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Zigzagging Southwest. What to see?

Vlad

Well Known Member
I plan to invade South West mid October. I have solid connections and plans for Colorado and San Diego. Huge area between them is a mystery unknown and planning is still in progress. To be honest I am a bit overwhelmed which happens rarely. I have Day VFR RV-9A , O2 onboard and a lot of time. I can wait for better WX if bad encountered.


I would appreciate any advice from locals where to fly, what to see and how to do it right way. I would love to fly over Spaceport America and Davis Monthan Boneyard but I could not find any info or procedures. So I assume these areas are restricted for GA overflights. Two Valleys are on my list - Monument and Death anybody been there lately?


Please suggest something. Where to stop? What to see? Any airports with on field or walking distance accommodation? Not interested in Holiday Inn Express all cash goes inside fuel tanks :D



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Good idea. I suggest a Grand Canyon fly-over and they have an airport there to get a closer look.

Also Los Alamos NM. Easy walk from airport to hotel. Maybe even get a tour arranged of the historic Los Alamos National Lab. You may need to apply for such tour in advance. Go to their website to find out. I know they let Russians in because I read this article:

http://www.lanl.gov/science/NSS/issue3_2011/story8.shtml
 
The Spaceport Restricted R-5111 (A to D) area is by 12 hr advanced Notam only, you should be fine to overfly it...

Call them and see if you can get permission to land.

RICK HOMANS
901 E. UNIVERSITY AVE, BLDG 3, SUITE C
LAS CRUCES, NM 88001
Phone 575-373-6110
 
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Only certain areas of the Grand Canyon are open to overflights. Get the special sectional for the Grand Canyon.
I'd advise against KGCN unless time is limited. Avgas is very expensive. Instead go to Valle, 30 miles or so south. Call ahead and reserve their rental car if you want to tour the park on the ground. If you're staying overnight there's a motel/restaurant within walking distance of the Valle airport.
 
ABQ Balloon Fiesta, Oct 5 - 14

Hundreds of hot air balloons, special shapes, fireworks, night glows.

PM me for more details, I'm a volunteer and will be working the Gas Balloon event. Also you can google Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta for all details.

Carl
 
Carlsbad Caverns

Four Corners

Zion National Park (NP)

Bryce Canyon NP

Canyonlands NP

Arches NP

Capitol Reef NP

Natural Bridges National Monument

Antelope Canyon (Page, AZ) http://www.antelopecanyon.com/

Stay at Monument Valley and tour by vehicle. http://www.gouldings.com/
Supposedly there is another hotel near the visitors center.

Stay at Death Valley and go to Badwater.

Las Vegas for a day/night (Bellagio fountains, M&M World)

Fly through the Green River/Mineral Canyon north of Canyonlands NP. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LqdtVgaDSQ

Go to the Grand Canyon.

Just a start of course
 
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Vlad, save your gas on the zig-zag and hit the north points on the way in and the south points on the way out.

I would add Catalina Island since you are coming so far. Just off the coast of CA. What are your San Diego plan? I'm one of the locals here.
 
The stars

Vlad, save your gas on the zig-zag and hit the north points on the way in and the south points on the way out.

I would add Catalina Island since you are coming so far. Just off the coast of CA. What are your San Diego plan? I'm one of the locals here.

Looks like Sedona is the right hand bottom point of the route "W" path...:)

A little North is Flagstaff, and if you like the stars, a visit to the Lowell Observatory is certainly recommended.

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

Go on the right nights and they even let you "have a go" and look through the 1896 32 ft long refractor telescope.
 
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Chiriaco Airport is a good stop for lunch and a visit to the General Patton Museum. It covers American tanks from WW II to today. Has a great restaurant for lunch. It is near Palm Springs, California between Phoenix and San Diego. If you stop give a heads up and Ill meet you. Here is more info.

http://www.airnav.com/airport/L77

Rick
 
SoCal recommendations

Vlad:

Bruce is right about Catalina Island - just watch wx for marine layer effects, which can isolate the airport/island. On a VFR day it's a great flight over, and the buffalo (bison?) burgers on the airfield are tasty. If you have a day, you can take the bus down from the "Airport in the Sky" into town, look 'round, or stay overnight. There are a number of campgrounds; just watch out for the buffalo that live in the area. Landing fee was $25/aircraft last time I went.

