Im flying from Colorado to Palm Springs tomorrow and am planning on cruising over the Grand Canyon. What is the best route to go/ victor airway. Im going to have a full load in the 182 and want to give a little sight seeing show to the passengers.

Look at the chart for a quick low pass at Marble Canyon. Gets you legally right down into the canyon. Very exciting and maybe along your route to the land of fruits and nuts. Or a stop at Grand Canyon West... after crossing one of the main corridors.
Have fun

I deleted...

...my first post as my comments were far too general. Followed later with a posting below a few other comments.

Enjoy,

Bob

Apparently a plane and pilot are missing in the area. May be a possibility of an arial search underway during your visit.
http://westerntimesnews.com/?p=1674

Careful about landing @ Grand Cyn West 1G4. last year after landing there I entered the main terminal spoke with the main man inside. He informed me of the airports status as being public use but unless we wanted to take a tour bus @ like $45 per head, or pay a $75 landing fee or 3 leave now @ no charge. He wasn't mean or rude but explained that they were really busy with helo's and 135's operations. We didn't have time for the tour, didn't want to part with $75 so we left.

Just a note of caution from one of the comments above. Sounds like his info is way out of date. The main part of the Canyon has been regulated by a SFAR for years now. And it is no where as easy as just 2000 feet over the rim. They WILL bust YOU.
Get the SFAR chart... on line if you have to.
Read it carefully.

You will see that your options are much better at Marble Canyon.
Grand Canyon West is indeed owned by the Hualapai Nation. The advantage is the proximity to the edge of the canyon. The SFAR is shaped in a cutout to permit runway operations very near the edge. Just stay out of their terminal and you won't have to pay to land.
Bring a sandwhich.... have a short break and take off again. Fun and the view on takeoff to the North is good. You fly right past the "glass Bridge" on your crosswind turn.

Have fun.... stay off the FAA radar. Literally and figureatively.
Cheers,

I'd get the Grand Canyon chart before you venture across. Skyvector has it, but I couldn't see the back side of the chart, which has altitudes and frequencies. Maybe there is a way to look at the back side, but I couldn't see how. Best bet is to go find a chart. I understand its monitored quite carefully, especially on weekends.

"Not for navigation"

http://skyvector.com/?ll=36.21515997277 ... 7090530398

"Just stay out of their terminal and you won't have to pay to land." The main man asked me to come into the terminal and talk. His request was on the unicom freq.

I was there 7 years ago,

The SFAR was imposed in 1988 I believe. Prior to our personal aircraft overflight we stopped in at GCN "Grand Canyon National Park Airport." No problems with fees etc. Went inside and bought the VFR chart having the corridors and altitudes for areas in which you may freely view the canyon area. We got a proper briefing. Also talked with a Grand Canyon Airways crew to be certain that we understood what we were doing. Had no problems at all and got terrific views of the canyyon area.

There is a lot of information available from Gov/FAA web site where you can get all the needed information. As always...it is the PIC's responsibility to know and adhere to the rules. We did so in 2004 and had a great experience. Hopefully you will as well.

Enjoy.

Bob

Probably a good idea to pick one of these up...

http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/flight_info/aeronav/productcatalog/vfrcharts/grandcanyon/

ington6 wrote:Im flying from Colorado to Palm Springs tomorrow and am planning on cruising over the Grand Canyon. What is the best route to go/ victor airway. Im going to have a full load in the 182 and want to give a little sight seeing show to the passengers.

I fly there all the time and get a Grand Canyon Chart -Read & heed .There are hundreds of tour aircraft flying all day.DO NOT GO BELOW Altitudes listed on Chart ! Park Service patrols the Canyon airspace like a a hawk -The tour operators will rat you out in a heart beat. In western half of Canyon Minumun is 8000ft. MSL --- Eastern half is over 14,000 except thru the corrodoores . They will track you on radar and you'll get caught. I see 3-4 a year get nailed around Vegas. Word to the wise Get a Grand Canyon Chart and Read and Heed .

yup, bill is right...either go over at 14000 + or i like to shoot the "dragon" corridor at 10500 i believe...the vfr chart is very good and has all the right stuff...

geez pilots rattin out other pilots, feds breathing down your neck,,, I'd just stay east or west of the damn place and tell my passengers... "it's over there"...

I'm not sure when this was (about 10-15 years ago), I was on a airline flight from SoCal to Chicago and once we approached the Grand Canyon area the Pilot announce on the P.A. he would bank the plane to the left and right to give most all the passengers a view of the Grand Canyon. That was one of the coolest things I've seen an airliner pilot do for his passengers!

Just a tad off topic
The second coolest thing I noticed a airline pilot do was last summer I was on a flight from Boise to Denver. The pilot made a nice smooth landing at Denver, but kept the nose off the runway for as long as he could (same thing I like to do in my Skylane ). When parked at the gate and deplaning, I asked him about that. He replied, "You noticed that??". I said, "Yeah, I have a Cessna 182 and do the same thing all the time".

Don't avoid it, get the chart and follow it. It's a blast and be sure to take photo's.

iceman wrote:geez pilots rattin out other pilots, feds breathing down your neck,,, I'd just stay east or west of the damn place and tell my passengers... "it's over there"...

Me too, Ice.

gb

Oh, don't avoid it...

If you are concerned about all the tour traffic, the canyon police, the corridors etc, do this: fly west of all of the main "no fly" areas and pass over Bar 10 airport. This puts you in the Diamond Creek Sector. The top of the airspace is 9,000 ft there. You can angle your crossing of the Colorado River to be less than 180 magnetic so you can go south at 9,500 and be legal. Look to the east and you will be looking at the deepest, narrowest part of the canyon at Toroweap Overlook. Purdy nice and you will get a good close up look at the canyon without ruffling any feathers and be on your way to SoCal.

Be sure to use the GCN altimeter setting so everybody is on the same page. Also, if the tours have started in earnest, be careful if you decide to drop into GCN. It's like flies on fruit around there in season.

YB

I tend to agree with Magnet. Follow the rules and there is nothing to be afraid of. Its no different than flying around Washington DC, NYC etc. Why try to bend the rules? ington6 must be on his/her way by now anyway.

We all have the responsibility, and duty, to LEARN the airspace we're about to aviate in.

You can read the government's (DOI) training presentation, as a public citizen. The link is:

https://www.iat.gov/Training/pages/online.asp
Scroll down to the Grand Canyon National Park Special Flight Rules Area training section, and pick "Public Version".

It's your responsibility as PIC to be familiar with the regulations and requirements.

GET THE CHART.

STUDY IT, and FOLLOW it. Not doing so is asking for a mid-air.
We fly there all the time, and I really don't want the mid-air, thank you.