Frost on the WINGS?! + Deadly Mountain Wave (Van Nuys Arrival) 

CORRECTION: at 17:10, I referenced US Highway 101 as the straight line between Burbank and Van Nuys - that isn't right! As someone brought to my attention in the comments below, that's an AMTRAK line. US 101 was correctly pointed out at 18:30. My bad!

As a Socal resident, what you highlighted in the video as "The 101" was not the 101 freeway, but the railway line used by Amtrak and Metro which crosses just North of VNY and just South of BUR as you indicated.

Laying a black trash bag over the frosted sections works wonders with solar heating, takes zero weight to keep one on board.

You and Chelsea seem so compatible and made for each other. I hope the best for both of you.

Van Nuys...That's where I learned to fly back in the early 80s.

You were one of my early inspirations into getting my ppl at 50! I love these adventures and recently purchased a Comanche for my son (also private pilot) and I to log our own adventures! I love that you a Chelsey are sharing these. “Making each other crack up” is actually a key to a wonderful relationship and has kept my wife and I laughing for 32 years! God bless you both! Thank you for continuing to bring us along.

We get frost on the wings all the time in the jet in above freezeing temperatures. The fuel in the wing tanks gets cold soaked at altitude and then when we land in the humid air, the water vapor condenses on the cold metal and subsequently freezes. This is a great example of what you said in the beginning about the adhering surface temp vs the ambient temperature.

I just flew my 182 through the Banning pass from KDVT to KCMA and back over the past 2 weeks. Trip out through the pass was smooth as silk. Trip back was lower due to weather and ended up being pretty bumpy all along, but especially through the pass. No downdrafts like you experienced though. Also shout out to SoCal controllers. They are always super helpful and accommodating to us small guys.

Her cross-eyed question had me bustin up at/around 9:52.

I grew up looking up at Mt. San Jacinto from the 10 freeway. What an awesome perspective to see it out of a cockpit window. Great shots. 👍🏻

8:40 "I am awed by your greatness" 😆

Just a thought: You could keep a spray bottle with TKS fluid in the plane. I have a Cirrus and I keep a bottle in the plane if there is a chance of frost, if staying on the ramp. It does a nice job of melting and getting the frost clear and it leave no residual on the wing once dried

I am a student pilot learning to fly in Southeast Alaska. It is easily the most beautiful flying scenery I’ve experienced with the mountainous islands, a volcano, inside passages, and ocean, but those same elements make intentional safety focused decision making even more important. I am also a glider student pilot, so I understand the incredible effects of terrain and winds. I have learned so much from your videos and this one was especially helpful. I’ve never found myself in severe downdrafts in a powered airplane, so thank you for sharing this. I have been taught the mountain flying techniques, so now that I have seen the importance of their application it helps solidify it even more. One thing we don’t do here is night cross-country flights. I had to go to Anchorage to get that done. I appreciate your safety focused explanations as always. If you come back to Alaska, I highly recommend Southeast if you haven’t already been here. It is worth the weather wait that may be required!

I fly in Colorado and mountain wave has been a fact of flying from the beginning. Looks like the desert was too dry for the rotor clouds that are often a sign. But on a recent flight review I was able to fly over Rollins pass (11,671'MSL) and get some mountain instruction as part of the review. Stunning views but very much a place for caution in a small airplane. Great layout of some of the many factors involved in flying near that kind of terrain. Highly recommend formal mountain training for anyone considering flying in that environment.

Glad to see you guys back Josh

I used to fly into Burbank often, mostly from the North and knowing the proximity of Van Nuys was important. It disappears into the cityscape when viewed from a Northern arrival. Your graphic showing the train tracks is exactly what you need to look out for to avoid getting lost... Van Nuys also has one of the weirdest IAPs ever, the LDA-C. It uses a localizer off the Burbank ILS, with a MAP at the end of the perpendicular runway!

