Four Corners

I am planning a thousand mile survey of the four corners area starting from Phoenix area on April 19, 2014. Momina (the wife), Maheen (the daughter), and Zain (the son) will be with me.

We will fly from Boston to Phoenix on Southwest on April 18, then will rent a Cessna (172 or 182) for 10 to 15 hours from April 19 to April 24.

Some aspects of the plan are uncertain.

- Renting an airplane seems more complicated than it should be
(Update: Two people are interested in renting)
 - Some destinations (Like the Lower Antelope) are accessed on foot
- How to carry the enourmous luggage that the wife insists on taking, with two kids, and at high density altitude?
- Will the rental cars be available on all the airports we visit?
- Will we be able to get a hotel room during the spring break at the last minute, as plans will change?

The current plan takes us through Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.

The route of flight will be:
KCHD KRQE E91 5V5 KCNY KBCE KPGA T03 KGCN FLG SEZ CHD

Our friends John, and Anne will be flying with us in their own C172.

Places we will visit (in the order of visit, and nearest airport): 

Meteor Crater (KFLG)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteor_Crater,_Arizona

Window Rock (KRQE)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_Rock,_Arizona

Shiprock (5V5)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiprock

Canyon de Chelly (E91)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canyon_de_Chelly_National_Monument

Monument Valley / Mittens (E91)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_valley

Canyonlands National Park (KCNY)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canyonlands_National_Park

Arches National Park (KCNY)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arches_National_Park

Bryce Canyon (KBCE)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryce_Canyon

The Wave (KPGA)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wave,_AZ
This needs a pass:
http://www.thewave.info/CoyoteButtesNorthCode/Permits.html#walkin

Lower Antelope Canyon (KPGA)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antelope_Canyon

Grand Canyon Flyby (KGCN)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_canyon

Flagstaff (KFLG)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flagstaff,_AZ

Sedona (KSEZ)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedona,_AZ

 

Links for rent:


http://www.classicairaviation.com
http://www.aviatorstein.com

Landing at Alton Bay Seaplane Base (Without the floats)

When the Lake Winnipesaukee freezes over, the seaplane base at Alton Bay becomes a runway for the land aircrafts.  It is the only ice runway in the continental US.

It opens in late January for the land aircrafts, when its been cold for good two months, and the ice is thick enough. Its best to call and ask about the runway conditions before taking off. Its a bit difficult to find a day when all the factors work out to land safely at the base.

Light cross wind, and a good clear VFR day is preferred.

On Jan 25, 2014, things worked out just right for Zain and me to get to land on the frozen Alton Bay Seaplan Base (B18). We made a straight in approach from KLCI (North-West) side for runway 19. The wind was light right down the runway. A very helpful person on the CTAF (probably the restaurant owner) infromed us about the traffic situation, runway conditions, and wind.

We came in slower than usual with full flaps deployed a bit earlier, to slow us down to 60 knots. The tree line from 19 side is pretty low and it gave us enough separation to touch down in the first few hundred feet of the runway. Needed a few throttle adjustments to maintain the airspeed.

After the touchdown, I kept the feet off the brakes so that the plane comes to rest on its own, which it did with several hundred feet of runway to spare. I was told not to apply the brakes, and I did not. The Cessna's "un-aerodynamic" frame acts as the brakes.

We walked to a local Chinese Restaurant in Alton Bay, ate some food, and headed back.

Do not skip the runup on the way back thinking that the aircraft will move at 1800 rpm (runup RPM). It wont, or at least it did not for me.

On the way back, I did 3 instrument approaches and some holds to maintain the IFR currency.

What a day! Here are some pictures, and a video of the landing in the end.