CASCADE FLYERS

WENATCHEE AIRPORT

We went for a flight yesterday to KEAT, Weanatchee Regional Airport - pretty much on a whim. With the record warm tempratures in the Pacific Northwest, we much take advantage of the great weather when we can get it.

The flight over the Cascade Mountains was spectacular - the larch trees were in full color. On the east side the orchards were if full autumn color as well - amazing scenery.

Many airports in our country and around the world are named after some one - usually some great and heroic aviator. It's fun to learn the history of why airports are named the way they are. Wenatchee Airport is named "Pangborn" - the first to cross the Pacific from Japan. They dropped thier landing gear in the ocean so they could make it then did a controlled crash at Wenatchee Airport to win the prize.

The flight back to Boeing Field past Mt. Stuart and the Enchantments was just as awesome. Fall and winter flying on nice high-pressure days in the Nortwest can be fantastic - but you have to be ready to go when the opportunity arises!

 

 

WEEKEND FLYING- MOUNTAIN FLYING CHECKOUT & TRIP TO THE SAN JUAN ISLANDS

Milo and Craig took to the skies on Saturday - a gorgeous break from the coldest, wettest & cloudiest spring on record in the Northwest (RRrrrrg!)

Here is Milo's account:

"Hey - I flied a lot! I got my first flight to get checked out on the DA-40 and I got my mountain flying endorsement from my CFI at Galvin. We flied to Cle Elum at 8.30 am on Saturday morning... it was awesome! So awesome I decided to repeat the experience yesterday on the DA-20! I already posted some pix on FB. Let me include some in this message. Saturday afternoon, Craig and I got Stewie to FHR to have a late lazy Saturday lunch... awesome flight... and there's always something to learn from Craig!
As I told you yesterday in the afternoon I flied again to Cle Elum... going up was sweet... coming back was rougher because the wind - 20 KTS from 270 - picked up and the DA-20 was not enjoying that! :)"

Here is a great shot of Roche Harbor - and the ski slope landing strip there.

Happy pilots having fun!

Here are some photos from the public Cascade Flyers Facebook page, there is also a movie there too - check it out!

Landing and a great pose at beautiful Cle Elum airport:

 

THE iPAD FLIES TOO! WEEKEND FLYING - iPAD, MAP, REALITY, CUTE PILOT!

Matt & Cees took to the skies too over the weekend. These pilots on a mission to see if their iPad, discussed in a previous post here,  would track the aircraft's position in the air while flying using only GPS signal and not the cellular signal which was not available. 

It was proven to work! The proof is in the video here, 

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4ihPcjN7fE), sorry the embed is not working for now.

(But there is a GREAT shot of a VERY cute pilot at the end of the video as a reward)

Here is another beautiful screen shot of the moving map on the iPad, real time data - WOW!!!

WHY WE FLY - PART TWO - OCEAN SHORES, WASHINGTON

 

On spectacular day number two, two airplanes with Cascade Flyers pilots Milo O and Craig S flew to Ocean Shores, Washington, to the beach along with their passengers, co-pilots and friends.

photo by Anthony V.

Washington State Department of Aviation does such GREAT work for our precious airports.

 

photo by Anthony V.

photo by Milo O.

Happy pilots!

 

The beautiful beach gives way to a rugged rocky coastline that you can really only see and appreciate by air!

 

These photos show "why we fly"!

FLIGHT TO PORT TOWNSEND, WA

Here is a stunningly handsome group of pilots enjoying milkshakes and fries on the sunny deck of the Spruce Goose Cafe at Port Townsend/Jefferson County Airport while an old Beech taxis away from the fueling station. The maintenance shop next door allowed us to use their crew van to drive into town - a very highly recommended destination.

NORTHWEST AVIATION CONFERENCE PUYALLUP

Photo courtesy of Millo

A great group of pilots, friends of pilots and pilot-friends all gathered to attend the NW Aviation Conference this year. Airplanes flew in from the Seattle area and Oregon on Saturday, several drove in carpools and some were local - a great time and a great reason to fly on such a spectacular day.

Photo by Dylan

MOVING TO ALASKA IN A BUSH HAWK

I saw this plane the other day at Arlington Airport. The pilot was flying his Bush Hawk back to Alaska and his wife was driving the SUV while towing the U-haul. They were coming from spending some months in Arizona. Check out the Bush Hawk - incredible aircraft!

FLIGHT TO PACKWOOD AIRPORT

(photo by M.B)

Last Sunday we coordinated a somewhat last minute flight down to Pierce County/Thun field to meet up with some CF members one of whom owns a Grumman. We decided to fly in loose formation down to Packwood airport south of Mt. Rainier. The route took us over Longmire then through a small valley called Skag Creek. The valley had many waterfalls and was really beautiful. 

(photo by M.B)

The ceilings and visibility were good enough for some great views of Mt. Rainier. 

(photo by M.B.)

Our formation was not at tight as the blue angels - nor as fast. The Cessna could not keep up with the Grumman very well.

(photo by M.B.)

They cut down some of the trees that were directly on this approach to RWY 1 at Packwood. A nice little coffee shop is one block away; there is a bar and pizza place very near too - plus plenty of loggers in big pick-ups.

TEEN SUSPECTED AGAIN OF STEALING AIRPLANE

The Seattle Times is reporting another airplane stolen and flown from Bonners Ferry, Idaho to a crash landing near Granite Falls, Washington. This would be the same suspect who may have stolen two different airplanes in the San Juan Islands. 

TEEN BURGLAR STEALS AIRPLANES

I 

We had a beautiful flight up to Orcas Island yesterday and had lunch at Vern's Bayside. (My Swedish and Danish friends had the Dungenese Crab Melt, I had the Crab Louis, both excellent). The waitress talked for hours about the string of burglaries happening on Orcas Island around Eastsound. The culprit she said stole $10,000 from them last year and tried to get more recently. She thinks it is the same person.

Allegedly, the culprit is a delinquent teenager who is very interested in flying. Two airplanes have been stolen and found later after hard landings. The teen is on the loose...hiding out in the woods and escaping capture.

When we landed at Eastsound the News 4 helicopter was there and the island residents where all wound up by the events. 

This is a real mystery full of intrigue.. you can read the Seattle Times story here.