What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

RV-10 Adventure: Baja Flying and Whales - February 2010

ScottSchmidt

Well Known Member
WOW, When can I do that again?
(Can you spot the lighthouse?)
790639240_GTo9J-XL.jpg


That is what I said after I landed back home after a great 5 day trip to the Baja with friends.
Two weeks previous to this trip, I heard about a group going down to the Baja and they asked if I wanted to go.

Let's see, what would I need?
Passport: Expired
Customs Sticker: Expired
eAPIS: Never Used It
Procedures: No Idea
Yup, I'm in.

This was a guys trip so I called a couple of friends and they both said yes before I asked the question.
Our plan was to go and see the gray whales at San Ignacio Lagoon and stay two nights at Alfonsinas and two nights at Mulege.
I expedited the renewal of my passport and had that back in four days, my customs sticker came the next day and I did the AOPA online eAPIS training to become familiar with it. I was starting to feel more ready for this trip.
The preparation of this this trip was actually quite easy, there are many good resources out there.
The one area I had some confusion on was the insurance. I understand that you used to have to buy insurance from a company located in Mexico but that changed a couple of years ago to read that your insurance only needs to cover you in Mexico. But there are some people in Mexico that do not interpret it that way. You can purchase insurance for around $60 for a trip to Mexico which is what I did just to be safe.
I filed both flight plans (down and back) through eAPIS a couple of days before and really had no problems with that.
I made sure I had my pilots license, registration, medical, insurance, passport and if your plane is registered to a corporation you need to have a notarized letter authorizing you to use the plane.
For the plane, I purchased a prop lock, brought my tie-downs, cover, 2 quarts of oil and put together a small tool kit.
Since I have no locks on my plane I installed my stock handles which easily remove with one bolt.

About two years ago I purchased the book Air Baja.
http://www.flyidaho.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=1_3
It was a great resource for the trip. I was able to program all the airports into my Cheltons, G-430 and 396. I also purchased a new WAC-22 chart before leaving even though I had an older laminated one that came with my Air Baja book.

I shot both pictures and video (for the first time) on this trip. I used a FLIP HD camera and bought a Panasonic LX3 that has HD video built in. The problem I have with the FLIP is the prop causing lines. The Panasonic did not have the lines so once I figured that out I tried to shoot more with the Panasonic.

Day 1:
We left on Wednesday February 10th from Salt Lake and had a beautiful flight down. We picked up a little rain about 20 miles out of Mexicali but it was very easy to get under. The day before two C-185's flew down and I went with a couple of friends that own a 1963 C-210. We had a 10 knot tail wind and I ran LOP. Our first stop was Mexicali to check into the country. Flying with the C-210 allowed me to pull the throttle back more than I ever have before. The flight took about 3 hours and 40 minutes and I burned 31 gallons of gas, which cost me $112 dollars in Mexicali. We were pretty happy about the first fuel stop.

790594319_8SCdc-XL.jpg


790595450_yifnU-XL.jpg


790596812_EhvXT-XL.jpg


Flying into Mexico was easy. You really do not have to do anything other than your eAPIS unless you are flying over water. The AOPA video said you could call FSS and update your border crossing, as we were about 30 minutes late. I found out that they have no access to that system which makes me wonder what it is for? We were with Yuma approach control and they told us to squawk 1200 10 miles before the border. Once we were in Mexico we called Mexicali and landed very easily.
I read about the process being very slow once you landed and it was but it was no big deal. There is an office fee and landing fee that was $51. You only pay the office cost once where they enter your pilot, passenger and aircraft information into their system. There is also a $20 fee per person for a 6 month VISA. You also need to file a flight plan to your next destination with another person. None of it is a big deal, but you end up going to about 3 or 4 different places. It took us about 45 minutes to complete.
The next time I go I plan on flying directly to San Felipe, it is on a more direct route to our first night destination. Here is a link to their website.
http://www.sanfelipe.com.mx/getting_here/flying.html

The flight from Mexicali to Alfonsinas was magical.
We flew for about an hour to get there and enjoyed the blue water and coastline the whole way. At one point our C-210 friends made fun of us for not being able to catch them (we took off a couple of minutes behind them). The video later on shows the pass:)
Flying with the C-210 was great. It is a good plane with decent speed. It is not turbo charged so we were able to fly a little faster and the fuel efficiency of the RV-10 is far superior.