If you end up as far South as the border with Mexico, Chiriaco Summit is, as recommended by earlier post, another great stop; date shakes are surprisingly tasty! Check the details on the field - it's a looooong runway, with no taxiway, as I recall. Depending on conditions, you might want to touch down half way(?), reducing the taxi to the tiedown area next to the cafe. Chiriaco also sets you up well for a flight over the Salton Sea, and to/from Palm Springs.

If you're near El Lay, consider Big Bear; you can search archives to get more details from Paul & Louise on their comings, goings, adventures, and good eats at the airport. If the weather cooperates, this sets you up for nice overflight of LA area.

Farther north is Harris Ranch - a smallish strip adjacent to a great resort named... "Harris Ranch." Great food, nice atmosphere, and easy to spot from the air: the airport is immediately adjacent to the Harris Ranch hotel, the Harris Ranch truck stop, the Harris Ranch restaurants... all of it on the Southeast side of Interstate 5. Note the low wires at the south end of the approach, as well as the road embankment at the north end. I was able to get in and out easily in a 172 - you should be fine in the 9a. SoCal TRACON flight following is very helpful, along with Lemoore for MOA clearance.

Finally, I still owe you lunch; PM me in advance and if I'm in town we can arrange introduction to the finest India Pale on the planet
 
I would appreciate any advice from locals where to fly, what to see and how to do it right way. I would love to fly over...Davis Monthan Boneyard but I could not find any info or procedures. So I assume these areas are restricted for GA overflights.


I have orbited around downtown Tucson and thus was right over the DM boneyard initially. If you come through when I'm home we can hop in the car for a DM tour.

I love you zigzag route design.
 
I have orbited around downtown Tucson and thus was right over the DM boneyard initially. If you come through when I'm home we can hop in the car for a DM tour.

I love you zigzag route design.

Tucson Class C controllers are quite friendly, just ask for a photo orbit over Pima Air Museum and I'm sure you will get it.

PS this also gives you the boneyard, but you wan't have to ask for anything that could have a national security implication...:)
 
San Diego Visit Ideas...

Vlad,

Chiriaco Airport…I haven’t been there in years. Unless airport services have improved and not reflected in AirNav, there is no fuel besides any maintenance. However, the Patton museum is good. His grandson lives just a few miles from us here in SC.

Three of the best known aviation museums in SoCal are at Chino (KCNO), Palm Springs (KPSP), and in San Diego. If you decide to layover in San Diego, I recommend Gillespie Field (KSEE). KSEE has good maintenance and fuel (although expensive fuel). I think Brown Field (KSDM) has the cheapest fuel in the San Diego area. If none of the RV locals connect with you (free food, parking, and housing), park near the tower or I think now the west end of the field has a large transit parking area. Parking in either area is a short walk to the trolley that will take you downtown; beautiful harbor, visit the USS Midway, and a short cab ride to the San Diego Aerospace Museum, or the San Diego Zoo. No Russian food (except caviar), your "bugs" are bigger than ours, you must settle for Mexican food when in town.

I am beginning to think this country is not big enough for you to explore. Have a safe and fun trip.

Regards,
 
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aviation museums

Chino has two aviation museums with Planes of Fame being the biggest and best.
Holbrook,AZ has motels within walking distance.
 
I flew into Montgomery Field (MYF) for July 4th. It was a stepping stone for my next flight into Baja, Mexico. However, i was blown away by Coronado Beach. It is one of the most beautiful beaches i have ever seen - better than anything in Hawaii.

