I am trying to move hell and high water to make this because I believe in exactly what Rob said above.

If I can I will be an early Saturday arrival. Just in time for everyone to judge my landing.

I would have loved to make this, but I'm stuck working all weekend. McKenzie Bridge is on my list. You guys have fun and fly safe.

Well I’m back home. This was a very fun time. The weather couldn’t have been better. Rick and his team did a top notch job organizing.

Had nice visits with old friends and new. Got a lot of work done! Special thanks to the pilots who trucked in their personal tractors and the company who donated gravel.

My estimate, there were 20 pilots and 20 from the Eugene VW Bus club. The bus club has a member who is a pilot with a Cessna. So that’s the connection. The food was in the top 5 for best ever fly in food. 4 pilots flew in. A Cessna, Mooney, Bonanza, and my Maule.

I’ll close with this. We had a Mooney from Florida and a Cessna from Idaho. A Bonanza and Maule from Troutdale. Rick ask for help back on March 8 th that’s over 3 MONTHS! And we got 2 planes from Oregon. Scratching my head on this one.

Cheers Rob

Ouch. That's a pretty pathetic turnout for Oregon pilots.

Rob,

Thank you for posting the stoking pictures. I have landed there on 31’s. John, the Maule driver from Lebanon showed the place.

Glad to see she is still open and is getting care!

Good to see a successful trip. The picture of Blue River Reservoir is completely full. Good for a seaplane in early Summer. Ha ha!

Will be back on the Oregon Coast, Summer time. We’ll have lunch again at Pacific City, the picture of your McKenzie River bar b que is making me hungry.

Good thread!

PS Sorry I missed you in Hawaii, had business in Southern California last minute totally unavoidable. I had a surfboard ready for you and everything! Next time...

Zzz wrote:Ouch. That's a pretty pathetic turnout for Oregon pilots.

I tried my damndest. Leaving the wife for the weekend with a two year old and a three week old baby was not gonna happen. Dad life once against trumps pilot life.

gptc wrote:

Zzz wrote:Ouch. That's a pretty pathetic turnout for Oregon pilots.

I tried my damndest. Leaving the wife for the weekend with a two year old and a three week old baby was not gonna happen. Dad life once against trumps pilot life.

That's about the best reason/excuse I can think of. There has to be more retiree pilots than just Rob??

Zzz wrote:Ouch. That's a pretty pathetic turnout for Oregon pilots.

I appreciate Rob's trip report and his continued support of the RAF mission. While we indeed only had two Oregon airplanes fly in, much more importantly, we had quite a few pilots drive in with the big equipment that made the work party a success. We certainly could not have accomplished all we did without their contributions.

In addition to Rob's very energetic and much appreciated efforts, I want to acknowledge:

1. Paul MacClanahan and Harry Wildgen, both from Bend who each brought tractors and spent all day moving fill materials for volunteers to repair the runway surface;

2. Paul Ehrhardt from Junction City, who brought a tractor and mower, and mowed the entire airfield and tie-down area;

3. John Inkster from Bend, John Gillett from Hillsboro and Dale Moul from Boise, who brought some industrial brush clearing gear and pushed back the brush encroaching on the runway;

4. Taylor NW construction from Bend, who donated the fill materials, along with the transportation of the materials to the airfield;

5. John Alexander from Eugene, and the 20+ members of the VW Bus Club, who repaired, cleaned and repainted the outhouse, painted the segmented circle and runway end markers, repaired the split rail fence, and hosted the movie night;

6. Tony Hann from Infinite Air Center in Albany who brought two large gas BBQs for the pot-luck, and spent the evening managing the grills;

7. Joni Thompson and Sarah Mayes of Bend, who prepared all of the food for the BBQ and cleaned up afterwards.

8. Matt, Jeff, Carl, Johnny, Jessica, Amber, Don, Robin and several other folks whose names I have already forgotten, who spent the day with shovels and rakes working to fill holes in the runway surface.

I want to thank everyone who took time from their busy lives to make a contribution to this effort. I believe that we left the airfield in better condition than it has been in years, and I invite BCP members to fly in and check it out. If you like what you see, please contact the ODA, remark on the work completed, and thank them for allowing us to hold this work party.

Matthew Maass, State Airports Manager, Oregon Department of Aviation.
email: [email protected]. Tel: (503) 378-2523‬

Zzz wrote:That's about the best reason/excuse I can think of. There has to be more retiree pilots than just Rob??

No Zane, the volunteers were not all retired - we all have jobs, businesses, families and other responsibilities. McKenzie Bridge Airport is important to us and we were willing to step up and demonstrate to the ODA our personal commitment to keep the airport open.

If protecting access for general aviation is important to you, I suggest that you ask yourself: If not me, who? If not now, when? Get involved and make a difference.

Rick & Volunteers,

You are HEROES! Whether it was 5 people or 100 people working on the airstrip, your work is VERY important. Having 40 people helping out is a huge success. By building relationships this back country airstrip initiative will grow. There's no doubt about it.

Yes people have busy lives, and we will all give as we can. If you can't make a work party write a letter, call a government leader, send a donation to one of these amazing backcountry organizations. GET INVOLVED!

I couldn't attend the work party because of a prior commitment, but I do know that I'll do everything possible to help Rick and RAF to bring awareness to the importance of rural and back country strips.

And by the way, please take the time to learn about Pacific City State Airport and its proposed sale by ODA. Check out the website for Friends of Pacific City State Airport. Help our group to keep this gem of an airport publicly/State owned.

[email protected]

180skywagonCP wrote:....And by the way, please take the time to learn about Pacific City State Airport and its proposed sale by ODA. Check out the website for Friends of Pacific City State Airport. Help our group to keep this gem of an airport publicly/State owned.
[email protected]

That's an email address, not a website.
I googled them, couldn't find a website.
I did contact someone with that group quite a while back, she gave me a list of legislators and bureaucrats I could contact to express support for keeping the airport open. Which I did.

hotrod180 wrote:

180skywagonCP wrote:....And by the way, please take the time to learn about Pacific City State Airport and its proposed sale by ODA. Check out the website for Friends of Pacific City State Airport. Help our group to keep this gem of an airport publicly/State owned.
[email protected]

That's an email address, not a website.
I googled them, couldn't find a website.
I did contact someone with that group quite a while back, she gave me a list of legislators and bureaucrats I could contact to express support for keeping the airport open. Which I did.

here you go: https://sites.google.com/friendsofpacif ... tate-/home

Wow! Thanks so much guys. I wanted to be there but just couldn't because of travel, and, um, I came out of semi-retirement and got a job.

I appreciate the effort.

Thanks so much,

Alex