Heads up fellow aviators!

Bell lake Mn. ski-plane flyin has been tentatively scheduled for either Dec. 8th or 15th. Please check here for updates and ice conditions. Coordinates are N48 5'.09" [From Orr fly 53 degrees for 4.4 miles]
W92 45'.13"

In the morning there will be airplanes gathering for coffee at the cafe on Pelican Lake right in Orr, then flying over to Bell Lk. before noon for food. Bring something to donate like Brats or buns or chips. Great people and lots of airplanes.

There is 6" good ice on Bell. Fresh snowfall of 6"+ will push the event for a Dec 15th date. Cold wx predicted so there should be adequate thickness in 2 more weeks. Check here for final update.

Bell lake has 10" good ice. A little wetness close to shore in the usual places. By the weekend there should be a foot. DC drilled holes and ran his snowmobile around the lake. We are going ahead with the Dec. 15 date and I would recommend skis only. Snow cover was only 4" but with a chance of slush I would remove wheels. I will seek an update for Pelican Lake before the weekend.

any more ski fly ind coming in Jan 2008,thanks Woody

The following is from Ben regarding the conditions for the Gull lake fly-in on the 29th.

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I am going to check the ice again today. This mute foggy weather is not really changing anything. Last I checked there was a good 10" of ice. If you fly in on the 29th watch out for the slush from the shore out around 100 FT. I will have the grill and fire going, I have a bunch of venison and pheasant that I am going to cook up. Bring Bratts or whatever your specialty is. There is a great area to land on skis just to the south of the house, you will see the wind sock. If you are uncertain about the ice I would be more than happy to pick people up, it is only 1/4 mile away.

there was some light rain the other day and it made a big difference on the ice. 2 Cubs flew in today, the slush near the shore froze and I do not think that one would have any problem on wheels. There is a packed snowmobile trail running up the middle of the bay, the bay does not have very much fluffy snow at all.

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Following this we got about 2-3 inches of powder last night

Is that the old Les Nokes machine? I'll have some DVD's for you (back when you back when it had little tires if you want to bring it to gull)

From Ben

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Things are looking great for Saturday, for those that would like to fly-in to Gull Lake. The spot is very easy to find. Simply fly to the East Gull Lake strip (9Y2) and fly 1/4 mile north. ...hot beverages and pheasant hot dish down at the lake. The grill and camp fire will be going as well. I would imagine people will start arriving around 11:00am or so.

...hey you guys have fun, and.....take lots of pictures! John

Happy New Year
So the Ski fly in is on for East Gull on the 29 th ?
What about Orr and Bimij in 08 ?
I think Aitken has a few guys show up on Sundays, and I think there is snow next to the taxiway for Ski landing. Its a good year for SKi's

Hey Winger, yep - the Gull deal is on Saturday (the 29th) Put 9Y2 (the East Gull Lake runway) on your GPS and then fly a 1/4 mile over to the lake (west end of Steamboat Bay next to Maddens).

The Bemidji deal is on Tuesday, New Years Day, at the Green Mille on the Lake. The Orr thing is later, check with Eric (Scout) on the days for that event.

Brad

Things are looking great for Saturday in Steamboat Bay on Gull. The ice depth is a foot plus. Wind has taken care of the majority of the deep snow, slush is no longer a factor in Steamboat. There will be a campfire and grill going, as well as hot beverages. Fingers are crossed for good weather.

Somebody take some good photos and post a TR!

nobody takes "photos" anymore Zane...

and here I thought you're the techie guru of all gurus.

BRD wrote:nobody takes "photos" anymore Zane...

and here I thought you're the techie guru of all gurus.

Grab some light captures with your CCD boxes and transfer their bytes up the pipe to the dataweb.

whew! you had me worried there Z -

Looks like we'll set up a 3 hole golf course and mark 100 foot sections on the ice. Set of ski flying DVD's to be given away.

we are all set to go. Making a batch of Pheasant with wild rice right now. the ice is rock solid with no more than 2" of snow on it. Should be a good time.

Christmas Eve I landed on lake Bemidji, just Northeast of the Green Mill as I had to relieve myself… prior to heading further north. While I was checking “snow depth” with my “portable snow depth testing device,” the plane was still on top the ice without dropping to the bottom of the lake. I experienced no slush that had been present earlier on this year. There are a pile of fish houses on the lake and I saw a half ton pickup truck on the ice.

Hopefully it’ll be a nice day for a plane ride!

Well, after an inauspicious morning given the weather, things cleared out, pheasant/wild rice soup and brats were eaten, cider drunk, ice golf won, planes flown and a good time was had by all on Gull. I loaded three images that Z needs to push through as a sample - then I'll get at the rest sometime and put them in their own album.

Brad

It was a good time at the Gull Lake fly-in. Will post images of said event when Zane gives me more room in the albums.

Zane gave me more room so I'll eventually get the Gull Lake album put together. In the meantime check out Kiwi's, "A 180 in England" shots - good stuff!

For whatever reason I particularily like this one:

http://www.backcountrypilot.org/gallery ... &pos=-4763