pack up everything in their hangars and carry it to “dry” ground. There were hundreds of people out there working as fast as they could, trying to beat the rising water. Others had given up, their hangars already well under water.

Flew a Stearman in IFR conditions to Chino Airport. THAT was interesting. Open cockpit + torrential rain + 100 mph wind in your face = can’t see shit. And of course Chino tower decides that this is the perfect time to say “remain clear of Class D airspace”. Closest I’ve been to uttering the “e” word…

I was too busy to take a picture of the other end of the airport, which has airplanes packed in so densely that you can’t even squeeze by them on foot. Unfortunately most of them are not tied down, so if the wind blows and they jump the chocks, it could get very expensive when airplanes start slamming into each other. I think the transient parking area is designed for about 60 airplanes, and there are maybe 400 there now. Even Rose — the DC-3 — bailed out. Although I think that was more out of courtesty to the rest of us. The space Rose consumes on the ramp could hold ten smaller airplanes. Jim Pappas, who owns Rose, was kind enough to donate an engine cover which was modified for use on the Stearman.

My hangar currently has about four to five feet of water in it. I’ve started calling it “the aquarium”. Thankfully the guys I’m subletting my hangar to were able to get their Arrow out in time.

The picture was taken pretty early this morning. The water level is much higher now. I had a nice rolling toolbox in the hangar with all my tools in it, plus my stereo, bicycle, a table, chairs, and other now-submerged items. They estimate that the water may reach the five foot level at mid-field. I think that’s a bit pessimistic, but if the warm weather continues and the snow in the mountains keeps melting… well, who knows. From what I saw when flying over Prado Dam, the river is full, the reservoir is full, and the water is just about at the top of the dam.

There’s a Cessna 320 Skyknight (a big twin engine plane) floating in the water on the west end. I guess whoever owns it wasn’t able to get it out in time. Para Aviation, a maintenance shop on the west end near my hangar, got wiped out. Robert Butt, the owner, said some customer aircraft logs got washed away (without the logs, an airplane’s resale value could drop by up to 1/3), along with expensive service manuals and other tasty bits. He was out there with an inflatable raft trying to get back to his shop and save whatever he could.

The paint shop, interior shop, and helicopter operation got hit, too.

The good news is that everyone has been pitching in. If a hangar tenant couldn’t be reached by phone, someone would break into their hangar to save their aircraft. It’s the first time I can recall seeing a complete stranger breaking into someone’s hangar and giving them a pat on the back for it. In this post-9/11 world, it seems odd somehow.

A guy with a Robinson R44 helicopter — I don’t know where he’s based — spent the day ferrying pilots back and forth between Chino and Corona. We’d evacuate a plane to Chino, then he’d fly us back to Corona to get another one. Ah, the kindness of strangers…

Hopefully the weather will improve. I’ve got tomorrow off, so I might be back out at the airport. There’s always something one can do to help. Unfortunately, if the water rises much more, there won’t be enough usable runway for anyone to takeoff, and all the airplanes massed on the east end of the field will be facing submersion.

“General aviation: it’s an adventure.”

Well, things at Corona have gone from bad to worse.

Despite the dry sunshine, the water level at the airport continues to rise. This is primarily because of the warm temperatures, which are melting snow in the mountains and driving the runoff down toward Prado Dam. Or as it might more accurately be described, Prado Lake.

Today the water claimed Procraft, the largest maintenance shop on the field. It also overran the fuel island, the pilot lounge, another paint shop, and at least 100 hangars, not to mention who knows how many smaller businesses based at the field. My mechanic, Dave Palacios, was evacuating his newly remodeled shop at around 4:00 this afternoon. He’s based on the east side. The “safe” part of the airport.

As if there was such a thing anymore.

