Spotted Bear (8U4)

Since I started flying, I’ve made at least one trip a year to the picturesque state of Montana. This year, I decided it was time for a visit to a back country strip. Tucked into a valley, with easy approaches, and a go around possible, the strip still offered a challenge in the form of a dog leg. This would be the perfect spot to introduce my friend, Randy to airplane camping.

Spotted bear is a few miles east of Flat Head Lake, between the Swan and Flathead Mountain ranges. Hungry Horse Reservoir lies to the north, the Flathead River running out if it and curving past the strip. I used my favorite method of checking out new spots, by “flying” to 8U4 with Google earth. Fellow pilots – if you haven’t tried this, I encourage you to do so. While the trees are not 3D, mountains and hills are, allowing for a fairly accurate picture of what you’ll be flying into.

Landing to the North

Approach and landing required close attention, but were not terribly technical. We were the only people on the field, or in the campground. (Good tiedowns, bring your own rope) A dirt road that runs parallel to the field along the west had a surprising amount of traffic. We later learned from some forest service people who came out to do maintenance that in addition to a guest ranch, several outfitters have facilities in the valley.

We hiked off into the trees, seeking the river and found it. So many wonderful stones of green and pink with mica and stripes of white, I found it hard to choose just one to take as my usual souvenir.

The plan was to camp overnight and a darn good thing too. Clouds and rain moved in during the late afternoon and soon the downpour was so bad we huddled in the tent. Before nightfall the tent began to leak through the roof, and we hoped to stay dry enough to sleep. We did stay warm and mostly dry in our bags but awoke to a dripping cold morning. Light rain continued intermittently and clouds were nearly to the ground over the runway. A fire boosted our dampened spirits (Thank you to whomever left that pile of firewood!) as did cups of hot chocolate.Wet, Cold, Dreary

Mid-morning the sun began to peek out and lovely blue holes appeared, but I was uncertain of ceilings around the corner. Then I heard a plane! A Cessna 206 landed and this local pilot described a route out to the north that could be easily and safely flown. He even offered to lead the way if I would wait until he finished his business with the cowboy he’d flown in to see. Randy and I hurried to break camp and pack the plane, finishing just before Noon. The skies were looking very good by this time, so I made the decision to depart, first leaving a thank you note on the 206.

Camp before the rain!

For those who might want to drop in at Spotted Bear. In spite of the name, rangers assure me bears are not an issue, just use common sense. There is a vault toilet, good campsites with fire pits, no drinking water. Flight time to Kalispell (S27) is around ½ hour following the Hungry Horse Reservoir, less if you skip the scenery and go direct. But why would you?

Hungry Horse departing North

Republic Pirep

For you non-flyers, pirep is short for pilot report. We provide these to flight watch as we travel so other pilots have real-time, real-life information on flying conditions.

Republic, WA. This little town in the northeast part of the state really knows how to put on an event. What seems to be the entire town turns out, volunteering to make sure pilots feel welcome – and we do.
Airport located above Lake Curlew, tucked into a beautiful valley.
Plenty of grassy parking for putting up tents. Judy flew with me in Path and we met Bob and Diane to camp together.

Food above average at fair prices. Breakfast is the usual pancakes to which they add ham and cooked to order eggs! Saturday night is the steak feed. They load a beautiful chunk of steak on your plate which you take to the apple wood grill and cook to your own satisfaction. Added is a baked potato, coleslaw, and baked beans.

Live entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights. They have a local “Elvis” that is so good I thought they were playing a CD!

Area tours, at no charge, include a boat ride on Lake Curlew. Yup, a storm was coming in, but blew by without rain.

Visit to and ride on Antique merry-go-round, which is a real work of art.

Townspeople come out and wander among the planes, learning about aviation and sharing info about their beautiful corner of the world.
This Mom and her two boys were especially eager to get involved and inspired us to load them up with information and encouragement.



















This warbird, a Russian Yak (I think) flew in providing an impromptu airshow.

Because everyone attending is so relaxed and happy, the making of new friends and renewing of old acquaintances is guaranteed.
I’m already looking forward to visiting Republic again next year. Fly-in is held the last full weekend in August. Hope to see some of you there!

