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USA: California

jtrusso Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 40

Death Valley?


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How is the flight to Death Valley, is it worth doing as a day trip out of LA? I'm looking for somewhere to take a spam can 172 a week from Sunday and I was thinking Death Valley might be kind of intersting.

If anyone has any suggestions for a good 2 - 3 hour flight out of LA I'd love to hear them.




How about Las Vegas? take lots of money, last time I went I had to drive out in a $10,000 car and got to be chuffered back in a $500,000 buss! ;)

If your in Norther California try AUN, great breakfast and lunch.


Temperature-wise this is a good time to go to Death Valley. Get a good alt setting from Joshua Approach on your way up and watch the altimeter unwind below zero on final.:cool: The Furnace Creek Inn Sunday Brunch is the most food I've ever seen in one room. You probably need reservations. The Furnace Creek Ranch cafe is cheaper, but still good. Transportation is provided from the airport to both places. DVNP musuem is also at Furnace Creek.
 
Rocket Cafe and Paso Robles

A new restruant just opened on the airport at Bakersfield, CA. (L45)

John Harmon just opened a restruant December 1, 2007 at the north end of the airport near the local EAA chapter hangar.

I just heard it opened today (right after lunch), so I haven't had an opportunity to try it out yet.

Jim Ayers

Found myself in Bakersfield killing time today and had lunch at the Rocket Cafe.

Great sandwich for lunch. Planning on flying in there in the future to sample more of their offerings. John Harmon was even in there and the local news media. Highly recommend it. Didn't get a chance to ask him about my "Rocket Light" idea though.

Sunday was lunch in Paso Robles. Not bad, but not your typical "airport" food. I would go back to both though, but would choose the Rocket Cafe over PRB for the food. . . Awesome Sweet Potato Fries too.
 
KAUN Auburn, CA

When we are back in CA, the group from O70 (Jackson Westover) makes the trip to KAUN (20 east Sacramento) for breakfast at Wings Cafe.
You will not find a better breakfast in the area, and when the weather is good you can sit outside to watch and listen to airplane noise. There are plenty of RV's coming and going when the weather is good.
 
O70 Jackson, CA

At the base of the Sierra Nevada's, in the heart of the Gold Country! It is just a few minutes into Jackson or Sutter Creek for lots of shopping and some fine dining!
If there are any RV'ers wishing to come to this area, you are welcome to put your RV to bed in our hangar. Just email me at [email protected]
MarkO
 
Petaluma

I flew with 2 friends up to Petaluma Municipal Airport (O69) today for lunch. The lunch at the restaraunt was ok, but the best part was watching the traffic. That is one busy airport!

Thanks to the several RV pilots who took a few moments to show us their planes. There were about a dozen RVs parked there. We weren't sure if there was a fly-in, or if it was just a popular destination. Either way, it was like walking the line at an airshow. It was very cool!
 
UC Davis - KEDU

We are having a small open house at the field this Saturday the 26th. The theme is old and new so we hope to have a few old planes and some new ones. We are also considering starting an EAA chapter as we have several new builders here, mostly RVs. If anyone needs and excuse to go flying in this area Saturday we'd sure like to see your plane and show it off to the neighbors that come here to see what we're doing out here! We park planes up until 9 AM and the airport is open to the public from 10 to 2 or so. The runway is always open so you can leave any time. Should be nice and warm.....:D
 
Another pilot's impression of places already mentioned:

Willits Airport, Ca, is up on a hill above town, to the west if I recall. It was a wonderful coasting downhill bicycle ride for me and my wife all the way to town for that Skunk Train Ride that Scott Schmidt mentioned. It was years ago and there was no taxi service to get us back up that long hill during the late afternoon. Maybe there is a taxi service now? Paid a kid to haul us and our bicycles back up that long hill to the airport in the back of his pickup truck.

