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Petit Jean 2016 KMPJ -- The Gathering is ON again!

Oh please don't stay home because you have kids. Bring the kids! It looks like you have an RV10. Surely you have that plane so you can take your kids places right? There is a lot at Petit Jean that they would really enjoy. If there were ever a family friendly gathering, this is it!

Yeah...problem is, my wife can't come along and we have rule about everyone being in the plane except her (morbid though it is...we stick to it).
 
Room at Rockefeller Center

I just cancelled my room at the center. I don't have much schedule flexibility, so the weather is making it difficult for me.

Don
 
Extra room available or unfortunate cancellation?

My wife and I are driving to PJ2016 and this will be our first visit to the flyin. We weren't sure we were going to be able to make it so we did not reserve early enough to get a room at Lodge etc.

We don't really know the lay of the land or the events so we played it safe and have a room reserved Friday and Saturday nights in Morrilton, AR but would much rather stay closer and with RV'ers.

If you have a house with an extra room that we could rent or think you may cancel a room reservation (wx etc) at PJ state park lodge etc., please let me know.

Looking forward to it!!!

Rob
RV-3 s/n 0045
Yesterdays's-3's
316-210-7897
 
Any local weather reports from Petit jean?
Here is some surrounding airports reporting WX:
  1. Russellville, AR (12 nm NW):
    http://www.usairnet.com/cgi-bin/launch/code.cgi?Submit=Go&sta=KRUE&state=AR
  2. Clinton, AR (35 nm NE):
    http://www.usairnet.com/cgi-bin/launch/code.cgi?Submit=Go&sta=KCCA&state=AR
  3. Hot Springs, AR (40 nm N)
    http://www.usairnet.com/cgi-bin/launch/code.cgi?Submit=Go&sta=KHOT&state=AR

Keep in mind Petit Jean is up on a mountain bluff approx. 900-1000 feet above the surrounding terrain. There is a river flowing at the base of the mountain so there is a high likelihood some of the low lying airports down in the valleys will report fog in the morning while it may be clear at Petit Jean.

Hopefully the Arkansas contention will pipe in with some details.
 
Any local weather reports from Petit jean?

I have been using Weather Underground website to keep track of their local Wx. In the 10-day forecast, I customize what I see so that it shows Dew Point. Cloud base can be estimated from dew point spread. Typically 4.4-degrees F per 1,000 to cloud base.

The local Weather Underground forecast is around 90% correct for where I live over the past 2+ years.
 
We just canceled

Due to the Friday forecast we just canceled our Friday night room.
I hated doing it. Might fly over Sat. For a few hours.
 
We have about 500 foot ceilings and 1/2 mile this morning.

Hoping it lifts enough to get out even IFR in a few hours.

Has anyone shot the RNAV approach into Petit Jean?

-Dan
 
Post #47 saysw "IF you want to fly the Point Photo Run ?. Please please read and analyze the attached PDF showing the Point Photo Run Arrival procedure."

I could not find any attachment. Help?
 
Petit Jean

Any chance we are going to fly from south Texas to KMPJ today? Anyone else going to try? I'm thinking maybe 1300 hrs.:rolleyes:
 
Any chance we are going to fly from south Texas to KMPJ today? Anyone else going to try? I'm thinking maybe 1300 hrs.:rolleyes:

The plane is packed and ready but we're sitting tight for a while longer. I looked at that RNAV, it even only gets you down to 800'... If it shows any signs of improvement we'll at least go out for a look-see. Otherwise, there is always tomorrow.
 
Petit Jean

Scott,

We are in the same boat. We can leave at 1500 and still be ok. 2.5 hrs from Fredericksburg.
 
Back in my college skydiving days, we would all sit out at the dropzone on an overcast Saturday morning, looking up at the sky and wishing away the clouds. Inevitably, someone would get the bright idea to make a "sacrifice" of sorts to the weather gods, by cracking open a beer and drinking it. Of course that meant the person who was to be the sacrifice would not jump that day. Taking one for the team, or something like that.

So, for all the rest of you who, like me, sat on the ground most of today wishing away the Petit Jean clouds, get ready to start your engines. I just cracked a beer.

Hope to see you all there (safely) tomorrow.
 
Been watching Weather Underground.

Right now, they are reporting 64.4 F and dew point of 62 F. Dew point was 61 F a half hour ago.

