Katmai visit to Idaho

[Todd Peterson]

The weather is looking good for a trip with the King Katmai to the back country of Idaho this weekend. I plan on leaving Thursday and will return either Sunday or Monday. I plan to base out of McCall but I'm packing for the possibility of a little over night camping. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to this trip.

The Back Country Pilots Association is having their annual fly in at Johnson Creek and the IAA is planning a fly in at Garden Creek this same weekend. With luck I should be able to stop in at both events and say hi.

Anyone wanting a ride in the King Katmai or just to visit is welcome to join me. Give my shop a call if you would like the number of my cell and sat phone. I will be posting pictures on my return.

[Todd Peterson]

Just to clarify the Idaho trip will be the weekend of June 15th - 17th.

[Todd Peterson]

I just did a weather check and the weather looks best for my back country adventure late in the week. Due to this I am going to head out tomorrow and plan on coming back over the weekend. Damn this is going to be fun.

[joejenie]

Todd,

I'm heading up to the cabin on Friday morning, so if you need a place to stay or get a drink or whatever, let me know. I'm sure I'll be playing around the valley in my Scout on Saturday at least.

Joe Rainey

[Todd Peterson]

Thanks for the invitation.

My plans to leave today have been somewhat rained on by some heavy thunderstorms in the area. I'm not sure if I can get out today or not. I will head out on the first good weather day and if I do come through on Friday I will plan a fuel stop in Afton, WY. When are you heading back to St. George?

[joejenie]

I will be leaving St. George Friday morning to head up there and will be there until Monday late morning. If you need a place to stay, let me know. If you want to stay there tomorrow, let me know as well and I'll have the cleaning lady unlock it for you.

Joe

[Todd Peterson]

Well it finally looks like the Idaho trip is on. Ceilings this morning across Kansas are not good running from 500 ft to 2,300 ft with fog and drizzle. In a Cub or Husky I would just have to slog it out down low with the towers and other nasty things. I've done that a lot before and it is not fun or very safe. I therefore just filed an IFR departure, will climb to 8,000 ft and enjoy the ride. The weather in Colorado is clear so from there on it should be great VFR.

See you when I get back.

[Todd Peterson]

The Idaho trip was great and pictures will be posted shortly.

The early morning weather in Idaho was likewise very nice and the back country was spectacular. There are a lot of back country strips in Idaho suitable for a 230SE or a 260SE with the wheel pants on, so this kind of adventure isn't just for the big tire Katmai crowd. Johnson Creek and Indian Creek are two that could easily be flown with the stock landing gear. Indian Creek has that very remote, far away from civilization feel while Johnson Creek is like visiting a shopping mall (lots of people). I would say the majority of the back country strips could be easily visited with any of our airplanes by just removing the wheel pants. I have some great video of the approach into Johnson Creek to give everyone an idea of what the approach looks like and how nice some of these back country strips really are. This and all the other video will be posted on the adventures page of our web site in the next few weeks.

In the middle range of difficult are strips like Soldier Bar and Vines. Both are difficult and rough strips where the big tires come in handy. Vines looks to be about 900 ft long, very narrow with trees along both sides and both ends. In my opinion Vines is considerably more difficult than Soldier Bar. Like most of the strips the field elevation is over 4,000 ft. I also have a video of the approach and take off from Soldier Bar that will be posted.

In the extremely difficult range (some might say down right dangerous) is the area of dirt and rocks at Dewey Moore and the side of a mountain at Mile Hi. I was told two Super Cubs crashed at Mile Hi in the month or two before I got there. It's hard to imagine how many people have crashed at Dewey Moore. These two spots are rated the "most difficult" in Fly Idaho. This is a book I recommend highly to anyone flying to Idaho or just interested in their back country strips and history. I also visited Lower Loon which is rated the third most difficult strip after these two. Lower Loon was quite easy for the Katmai and I would not put it in the same catagory as Dewey Moore or Mile Hi.

For those not familiar with Dewey Moore it is a 700 ft narrow area of dirt and rocks in the bottom of a canyon. It faces into the side of a mountain so there is not one foot of over run. The approach comes down river with two turns prior to touch down. The trees and a mountain are just off the left wing tip on approach then a hard right turn is required to get lined up with a trail that you cannot see until the flare for landing. It is just the reverse for departure. Lift off then a hard left turn to miss the mountain about 700 feet from the end of the strip then another hard climbing right turn so you don't impact the other side of the canyon. With the early morning sun shinning in your eyes it requires ones full attention. I forgot to mention that once you start the final turn to landing there is no ability for a go around. It's either right or it's going to hurt. I visited Dewey Moore once on Friday and twice on Saturday. Talk about a glutton for punishment. Video of this will be coming shortly on our web site.

