Backcountry Pilot

[bart offline]

Whoops I meant sunday.

Either way, I'll be around every weekend til November

[58Skylane offline]

Whoops I meant sunday.

Either way, I'll be around every weekend til November

Great pictures guys! Rob, that sunset picture is awesome. My favorite time of day to be flying!

[robw56 offline]

Great pictures guys! Rob, that sunset picture is awesome. My favorite time of day to be flying!

Thanks, that was the sunrise though. Both are great times to be flying though!

[Glidergeek offline]

Who's putting you STOL kit on Rob?

[58Skylane offline]

Great pictures guys! Rob, that sunset picture is awesome. My favorite time of day to be flying!

Thanks, that was the sunrise though. Both are great times to be flying though!

Oops...... That's a strike two with you But yeah, sunrise is cool too.

[OregonMaule offline]

Madras to Troutdale Oregon. Worked on the house, got the sprinkler going, fertilized the grass, casron on the drive. At the airport made some minor adjustments to the Miss Maullie.

Back at home base went to the appliance store and got a new refer for a rental, reversed the door.

Then off to the OPA [Oregon Pilots Association] Troutdale Chapter meeting. Good time.
Good wine.

G'Day

[hotrod180 offline]

....Flew out to Copalis yesterday. Strong winds out of the SE made it "Sporty" with the airspeed indicator jumping between 60 and 80mph. ...........

Looks like Kelly's C172 ahead of you in the video?
Is the cafe at Elma open these days? Fun little airport, the cafe provided a good reason to go in there.

[OregonMaule offline]

Troutdale 2 Madras 2 Hood River, pick up ScottNT 2 Puyallup 2 Vaughan Ranch 2 Troutdale.

G'Day

[WilgaBeast offline]

I'm humbled and grateful to be an aviator and enjoy opportunities to share these experiences with my friends. Had a great couple of hops tonight in the WilgaBeast.


Photo by Alina Davis from Todd Hoopes' RV6

[GroundLooper offline]

....Flew out to Copalis yesterday. Strong winds out of the SE made it "Sporty" with the airspeed indicator jumping between 60 and 80mph. ...........

Looks like Kelly's C172 ahead of you in the video?
Is the cafe at Elma open these days? Fun little airport, the cafe provided a good reason to go in there.

Yep, that's Kelly's 172.

The restaurant at Elma has closed, once again. Sounds like the whole airport may be up for sale.

Elma has a great little practice grass strip. It's about 800' to the taxiway crossing then a few extra hundred feet beyond that just in case 800 is too short. The transition over the asphault is fairly smooth.

[rfinkle offline]

I have been spending the winter in Arizona and exploring the BC opportunities with some of the local BC pilots. It is remarkable how many airstrips are around, and the State just passed a law that places the liability on the pilot rather than a land owner if we choose to land somewhere.

Late March was a bit wet in Arizona, so we took a week-end to explore some of our backcountry airstrips.

The weather was perfect and the desert was alive with flora and fauna life. We overnighted at 3 different airstrips and got some great photos, eating, drinking and hiking.

A truly memorable weekend. Here is a short clip of the trip.

Rich

[Noe Flightrisk offline]

Cool! There are lots of inviting strips in AZ, and it sounds like the law makes them more so. Just so I can add it to the collection of similar statutes and regulations I carry with me, could you provide a citation for the recently passed AZ law? I tried searching, and couldn't find anything more recent than § 33-1551, which was last amended back in 2001.

[ajfriz offline]

I'm humbled and grateful to be an aviator and enjoy opportunities to share these experiences with my friends. Had a great couple of hops tonight in the WilgaBeast.


Photo by Alina Davis from Todd Hoopes' RV6

That is a great picture. You should bring your wilga up to Logan this Saturday for the pancake breakfast so I can check it out

[rfinkle offline]

Cool! There are lots of inviting strips in AZ, and it sounds like the law makes them more so. Just so I can add it to the collection of similar statutes and regulations I carry with me, could you provide a citation for the recently passed AZ law? I tried searching, and couldn't find anything more recent than § 33-1551, which was last amended back in 2001.

Looks like the new law in AZ is about to pass. I thought it had been passed already. I guess we would had to have begged for forgiveness if anyone hassled us on the last trip.

