Trip suggestions requested

Guest Discussion
1

My older son has just graduated from high school and will be off to college in mid-September. Accordingly we plan to take a “last hurrah” father/son trip together at the end of August/early September. We will go as far east as Dallas & Kansas, but would like to maximize sightseeing opportunities on the way out and back. Current plans include flying Lake Powell, overflying Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon VFR corridors, and perhaps stopping at Sedona.

I am less familiar with the “northern route,” i.e. Oregon/Washington, Idaho, Montana etc. I would very much appreciate recommendations for interesting destinations and sights to see/places to stay between the west coast and Kansas/Texas. Thanks in advance for suggestions!

2

Coming up through Oregon plan a stop at Bend, OR which is a great place to vist. Follow the Deschutes River North for a bit and then and fly by Mt. Hood, Mt St. Helens and then Mt. Rainier on your way to some of the islands in the Puget Sound area around Seattle maybe Roche Harbor for a nice lunch. Seattle normally has good VFR weather in August/Sept. Fly over the Cascades into the Yakima Valley (great wine country) and grab a bed and breakfast in Walla Walla.

From there Sun Valley Idaho is a really short hop. Too much to do in Sun Valley so set up at least a day or two for fly-fishing, hiking, biking whatever. Then onto Montana.

My next trip is into Missoula so I can’t give a PIREP yet but having been there several times via the highway, it is a pretty nice town.

Hope you have a great trip!

Nick

3

Hi Kevin,

I’m based in Denver and know the Rocky Mtn States well. In Colorado, the most scenic part of the State is the SW corner. Weather permitting, you

will be amazed at the alpine scenery around

Durango, Telluride and Ouray. Take a look at America’s newest National Park, the Black Canyon

of the Gunnison near Montrose. Area around Crested Butte, Aspen and Leadville is equally
beautiful. Might as well stop at Leadville and

get your certificate of achievement for landing

at America’s highest airport 9,927’. Landing is

no problem, getting out is another, esp. on a hot

summer day.

I just got back from a trip to Montana. Grand Tetons from the air are spectacular. Yellowstone

is interesting, but less so from the air than

the ground. I think that may be because the

animals are what separates Yellowstone from every

where else, and you obviously can’t see them from

the air. A BIG loop from West Yellowstone to Ennis to Bozeman to Red Lodge, then south to the Park and back to West Yellowstone is a fantastic

trip. Glacier Nat’l Park, is equally stunning.

Just follow the “Going to the Sun” road and add

a loop around the southern part of the Park. The

colors of the glacial lakes are astounding.

For Idaho, get a copy of Gerald Hanselmann’s book

“Fly Idaho”, which is invaluable. INMO, visiting

the backcountry airports in Idaho is the single

best justification for owning your own plane. There is simply nothing to compare with the challenge and diversity they offer. Start with

easy ones like Smiley Creek and Yellowpine. Wish my home State had something half as good.

It’s an adventure. Hope you have a great experiece.

Bert

4

Thanks both to Bert & Nick–we’ll give some of this a try!

5

Bert,

Enjoyed your post with regard to scenic spots to take in around Colorado.

I have a home in the Aspen area but do not have any experience flying across the Divide.

Do you fly the passes or take oxgen over?

What mountain flying training do you suggest?

Thanks
Flat Lander From Houston

SR-22B #123

Hi Kevin,

I’m based in Denver and know the Rocky Mtn States well. In Colorado, the most scenic part of the State is the SW corner. Weather permitting, you

will be amazed at the alpine scenery around

Durango, Telluride and Ouray. Take a look at America’s newest National Park, the Black Canyon

of the Gunnison near Montrose. Area around Crested Butte, Aspen and Leadville is equally
beautiful. Might as well stop at Leadville and

get your certificate of achievement for landing

at America’s highest airport 9,927’. Landing is

no problem, getting out is another, esp. on a hot

summer day.

I just got back from a trip to Montana. Grand Tetons from the air are spectacular. Yellowstone

is interesting, but less so from the air than

the ground. I think that may be because the

animals are what separates Yellowstone from every

where else, and you obviously can’t see them from

the air. A BIG loop from West Yellowstone to Ennis to Bozeman to Red Lodge, then south to the Park and back to West Yellowstone is a fantastic

trip. Glacier Nat’l Park, is equally stunning.

Just follow the “Going to the Sun” road and add

a loop around the southern part of the Park. The

colors of the glacial lakes are astounding.

For Idaho, get a copy of Gerald Hanselmann’s book

“Fly Idaho”, which is invaluable. INMO, visiting

the backcountry airports in Idaho is the single

best justification for owning your own plane. There is simply nothing to compare with the challenge and diversity they offer. Start with

easy ones like Smiley Creek and Yellowpine. Wish my home State had something half as good.

It’s an adventure. Hope you have a great experiece.

Bert

6

Bert,

Enjoyed your post with regard to scenic spots to take in around Colorado.

I have a home in the Aspen area but do not have any experience flying across the Divide.

Do you fly the passes or take oxgen over?

What mountain flying training do you suggest?

Thanks
Flat Lander From Houston

SR-22B #123

Hi Jim,

I would definitely encourage you to take a mountain flying ground and air course from the Colorado Pilots Association. I bought a plane (a Cherokee 180) and learned to fly while based at Eagle, CO. My instructor, Leonard Sinclair, was an old Navy pilot with a lot of mountain flying experience. Learning to fly while based in the mountains, gives you a good background and takes away a lot of the trepidation, although I do admit to having a healthy respect for adverse weather and don’t push my luck. I haven’t personally taken the CPA course, but I have attended some of their seminars and they are always informative and the instructors seem to be uniformly competent.

Suggest you visit the CPA website

www.airbase1.com/cpa

Their Mountain Flying check-out departs Centennial Airport in Denver, crosses Corona Pass, landings at Kremmling, Eagle, Glenwood Springs, Aspen, crosses Hagerman Pass, lands in Leadville and back to Centennial via Kenosha Pass. That’s a great introduction to mountain flying.

I do not use oxygen. I routinely fly 13-14,000’ and don’t find it a problem. Helps that I’m fit, don’t smoke and am used to living at high altitude. For someone coming from lower altitude, that’s definitely going to be a factor.

If I had a SR22, I’d definitely equip with oxygen and wouldn’t limit myself to the passes, although there is a lot to be said for flying “IFR” in the mountains. In this case “IFR” stands for “I follow roads”.

Mountain flying is a fantastic experience. But get some instruction and be doubly cautious. Best of luck.

Bert