Your narrative gave me reason to pause and reflect...I have been in a mountain wave situation flying between KLGB and KIZA at night. Passing through San Marcos Pass in a constant 500fpm, sometimes 1000fpm, descent facing complete and total darkness out the windscreen was nerve-racking. I made it through as the mountain wave eased as I closed in on the pass. I did have a bailout plan (no Trevor Jacobs intentions here) to make a 90 degree turn to land at KSBA to wait out the winds. Glad to see you and Chels back! Sorry we didn't link up while you were here on the Central Coast.

Welcome back, this was yet another great well-made episode! 😎👍🏼 I could tell many downdraft and rotor stories from the Alps. Some days are even not flyable due to "Föhn", which is sometimes hard to accept on fantastic clear sky days. Well done on the handling and searching for updrafts, which might sound obvious during (de)briefing, but when stress comes into the cockpit, it's easy to forget.

Great Josh and Chelsea! It was a very informative flight!

Excellent film and great teaching moments. Looking forward to the next video. Thanks Josh and Chelsea.

Josh & Chelsea, you both are amazing! Your videos are inspiring each time. I looked forward to part 2 of this video and it did not disappoint. How you make time for flying & editing is a super impressive!!! Please don’t feel pressured to post videos on a regular bases, take care of yourself first and the people who watch these videos will support you though and through!

What an amazing scenery and astonishing video quality. Thanks for showing this aviation adventure!

Great video Josh! Way to keep it safe and still fun and educational! This video really hit close to home with me as I’ve taken risks I shouldn’t have and won’t in the future! I hope to be a safer aviator and your channel has played a large part in my view and flying practices! 😅 Cheers 🥂 -Caleb’s Aviation

Hi from SNA ! Careful in them valleys! Plane English should be incorporated into MSFS!

Thank you very much; great job and safe travels!

Glad to see a new post ❤ Looking forward to watching it on my free time 💯

Very good to see you and Chels. Very good job talking about Mountain Wave . Very important for people to realize what the hills and mountains can do to the wind. Very good job with this discussion. Keep up the good work and looking forward to the next one. Take care and Be safe.

Heck yeah!! Amazing work Mike and crew! And extremely well planned and redundant saftey plans. This is the kind of examples we need set in aviation. Plan plan plan and never be afraid to say no and back out. Back to work! 👊

Thanks for another great video Josh! Thank you for explaining everything so well. Always love flying with y'all!

Great seeing you both again.

Oh the Banning Pass. Great memories from my long XC for my PP back in the early 90s! Home airport was TOA.

Thanks again for a great episode. Have been a subscriber from central Texas for a Long time. Suggestion: Always use Both hands when checking control surfaces.

Excellent video Josh! And love the tip about motion sickness. Just started my training recently.

Wonderful instruction in this video. As a student pilot I am very thankful. Including the radio interaction.

So glad to have you back Josh! 🔥🔥🔥

Good to see you guys back with another video.

At last! 🙂So happy to see the second half of this trip! Looking forward to the follow-on vids. Keep up the great work you two.

Awesomely made video as always!

Great to see a video, Josh. I love them. My son-law just finished his instrument and commercial, and is working on his CFI to build hours for Horizon. He is also a big fan.

Haven't been mountain flying yet but I have had similar experience in flat country. Flying along and encountering clear weather convection activity that exceeded the performance of my aircraft. One minute, you're at full throttle and still descending; the next minute, you're at idle and yellow line and still climbing. Just along for the ride.

the handbooks were my primary source along with the FAR AIM when building all my lesson plans for my CFI checkride, which I was able to pass first try this week. Tons of great knowledge is in them that really add context to a lot of random bits of info previously learned.

I really enjoyed the video! Took me back to my SoCal flying days out of KPSP through the banning pass into KRAL, KONT, and KSBA. A great place to build your flying, navigating, and ATC communication skills. And we only had paper charts back then along with analog instruments. Aviation has come along way! Fly safe!

Thank you for another great show.

