Camping at Johnson Creek

DAY SIX - EIGHT:


Tied Down at Johnson Creek


Camp under the trees or under your wing

At Johnson Creek, the State of Idaho has provided facilities including showers, toilets and a telephone. Just bring a tent, sleeping bag and food. You must arrive by airplane, you are not allowed to camp if you arrive by road. There are several vans available to drive into Yellow Pine. There is even a webcam on the field (http://www.ruralnetwork.net/johnsoncreek/) to check conditions.


Johnson Creek - Extreme Camping for Pilots

It is a good idea to phone ahead and confirm that there isn’t a fly-in scheduled at the same time you plan to visit if you want peace and quiet. Each year type clubs including the Cessna Stationairs, Maules, Supercubs and others organize fly-ins at Johnson Creek. During the weekend of the annual International Harmonica Festival at Yellow Pine, there could be 80 aircraft parked on the field and the camping sites around the perimeter will be full. If you want a quiet time sitting under the trees, you will not find it at Johnson Creek during those fly-in weekends.


The Airstrip at Johnson Creek

Dave goes to Idaho when everyone else in North America goes to some fly-in near Oshkosh. We had Johnson Creek practically to ourselves. We settled into our camp sites. Darryl had a Turbo Cessna 206, an airplane ideally suited for backcountry camping. Darryl had removed the back seats and outfitted the back as sleeping quarters. He could haul several hundred pounds of camping gear. He had more stuff in the back than that Canadian Tire guy. He pulled a camp fridge, reclining chairs and power tools out of his airplane.

I met Mike from Arizona. Mike is a coffee consultant – he makes his living showing people how to run coffee franchises. Mike had a beautiful Stinson, and it was his first trip into these mountains.


Mike Lands the Stinson

Finally, I met Ward, a friend of Dave’s from his Navy P3 days. He had flown up to Idaho in his Cessna 310. Ward lives in Austin Texas where his wife runs a large company and Michael Dell is his next-door neighbour. Ward brought his twin Cessna in with great style on his first approach.

Our plan for the next few days was to wake up early, pick a destination to fly to for breakfast, fly out, walk around the new strip, eat a great breakfast and fly back to Johnson Creek before noon. In the afternoon, we washed and polished our airplanes and then went hiking around Johnson Creek. We either cooked supper over the grill at the campsite, or drove into Yellow Pine in the van for a healthy burger and ale at the local general store/tavern. This is pilot heaven.


Yellow Pine, Idaho


The International Harmonica Festival is held in Yellow Pine

There were several airstrips nearby that serve outfitting camps. I don’t hunt, but elk hunting is very popular here in the Fall. The local outfitting camps all have their own back-country airstrips and will serve breakfast or lunch to anyone who flies in. Big Creek and Sulpher Creek are two popular resorts, both within 20 minutes flying time of JC.


Hiking Above Johnson Creek

Day Six through Day Eight: Camped at Johnson Creek (3U2) Idaho, 27 Jul

Idaho Falls to Johnson Creek

DAY FIVE, 27 July 2005:

After my de-brief and new signatures in my logbook, I took off from Idaho Falls for McCall (KMYL), Idaho. I had arranged to meet my friend Dave at McCall. Dave was flying up from Phoenix Arizona, and we would rendezvous at McCall before heading into the mountains for a few days of camping.

I was about an hour late when I landed at McCall. I taxied to the self-serve pumps, but there was no sign of Dave. I checked with the FBO, but they assured me that they had not seen a Piper Dakota nor a Cessna 206 arrive from Arizona that morning. They suggested that my friends had probably stopped somewhere for lunch en-route.

While I was standing beside the Husky, Tim Clifford walked over to introduce himself. Tim is a Husky owner from Florida. He had flown up to Idaho to take mountain flying lessons. Tim introduced me to Lori McNichol, who runs the Mountain Flying School at McCall. The school is housed in a log cabin right on the ramp at McCall. The Mountain Flying School is one of several flying schools that aim their curriculum at pilots who are preparing to fly into mountain or back-country strips such as those in Idaho.

Lori described how pilots get into situations that they are not prepared for when flying in the mountains and canyons. She explained how she flies with each pilot in his own aircraft, or one of the Super Cubs available through the school. The program is extremely popular, the courses are normally sold out at least six months in advance and many pilots come back for recurrent or advanced training. I felt that a mountain flying program would be a sensible and worthwhile investment before my next adventure.


C-GTHY at the Mountain Flying School (background) McCall Idaho

I was sitting in front of the school when Dave taxied in. He knew he had found me when he saw a bright yellow airplane with a funny registration. He and Darryl had stopped in King City, Nevada for some cheap fuel and a free lunch. A casino with it’s own airstrip can be a real bargain if you don’t stay to gamble.

We walked across the road to buy groceries. The stores in McCall sell everything from baked beans to beer and camping gear. This would be a guys-only camping trip, so we bought everything that we needed, which was mostly canned beans and beer.

We loaded up Dave’s Dakota. He had removed the back seats and left them in his hangar to leave lots of room. Dave gave me a briefing on the approach into Johnson Creek, told me to follow him, and we took off in our separate aircraft. Dave is a retired Naval Aviator, a former instructor, currently a South-West Airlines pilot and he has a gazillion flight hours.

I was able to follow Dave’s Dakota until we were overhead Johnson Creek. The strip is relatively long and wide for a mountain strip, but the approach that Dave preferred was to descend over the town of Yellow Pine, downriver from Johnson Creek, and follow the right side of the river upstream to the airstrip.


Following the River to the Airstrip at Johnson Creek

This is not a straight line, Dave warned me that I would not see the strip until short final and that I would have to commit to landing or go-around at that point. Dave’s friend Darryl was on the ground, and described the conditions as “easy, winds calm, no problems”. Darryl is also a South West airline pilot, with a ton of experience in the mountains and a wicked sense of humour.

Dave landed and taxied clear, then I flew over Yellow Pine and descended into the river canyon. I seemed awfully close to the trees, and my ground speed seemed very high. As I rounded the last corner, I was thinking I was low but fast.


Final at Johnson Creek

Actually, I was actually both much higher and faster than I thought I was. I had the throttle at idle, the prop at fine pitch, the flaps out full, and I was looking for an anchor to throw out. A Husky absolutely refuses to land gracefully if too fast on final. I glided on, far past the point where Dave and Darryl assumed I would touch down. Finally, somewhere near the second half of the runway, she settled onto the grass and rolled to a stop. From flying to stopped on the grass only took 200 feet, but I was well past the midway point of the runway when I touched down. I looked at the windsock. There was a seven-knot tailwind at the North end of the field when I landed, and the wind down the canyon took me along for the ride. Why didn’t I notice that when I overflew the field? There were so many things to look for, the conditions that Darryl assumed were benign were obviously quite challenging for me.


Short Final - Come Around the Last Corner, Slow Flight and Configured to Land


The Gang Tied Down at Johnson Creek - Stinson, Husky, Piper Dakota, Cessna T206

Day Five: Departed KIDA Idaho Falls; Fuel at KMYL McCall Idaho; Arrived 3U2 Johnson Creek Idaho

Visit to the Aviat Factory and More Tailwheel Instruction

DAY FOUR:

Early next morning I met Bob Jones at the Idaho Falls airport. Our first flight would be a short hop over to Afton Wyoming to visit the Aviat factory. There was a small problem with the rigging of my Husky, and Aviat had offered to straighten things out.


The Aviat Aircraft Factory – a new Husky being built

Crossing over a 9,500 foot ridge from Idaho Falls, the town of Afton Wyoming lies in a valley at 6,200 feet elevation. The Aviat Aircraft factory builds certified aircraft, including the Husky and the Pitts aerobatic biplane. Aviat will also re-cover, repair or refurbish older Pitts or Huskies. I was given a tour of the factory, including the hangar where damaged or tired Huskies and Pits were being rebuilt to new specs. I met the factory pilot, Mark Heiner, who showed me the Husky prototype, now a test-bed with a new wing. The 2006 Husky has redesigned ailerons, and no spades on the wings. This is an improvement, since this new Husky will have fewer things hanging off the wings. It also makes the Husky more responsive in roll and the new flaps allow a much steeper descent rate.

Mark gave me a set of rubber bumpers to cover the flap hinges on my aircraft. I usually remember to warn people about those hinges, but I was embarrassed when someone at Rockliffe hurt himself looking at my airplane. I now call these rubber bumpers “Chris Hobbs Head Protectors”.

It was noon when Bob Jones and I left Afton. Jonesy had me practice canyon turns and stalls at 9,500 feet. This looked different to me, since we were only 1,000 ft AGL. We flew over to Rainbow Ranch and did several stop ‘n goes at Bob Hoff’s grass strip. I learned that I had not been aggressive enough with my Husky; I was used to flying nice square circuits in Ottawa, and I was flying the speeds recommended in the POH – speeds that Jonesy assured me were too high for landing a Husky without drama. Instead of using 1.3 VSO, Jonesy had me find the actual stall speed and then use 1.1 of that stall speed on final. The Husky looks like a Super Cub, but it is much cleaner and does not lose speed like a Cub. Too much speed in the flare means that the Husky will float the entire length of a short strip – not a good thing at one-way strips in the mountains.


Rainbow Ranch - Bob Hoff's Grass Strip

After putting a few divots in Bob Hoff’s beautiful grass strip, we flew back to Idaho Falls for more circuits. It was 95’ Fahrenheit and Idaho Falls airport density altitude was over 10,000 feet. Since I normally fly from an airport that is basically at sea-level, I was pretty tired and falling behind the airplane. I was very humble by the time we called it quits and went out for dinner with Bob Hoff.

The next morning, Bob Jones and I met at 0700 and went for a short flight in the cool morning air. What was different? Everything! The airplane responded the way I remembered it should. The landings were nice, three pointers or wheelies with no bounces. No grumbles from Jonesy in the back seat. It was time to quit while everything was working. We talked over what I had learnt during the previous days. I had managed to learn the right way to fly the Husky and corrected several bad habits.

Billings to Idaho Falls, Idaho

DAY THREE:

July 25th was my introduction to a completely different kind of flying. I had flown over mountains in New Mexico and Arizona in the Baron, but now I would be flying through the mountain passes.

Billings airport is at 3,700 ft., but 40 miles further west the landscape rises abruptly at the eastern edge of the Craz and Absaroka mountain ranges, which rise to 13,000 ft. The ceilings were low, the cloud bases were about 2500 ft AGL in Billings. I filed a flight plan for Idaho Falls, got some technical advice from Flight Service, (“If in doubt, stay VFR and just follow the Interstate”), and climbed into the airplane.

My call to Billings Ground for taxi clearance was met with a curt reply “The airport is now below limits, what are your intentions?” The ceiling had dropped dramatically, and since Billings airport sits on top of a hill, the cloud base was only 150ft AGL. I was not in a hurry and I could wait for the weather to clear, but I listened to a VFR-only Bonanza pilot circle the airport at 9,500 ft looking for a hole to descend. From the sound of the pilot’s voice, he was not having a good day. If you travel cross-country, it is wise to get your IFR rating and stay current, even if you never plan to use it. An extra hour on the ground was all it took for the weather to clear. I am not sure how the Bonanza pilot held up, but he was taxiing in as I lined up for departure.


Heading Into the Mountains

The ground West of Billings rises quickly. I flew all the way to Idaho Falls at 8 – 10000 ft, but I was frequently less than 2000 ft AGL. There was no wind, and visibility was 50+ miles ahead and behind me but limited by granite off both wingtips. The low-level airway follows the interstate, and the interstate follows the pass through the mountains. It was a safe flight, but since it was my first opportunity to fly “through” the mountains, I found it very intense. By the time I reached Idaho Falls, I was ready to take a break.


Enroute Idaho Falls


AeroMark, Idaho Falls

I taxied up to Aeromark at Idaho Falls, the “Best Little FBO in the West”. Bob Hoff was there to greet me. Bob is an Aviat dealer, in fact he sold the very first certified Husky in 1989. Bob Hoff had arranged a hotel room for me in town, and had arranged for Bob Jones, the “world’s best Husky instructor”, to give me some dual instruction the next day.

It was Bob Jones’ 80th birthday, there was going to be a party and I was invited! Bob Jones is a legend, he has given many thousands of hours of tailwheel instruction and he is a former FAA Instructor of the Year. There were 80 people at the party, everyone either owned or had owned a Husky, and Bob Jones had given instruction to almost everyone there! The party was held on the grass strip at the Hoff family farm, “Rainbow Ranch”. Bob gave me a private tour of his hangar before the other guests arrived. Inside the hangar was part of Bob Hoff’s aircraft collection. Two Beech Staggerwings, two Stearman (would that be Stearmen?), and several classic Cessna taildraggers, all in mint condition and flown regularly. There were also antique cars and an amazing collection of vintage Harley Davidson motorcycles. Bob has other aircraft and cars in his collection, but they are elsewhere being restored.


One of Bob Hoff's Hangars

Day Three: Departed KBIL Billings MT; Arrived KIDA Idaho Falls ID. Total Flight Time 3.6 hrs; avg speed 72 kts

Thunder Bay to Billings Montana

DAY 2:

July 24th was clear and cool. The young lady driving the hotel shuttle complimented me on my “cute” little airplane. I filed a flight plan to Beaudette Minnesota (KBDE) to clear customs. Winds on the nose at over 40 knots, but they seemed to decrease with altitude. At 8500 ft I was making 65 knots groundspeed, and I was concerned about the 30-minute ETA window to meet customs. Winnipeg Radio told me to call US Flight Services for my discrete transponder code to cross the border. The frequency was jammed with dozens of Oshkosh-bound aircraft calling to update flight plans, asking where they could clear customs, asking about their buddies, fuel stops or transponder codes. I quickly asked for my code and revised my ETA for Beaudette.

