The itinerary was:
KVCB (Vacaville, CA) ---> KHND (Henderson, NV)---> KGNC (Grand Canyon, AZ) ---> KSEZ (Sedona, AZ) ---> KAVX (Catalina, CA)
Add a little distance for climbing out over Catalina and Flying around the Grand Canyon and it was around a 1300NM trip/10+ hour trip. If you plan on visiting any of the places I highly recommend it. Below are pictures and of course info!
Can’t think of the name of this airstrip that once was : (
Vegas
The first part of the flight went just like the one we did last year. Nice and smooth, thankfully. Although when I was descending to stay below the Las Vegas class B airspace I physically could not stay below the airspace without hitting a mountain. They really need to re-evaluate how low they went with airspace and how far out. I had to fly around mountains to stay clear! Anyway, Henderson is easy to get into and they charge around $10 a day for parking, buy fuel and they wave the first day. If you ever need to go to Vegas I would choose this, lots cheaper than the Intl airport. While in Vegas we stayed with friends and really just relaxed. I’ve been to the strip a couple times, and it’s nothing new!
Vegas – Grand Canyon
I was pretty excited to fly over the Grand Canyon when we started planning the trip. I had looked at the charts a little but until I was in Vegas thinking about the flight coming in the next day or so I read the chart, even purchased one and it was still confusing. At no time did the chart give specifics on restrictions or altitudes you are or aren’t allowed to fly at. I called a pilot that was a commercial operator and he didn’t know anything, since he was used to flying below the rim. The back side of the chart is for “Commercial Operators” only. I finally ended up calling the local FSDO in Vegas and talked to an FAA guy that would you believe….helped me! He explained that the charts suck and that they need to be revamped. But if you ever look at the chart and see 7999/surface or 8999/surface it just means. “Don’t fly below 8000ft, no flight below 9000ft…etc.” Why the chart couldn’t say this I have no clue! He also agreed it’s caused problems. Anyway, we landed at the Grand Canyon in the morning after a beautiful flight. (Pics below). We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express. Which, I would not recommend! While most are really nice, this one didn’t impress me at all. I would stay at the Best Western if I had the option again. They also have a good place to eat. There are only about 3 places the locals eat, Pizza place, Mexican Joint and the best western. This is sad when they have so many steak houses!
Here is the place we ate: http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-coronado-room-tusayan
The ride to the Grand Canyon from the Hotel was a flat rate fee of $10 each way. Once in the park they have places to eat and stay. The busses take you around the Canyon to see the different views. We started out with the Bright Angel trail, did a few miles and then went back up. All in all it was a great experience and let me say, you only need 1 or 2 days there….no more!
Hoover Dam
The Grand Canyon of course!
West Grand Canyon & Skyview
Plenty of parking
Bright Angel Trail….
View from the Rim
Sedona, AZ
Awesome airport
After our stay in the Grand Canyon we headed to Sedona, AZ. And of all the days it was a bumpy flight! We had at least a 30 knot headwind and moderate turbulence for the 69nm flight! However the scenery change from Grand Canyon to Sedona was amazing. We loved Sedona and would love to go back. We rented a car from the place at the airport and it was around $25 a day, and let me say it was a $25 a day
Dodge Neon. It did the job though. We went to see the Slide Rock Park first, which was cool and would have been awesome in the summer.
Oak Creek Canyon
I had looked online for some good places to stay at a good deal and I found the Wildflower Inn. It’s actually in the Village of Oak Creek. Had we not stayed there we probably wouldn’t have gone there, and that would have been very sad! They had a great $9 all you can drink wine night on wed just a walk down the road.
Marketplace Café: http://www.yelp.com/biz/marketplace-cafe-sedona
We also found an amazing place for breakfast just down the road as well. They have a saying outside “So good you’ll plan your day around us!” And in fact, we did! The food was delicious and we would go back in a heartbeat. The biscuits and gravy tasted amazing.
Red Rock Café: http://www.yelp.com/biz/red-rock-cafe-sedona
In Sedona We hiked a couple trails. The best one was the Hog Heaven Trail. Great views as you will see below!
After a great day of hiking we wanted to great dinner food. We went to a place that was actually featured in Pilot Getaways Magazine. And let me tell you AMAZING!!!!! I have never had such delicious meals for such a great deal. At 5:30 (they open at 5) they already had an hour wait. While you wait you can have popcorn and drinks. The wait is well worth it! Try the Fire Roasted Corn.
Elote Café: http://www.yelp.com/biz/elote-cafe-sedona-2
After staying in Sedona for 2 days we headed to Catalina
Catalina #*$#ing Wine mixer…okay maybe not!
Catalina Island, CA
The flight to Catalina was nice. The Mooney took a total of 23 gallons to get there. I love the efficiency!
Airport in the Sky
Final
When we landed we paid the $90 for landing fee, parking for the night and a shuttle to and from Avalon for 2. It wasn’t a bad deal.
After tying the airplane down we grabbed some burgers and tacos. The burger was pretty good but I think it was a bit high priced. I could have probably gotten something better in Avalon, but it was worth the experience. I think the drive down to Avalon was more nerv racking than anything. I am not a fan of cliffs when I am not in a plane!
They have lots of golf carts…. Golf Cart repo??
They had a cool miniature golf course, probably the best one I have ever been to. Cost $7-9 per person.
After that we grabbed some coffee and then walked around a little. The Casino was just closing but we got to look at the museum and learn some history.
Finally we got some dinner and then called it a night. A great stop and I would go back in the future.
The flight home was great, until the last 30 minutes. I filed IFR and even got to do an Approach back into Nut tree. Sorry this was long, but if you plan to go to some of the places I’m sure this will help!
Happy Flying