Cloud base can be estimated at 4.4-degrees F for each 1,000'.

The above website is forecasting a 4-degree dew point spread from 1600 to 1700 local time. 10 AM tomorrow shows a 5-degree dew point spread getting larger as the morning goes on.
 
In hangar most of the day

In hangar ready to go but never did look very promising and flying low over the hills with towers would not be much fun.
Tomorrow is a new day:)
Figs
 
Been tracking our very own crabandy down to MPJ. Looks like he shot the RNAV 03 and went missed. On to the alternate. See y'all in the morning!
 
We shared Figs's concept. We really talked about the LPV at Russellville for the 300', but I just couldn't justify it with so few other options. Being a flat lander, the "terrain" keeps me a little further from the edge than it might a mountain man. It looks like the RNAV at MPJ would have been about 250' too high at best today.

So, we went out and shot some practice IFR approaches in severe clear, then worked on the shop project some more. We had to pull a couple of bags out of the airplane as it seems I'm going to need my tooth brush :).

I can just imagine Bill and they boys sitting around the lodge looking at food for 200 people. Scary concept. See yall tomorrow. I think the cookies will keep, as we're sure they aren't buried in the side of a hill somewhere in South West Arkansas.
 
Yep... us too.

Amanda and Woke up and were ready to roll...sorta. We knew the weather would be **** (dookie) from the get in go, so we had a leisurely breakfast, did a few chores and like you, began to take a look at the weather more seriously at 12pm cst. I was honestly surprised that it wasn't breaking up better or at least clearing behind the system a little faster. We woulda filed too cause it looked the the tops were around 4,000...so that was good, but I was pretty uncomfortable with high mda combined with it reporting around 900 to 600 depending on which station you were looking at.

It is still IFR for real right now. 600 at Morrillton now. (7:51 pm cst). So we are gonna take another look tomorrow morning. Hopefully we can see everyone on the mountain tomorrow!
 
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Like

Back in my college skydiving days, we would all sit out at the dropzone on an overcast Saturday morning, looking up at the sky and wishing away the clouds. Inevitably, someone would get the bright idea to make a "sacrifice" of sorts to the weather gods, by cracking open a beer and drinking it. Of course that meant the person who was to be the sacrifice would not jump that day. Taking one for the team, or something like that.

So, for all the rest of you who, like me, sat on the ground most of today wishing away the Petit Jean clouds, get ready to start your engines. I just cracked a beer.

Hope to see you all there (safely) tomorrow.

If we were on face book, I would give you a like or big thumbs up!! But...dang, it didnt work. :)
 
Good call ya'll. There are six airplanes parked at PJ tonight, and a motley collection of airport loaners and rental cars.

Left mine at Pine Bluff. Went IFR driving up the grade by Petit Jean Point, before reaching the top.
 
From a ghostly lit campsite at PJ......

C84EADA0-2629-4894-8369-5711B4592619_zpscxwojxbg.jpg


Fun flight for sure, but the mountain was not to be had late afternoon. Prior to going missed at MPJ I was informed there was a group of fellow RV'ers on the ground at my plan B (KRUE) and a bus was on the way and I was sold. Plan C was the VFRish Fayetville and Branson area, plan D was fly back home.

The LPV approach at KRUE was slowly dropping, 1st RV (I heard) reported bases at 1600' and second RV reported 1500'. We broke out just under 1400' and met some old and new friends for a bus ride to a great dinner.

I really am proud to be a part of THIS safety culture. Reading online and talking to pilots it was very evident that preflight planning, personal minimums and good decision making made safety the number 1 priority. The safety culture was reinforced over the radio as the controllers and pilots worked together:

"I'm relaying a base report and IFR Cancellation for N%#*+"

"I need a vector and more time to setup for the approach you just cleared me for"

"Wx isn't looking good I'm diverting to KXXX"

"Numerous aircraft have missed approach at MPJ, I'll have a current base report from another aircraft shortly"

I look forward to seeing more of you guys after a morning of hiking the trails!

Just before the IAF into MPJ I noticed one of those rainbow thingies surrounding a perfect silhouette of my RV reflecting off a cloud. I marveled at it for a minute before I thought about snapping a pic, the iPhone camera doesn't do it justice.

30DE5A0D-FF8F-44E7-96A7-1316BCAA15EF_zpsdsnmlpkk.jpg
 
I live in Morrilton, 10 miles from MPJ. I'm standing on my porch looking at some patches of blue thru holes in the clouds. First blue I've seen in days. 8:00a Sat. See all of you in a couple hours.
 