790596951_q3ZwM-XL.jpg


790597328_d43tp-XL.jpg


790603538_2WLKg-XL.jpg


790604828_okrzb-XL.jpg


790604021_ZFqQm-XL.jpg
 
Last edited:
I went with my long time friend Bob (back seat) and Sean who is currently building an RV-10 in Salt Lake. Bob and I have ridden our motorcycles together for the past 10 years all over the Western US and Canada. He loves the RV-10 and has also had some fun adventures with me in the RV.
Sean learned why he is building one of the greatest 4 seat planes in history.
790604453_z84yp-XL.jpg


Our first stop was Alfonsinas, a small fishing town. They have two runways near the town but the one you want to land on allows you to taxi right up to the resort. I had reserved rooms here before I left on their website.
http://www.alfonsinasresort.com/eng/index.asp

You have to make sure the tide isn't flooding the runway. Your portable Garmins have a great tide page on it. They say that even if it is flooded it will be good enough to land on in a few hours as it drains the water quickly.
We thought we were in paradise as we approached it.

790605518_GRNfK-XL.jpg


Runway In Sight
790605622_pvqEB-XL.jpg


790605724_httb3-XL.jpg


790605798_xnhrf-XL.jpg


790605895_nz6mo-XL.jpg


We landed and tied the planes down. You can see our other friend's C-185's pushed right up to the hotel. I have a video of landing at this airport on the second flying video towards the end of this report.
790607199_mBtCX-XL.jpg


790607103_kNkPa-XL.jpg
 
Last edited:
I had read about the Mexican Army approaching you after landed and sure enough here came a Hummer with 8 men with automatic weapons. I had read a trip report about a pilot who brought some candy with him and handed it out. These men/boys have to make sure there is nothing illegal happening and once they see that you are here on vacation they completely relax. I handed out lots of candy to them and they immediately changed their attitude and were all smiles. We filled out their binder with our names, pilot information, and registration card and they were on their way. They are also there to protect the planes from being stolen but I will talk about that later. Unfortunately I forgot to take some pictures, I was too busy handing out candy, laughing with the them and showing them the plane.

The sun started to set as we tied down the plane and took our bags to the room which was a long 20 yards away.
790607019_qpjtF-XL.jpg


790606952_ydy8w-XL.jpg


790608390_9nHKZ-XL.jpg


This was the view from my room.
Front Door
790607639_ngnUX-XL.jpg


Back Window
790607370_JHb9t-XL.jpg


790608910_89qpN-XL.jpg


That night we had a family style meal with fresh fish, tortillas and margaritas that were out of this world. The rooms were just OK but the beach and views were the best of the trip.
Our friends with the C-185's stayed here the whole time and brought inflatable kayaks with them for some exploring.
There are many people there on motorcycles and ATV's.
 
Last edited:
Day 2:
The next morning we woke up and had reservations at San Ignacio at 11am to see the whales. We again had a family style breakfast with chorizo eggs and tortillas. They start serving coffee at 7am and breakfast at 7:30.
790607782_fTmUZ-XL.jpg


The Baja 1000 runs very close to this town and it is evident with all the stickers in the entry.
790609402_u7zGF-XL.jpg


790609703_hbQ6r-XL.jpg


Here are some pictures of the beach that morning.
790609854_bmKqy-XL.jpg


790610381_B5bMi-XL.jpg


Alfonsina's Resort from the beach
790610193_joTKQ-XL.jpg


Looking down the runway.
790610959_g5tUp-XL.jpg


We had about an 1 hour 20 minute flight to San Ignacio but the C-210's fuel pump decided not to work, luckily our airports top mechanic was with us and had it fixed in 5 minutes.
790611077_AWQxb-XL.jpg


