Operation "Snow cap"

Mission 04 - Sir Skybuster's PIREP

OK, I was under the impression that we agreed not to communicate on this
channel, but to report to the SAR co-ordinator via a direct channel so
that all pilots had a fair chance to do their mission in the believe
that they might find the wreck themselves.
But since it was not respected, here is my PIREP.

Yesterday at 14:00, I left Locarno with the Phoenix for a quick reconnaissance trip. I knew that Cpt Wolfie was not yet ready to take the C-119 (no GPS installed yet) and I simply wanted to scout the terrain so that I could report to him what to expect on his run.
Remember that the C-119 is not a good climber and with 2 NM vis, a steep mountains ahead could mean a lot of troubles.

First I flew toward the start point H of area 6. Easy to spot because there is a river there. Flying the Huey without an autopilot was not easy. I had to check constantly my heading. On the other hand, my altitude was not relevant, I could simply follow the terrain, eventually climb vertically if needed. From point H, I flew about 310 following the river toward Ambri. I passed the town and airport and kept the same heading until about 30 NM from Locarno. Then I turned on a reciprocal course and flew back to Locarno. Search was not easy. The terrain is very difficult and keeping a straight course while looking left and right was a challenge.

I didn't spot anything special. At some occasion I thought I noticed
something but it was just dark patches in the snow. The highest
mountains top I encountered was just 8,000 Ft, so I was to report this
to Cpt Wolfie so that he could feel safe above this altitude.
The trip took me 50 minutes, flying at an average of 90 Kts. The
experience was great! I enjoyed very much the scenery, even if the vis
was very short.

The Phoenix is back at Locarno. If someone else want to use it for a
closer look at the crashing site, please go ahead. As you can see from
the screenshot, I installed a provisory GPS by hanging it on the
windshield. It will be removed later.

Cheers,
Mike Skybuster