We flew from Page, Arizona yesterday and watched the forecast all day during the trip. I had filed for KMPJ but it was clear to me that the approach would not work, so we executed the approach into KRUE with success, and broke out at 1600'. Decided to go take a look at kpmj and didn't get very far. Came back to KRUE and there were 3 rv's getting ready to take off to go over to KPMJ. I didn't have any luck in talking them out of it and was really disappointed. Later we heard one of them circling over head and he eventually went out to the West, found a hole and came back to KRUE. We were all relieved on the ground at KRUE.
I'll never understand what prompts some pilots to take such risks for a pleasure flight. It's not like we are at war or it was a rescue mission.

Vic
 
MPJ Not in the Cards

Sitting on the deck sipping the morning joe, watching the clouds race by. Airmets for turbulence and low level wind shear (50 kts) forecast through 4pm spell what I'm afraid is the end of our attempt at Petit Jean 2016.

Couldn't get in yesterday, can't get out today. :mad:
 
send us a bill,... Hope the homeless enjoy some great food

Won't make it today,.. But send us a bill, will be glad to pay,...
 
Won't make it today,.. But send us a bill, will be glad to pay,...
+1 here on sending our money to the EAA club. Scud running for an hour and a half flight is not going to happen. Bill we will send our registration costs in the mail.
 
9am, sun is peeking through from time to time. Stuff is not real thick, so the burn off forecast might actually be true later.
 
Send me a bill. Bill

I sent Bill an email to let us know how much food was left over so we can chip in.

Solid IFR in Milwaukee. Ceilings just got high enough 1200, but Kathy said we'll catch it next year.
 
I sent Bill an email to let us know how much food was left over so we can chip in.

Solid IFR in Milwaukee. Ceilings just got high enough 1200, but Kathy said we'll catch it next year.

I sent "Slats" an iMessage saying I also will chip in to keep him from going in the hole.
 
Let us know

Bill... Send out an email that gives folks an idea of how much we can donate to help you guys from going upside down on this fly in. I think most of us feel bad the weather held us back.
 
+1
Just let me know how much to send. Want to make sure this great fly in makes the VAF calendar for next year.
 
Petit Jean 2016 .... what an AMAZING group of RV Pilots

Stunning Sunday Departure Pictures by Dan Valovich: .....https://www.flickr.com/photos/dm50384/albums/72157675340827685

It's amazing to me when folks like something so much they offer to pay for it ...even when they got none of it :) Wow.... you just have to think about that a little bit! Thanks to everyone for the offers and we'll let you know how it goes when the dust settles but more important, here is a short story about the weekend. This is the short one but know that there are lots of short and long stories about the journey and new friends found in odd places :)

Petit Jean Airport and Campground was in better shape than it has ever been. Lots more grass parking on really solid (when dry) ground. Great menus, fun stuff, the waterfalls were spectacular ... and so on. But then Friday happened. Forecasts were for rain Thursday night, blowing through and VFR mid morning. Not a big deal ....and they blew through all right but it left a lot of moisture in the air. All around the mountain, we had pretty good marginal VFR if there is such a thing with 1,000 -1,400 OVC viz 6+ but the trees on the airport are at 1,1,00 MSL and that meant KPMJ was like 300 ovc with vis obsured in the morning. It was supposed to lift after lunch and occasionally hinted at it but nothing really changed for more than minutes at a time.

By late Friday afternoon, we had a total of 3 new arrivals when we were looking for something like 85 to 90 before dinner. The amazing thing was that most pilots & crew that started out came as far as they could VFR and stopped, some flew the approaches, missed and just went to the closest place they could find...... and then they drove it. That's right, we had a Fly & Ride & Drive instead of the usual Fly & Hike. There must be something special about getting to the RV Mountain! There were RVs at airports all over a 100 mile radius of Petit Jean. There were airplanes at Russelville, Conway, Pine Bluff, Mountain Home, Clinton, Batesville, Branson, Fayetteville .... literally everywhere. ATC from Memphis called Air Boss Bob to tell him they were really trying hard to get folks into MPJ on instrument approaches, but they were all going missed. Bob relayed that he could hear them, almost see them, but no one was getting in. Ceilings were indeterminate, rarely MVFR, mostly not. The promised stable VFR never arrived.... :( and neither did the airplanes.