We departed Alfonsinas and were on our way to see the whales.
790611770_3LkLW-XL.jpg


790611862_RAaWx-XL.jpg
 
Last edited:
The flight down was great, we could see both sides of the baja.
We also spotted Agave fields on the way.
790612411_6w4u7-XL.jpg

One thing we forgot about was the time change that occurs about half way down the Baja. We arrived one hour late.

Here is a picture of the bay as we approached the airport. The whales are located at the entrance of bay. They are very strict about over flying the water less then 3000 ft.
790612910_nLqsj-XL.jpg


The runway is very soft. I have this runway on video and I was advised to land about 1/3 of the way down. You can see on the video how soft the first part of the runway looks. It probably isn't the best thing in the world for your prop but the whales are worth it as you will see in the video.
790613194_e9gzE-XL.jpg


790613664_uzBNY-XL.jpg


790613861_dArh5-XL.jpg


This whale watching adventure is in the book "1,000 Places To See Before You Die". Pacific gray whales make this 5,000 mile trip from the Arctic to the safe waters of this bay for breeding and calving.
Gray Whales can reach 52 feet, weigh 36 tons and live 50-60 years old.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_Whale

There are many guides you can use to take you out in a panga. Since we were one hour late we went with whomever would take us. The place they took us was very nice and offered us fresh scallops for lunch when we arrived back from our trip. If you Google "Laguna San Ignacio" you will find all the whale guides.

The whales were the highlight of the trip for me. We felt they were watching us more then we were watching them. They would come over and bump the boat softly.
Here are a couple of videos I put together from my camera.
Pretty amazing.
790614431_LZokL-XL.jpg


Whale Video 1 Click on the picture below and it will link you to the video


Whale Video 2 Click on the picture below and it will link you to the video
 
Last edited:
790614540_Z4f93-XL.jpg


After our three hour tour we had fresh scallops for lunch in a hut that overlooked the bay. The walkways were lined with thousands of seashells.
790615669_bFF2f-XL.jpg


790615780_PraEk-XL.jpg


The second night we had reservations at Mulege at Hotel Serinidad. The runway is called Hotel Serinidad on the WAC chart.
The mountains were rugged across the Baja to Mulege with smooth air. We had fun shooting some air to air pictures and video before landing.
790615957_Wrc9t-XL.jpg


790616188_j7XCR-XL.jpg


Video from the first half of the trip. Click on the picture below and it will link you to the video
 
Last edited:
You land at Hotel Serinidad to the north. The hotel is on the right with all the trees near the wide part of the runway.
790616573_jqfvi-XL.jpg


Again we were greeted by the army with no problems.
790617416_4rrzL-XL.jpg


The planes were tied down at the entrance of the hotel.
790617819_DKgN6-XL.jpg


These two kids were very helpful grabbing our bags and taking them to the room.
790617626_WQ7pg-XL.jpg


This is what was waiting for us after we checked in to our rooms.
790618334_9uNEs-XL.jpg


Our cell phones were working at Mulege but did not work at Alfonsinas. We brought a satellite phone with us, thanks to Sean, just in case.
The hotel was not crowded and was an upgrade from Alfonsinas. We had heard about a B&B just around the corner and decided to stay at Hotel Serinidad the first night and Casa Granada the second.
790618035_jtL2q-XL.jpg


790619166_MNq9P-XL.jpg
 
Last edited:
Day 3:
The next day we just relaxed around the hotel and flew south to Loreto to get fuel. There was no fuel at any of our stops except the controlled airports. Loreto was around 75 nm south and required a $27 landing fee.

790619626_EWGg3-XL.jpg


Flying into Loreto for fuel
790620361_wShfx-XL.jpg


We were going to head into town at Loreto but decided to just head back to Mulege. The wind was really blowing at Loreto that day.

