Western Safari 2011?

[John Lawton]

Greetings all,

The weather has turned ugly here in SE Tennessee giving me some idle time to ponder a Western Safari for the summer of 2011. Last summer's trip included the Touring Motorglider Rendezvous in Minden, NV. Tom Muller and I did a 500k Minden to Bishop, CA, and back. A few days later we flew over to Parowan, UT for some more spectacular soaring, then I flew on to Durango, CO, for a couple of days before heading home. Needless to say it was a fabulous trip! Check out my gallery for some photos if you missed it.

I'm looking to do another western safari next summer in my X and I'm starting some early planning for the next adventure. As such, I'm putting out a call to all interested parties who would like to tag along to chime in with ideas of potential stops for the next trip.

Personally, I would like to spend some time turning circles over the Tetons, but would like to avoid Jackson Hole (it's a zoo in the summertime). Then, perhaps on to Glacier, MT, maybe Idaho. I haven't heard if the Minden thing is going to happen again, or Parowan, but both would be worth going to again. I'd love to rip another long flight out of Minden! My wife, Susan, wants to combine the soaring trip with a rafting trip down the Colorado or the Green River, or ???

I'm scouring back issues of Pilot Getaways magazine for possible destinations, i.e., fly in B&B's, restaurants, etc. Any suggestions are welcomed. The only criteria for the trip are good soaring, good food, and good scenery.

After all, it's what the Ximango was made for! Right? Load 'em up and lets go!

Regards,

John Lawton
Whitwell, TN (TN89)
Ximango #135

[Ron Snedecor]

Hey John,

If you're thinking about doing the Tetons drop into Driggs Idaho (DIJ) on the western slopes of the Tetons. Very interesting small town airport that's not very busy but has lots of warbirds, corporate jet condo/hangars, a museum of warbirds and a very nice FBO/restaurant. People that live in Jackson Hole can't build hangars at the Jackson Airport so they've taken their planes to Driggs. Hasn't affected the town which is still a nice little cow town. Small soaring operation on the field and nice fishing in the area. Tom Muller knows about this area. Also think about Telluride CO (TEX). Beautiful area, some of the most beautiful mountains in the US, good soaring, nice historic mining town. Ride the free gondola lift from town up to the ski area village for some great views. The airport is high, 9,070 ft, runway is 6,870 ft long with no obstructions as it sits on a 1,000 ft high mesa. With a DA of 11,800 ft Tom Muller easily got off in about a 2,000 to 2,500 foot roll with his 80 HP Ximango. Also check out the King Mountain Glider Park in Moore Idaho at King Mountain Glider Park. Fairly new, they usually have their meet in mid August. If you happen to travel more south stop in at Sedona AZ (SEZ). Beautiful red rock cliffs, nice on airport restaurant and a very nice motel a short walk off the airport with great views of the red rock valley. The airport and motel sit on a mesa above the town of Sedona. There is thermal soaring in the valley to the west and if the winds are right you can soar the Mogollon Rim above Sedona.

The Parowan ASA Meet is planned for June 20th to 30th, 2011 and though not confirmed yet, in the discussion for the Minden Touring Motorglider Meet the thought is to hold it on June 17th to 19th. It was thought this might be better to avoid interfering with the 4th of July weekend after the ASA Meet.

If you make it out for the Minden Meet early hopefully we could soar back down the Owens Valley/Sierras with interesting overnights in Bridgeport, Independence, and Lone Pine California. Another thought, more for touring and not soaring, would be to explore California gold rush country on the western slopes of the Sierras or wine country north of San Francisco.

Ron Snedecor

[John Lawton]

Hey Ron,

Great suggestions! King Mountain was one of the places I was giving serious consideration. The summertime soaring there is incredible! There are some B&B's scattered around, too, mostly at fishing spots. I'd be up for wetting a hook.

I could see another trip to Bridgeport for fish tacos, too!

Do you think you will be able to make it?

Regards,

John Lawton
Whitwell, TN (TN89)
Ximango #135

[Webmaster]

Hi John:

Richard Pearl sent out a preliminary notice regarding the fly-in this year. I posted it in the active forums and repeated it here ...

