Ren Baron's Bahamas Adventure - Part 1- Say Goodbye to LA and Hello to Hypoxia

My wife and I recently flew our Cirrus SR 22T G6 all the way from Santa Monica, CA to Treasure Cay Island in the Bahamas. It was quite an adventure and we both learned a ton. In this segment, we make our departure from SM on a cloudy day through the busy LA Bravo airspace to our cruising altitude of 17,000 where we both get a real life intro to hypoxia and a reminder why it's so important to be ready when it comes.

[@FlyDriveShoot_It]

I've recently transitioned to a Cirrus SR20. I am binging on your videos. I really appreciate your posting the lessons learned videos and not just posted the smooth sailing videos. Great Stuff !!!

[@TheRenBaron]

Well you'll love the next one. Stay tuned. Cheers-Ren

[@Spec62]

That was both educational and scary. That transition from the cannula to the mask took forever. I was watching to see if your wife was becoming more fatigued as you were getting your masks prepped. She let you know it was adversely impacting her. Good job. Continue to fly safe.

[@TheRenBaron]

Way too long! Fortunately there was no harm, no foul but a great lesson learned!

[@3dogman311]

USAF flight psychology classes had us pre-breath oxygen for 30 minutes prior to reaching an altitude that required its use. Your excellent video and closing statement reinforces my understand as to why. Thanks.

[@TheRenBaron]

I wish I had taken your class. Learning the hard way adds a little more risk to the lessons than is necessary. Thanks for posting. Cheers-Ren

[@buckbuchanan5849]

The prebreathe was required for Decompression Sickness prevention, not for hypoxia prevention.

[@TJFlyingAdventures]

Fantastic video ... u r using the cirrus for exactly the right kind of missions!

[@TheRenBaron]

Thanks!

[@joedavis6522]

Back when I was flying my T210, I read practically everything that Richard Collins wrote, may he rest in peace. He of course flew a P210. Collins made the point that pressurization, like turbo-charging, endurance, speed, etc. is a tool that adds to the utility of a cross-country plane. Your Cirrus lacks that tool. After several flights in my T210 much like this one, I opted for lower cruising altitudes, especially with passengers on board. It will be interesting to follow how your experiences unfold. Thanks for posting. Your lessons learned are a clear indication of flight safety in action.

[@dekky111]

Great instruction! On our trip from Naples to Michigan a couple weeks ago, we heard you talking to Jac Center. We got a good giggle out of that. Love this SR 22T G6! Blue skies....

[@TheRenBaron]

Ahh that's funny. It's a small world after all. That's amazing you could pick out my voice in all that radio chatter. Thanks-Ren

[@SydMachine]

Thanks for the humble approach to aviation. Also, the Plimsouls, wow!

[@TheRenBaron]

Ahh a Plimsouls fan! What made you think of them?

[@SydMachine]

The Ren Baron ...I googled you, lol

[@brianmcgee115]

I truly appreciate you for sharing this and helping other pilots in planning for their trips. Glad everything worked out. Can't wait for the next installment. If you ever fly thru KTKI, BBQ is on me!

[@TheRenBaron]

Thanks. That BBQ sounds terrific. We stayed overnight in Dallas (Arlington) on the way back. Next time we'll stop at McKinney! Cheers-Ren

[@AudioTones67]

Hi Steve, as one of your new Australian subscribers, I couldn't help but notice the framed Incubus artwork with the outline of Australia in the background. Really enjoying your channel, thank you.

[@TheRenBaron]

You've got a good eye Anthony. I was the band's manager for many years and we had alot of success and some great times in Australia. One of my favorite places.

[@zacharynorman397]

So excited for these videos! Happy to see you posting again!

[@TheRenBaron]

Thanks. Working on Part 2 right now!

[@sunshine747]

Great Video! Looking forward to next week when i start with my transision on Cirrus in Florida.

[@TheRenBaron]

Picking up our Cirrus and taking the transition training was one of the most memorable experiences I've ever had. You're going to love it! Cheers-Ren

[@uspsanoob8614]

was following along on flight aware when this trip was happening...was wondering when the video would be up..awesome!

[@TheRenBaron]

Good to know I have somebody keeping an eye on us when we are flying. You never know when I might need a little help. Thanks-Ren

[@rnordquest]

Very instructive flight.

[@algenalbritten3056]

That’s a trip I can’t wait to fly. Looking forward to the follow up videos.

[@TheRenBaron]

Thanks Algen.

[@jaredcbowen]

Very interesting, Ren. We did a test flight couple weeks back (w Jeff) and the whole oxygen thing was the only thing that worried my wife. Especially since we'll be flying in the mountains frequently. Thanks for the great insight!

[@TheRenBaron]

Well tell her the oxygen system works just fine. But something that seems silly like practicing putting on the mask before you ever go flying doesn't seem so silly when it matters. When we first picked up Cirrus I saw a headset mounted cannula that flipped up and down like the microphone boom that was brilliantly designed to be readily accessible when you needed it and out of the way when you don't. At the time I did not think I'd have much use for it. As soon as I got home from our trip I went online and ordered one and it works great. I used it on a recent flight to Lake Tahoe and it made everything super easy. After spending time editing this video and watching my wife struggle with the cannula I ordered one for her as well. Your wife is gonna love that Cirrus!