Lodi Airport, Ca, is a private field with a fairly good restaurant for breakfast and lunch only, as airport restaurants go. Yup, you get to see all the skydiver nuts falling out of the sky. I used to be one of them there! Made my first jump (out of 246) there, but then I lost interest . Walk over to the Parachute Center and ask Cathy Dause, the scheduler and wife of the owner, about doing a tandem jump with an instructor. She usually will ask how you heard about the place and will be very surprised if you mention my name. Do the tandem jump. You’re just along for the ride. The instructor keeps you safe. Come on….jump out of an airplane at least once in your life so you can say that you did it! Hey, I was age 49 when I did that first jump. Note: If you wear false teeth, keep your mouth closed during the freefall or you may not have them when you land!

Furnace Creek, Ca, isn’t called furnace creek for nothing. It is oven hot during the summer time. If no one is playing golf, you can take a short cut through the north side of the golf coarse from the airport to get to the motel/buffet restaurant. Once you walk into the air conditioned buffet restaurant it’ll be like heaven…relief from the heat. Spend a night in the excellent motel. They also have a nice swimming pool with water temperature just cool enough to make it pleasurable. If you have the big bucks to spend, there is a high dollar hotel/restaurant across the highway from the buffet. Just looking at it, I knew we couldn’t afford it!

Pine Mountain Lake Airport, Ca, south of Columbia and South East from Stockton. Not very far south from Columbia Airport. Pine Mountain Lake Airport used to be a pretty area with lots of trees. (Scott VanArtsdalen can tell you if the trees have grown back or not) One afternoon, years ago, we flew in and discovered that most of the trees had been cut down and the area was being developed as a fly-in community. Heck, after all the trees were gone who wants to live there? Anyway, Pine Mountain Lake Airport has or had a nice little airport restaurant that had the Friday afternoon/night special of turkey dinner. I swear that it was identical in looks, taste, and presentation exactly like my mom used to make! Considering what tin man had to report, perhaps you should call first. We flew in there often from Reno for that turkey dinner until I sold the plane. That was one of our "$100 hamburger flights."

Glen Willows Airport, Ca. Way, way north from Sacramento and near the Redding area if I recall correctly. It was the original base for the Fire Bombers. There is a bronze placard at the base of the flag pole next to the restaurant telling of that history. The restaurant is great. You can park right next to the restaurant, walk 50 feet through the gate, and you’re there. It always appeared that townspeople were the majority customers. They’d be one or two airplanes parked outside but the restaurant would be full of happy people.

Columbia Airport, east of Stockton, Ca. Columbia has a fly-in only campground where you can pitch a tent, light a campfire, and enjoy nature. We camped there four different times. Each time I could hear what sounded like a young kid crying at night in the distance. It bothered me so much that on the fourth campout I decided to track down that crying sound to check the welfare of the child obviously in distress? With a combination of relief, humor, and feeling like an idiot, I discovered the lamb which sounded like a kid crying. Got a good laugh out of that one. I wonder how many other campers thought it was a crying young child too? Anyway, the town is located about a half mile northeast from the airport campground. Just follow the trail from the north side of the FBO building, past the school to the road and then it's a short way to the Old Town park. It’s a historical site and a California State Park. It’s worth the walk, especially to the cemetery up the hill north of town. The cemetery is a have-to-see item. Unfortunately, I thought the restaurants there were so-so. As you walk from Old Town back toward the airport, there is (or was) a spaghetti restaurant to your right. It didn’t look like much, but we were hungry and that was the last restaurant to eat in. Can you imagine flying back to Reno from Columbia (a one hour flight in a Cessna 175) with the meal you ate an hour earlier wanting to come out of both ends? As my First Sargeant used to say, “A word to the wise should be sufficient.” :D
 
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visiting lax and las -aviation stuff?

Hi all,

This is not an RV subject, but i would like to hear some recomendations.

I will be travelling on vacation with my GF for 10 days in los angeles and las vegas area. I am intend to spend one or maybe two days (that?s all she allowed me to do :mad: ) in aviation interests, so i would like to know good place to shopping stuff (pilots shops?) and visit , RV related or not, meeting people and maybe fly-ins in area for the first and second week of september.

Any greater los angeles and las vegas area will work for us.

Thanks all in advance!

