Hello Backcountry Pilots,

Finally the snow melted off enough to land at my new airstrip 79ID. It was a battle with the weather today, but I got in that first landing. On the whitewater scale this is a Class 5 airstip with a very technical approach. The runway was real soft, and I don't want to tear up the seeded ground. Anyway a great deal of satisfaction today.

James
Clear Creek, Idaho

Before:

After:

Snow squalls on the Camas Prairie & a muddy windshield too

Congrats James, what a great feeling that had to be.

Awesome picture:

Congrats man! Having your own strip is so nice. Looks great

Very nice and congratulations! Watching your post of the past year or so, it is great to see your perseverance. pay off .

Congrats James...... As one private airport owner to another, we both know how much work goes into getting a strip landable, the first landing is soooooooo sweet.... ..

There is a bill working its way through the Wyoming legislature to protect landowners from liability on private airports... If, and when it passes and the gov signs it, my strip will go from being listed as private owned/ private use, to private owed / public use..

Congrats again.............. I will have a cold one for you tonight...

Awesome James!!!

I'll have a cold one for you as well, maybe x2.

Post some video sometime of the approach/departure.

Well done!

GroundLooper wrote:Awesome James!!!

I'll have a cold one for you as well, maybe x2.

Post some video sometime of the approach/departure.

Thanks for the good words. Celebrating with some cheap red wine tonight.

James

Congratuations James!!

Having followed your progress over the last 12 months or more, I'm happy for you.
I think that is every pilot's dream (or one of them) is having their own airstrip at home.

Super-Maule wrote:

GroundLooper wrote:Awesome James!!!

I'll have a cold one for you as well, maybe x2.

Post some video sometime of the approach/departure.

Thanks for the good words. Celebrating with some cheap red wine tonight.

James

Let's not get too cocky here.................. James still has to fly out of there....

Oops.. On second thought.. maybe he did... That would explain the mud on his windscreen..

Congrats SM. You've earned the right to celebrate!!
HC

Congratulations James! We're still waiting for the snow to melt on our new airstrip, although we have a meadow that's useable. The ambiance of your strip is far superior. (Not so sure about the wine.)

Very cool! Congrats!!

yaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!! so what's the length again?? and in the after pix does it dog leg to the left way down there or is it straight to the trees...

Well done sir!

I've been following your progress, congratulations. I hope you give the finger to the mongrel neighbors that whinged and whined, as you turn final "ON YA OWN STRIP" Yeeehaaaaaaaaa

Scolopax wrote:Well done sir!

x2

One huge advantage of flying out of your own place I got to experience yesterday: I had to work in the morning, plus the weather was bad. After I got home about 2 in the afternoon I got busy on something in the shop, still very windy and then snow flurries.....so I pretty much gave up on sneaking a flight in. Then around 4 I could see a clearing to the west, so I plugged the plane in (hangar stays at high 40's to low 50's, I like to pre heat to totally eliminate warm up idling and save time) and then went back to work in the shop.

A half hour later the clearing was gone and the snow settled in again and the wind picked up so for sure no flying in the cards. I went downstairs to the hangar and unplugged the plane. Then, at around 5:15, the last snow squall moved on and it was clear blue and dead calm! So, a few minutes later I launched down the ski ramp and got to track up some of that fresh powder, after making about 15 landings/takeoffs and never getting further then 2 miles from home, I landed right after the sun went behind the ridgeline. Only .6 hrs for the log book but it was a FUN .6 and no hassle at all.

Point being that living at the airstrip allows one to effortlessly micro manage your chances to go flying, and do so in a safer way because you are right up to date on the weather conditions at the flying field as you have been there all along. This is especially important for me flying a light aircraft off a mountain side, and besides that it's just damn convinent, saving a lot of time and travel driving to a real airport. More fun too Just a whole lot of good reasons to fly out of your home base, I also like having HONEY nearby, like having the dog at the foot of the recliner, it just feels better. You'll probably find additional good things about your strip that will work for you James, great move.

iceman wrote:yaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!! so what's the length again?? and in the after pix does it dog leg to the left way down there or is it straight to the trees...

Clear Creek International has a very interesting/difficult approach. It is a one way in one way out runway. Landings are from upstream landing downstream. Takeoffs are upstream or uphill. Short final includes "a tight 45 degree right hand cross cockpit slip turn over 80 cottonwoods and power-lines".
The runway is about 1250 feet long and I touched down at about the 950 foot mark. With improving runway conditions and practice it should become routine. I found this approach to be more technically challenging than Simmonds, Dewey Moore, and Mile High that you guys are familiar with. Yesterday I blasted out of there real light with half tanks and nothing in the airplane, even tie-downs. The Maule did a great job.

Looking forward to blue skys and green grass.

James
Clear Creek Idaho

2010 Google Earth footage:

recent photo from approach end:

Results: