Camping at Nehalem State Airport (3S7)

I've visited Nehalem State Airport a few times in the past, either by car or airplane, but finally had the opportunity to camp at the airport. Next to the runway there are six primitive camp sites (see photos below of each), each with a fire ring and picnic table. Each campsite has its own "charm" with varying amounts of seclusion as some sites are more exposed to the airport surroundings and others set back in the trees. There is also an outhouse and a water spigot on site. One can also make the five minute walk from the airport into Nehalem State Park and use the showers and facilities there. The airport sites are first come, first served and the fee is $11 per night. Though we brought a bundle of firewood, the camp hosts inside the park have firewood available for sale. Just hanging around the campsite is very relaxing, but the beach and Nehalem River are a short walk, as well as numerous walking trails within the state park. If you are a little more adventurous, the town of Manzanita is a thirty minute walk via the beach or residential roads. The weather each day was sunny and 70 degrees and the marine layer lingered most of the morning but cleared by noon. Keep this in mind if flying to 3S7 as you may have to wait around for the low ceilings to clear longer than you might like. In fact I've been a here a few times where the low overcast remained for several days in a row. There is no published instrument departure for this airport and rising terrain in all directions except west over the ocean, but mobile service is good so in theory you could get an IFR clearance on the ground to fly over the Nehalem River to the shoreline and then climb through the overcast over the ocean on course.  

Museum of Flight

It has been at least 10 years since I've been to the Museum of Flight,  but today had the opportunity to fly up from Oregon and spend a few hours there. When I lived in the Seattle area we'd regularly visit the Museum but this was the first time I was able to fly to the museum. I learned to fly at Boeing Field (KBFI) and it was fun flying the VFR arrival (also on the Seattle Fly charts) procedure(s) that I used to fly regularly during flight training. The museum has grown in exhibits since the last time I visited and was impressed at the latest static display and the square feet of aircraft on display. The vast floor space required was evident when you have a 787 parked next to a 747 as the two aircraft weren't crammed into the space. The space shuttle display was also quite impressive. 

747 Flight Test Engineer Stations

787 w/747 in Background

  

Florence, OR. (6S2)

Florence, OR. has been on my list of destinations to visit and after some virtual map research the historic old town of Florence has several restaurants and shops that are a short walk (20-30 minute) from the airport. 6S2 is greater than 50 miles from my home airport so it counts for some cross country time and is within range to classify this destination as a $100 hamburger spot. We had been trying to go Florence for a flying club outing for several months but couldn't get a break in the weather for several Saturdays. Finally had a nice June VFR day on the Oregon Coast and flew down with four airplanes. The walk to the water front took a leisurely 25 minutes and we grabbed some outside tables at Mari's Kitchen for some breakfast. Also, turns out there is a quaint coffee shop called River Roasters on the main drag, so now Florence is also on my $100 latte destination list.

Highway 101 Bridge

Woodland, WA (W27)

 

About 20 miles north of Portland is a small state airport adjacent to Woodland, WA (W27). The airport sits next to Interstate 5 so is easy to find. The winds here can be challenging and today was no exception (see the windsock in the below photo). There are also large trees on the south end so the best way to approach from the south is to turn a modified left base turn into a dogleg and fly a curved final to runway 32. The reason for flying here was to check out Daddy D's BBQ and to add another $100 hamburger to the list. If BBQ isn't for you, there is a Burgerville and a few other food options. Either way all are a 5-10 minute walk from the tie down area. In regards to Daddy D's, this BBQ is legit and even if you aren't flying in, stop here if traveling between Seattle and Portland on your next road trip.

Engine Break-in Flight to Yakima, WA.

One of the club airplanes recently got a new engine and needed some extended break-in flights (greater than one hour). Of course the destination had to have a restaurant and my first thought was to fly to Washington, but since I'd already been to all of the airport restaurants in the Puget Sound area, I scanned the sectional and the internet for a food destination that I hadn't been to and was also greater than one hour away. I came across a new (to me) cafe which was located on the Yakima airport. No walking or crew car required, just taxi to the end of runway 27 and park next to the restaurant. I invited another club member to fly along with me, and we were off to KYKM and grub at Reno's On The Runway.

Reno's adds a photo to their board when you fly in.

Lenticular cloud over Mt. Adams

 

  

Tillamook Air Museum

It has probably been 20 years since I've visited the Tillamook Air Museum (KTMK). The collection in this WWII blimp hangar has diminished over the years but there was still quite a lot to see. As I remember, the entire hangar was full of aircraft, but now only about half contains aircraft and the remaining half of the hangar is used for RV storage. You can still taxi to the museum via runway 01 and the taxi way has been repaved. There are also new hangars on the museum side of the airport. Something else that was nice to see, was that the Port Of Tillamook has renovated the pilot lounge and added a crew car.  In addition to visiting the museum, one can take the crew car into town to tour the Tillamook Creamery) or visit the beach.

Gives some size scale of different blimps

Chiloquin - 2S7

The fall ceilings were starting to look like we’d have to cancel the trip due to fog over the valley, but as the morning progressed, the skies opened up over KSLE as seen in this photo during a south-bound climb-out from Salem.

Once airborne, the weather turned out as forecast with the fog extending south to Eugene and then clear towards Klamath Falls. There were no concerns for the return trip as the fog was expected to clear well before our return arrival to KSLE. The flight down to 2S7 was beautiful and we passed just West of Crater Lake for some photo opportunities.
Our route this day was to head South East towards Creswell (77S) and then loosely parallel V452 until Crater Lake and Klamath Lake were in view, then proceed to 2S7. For those who haven’t flown to Chiloquin before, the airport’s location is deceiving as it’s between two ridges and not next to Agency Lake as it appears on the sectional. The landing was uneventful and we taxied to the parking area near mid-field adjacent to Highway 97.

Everyone was hungry and as our anticipation grew for a traditional café breakfast, much to our surprise after crossing the highway, was that the restaurant was closed. By the look of things, apparently the café has been INOP for a while (note to self, call ahead before flying 148 miles to get breakfast). Thanks to modern technology, we punched in our location on the smart phone and discovered that we were only a short walking distance into the town of Chiloquin. So, we trudged across the airport and followed a path that led to the main road into town. From there we spied a roadside diner and after all was said and done we walked about 20 minutes from the tie down area. The diner grub was excellent, and think everyone had the pulled pork, but their burgers and other fare looked really good too. After filling our bellies, we walked back to the airport and performed our pre-flight duties and departed for home. Since there were some pretty strong headwinds forecast for the return flight, we opted to stop at 77S for fuel on the way back in order to not have to worry about arriving at KSLE near or below fuel minimums.