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-   -   Best Ever destination visited in your own airplane (https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?t=87955)

apkp777 07-01-2012 06:02 AM

1. Door County (Ephraim Airport), WI
2. OSH
3. Hot Springs, SD (Vettermans)
4. Ormond Beach, FL (only because it means I am on vacation!)

Timely topic, I want to take my son on a long trip in August. This will give us an itinerary. Anyone loving Utah?

GLPalinkas 07-01-2012 06:19 AM

OK Bob, as requested, here are some repeats.

1. Marathon in the Keys
2. Sun n Fun 2011

Only 2 so far.......

Can't wait for the spread sheet and the number 1 spot. I'll go there, hopefully.

Bob Axsom 07-01-2012 08:33 AM

We have maybe 150-180 "destinations"
 
We have maybe 150-180 "destinations" representing around 60 VAFrs. We probably need 1000 to be a significant representation. I only put down two "Best" because I have a lot of very good ones cluster after that (Hood River/Columbia River Gorge, Gold Beach/Rogue River, Victoria, Monterey, Charleston, St. Augustine, Boston, Baltimore/Washington D.C., New York, Seattle, Furnace Creek, Kansas City, Lexington, Dayton, Savannah, Nashville, Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills/First Flight, Chicago, Fargo, Atlantic City, Santa Fe, Los Alamos, Phoenix, Jackson Hole, Durango, Little Rock, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Silver City, Bryce Canyon, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Grand Canyon, Tucson, Mulege, Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, etc.) and I would like for this to represent the places that pilots have gone that really grabbed their attention as the best place they have ever flown to in their own opinion. It doesn't have to meet any criteria other than that and if you only have one that really hits you like that then please only list that one.

Bob Axsom

mike newall 07-01-2012 08:50 AM

I am going to take a small liberty here and say it wasn't my aeroplane.....

Back in '94, I was an F/O on 757's for Airtours in the UK. We went transatlantic via Bangor Maine to Orlando, Montego Bay, Cancun and Grand Cayman.

The layovers in Bangor were just awesome. We had an 8 day pattern, with a couple days off in Bangor. Parties.... OMG :o

So...........

I did my seaplane rating up at Pushaw Lake with KT Aviation.

Kathy Hodgkins was my instructor.

Sadly, Kathy was taken from us way too early in 2004, however, the memory of flying with her, around Bangor, Old Town and Bar Harbor are just stunning.

The best destination.......

Pushaw Stream.

I had done the lesson in the Skyhawk and as usual we did 30 minutes in the Cub, for fun.

It was a stunning day, calm, CAVOK.

Kathy said she would take me to a special place, so we set off at 500' across the woods of Maine.

A short while later, in glass smooth air, she said - we are on left base, slow up.

To What I asked..........?

You'll see, she said.

Then I saw it, a thin, silver line in the sun, the river was narrow, there was a bend in it, with trees either side up to the water's edge.

She quickly briefed me on the approach - set up, drop below the tree line, you have 30 feet either side, turn the corner and land :eek:

The touchdown was good, we stopped, turned the motor off and sat... in the middle of the small river, we started slowly going backwards with a lazy current.

In absolute silence, the banks of the river came to life. Things happened, birds and animals went about their business as though nothing was there, the air was still, warm, the smell of the hot engine, gently wafting back into the cabin with the doors wide open.

After a few minutes, we had turned the corner and Kathy said it was time to go.

She stepped past me onto the float, called for the mags and throttle and swung the prop. The wildlife disappeared.

The departure brief was interesting - get it onto the step, turn the corner, lift off, follow the next bend and climb away.

The smell, the sounds, the feelings of the warm Maine countryside, the memories of a great instructor and a stunning location are still there.

I now sit, at FL390 in my Airbus 330 flying down to the Caribbean, or Orlando and every time I fly close to Bangor, I strain to see Pushaw Lake, Old Town, Moosehead, Bar Harbor.

I took my wife up to Bangor a year later on a short Spring vacation - CBP at Boston queried me at immigration, they said, why are you staying in Bangor Sir ?

I'm Aircrew, I love the place, it is special, I said - he knew......;)

We are going back next year.

RIP Kathy

hgerhardt 07-01-2012 01:02 PM

KORS Orcas Island, East Sound, WA... actually, any of the San Juan Islands airports

KAVX Catalina, CA... only 10 min from home

L52 Oceano, CA... right next to Vandenberg and Pismo Beach

L06 Furnace Creek, CA... so desolate and yet an amazing Sunday brunch at Furnace Creek Inn

snowbird 07-01-2012 05:27 PM

1. Hawks Nest, Cat Island, Bahamas
2. Crows Nest Pass, Canadian Rockies

n981ms 07-03-2012 01:10 PM

Nassau Bahamas
OshKosh
Hodges Hobbies in Andersonville, GA

rzbill 07-03-2012 01:34 PM

Best Destination Ever???

My own hangar at KAVL
After scaring the **** out of myself by landing with thunderstorm TOO close.

Funny thing is, I landed on commercial airline a few days later and the pilot did the same exact thing that I did. Same storm position, same lightining. He was luckier. No hail during taxi in.

Bob Axsom 07-03-2012 01:41 PM

in answer to your Utah Question
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by apkp777 (Post 675060)
1. Door County (Ephraim Airport), WI
2. OSH
3. Hot Springs, SD (Vettermans)
4. Ormond Beach, FL (only because it means I am on vacation!)

Timely topic, I want to take my son on a long trip in August. This will give us an itinerary. Anyone loving Utah?

If you are a interested in National Parks southern Utah has five. I planned fly-ins to Canyon Lands, Arches, Capital Reef, Zion and Bryce for our old flying club in California and all were a success. Salt Lake City has many attractions and I have flown in there and spent a some time there on space biz but I have not visited them always wanted to. Used to drive through there on old US 40 on the way to San Francisco area in the 50s. Wendover on the other side of The Great Salt Lake is where Paul Tibbets and the 509th Composite Bomb Group Trained. Utah is well worth considering as a destination. Coming from the east to Salt Lake City I follow the Victor airway from Cheyenne north of the big mountains and will never land at Ft. Bridger again although it would be OK in an RV (one of two places I almost didn't make it on takeoff because of load and density altitude - the other was Flagstaff, AZ).

Bob Axsom

mike newall 07-03-2012 02:18 PM

If you get to Flagstaff, don't forget the Lowell Observatory.

http://www.lowell.edu/visit.php

And then further south - Sedona

And the further south Casa Grande and Davis Monthan........:D


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