While we had no planes to speak of, the most amazing thing was that the pilots didn't go home! They landed and drove it in rented cars, appropriated airport cars, and shared rides. The PJ group ran shuttles, and a 14 pass van to pick folks up. We hauled luggage and camping gear and the occasional Spotted Cow :rolleyes: We delayed dinner at the Rockefeller Center from 6:30 to 7:30 to let everyone get in.

Even the big boys got grounded, Adam Burch and Sterling from Vans in the factory RV14 were picked up in Clinton, Arkansas by Ron Moring. Ron was stuck in Batesville, rented an SUV that was big enough to be "Spotted Cow Capable" and headed to PJ. While driving(?) he or Kathy picked up "stranded RV" locations off the FaceBook feed and the VAF forums and decided to do shuttle service as well. He was heading to Searcy to pick up Jesse Bentley but then Jesse diverted to Branson. Having been almost there, Ron was close to the Vans boys at Clinton and picked them up on the way in. We had 8 RVs at Russelville, just 30 miles away with MFVR but that didn't get you up on the Mountain. Long story short ... at 5:00 PM Friday, we only had 6 planes on the ramp but at the RCC dinner, we still had 70+ faces looking at each other across the tables, laughing and swapping stories about Petit Jean.... the best DRIVE-IN FLY-IN ever ! :D You just got to love this RV Community!:)

Saturday dawned(not) and it looked like the promised 12:00 noon'ish VFR was not going to happen as well. Still looking like 300-500 ovc at the airport with the rare hole teasing us but it slowly started to rise. At 11:00, we heard a couple of RVs overhead and then about 11:15 one finally made the turn to final and the Fearless 1 landed. (Fearless 1 = new call sign) People were starting to post on FB and VAF about it clearing and then it was like an RV swarm on the Mountain. By Air Boss Bob records, we landed 48 more aircraft in the next 90 minutes. That set an all time high activity record for RV Mountain. Now the Sun was shining and the Gathering was on for real! Vic Syracuse and others ran a much faster airborne shuttle service to take all the Ride-Ins back to their airplanes and they were back on the ground at Petit Jean just after lunch. I am told the air-taxi guys were almost offended when someone offered them gas money for the trips... that's just being part of the RV Community :):)

The rest is history! We were expecting 120+ on the overnight ramp and a projected in and out total over 150. Turned out we had 6 on the ramp Friday night, 68 on the ramp Saturday night, and a total of 94 in and out. Considering the weather, it was a huge effort on everyones part to be on the Mountain, one way or the other. Most pushed their limits but safely, stopped where they needed to and came when the time was right! :) We had a great time Saturday afternoon and Saturday night, lots of pictures to tell the stories. The volunteers scrambled to adjust to the wet parking, the spontaneous shuttle demands, and the schedule that just got tossed out the window..... and they did it very well. Everyone said there was more laughing, horsing around, visiting, and just plane'ole RV socializing than ever before. Maybe it's just me but I think that the challenge of shared adversity brings us all together and makes our lives just a little more crisp. Today, that shared adversity was the very unique experience of making a safe arrival at Petit Jean. New friends were made, not only on the Mountain but also at the airports surrounding it. Shared adversity has a special way of bonding friendships and this year on the Mountain will be a special memory for a lot of our Petit Jean RV friends.

We have had a very active FaceBook Group page associated with the Fly-In. There are already hundreds of pictures posted there and it takes me a long time to get normal pictures to a shared site and posted to our website www.PetitJeanFlyIn.com. The easiest way to get to fun iPhone pictures and iPhone videos is to click on this link and join the group https://www.facebook.com/groups/PetitJeanRVFLyInGroup/ Make it a Liked Favorite and once you have been approved, you can comment, post pictures directly from your phone, discuss, or do whatever you like that is Petit Jean related. We'll have a lot more pictures posting on the VAF later this week.

This may not have been the biggest Petit Jean Gathering but when you look back at the adversity overcome and the friendships that happened because of it ...... I'm not sure we won't remember it as one of the very best! :)

On behalf of all the PJ Volunteers, including the RV pilot volunteers, EAA165 North Little Rock, EAA Hot Springs, EAA Conway ..... thanks for coming and thanks for your generous support .... we hope to see you next year on the Mountain.

