May 3-5 2002 260se fly-in: Sedona

[kwmoore]

The second annual 260se fly-in will be May 3-5 at Sedona Arizona (SEZ). 260se/stol, 230se/stol, Bushmaster, Super Skylane, and Wren aircraft are welcome, as is anyone with an interest in these planes and a desire to enjoy good fellowship and hangar flying with nice folks in beautiful surroundings. Owners of other aircraft: don’t worry, we won’t make too much fun of how much runway you use or your shallow climb gradients! So far we have 10 aircraft--including a Wren-—and a total of 15 attendees signed up. The host FBO is Red Rock Aviation (520-282-1046).

Lodging is plentiful in Sedona and immediate surroundings. Last year many attendees stayed at SkyRanch Lodge (888-708-6400), an easy walk from the ramp. I already made my own reservations there and the rates were less than last year! There is also a fine restaurant right on the field serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner: Sedona Airport Restaurant. The Sedona area offers many attractions for family members for whom three days of nonstop flying and airplane talk may wear a bit thin: sightseeing, jeep or horseback tours, shopping, golf, and many other things.

The schedule is loose and informal. I have made reservations for the group for Saturday night dinner at the Sedona Airport Restaurant at 6:00 pm. In addition, I have volunteered to lead a sightseeing tour of Northern Arizona and Southern Utah on Saturday. Presuming good weather and enough interest—at least 3 or 4 planes would be nice!—we will depart at sunrise, have lunch/brunch at Gouldings at Monument Valley, and return to SEZ by 2-2:30 pm, enough time to relax a bit before dinner. I posted a list of suggested waypoints for this tour earlier on the yahoo groups forum and will have a more detailed printout available at the fly-in. Interested participants be sure to procure a current Grand Canyon Special Flight Rules Area VFR chart! In addition, like last year Todd can likely be persuaded to fly some dual with owners who want to brush up on their 260se/stol skills.

Please RSVP or address questions to me at n812kt2002@yahoo.com. I look forward to another terrific gathering and to meeting you all again.
:D

[kwmoore]

Tour waypoints; approx. 700 nm

Here is a more detailed description of the AZ/UT tour proposed for Saturday May 4 during the 260se fly-in. Charts needed: Grand Canyon VFR chart and either CG-19 WAC OR Las Vegas, Denver, and Phoenix sectionals. Plan to depart SEZ at 6:30 am (a bit after sunrise).

311o, 33.7 nm to Williams Clark Regional (P32). Note R2302 about 10 nm west of Flagstaff.

301o, 72 nm to Twin Peaks (N 36o 7.82'; W113o 16'), in the Grand Canyon Special Flight Rules Area. Monitor 127.05. Required altitude in the SFRA 11,500 or 13,500 (wheeze!).

359o, 8 nm to Grand Canyon Bar Ten (1Z1). Can go back to 10,500 or 12,500.

343o, 53 nm to Hurricane (1L8). Maintain at or above 10,500 to ensure 2000 agl. near Zion.

045o, 65 nm to Bryce Canyon (KBCE). Maintain at or above 11,500 to ensure 2000 agl.

020o, 47 nm to Wayne Wonderland (38U). ***Fuel opportunity***

072o, 42 nm to Hanksville VOR (HVE).

097o, 55 nm to Needles Outpost. Note R6413 to the north.

190o, 33 nm to intersection of routes 95 and 261 (N37o 34'; W109o 53'). 10,500 is likely OK here, perhaps with minor deviations to avoid local high terrain. ***Fuel opportunity*** at Blanding (KBDG).

Follow route 261 south, track 177o, 19 nm. For the best experience, descend to 7500 feet, about 1000 feet above the pine forested terrain, or lower if you care to do so. You will suddenly fly over a precipitous cliff (N37o 16.15'; W109o 56.58') and be rewarded with an expansive view of the painted desert, decorated with red rock spires and buttes!

Next stop is for brunch at Gouldings, 206o, 20 nm (N37o 0.7'; W110o 12.1'). There is an informative article about Gouldings/Monument Valley in the winter 2000/2001 issue of Pilot Getaways. This is a well-cared for graded and smooth dirt strip (southern-most 800 feet paved), land 16, takeoff 34, about 4000 feet long. Elevation 5192 feet. Left traffic for 16, landing slightly uphill (2.5% grade). It is a piece of cake for the 260se/stol and even relatively easy for almost any other GA single. Monitor 122.75 while sightseeing near the monuments and 122.9 when arriving or departing the field. I recommend you park in the paved parking area, not the dirt! The dirt is soft and it will be hellacious pushing your plane back onto the runway for departure. The paved area has some small stones; we'll try to arrange the planes so that we don't pepper each other with gravel on start-up.

***Fuel*** If you didn't gas up at Blanding, Cal Black Memorial (U96) is only 31 nm, 314o from Gouldings. It is the next waypoint in any case.

From the approximate area of U96, fly Lake Powell to Page (KPGA), approx. 220o, 52 nm.

From KPGA, fly 194o, 43 nm to the north terminus of the Grand Canyon Zuni Point corridor (N36o 17.38'; W111o 51.04'); then to the corridor's south terminus (N35o 58.33'; W111o 53.39'). Required altitudes are 10,500 or 12,500 in the SFRA. Monitor 120.05. At 10,500 you are within easy gliding distance of the rim at all times, with room to spare.

143o, 47 nm to Sunset Craters National Monument (FLG VOR, 040o, 11 nm).

198o, 28 nm back to SEZ. Stalwarts may wish to first see Meteor Crater (INW VOR, 244 o, 13 nm): from Sunset Craters fly 111o, 26 nm.

Please double-check all waypoint coordinates against your VFR charts! No warranty as to merchantability or fitness of coordinates stated here is expressed or implied!


“Medium tour,” approx. 560 nm

SEZ ý Sunset Craters ý Zuni South ý Zuni North ý Bryce Canyon ý order presented above to Gouldings ý Meteor Crater ý SEZ. Note that really cheap fuel is available at Holbrook (P14) for those willing to take a small detour to the east on the way home.

“Short tour,” approx 385 nm

SEZ ý Sunset Craters ý Zuni South ý Zuni North ý PGA ý U96 ý Gouldings ý Meteor Crater ý SEZ. Note that really cheap fuel is available at Holbrook (P14) for those willing to take a small detour to the east on the way home.

Fly-in brunch, approx. 305 nm

Just meet at Gouldings for brunch at about 10:00 am.

[Todd Peterson]

I like this new site.

[kwmoore]

I was reminded recently by a close friend that one's priorities should be

flying
golf
your sweetie
work

Not sure that this would be my own preferred order, but flying should be near the top in any case. That's why I'm ditching work for two days to attend the Sedona fly-in, and I think as many of you as possible should do the same! :)

I think my friend was on to something. Hope to see a lot of you there.

[n30dh]

I see 3 private strips in the area of Goulding Trading Post, which one do I head for, Monument Valley or Oijato or AZ Minerals?

[kwmoore]

N37o 0.7'; W110o 12.1'

Your GPS will take you right there. If you're sans GPS, the strip is a few miles west of the main cluster of monuments and is about 1/5 paved and 4/5 dirt. The paved part is closest to the ~800 foot bluff just off the departure end of rwy 16. The lodge is about 1/2 mile northwest of the 16 end. In aggregate these landmarks should suffice for identification.

I will not have my own plane--not finished for another week or two--and so will be unable to "lead" the tour. However if several other planes want to go, I'll be glad to come along as tour guide. If I'm riding in a 430- or 530-equipped plane, or if there's a handheld garmin, I can program the flight waypoints and everything will be cool! :cool: