Jump to content

Death Valley


Rjfanjet

Recommended Posts

So I want to fly here in my C. Just curious as to who has done it fairly recently?

The internet says poor to fair runway conditions.

Would like to know what to expect. I'll be flying from SLC, hopefully doing the flight in October or November.

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, Rjfanjet said:

So I want to fly here in my C. Just curious as to who has done it fairly recently?

The internet says poor to fair runway conditions.

Would like to know what to expect. I'll be flying from SLC, hopefully doing the flight in October or November.

Thanks!

I would do it too if the runway was decent.  Good question.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I flew to Stovepipe Wells L09 last year in my J.  Runway was okay, probably rate it as fair.  Lots of cracking and some mild upheavals of the asphalt along the cracks.  But the location is great, right next to the village and a couple mile walk to Mesquite Dunes.  My son and I camped near the airport for comet viewing.  The Ranger told us we need to camp a mile away from the road and airport.  Gee, at night five minutes walking and we called it a mile. 

The Park is trying to permanently close L09, purportedly to turn it into a dark sky viewing area.  Sign the register and voice your opinion.  Crazy that they think the airport and star gazing can't coexist.  There are no night ops, plus the big campground and village are adjoining.  Miles of open desert to make a viewing area.  More people need to use the airport to show a need for it.

Furnace Creek L06 is another gem.  I've landed there dozens of times over the years because there are so many things to do.  But I won't land there at this time.  (Drove there recently and walked the runway).  Really large cracks and upheavals that could damage a Mooney gear, in my opinion.  Funny thing is there are no plans to close that airport but it sure needs resurfacing.  How is it that Death Valley has hundreds of miles of nice smooth roads but they can't maintain a mile of runway?

Then there's Chicken Strip and the Saline Valley Hot Springs.  Definitely not for Mooneys, however.

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, Skyland said:

I flew to Stovepipe Wells L09 last year in my J.  Runway was okay, probably rate it as fair.  Lots of cracking and some mild upheavals of the asphalt along the cracks.  But the location is great, right next to the village and a couple mile walk to Mesquite Dunes.  My son and I camped near the airport for comet viewing.  The Ranger told us we need to camp a mile away from the road and airport.  Gee, at night five minutes walking and we called it a mile. 

The Park is trying to permanently close L09, purportedly to turn it into a dark sky viewing area.  Sign the register and voice your opinion.  Crazy that they think the airport and star gazing can't coexist.  There are no night ops, plus the big campground and village are adjoining.  Miles of open desert to make a viewing area.  More people need to use the airport to show a need for it.

Furnace Creek L06 is another gem.  I've landed there dozens of times over the years because there are so many things to do.  But I won't land there at this time.  (Drove there recently and walked the runway).  Really large cracks and upheavals that could damage a Mooney gear, in my opinion.  Funny thing is there are no plans to close that airport but it sure needs resurfacing.  How is it that Death Valley has hundreds of miles of nice smooth roads but they can't maintain a mile of runway?

Then there's Chicken Strip and the Saline Valley Hot Springs.  Definitely not for Mooneys, however.

Interesting, Agua Caliente L54 is a dark sky viewing area. No night operations at the airport and so no effect on viewing. Haven't been there for a couple years but the runway was in good shape at the time. There is a campground within walking distance of the airport and a little general store. It was at the beginning of Covid so not sure what the store hours are, they were closed at the time.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Death Valley had a flash flood last month.  The National Park Service (link below) shows both airports open, but there was a lot of damage in the surrounding area.  Last year the asphalt was fair when I was there, the deluge of water couldn't have helped.

Has anyone been there in the last month?

National Park Service website

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's been about four years since I've been to Furnace Creek and the runway was in awful shape, washboarded with lots of cracks.  I was thankful to get out of there without collapsing my landing gear.  I understand there's a better half or a portion of the runway that is in better shape, but I'm not bringing my bird back unless they repair it. 

Here are some remarks from the current "AFD" in Foreflight:

Runway 15/33:  Up to 4 inch salt heave and runway cracks.  could dmg aircraft with wheel fairings or cause a potential to blow out a tire.
pavement heaving, extremely rough surface.  potential for dmg to aircraft using this runway.

That's gonna be a no from me dawg...

Edited by MisfitSELF
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/18/2022 at 1:41 PM, Skyland said:

I flew to Stovepipe Wells L09 last year in my J.  Runway was okay, probably rate it as fair.  Lots of cracking and some mild upheavals of the asphalt along the cracks.  But the location is great, right next to the village and a couple mile walk to Mesquite Dunes.  My son and I camped near the airport for comet viewing.  The Ranger told us we need to camp a mile away from the road and airport.  Gee, at night five minutes walking and we called it a mile. 

The Park is trying to permanently close L09, purportedly to turn it into a dark sky viewing area.  Sign the register and voice your opinion.  Crazy that they think the airport and star gazing can't coexist.  There are no night ops, plus the big campground and village are adjoining.  Miles of open desert to make a viewing area.  More people need to use the airport to show a need for it.

Furnace Creek L06 is another gem.  I've landed there dozens of times over the years because there are so many things to do.  But I won't land there at this time.  (Drove there recently and walked the runway).  Really large cracks and upheavals that could damage a Mooney gear, in my opinion.  Funny thing is there are no plans to close that airport but it sure needs resurfacing.  How is it that Death Valley has hundreds of miles of nice smooth roads but they can't maintain a mile of runway?

Then there's Chicken Strip and the Saline Valley Hot Springs.  Definitely not for Mooneys, however.

Chicken Strip closed. Washed out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, N201MKTurbo said:

What ever happened to that multi-trillion dollar infrastructure bill? You would think there would be a few hundred grand to fix the runway.

Most of that money requires a 5% match so if the community is not behind the airport and there is no other way to get the match that money goes unused. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guess I don't know how it works when the feds own it.  I would assume that they get an allocation in some sort of general fund every year for the operations of the airport, but you know what assuming makes.  All I know is for city and county owned airports is depending on size you get $150,000 per year in NPE’s $159,000 per year in BIL funds (which is the infrastructure bill) and we have to match 10% on the NPE’s and 5% on the BIL funds on any project they qualify for. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.