Arlington

For those who are pilots, or aviation aficionados in the Pacific Northwest, Arlington is like our own Oshkosh. It’s a big fly-in held every year in July. The crowds are amazing, hundreds of planes flying in, campers and cars driving in. For a novice, the approach can be a challenge with specific approaches, 8-10 planes in the pattern and landings taking place every few minutes, frequently two at a time. These procedures are not usual fare for most pilots, thus the challenge. I had “flown” the route to the designated approach spot on Google Earth so was confident I could spot the field located to the SE of Arlington. What a feeling of confidence to spot each waypoint as if I’d flown in many times. On the ground pilots find acres of grass upon which to park and put up tents. Lawn chairs line up under wings, ice chests cuddle into aircraft flanks in the shade. I flew in Thursday evening with a good friend, Jerry. Later my friend, Judy arrived in her Cessna 172. We were thrilled to camp next to each other for the first time.

The fly-in offers seminars on flying and building planes. Vendors sell essentials and luxury items to put on the wish list. Each evening there is an outdoor movie. Afternoons a two hour air show with aerobatic planes and pilots eliciting oh’s and ah’s like you hear during firework displays – in fact one of the acts included fireworks. Yes, you could see them in the middle of the afternoon.


Photo above is Jerry, Ron and myself watching the airshow. We kept saying “It just doesn’t get any better than this.”

No big fly-in would be complete without War Birds. Here I am piloting and shooting from a B52 called Grumpy.

But the best part of the event is meeting new flying friends, reconnecting with old ones and admiring all the planes. Fun, Educational, Relaxing, Challenging. Arlington has it all.

Short Stretch

Since my rejuvenating flying trip to Arizona and back, flying lockdown resumes. Weather has been horrible. Everyone pilot, and grounder alike complains about the seemingly never ending rain, gray, cold, drizzle. It’s downright Stygian!

This past Memorial Weekend did provide a bit of clearing. Lots of fat cumulus clouds scattered randomly into the blue. Ceilings in the 2,000 to 4,000 foot range. Time to fly! I had no particular place to go and no desire to go far afield as this kind of sky can change quickly. A friend who lives off a small grass strip suggested I drop in for a visit and to borrow a book we’d been discussing. So I made a 15 minute drive to the airport. There I spent a good half-hour preflighting the plane, pulling him out, taxiing and doing my run up. In the air (which was surprisingly bumpy) less than 10 minutes later I spotted my goal. The strip is short, surrounded by trees and has power lines at one end. One does not go in here without paying careful attention to business. I was setup nicely just about to pass over the power lines when an errant wind pushed me sideways. Whoops! I straightened out quickly, but the extra maneuver delayed full-flap deployment so I was too hot and not sinking as quickly as I wished. Just before I reached go around point everything came together and the landing was smooth, but a bit long. Well, actually quite a bit long. Adrenaline rush provides quick reflexes and residual shakes. Here is the field, looking North.


That’s me and Path just coming in. (Please note that this photo was taken late last summer, when the weather was really nice.)

Out at Last!

Winter in Western Washington keeps a pilot on a short leash. With mountains to east and south, ocean to west and Canada to North, flights are 2 hours or less.

Finally, the past two weeks found me and Path off on a cross country trip – to Arizona.
With the addition of a fuel flow meter (Christmas gift from my hubby) I’d realized having long range tanks could mean very few stops. Plan was to fuel once en route to Lake Havasu, at Truckee-Tahoe airport near Reno. Unfortunately the plane out flew my bladder so an earlier stop was required, just 2 hours out of Chehalis at Lake County in Oregon. I topped up the tanks and flew south, into head winds up to 25 knots and very rough air. A long anticipated flight over Lake Tahoe was not as envisioned due to haze, snow glare and bounce. Just over an hour short of Havasu, I’d had enough and landed at Shoshone for some time on something not moving, like solid ground. A short walk into town was the respite I needed. Even though the flight was difficult at times, it felt so very good to be flying 864 miles across several states, over familiar and new territory. Photo below is I-15 looking east.
I arrived at Lake Havasu with 20 gallons remaining in the tanks.

I sampled more of Arizona with flights to Buckeye to see my new house, a side trip to Wickenburg, and back to Havasu all the while enjoying sunshine and temps in the upper 70’s to mid 80’s. And people ask me why I want to move there! Below: Colorado River south of Lake Havasu.

The flight home was perfection. I left Havasu at 8:00 am, flying to Tehachapi where I followed a 172 into the pattern. As I tied down, a man pulled up in a bright red truck with “The Apple Shed Restaurant” printed on the side – the very place I planned to visit for breakfast! Turns out the driver was the 172 pilot, creator and still part owner of the restaurant and gift shop. He proudly gave me a grand tour of the airport and then the restaurant. George didn’t exaggerate a bit – the food here is top notch. Be sure to try one of their unique versions of Eggs Benedict. George kept me company over coffee as we talked food and of course, flying.

Leaving Tehachapi I flew along the western edge of the Sierras spotting Yosemite’s El Capitan and Half Dome. There is no way to describe the richness and beauty of this area – even photos can only provide hints. Back in “home” territory I made my next stop at Lebanon Oregon to take advantage of Mo Gas priced at $3.35. My longest non-stop flight ended here - 600 miles and just under 6 hours.

Washington welcomed me home with rain and visibility went to 5 miles, occasionally less, as I passed through squalls. Chehalis was kinder with broken at 10 thousand. Good to be home after a long day’s flying. Good to have finally gotten in those long flights.

Girls Do Have Fun

Everything a pilot could ask for. The first day of Spring, Saturday and perfect flying weather. Added to that, the opportunity to take three special friends up for a first flight. We departed Chehalis westbound to fly over Westport. From there back east with a stop at Bremerton, then north to our planned lunch visit at Jefferson County and the Spruce Goose Cafe. I've been getting together with these ladies to celebrate birthdays for a couple years. We always have a theme which includes goofy hats, noise makers, and a wide variety of props. We always have a great time, and have been known to be a little bit rowdy.

The arrival of a plane full of women at any GA airport, is quite rare. Our group considerably more so!

This trip our theme was "Flying Monkeys".

In the air, and on the ground, this was a day to remember. We're already planning our next flight, so be sure to keep your eyes open at local airport eateries - who knows where we'll show up next!

A Goal

Two years ago, I started on a goal - to land at every airport in Washington State. This would not include private strips where permission is not given, or airports I consider unsafe for either my plane or my skills as a pilot.

Late last month, we had one of those days that usually arrive in February with severe clear. I invited a co-worker and headed east. With 3 airports practically on top of each other in the Tri-Cities area I saw an opportunity to increase airport count quickly. Vista Field (S98) our first stop, is a nice field, located directly across the Columbia from Tri-Cities (PSC) and just southeast of Richland (RLD). Vista offers easy access to pilot lounge, and is a pleasant walk to shopping and restaurants. At Richland, I didn't stay long enough to check out facilities, just landed, took a photo, and took off for PSC. This towered field has multiple runways, light jet commuter traffic, and is easy in and out. Tower was helpful and welcoming. We took a lunch break in the terminal - decent food, interesting view of arriving and departing jets. On the way back to Chehalis, my friend indicated an interest in St. Helens so we took a close look. Winds were light, air smooth. A perfect flying day in every way. Sharing aviation with others always enhances the flight.

This past Saturday the weather was again ideal, so I took a close look at Ranger Creek (21W), not to land but to plan for the future. This field is in a steep, narrow, valley and I've decided not to go until another pilot can go along to provide another set of eyes.

Leaving Ranger Creek, I flew to the northeast over Snoqualmie Pass, where I took this photo of Lake Keechelus. I then descended and continued east to make a first visit to Cle Elum (S93) then a 5 minute flight to De Vere (2W1). Neither airport has any facilities (bathroom) or fuel. I was however, greeted on the radio and provided parking advice at De Vere. Also told the field is officially private, but open to the public, and a landing fee of $5.00 is appreciated. Cle Elum was re-surfaced last year, De Vere is a bit rough, but not overly so. If your looking for a quiet place to take a break or have lunch, these are good fields.

I was surprised to find Ranger Creek's runway clear of snow, and in fact the lack of snow generally is something I noted on both recent flights over the Cascades.

Heading home, I decided to fly low following Snoqualmie Pass. This photo shows the highway going west. Please note that the route here is not what you might think. Be sure to make a sharp left over the ski-runs to follow the pass. Oh, I do dearly love flying among our mountains. So beautiful, so inspiring, so refreshing to my soul.

Total airports added: 5