Mile Hi is a little worse. It is about 540 ft long at 5,800 ft elevation and there is no strip at all. It's just the grassy side of a mountain. A really steep mountain. If you under shoot the approach you will more than likely take out the landing gear as the ground just before the touch down spot is not good. If one stopped short of the top of the mountain I don't think full power would be enough to taxi to the top, in short I think you would be stuck on the side of the mountain. If you over shoot or simply land too fast then you just go off the other side of the mountain. I visited Mile Hi once on Friday and went back again on Saturday. Once again a real glutton for punishment. Likewise video of this will also be coming shortly.

The King Katmai handled both Dewey Moore and Mile Hi with a large safety margin. This clearly demonstrates the superior abilities of this airplane. There is nothing that is going to touch the King Katmai for safety, short field performance and all around versatility. Coming back home I thought about the all around value the King Katmai gives one. I filed and left Kansas in hard IFR conditions, with heavy head winds still easily made McCall, Idaho in a day, flew into the most difficult strips in the state, with its size it took the mountain turbulence well, allowed me to climb to 17,500 ft to grab a ground speed of 182 kts coming back home, required only one fuel stop each way and after having flown a thousand miles or so in a day I still felt good. I don't know of anything else that can come close to the all around performance of our airplanes.

More to come...........

I will get some thoughts put together of the strips along with pictures. There is nothing more beautiful than seeing a Katmai sitting on top of a lush green mountain at Mile Hi. While there I picked up a pine cone and a wild flower for Jo.

[kwmoore]

Great stuff! We're all envious.

While there I picked up a pine cone and a wild flower for Jo.
So, just how well did that wild flower hold up on the return trip? ;)

[Todd Peterson]

They actually held up pretty well. It was a bunch of real little wild flowers and as everyone knows it's the thought that counts.

[kwmoore]

Good thing you weren't in California. The Ecology Nazis could have had you fined or jailed!

[Todd Peterson]

The one thing I didn't need to worry about was someone up there watching me. There was nothing but wilderness for as far as the eye could see. It was a moment I will remember for quite some time.

[jkkniese]

OK. I'm ready to see the pictures. Todd, You've made us wait long enough!
Sounds like a great adventure. And what a great Sales aid!:)

[Todd Peterson]

Jo will finish downloading all the video and still pictures this weekend. The plan is to revamp the "Adventures" page on the Katmai-260SE website so that one can go through an index and pick out the back country adventures you would like to see. This would include video and still pictures both. In addition I will include the appropriate pages of information on each of these back country strips from Galen Hanselman's truly great book, "Fly Idaho" and a few of my thoughts on each of the strips. All this should be sent off to Bill on Monday so hopefully we can get it up and running in short order.

I will also be sending the Owners Forum a bunch of still pictures for posting this weekend.

Idaho and Utah are truly inspiring places to visit. For getting away from the crowds, rest, relaxation and rejuvination I don't think they can be beat. I will be back visiting different back country strips in both states this fall. Stay tuned.

Keep in mind most of these back country strips can be safely visited with a 230SE, 230 Katmai or a 260SE. This kind of adventure isn't just for the crowd with Tundra tires.

[kwmoore]

I will also be sending the Owners Forum a bunch of still pictures for posting this weekend.
The photos are now posted in the photo albums. (http://www.260sepilots.org/gallery/album03) Note that each strip Todd visited has its own nested album.

Enjoy! :cool:

[joejenie]

You need to quit posting pictures like this. It makes me want my plane tomorrow!;) Looks like a fun time and some really tough airports to me!

[Todd Peterson]

I had two good days of flying ahead of me, and I was determined to land at some nice back country strips. Normally most of this flying needs to be done early in the morning as it becomes dangerous later in the day when the wind comes up.