Here is a link to some absolutely stunning Sunday morning departure pictures taken by Dan Valovich. Dan will frame, modify, or do anything you want to with these. They are lots of "wall hangers" in this run. Also hundreds of pictures on the FB page now.

Picture Link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dm50384/albums/72157675340827685
 
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From a ghostly lit campsite at PJ......

C84EADA0-2629-4894-8369-5711B4592619_zpscxwojxbg.jpg


Fun flight for sure, but the mountain was not to be had late afternoon. Prior to going missed at MPJ I was informed there was a group of fellow RV'ers on the ground at my plan B (KRUE) and a bus was on the way and I was sold. Plan C was the VFRish Fayetville and Branson area, plan D was fly back home.

The LPV approach at KRUE was slowly dropping, 1st RV (I heard) reported bases at 1600' and second RV reported 1500'. We broke out just under 1400' and met some old and new friends for a bus ride to a great dinner.

I really am proud to be a part of THIS safety culture. Reading online and talking to pilots it was very evident that preflight planning, personal minimums and good decision making made safety the number 1 priority. The safety culture was reinforced over the radio as the controllers and pilots worked together:

"I'm relaying a base report and IFR Cancellation for N%#*+"

"I need a vector and more time to setup for the approach you just cleared me for"

"Wx isn't looking good I'm diverting to KXXX"

"Numerous aircraft have missed approach at MPJ, I'll have a current base report from another aircraft shortly"

I look forward to seeing more of you guys after a morning of hiking the trails!

Just before the IAF into MPJ I noticed one of those rainbow thingies surrounding a perfect silhouette of my RV reflecting off a cloud. I marveled at it for a minute before I thought about snapping a pic, the iPhone camera doesn't do it justice.

30DE5A0D-FF8F-44E7-96A7-1316BCAA15EF_zpsdsnmlpkk.jpg

Beautiful shot! What you saw is called a broken spectre. Check it out on Wikipedia.
 
Friday weather was mostly decent everywhere but Arkansas.

Going home midday Sunday, Patti and I were semi-amused to find the only place in the southeast with lousy weather was Montgomery!

 
PJ 2016 was a great "weather" learning experience my lovely Co-pilot and I! We flew from our farm in West Texas 300 miles to Sherman. The first half of that leg was MVFR but lifting all the way. Stopped for some gas in Sherman, Tx and checked the weather again for PJ and central and North Arkansas but we already knew from looking at Mr Dynon on the first leg, it was not lifting there like the forecast predicted. At 5:30, we declared a "No Go". But, we spent the night with my son and his family who live near Sherman. 3 little grandkids were sure surprised so that made up for the disappointment. But, I was sure thinking about that dinner spread at the lodge waiting for us!:eek: As soon as we saw some breaks in the clouds in Sherman next morning we headed to the airport but waited till 10:00am to take off because clouds just wasn't lifting over those mountains between us an PJ very fast! We still flip flopped from on top of clouds to beneath the clouds most the way and diverted a little north to follow the Arkansas River east for the last twenty miles before landing at PJ amidst a swarm of RV's at about 11:30 am!....We have been flying with our new ADSB weather for 18 months now and it takes the cake!.....

This is such a great fly in and Bill and Co does so much work to put it on! It has done so much for Nancy and I to meet new friends with airplanes and put names and faces with people I have been talking to for years on this site! And by the way, the Facebook Page was a great idea! Now we can get to know everyone a little easier!

BTW, if anyone ever tells you, "that baggage compartment sure is small", don't let it rattle you! This is 98 lbs of stuff we carried to PJ in our 7 including camping equipment all packed under the Tonneau cover! And yes, that guitar came out of there too!

16qa6h.jpg
 
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Karen and I flew up Friday with a supposed arrival in time for lunch.

We shot the approach into Petit Jean, and it wasn't even close. Wound up as one of the group at Russelville and got the Van ride over in time for dinner.

Bill and all of the other folks worked there butt's off to make this a great weekend for everyone. I was amazed at the amount of effort and planning that obviously had gone into making this a great event.

These guys did an incredible job, and never once did I see them get upset, or let the bad weather have a negative impact on doing everything they could to make sure everyone had a good time.

Karen and I had just a great weekend, and we will be back next year!

It was great meeting a lot of new RV folks, and we even got in a hike to the waterfall!

What could have easily been a bust of a weekend, turned out to be a great time, with some great stories, and new friends.

