Grants Pass Airport (3S8) sits at an altitude of 1,126ft so our 50+ mile journey from Crater Lake consisted of a gentle descent until we reached the high ground, including Walker Mountain, to the east of the airport.

The descent took us across the north of the Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport so I kept an ear out on their frequency just in case departing traffic was heading our way, it was still early and there was very little going on. One thing we did learn from the Medford ATIS was that there was a forest fire to the south with a TRA in place restricting flights into the area, this answered the question we had about the brown layer visible to the west, it was smoke from the fire being blown northwards.

As usual when we were ten miles out from 3S8 I made our initial CTAF call detailing our position, height and saying the important word…’INBOUND’. Several other aircraft in the area responded by announcing there positions, none of which would affect our approach.

Unlike most AWOS (Automated Weather Observation System) the one at Grants Pass shares it’s frequency with the CTAF. If you click 3 times on your PTT (push-to-talk) button while tuned into the CTAF frequency it will trigger a weather report, if you click 4 times you can also get a radio check. This arrangement does save having to switch between the CTAF and AWOS frequencies but could cause more radio chatter if the airport gets busy. Several times during our approach when attempting to make a call I was delayed from doing so by other pilots triggering the AWOS briefing, I’m undecided whether it’s a good solution or not.

The winds at 3S8 were calm so runway 30 was in use (preferred when the winds are calm) and a healthy number of aircraft could be heard in the pattern, including a large Carson Helicopters Sikorsky carrying out touch and goes. As we were approaching from the east we overflew the airport at midpoint and joined the lefthand downwind for 30. I kept a good lookout for the Carson Sikorsky which was still busy in the circuit but as we were on the base leg I saw it lift off from the 30 threshold and head out on another circuit. The surrounding mountains make the approach here a very scenic experience, in fact several years ago when we visited the airport by road we had discussed how nice it would be to fly in. Some years later we were actually doing it!

Chief Aircraft.

After landing we secured Tango Charlie and walked the short distance from the apron to the Chief Aircraft shop to buy some supplies. The last time we were here we were less than impressed by the customer service and yet again they failed to impress. The young girl who was sent to take our order knew nothing about aircraft or parts and as I did not know the exact part numbers our transaction was going nowhere. It was only after I asked to speak to someone who was knowledgable that we finally got what we were after (grease, oil filter, spark plug and beacon power unit) and were able to leave. It seems as though Chief just aren’t geared up for personal visitors and are more successful dealing with internet ordering.

The FBO kindly offered us a courtesy car (one of the best we have driven to date) to travel the short but too long to walk distance to Merlin for breakfast and we gratiously accepted. By now it was 10 o’clock but we could find only one eating place that was open, it was called the Riffle Cafe. Luckily for us it turned out to be very good and we both enjoyed the food and rustic charm of the premises.

Grants Pass courtesy car.

Back at the airport we arranged for Tango Charlie to be refuelled and asked where we could camp for the night (the Oregon Airport Directory, last published in 2003, said that camping was permitted). The ramp guys had to ask around as they were unaware of any camping facilities but luckily the Manager knew better and pointed us to a quiet grass area that sits behind the local EAA Chapter hangar. It looked really good, it consisted of a large grass area with trees to provide shade, a bench and table and most importantly a tap supplying drinkable water.

Tango Charlie parked by the Grants Pass camping area.

By now the heat was really building and clouds were building quickly to the east and south, it looked like thunderstorms would be upon us within a few hours. We set up camp and tried to get comfortable, which was difficult in what would turn out to be 104 degrees! Once the tent was up I went to investigate the nearby hangars that looked like they had an interesting selection of aircraft kept within them. The one aircraft that did standout was an L-29 Delfin which had been tied down outside the hangars and which looked very neglected. Apparently it had been brought to Grants Pass by someone from California and he had overshot the runway and plowed into some wooden posts, damaging the starboard wing. This was some 3 years ago, since then it had not moved. The tires were flat, there was signs of corrosion here and there and a large number of hornets had built their nests in it, it definately needs some TLC.

Neglected L-29 Delfin

Talking of hornets, they were everywhere! A nearby Cessna 150 which was also being neglected looked like it was home to them and most of the hangars had hornets nests on the bottom of the roofs….I kept well clear of them!

I got talking to a guy polishing his RV-6 and he mentioned he had a spare afternoon and offered us a trip out with him to the nearby Rogue Valley, we gratefully accepted the offer and spent a few enjoyable hours driving around doing a bit of sight seeing. By the time we had returned to the airport the thunderstorms threatening the area from the south were breaking up and, thankfully, the temperatures was beginning to decrease.

Rogue River

Rogue River

Rogue River

The next morning we checked with Florence Airport for the weather and as usual it was foggy with a low overcast. The heat was gradually building and it looked like it would be another sweltering day at Grants Pass. We decided to try and avoid the worst of the heat and some of the turbulance which was inevitable later by flying to Roseburg which is 60 miles to the north and out of the higher mountains which surround 3S8. Once there we borrowed the Roseburg FBOs courtesy car and went to have some breakfast at the nearby Sharis restaurant.

By the time we had returned to the airport the cloud and fog on the coast had lifted somewhat and so we decided to take-off and attempt a return to Florence before the afternoon winds got up and the thick sea fog swept in. We were successful! One thing that was noticeable to us and very suprising was the change in temperature that could be felt when we came within 10 miles of the coast, it felt like we had flown into a cooler. After the heat of the last few days this was very welcome!