Thu May 30, 2013 12:18 pm
I moved to Moscow a year ago and went through the same process. Interstate didn't have what I wanted at the time so I had to expand my search to nearby airports and I'm pretty glad I did. I ended up at Schoepflin Airport (WN26) near Palouse, WA. Its a small private strip north of Moscow, about a 12 minute drive for me, that occasionally has hangars for rent. Dale and his son are pretty great guys and the runway is a 2200' x 50' paved strip with a small crosswind runway for those oddball wind days. The strip does have a pretty good slope to it though, sort of like landing in a bowl. The hangars are new and I just like the way my plane looks on the ramp with the pastoral background.
Colfax is your other option. It on the charts as Port of Whitman (S94). They had a hangar that I almost got but the one at Schoepflin opened up at the last minute. The hangars there are also new but more expensive (~$230 a month). They also wanted to verify my insurance, have me register my plane in Washington, and sign a lease before letting me move in. I thought it was strange that the hangars they were trying to rent had "squatters" in them when I went to check them out but they assured me they would kick them out if I signed a lease. I'm pretty sure those guys hadn't been forced through the same hoops I was having to go through. The county seems to own the airport and they really market it as an industrial hub, which I find odd. Lots of spray planes and other agriculture based businesses on the field. Its not a bad option if you can't find a hangar at any other location I guess.
With the amount of rain and wind we get here you'll want a hangar, especially if you have a ragwing plane like I do.
As for fun places to fly? We can pull out a section when you get here, this place is a playground for grass strips.