Great video Josh and Chelsea. I love flying in/out of VNY

Good flying Josh

The best aviation videos on the inter web and getting better each year. Josh you will always be Mr. Aviation101 to me. Great Work good lesson as always. 👍

Another great video. I’m currently working on getting my CFI/CFII reinstated. These videos always teach me something, while also just being fun to watch. Thanks.

Great content. Look forward to the next one.

Thanks for sharing your passion with all of us other aviation geeks/and or pilots out there; your videos are very informative and entertaining, thanks.

Fabulous video thanks

Great job guys. When is Chelsea going to get her tailwheel endorsement. Come on Josh throw the bush flying guys a bit of back country adventure !!

Great video and when you crossed the moutains my heart moved up into my throat! Glad you were ok. Looking forward to next series

Great video as always 👍! Nice to see you in my backyard of So Cal. We split time between CA & TX.

Great video as always !

Great video! Every time I watch your videos I almost feel like I'm in the aircraft too. Thank you for the inspiration.

Cant wait for the next video, great stuff

Glad you are back.

Such a stunning and challenging flight, great job on the landing Chelsea👍

Excellent landing, thank you

And..... Where y'all been ??? We have missed you both.... Damn Glad to have y'all back ...

Great content loved it thanks 😊

Wow, what a beautiful and interesting video. Thank you :)

Enjoy seeing a new video! Fly safe

I have had the same experience through the Banning pass. Caught an unbelievable downdraft full throttle airspeed at best rate of climb and losing altitude, followed by an extreme updraft with throttle chopped yoke pushed into the panel gaining altitude. Was quite a humbling/learning moment.

Brilliant as always 😎

Great video!

I love what you are doing and keep up the great work also we all understand your busy you some how pull it off.

Love Chelsea and your flight video adventures. They look like so much fun. I wish I could live that I’m so envious.😊

Great footage, impressive mountain wave effects. So where can we see that references film One Six Right? Any link to share?

I really ya'll's adventures and I'm looking forward to the rest.

Very cool content. Really been missing y’all 😂

Nice flight...

Getting ready to XC from Camarillo to Dallas in my 182. Great video, I think I am going to depart a few days early to beat the incoming weather. Great video

Any time I flew out to the Desert area I always went around the banning pass, just kept going straight over Palmdale over the pas there into Santa Clarita then Santa Susana pass is almost a strait in to KVNY always called the tower at the pass.

Awesome awesome video.

The metal gets colder than the ambient temperature because of loss of the “heat of vaporization” caused by the evaporation of water off the metal. This is the same phenomenon that cools your skin when you sweat. It takes a lot of energy to turn water into gas and that energy comes from the metal in the form of losing temperature.

9:38 Had me cracking up. So silly! 😂

Good to see another video. Also just wondering...what did you decide to do about the 337 Sky Master? I had the same issue you had going thru this pass. We hit it at 10.5 and started sinking, but the power of my T210 pulled us out and up to 12.5, but we did lose our speed to just over 100 knots. However is is a definite attention getter. 25 miles farther away and we had our speed back and we went back to 10.5 to Burbank. We did hit several bumps, but most were just moderate. Keep the vids coming and fly safe.

Fascinating.

Love your videos

I LEARNED QUITE A BIT IN THIS VIDEO. THANK YOU!

Great atc guy

The amount of hazardous weather detail you delve into is phenomenal! While I am certain other RU-vid aviators expand on weather hazards when pertinent, you go beyond the cursory explanations and dive into atmospheric physics in a very relatable fashion. I recall my days as a USAF weather forecaster having to mark up weather hazards in red (typically frowned upon) on formal flight briefings simply because too many junior pilots assumed they had "god-status, and they scared the 💩out me!" Well done; keep up the great work!

Got my PPL with last landing of Checkride on 22R at CHD - Good days - great Cafe when I was there!

While looking for some documents in my office ,I came across the old sticker- Mr. Aviation 101 and placed it on the back window of my car yesterday next to my favorite aircraft Hercules c130 gunship sticker. Thx for the video.

