Was down visiting family in PHX for Thanksgiving and took some people in to Red Creek Airstrip on the Verde River this Saturday. I've been eyeing this airstrip the last couple times I flew down here, but always ran out of time before I could make it here. So today I took advantage of the cool weather and made it in, What a cool location. I hiked down about a 1/4 mile from the airstrip and let the dog play out in the river while I checked out the scenery. I hope to come back here and camp sometime. Picnic tables and campsites at the airstrip and down by the river.

The airstrip appears to have received some recent rain based on the minor washout and ruts on the NE portion of the runway. I landed long SW (uphill) and floated over the ruts and exposed rocks. It was only and issue since I'm on 7.00 tires but it would have been fine for bushwheel tires After the short hike down to the river I came back and filled in some of the holes, removed large rocks and raked dirt in to some of the large washouts. Otherwise the SW 800' portion of the runway was in great shape. Windsock was in good condition on the NE side.

More Information can be found at the APA site and on Shortfield.com.
http://azpilots.org/images/attachments/ ... mphlet.pdf

Alec

Here are some pictures from the Trip:








(Above) Approach End of Runway looking SouthWest - uphill

Looks like a fun place

I'm glad you got to get in there. It is a special place. I'm hoping my next trip is as follows: Leave one plane at Red Creek, fly up to Montezuma in Camp Verde and talk one of the residents into taking us and our gear down to the Verde River. Then float down to Red Creek in the inflatable kayaks.

Thanks to the APA and RAF they convinced the USFS not to close Red Creek last year.

Let's all be careful and not give the USFS any reasons to close it. BTW, two planes have been hauled out this year. One of them was the "Tougher than a Tornado" Husky that AOPA gave away in their sweepstakes. It is no longer in the aircraft registry.

Very nice place. I plan to camp there in January wx permitting. This will be my 3rd time there. Love it.

Cheers

What great spot!!! Any trout in the river?

That Tornado Husky has sure had a tough go at life...hopefully it's gettin rebuilt yet again?

Never knew a Husky was tougher than a tornado? Maybe a dust devil.

Alec, please drop a line next time you're down this way. Would be great to hook up !

Skalywag wrote:What great spot!!! Any trout in the river?

Unfortunately no, there are decent small mouth tho. There is actually a good bit of fun flying close by as well

Rob wrote:Alec, please drop a line next time you're down this way. Would be great to hook up !

Hey Rob- I'm in the valley a couple times a year visiting family and dealing with rental property. I'll give you a shout next time I'm in the area. Would be great to explore the area some more.

Here are a few more still shots from the wing cam:

Great TR Alec!
In the late 80's, I flew for Lake Powell Air Service out of Page. I flew with a guy that owned a 180 ( the beginning of my love affair with 180's). He also kept two colonies of bees as a hobby. He would staple a screen over the entrance and transport them with the 180. One of his favorite spots was the Red Creek strip. He made some very nice desert honey from that location!

So what happened to the Husky? Any salacious details for us?
Most winners cannot afford the taxes by the way on the AOPA giveaway. It is usually sold within a month of winning. Them some investment broker or dentist takes it out to play. Maybe didn't turn out to be too fun an outing. Just wondering....