Greetings Touring Motor Glider enthusiasts, and happy holidays.

Were beginning our planning for the 2011 Fly-In. Last year we had 15 ships representing 7 different manufacturers, and a total of 25 pilots and guests, attending. Two pilots flew out from the East coast - impressive!

We've had such great success at Minden, Nevada that we're again going to hold it there, this year from Friday June 17 thru Sunday June 19. This will also give those who want to fly out to the ASA's Pawowan, Utah annual meeting an opportunity to link both events.

SoaringNV will again be the on-site host. They've been terrific in providing meeting space, presentation equipment, a Saturday BBQ, and local area and general aviation knowledge. If you want some specialized training, they're the people to see.

I'd like to get a "feel" for the potential number of participants, so I'd appreciate it if you would respond to me whether you're anticipating attending. If you know of any other likely attendees, have them sign up for this Yahoo group. We'll be using it for the Fly-In coordination.

For those new to the Fly-In, its an informal gathering to share experiences, learn from each other, and have fun. We have a group dinner at a local restaurant, a BBQ at the SoaringNV hanger (chef Fred), prelaunch weather briefings, advanced soaring presentations, and a technical roundtable about common aircraft situations. We arrange for local hotel accommodations and motel-airport transportation. There's no event fee.

The past two events have seen potential Touring motor glider buyers show up, and this is encouraged, so spread the word. This site can also be used for anyone who wants to set up other Touring Motor Glider fly-ins, so if you've got any ideas, this is the place to float them.

If you have any ideas, please call or email me.

Richard Pearl
Grob 109
Sacramento, CA

916.715.9666
pennyrich@aol.com

[Webmaster]

My brother and I are tentatively planning on doing the Minden Fly-In again and heading to Parowan. Motorglider will be ready this time as the Annual isn't due until August now.

We may include parts of the inbound or outbound legs along with those coming from the East Coast.

If you come as far as Idaho for the inbound and outbound legs you should come and visit us in the Columbia River Gorge on the WA/OR border. Absolutely beautiful scenery, great wines, food, hiking, fishing, white water rafting (great 2 hour trip 30 minutes from airport). Plus I should be able to include a tour of some of the UAV facilities at Insitu.

[John Lawton]

Hey Steve,

I'm going to have to give that some serious consideration. I'd love to see your operation. Susan doesn't really care what river we raft, just that we do a raft trip. So, that all sounds great!

A friend of mine put me onto a website that connects owners of vacation properties, i.e., condo's, cabins, houses, etc., directly to people who want to rent. No management company two step to deal with. There are some really smokin' deals to be had. I found a ski in ski out condo at Durango Mt. Colorado for cheaper than I can get a decent hotel room down in town.The address is VRBO is Vacation Rentals By Owner. It looks like there are some deals around Griggs, ID, if folks wanted to check out King Mountain. Moore, ID, where King Mountain is doesn't have much to offer, but Griggs looks pretty neat and is only about 60 nm or so east.

Haven't checked for possible lodging at Parowan or Minden yet, but I would imagine there are some deals to be had up around Cedar City and Tahoe.

I'm going to try and make Minden again, only this time for the whole event. Probably Parowan, too. I really like both areas and it's hard to beat the soaring!

More as it develops......

Regards,

John Lawton
Whitwell, TN (TN89)
Ximango #135

[Ron Snedecor]

John,

I'm definitely going to be at Minden and Parowan. I'd like to travel with you before of after but it's going to depend on how my annual and major overhaul of my exhaust system goes. Fish tacos sound good. One thing about King Mountain there isn't any fuel and I don't think Arco to the south has any either. So unless you use Mogas it could be quite a distance for fuel. I think Tom Muller is coming again from Georgia and Steve Chase from the east coast.

Here's some links for Driggs Idaho. We stayed at the Teton Valley Cabins. It was nice, reasonably priced, and near town.

Visiting Teton Valley

http://www.tetonvalleycabins.com/

http://www.tetonaviation.com/

Ron Snedecor