Friday morning saw me at the airport at 5:30 am getting the King Katmai ready. I had studied all the strips, practiced landings out of right turns, and really tried to do my homework. This is no place to go ill prepared. I decided to warm up on an easy strip like Indian Creek. Indian Creek went well, and I decided to press on to a little more difficult strip like Soldier Bar. I learned that at the cooler temperatures a final approach speed of 50 knots was way too fast; I needed to slow up more. Soldier Bar looked a little shorter than I thouht it would be, and it was a little rougher than I expected. Nothing bad, just not what I expected. The speed on final was around 48 knots, and I still had too much float--not slow enough yet. The next stop was Lower Loon which is rated the third most difficult strip in Idaho. Due to its difficulty rating I had actually planned to land there the next day, but things were going so well and I was feeling so good I did not want to wait. Why put off a great experience until tomorrow when you can do it today? Lower Loon was much easier than I expected. I could actually see the strip about a quarter of a mile out, and the turn to final was a gentle one. This strip is maybe 900 feet long with no go-around. The scenery surrounding Lower Loon is absolutely beautiful. The landing went well, I met some nice ranch hands, and we talked at length. They told me the winters "weren't really all that bad", yeah I bought that one, and I was invited to have coffee with them. Unfortunately I had to pass on the coffee as I still had a few strips to visit, and the morning was wearing on. I blew out of Lower Loon, took a right turn, and headed down the canyon to Vines. Vines looked to be a little more demanding as it is narrow with no overruns, kind of rocky, and around 900 feet long. I worked the speed on short final down to 45 knots, and it started to feel better. There was still some float, but not as much. Vines had a good feel to it, kind of like Lower Loon, and I enjoyed the view. Once out of Vines I had visited all the strips I planned to see the first day. The second day I planned to visit Dewey Moore, Mile Hi, and Lower Loon. As Lower Loon was already behind me, it just left the two "buggers", Dewey Moore and Mile Hi. By now it was about 9:00 am and I was just getting warmed up, so I figured what the heck. I'm in the neighborhood, I'm feeling good, the King Katmai's performance is just unbelievably spectacular, so let's have some fun and visit them too.

I found Dewey Moore and circled looking for any signs of wind or critters on the strip. The day before I had looked Dewey Moore over, and it initially had kind of a foreboding look. Dewey Moore is a narrow 700 foot-long trail that lies down in the bottom of a canyon nestled into a small clearing by a river at the base of a mountain. Dewey Moore points into the side of another mountain that did not appear to be more than 700 feet away from the departure end of the strip. Having seen it before, it didn't look so bad today. In fact, it looked like a fairly straight forward approach. Fly an approach way down in the bottom of a winding canyon, miss the rocks and trees, try to figure out which bend the strip hides behind, get the speed nailed, make a fairly tight right-hand turn at minimum airspeed, watch for sink over the river, and flare for a gentle landing on a narrow 700 foot strip that ends in the side of a mountain. It really didn't seem all that bad. I'm up for this. As I descended down into the canyon, I perked up and thought "This is going to be interesting."

[Todd Peterson]

The approach into Dewey Moore went well. I followed the bottom of the canyon and carefully watched the terrain closely. Dewey Moore can seem to pop out of nowhere if you're not careful. I also had Dewey Moore dialed in on my Garmin 430, so I had a mileage countdown which also helped. The first landing went very well. I picked up the meadow as I started around a bend in the canyon and immediately slowed up and got ready for the turn and landing. I can't really say what the airspeed was because I did not look at it. I would guess I made the corner somewhere around 48 knots. I then did something I rarely do. I dropped full flaps as I wanted to quickly "squat" right at the end of the strip. The full flaps dropped me over the river, into a nice flare, and to a soft landing. On my first visit to Dewey Moore I did not use more than 250 to 300 feet of the strip. I still had a fairly long taxi to the top where I shut down and decided to walk around for a bit. After I got out of the airplane, I must admit the landing did not really concern me all that much. I will say, though, the side of the mountain right off the end of the strip for departure did get my attention. It looked really close to the departure end of the strip. I mean really, really close. I decided to take a walk down the strip, look it over, and get a plan for the departure before resting a bit. As I walked further down the strip, I got a little better perspective of everything. Yes, the side of the mountain was close, but it was not as close as it looked. It was just really, really big. I would guess that from the start of the take off roll one would need to be off the ground and turned immediately to fly down the canyon at the end of the 700 foot strip. This would leave about 600 feet or so cushion with the side of the mountain. The next thing that caught my eye was the sun. It was just coming over the top of the mountain that I would be turning into just after lift off. Between the sun shinning directly in my eyes, and the side of the mountain I would be turning into being in the shade, it was hard to see. I would need to be very careful. I figured I would just hug the side of the mountain directly off the end of the strip because it was in the sun light. If I stayed close to it I should not have to worry about the mountain on the other side of the canyon. The canyon is narrow, so there is not a lot of wiggle room. This would need to be done right the first time. When you watch the take off and climb out on the video, it is quite apparent the sun could cause real problems if you aren't ready for it.

