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Best way to Portland?

ilovecornfields
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jaylw314 Grand Master

jaylw314

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29 minutes ago, Steve W said:

A is prettier, but most people choose C I think.  RDD FJS MFR EUG UBG roughly...(also known as I-5).

V23 goes from RDD to BTG.  Easy to file. 

Looks like your flying into KTTD?  Watch out, their only instrument approach has circling minimums of 1000 MSL, so you might not be able to get in VFR or IFR if clouds roll in.

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ilovecornfields Grand Master

ilovecornfields

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Thanks for all of the great responses! I considered direct, but the terrain seemed rather inhospitable if something happened enroute. Not sure if going along the coastline is any better. Going east seemed to give the option of more places to stop if the weather became worse or I needed to land as well as the option of coming into Portland at a lower altitude through the Columbia River Gorge. I’ll try to go VFR but not sure if the weather will cooperate. I have FIKI but I’m not excited to test the theory that Mooneys handle ice well! 

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jaylw314 Grand Master

jaylw314

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2 hours ago, ilovecornfields said:

Thanks for all of the great responses! I considered direct, but the terrain seemed rather inhospitable if something happened enroute. Not sure if going along the coastline is any better. Going east seemed to give the option of more places to stop if the weather became worse or I needed to land as well as the option of coming into Portland at a lower altitude through the Columbia River Gorge. I’ll try to go VFR but not sure if the weather will cooperate. I have FIKI but I’m not excited to test the theory that Mooneys handle ice well! 

Most of our cloud layers typically top out between 6-8000 MSL above the Willamette Valley, where the valley elevation is about 200-300 MSL, so you have a good out if you get stuck above an icing layer.  Albany (S12), Salem (KSLE) and Corvallis (KCVO) all have instrument approaches that get you down to 3000-3500  MSL at the IAF, and V23 has a leg in that area with a MEA of 3000 MSL, so you could make a rapid descent enroute or to an approach to get under any icing layer.  From the central valley it's an fairly easy VFR flight to KTTD if you have a ceiling higher than 1500' MSL.  You just have to maneuver to the west of some hills south of KTTD.  Watch out if you make left traffic for 21 at KTTD, the left downwind to base goes over a pretty gnarly ridge as you turn base.

Going over Mt Shasta following the I-5 also puts you over a high valley (about 2000' MSL) with a few airports (KSIY, O46 and 1O6), so that would allow you to stay under clouds if necessary, or descend below the clouds, but the ends of the valley are tricky.  It's also east of V23 so you'd probably be VFR, but you'd have more options for airports in gliding distance.  The longest stretch without airports is the Shasta Lake area between 1O6 and O85/KRDD, a distance of about 25 miles in rugged terrain, which is glideable distance at altitude in a Mooney.

Practically, though, I'm guessing most people just take V23 if they're going IFR.

Edited by jaylw314
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Bob - S50 Grand Master

Bob - S50

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Next time I head for the Bay Area I plan to do something like this in reverse:

From KSTS RBL RDD 1O6 (Dunsmuir) O46 (Weed) Grena S03 (Ashland) OED (then either..) EUG or RBG to destination.

If I were you, I'd plan to stop at 7S5 (Independence) just southwest of Salem.  Fuel is currently $4.39 which is among the cheapest in the area (and a lot cheaper than TTD) and they have a nice diner on the field.  Buy some gas, stretch your legs, eat some food then head for your final destination below any weather.  Gas is at the south end of the ramp and the diner is at the north end of the ramp.  If you need to get down below the weather, 7S5 does not have an approach, but you could fly one into SLE a few miles away to get to VMC and then proceed VFR.

If weather does not permit going that route, I'd probably take the coast route.

Sometimes coming down the Columbia River gorge is ok, sometimes not.  Sometimes it will sock in and sometimes the winds will howl through there giving a rough ride.

Have the three basic routes in mind, then make your choice either the night before or the morning of based on weather and winds.

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Igor_U Mentor

Igor_U

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I second jaylw314 plan.

While weather is normally better East, MEA is 7000 between LTJ-BTG and if you cut corner at DSD, I believe is 12500’.

Normally, if you can enter Willamette Valley VFR, from south, you should be able to continue to PDX on lower altitudes, below freezing levels even if up north you need IFR.

I think I’d rather do that then cross over Columbia Gorge at 8000’, IMC with no TKS.

Good point about KTTD: new RNAV approach has even higher minimums then decommissioned NDB approach.

 

I’m flying to KHIO a weekend after, from north. Hopefully WX cooperates.

Have a good flight!

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jaylw314 Grand Master

jaylw314

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1 hour ago, Bob - S50 said:

If I were you, I'd plan to stop at 7S5 (Independence) just southwest of Salem.  Fuel is currently $4.39 which is among the cheapest in the area (and a lot cheaper than TTD) and they have a nice diner on the field.  Buy some gas, stretch your legs, eat some food then head for your final destination below any weather.  Gas is at the south end of the ramp and the diner is at the north end of the ramp.  If you need to get down below the weather, 7S5 does not have an approach, but you could fly one into SLE a few miles away to get to VMC and then proceed VFR.