Henrique Castro
RV7 180HP - BRAZIL
 
I've flown the Trona Gap several times with just a Garmin 295. Piece of cake! If you're nervous about it, take along Flight Following (while it's still free). They're real good at warning you if you get close. Without a GPS, though, I wouldn't try it at all.

I fly the Trona gap almost every day. Don't rely on Joshua to give you boundary calls. You can request an overfly of restricted/ mil operating areas and if able they will give you a "clear to cross above 6000 ft" call. Please keep your eyes way opened when flying in the gap especially during the week. A lot of jet guys zooming in and out of that area as well as low flying helos. GPS not needed. For the Northern boundary use highway 178 (East to West direction) and for the Southern boundary use the railroad tracks (East to West direction). Also don?t fly further South or West of the Trona pinnacles. Pic of pinnacles below.

usca9766.jpeg
 
I fly the Trona gap almost every day.

Thanks for the advice on the gap...I've been trying to plan a flight from SMO to Death Valley for over a year now. I just can't get a free weekend in the Spring or Fall when the weather is nice out there. I've always planned on flying out to Baker and then turning North up the valley. I figured even with the 430 "the gap" would be to risky. I'm paranoid of violating any airspace out there.

You make it sound pretty easy, I'll have to give it a practice "flight" on google earth first, but I just may go this way instead.
 
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Thanks for the advice on the gap...I've been trying to plan a flight from SMO to Death Valley for over a year now. I just can't get a free weekend in the Spring or Fall when the weather is nice out there. I've always planned on flying out to Baker and then turning North up the valley. I figured even with the 430 "the gap" would be to risky. I'm paranoid of violating any airspace out there.

You make it sound pretty easy, I'll have to give it a practice "flight" on google earth first, but I just may go this way instead.

Send me a PM when you head this way. I may be able to meet you at Inyokern. By the way the airspace south of Inyokern is only active from sun up to sun down during the weekdays. Not active at night nor on the weekends.
 
Send me a PM when you head this way. I may be able to meet you at Inyokern. By the way the airspace south of Inyokern is only active from sun up to sun down during the weekdays. Not active at night nor on the weekends.


Thannsk for the offer, I will definitely let you know. In fact maybe we can make an RV flyout out of it (although I'll be showing up in a spam can...someday I'll have that RV!:cool:)
 
more..

I just re-read this thread cause I'm bored.
No mention that I could find of Catalina I. Maybe I missed it?
Anyway, fun spot to fly in to. Nice restaurant with buffalo burgers.
$20 landing fee though.

Also WVI. Busy place. Very good mexican restaurant there.

KPAO is kinda fun too. Lotsa planes. No hangars so good for browsing.
Nice little cafe on the field too.
 
Golden cantina

Rosamond skypark is a great place to fly to and mingle with fellow aviators. The eats are great at the golden cantina. A+++
 
Mojave

Just north of Rosamond and east of Tehachapi is Mojave Spaceport.
The Voyager Restaurant is at mid field and you can park right in front.
It is open every day and has good food at a good price.
You can take a walk outside the restaurant on the parking lot side to a small park where you can see the Rotary Rocket and a full size model of Spaceship One. If you go on a week day there is a good chance you will see some interesting planes flying. The National Test Pilot school is based there as well has Scaled Composites. The airport is also a large parking lot for old airliners.

Nice flight from the LA area would be to go to Mojave, have look around ,get something to eat, then head up to Tehachapi for gas. (it was $3.05 last week.)
 
places to fly in ca.

Porterville (kptv) is nice and quiet this time of year (no fire fighter planes right now) good restraunt
 
Thanks for the advice on the gap...I've been trying to plan a flight from SMO to Death Valley for over a year now. I just can't get a free weekend in the Spring or Fall when the weather is nice out there. I've always planned on flying out to Baker and then turning North up the valley. I figured even with the 430 "the gap" would be to risky. I'm paranoid of violating any airspace out there.

You make it sound pretty easy, I'll have to give it a practice "flight" on google earth first, but I just may go this way instead.

