I've been flying - just need to post more! Here is a short photo-log of a trip I took in late July: Colorado to Seattle in my 180 to meet up with my father- and brother-in-law for some salmon fishing in British Columbia. It was an amazing experience, and I was grateful to have the weather on my side.

I did the Denver - Seattle leg in a single day. With light winds aloft it only worked out to a little over seven hours of flying.

Daybreak departure from the Front Range -


Turn left at Elk Mountain in Wyoming and follow I-80 westbound...


After fuel stops in Kemmerer, WY and Ontario, OR I found myself crossing the Columbia River:


The day was a little hazy, and at first I thought there were some CB growing far on the horizon. Getting closer, I realized I was seeing Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Rainier a hundred miles away. Crazy! The plan at this point was to try to get into Tieton State airport for the night, but as I got nearer to the Cascades the bumps picked up and I suspected the winds wouldn't be conducive to landing. Sure enough, Rimrock Lake showed a strong down-valley breeze, which would have meant a stiff tailwind on landing. Plan B was to fly on over the Cascades in clear weather, get some fuel, and find a motel.

Crazy scenery you folks in the PNW have (at least in good weather) -


Working my way down the western valleys of the Cascades I started looking for an airfield with cheap gas. The cheapest I could find was in Toledo, WA. I heard on the radio that the jump plane was returning from dumping a load of meat missiles, so I inquired about the surface winds. "Squirrelly crosswinds from the north, as usual," came the reply. It had been a long day of flying, and I wasn't sure I liked the sound of squirrelly crosswinds no matter how "usual" to the location they might be. After a moment of thought I decided to trade some tire rubber for the cheap gas anyhow.

What is in Toledo, WA besides crosswinds? Gas.


Really, there isn't anything in Toledo. I was debating between rolling out my sleeping bag under the wing on the ramp and going to a bigger aerodrome with better access to a shower and some clean sheets (Chehalis? Olympia?). Then, I decided that as hot and sticky as I was after crossing the western deserts in a small airplane, no Holliday Inn would do. Nor would the ramp at Toledo. So...Bandera State.


Bandera is a truly pretty place, as I discovered in the lowering sun of a cloudless summer evening. There is a stream nearby in which to refresh oneself, chopped wood for campers, and wonderful scenery all within a 20-minute flight to the major Seattle terminals. Just ignore the fact that it is about 20 feet from I-90. I could have rolled my sleeping bag out between the eastbound and westbound lanes and slept soundly. I was that tired. But, sleeping under the wing kept me dry from the morning dew. Plus, I was able to watch a black bear amble across the airstrip in the early morning light.

Way better than an airport La Quinta:


The next day I packed camp and made some coffee before making the all-too-easy and all-too-short flight to Renton (recommended in another thread as a good gateway to Seattle). I parked between rows of work-in-progress 737's at Rainier Flight Service. I can't recommend Renton or Rainier Flight Service highly enough! Reasonable ramp fees and a truly welcoming staff with far more amenities than I was expecting. Their chief flight instructor was eager to help me get my airplane tucked in and give me a tour. Courtesy car, after hours access, shower, coffee...seemingly anything a transient pilot would need!

The 180 sunbathing on the ramp for a few days -


I grabbed an Uber to SeaTac to meet my father- and brother-in-law who were coming in from the east coast. The next morning we made our way to the Kenmore Air base on Lake Washington. Wow...what a place! I could have spent hours upon hours looking around and taking pictures, but we had a plane to catch!

Kenmore Beavers warming their engines in the morning -


We took a Kenmore DHC-3 from Lake Washington to Nanaimo, BC to clear customs and onward up the BC coast to Nanook Lodge in Big Bay, BC.

A view from the bubble window of a turbine Otter -


We spent the next few days enjoying the sheer beauty of coastal British Columbia and catching the occasional salmon. Here I am fighting a fish to the boat -


All too soon it was time to leave, and Shamu came to carry us back to Seattle.


I was lucky enough to be able to ride shotgun.


With incredible weather and visibility, the approach into Lake Union was jaw-dropping. I am going to need a float rating...
https://youtu.be/EkpJPw2mnhc

After a night in a Lake Union hotel, it was time to pick up the 180 and get cranking. It was Friday, and I needed to be home on Saturday for a friend's wedding. But...we all know what is between Washington and Colorado. Right. Idaho.

