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Technicalities: Peter and Nick’s Excellent Adventure

The total solar eclipse, as seen from Weiser, Idaho. Douglas Gray/YouTube
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • Pilots flying north from Los Angeles face heavily restricted airspace, necessitating navigation through the narrow and inconvenient Trona Gap corridor.
  • The author and his son undertook an aerial journey through this challenging airspace to Weiser, Idaho, to experience the 2017 total solar eclipse from their aircraft.
  • The article vividly describes the unique and dramatic visual phenomena of the total eclipse from an aerial perspective, including the unusual light, the approaching shadow, the distinct "night" sky, and the "diamond ring" effect, alongside post-eclipse navigation challenges like wildfire smoke.
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A phalanx of restricted and Military Operating Areas confronts pilots heading north out of Los Angeles. Between sprawling Edwards Air Force Base and the Naval Air Weapons Station situated at water-free China Lake, a pilot studying the chart for the first time must think the way impassable.

Peter Garrison

Peter Garrison taught himself to use a slide rule and tin snips, built an airplane in his backyard, and flew it to Japan. He began contributing to FLYING in 1968, and he continues to share his columns, ""Technicalities"" and ""Aftermath,"" with FLYING readers.

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