I think your concern is justified. If you plan the flight with precise visual markers it is doable but it is not a flight that will allow a lot of "relax" time. I have done it a few times with pilotage navigation but usually I flew up over Dagget, and Baker then turn left up the valley. It is a very scenic flight and the Furnace Creek Inn is a special destination.

Bob Axsom
 
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE

Sorry for the late notice but South Shore TVL is having a BBQ for fly-ins today should anyone still be looking for an excuse to fly!

Saturday March 28th Mountain West Aviation will be hosting a luncheon at Lake Tahoe Airport to welcome the return of sunny days, blue skies, and of course, flying season. We'll be serving lunch on the ramp, and lunch will be free to all who fly in. There will also be a drawing for a free fuel giveaway, where the winner will get topped off on us. Information is available on the attached flyer. Tell a friend, bring a friend, dust off your wings, and enjoy the flight into Lake Tahoe Airport. We look forward to seeing you on March 21st.




Michael Golden
Mountain West Aviation
P.O. Box 1695
Crystal Bay, Nevada 89402
530-582-1717 Direct Dial
tahoelocal@...
www.mountainwestaviation.com
 
Boonville D83

Quiet strip in the Anderson Valley. Park at south end of runway, walk east toward RTE 128 and then south to town. A Mexican place, a road-trip diner, and a few cafes and delis (i.e. Mosswood Market, mmmmmh!), along with Lauren's Restaurant, all just a 15 minute walk! Great place to stop for lunch!
 
CA fuel stops

Flying from Portland to LA on July 10 via the I-5 corridor. Would like suggestions for a stop for inexpensive fuel and a quick bite to eat somewhere around Sacramento.

Thanks, TJ
RV-10
 
Unfortunately the good airport restaurants are not at good fuel stops. I've never eaten at Oroville but it is the only one I find that seems to have both.

Our favorite places to eat are:
AUN Auburn Muni Wings Grill
O69 Petaluma Muni Two-Niner Diner
HAF Half Moon Bay Mezza Luna
STS Charles M. Schulz - Sonoma County Sky Lounge
LVK Livermore Muni Beeb's Sports Bar & Grill
WLW Willows-Glenn County Nancy's Airport Cafe
WVI Watsonville Muni Zuniga's Mexican Restaurant

Check the local fuel prices at: http://www.airnav.com/fuel/local.html

Have a great trip!
 
Aurburn...

Flying from Portland to LA on July 10 via the I-5 corridor. Would like suggestions for a stop for inexpensive fuel and a quick bite to eat somewhere around Sacramento.

Thanks, TJ
RV-10

I've always stopped at Auburn (AUN) which has a good restaurant on the field with a nice patio for watching the landing action...:)

However, a check of airnav shows it fairly high on 100LL at $4.55

The restaurant is good though...
 
You might try

Lodi (1O3). Fuel currently $4.19. The Airport Cafe is 100 feet from transient parking. It's open for breakfast and lunch... good burgers, sandwiches, and salads. There's skydiving on the south side of the airport.
 
Thanks for the info. I had checked AirNav. Oroville was what I came up with, but when I called the number ( city of Oroville ) to make sure the place would be open and the fuel was still $3.58, all I got was a message phone and they have not called back. Might just pack a lunch.

Thanks again, TJ
 
Breakfast and Fuel

Wings Cafe at KAUN is our fave place for breakfast, bar none! When you are done there, fly 20 min SE to Calaveras County (KCPU) for cheap fuel. Say "hi" to Kathy (Arpt Mgr) and have a piece of the various treats that are baked daily by Rose Davids.

I've always stopped at Auburn (AUN) which has a good restaurant on the field with a nice patio for watching the landing action...:)

However, a check of airnav shows it fairly high on 100LL at $4.55

The restaurant is good though...
 
KWLW - Willows

Willows is ~ 60 miles north of SAC and has a great restaurant on the field...
Fuel is higher than Calavares @4.18 gal. Nice airport right on I-5
 
Hemet-Ryan KHMT Hangar One Cafe

Our home airport here in Southern California has a great cafe with awesome food. Make sure to stay for pie! There are tons of regulars and Bambi and her crew are very friendly. Hope to see you there!

4193982483_5e94a031b8_z.jpg


P.S. we have quite a few of regular RV's that stop by on the weekends :D
 
SF Bay Area

This is a great link for large photos of a short trip some fellows did around the Bay Area from Palo Alto up around Napa and the mothball fleet then out the Golden Gate and down to Half Moon Bay and back over Stanford to their home field. We do this trip from Sacramento to Half Moon Bay for lunch a few times a year.

http://www.couperus.org/Albums/Napa/
 
Great Airports Information

Hey Gang,

Here is a link ( http://160knots.com/Travel.htm ) that is quite useful for many airports in northern and southern California. He has a lot of videos that are helpful as well. Many airport and restaurant as well as activities available in his posts. Someone was looking for info to Catalina. He has a video for that local.

Enjoy!
 
KFUL

KFUL - Fullerton airport has a nice little cafe called Fliers Diner (formerly tartuffles). It's a nice little airport with a flight training center called AFI. Also on the field is Air Combat where you can be a fighter pilot for a day...

Its a nice central place to tie down in Orange County.

www.flyafi.com

www.aircombat.com/
 
Vlad

I'm planning a day trip there myself sometime soon, while its cool. It's just a short 2 hour flight each way from RHV.

Thanks for posting the shots.
 
Furnace Creek

Try to fly there on a Sunday morning to take advantage of the brunch at Furnace Creek Inn, the fancy place on the side of the hill overlooking Furnace Creek. The food is good with lots of variety and reasonable considering the location.

There's a phone in the restroom at the airport to call for a ride to the Inn, or you can walk the 1.5 miles or so to the hotel.
 
160knots

There is a guy who used to be out of Corona, I think he is at Chino now. He has done most of the legwork including write-ups, fuel prices, etc. Check his page out at:

http://www.160knots.com

Most of my trips have been because of his write ups including a camp over and morning breakfast at Lake Isabella. He isn't an RV8tor, but he writes well. No one is perfect.
 
There is a guy who used to be out of Corona, I think he is at Chino now. He has done most of the legwork including write-ups, fuel prices, etc. Check his page out at:

http://www.160knots.com

Most of my trips have been because of his write ups including a camp over and morning breakfast at Lake Isabella. He isn't an RV8tor, but he writes well. No one is perfect.

Everybody in professional flying knows former ATC Frank Holbert. I used his advice on KMYF. He's been everywhere man :D
 
Chiriaco Summit L77

Interesting place. Runway is not very smooth exercise caution :D


1-13.jpg




2-14.jpg



They have a little secret how to land safely and not to fold nose gear. PM me for how-tos :D


There is nice restaurant



3-11.jpg




and tank museum.



4-11.jpg




5-10.jpg




Gas station if you have empty can and run on car petrol and RedBull. :D



6-11.jpg
 
"Chicken Strip"

One of my favorites was always the Chicken Strip in Saline Valley. Its one valley west of Death Valley. I took my RV4 here several times. 1400' one-way uphill/downhill, no worries for a "properly flown" RV.
I read where it was recently closed. Too bad, the Hot Tubs and Palm trees are literally an oasis in the desert! :)

V/R
Smokey
Dues gladly paid in Iraq...
Gladly paid to DR anyway...



Chicken Strip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmROL2pRmss
U-Tube of a visit
 
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One of my favorites was always the Chicken Strip in Saline Valley. Its one valley west of Death Valley. I took my RV4 here several times. 1400' one-way uphill/downhill, no worries for a "properly flown" RV.
I read where it was recently closed. Too bad, the Hot Tubs and Palm trees are literally an oasis in the desert! :)

V/R
Smokey
Dues gladly paid in Iraq...
Gladly paid to DR anyway...



Chicken Strip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmROL2pRmss
U-Tube of a visit

The Chicken Strip reopened a year or so ago after having been closed for a while. It was still open as of this past summer. The NPS was doing a "study" late this past summer to decide how the area is to be used in the future. I'm not sure what the outcome was.
 
