Crisscrossing the USA

[Ojars Balodis]

Hello to everyone and greetings from Australia "downunder"

My name is Ojars Balodis and I live in Melbourne, Australia. ( not Austria )
I own and regularly fly a restored 1957 Tripacer and a 1965 Comanche 260.
I have organized to hire a G1000 C172 from Long Beach CA and leave on the 9th July,
heading for Oshkosh, returning on the 20th August.
Although I have flown C172 and 182's and driven around America fairly extensively in the last 10 years,
I am seeking some assistance towards planning stopovers at interesting and unique places along the way.

At this stage, I am planning to leave LA and head towards Tuscon AZ to visit the air museum etc. and then
head for a visit to Kill Devil Hills in NC. I have been to Dalllas, Vicksburg and Memphis before and was
looking at visiting Eureka Springs in the Ozark mountain region of Northern AK along the way. I would like
to stop o/nite at a another couple of other places along the way if someone has suggestions.

After an o/nite stop near "mecca" in NC, I am thinking of heading north to visit the Old Rhinebeck
aerodrome in upstate NY, then head back towards PA via the Gliding museum at Elmira NY.

I plan to visit the Lycoming factory at Williamsport and also fly into Lock Haven. I have driven there before
but would love to actually land there. ( My Comanche s/no 24-4117 was actually registered and a C of A issued
by the FAA on the 2/2/65 and used by Piper as an Experimental - Reseach and Development aircraft before
being sold in July 1965. Fortunately, the wings haven't fallen off yet.

After this I will head to Dayton Ohio for another visit, before arriving at Oshkosh by the 23rd July.
In 2009 I caught up withthe Comanche pilots at Watertown before their "mass" arrival at Oshkosh.
I will be staying with a good friend near Oshkosh who owns a Tripacer and is the Chief Airworthiness
Inspector for Gulfstream at Appleton.
After Oshkosh I plan to head to Wichita and stay a couple of nights before visiting Webco again
at Newton. After that, Denver for a few days and then fly to Crawford, CO to stay a few days at
the French Country Inn B&B located next to the runway.

Those of you who don"t know this place, - You should !
Great place to base yourself for a bit of mountain flying and exploring. Nearby is the Black Canyon,
absolutely breathtaking. I have flown and visited the Grand Canyon four times as well as visiting
all the National Parks in Utah. This place is just as amazing.

In 2009 I flew a C172S into Leadville, 9,927' amsl. Densityy altitude at midday in July was 12,100' on departure.
The runway is only 6,400 ft long. (Just as well I was on my own with 3/4 tanks.) I used 2/3 of the runway
and then it took me another 6 miles to climb another 1000 Ft.
This time I plan to fly into Aspen and a few others in rhe area.
After this, I plan to visit some backcountry airstrips in Idaho as well as a stopover to do some gliding at Driggs
on the western side of the Tetons. From Idaho, I will head back towards SF and LA with an o/nite stop near
Crater Lake OR. ... or perhaps I should stop at Albany OR and catch up with the notorious Dwight Lambert,
if I get an invite !
There seems to be a large number of backcountry airstrips in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho that sound very
interesting places to visit which makes it difficult to decide. Apart from allowing for Wx, with a C172 and one POB
we still need to be carefull.
I would appreciate any advice and ideas, particularly in regard to places to stay o/nite.
I will have a small tent etc with me as I am hoping to spend about 40% of the time, where possible, camping
o/nite next to the aeroplane. This also means that the airport needs to be easy walking distance to Food !!!!

Anyway, I hope that a few of you can share your experiences in some of these areas, or even offer to take me
for a local flight in a Comanche in case I am getting withdrawal symptoms. ( after 80 hrs in a C172, I will be !! )

If anyone is planning to to come and visit us here in Australia, please stay in touch as I am happy to assist and take
you outback in my Comanche. Try doing 4 hrs and not seeing a town !!
Regards,
Ojars











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[Mark Anderson]

Ojars,

You should stay a night in Gastons, Arkansas (3M0) it is a 3200 foot grass strip with cabins and a restraunt on the field. It is right on the White River, a popular fly fishing spot.

Also the Grand Canyon (KGCN) if you haven't seen it makes a good day trip. You can land at the airport and a 15 minute shuttle ride will get you to the lodge/ resturaunts on the south rim.

A flight over Mount Rushmore, S.D. , the Bad Lands and Devils Tower in Montana is always good. Glacier N.P. in Montana is beautiful but requires a rental car from Kalispell.

Sounds like a lot of fun!

Mark

[David Pyle]

Ojars,

Have you considered renting a Comanche for your trip? Jim Cardella in the San Diego area might be able to help you. His number is 760 803 3093. If you call say I sent you. We're pals.

[JIMICS2452]

Try to stop in Pensacola, FL for a day at the Naval Aviation Museum. They opened a new annex in the last couple of years, it greatly expanded their number of exhibits.

[Jay]

Sounds like you have a pretty well worked out plan! If you do get to the Pacific Northwest let us know. Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands, the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon Coast, a tour of the Boeing plant and lots of friendly little airports to visit here.

Jay

[SLIMDREDGER]

Jay: You touched on the Boeing plant tour at Paine Field as an interesting item for the Aussie visitor. I have to add that Paine has many more attractions: Paul Allen and John Sessions each have outstanding airplane collections on display, and they fly these classics on many Saturdays during the summer months. The Seattle Museum of Flight restoration center is at Paine and welcomes visitors. There is also the shop that is rebuilding and flying ME 262 WW II jet fighters. The Hilton Garden Inn is adjacent to the main runway, so a fly in stay is easy.

If a meeting with the sage of "Starvation Flats" is scheduled, let us know as the Paine Field Comanche Flyers would like to participate.

Warm regards,
Al Powers

[Pat Donovan]

Another possibility very close to the Kill Devil Hills area is the Military Aviation Museum (www.militaryaviationmuseum.org) located near Virginia Beach, VA. This private collection of WWI, WWII aircraft is extremely impressive. The owner has built a WWI style, 3-bay hangar to house the WWI equipment and is restoring a WWII German hangar that was dismantled and shipped over. The vast collection is mostly airworthy and flown regularly off the grass strip adjacent to the museum. There is an active restoration company there too.

The museum strip is private, but you might be able to get permission and camp there.

I endorse the previous Gaston recommendation. Also you are welcome to stop at my airpark home northwest of St. Louis, MO if you need accommodations or clothes washed.

Pat Donovan

[Jay]

Comanche fly out to "starvation flats" or Albany?

Jay

[SLIMDREDGER]

Jay: Good Question! I suspect Albany would be the best call.....no good reason to test the limits of the insurance policy and Robertson STOL. WR AHP

[Jay]

Shoot Al, I thought we could have a little short field competition!

Jay