[@davidrobertson996]

i really enjoyed the video! Thanks for posting, looking forward to more!

[@mshroder1]

Ren, I love your videos and seeing you expand your Cirrus experience. I use Precise Flight demand conserver with the Boom cannulas at 17,000 and maintain O2 sats in the low to mid 90's. Might work better for you as well. keep the videos coming. Great work!

[@TheRenBaron]

Thanks for the nice comments. I recently purchased the Precise Flight a5 boom cannulas but not the demand conserver. I'm going to see how those work out. Cheers-Ren

[@rnordquest]

I read the Mountain High comparative test report years ago. Their demand cannulas beat out some masks at 18k. O2 like 98%. They could have gone higher. The only thing that matters is your personal O2 numbers.

[@Parr4theCourse]

looking forward the rest of the videos, we are planning a trip from Wichita to Eleuthera June/July and chronicling them on our channel as well, Not as cool as a plane as yours though!

[@岩木倫太郎]

Thank you for your suggestion. I received The real Simgear from Australia a few months later after the order, because of Corvid-19. Perhaps the production of microelectronics had been obstructed. Now I can enjoy Cirrus SR22! Thank you again. from Rintaro(Rin) Iwaki, Kobe Japan.

[@TheRenBaron]

My pleasure Rin. Cheers-Ren

[@therealrustybolt]

We use the O2D2 in our Cirrus. It saves on O2 and I never go below 90 even up to FL180. I agree with your lesson learned: Put all the gear on that you think you will need before you takeoff.

[@TheRenBaron]

The best lessons are the ones you learn from doing. I don't need to read anymore about hypoxia. I know what to look for now. Cheers-Ren

[@Gregs_World]

another great video thrilled the 2 of you chose to go as a point of reference... please never let your pulse ox fall BELOW 90%.... as you get older, your cardiac muscle won't like that prolonged 85% could lead to coronary artery aggravation and chest pain indicative of angina and impending cardiac "doom." not lecturing (i am a physician...) but, i just want to be able to watch your videos for YEARS to come thanks, once again for sharing

[@TheRenBaron]

Thanks and I concur!! AT OR ABOVE 90...Eight Foxtrot Sierra. Cheers-Ren

[@alan1newport]

@@TheRenBaron Ren - very interesting and a bit scary... I'm not a physician, but if alarms go off when O2 Sat falls below 90% for a patient merely laying in bed, perhaps keeping it in the 93-95% range is a better target at least for PIC? I know that the vid was not continuous in time but you guys are talking alot it seems and it's hard to breathe through your nose when talking. Do you think its possible that you were doing too much mouth breathing and mixing in too much low O2 air per breath?

[@TheRenBaron]

@@alan1newportPerhaps. Once we felt a little 'off' we both managed to identify the symptoms and fixed it. From that point on in the flight I monitored my levels as PIC frequently. Once the weather permitted we also dropped our altitude back to 11,000 and were able to lose the masks. Whenever I got near 90% I would hit the oxygen even at 11K which is an altitude where I typically feel pretty comfortable.Thanks-Ren

[@debracohen2757]

Steve, I just moved out of California a couple of months ago to the east coast. Used to got every weekend to ksmo to watch the planes take off and land. I assume you bought your Cirrus through Ken at Santa Monica. I know Ken and flew in his Cirrus a couple of times. I am a big fan of your Videos great content. My question is how did you decide between the SR22 and the SR22T? I am going to buy a Cirrus in the next couple of weeks and wanted to know if it is worth the extra cost. Thx

[@TheRenBaron]

I originally ordered a non turbo to be honest. Mostly because I wanted to save money. I chose the turbo in the end because I wanted the additional power to fly the higher elevations out West where I do most of my flying. When I went back East to the Bahamas I saw alot more non turbos. My wife said it best. "I don't want to be in the plane with you flying over the mountains to Lake Tahoe when you decide you should have bought the turbo but decided to save a few bucks."

[@debracohen2757]

@@TheRenBaron Thanks for replying that is great info

[@Matt.Jernigan]

How aggravating is the oxygen?

[@TheRenBaron]

4 on a scale of 10. Better than passing out. -Ren

[@Matt.Jernigan]

@@TheRenBaron Thanks

[@zacharynorman397]

One question, do you always go full rich when initiating a climb? Is this a turbo thing? For me in the SR20, if I am at 8,000 climbing to 9,000 and I am already leaned, out, I will not go full rich and start my climb as it would not produce max power at that richness...Just curious

[@TheRenBaron]

yes and yes

[@TheRenBaron]

I've tried it both ways and I find that when I go full rich and full power the EGT's start to heat up pretty fast. So i just go full/full and the plane gets to altitude much faster much cooler.

[@StefBelgium]

Zachary, this is a SR22T, T standing for Turbo so the Turbo gives the engine plenty of oxygen as if it was flying at low altitude so leaning does not apply there when climbing at full power unless you want to hurt the engine with too high CHT due to lack of cooling from the fuel. Flying a turbo is a bit different than a non-turbon piston engine.

Is there no way to make those masks less complicated?

[@TheRenBaron]

Yes. Prepare on the ground before you get to an altitude you'll need oxygen. Lesson learned. Cheers-Ren

[@rogersmart1766]

You’re goin to need a new engine as much as you fly !