Casa Granada was around $55/night which was about the same as Hotel Serinidad. Lena & Kristian Peschmann manage the B&B and are from Russia. They were very nice and have 6 rooms if I remember correctly. It had better rooms and beds but did not have a restaurant or bar. It is only 50 yards from the end of the runway. We would just take a cab into town for dinner at night and always had a great meal. Chevy Chase had a great quote in the movie Three Amigos that I used at about every meal, "Do you have anything other than Mexican Food?"
http://www.casagranada.net/home.shtml

Here are a couple of pictures of the B&B.
790622007_8899v-XL.jpg


790621159_KEJWc-XL.jpg


790620959_4Xzd9-XL.jpg
 
Last edited:
Day 4:
All we had to do this day was fly up to Alfonsinas so we decided to fly across the bay to check out a very nice resort, then land at Punta San Francisquito before arriving at our final destination.

Across the bay from Mulege is Punta Chivato with a resort called Hotel Posada de las Flores. They have a very smooth dirt runway and you can taxi very close to the hotel. For the guys out there this is where you want to take your wife/girlfriend.
http://www.posadadelasflores.com

Picture of the hotel from the air.
790622798_DVkG3-XL.jpg


The runway is the far strip, then you taxi to the area just off the wing tip.
790622692_gztP6-XL.jpg


What an amazing hotel this was. The rooms are around $180 - $300 and include all your meals. We had chips and salsa, fresh scallops and espresso with ice cream for dessert.

Here are some pictures from our quick lunch stop. I will be back here someday.
790623541_TQWHn-XL.jpg


790624472_k54xr-XL.jpg


790624025_t5sWJ-XL.jpg


790624621_3XVjy-XL.jpg


790626626_tJxsd-XL.jpg


790625311_hTbcn-XL.jpg


790628784_ESUbG-XL.jpg


790630682_78PuA-XL.jpg
 
Last edited:
Next stop was Punta San Francisquito.
There is not much at this stop but apparently they do have a place to stay here with food and drinks. They have put in a new dirt runway that is just east of the published runway. I landed on the published runway but it was more rough than the new dirt runway.
790632956_cDMVH-XL.jpg


790633239_UAVP5-XL.jpg


790634271_4ZWGa-XL.jpg


Whale bone
790634741_qjzbx-XL.jpg


Looking back at Punta San Francisquito. You can see both runways on this picture. The one on the right is the older one.
790635239_DbWkV-XL.jpg


We then flew back to Alfonsinas for our final night.

Nice bay on the way back.
790636066_n7TLY-XL.jpg


It was another great night at Alfonsinas with more seafood.

790637702_GJL9z-XL.jpg


790637473_gPtdG-XL.jpg


I woke up early the next morning to watch the sunrise.
Don't miss it when you go!

SPOT track of 3/4 of the trip
792212256_DzuCa-XL.png


Video from the second half of the trip Click on the picture below and it will link you to the video


Safety:
I know the media has made everyone scared of flying in Mexico but I never worried about my safety or my plane one time. Everyone was so helpful during the trip. People also are worried about their planes being stolen, but the data shows there were twice as many planes stolen in the southwest US than the Baja over the past few years. We talked to some locals about this issue and they did say that a plane was stolen at Alfonsinas about 14 months ago, a 182. The most popular plane for the drug runners is the 206, 210 and 182 respectively. I brought my prop lock but never used it. Everyone told me that it will do nothing as they are prepared for just about everything. They rarely steal low wings because they cannot land on roads with them.
 
Last edited:
Baja trip

Thank you Scott for the write up, first class as usual. We have been twice, and you hit most of my favorite stops. I am jealous that I didn't go this year. This is the perfect time of year to go, if you don't get a hurricane. We did once and had to spend a couple of extra days at Mulege. I can think of worse places to get stuck.