Adding insult to injury are the high winds which whipped through the Santa Ana Canyon. Normally high winds are not a problem, but there are currently about ten times as many airplanes on the east end of the field as there are tiedowns. The ramp is made of concrete, so there’s no way to dig into the ground with a portable set of tiedown stakes. So most of the aircraft are sitting out there with nothing but a set of chocks around the tires.

Some intrepid folks cut through the security fence surrounding the airport and started hauling airplanes off the airport completely.

I don’t have any new photos to share, but Dan captured some great video of the carnage (1.5 meg, WMV format) from the air.

It looks like God spilled his 32 (billion) ounce Big Gulp.

“Dammit, I told Him to put a lid on that thing…”

UPDATE: AOPA has picked up this story and even included Dan’s video. My sister-in-law told me that Fox News did as well. I also saw it on an NBC news broadcast.

I arrived home this evening to some disturbing news from the Corona Airport.

Oh, the water level has started to receed — and that’s great. But apparently there’s been some sort of a disagreement between a few pilots (who wanted to evacuate their airplanes) and the guy who runs the Corona Park Department. The head honcho at the Park Department (who is airport manager’s boss) was of the opinion that no one should be allowed to take off under any circumstances since the water had consumed so much of the runway. A seemingly understandable position.

Some pilots felt differently, opining that they ought to be allowed to take whatever steps are necessary to protect their birds, even if that meant taking off when the airport was officially ‘closed’. Again, I can see the merits of that viewpoint. And at one point the airport management was allowing takeoffs if the pilot was willing to sign a waiver of liability, but that was stopped sometime on Tuesday.

It devolved into a standoff, and as a result, the Park Department manager had the Corona Police place four police cruisers on the runway so it could not be used. He apparently also stated that he is going to have the airport closed permanently. I say “apparently” because I was not present at the airport today and cannot verify this. But I heard it from one of the more level-headed and non-alarmist folks I know.

This closure threat could be nothing but hot air. However, in light of what happened to the legendary Meigs Field — as well as my own knowledge of bureaucrats in general — I think the threat must be taken seriously. There are those in Corona who would like to see it razed and converted into soccer fields.

There is to be a meeting tomorrow (Wednesday) at 10:00 a.m. at Aircraft Spruce to discuss the matter. I emailed Phil Boyer at AOPA, hoping he could phone conference in, or have someone on his staff follow up on this situation.

I hate to say anything when a) I wasn’t there, b) am not 100% sure of all the facts. But meetings don’t take place at Aircraft Spruce as a matter of course, so something is going on. The Corona Airport users are sort of scattered at the moment, and the airport has been locked up tight. No one allowed in unless they are a Corona city employee.

Time to start watching for bulldozers? I hope not. But the precedent was set by Chicago’s corrupt mayor in 2003. So: “fool me once, shame on you — fool me twice, shame on me.”

Happy birthday to me!

You take them both and there you have…

1. Retreating water! That’s good:

2. Prado Dam could be on the verge of bursting. That’s bad:

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
725 AM PST FRI JAN 14 2005

…DAM BREAK FLOOD WATCH FOR PRADO DAM BREAK
IN EFFECT UNTIL 630 PM PST FRIDAY
FOR ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS-
RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SAN DIEGO HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR AREAS ALONG THE SANTA ANA RIVER BELOW THE PRADO DAM IN WESTERN RIVERSIDE COUNTY TO THE RIVER MOUTH IN ORANGE COUNTY.

A LEAK HAS DEVELOPED IN THE PRADO DAM.

THE SIZE OF THE LEAK HAS INCREASED OVERNIGHT BUT AN IMMINENT FAILURE OF THE DAM IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.

THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS IS ASSESSING THE STABILITY OF THE DAM AT THIS TIME AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WILL BE AVAILABLE LATER THIS MORNING.

IN THE INTERIM THE RESERVOIR IS BEING EMPTIED AS FAST AS POSSIBLE.

As I understand it, if that dam breaks, the force of the rushing water will be so great that it will destroy everything in its path. That path, by the way, could be up to a mile wide.

