Coast to Coast and back

[AmigOne]

After Oshkosh we will be continuing all the way to Seattle in my C. The route planned is Rapid City SD, Bozeman (KBZN) via Billings MT, Missoula (KMSO) via Helena, Coeur d'Alene ID (KCOE),Seattle via Ellensburg (KELN). So far the only stopover planned is KRAP to see Mt Rushmore and I was looking for suggestions on where else to overnite after KRAP. The "via" airports were selected to follow what I believe is the lowest terrain and most potential landing fields enroute. From KMSO to KCOE I see two routes, a southern one south of the Mullan Pass VOR and a northern, a bit longer, over the Clark Fork River which seems a bit "friendlier", I would appreciate if the locals can comment on this. In general any comments, pireps on stopovers, etc are welcome. I am a flatlander (northern Virgina) so please take this into account. Thanks

[Hank]

KRAP to KBIL is over the Badlands, which you will think go on forever, even at 140 knots. The valley from KBIL south to KCOD is plenty wide, anc KCOD is a nice stop to visit Yellowstone. Expect visibility to be in the 40-50 nm range, and to have trouble finding the airport on descent because you will be looking 20 nm past where it actually is. Bozeman is a cool town, but I've only been there commercial; the airport is on a bluff overlooking town down below.

 

Rushmore is worth seeing; the laser show in the evening is nice, too. If you plan properly you can find Crazy Horse which is nearby, but we opted to hang out at Rushmore for the laser show and salute to veterans instead of trying to find the other mountain as night was approaching. The FBO got us excellent pricing on a hotel with an indoor water park, almost half price when we checked in. Ditto a rental car--just call the KRAP FBO, I don't remember the name.

 

Have a good trip, take lots of pictures and fly safe! Those hills are tall, pointy and covered in snow even in August. It's strange being at 8500' and looking out and up on both sides . . . . .

[Parker_Woodruff]

I used Billings, MT to Great Falls, MT to Seattle, WA (TIW) when I did a similar trip which originated in Texas.

 

How high are you planning/willing/able to fly?

[Txbyker]

Just a word of caution, I will be in the Black Hills week of August 3 along with about 500,000 other bikers. Rushmore, hotels, etc will be packed. KRAP will charge more for overnight too.

[AmigOne]

Thanks TxByker, we are planning to be there on August 1 for just one night, but maybe will leave very early from Oshkosh, see the monument continue on and overnight in Sheridan WY.

[FlyTester]

I just flew the "tough" part of your trip in early July....a 7-day long flying vacation from Seattle to Montana and back.  In addition to some "long haul" flying in our C, I wanted to share with my Calcutta born/raised wife a slice or two of the real USA (what she calls Flyover America).

 

http://skyvector.com/?ll=48.02814167486452,-116.20349121326781&chart=301&zoom=5&plan=A.K1.KRNT:A.K1.KGPI:A.K1.KGGW:G.47.83491468798021,-110.43566894784476:A.K1.KBZN:A.K1.KLWS:A.K1.KRNT

 

I've crossed the Rockies hundreds of times in the flight levels but this was my first time doing so in a light aircraft.  I had CAVU weather on the outbound legs. Working our way home we picked our way around some localized convective systems.

 

Flying 12.5 to 13.5 kft, I found the rocks much less daunting than they looked on the map. Of course I had excellent (yet hot) weather and gave the storms a wide berth.  I flight planned IFR, but ultimately flew VFR with flight following for all but the final leg from KLWS to KRNT. 

 

Our first stop was Kalispell.  Glacier Jet Center was amazing.  I merely mentioned on the phone that I had a car reservation at National. On their own accord they picked up the car had it alongside the plane the moment the prop stopped.  We had planned to go to Glacier NP for the remainder of the day, but I wasn't feeling well so we explore downtown Kalispell instead.

 

Next stop was Glasgow.  Again another great FBO experience.  With the possibility of hail later in the week, Choice Aviation put our girl in a huge hangar for the several days we spent there for approx $20 night.  Self Serve/Full Serve was the same price, yet still cheaper than anything in the Seattle metro area.

 

Our plan was to explore the prairies and badlands the next few days and then go on to Townsend, MT to fly in the Big Sky Air Race before heading home to Seattle.  Unfortunately the heat that week was actually worse in Montana than Calcutta...101 in Glasgow (and no monsoon to cool things down!). The last thing I felt like doing was bouncing around at low altitude in the mountains, so I pulled out of the race and decided that moment to go to someplace cooler.

 

After enjoying a small-town rodeo and 4th of July celebrations in Missouri River country, we re-planned the rest of our tip.

 

My wife and I like to explore off the beaten path, away from tourist traps and huge crowds so never in a million years did I ever imagine I would visit Yellowstone NP, let alone at the peak of summer.  We managed to find a pet-friendly motel in Bozeman.  I briefly considered flying into West Yellowstone, but the decided it would be easier to get a car/lodging in Bozeman.  Also, the 8000ft density altitude at West Yellowstone was less than inviting.

