n2485q wrote:How about Page, AZ in October......fly pylons around monument valley in the early morning....gooding's....Lee's ferry for fishing....San juan goose necks...Bryce Canyon......lots closer to Socal , Sw colorado & AZ folks.....maybe pick up a texan or two......

Maybe more folks could enjoy the company of "BCAH.org" & bcp.org...why just one event a year?????

I like it. Close by for me. I would prefer late September or early October timeframe, but I would like to attend.

Can someone recommend a good source of reference material for the BC strips in AZ, CA and NM? I know Galen has written a book about Utah.

Jack,

We've got a dozen or so coming..tenatively last weekend in Oct but that may change to earlier to lessen the risk of snow weather.....anybody else that is interested, send me email: [email protected]. This will lack structure...no blocks of rooms or banquets.....everybody will be on their own for lodging & eats....bulletin board at FBO for announcements of last minute flyouts..Brent Watson has offered to lead those with cajones major into the Utah backcountry.

Larry Filener and I plan to scout out a strip west of Truth or Consequences, NM (Yes, there really is a city named that.) Both our 180's are undergoing annual over the next few weeks but we do plan to check it out. There are supposedly over 100 uncharted strips in NM. Time and fuel costs will dictate how many we'll get to visit! Hoping that by next year we'll have more backcountry opportunities scouted in NM.

Best flying in NM is typically fall....Sept-Oct. Temps abate so density altitude isn't such an issue. Nightime temps can drop to below freezing in the mountains though, so, gotta bring sunscreen AND jackets.

Brian

Akroguy,

What is November/December like. Been toying with the idea of exploring the southwest this winter. After the last Maine winter, Aimee and I will do just about anything to get away. This includes the couple thousand $ fuel bill for the 180. Figure 4,000nm round trip and 1,000nm exploring and camping for a month. Any Ideas?

Come on down! It can be cold too, and it does snow here, but nothing at all like up in your area. Coldest temps aren't until Jan-Feb, so Nov/Dec can still be very flyable. Snow levels typically are above 7,000'. We really have VFR weather 300+ days per year so if it gets yucky, it's usually overwith by the next day. Nightime lows, 20-30's, daytime highs, 40-50's. Up in the mountains, it gets mighty cold...single digits common overnight. We're at the bottom end of the Rockies. 180 climb performance comes in handy. Typical field elevations here from 4,000 to 7,000'MSL.

Up north, Taos is very nice, with neat shops and restaurants in town. Courtesy or rental cars at the airport are handy and it's an easy drive. The Rio Grande Gorge bridge is close to the airport. Some have flown under it.

Down south, it's warmer typically. White Sands National Park is quite amazing...white sand dunes for miles. A short flight west of the Albuquerque area is some amazing geography...red sands, mesas, and the "Sky City" of Acoma Pueblo. I've lost GPS signal here once. A Navajo native friend of mine said, "don't fly over the reservation, white man". Hmm. Ruidoso is a really nice ski/gambling resort town. Inn of the Mountain Gods is a beatiful place, with golf, skiing, and a casino.

I live at the Mid Valley Airpark, 25 miles south of Albuquerque. Three 180's here. Fuel typically cheapest in the area. Mogas is available via my trailer. IF, the ethanol wave doesn't overtake us.

Brian

Thanks Brian,

Sounds like you guys enjoy some nice weather. It would be a welcome change to the early bone chilling Maine winter and the 150 inches of rain in SE Alaska that we fly in everyday. Thanks for the info!

Columbia sounds like fun guys. I got a gaggle of Cubs that I think would love to make it. You're right about the DA in summer, hopefully it would be cooler in October. Keep us informed about possible dates! Happy Flying

akroguy wrote:Larry Filener and I plan to scout out a strip west of Truth or Consequences, NM There are supposedly over 100 uncharted strips in NM.
Brian

I'll put in a plug for my favorite mapping program, TOPO, by National Geographic. The State Series cost about $80 per state. They give you a seamless topo map of the entire state. The highest resolution is the same as the 7.5 minute quadrangle maps. They allow you to hook up to your GPS to download and up load waypoints. You can also down load your track log from the GPS to see on the map where you have been.

One neat feature is to search for geographic names. The Oregon map series shows 155 entries for airstrip. Looking over the list, you will find many that do not show up on the sectional maps. An example in Oregon is for the tiny town called Milican east of Bend. Another is a little airstrip on the Deschutes River, between Maupin and the Columbia River. It seems that many of these are historic, or little used.

I don't have the series for NM, or I would do the search and post a list of all the strips and their Lat and Lon. Maybe someone else has it and would do the post. Given a text list, there are several free programs that will download the data to your GPS.

tom

Anyone still up for an October Columbia fly-in?

I'm going to meet some friends there on October 3rd and stay through the 5th if anyone is interested. Pending WX of course.

Chris

There is allegedly a Cessna 170 assoc. fly-in at Columbia this comming Friday though Sunday.

I am hoping to make for part of time.

Last year there were more than just C-170s

Some of them plan on going into town for and old time melodrama play on Sat. eve.

sticknrudder wrote:Anyone still up for an October Columbia fly-in?

I'm going to meet some friends there on October 3rd and stay through the 5th if anyone is interested. Pending WX of course.

Chris

Yeah - I'm up for Columbia! There is a ton of great stuff in town, too. Really neat place. Let's firm up a date and... Do we need to reserve the place or do we "just show up"?