From Renton I crossed the Cascades and flew through cloudless skies to Ontario, OR for fuel. Sadly, the SEATs were busy flying missions and the skies east of Ontario were thick with smoke. I decided Smiley Creek would be about my best option for an afternoon arrival and would make for an easy jumping-off-point the next morning. It turned out to be the perfect choice. I had a great burger and a few beers at the Smiley Creek Lodge. Returning to my airplane I ran into Aeropod's dad who was camping under his plane also. He recognized my last name and we realized that he and my late uncle had been hangar neighbors at Front Range for many years. We chatted about Skywagons and watched the sun fall behind the Sawtooth Mountains. If there is one upside to smokey skies, it is the sunsets.


I launched early from Smiley Creek and enjoyed smooth flying across Idaho and into my fuel stop in Rock Springs, WY. Another great facility with very friendly and helpful staff! Around Oshkosh they have the grill running - call a few miles out on the unicom and they will have a hot burger for you to eat while you wait for them to fuel you up.

Over Laramie I hit my only weather trouble of the whole trip. A minor diversion around stronger radar return and I made my way underneath a stratocumulus layer that had pushed up against the Front Range.


I landed, put the airplane away, ran home, showered, shaved, threw a sportcoat on and hurried off with my wife to my buddy's wedding. Booyah! Another great trip in the books!

Looks like a blast!

Great TR, Alex!

Asa’s new airplane thread reminded me that I need to update the forum on my latest fleet addition.

Midway through the year, like so many I am sure, I got fired from my job. Mercifully, they let me go soon after I got my 180 back from annual and while the flying season was still prime.

With a little severance jangling in my pocket and some additional time on my hands to browse TAP and Barnstormers, I did what any degenerate avgas junkie would do and started looking for an impractical addition to round out my squadron. Growing up, my dad always spoke with fondness about the Super Cub he had rented out of Boulder before he bought his J-3. A Super Cub had always been on my wish list even though the J-3 is a delightful airplane.

Moreover, I have loved the concept of the derelict restorations performed by ICON 4x4 in California: https://www.icon4x4.com/derelict The idea of having a patinaed exterior with updated mechanicals is a combination that I find appealing in a bushplane.

So, my search did have some focus. A PA-18 that had lived a life, had patched and faded fabric, and could enter my stewardship as a flying project. I also hoped these features would improve affordability, although that is of course an entirely relative term in the Super Cub world. I made lots of calls on planes that were gobbled up within an instant of the ad being posted. Went to look at one airplane that certainly fit the derelict description, but ultimately couldn’t get comfortable with the number of tubes that had been chopped out and replaced due to corrosion.

Just when I was about to give up searching and buy Bitcoin instead, Barnstormers alerted me to an ex-Italian Army 1953 L-21B with recently upgraded O-360 hitting the market. Looking at the pictures, I did exactly what you shouldn’t do and fell instantly in love with the airplane. My wife said the airplane looked “cool,” which I interpreted as a green light. (Yes, we are still married). I hurried off a call to the seller and arranged to go to Seattle to see the plane in person.

The object of my affections. Taxiing from its Renton hangar to begin the trip to its new home.

This airplane has in fact been around, and some of you in the Seattle area may have seen it on local gravel bars or towing banners over downtown. The benefit of an airplane that has been around is that its history can be established by calling folks who know the airplane and listening to their stories. The downside of a plane that has been around is that it has been around. In any case, after another trip to Seattle for a more formal prebuy, the owner and I agreed on a deal.

At this point we were getting into December, and the reality of ferrying a Cub from Seattle to Denver during the winter started to set in. Nonetheless, the weather gods smiled upon my birdbrained scheme and set up a perfectly timed two days of high pressure across the entire northwest region. RC5280 and I flew back up to Seattle to pick up the airplane and start home. It should be noted here that RC5280 is an enabler of the flying addiction and egged me on at each stage of this project. Beware!

With such a favorable forecast, we aimed to get an early start and perhaps have a little time for sightseeing on the trip home. However, a conspiracy of small obstacles succeeded in delaying our takeoff from Renton until midday.

Preparing to depart Renton. RC5280 holding a can of oil and a battery charger hint at some of the delays we faced. Note the movement area boundary at the hangar door threshold. The author is unaware of the jeep having a clearance (doubtful).