Because of the naval station, it was cool to watch fighter jets and all kinds of flying things doing their approach over the most beautiful beach i have seen. :D
 
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vman, not sure if i missed this one somewhere in the post but marble canyon is a must for breakfast. north east end of the grand canyon, spiral down, get the GC sectional, fly some GC corridors, and hit sedona too. thats it from me. watch out for the condors at the marble canyon viewing point.

headed down to florida in the rv in the morning. clear sailing south. tfr thru nyc. flight plan filed. enjoy the trip west. :)
 
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Vlad,

If you make it to KTSP, I'll make sure you get a bed and a bean, and if it's a weekend, I'll spring for gas (some of the least expensive in the area) for a tour the local area, including Kern Valley near Lake Isabella for one of the best hamburgers in the state. Might even try to talk you into bucking a few rivets on my -7 project...;)
 
The current path looks like the pattern on Charlie Brown's shirt.

When I landed at KGCN several years ago, there was a free shuttle to the park. Check out that and the intra-park bus system.
 
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Grand Canyon Alternate

If you're going to land for the Grand Canyon, use nearby Valle Airport, not Grand Canyon. It's private, with interesting beautifully restored autos and aircraft on display, plus usual FBO amenities. The guy who owns Valle doesn't take any government money - keeps the FAA at bay, and his name is the same as mine. That caused a bit of a stir.

Not to throw cold water on the view, but seeing the Canyon from the air is not much different than viewing a broad valley. The deepest parts, where you can see the river from your perch are spectacular but brief yet worth the trip, but there's no "Star Wars" weaving through the channel.

John Siebold
 
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Since you mentioned Tucson, stop in and beg/borrow/steal a car to go see both the Pima Air Museum and the Titan Missile Museum located a few miles SW of town. The Pima Air Museum is just awesome, one of my favorites with 300+ planes scattered over 80 acres. For the Titan Missile Museum, I was blown away by the 1 hour tour there almost 15 years ago, but I wanna go back and see it again one of these days, preferably on the 5 hr Top to Bottom tour.

http://www.pimaair.org/index.php
http://www.titanmissilemuseum.org/index.php

For parking/fuel for your RV, you'd think the FBOs at Tucson Int'l would be waaay too expensive, but I found that Premier Aviation TUS was a decent stop. Reasonably priced self serve 100LL and walking distance to airport hotels and car rental offices.
 
Someone mentioned earlier the annual Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in October. Having grown up in New Mexico, I second this recommendation and deem it another "must see" event. Absolutely spectacular. Here's a link to the website for more info.

http://www.balloonfiesta.com/
 
If you want an unique experience, drop in (literally) at Marble Canyon Airport:

http://www.airnav.com/airport/L41

It is on the floor of the canyon, and the Marble Canyon Lodge is 50's vintage. Four of us flew our RV-4's there in July and spent the night. It was really pretty cool.

My avatar is a photo of me and my plane on the canyon floor...
 
If you want an unique experience, drop in (literally) at Marble Canyon Airport:

http://www.airnav.com/airport/L41
Agreed- Marble Canyon...as posted before.
Suggest From Monument Valley you fly north- that is where the monuments are. Then direct to Page, PGA north of Navajo Mtn. This will take you over Lake Powell, try and find the Rainbow bridge- then on to Page. Flight-seeing Cessna vomit comets(C-207) will be West bound to PGA south of the lake. Not real busy traffic but good local Awareness. Classic Aviation in PGA also will drop you off for hotel/lunch if needed. Then Marble canyon and Grand Canyon. PM me if you would like the use of an Airport truck in FLG.
 
I am a little late adding my 2-cents to this thread. Two places that I did not see that would be worth seeing. Only one will require a stop.

No one said to stop in and say hello to "Rosie" at Rosamond Skypark (L00) if you can catch him when he is in town.

The other is a flyover that I would recommend would be a good photo. The "Meteor Crater" in Arizona is nice to see from the air. Link to the Meteor photo Gallery is here.

Looking on my iPad Foreflight VFR chart, the Meteor Crater is between Flagstaff (FLG) and Winslow (INW). If you find the Winslow VOR INW 112.6 and look on the 245 radial just outside the compass rose of the VOR, you will find it.

