After a few days at Illinois Valley the daytime temperatures were rising up into the mid 90's and it was time to get back to the cool air of the coast. We got up early and packed Tango Charlie with all the camping gear, it was yet another cool sunny morning so we decided to fly across to the small town of Prospect which is located 15 miles southwest of Crater Lake for breakfast. The flight took us north up the valley to Grants Pass, then to the northeast across the top of northern edge of the Medford Class D airspace and then up the rising slopes of the southern Cascades. Prospect State Airport is another of those lower use airports that seem to be in the middle of nowhere, however there is an active aviation scene there with a ...

One area of Oregon we had not spent much time looking around was that of the very far south of the State around the large town of Ashland on the northern border of California. It's usually hot down that way in the summer and our preferred method of accomodation during our trips away, which involves a tent, isn't the best option for the 90+ degree heat. However, the airport at Illinois Junction/Cave Junction looked like it could provide us with a few nights of comfort and the weather forecasts were predicting cooler than average temperatures for the time of year. Instead of flying directly to Illinois Valley across the forested mountains of the Coast Range we decided it would be more interesting to fly down the coast to the seaside town of Brookings and then turn eastwards across the high terrain ...

After setting up camp at West Yellowstone Airport we had breakfast at the restaurant in the airport terminal, the Smokejumper Café, and arranged a hire car from Avis so that we could visit the Park. During the busy months it's well worth booking a car in advance as although there are three rental outfits at the airport and the town they do not hold a large number of vehicles. We've found that it's best to spend a bit more money on a larger car as the usual compact range do not have engines that cope very well with the higher altitudes in the area. We were given a Lincoln MKT SUV which was a bit extravagent for just two of us, but it was nice to drive a luxury $40,000+ car around for a while. The West Entrance Road to Yellowstone ...

We departed Nampa at the crack of dawn. Heavy showers were predicted over the West and South of Idaho during mid morning and temperatures were to climb to 90°F which created the threat of thunderstorms, we were keen to get started on the 3 hour leg to our final destination, West Yellowstone in Montana. The initial plan was to fly eastwards and directly over the mountains of the Sawtooth National Forest but this was quickly changed due to a strong wind from the northwest and reports of thick smoke coming off of several fires in the north of Idaho. The backup plan was to route in an arc to the south of the mountain ranges following the Snake River Valley, the smoke may still have effected our flight but there were many more options available to us if it had became ...

We wanted to depart Florence as soon as the sun started coming up over the mountains of the Coast Range, sea fog was moving in as we drove down to the airport and didn't want to risk being fogged in for the rest of the day. We were also anxious to get an early start as we had a long journey to West Yellowstone, Montana in front of us. We had our camping gear in the back of the Cessna and were to stay at the campsite that is available at the airport, the Fall was approaching quickly and this would be the last chance of camping there before the temperatures dived. In fact West Yellowstone airport closes down towards the end of the year and would not be available again until next June. The winters are very harsh in ...

The weather on our 2nd day at Concrete was a bit disappointing with cloud cover over most of the Northern Cascades so we put off our scenic flight until the 3rd day which looked fractionly better in this NOAA forecast.... A WEAK UPPER TROUGH WILL MOVE OVER WESTERN WASHINGTON TODAY AND TONIGHT...BRINGING MID AND HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS AT TIMES. AT THE SURFACE...LIGHT ONSHORE FLOW WILL CONTINUE WITH HIGH PRESSURE OFFSHORE AND LOWER PRESSURE INLAND. AIR MASS STABLE EXCEPT SLIGHTLY UNSTABLE OVER THE CASCADES THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. As there is no fuel available at Concrete we flew down to Arlington, a 30 mile journey, to fill up our tanks with what must be some of the most expensive AVGAS in the Pacific Northwest! On departing Arlington we started our long climb out back to the north over Concrete and towards Mount Baker, the 10,781ft peak that ...

