Tuesday 30th June, 2009

Our next destination for a camping trip was McKenzie Bridge (00S), a small grass airfield 43 miles to the east of Eugene in the foothills of the Sisters Mountains. This is another of the Oregon Department of Aviation’s Warning Airports, here is what they have to say about the place…..

McKenzie Bridge State Airport is about 43 miles east of Eugene in the Cascade foothills and lies just south of Hwy 126. The airport offers easy access to the McKenzie River, and there are two nearby U.S. Forest Service campgrounds. Fly-in camping is allowed on the airport. The tie down area is near the east end on the north side, and there is a pit toilet nearby. There are two Forest Service helipads on the north side near mid-field. The ground here is very rough and uneven and should not be mistaken for the tie down area. A potable water source can be found near the Forest Service area.

At 2600′ long and 90′ wide, the airport is not particularly short or narrow for the elevation, but it is surrounded by trees and slopes up to the east at about 3.4%. Because of the slope and the higher terrain and trees on the east end, the runway is one-way only. Landings should not be attempted to the west, nor should take-offs be attempted to the east. The approach area on the west end has been cleared back for 100′, but the trees there are more than 120′ tall.

The runway is turf and is normally in good condition. It can be soft in the winter, and elk can make the surface rough. The west end has less slope than the east 1/3 of the runway. The runway is surrounded by 100′+ trees and significant turbulence and down drafts can be expected under strong crosswind conditions. Afternoon winds are often strong out of the west. Landing under such conditions is not recommended. There is also a +500′ ridge line about 1000′ south of the runway and parallel to it. The possibility of extreme turbulence under south wind conditions is very likely.

This is a little used airport that normally offers a secluded spot for outdoor recreation. The airport is occasionally used as a fire base in the summer, which pretty much eliminates seclusion during fire season.

The flight to 00S would take us close to Eugene Mahon Sweet Airport (KEUG) and right across the extended centerlines to their two parrallel runways. I thought a call to Cascade Approach for a Flight Following Service was sensible, it was a week day and regional jets and military jets are regular visitors to the airport. Indeed, as well approached at 4,500ft we were given instructions to change our heading to make way for a United Airlines flight that was inbound from the south. This seemed a bit overkill as the jet would pass well below us, I would have preferred a choice of making a climb to provide more seperation but I suppose the ATC controller knew best!

Eugene Mahon Sweet Airport. If you look carefully you can see the United regional jet on short final.

After watching the jet pass well below us we were given the all clear to continue on course, the ATC guy made it clear that he no longer wanted me on his frequency once we were past KEUG and I obliged by requesting a frequency change.

00S lies in the McKenzie River Valley at a very modest altitude of 1,620ft above sea level, but it is surrounded by much higher terrain on all sides. Flying at 4,500ft it is easy to navigate past the highest points leaving a descent when over the airfield, this also allows for a good look at the area for wildlife/other aircraft/etc before making the final approach.

The Blue River Dam just to the west of McKenzie Bridge.

The airfield looked deserted, no aircraft at the tie-downs, no helicopters at the USFS helipads and no large animals on the runway. I made a descending turn to the west, headed back down the valley descending all the while and then made a turn to final for runway 06.

McKenzie Bridge Airport.

Below is a picture I took a few months ago showing the layout of the land to the north of the airport. Being sandwiched inbetween 5,000ft+ mountains to the north and south creates an ‘interesting’ place to fly an aeroplane when the winds are blowing!

On short final the larger trees next to the approach get quite close to the aircraft, the trees down the runway appear to close in on you and this is not helped by the rising terrain to the south. I concentrated of keeping the approach speed down and aimed to touchdown on a nice looking area halfway along the runway. I had been told that the west portion of the runway was smoother than the eastern end and I preferred to play safe to avoid the barrier of 130ft+ high trees which surround the runway 24 threshold. On touchdown (ok, it took me two touchdowns on this occasion!) the runway surface seemed reasonably ok, but once we started taxying up the slope to the tie-downs it was a different matter. Looking back it probably would have been better to apply some power once I was a few feet off the ground and fly part way up the slope instead….maybe next time.

The approach to McKenzie Bridge. I think a hump on the ground caused the first touchdown, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!

It seemed that halfway along the runway the ground suddenly became very rutted and critter holes could be seen everywhere, it was a matter of applying as much power as was required to climb up the 3.5% gradient and doing the best to avoid the largest lumps on the way up. As we drew level with the tie-downs (I say ‘tie-downs’ but there was actually only one tie-down!) I parked up and immediately shutdown the engine, I did not want to manoeuvre the Cessna at slow speeds due to the risk of loose stones chipping the propeller.

On exiting the aircraft we were struck by the beauty of the place, it was going to be a pleasant visit.

Tango Charlie at McKenzie Bridge.

Looking down runway 24. The runway has a 3.5% gradient and is one way in and out.

The 24 threshold. These trees and the upslope means that a 06 departure is not to be recommended.

The high ground to the south of the airfield. When it gets windy here in the late morning/afternoon it gets very interesting!

USFS helipads. This picture was taken early in the morning, by 10:30am the windsock was fully out and shifting between the south and northwest. Having a good tiedown here is recommended.

After pitching our tent we explored the airfield to see what it had to offer. This included a basic but very usable ‘restroom’ located just behind the tie-downs and a source of potable water at the USFS helipads, what more could you want?

It was then time to investigate the local area. Although the airfield feels like it is in the middle of nowhere in reality Highway 126 runs right past it (however, the 126 is hardly that busy and it is very easy to ignore any noise that it does generate) and just half a mile down the road there is a USFS campground called Paradise. The campground and neighbouring picnic areas are right on the banks of the mighty McKenzie River and there are numerous points where you can get down to the waters edge. It’s not the sort of river you can swim in, but it is popular with anglers and people on rafts and in kayaks.

The McKenzie River.

Another of the mcKenzie but this time the water is travelling a bit quicker!

That evening, a few hours after sunset, we crawled out our tent and witnessed the best night sky we have ever seen, it was stunning and something we will always remember.

The next morning we got up early and packed up quickly as I wanted to miss the predicted wind from the east which would mean an unwelcome tailwind on takeoff. I mapped out a route to the top of the slope which avoided the majority of the ruts and loose stones on the runway but the area infront of the tiedowns was badly damaged by gophers and previous visitors, and loose rocks and ruts covered the surface. To avoid starting the engine while over this rough ground (and risk chipping the propeller) we tried to push Tango Charlie forward 20 yards to a clearer surface but in doing so managed to get the Cessna stuck in some of the numerous holes. In the end we rotated the aircraft it so it pointed down the slope allowing us to push it to a more suitable startup area.

We managed to get a reasonably smooth taxi up to the 24 threshold where we had cleared an area of all stones ready for my power checks (BTW I did not have a single chip on my propellor after this visit, I like to think all our hard work was worth while! ). By this time the windsock was clearly indicating a tailwind, but this was not going to be strong enough to prevent a departure especially with the runway providing a nice slope to aid our takeoff roll. We found out that taking off from McKenzie is quite an experience as the further you get down the runway/slope the taller the trees look infront of you!

Our destination was to be Crescent Lake, which is located 50 miles to the south of McKenzie Bridge, the second stage of our three day trip

To be continued!