Finally, we loaded our bags and folded our bodies into the airplane, optimistic that we would still be able to walk after flying halfway across the country in a Cub. The east hangars at Renton have the peculiarity of the hangar door threshold being on the movement area boundary, so one must call ground control on a handheld before pushing the airplane out onto the taxiway for engine start.

I was PIC for the first leg, and I chose scenery over prudence in route selection despite the fact we were in a new-to-us airplane. I whipped the 180-horses under the cowl and pointed the ship away from the low passes where roads cross and towards the steep wooded hills and towering form of Mt. Rainier. We had a beautiful crossing of the Cascades even though there were stretches where we would have been in a bind had the engine faltered. YOLO!

Amazing scenery on a clear day departure from Seattle. There are safer routes, but the author can not pass up a close view of Rainier when in the area.

As we approached Yakima we noted with interest that the entire Columbia River Basin was fogged in. RC5280 and I did some fuel guesstimations and decided to push on over the fog. Conveniently, eons of hydrology had eroded the Rattlesnake Hills and placed them conveniently along the line of our route. We were able to hopscotch across these islands in the fog for quite a distance. Ultimately, the rising terrain of the Blue Mountains put an end to the fog and returned us to solid ground contact.

The view over Eastern Washington.

Finally sighting ground again after a couple hours of VFR on top.

I began to worry that our adventures for the day were over but listening to the La Grande AWOS assuaged that fear as it reported winds gusting to 27 knots. At this point I informed RC5280 that he was in fact providing dual instruction on this leg and would thereby be ultimately responsible for my landing performance.

We landed with a small bounce and shifted our attention to the interesting task of taxiing in such conditions. Eventually, I parked the airplane on the ramp facing into the wind. The fuel truck helpfully blocked the gale when it positioned in front of us and we were able to get out. With daylight fading and the cold wind biting through our jackets, we were eager for a quick turn. For this leg I climbed in back and RC5280 took the conn.

Back in the air I set out to secure a hangar in the Boise area for the night. With a beautiful sunset to the right and a painfully slow ground speed as we chewed our way into the wind ahead, I phoned all the FBOs from Ontario to KBOI. Each gave the same answer: no hangars. With a cold, frosty night forecast it was beginning to look like we weren’t going to get the early start the next morning that we hoped for. Then, I saw the lights of Weiser airport and thought “why not, I’ll give them a try too.” Jim Bob, the manager, picked up the phone even though it was after hours and told me that not only could he fit us in his maintenance hangar, but he would have the courtesy car warming up for us when we landed. We were so grateful for his hospitality and will surely stop back at Weiser the next time we are in the area.

Now, I’m the sort of dirtbag who will happily sleep on the floor of a pilot’s lounge—especially after I have just blown a big hole in my savings by buying a third airplane. RC5280 on the other hand flies jets for a living and has a degree of self-respect. He generously dipped into his hotel points to secure us a comfortable night’s sleep, which I concede was welcome after a day folded into the size and shape that Mr. Piper imagined people to be.

Early morning over Idaho.

Well rested, we arrived at the airport pre-dawn ready for a full day of flying. RC5280 took the first leg to Blackfoot, and I took us from there to Saratoga, WY. Normally, as anyone who has flown the route knows, western Wyoming is a bleak and barren stretch of boring ground the miles and hours of which you will away as you dream of the stale coffee awaiting you at your destination. This time, I figured that if we were going to be bored we might as well be low, and I dropped us onto the deck. As it turned out we weren’t bored at all because we came across herd after herd of antelope, wild horses, and elk. After flying a couple hundred miles at 25-30 ft AGL, climbing up to pattern altitude in Saratoga felt stratospheric.

The proper perspective of Western Wyoming.

FlightAware lost us for a bit there...

Camo Cub resting in the afternoon sun on the Saratoga ramp.

RC5280 took the final leg home, and tailwinds pushed us into Boulder in under an hour and a half. Despite the trip being the first week of December, I don’t think we saw a cloud above us the entire journey. It was 15 hours of cross-country Cub flying, and I will think back with fondness to each minute of it. I have flown that route several times in the 180 at 10,000 feet, but the texture of the country comes into full relief when flown at Cub altitudes and Cub speeds. Moreover, I think that even though RC5280 wasn’t sold on the camo paint scheme initially, he came to enjoy the smooth engine, sweet flying characteristics and perfect rigging of this particular Cub.