+1.  Nutsch Aviation at 7S5 is the south-most of the two FBO's, and he has the cheapest fuel in the region, along with Twin Oaks (7S3) a little farther north.  Wayne Nutsch is a good guy, don't forget to say hello to Axle, his friendly Aussie Shepherd!

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gsxrpilot Grand Master

gsxrpilot

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I flew a similar route in my M20C once. But it was summer time and we went from Napa to Seattle with a stop in Roseburg. We were VFR as far as Roseburg and then filed IFR for the leg into Seattle.

We followed the I5 route up through northern California. Right about at Mount Shasta, Oakland Center handed me off to Seattle Center. I acknowledged Oakland but then forgot to check in with Seattle. After a few minutes Seattle Center was calling us on the radio. I answered and apologized for not checking in. The Seattle controller said not to worry, he was pretty sure we'd been distracted and were busy taking pictures of the massive just off our right wingtip. He was of course, correct.

Just a few minutes further and we did a circle around Crater Lake and another around Mount Thielsen (the lightning rod of the Cascades) before turning west to land at Roseburg. I would not want to go IFR into Roseburg unless I was very proficient. There is a fair amount of terrain very close to that runway.

It's a beautiful flight if VFR and you can see things.

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jaylw314 Grand Master

jaylw314

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8 hours ago, gsxrpilot said:

I flew a similar route in my M20C once. But it was summer time and we went from Napa to Seattle with a stop in Roseburg. We were VFR as far as Roseburg and then filed IFR for the leg into Seattle.

We followed the I5 route up through northern California. Right about at Mount Shasta, Oakland Center handed me off to Seattle Center. I acknowledged Oakland but then forgot to check in with Seattle. After a few minutes Seattle Center was calling us on the radio. I answered and apologized for not checking in. The Seattle controller said not to worry, he was pretty sure we'd been distracted and were busy taking pictures of the massive just off our right wingtip. He was of course, correct.

Just a few minutes further and we did a circle around Crater Lake and another around Mount Thielsen (the lightning rod of the Cascades) before turning west to land at Roseburg. I would not want to go IFR into Roseburg unless I was very proficient. There is a fair amount of terrain very close to that runway.

It's a beautiful flight if VFR and you can see things.

And that put that damn hill right in the  middle of the 34 traffic pattern at Roseburg.  You literally cannot see the airport on downwind.  You definitely don't want to be left of the approach course there!

Crater Lake is beautiful, but I have no pictures of it.  My wife was tasked to take photos, but before we had oxygen she would fall asleep every time we passed it.

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Pritch Community Regular

Pritch

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On ‎3‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 12:16 AM, gsxrpilot said:

I flew a similar route in my M20C once. But it was summer time and we went from Napa to Seattle with a stop in Roseburg. We were VFR as far as Roseburg and then filed IFR for the leg into Seattle.

We followed the I5 route up through northern California. Right about at Mount Shasta, Oakland Center handed me off to Seattle Center. I acknowledged Oakland but then forgot to check in with Seattle. After a few minutes Seattle Center was calling us on the radio. I answered and apologized for not checking in. The Seattle controller said not to worry, he was pretty sure we'd been distracted and were busy taking pictures of the massive just off our right wingtip. He was of course, correct.

Just a few minutes further and we did a circle around Crater Lake and another around Mount Thielsen (the lightning rod of the Cascades) before turning west to land at Roseburg. I would not want to go IFR into Roseburg unless I was very proficient. There is a fair amount of terrain very close to that runway.

It's a beautiful flight if VFR and you can see things.

You mean a picture like this

IMG_2074.JPG

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amillet Mentor

amillet

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I’ve flown both routes many times. Inland route is shorter but more prone to icing and mountain turbulence. I recall a flight where I chose the coastal route and listening to ATC talking to a Bonanza flying the inland route  that was picking up ice at 12;000 where the MEA wouldn’t allow lower.

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jaylw314 Grand Master

jaylw314

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On 3/9/2018 at 4:40 PM, ilovecornfields said:

Filed V23. Ended up getting direct EUG then UBG. Seattle Center was great. Gave me a block altitude 14-15k and let me divert around the weather at will. Portland is beautiful! I would post a picture but the ones already posted are way nicer than the ones I took! Thanks for all the help.

Nice!  I might have passed you going the other way, I was headed down to the Bay Area andthen LA.  Took a while to get to 15k in a J over the Siskiyous, and dodged a lot of clouds.

ATC was fantastic.  My wife would have married the one controller, he was that helpful :rolleyes:

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ilovecornfields Grand Master

ilovecornfields

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37 minutes ago, jaylw314 said:

Nice!  I might have passed you going the other way, I was headed down to the Bay Area andthen LA.  Took a while to get to 15k in a J over the Siskiyous, and dodged a lot of clouds.

ATC was fantastic.  My wife would have married the one controller, he was that helpful :rolleyes:

I heard a Mooney say they were unable to maintain 500 fpm climb rate but I forget the tail number. Sounds like the same controller. Couldn’t have been more helpful.

My son was really excited when we switched from Oakland to Seattle Center - he said “We’re in Seattle already? That was fast!”

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