For our next trip we decided on visiting the small airport at Concrete, WA. which is about 70 miles north of Seattle, the plan was to get a close look at the west side of the Northern Cascade Mountains and Concrete seemed an ideal place to fly from while doing this. We had planned to visit during their fly-in a few weeks ago but unfortunately we couldn't make it due bad weather on the Oregon Coast. The Skagit Aero Education Museum is based at the airport and the opportunity to see their collection of vintage aircraft was an added bonus for our visit. Our take-off from Florence was followed by a completely clear one and a half hour flight to Scappoose where we landed for some really cheap fuel ($4.91/gallon, 74 cents less a gallon than Florence!). We routed over Hillsboro ...

Ranger Creek (21W) is a 2,900ft long mountain airfield which is located around 20 miles northeast of Mount Rainier in Washington State. It is quite unusual in as much as it has a paved runway and, for a mountain airport, it is not far from civilisation (Seattle is only 40 miles away). It provides a good introduction to mountain flying for those that feel the urge to give it a try but it is still tricky enough to cause problems. The west side of the mighty 14,000ft+ high Mount Rainier. Ranger Creek is located on the northeastern side of this mountain. The 2,650ft field elevation can cause density altitude issues during the summer and its location in the deep and narrow White River Valley can be intimidating but this helps to make it an enjoyable flying destination for many. The best approach ...

After fitting a new engine to Tango Charlie and suffering a couple of weeks of pretty awful weather on the Pacific Northwest coast we were in need of a flying trip somewhere. The new engine was requiring some long trips at high power so that its new components, and most importantly the piston rings, were broken-in correctly. We decided that a return trip to Joseph was in order as it was a great place we wanted to see more of and was a reasonable distance away, taking around 3 hours flying time to get there. The early morning at Florence was bright and clear, no mist, fog or wind....summer had apparently arrived! The internet weather systems predicted we would have a reasonable tailwind for the majority of the trip, especially as we would be flying at altitude. By having to use ...

I've been looking through my pictures of our trip to Joseph and thought that the following pictures that did not make it to my trip report are worthy of being published. They were taken on our flight back to Sisters after leaving Joseph and are of the area to the east and west of Madras, a favourite stopping place for us on our trips to Eastern Oregon. The John Day River, 30 miles east of Madras. Here is a snippet from Wikipedia about it ... 'The John Day River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 281 miles (452 km) long, in northeastern Oregon in the United States. Undammed along its entire length, the river is the third longest free-flowing river in the conterminous United States. There is extensive use of its waters for irrigation. Its free-flowing course furnishes habitat for ...

During our trip to the Alvord Desert the other week we had planned on ending up at the private airfield at Lands Inn Ranch (49OR), near Kimberley, OR., after a fuel stop at Burns Municipal (KBNO). Unfortunately the weather decided to play its hand and so we had to cancel our visit due to numerous thunderstorms that had built up during the day and which were heading their way. Not to be defeated we had been keeping an eye on the weather hoping for a weather window that would allow us to visit before the Fall really set in for good. Luckily this week the weather window arrived in the form of an Indian Summer with virtually unbroken sunshine over the entire state of Oregon and very little in the way of any weather that would prevent a trip to the ...

Our planned trip to the Alvord Desert, a dry lake bed in the middle of Eastern Oregon, got off to a bad start due to fog in the morning. It wasn't until 10:30am that it had cleared sufficiently for us to take-off and head eastwards to the Willamette Valley and over the Cascade Mountains beyond. The temperatures had been down on those of a few weeks before so we were confident that winds over the Cascades wouldn't be a problem for us. As we climbed out over the Coast Range we were confronted by cloud cover right into the Cascade foothills, this would be yet another occassion of flying VFR over the top. We planned on stopping at the resort town of Sunriver which is situated just over the highest terrain in the eastern foothills. Here we would gas up for ...

We flew by the Sisters Mountains today on our return from the Alvord Desert. The air was smooth, although there was a 15 knot from the east, so it was a perfect time to get some pictures of the mountains. The town of Bend, in the far background can be seen (left to right) Three Fingered Jack, Black Butte and Mount Jefferson. A lava field to the north of Sunriver. Mount Bachelor in the foreground and South Sister, Mount Multnomah, North Sister and Mount Washington behind. Just off the picture to the right is Broken Top.