Thanks again Bill and all of the Petit Jean volunteers!

-Dan
 
PJ 2016 was a great "weather" learning experience my lovely Co-pilot and I! We flew from our farm in West Texas 300 miles to Sherman. The first half of that leg was MVFR but lifting all the way. Stopped for some gas in Sherman, Tx and checked the weather again for PJ and central and North Arkansas but clouds just wasn't lifting over those mountains between us an PJ very fast! We still flip flopped from on top of clouds to beneath the clouds most the wa and diverted a little north to follow the Arkansas River east for the last twenty miles before landing at PJ amidst a swarm of RV's at about 11:30 am!....We have been flying with our new ADSB weather for 18 months now
This is such a great fly in and Bill and Co does so much work to put it on! It has done so much for Nancy and I to meet new friends with airplanes and put names and faces with people I have been talking to for years on this site! And by the way, the Facebook Page was a great idea! Now we can get

BTW, if anyone ever tells you, "that baggage compartment sure is small", don't let it rattle you! This is 98 lbs of stuff we carried to PJ in our 7 including camping equipment all packed under the Tonneau cover! And yes, that guitar came out of there too!

16qa6h.jpg

And yes he can also play that guitar pretty well too, Mya and I really enjoyed the live music!
 
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The Petit Jean Fly-In really is a Gathering, a mixture of like minded people from across the US (ahem...and possibly the UK) with the same interests sharing stories and experiences around food, airplanes, campfires and hiking trails.

Being my second trip to Petit Jean I recognized a lot of faces and hope I was a little better with names, I also met a lot of new RV'ers. It was my second oldest daughter Mya's first trip to PJ, our second daddy daughter date in the airplane. She does get a little bored flying but was really looking forward to the dinners, especially the dessert table. She took a picture of every dessert on the table and txt'd them to the Homefront, she settled on the chocolate cake and wasn't disappointed!

B561A21D-BC04-4607-8201-1F652BD492B7_zpstqrra45p.jpg



But what really made her night (if not the whole weekend) was being the big winner at Tail # Bingo with some "special" help from Vic and Carol Syracuse, Thank You!

409CB2F5-AFE5-4718-80BE-BF4F02EE7C2D_zpsi64alrbx.jpg


9966132A-E8CA-41B1-A9CA-933D34C44FD4_zpsbpgd1vt2.jpg


On Saturday a.m. we hiked the Bear Cave Trailhead, shorter distance but lots of detours that require hands and feet to get around!

885DAE30-B3DD-4649-AEED-A05019FBAD1A_zpsko9njuxb.jpg


Even Mya made it up this crag without help!

BDFC8A8E-5EF1-48EC-85AF-38E6AC5F5A00_zpsm0fheegz.jpg


I'm assuming this is "Bear Cave," minus the Bears......

3EA7D8C5-6BDB-4C7C-A364-9F36F7F71877_zpst1jzdp0s.jpg


There are some sections of rocks with footholds/steps carved into them so you can climb/shimmy up. I'm really not a fan of heights, I wish my daughters shared my fear but I managed to follow her up. We are on top of a rock and you can see Mather Lodge in the background, I was at least 10' foot from the edge and it was more than close enough for me.

5165AF68-5C34-42B2-8387-D584BCEE9BE2_zpsvbsiqwz8.jpg


I believe this is a view of those same rocks safely on the ground from Mather Lodge, you'll have to zoom in but the rocks are just about in the center with the corner of Mather Lodge on the right.

10CD1F94-35F4-40CB-848E-E35C00C6F546_zpszy09fdpn.jpg


Climbing down on the backside of the rocks with the foothold/steps.

F4278A16-D46A-4AE3-93B1-1A9E3CDC9FCA_zpskkagbba8.jpg
 
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On the ground at RUE Sat around lunchtime to retrieve some airplanes, we got to watch these 2 do a formation takeoff while pumping gas.

34945FD9-8CC8-460C-AB8D-31F171D8B937_zpsrnky0xj3.jpg


Mya snapped a decent pic on long final into MPJ.

A5CF83C5-BFAF-4CD6-99A3-A702EE2F0319_zpso1aacqdx.jpg


We hiked the Cedar Falls Trail that afternoon, it's hard to take in the size of it all with a camera. Mya cooling off.