 

I used Arlin's Air Service in Bozeman.  No problems there.  The National rental counter at the airport was too busy to deliver a car to the FBO so I spent some time at the terminal.

 

Arriving the next morning at the west entrance to Yellowstone, we found ourselves stuck in the first traffic jam of the day.  After entering the park we repeatedly played that game of pulling off the road briefly so the guy behind us would be stuck with the obscure-all, in-your-face-view of the RV in front of us.  Five minutes later, we found our next traffic jam.  We spent a half hour inching forward in this one before figuring out what it was about.  One of the few cars traveling in the opposite direction yelled "Bear!" out the window as they drove past.   Eventually we inched forward to a clearing and traffic stopped again.  I rolled down the window and stuck my head out expecting to see a brown speck in the distance. Instead I almost wet my pants to find a mama bear Grizzly AND two cubs foraging along the shoulder of the opposite lane.  At one point she paused and looked me straight in the eye and then thankfully decided she'd rather teach her cubs to pry grubs from a log than me from my car.  THAT, made the trip to Yellowstone totally worth it.  My wife was extremely impressed with the sheer number of geothermal features at every turn.  We made a loop of the park that day and other than than sprawling metropolis of Old Faithful, endured very little vehicular traffic the remainder of the day. 

 

We flew home the next day with a rest stop in Lewistown, ID.  Again another good FBO experience there too.

 

A couple of notes:

 

Crew consisted of two adults and one giant (20 lb) chihuahua. At our heaviest (return trip), we were 125 lbs less than MTOW.  Our "C" bulks out before it grosses out, but I wanted some weight margin too.

 

Forget the regs, I know my hypoxia symptoms start around 10K so I acquired an E-sized (685 l / 24 cu ft) portable O2 system in advance of the trip.  The humans used oxymizer canulas while the dog used an oxygen hood from 4-paws aviation.  [We don't have kids, so blowing $150 on an O2 hood for the dog didn't seem like an outrageous idea].

 

While no stranger to dealing with high density altitude in the western US, it was my first time operating our Power-Flow equipped M20C in these conditions.  At 5000 - 6000 ft DA, takeoffs were never a concern, but acceleration out of ground effect with the gear still down was almost nil.  Gear Up initial climb rates were 500 - 700 fpm, decreasing to <200 fpm at 13,000 ft.   (pretty much half of what I see in cooler weather).

 

Landing distance was never a factor with 5000+ ft runways. The most surprising density altitude effect was how abruptly the wing would stop flying in ground effect.  My normal sea level gentle touchdown technique resulted in some very firm touchdowns.  Carrying a little power into the touchdown helped - sometimes.

 

I measured true air speed/economy on several legs.  Best was 138 KTAS, at 13,500 ft and 8.27 GPH.

 

My partner and I recently aquired a Clarity SV ADS-B receiver and this was really the first opportunity to test it out.  Unfortunately, the FAA's network of FIS-B transmitters preclude reception any further eastward than extreme western edge of MT.  Naturally most of the weather I encountered was over central and eastern MT out of the reception area.

 

Salt Lake Center radar coverage over eastern and central Montana is typically only available above 9000 ft  (- if at all in some places).  Not that you'll need it for much more than an emergency precaution. Radio reception along my routes with Center and Flightwatch was always available with the exception of one dead spot 20 - 40 NE of Bozeman.   

 

BTW, I think HANK is mistaken.  Great Falls is on a bluff over looking the city.  Bozeman and Kalispell are in flat, wide valleys.

 

This was our longest airplane adventure to date. Both the wife and dog were troopers throughout and my wife has even indicated that she'd like to do something like this again. 

 

[Super Dave]

If you are already going to have camping gear on board from Oshkosh, I would check out 3V0 (Custer State Park Airstrip) as an alternative to KRAP. There is no FBO or fuel, but it's a great place to camp with your airplane. Fire ring, picnic tables, out houses and a shelter if needed. BlackhillsRV rents vehicles and will pick you up at the airport. Bring your own tie down ropes and water.

[AmigOne]

Praker,

I had my C up to 14.5 in preparation for this flight using portable oxygen. Airplane performed well, no mushy handling as others have reported. But if I fly that high it would have to be for short distances, the idea is to find valleys and enjoy the view.

[AmigOne]

Fly Tester,

thanks for taking time for providing interesting and useful comments. In my previous life as gainfully employed I had many working trips to India and one of them included a few days in Calcutta. I remember that it was hot but not as hot as this past week in the Washington DC area. Of all the countries I visited, to this day India remains as the most incredible and fascinating place on earth and I don't think they had reached the billion people (now 1.2) when I was there!!!

[rbridges]

I hope you have a great trip.  I'm very jealous of the experience.  Maybe one day when I can take that much time from work, I'll do the same thing.

[wiguy]

 Don't know your plans near Seattle, but the San Juan Islands have some cool airports, Friday Harbor may be tops.

[AmigOne]

Indeed San Juan Islands is in the plans. A friend from California visited over the 4th of July holidays and now will fly his Bonanza to meet us there.

[fantom]

The San Juan Islands are breathtaking!