August 20th saw the first day of the Northwest Antique Aircraft Club's (NWAAC) fly-in at Pearson Airport near Vancouver, WA. We decided, after enjoying last years event, to fly in, camp the night and then continue onto the town of Joseph which is located in the northeast corner of Oregon. The weather here on the coast has been very foggy and cloudy this year so we decided to tly over to Mulino (just to the south of Portland) on Thursday afternoon, camp for the night and then fly the short journey around Portland to Pearson on the Friday morning. The departure from Florence was a bumpy experience as by 2:00pm, when the cloud had dispersed, the northerly winds had started and this always makes the going turbulent. However, once a few miles inland over the Coast Range the flight always becomes ...

Having changed Tango Charlie's oil and oil filter, and checked the oil screen for large chunks of metal it was time to give the Cessna a local test flight to check everything was ok. It started off very foggy but by mid morning the fog had cleared from the airport and had receded up the Siuslaw River, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to take some pictures. The town of Florence. The Siuslaw River is down there somewhere! Looking westward to the sand dunes and the Ocean.

The problem with flying from the Oregon Coast to the higher areas of high desert to the east is that you have to cross two ranges of mountains, the Coastal Range and the Cascades. This year the weather on the Coast has been pretty cloudy and foggy in the morning so an early departure time is not that easy to achieve. We planned on visiting the small town of Sisters to the east of Eugene and just on the east side of the Cascades, it's been a favourite destination of ours ever since we first flew in there a few years ago. Crossing the Cascades during the heat of the day, especially with the 90 degree plus temperatures that are the norm in the Willamette Valley to the west of the Cascades and the high desert areas to the east, ...

Everytime we fly up or down the Oregon coast we are always amazed at the scenery, it always seems to look different than the time before but it always looks fantastic. This was no different on our return to Florence from the San Juan Islands. Once under the marine layer hanging over the Coastal Range we were out into bright sunshine and heading south admiring the sights. Bank of sea fog stretching into the distance. Tillamook Bay. Down the coast next to Tillamook Bay, looking at Cape Meares. Cape Meares. Cape Meares Wildlife Refuge (from 2,000ft). Yaquina Head. Newport, with dredger doing its stuff at the inlet. Cape Perpetua. Heceta Head.

Sunday 18th saw a small Antique Aircraft Club fly-in at Nehalem Bay (Manzanita) in aid of charity. We had made plans to fly to the San Juan Islands in Washington State and decided, as Nehalem is on the way, to fly up with some friends to see what was happening and to support the event. Scud running along the Oregon Coast. Low cloud (1,200ft) and a stiff headwind (24 knots) up the Oregon Coast were negotiated and after a quick fuel stop at Tillamook, 15 miles to the south of the destination, we arrived at the airport. Due to the weather the turn out was not as hoped but everyone seemed in good spirit with plenty of food on supply. After a few hours of talking and looking at aeroplanes we said our goodbyes to our friends and continued our journey, this ...

Mountains are unpredictable beasts and I've lost count the number of times we have thought of visiting one only to be deterred by the weather and it's now the time of year when, if you enjoy a comfortable time, there aren't many suitable days to do such a trip. Not to be completely discouraged we planned a trip just over into Washington State to have a look at the famous Mount St Helens, which is notorious for it's eruption back in 1980. It used to be a mountain but is now officially a National Volcanic Monument. The journey from Florence would take nearly two hours, so we planned on overnighting up near Portland, some 60 miles to the southwest and then attempt a flight to it early in the morning....if the weather permitted. We chose to camp the night at Stark's ...

Just returned from a few nights away and returned to Florence down along the coast. The wind was blowing the sea fog south along the shoreline at 16 knots and it was getting caught up on the capes which stick out into the Ocean. It seems that Heceta Head protects Florence from the worst of the fog, and today it was only tavelling as far as the Siuslaw River and not quite reaching the airport. The seaside town of Waldport, to the north of Florence. Fog being driven inland after being blown up against Cape Perpetua. The fog gets a bit thinner just past Cape Perpetua. Heceta Head and the lighthouse completely covered. Florence gets some protection from this area forcing the fog slightly out to sea. Florence Airport is usually the last Oregon Coast airport to get fogged in.....usually!!