Hello Backcountry Pilots,

My airstrip, "Clear Creek International" is now on the Great Falls 1:500,000 Sectional Chart. On the FAA application I checked the block to not have it listed on the Sectional. I just wanted to keep a lower profile. Another guy north of Moscow, Idaho wanted his airstrip depicted on the Sectional and it never was listed, go figure.

Anyway I'm still a ways from getting the airstrip done. This winter I'm burying the powerline and having a pole replaced $$$. Got the windsock, but until the powerline is done the place is not landable.

Happy Thanksgiving,

James
Clear Creek, Idaho

Super-Maule wrote:Hello Backcountry Pilots,

My airstrip, "Clear Creek International" is now on the Great Falls 1:500,000 Sectional Chart. On the FAA application I checked the block to not have it listed on the Sectional. I just wanted to keep a lower profile. Another guy north of Moscow, Idaho wanted his airstrip depicted on the Sectional and it never was listed, go figure.

Anyway I'm still a ways from getting the airstrip done. This winter I'm burying the powerline and having a pole replaced $$$. Got the windsock, but until the powerline is done the place is not landable.

Happy Thanksgiving,

James
Clear Creek, Idaho

Well hot dawg! Now you're more famous than Famous Amos!

Congratulations! I think.

I know that area. My very first actual grass landing was at Kamiah, some 37 years ago.

Cary

Small world, my first grass landing was at kamiah as well. And my current plane was a direlect ramp-dog that spent 13 years slowly sinking into the ground at kamiah from 1989 until 2002.

SuperMaule, Congrats, I've been waiting for quite a while to get mine on there, was approved in April I think??
GT

Congrats..... From one private airport owner, 2WY3, who is on the sectional to another ....

M6RV6 wrote:SuperMaule, Congrats, I've been waiting for quite a while to get mine on there, was approved in April I think??
GT

Hey George,
Are you talking about your Rice, Washington Airstrip? Have you priced having your powerline buried? You have a great landing strip and hanger.

James

James
Yes, they want $30,000 to bury that 600', they have to put a vault at each end!!
MaGee Creek Aerodrome.
See you in January.

M6RV6 wrote:James
Yes, they want $30,000 to bury that 600', they have to put a vault at each end!!
MaGee Creek Aerodrome.
See you in January.

Is that just a number thrown out by the utility company? Lots of variables that could bump the costs up that high but.....a local contractor could set the vaults and lay conduit, leaving the utility company to just pull wire and maybe set a pole if needed?

Same here, push the local utility to see if you can use local talent. They won't suggest it , and may try to make it look like rocket science. Probably get it done 50% cheaper or more, no disrespect to the union lineman meant, but I ran the power to my place for 3 K, they quoted 8K.

A friend got a quote from the power company to bury powerlines that crossed the end of his private grass runway.

Their quote was very expensive, so he had his attorney write a letter to the power company outlining the danger their powerlines were causing and formally notified them and (not sure what you call it, but filed their complaint with their county's Clerk of Court). The power company came out and buried the powerlines at their own expense - no charge.

Paying an attorney for a letter and filing it with the Clerk of Court may work for you.

JLD wrote:Their quote was very expensive, so he had his attorney write a letter to the power company outlining the danger their powerlines were causing and formally notified them and (not sure what you call it, but filed their complaint with their county's Clerk of Court). The power company came out and buried the powerlines at their own expense - no charge.

If you tried the attorney letter approach here in Alaska, the utility would probably come out and install an orange ball on the line and call it good.

The local power company quoted $10,000 to pull 280 feet of wire through my already placed underground conduit between two existing poles. The line only supplies my house so I don't think the Attorney thing will work in my case. Seems high to me. James, any way to make sure a strip does not get published on the chart, I am just now applying?

I am working on it some, just have to wait until I get home to push it some more, the original easement said they were ok to use the easement if it did not cause problems with farming the ground.(1908) local power company, since then have changed hands many times.
Will be using the attorney method and filing with the county clerk to let them officially know of the liability?? That was one of the reasons to finnaly get it designated and on the chart. Will see what happens.
GT
Thanks for all the suggestions!

Hey supermaule, I stumbled across a set of portable runway lights on ebay this morning(Item #190758719015). Don't know if you're interested but I figured any international airport should have runway lights.

M6RV6 wrote:James
Yes, they want $30,000 to bury that 600', they have to put a vault at each end!!
MaGee Creek Aerodrome.
See you in January.

Might be cheaper instead to have the power company put the lines up higher on tall poles and fly under them .

When my dad first put in the strip it was 900' and ended at the power lines with a fence also.
When I learned to fly, it was over the fence and under the lines, had no choices, that just was what you did!
Quite a few years ago I was able to have the good fortune to purchase the next 1300' next to it!
Have been in there with beech 18', Islander, 337', Baron and a whole bunch of other planes since 1958.
They are plenty high if your on the ground.
Would just be nice to havem in the ground.
GT

I say leave the lines up.. it will limit your visitors to only those who can actually get in there with them up...like I said earlier.. looks totally doable to me...

Super Maule - When I first put in my strip, I filled out the form to get it on the sectional and I waited and waited. I think it missed the next two sectionals, so I contacted someone. NOTE: this was before Lorain and GPS.

It turns out I mixed up the lat and Lon. Instead of Eastern Ohio, I plotted my strip somewhere in Greenland.

Jeredp wrote:Hey supermaule, I stumbled across a set of portable runway lights on ebay this morning(Item #190758719015). Don't know if you're interested but I figured any international airport should have runway lights.

No runway lights at Clear Creek International. It is scary enough in the daylight. One way in and one way out. I have an attorney friend looking at the easements, and safety issues to get at least a break on the powerline expense.

James