At that point I had walked almost to the approach end of the strip, and I started heading back up to the King Katmai. Once arriving at the airplane I took some time and relaxed a bit, confident that I could get out easily. I just had to remember to be careful of the sun. While there I snapped a few pictures and enjoyed the quiet of a real wilderness strip. It was just great. Mountains all around, a stream nearby, a beautiful airplane ready to go, and absolutely no one anywhere around.

As I still wanted to visit Mile Hi, I decided to head out. Here I learned a small but significant thing. On take off I made a left-hand turn in the small turn around area at the end of the strip. By going to the left I had to wait just a bit to come in with full power and line up with the strip as it is narrow, and I was beginning my take off roll at a slight angle to it. I decided the next time I came in I would make a right turn in the turn around area at the end of the strip, thus being lined up with the strip allowing me to come in with the power immediately. The first take off out of Dewey Moore used less than half the strip which meant I could build speed over the last half of the strip before turning down the canyon. I made the left turn, and immediately the sun was right in my eyes. I spaced out on the canyon wall to my right that was in the sun and everything went fine. The rate of climb was spectacular, and before I knew it I was out of the canyon.

In retrospect, my first flight into Dewey Moore was not as difficult as I thought it might be. With that said, don't think for a moment that a sloppy pilot would be safe. It takes exact speed and altitude control while maneuvering with rocks and trees all around you. It also takes some self confidence; it is no place for a pilot who isn't sure he can make it. I also find that the ability to focus on the task at hand comes in very handy. I am easily able to "tune out" all the distractions and worries and concentrate only on the approach and landing. As I say on the website, if a 700 foot strip looks short to you, without question, you should not be here. If the fact mountains towering well above you bothers or distracts you, once again, this is not the place for you. Or, if you are worrying about the fact that once committed you cannot make a go around, don't do it. However, with all that said, a King Katmai flown by a competent back country pilot can visit Dewey Moore with a huge safety margin. I flew back into Dewey Moore the following day with the same results. After departure I flew a couple of miles down the canyon and decided, by golly, I was going to go back and do it again. I reversed course over Vines and headed back in for another shot at it. I was able to fine tune the approach a little, and by doing so stopped within 250 feet each time. This left almost twice the landing distance as a safety margin--pretty good by anyone's standards. On take off I came in with full power immediately out of a right-hand turn around and was off the ground consistently in not much more than a third of the runway. This was with 60 gallons of fuel and a load of camp gear.

The slow-speed maneuverability of the King Katmai and its staggering rate of climb paid off here. The flight in and out while maneuvering was easy and safe. This is one of the advantages of being able to fly slow while maintaining a safe, flat attitude. Visibility over the nose was great, as seen in the video clip. It didn't make any difference whether it was on the approach, roll out, take off, or climb out, I always had good over-the-nose visibility. The flat attitude allows smooth air flow over the top of the wing, so aileron control is fantastic. With no high angles of attack, the stall resistance is superb. I just don't know how it could be any better. These are just a few of the things that separate our aircraft from all the others--maximum performance while maintaining safety.

Next on the list was Mile Hi. Judging from everything I had read and seen, it would be a little more difficult. The weather was great, I was feeling good, and I was ready for the next adventure. I started climbing out of the canyon and headed the short distance to Mile Hi.

