CD15 - KDRO

This was Katie's first trip in the Stinson and her first long(er) flight, so we made it a good one and headed over the rock pile to Durango.

We took advantage of the calm smooth air and light winds and were up at the crack of dawn driving out to the hanger. The last thing I wanted to do was get stuck in the mid day turbulence and scare the crap out of her.

We pretty much went GPS direct and the only diversion was Pikes Peak. A long 7 hr drive was cut down to 2hrs in the Stinson.

Mine between Cripple Creek and Victor.


Creede down there somewhere.


The San Jauns make 14k feel kinda low.


The crack of dawn was a little too early... that or she was slightly hypoxic.


DRO in sight


Waiting for the rental car


Camping by the Res


We rented a canoe and ended up getting too much sun.


Stopped by Val Air and said Hi to Beverly and Laverne.


We stayed at the Logwood B&B for a night, which was great.


After some breakfast we packed up and headed home.

Big smiles and the 15kt tailwind made the trip home short and sweet.


Near Wolfcreek Pass


Crossing near Hayden Pass


Pikes Peak


Something about seeing a 138kt g/s in a Stinson makes me smile big too.

We did a lot of stuff in two days. Saw the train museum, went to the Stater Hotel, shopped, floated the Animas, went to Mancos (why? I don't know), hiked, went to the county fair, etc. Lots to do in that area!

Overall a great trip and one that Katie enjoyed. Maybe I can get her up to Johnson Creek after all.

Nice pics and write up Matt. I've not flown over to DRO yet. Dam rental costs always make me keep my trips short, hehe.

Looks like a good time. Thanks for the report!

Nice one, Matt. That pic of your GF asleep on your shoulder is hilarious.

One time Erin and I flew from Reno to Monterey, and for the first 20 min of the flight, she was bouncing off the walls excited. Next thing I knew, she was snoozin', head kicked back, mouth open Homer Simpson style.

Nice write up and pics Matt, makes me a little jealous of the pics you took between Cripple Crrek & Victor..I own a city block in Victor and am planning to build a summer home there. Looks like you passed at little to the north of Creede...maybe see you down there for the flyin Sept 27? HC

Yep, she was snooze'n pretty good until we hit some bumps, then she woke up thinking the world ended.

I have to choose between going to Marble or Creede for Sept. I've always dreamed of flying into Marbe after seeing it from the ground, so unless the weather is bad, I'm planning on that. This is the bad part about working weekends I guess.

When is Marble and do you have to have permission to fly in there? Driven to Marble many times....it ia a facinating place.
HC

It's Sept 11-13 (Fri - Sun) and it's a CPA event. I don't think you need to belong to CPA as the gracious owner opens it one weekend a year to the public. I sent an email to let them know I was coming and see if I could find out any more info. I know others from this site are planning on attending as well.

I know the town of Marble are a, how do I say this nicely, eco friendly group of people, so I'm not sure if they limit the number of planes attending.

Matt beat me to the dates. I'll be on leave for Creede so I won't be there. I'd like to go to Marble but I dont' have a ride in other than driving. The place I rent doesn't allow landing on other than paved surfaces...and it looks as they are closing their doors before then anyway.

Won't make Marble...be in the Black Hills golfing and shooting prairie dogs...but Creede is a definite.

Thanks for the photos and the report Matt. Your Stinson is beautiful. I swear I have seen more Stinsons flying around lately than ever. There must be something to those planes. The Morgan County Fly-In (42U) last week had at least 4 of them cruizin' around. And of course the couple flying back from Oshkosh to California who, last week, crash landed between SLC International and Skypark after finding no suitable airports on their map as they descended from 10k/ft. http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=7398454 Their plane looks rebuildable, maybe I should call em

Thanks for the kind words 62L.

Up until the point of buying one I've never seen one around this area. I guess the high DA keeps them away, but I couldn't be happier with a couple months under my belt in this bird. The big motor 108's make a pretty capable classic bushplane.

Great pics, thanks for the report. I have to agree with everyone else that the sleeping picture is classic. Its amazing how us pilots can stay awake while passengers just settle in and fall asleep from the hum of the engine!

You mean to tell me you guys stay awake for the whole trip? I thought just the first and last 10 minutes was all that was required for the PIC to be awake!

I guess I had better work on that aspect.

Here's the only vid I took. Near wolfcreek pass leaving DRO (13k-ish). It was smooth sailing, and then we hit some light chop, then one with a bit more grunt (Noooo- it wasn't me kicking the rudder). Makes me smile everytime I watch it.

lowlevelops wrote:You mean to tell me you guys stay awake for the whole trip? I thought just the first and last 10 minutes was all that was required for the PIC to be awake!

I guess I had better work on that aspect.

One of these days I'll just fall asleep and let her fly.

certainly glad they are o.k.! i travel thru that region quite a bit, and it seems like from the top of class B, there are a bunch of diff. airports that u could glide to by pressing nrst....

Looks like you all had way to much fun. I loved your pictures. Thanks.