The above link will take you to VFRMAP.com and if you zoom in, you can see the location of the Meteor Crater on the chart.
 
....
The other is a flyover that I would recommend would be a good photo. The "Meteor Crater" in Arizona is nice to see from the air. Link to the Meteor photo Gallery is here.

Looking on my iPad Foreflight VFR chart, the Meteor Crater is between Flagstaff (FLG) and Winslow (INW). If you find the Winslow VOR INW 112.6 and look on the 245 radial just outside the compass rose of the VOR, you will find it.

The above link will take you to VFRMAP.com and if you zoom in, you can see the location of the Meteor Crater on the chart.

...and, to put a catchy tune in your head...

winslow-1.jpg
 
You should review the Trip Reports section. Lots of ideas there. Here are most of mine that may be of some value to you

Leadville to Death Valley:

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=68643

NW Washington state trip:

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=46470

LA:

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=42605

What is he doing up there:

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=28308

Page AZ, Grand canyon:

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=29430

Vegas, Death Valley:

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=25729
 
Someone mentioned earlier the annual Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in October. Having grown up in New Mexico, I second this recommendation and deem it another "must see" event. Absolutely spectacular. Here's a link to the website for more info.

http://www.balloonfiesta.com/

Tyson and I already moved to Albuquerque after OSH for my new job, but we've been heads-down on shipping our new products, so I haven't had time to move our household. We have a big mostly-empty house just 2.6 miles from the Balloon Fiesta grounds. We have a few empty guest beds and a stocked kitchen, plus several empty rooms with carpet and room for sleeping pads, but no chairs or couches yet.

Vlad or any other RV'ers are welcome to stay gratis if you're coming for any or all of the Fiesta, October 6th to 14th (or any other time really). Although I'm close to the grounds, I'm about 16 mi from KAEG, so you'd probably want to rent a car, but I'm also willing to ferry folks around as my schedule permits.

PM me here if you're interested.

--
Stephen
 
I am a little late adding my 2-cents to this thread. Two places that I did not see that would be worth seeing. Only one will require a stop.

No one said to stop in and say hello to "Rosie" at Rosamond Skypark (L00) if you can catch him when he is in town.

The other is a flyover that I would recommend would be a good photo. The "Meteor Crater" in Arizona is nice to see from the air. Link to the Meteor photo Gallery is here.

Looking on my iPad Foreflight VFR chart, the Meteor Crater is between Flagstaff (FLG) and Winslow (INW). If you find the Winslow VOR INW 112.6 and look on the 245 radial just outside the compass rose of the VOR, you will find it.

The above link will take you to VFRMAP.com and if you zoom in, you can see the location of the Meteor Crater on the chart.

Vlad, you DEFINITELY have a place to stay if you'd like to fly in!!!!! We'll head over to L05 for a nice meal :D Rosie
 
Excellent tips

I knew I've tapped right braintrust. Thank you all who called and PMed. I mapped trip skeleton one way. It would look approximately like this. On the way back I will register with RV Embassy at Rosamond, CA then will head East to burn one more week of "use or lose" vacation time.


Day 1. Overnight at Grand Island, NE


day1.png




Day 2. Invading Colorado with full tank of O2. Rockwood 9A need help with food inventory. :)


Day2.png




Day 3. Down to Deep South for ABQ Balloon Fiesta.



Day3.png




All kinds of Canyons and Rocks on Day 4. Saturday night is a networking event in Vegas. Here I would use some extra info. Many RVators are using Henderson and North Vegas but some hardcore penny pinchers told me that overnight parking fee at KLAS beats cab ride from Henderson. Whattya tink?


Day4.png




On day 5 which I hope is Sunday I zigzag to the Pacific shore. Parking at KMYF by Casa Machado building :)



Day5.png





I am weather dependent I fly very conservative Day VFR only. There will be a lot of local flying. If you see unpainted RV come and say coded word "Privet" :D
 
Space port

Vlad,
Come back through KLRU and I will take you on a flight up and around the
Space Port. Just yell and let me know you are coming.
 