Tim
 
WOW... nice write up and pix.
Many thanks for sharing.

one question:
how did you pay for the landing fees, etc.?

do they take credit card? or USD$? Mp$?

Great question, I was wondering the same thing before I left.
I paid for almost everything with US dollars. They took a credit card for fuel at Loreto but no where else. It is safe to just bring cash to pay for everything.
 
Scott, sweet write up! I can't wait to show friends who make the 18 hour drive to San Carlos for surfing and winsurfing trips by car! Maybe 4-5 hours of that (depending upon conditions) is completely off road and passing abandoned rigs (no AAA here), so you can imagine how awful that trip would be.

Also, someone told me Coke works well for currency, too. ;)

ok, time to make more progress and find that drill again...

Jae
 
Last edited:
My wife had tears in her eyes....

watching your video. She's got a thing for Whales! Thanks for sharing Scott. As usual, you do a fantastic job.

These write-ups are great motivation. When I think of having my own airplane, it's not to fly inverted but to have the freedom to travel to places like this and explore off the beaten path.

Thanks again!

Mike
 
watching your video. She's got a thing for Whales! Thanks for sharing Scott. As usual, you do a fantastic job.

These write-ups are great motivation. When I think of having my own airplane, it's not to fly inverted but to have the freedom to travel to places like this and explore off the beaten path.

Mike

I should say a little more about the whale tours. We had great weather that day but you should prepare for much colder weather. I brought a warmer coat and hat but luckily did not have to use it.
It was around $40 for the tour + tip.

You have to roll with everything while you are down there, there is no hurry to do anything but just know that it will work out.
 
Scott: Another great piece. My wife is standing over my shoulder wanting to know when we will be finished so we can go.

Really enjoyed the music especially on the first whale video. Who is that?

Steven Hild
Belen, NM
RV-7 590SC (res) FK
 
RV Baja Trip

Scott:

Thanks for all your posts. N710RV, Ann, and I are ready to go next year during whale season. Do you know the ideal months or is it just February?

Best regards,
 
Great trip again Scott!

Scott:
Thanks for all your posts. N710RV, Ann, and I are ready to go next year during whale season. Do you know the ideal months or is it just February?
Best regards,
February and March are the times to go down. Early April the whales start the north migration. Scott, Great shot of Mulege and the river. That town has been through some tough times in the last few years with flooding.
 
WOW!

Scott all I can say is "WOW!"

That is incredible! Thanks for the write up and the pics, my day here at work is now a complete waste becasue all I will be thinking about is flying to Mexico and drinking margaritas!

Quick question - when you're flying from point to point in Mexico:

do you need to file a flight plan? And if so, who do you file it with?
Is there flight following, or some kind of ATC you have to talk to while you fly from point to point?

Thanks!
 
awesome writeup

Scott..Thanks for the great writeup, awesome pictures and video ..... I forwarded the link to my daughter who loves whales.....thanks again
Marc

ps: the snow is flying here....kind of nice to escape to Mexico for a few minutes....:)
 
Awesome trip, awesome photos, and awesome write-up! Looks like you guys had an absolute blast. As always, thanks for taking the time to share your trip with us.
 
Fantastic pictures and write-up! I've been in Baja on off road bikes but never by air.

Re paying for stuff, I found that everywhere took dollars, though the exchange rate on the spot was usually pretty poor. If you have time and the inclination you could probably save a moderate percentage by exchanging for pesos ahead of time.
 
Absolutely spectacular!

Scott,
Great write up as always. Fantastic photos and video as well as a great choice for music. This is the best trip write-up I've seen in 7 or 8 years on the website. If VAF gave the equivalent of an Oscar, you'd have it, hands down! Thanx for sharing.
 
Thanks

Thanks for all the great replies, hopefully it not only delivers motivation but ideas on where to go. I love to read everyone's write-ups as well. RaNae and I enjoy thinking about what trip we want to do next. We are trying to plan a trip for this spring but don't know where to go.