I'm a little surprised no one has talked about flying in to Stovepipe Wells L09 airport in Death Valley. No fuel available unless 87 Regular can be burned once you are up to cruise altitude... (Vlad)
 
CA aint no Utah

Vlad,
Fair warning, be careful in CA landing on the roads. An LA fire captain warned me that in most counties it is illegal. Specifically for so cal, can only legally land at designated airports. It is a fire regulation because landing places need a on site fire extinguisher, or something like that. Just what I heard.
 
I think my favorite is still Kern Valley (L05). Approach over a lake, nice restaurant, and it's always 20 degrees cooler than the desert of CA.
 
Rosamond Skypark & Rosie, and the Day Filled with RVs

Last week I found myself in Palmdale for work, and with an unexpected Sunday off made a long-shot and last-minute decision to reach out to VAFs very own Paul (Rosie) Rosales via email. Having read others' stories of hanging out with Paul and following his many Caribbean adventures here, I was excited at the possibility of meeting him and talking shop for a few hours. Because it was done with absolutely no advance planning, however, I didn't expect he'd be free that day.

Imagine my surprise when he emailed back nearly instantly, saying that he was just finishing breakfast and to come on up to Rosamond to hang out! I got in the car as soon as I could and headed north.

We only had a few hours to "play", but boy did we fit a lot in!

Upon arriving to his house I was immediately greeted by Victoria who was an absolute delight and couldn't have been more welcoming. She immediately made me feel at home and as though I was among old friends. Soon Paul walked toward the house and after greeting we went out to the hangar. I had no idea what was about to unfold!

Seeing Paul and his RV6A in person, which I had followed along in the forums through several trips to the Caribbean while dreaming of doing the same, found me oddly star-struck:

Rosie1.jpg

Quickly, though, he put me to work. Knowing that I had built my own RV9A, he asked me to help change out a battery to get another plane on the field started - an RV8. I like to think that I did at least acceptable work, as the battery swap went smoothly and the RV8 started right up, so we hopped in and taxiied it to Paul's hangar for some further work.

I realized how many friends Paul must have when at one time he had about 3 other people on a conference call simultaneously, arranging an opportunity for a friend who was finishing his private license to go flying with an instructor that very day in a Piper Warrior. California had gotten some storms recently and was due for more, but on this day the weather was good and it shouldn't go to waste. This guy knows how to make introductions!

Soon Paul received another call that some paperwork he had been waiting for was completed, but the friend with the paperwork was some distance away. No worries, both Paul and this friend had RVs and the distance turned into just a few minutes flying time for each of them to meet halfway in Porterville (KPTV). Paul looked at me and asked if I was up for a flight. Umm, YES!

Rosie2.jpg

Not long after we departed Rosamond in his 6A, another familiar voice came on the air-to-air frequency. This friend flies an RV4 and was interested in taking some photos.

Rosie3.jpg

Paul let me land in Porterville, and despite the speed difference between the 6A and my 9A, and flying from the right seat for the first time in forever, I think I did okay. We met his friend, exchanged some papers, and soon it was time to depart for home. Paul and Victoria had a play to attend that afternoon and we needed to get back.

Departing Porterville, I was struck with how green California is this time of year. Nothing at all like Kansas:

Rosie4.jpg

On the way home, some clouds had settled into the valleys. No worries, we were plenty high, but the beauty of the area was breathtaking:

Rosie5.jpg

An obligatory selfie of two happy aviators:

Rosie6.jpg

One last thing he showed me was Willow Springs Raceway, where some of the filming of Ford vs Ferrari took place:

Rosie7.jpg

After landing back at Rosamond, we met more of his airpark friends, wrenched on airplanes some more, and all too soon it was time for me to go.

I want to publicly thank Rosie for his hospitality and for a wonderful day filled with RVs. I couldn't have asked for a more fun and rewarding way to spend a day off!

For anyone who finds themselves in the area, reach out to Paul. Meeting him is bound to turn into something truly memorable.
 
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