Evening light approaching home.

All of this brings us to the future for this airplane. It is too much fun to keep to myself, so we are offering tailwheel endorsements and mountain flying instruction out of Platte Valley Airpark. RC5280 is Chief Flight Instructor, and once I finish up my CFI I will look forward to teaching as well. Please reach out if you need your endorsement or just want to log some time in a sweet L-21!

Camo Cub in Boulder after a long two days of flying.

Like Asa, I can’t leave well enough alone and am already working through upgrades that will enhance the utility of this airplane for mountain and backcountry instruction. New seats from Sport Aircraft Seats will be installed soon. Airframes Alaska has shipped some new 31” Bushwheels. A panel update will probably take place when the annual is due. This bird will have impeccable mechanicals and a derelict look that will make it perfect for the backcountry.

Oh, and if anybody needs an investment analyst hit me up for my resume!

I flew part of that route the same time of year with the same weather in a crooked tail Pawnee with no working starter from Ontario Oregon to Bainbridge Georgia. Speed about the same. My only advantage was having my feet on rudder pedals well below my butt. I landed on a section road in western Kansas to wait out upslope fog.

I soloed in that airplane's 90 hp sister at Jeffco in 63.

Good story Felix.

That is a great story,

I read parts of it to my wife, who says if your wife wants to meet someday over a bottle or two of wine and talk about why they stay with pilot husbands who buy planes half way across the country when they really shouldn't she is available.

Pete

Yup, flying low is a great boredom buster!
I get a kick how all pilots of small planes (NOT talking about a 180, but Cub sized) all refer to Wyoming about the same......trepidation and awe, with some boredom thrown in. Great read!

Contact - I am glad you can relate both with the Pawnee and J-3 flying.

Haha Pete! My wife will take your wife up on that offer. She needs a support group...

Courierguy - I exaggerate of course about Wyoming. It has its own stark beauty, but on a hot, smoky summer day you do kind of look forward to getting where you are going. Flying low in Camo Cub I had to wonder what the lonely oil field worker might have thought seeing us come over a hill. That the Italians were invading from the west?

Felix, HEY! That's Jason Gerard's old L-21B . Wondered what had become of it. You'll enjoy it.

Thanks. cubscout

cubscout wrote:Felix, HEY! That's Jason Gerard's old L-21B . Wondered what had become of it. You'll enjoy it.

Thanks. cubscout

Hey cubscout - good to hear from you! It was previously owned by Jason Gerard. What did I say about it having been around...?

I thought that was Jason's old cub....
but then again I think that every time I see an ex-Italian L21 (of which there seems to be quite a few).

Great trip report, Felix-- I enjoyed it so much I had to go back & re-read your trip-rep from August 2018!

hotrod180 wrote:I thought that was Jason's old cub....
but then again I think that every time I see an ex-Italian L21 (of which there seems to be quite a few).

Great trip report, Felix-- I enjoyed it so much I had to go back & re-read your trip-rep from August 2018!

Thanks, hotrod! Seems that I find the airplanes I end up buying in the PNW...

Cool plane, and a fun adventure! I really enjoy your writing. Great TR!

Looks like a blast Alex, but sorry to hear about the job! Let me know if yall want another instructor who is an ~*~*~*~aLaSka bUsH PiLoT~*~*~*~

Great TR!

I flew my SuperCub from Ogden UT to Indiana a number of times in the early 90's, The best part of the trip was flying very low in Wyoming and Nebraska to break up the boredom.

MW

Not much more to add after Felix's great trip write up. The look on his face when we tried to start it and the battery was dead was priceless though. The trip was an incredible journey and one that I will remember for life. Thanks for sharing it with me, Felix. Looking forward to sharing the bird with other aviators!!

A few more photos

Felix and RC5280 fantastic trip report, thanks for the entertainment, looks like a blast. I'm based over at CO12 and would love to get some time in a cub!

COkoolaid wrote:Felix and RC5280 fantastic trip report, thanks for the entertainment, looks like a blast. I'm based over at CO12 and would love to get some time in a cub!

Absolutely! Keep an eye out for us and stop in at 18V to say hi. Or ping me and we will set something up.

Looks like a fun trip. Great report and great pictures. Neat looking bird too.