I really enjoyed flying in Mexico and will go again. If I went again I would fly into San Felipe for customs, then to Alfonsinas for a couple of nights.
I would then fly to see the whales at San Ignacio Lagoon for the day and then to Mulege (Hotel Serinidad) for one night and then to Punta Chivato (Hotel Posada de las Flores) or I might just head to Punta Chivato.
You will want to take a day to fly down Loreto for gas so you can stop along the way back up the coast. You actually should be able to make it back to San Felipe and not head to Loreto and save yourself some time by flying into San Felipe for customs and before you head home.
I saw some pretty incredible resorts at Loreto that would be fun to stay at, especially if you like golf.
Here is a picture I took just after turning final at Loreto.
790620294_NU9Ln-XL.jpg


Also, I need to mention that Sean took a few of the pictures on the trip so I cannot take all the credit.


Quick question - when you're flying from point to point in Mexico:

do you need to file a flight plan? And if so, who do you file it with?
Is there flight following, or some kind of ATC you have to talk to while you fly from point to point?

I was very unclear of this system when I went down there too. The C-210 I flew down with has been down 8 times in the past 4-5 years so I just followed his procedure most of the time. I am not saying everything I did was completely correct, but we had no problems.

There really is not an ATC system there at all. You file a flight plan from a controlled airport to your next destination and that is it. So we filed a flight plan from Mexicali to Alfonsinas then flew around Mexico until we landed at Loreto for fuel. We then filed a flight plan to Mulege and never filed a flight plan again. Both times we left a towered airport they just asked that we contact them when we were 20 miles out and then they let us go. You get the feeling that the flight plans are more for revenue generation than anything else. You will need to give them all the same information a US flight plan asks for. Their cruising altitudes were a little different than ours (if I recall correctly), for south and east cruising it is even+500, and north and west is odd+500. They will tell you when you file if that is not correct.

Here is another write-up I found while I was getting ready for this trip.
http://philip.greenspun.com/flying/baja
 
Great report!

Thanks for sharing such a great trip report Scott! Having driven deep into Baja 3 times, once all the way to Cabo, it was great to re-live some of the spots. Ever since we drove many miles on washboard from Bahia de los Angeles to San Franciscito and I saw the runway there, I've dreamed of flying back (and I didn't even have my PPL then). And touching a 60' whale while in a 20' boat was one of the highlights of my life.

Highway 1 through Baja is crazy dangerous, and after the last trip my wife swore never again, the only way we'll get back is by air.

BTW, there's a pretty cool resort adjacent to the runway at Bay of LA, and I've never seen such amazing sunrises.

Thanks again, and keep the great trip reports coming!
 
you guys......

have set a new standard here. besides your geography being excellent the pics are fantastic. it is a lot of work. thanks turbo:cool:
 
XM Weather Service in Mexico?

Scott - great report on what looks like a great trip!

It looks like Loreto was as far south as you went. How was your XM weather reception at that latitude? XM doesn't provide any formal info as to their coverage footprint in Mexico (probably because they are not licensed there yet). But there are some "unauthorized" coverage maps online that claim pretty good XM reception in much of the country, so I was wondering what your experience was. Thanks.
 
Last edited:
XM Coverage

Scott - great report on what looks like a great trip!

It looks like Loreto was as far south as you went. How was your XM weather reception at that latitude? XM doesn't provide any formal info as to their coverage footprint in Mexico (probably because they are not licensed there yet). But there are some "unauthorized" coverage maps online that claim pretty good XM reception in much of the country, so I was wondering what your expreince was. Thanks.

I think we had coverage the whole trip. If we didn't have coverage I would have noticed that.
I know we had coverage down the coast to Alfonsina's. That was the only day we had any rain near us and there was a cell coming over the mountain just north of San Felipe.

Luckily, most of the hotels had WIFI (except Alfonsina's) so I could check weather on my iPhone using the internet and ForeFlight.
 
Back
Top