We used to fly our Cessna 182 between Great Falls Montana and Portland OR. The Mullan Pass over The Montana Rockies near Idaho was always a problem. The winds were terrible and the weather was sometimes horrifying. One time during the winter we were traveling from Portland to Great Falls and due to potential icing we were not able to fly IFR over the pass and had to leave the plane in Spokane and drive to Great Falls. We went back for the plane later. It's just sometimes not possible to get above the weather in a plane with a 17,000 foot service ceiling. Even in good weather I don't fly through mountain passes unless I'm going to land or I'm taking off. I always try to fly at least 2000 feet above the ridges and cross them at an angle. When back country flying in Idaho I simply don't go if the wind is greater than 12 knots. And I don't fly over the mountains even at 2000 feet above the highest peaks if the wind is greater than 25 knots. We moved to South Carolina a couple of years ago and though the Smokey Mountains are much lower there is still a lot of wind that comes over the mountains into the upstate. The same rules apply here. Just today I flew back to the Greenville area from a work assignment on the the South Carolina coast. The flight was smooth until I got to the upstate near the lee side of the Smokies and I got knocked around quite a bit. Mountains, even small ones, do very scary things with wind, sometimes even a fair distance from the foothills. Great falls is very windy, my mother in law almost blew away there, and it's 50 miles East of the mountains. Oh and I don't fly IMC at night over mountains.

Ive always wondered if in situations where we cant climb do to downdrafts if maybe we should take a page from the glider flying handbook and put the nose down to speed up and accelerate out of the area of sink. You do lose altitude, but also get the heck out of there much sooner.

I had a mountain wave encounter that was pushing me up! Wason IFR clearance so asked for a block clearance. 9° nose down, throttle pulled back and still clinbing at a thousand fpm. Thankfully clear air until we crossed Snoqualmie pass to enter the clouds over Western Washington.

@Aviation101 Josh, great content as always! Awesome to see you in my SoCal backyard! Quick question, what's the new flying app you are using, Garmin? I'm sure you've said it in a past video, but i'm just getting a chance to catch up. Any reason you switched from ForeFlight? Thanks for the info! Have a blessed day!

Another great video, hello from a canadian pilot.

I was practicing an approach into 9G8, and the RNAV7 goes over a set of hills. (only 3000' or so) but on a 40kt day.... the Warrior I was flying needed full power, and nose up at around 80kts to keep from losing altitude. If I was in something will less performance... it could have been dangerous. especially if it was actual IMC. Thanks for the vid.

As usual; a Great Video! This one is particularly poignant as I earned all my ratings at Van Nuys, and early in my career flew freight out of Burbank and then worked at Piper Aerostar in Santa Maria! It's like going home. Looking forward to the next installment. 🙂

Josh, your videos are amazing. I mean I do some videos and know how much time it take to edit this type of content. Keep up the good work, we all enjoy it. Btw if you’re looking for somewhere to go for the eclipse, Discover Aviation and MRK Aviation at LPR will be having and event that day which is directing in the path. Stay safe !

Banning pass can be crazy or you can fly through there without even a bump. You never know exactly what you're gonna get. It can surprise you. Great video as usual. See you at Oshkosh. Your Big Bear friend.

I had the exact same issue flying through Banning Pass a couple of years ago flying back to VNY. Scary stuff..! Flew it again recently this winter without a single bump. In the future, when the desert is much hotter than the LA area (which causes that venturi effect), I think I will plan to fly north of Big Bear instead!

Very informative video. I fly sailplanes and live to experience the mountain waves. It is all well and good once you are in the wave, but getting through the downdrafts on the lee side of the mountain, and throught the rotors, has to be planned well. Well wishes.

Fearless flyer! 🤟🏻

Went through the pass a couple of weeks ago to San Bernardino and got ROCKED

Haha playing musical crew car/car/aircraft, been there!

I don’t know if you have mentioned this in another video, but where did you get your yoke mount/ and which iPad is that (for size comparison )