If you do not have mountain flying experience I suggest reviewing the appropriate course at AOPA. Know how to lean the engine and that your landing/take-off groundspeeds will be higher than at sea level for the same INDICATED airspeed.
 
Just returned from Henderson last week. There is a free shuttle to any of the major strip/downtown hotels that leaves at 10 am, 1 pm and 4 pm from the FBO. Call in the morning for a reservation. There were only two of us and the "shuttle" was actually a limo.

You are on your own for the return trip, which was a $50 cab ride from the strip. $10 a night at HND for tie down, less one night's fee if you get fuel, including self-serve.

Since one way was free, the $50 trip averages out well...:)

We were lucky, a couple of days later we would have been trapped by a 3 day TFR for debate prep...

If you are going mid-week, book the night before. We got $26.68 (total, w/tax and no resort fee) rooms at Harrahs.
 
I just read KLAS reviews at airnav.com and in order to waive a high fee, you pay about $36 more for 15 gallons 100LL than at Henderson.
 
Ron thanks for mountain course reminder. I need it.

Gil good pirep on fees. I am still considering KLAS. I need to be there only for Saturday evening for several hours. No casinos planned just Saturday 13th evening in, Sunday morning 14th out. I don't need fuel just swallow Atlantic overnight parking fees.
 
Vlad, without buying adequate fuel, you may have to pay $100 in fees at KLAS. You might be better off renting a car at Henderson or use the courtesy van one way and taxi back.

Call to verify fees.
 
Vlad, without buying adequate fuel, you may have to pay $100 in fees at KLAS. You might be better off renting a car at Henderson or use the courtesy van one way and taxi back.

Call to verify fees.

IIRC, Hertz has a counter next to the Henderson FBO, but check weekend hours...:)
 
we can arrange introduction to the finest India Pale on the planet

Them's fighting words to an Oregonian :D but I'm game for a flight down sometime to give it a try.

As to Vlad's plans, can't help with the flying, but Zion NP, Canyonlands NP, Grand Canyon NP, Arches NP, Mesa Verde NP, plus the slot canyons around Paige, AZ are all amazing places to visit. There are a couple of small airstrips in Canyonlands that would be awesome to fly in to in an RV. we did it on a mountain biking trip a few years ago in a 172.

Have fun Vlad!
 
There are a couple of small airstrips in Canyonlands that would be awesome to fly in to in an RV. we did it on a mountain biking trip a few years ago in a 172.

Have fun Vlad!



Could you elaborate on those Bill? Identifiers, state of surface?
 
At the South end of Canyonlands is the Needles district. There is a private campground there on the edge of the park called Needles Outpost. They have a little burger restaurant there and a 4000' redrock strip that's pretty good.
 
Daily teaser

Some shots on the way West.


To Leadville


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A canyon


ede4604592a5451098aeab32a3507fd5.jpg





Somewhere in Utah



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377ae8e5352748c6f9dfc0f1ef02c738.jpg





From Four Corners



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No luck with Spaceport



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When in San Diego...

Vlad,

Once you get to San Diego, you might enjoy visiting one of your comrades’, Vladimir Yastremsky, at Ramona Airport (KRNM). Vladimir operates a Yak and Sukhoi maintenance operation out of hangar A-1 at Chuck Hall Aviation. Vladimir is a former Soviet State maintenance technician, was on the Soviet National Parachute Jump Team, and flew a number of Soviet bug smashers including the AN-2. He is a great guy.

KRNM hosts a number of WWII warbirds including Chuck Hall’s P-51, Six Shooter (check out Chuck Hall's home page), plus there is an active group of RV owners on the field.

http://chuckhallaviation.com/html/services.html

Regards
 
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zag

Looks like Vlad has zagged to Catalina Island. Shows to be about 5 mi. off Avalon on aprs.
 
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