I'm with G44 on this one. You think they'd throw us a crumb......at least a fuzzy Iphone picture! Anything! Selfish buggers!

Hendo wrote:I'm with G44 on this one. You think they'd throw us a crumb......at least a fuzzy Iphone picture! Anything! Selfish buggers!

Try this, very little internet there!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/968770996478605/

Thx M6RV6! That's just what I needed. Looks like they are all having fun without us!

OK, Here's a sneak peak. I had to leave Saturday AM because of predicted weather problems getting home on Sunday. The short time I spent on the playa was fabulous. Lots of great people, lots of great planes and shared interests all around. That's a formula guaranteed to create smiles!

Fog delayed my start to the event, so I ran out of daylight before arriving. I had to stop in Alturas, CA and camp in the grass in front of the FBO. Alturas was over 4300' elevation and it dropped to the high 20s that night. I didn't have frost on my plane the next moring, I had a glacier!




I finally got all of the ice off of the plane and flew the rest of the way to dead cow, It was about another 90 minutes of flying. Here's what the LZ looked like from the air


Here I am, parked and tied down. Claw, or screw anchors seemed to work well in the playa dirt.


One small part of the line


Registration tent


Taxiing on the mains only:


A Seabee made it in. I wonder if they knew how far out the tide was? This Seabee is powered by a Corvette engine.

Gary Ward flew his MX2 all the way from Georgia to be part of the festivities. His tightly faired wheel pants worked fine on the Playa, so nobody has any excuses about not having the right plane for this adventure.


Sunset Friday Evening



Bonfire Sat Night


Early morning Saturday




Pilot Briefing Sat AM


Getting ready to fly out for breakfast


Fun toys


I just wish I had been confident enough in the Puget Sound weather to stay Saturday night. I missed a LOT by leaving early. Still, kudos to Kevin and everyone that helped put this on. From my wee perspective as pilot of a Maule with small wheels and a small engine it was a complete success.

Here's a weird picture I took on my way down. Anybody have a clue why someone would make a square moat around a piece of land in the middle of nowhere?

Here's my approach in a fully loaded Maule. This was NOT an STOL landing, but it didn't need to be. The fun flying doesn't start in earnest until the beast is unloaded.

Very nice, Flyhound. Glad to see some Maules represented. I see Mr. Steel there and is that Oregon Maule parked there too?
Post up some more pictures when you get the chance.
RR

Nice pics Gary!!

Back safe I another great year! Thank you Kevin and Corey and everybody that helped you. Had some challenging weather get back into Troutdale but we made her in.

I flew out over Nervino at 10500. wasn't too bumpy up high but slow. Its always fun to see 65-70 knots on the groundspeed while flying at 110. was down to about 15 once I got over the sierra and into the valley.

Thanks again Kevin and all that helped pull this off.

the last 50 miles home. UGH. I had a great time.
Thanks. Kevin

Flyhound wrote:Here's a weird picture I took on my way down. Anybody have a clue why someone would make a square moat around a piece of land in the middle of nowhere?

To keep the commoners out perhaps?

Man what a weekend. Pilots flew in from as far away as Maine, Drifter came from Austraila, and 1 gal came across the country from a craigslist add. We lost count after a 130 plus planes and had over 250 people camping last night. I will let others share their experience here but I am truly grateful to all of those that helped to make this happen.

I think the STOL Drag was a big hit. We're just getting started on that one. What a cool feeling to see somthing you envisioned come to reality. Anyhow, first time I did not have my camera for a fly in. I have poached these from the several hundred plus pics getting posted to FB on our High Sierra Fly-in Group page.

What a great time! Thank you to everyone who made this happen. It was great to finally meet some of the exceptional people that make up this community. Here is a photo captured by a very quick camera finger as a valiant driver towing a trailer selflessly shielded the crowd from the much anticipated finale!

CFOT wrote:What a great time! Thank you to everyone who made this happen. It was great to finally meet some of the exceptional people that make up this community. Here is a photo captured by a very quick camera finger as a valiant driver towing a trailer selflessly shielded the crowd from the much anticipated finale!

Looks like some govt nuke testing going on out there! Sweet

c170pete wrote:I flew out over Nervino at 10500. wasn't too bumpy up high but slow. Its always fun to see 65-70 knots on the groundspeed while flying at 110. was down to about 15 once I got over the sierra and into the valley.

Thanks again Kevin and all that helped pull this off.

I made up to 140, in a S-7S, going the other way, a new personal best! The WX LOOKED iffy all the way but never GOT iffy, so that high speed was much appreciated. That stretch of Nevada my route took me over made Wyoming look over developed and densely populated, and it was nice to get it behind me ASAP.

C170Pete: I saw some strange things too (a good find you made there, thanks for posting that) like this speedboat miles from any water, WTF?


Kudo's to the Cirrus pilot, he wins the award for "most inappropriate use of a particular aircraft design", while at the same time his great skill (and great brakes) showed it's the pilot not the plane that gets things done. What he was doing (dragging Wilga Beast at one point ) was as unlikely to see as a Mooney landing at Soldier Bar! That drag race was the most fun I've had in an event since chasing helium balloons at an ultralight rally years ago, the winner being lowest elapsed time from wheels rolling and the balloon being released, and anything over 2 minutes was disqualified.

Well done Kevin, we can see why your business is a success, you have what I think they call "organizational skills". THANKS

Would like to thank everyone that helped put this years HSF together. OUTSTANDING..... Everything seemed to flow very well. The STOL drags were a fun spectator event. I'm already planning to attend next years HSF. THANK YOU... Mike

A few pics from our weekend. What a great event and weekend with Adam!

Great photos.
Adam is an impressive guy!
The photo of Bonham Hot spring made me think. Jack Bonham is still alive I think and lives in Susanville. He used to have a 170 and flew out of the family ranch. If possible next year we should try to fly him out for a visit.
He would approve of the BCP spirit.

STOL Drag

http://youtu.be/L4pqzAQyAfk