[Todd Peterson]

Mile Hi is a short flight from Dewey Moore. I had difficulty locating the exact area at first, but as I circled it became clearly visible. Even with a field elevation of 5,800 feet, the 540 foot length of the strip didn't concern me as much as the slope of the mountain side. I decided to make a low, slow fly by to check the slope, the surface, and for critters that might be close. I lined up as if I were making an approach to landing, dropped twenty degrees of flaps, and flew up the mountain side. The slope was as steep as I expected, and I doubt the average airplane would have the performance necessary after touch down to successfully do a go-around. It is simply too steep. After the fly by I set up my approach and found it helpful to set the strip direction on the DG's heading bug. It made the positional awareness a little better as I constantly had the direction of the strip in mind as I circled around for the landing. I slowed once again, dropped flaps, and started my descent. Just over the mountains and trees turning final I slowed to 48 kts and continued the approach. I kept the flap setting at my usual twenty degrees, and as I approached the touch down point I continued slowing to about 43 kts. At this speed I still had a lot of reserve lift and power--just in case. I knew after carefully studying this strip that one did not want to land short of a small group of trees, so I made sure I had the touch down spot clearly picked out and the approach set up to minimize the float. Coming up on the touchdown spot I slowed to a very safe 40 kts and began the flare. The flare and touchdown went well, and before I knew it I was stopped well short of the top. I then found out how much power is required to get to the top, and it was "a bunch". I made a mental note to either get off the brakes earlier next time (which is hard to do when you're kind of pumped up), or simply land a little longer. Because I normally fly my demo flights into strips that may be no longer than 200 feet or so, jumping on the brakes quickly becomes a habit that is sometimes hard to break. Once at the top I turned around, and my next surprise was the side slope at the top of the hill. It was more than I expected, but nothing that caused any particular worry. Once the airplane came to a stop I got out to survey the strip and the surrounding country side.

The strip itself is quite smooth and a load of fun. It was apparent the problem on take off would be properly lining up with a strip you cannot see. If you are not properly lined up on the rather narrow strip of mountain side when the power comes in and you start down the hill, you could have a serious problem. Once the power is in and you are committed to the take off, there is no way to stop the airplane to try it again. You are committed to the take off, and if you haven't lined up properly, things are going to go to pot in a hurry. I located the proper reference points for alignment and decided to take a rest under some nearby pine trees. While taking in the scenery and the quiet, I thought about this strip. The approach and landing went much easier than I expected. The strip on final looks very, very short, but then again I am comfortable with that, therefore it was not a big concern. However, Mountain Hi does require a lot of precision. Land too short and clean out the landing gear, stop too short and have a hard time getting to the top, land too fast and go over the back side of the mountain top, or line up improperly on take off and have an entirely different set of problems. I can see why so few go there. The view is spectacular, though, and more than makes up for its difficulty. As I sat under the pine trees, the only sound I could hear was a couple of ground squirrels talking to me. It was another one of those moments I will remember for a life time. I picked up a pine cone and a little bunch of wild flowers for Jo and wished she could have been there with me. The King Katmai sat there in all its magnificent splendor waiting for my return--it also was beautiful. Once my rest was over, I thought it time to head back to McCall. In one morning I had visited Indian Creek, Soldier Bar, Vines, Lower Loon, Dewey Moore, and Mile Hi. It was a very good morning, and I felt a great sense of accomplishment. While taxiing I took a couple looks at the strip and how to line up. Once I had that well in mind, I taxiied back and came in with the power. The fact I could not see the strip at that time did not bother me much. As I started down the back side of the mountain I found the alignment was just right, and I easily lifted off in about half the length. Once off I climbed up to about 10,000 feet for the short trip back to McCall. The flight back to McCall was a little bumpy, but once again the view was great. Mountains, canyons, and rivers everywhere the eye could see.

After landing at McCall, I taxiied up to the fuel pumps, shut the engine down, and got out. Once the airplane was fueled, I tied it down and thought about getting some rest. Although the time was 11:00 am, it had already been a full day as well as a most satisfying one. The King Katmai had done everything I asked of it and performed better than even I expected. In the most difficult backcountry strips it provided a large margin of safety. Never once did I feel the airplane was outmatched by the strip. In fact, the King Katmai is capable of much more difficult strips than either Dewey Moore or Mile Hi while still keeping a good margin of safety. This is why I feel the need to do these flight evaluations. Not only is it flying that is incredibly satisfying, but it clearly shows the airplane is capable of doing the job. This trip proved that nothing on the airplane needs to be changed, and nothing more in terms of development is required.

The next day would my last day in Idaho, and I wanted to visit a few of the more difficult strips again. This time I would video the landing and take off for everyone's enjoyment. I also knew that there might be a few out there, not my customers mind you, that might harbor a little doubt that the King Katmai could so easily operate in and out of Dewey Moore and Mile Hi, or for that matter, that I was there at all. Nope, at the end of this trip there would be no one doubting the airplane's ability--no one at all.