3D108385-35C7-4C26-8228-1E2302B53483_zpszvyxzvgf.jpg


Two pics trying to capture the size of the bowl Cedar falls is in, same pic one not zoomed in.

0486B3B3-1511-47AB-B7DA-2E4A99342AE6_zpssy2duehr.jpg


FE9EE22C-CAC9-4A08-B449-51C3AC009A07_zpsowqsapfw.jpg


I thought I wore her out when she caught a nap on the way back to the campsite....

BB580A8C-E71A-4F5C-BECA-57086F9716ED_zpsz3g6vsha.jpg


Shortly after arriving she was back trying to win more prizes!

B2ECFD38-C8F8-4CBB-95E5-9EDFF3EEF177_zpslbq1sif0.jpg


We spent the night eating smores' and chatting around the campfire and listening to some soft guitar picking. Even with the full moon we caught a bright streaming shooting star while laying on the runway threshold, perfect end to a Great flyin.

4A0DB0E7-F04D-4DD2-A1A0-987C4990D2CF_zpswj3mlnwj.jpg


Thanks to everyone that made it happen!
 
This was an absolutely wonderful flying, one of the best that we have been to in many years. Very genuine people, company, and food! Can't wait to go back!

Vic
 
This was an absolutely wonderful flying, one of the best that we have been to in many years. Very genuine people, company, and food! Can't wait to go back!

Vic

Vic, great to me you and your wife! Enjoyed talking with you both!

I made the change to my wing you suggested and it helped. Still having some tweaking to do but I think I'm going in the right direction. Thanks!

-Dan
 
Vic, great to me you and your wife! Enjoyed talking with you both!

I made the change to my wing you suggested and it helped. Still having some tweaking to do but I think I'm going in the right direction. Thanks!

-Dan


Wonderful, Dan. Nice to meet you, too.

Vic
 
The Petit Jean Fly-In really is a Gathering, a mixture of like minded people from across the US (ahem...and possibly the UK) with the same interests sharing stories and experiences around food, airplanes, campfires and hiking trails.

Being my second trip to Petit Jean I recognized a lot of faces and hope I was a little better with names, I also met a lot of new RV'ers. It was my second oldest daughter Mya's first trip to PJ, our second daddy daughter date in the airplane. She does get a little bored flying but was really looking forward to the dinners, especially the dessert table. She took a picture of every dessert on the table and txt'd them to the Homefront, she settled on the chocolate cake and wasn't disappointed!

B561A21D-BC04-4607-8201-1F652BD492B7_zpstqrra45p.jpg



But what really made her night (if not the whole weekend) was being the big winner at Tail # Bingo with some "special" help from Vic and Carol Syracuse, Thank You!

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On Saturday a.m. we hiked the Bear Cave Trailhead, shorter distance but lots of detours that require hands and feet to get around!

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Even Mya made it up this crag without help!

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I'm assuming this is "Bear Cave," minus the Bears......

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There are some sections of rocks with footholds/steps carved into them so you can climb/shimmy up. I'm really not a fan of heights, I wish my daughters shared my fear but I managed to follow her up. We are on top of a rock and you can see Mather Lodge in the background, I was at least 10' foot from the edge and it was more than close enough for me.

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I believe this is a view of those same rocks safely on the ground from Mather Lodge, you'll have to zoom in but the rocks are just about in the center with the corner of Mather Lodge on the right.

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Climbing down on the backside of the rocks with the foothold/steps.

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Sometimes folks ask, "Why would the PJ Crew go to all this work ....??" Now the best answer is to point them to this post! Andy, you and Mya are one of the best examples of why we do what we do! Your one post made it all worthwhile.

Thanks from all of us.... this is the payback that makes it worth all the trouble! :)


EAA 165 North Little Rock, EAA Hot Springs, EAA Conway, EAA Searcy, and all the Bulldogs :--)
 
PJean2016

Hello everyone,
Living in NW Arkansas and in the market for my first RV (-8), my wife and I were unable to fly in to PJ this past weekend as we only had a few hours early Sat to attend and the wx wasn't cooperating. We elected to hop on the motorcycle and attend for the short time we had. Wanted to say it was a genuine pleasure meeting the few people we did and what a great experience for our first RV fly in.
Hope to meet up again at some point and hopefully with an RV. My thanks to AirBoss Bob for sequencing us to the gathering from the North end of the field. Thanks everyone..

Rogers, AR.
 
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