Current progress on SB 1229

(4/6/2011). SB 1229, including the amendment to add "aircraft operations", has made it past the 3rd read in the House. Now it will go to the Conference Committee for final passage and then on to the Governor. The present wording can be seen at: http://www.azleg.gov//FormatDocument.as ... /1r/bills/
sb1229h.htm&Session_ID=102

This will open up access to airstrips all over our state by reducing the liability involved to the land owners! If you (everyone) haven't sent a personal thank you to your legislator and Rep. Pratt, I encourage you to do so now. You can visit, www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp to find your Representative and legislators name and email.
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[hotrod180 offline]

....Elma has a great little practice grass strip. It's about 800' to the taxiway crossing then a few extra hundred feet beyond that just in case 800 is too short. The transition over the asphault is fairly smooth.

I've landed on "25 Right" at Elma, between the turn-around at the east end & the midfield turn-off. Beyond the turn-off used to be all puckerbrush & blackberries, but 800' is enough if you're paying attention so no big deal. Too bad the last cafe operator crapped out, the food wasn't too bad & like I said it gave me a good excuse, err I mean reason to fly down that way.

[akflyer2001 offline]

Flew up the Goodpaster river. Snow is going fast. Air strip is turning to slush but still a great flight. 3 hours of flying today. Tail wind coming back to North Pole. Was cruising 125 at one point. The mountains where calm to fly in will little up drafts. Excellent day to fly. Hope to get a little more flying before putting the bush wheels back on the plane.

Ken in Alaska

[TundraJoe offline]

What a machine ! I entertained the thought of acquiring one--spoke to a fella in Shreveport LA that has one--he landed it in Marksville, LA when I was down visiting family and friends--a beast, indeed--I ended up with a Tundra--am happy--and glad you are--

Mine is a bit 'special' since I replaced the stock 260hp engine for a 400hp M14P... It's a raging monster now. So much fun to fly.

Here's a nibble..

Very excellent--engine sounds terrific--looks like it really performs--nive job upgrading the engine !
Cheers

[tsnplanes offline]

[size=150]Living on the east coast in the flat lands make me feel like a red headed step child. Then I realized we have more to offer than I gave eastern NC credit for. This past week end a friend & I took a 2.5 hr flight to the mountains and enjoyed some awesome fields in the mountains with Table Rock Aviation, Brandon NeSmith. I was able to get a few pics but they are so-so as I was to busy flying. There is also a link here that someone else made going to Strawberry Ridge which was awesome. Then last night I took off from home and went bear hunting. Saw three , an eagle and deer. Not bad for your own back yard on the spur of a moment. Bottom line, I will enjoy what I have and hope to make it out west later. [/size]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLb5OO2GURA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQwE8Ph4ATY

[88H offline]

TSN:

I am in NM and I think a lot of us have always assumed that if we wanted to have a quality backcountry experience in our planes, we needed to go to UT, ID or AK.

One of the really nice things about today's backcountry organizations (RAF, state pilot organizations and websites like this one) is that it is initiating states to pass liability legislation, inventory existing strips and ask what additional strips could be added. This is going 180 degrees from the what has been happening in the past (i.e. closing strips down). RAF is actually sitting down with the Forest Service and BLM at the national level and helping to bring awareness to what a resource these strips are. For the first time, the National Forest Service included a requirement for DRs to inventory existing strips and to include them in their planning process. This is good news.

Here in NM, because of state NMPA organization and RAF, efforts are ongoing to open up two strips in the Gila and a couple on state land. How knows how it will turn out, but it is heartening to at least know state and federal officials are willing to talk.

I really appreciate the efforts of the RAF and state pilot associations that are bringing about these improvements. We are in a community that seems very willing to pitch in, and hopefully that will be expanding to not just the west, but throughout the country. Hopefully all of us will be looking at ways to pitch in on the effort.

Thanks for sharing the info. Pretty spot!!!

Larry

[Tadpole offline]

Nothing backcountry or taildragger but at least I got to fly at work again today. It'd been too long. Flew the DA-40 from Pueblo to our site at Fowler for an inspection, then back to Pueblo, complete with a little rain. My coworker / buddy rode along and snapped a rare shot of me flying.