This saga just keeps getting stranger and stranger.

Oh yeah, I have a web site.

Sort of forgot about that for the past few weeks.

It’s understandable. I’ve either been out at the airport trying to keep my students from wreaking havoc on the runway, or in rehearsals for Samson et Delilah at Opera Pacific. Typically I’m flying from 9 am to 5 pm and then in rehearsal from 7 pm to 10 pm. Thankfully, the show will be over by the end of February and I’ll be able to return to some semblance of normalcy.

The flying has been interesting. It’s been so long since I was a student pilot that I forgot how every little thing needs to be taught and explained. Over time, so much of what goes on in the cockpit becomes second nature, and like driving a car with a manual transmission, you perform relatively complex tasks without even thinking about them. The other thing that takes a lot of getting used to is the fact that I don’t really fly much. I’m up there instructing, but the student is the one on the controls. It’s one of the less appealing aspects of working as a CFI.

I’ve got about ten students right now. Some are primary students learning how to fly for the first time. A couple are “refreshers” for pilots are certificated but haven’t flown in a while. One is a commercial applicant, and another is just finishing his instrument rating.

When not occupied with students, I’ve been getting checked out to instruct in as many of Sunrise’s airplanes as possible. The fleet is pretty diverse:

• C152
• C172P
• C172R/S
• C1172RG
• Citabria
• Decathlon
• DA-20 Eclipse
• DA-40 Diamond Star
• Cirrus SR-20
• Cirrus SR-22
• Pitts S-2B
• Extra 300L

Each aircraft requires in depth study of the POH, completion of a detailed aircraft checkout form, and at least one flight with a check pilot for that model. I’m also completing the standardization process for teaching instrument, commercial, and aerobatic courses. That’s a whole other ordeal, complete with DVDs to watch, forms to fill out, questions to answer, etc.

My goal is to be able to teach anyone who comes in the door in any airplane on the line. The problem is that these checkout flights are not free — I have to pay for them, and the aircraft rental rates vary between $100 and $300 per hour. So far I’ve been working full time at Sunrise for a month and have yet to receive a dollar. The next few paychecks are probably going to be for zero dollars, too, as the money goes to reimburse Sunrise.

And you thought “pay for training” was dead. Ah, aviation…

Speaking of flight instructing, I encountered my old instrument instructor the other day. He’s now flying for West Coast Charters, and stopped in at Sunrise to say hello. I bought him lunch and we got caught up. It made me feel great to see him moving up the ladder, because he was one of the guys caught in the post-9/11 slowdown and spent a long time working a very un-glamourous job as a line guy to make ends meet. I recall going in to Sunrise one day shortly after 9/11 and seeing everyone just sitting around, doing nothing. I asked my instructor how bad things were and he said he’d earned nothing for more than a week. Lord willing, we’ll never have to go through that again.

Anyway, enough about flying. The opera scene is a bit more conventional. Samson is going to be a great show! Opera Pacific has a ballet company on site training for the opera, and the music is exhilerating, if somewhat tough to memorize. Staging rehearsals start tomorrow, by which time we’re technically supposed to have this show memorized. It ain’t gonna happen, but somehow we always squeak by in staging while scrambling to get the libretto stored in (very) short term memory.

Over the years I’ve developed a way of doing this while being able to release the information once the show is over. Some operas I’ll never forget — Carmen, Aida, Rigoletto, Hoffman, Carmina Burana — either because we had enough rehearsal, or have done them multiple times. Others, like the Mozart shows, are completely forgettable.

So that’s the a brief update on things here at the House of Rapp. Once the standardization is done at Sunrise and the opera is over, I hope to have more time to write. And ironically, maybe do a bit of flying myself. I do miss those times when I’d just head out to the airport on a lark and take my plane up for an hour or so to watch the sunset. No students to teach, no clock to watch, no practice area traffic to deal with. Just me and my plane up there in the sky for no particular reason at all.