Three aircraft were converging on Beaudette, two Helios on amphibs and myself in the Husky. Beaudette has a grass runway oriented into the wind. Once overhead, I could see the grass runway was littered with large bales of hay. I took the paved runway instead, practising my crosswind technique and taxiing gingerly to the FBO. A friendly lady from US Customs thanked me for revising my ETA and told me that it saved her a trip, since the two amphibs also required clearance and it was nice of us to arrive together. I assured her that it was my plan to make her day easier. Fuelling took some time since the ramp attendant was out with the tractor gathering up hay bales.


Beaudette Minnesota

With a fully fuelled aircraft and pockets stuffed with granola bars, I left Beaudette and set off for Bismark N. Dakota. Threading my way West between active Military Operating Areas (MOAs), looking out for transiting F-16s and listening for weather updates on Flight Watch, I had lots to occupy my time. I heard from Flight Watch that thunderstorms were building around Bismark, and I would make better time staying further north. I pressed on to Minot, arriving at 1630 local. I asked at the FBO if they had any good hotels to recommend, and they laughed. “The big airshow is this weekend, and the State Fair starts tomorrow – good luck finding a bed here tonight.” Well, I had lots of daylight left, good weather ahead and full fuel tanks.

I continued west toward Montana, not realizing that I had just committed a huge blunder. I had not told anyone back home that I was continuing past Minot.


Billings Montana

When I arrived in Billings it was 2000 local (Mountain time) and getting dark. As I walked into the FBO, my cellphone was beeping to tell me that I had three missed calls and two text messages. Uh oh, not good. My daughter had text messaged, telling me to phone home immediately. I should have realized that it would be 2200 back in Ottawa when I landed ….

The phone call home that night was a chilly one.

Day Two: Departed CYQT Thunder Bay; Customs and Fuel at KBDE Beaudette MN; Fuel KMOT Minot ND; Arrived KBIL Billings MT. Total Flight Time 10.7 hrs; avg speed 88 kts

Off to Idaho

DEPARTURE, 23 July 2005:

I departed Carp CYRP mid-morning 23 July – my birthday. Last minute packing and a late departure, isn’t that always the way? Thunderstorms reported south of Lake Superior led to a change of plans. Instead of clearing customs at Drummond Island MI, and following the south shore of Lake Superior, I opted to follow the North shore of Superior to Thunder Bay.

The air was clear but bumpy with scattered cumulus all the way from Carp to North Bay and Sudbury, and then directly over Chapleau to Wawa for fuel. Lots of radio traffic from firefighting teams working around Chapleau and Wawa, and some smoke, but a nice flight.


Fuel Stop - CYXZ Wawa

On the ground in Wawa, I met Gordon Ross, who had just finished fuelling his very nice Aeronca. He was calling it quits and heading for the hotel. He gave me a quick weather update – thunderstorms now forecast north of the lake – and he told me that we were probably staying in Wawa overnight. His ride into town was waiting and I still had to get fuel. After I paid my bill, I phoned Flight Service and was told that the thunderstorms were intense south of Superior, but the northern route as far as Thunder Bay was forecast to stay clear. I filed for Thunder Bay, and ran back to the Husky. I knew that my weather window might be closed tomorrow.

I made Thunder Bay late that afternoon, a smooth flight along the north shore, maintaining 2000 ft over the islands and admiring the scenery that used to pass far below my wing when I flew the Baron. Every hotel room in Wisconsin and Minnesota would be filled that night by pilots heading for Oshkosh. I held up short in Thunder Bay that evening, to give myself an opportunity for a good night’s rest, since I knew the next day would be a long flight and into a headwind all the way. That night I had a quiet supper and planned the next day’s flight.


Tied down in CYQT Thunder Bay

One final thought before drifting off to sleep, why do I always pick that hotel with the indoor water park that is hosting a soccer tournament?

Day One – CYRP Carp – CYXZ Wawa – CYQT Thunder Bay; Total Flight Time 7.0 hrs; avg speed 95 kts

Learning to fly tailwheel

Bob Jones Delivered My Husky From Idaho

I had zero hours tailwheel time, and my last 300 flight hours had been spent flying my Baron with both feet flat on the floor. Gord Aust in Toronto had lots of Super Cub time, and he agreed to spend a day in the back seat of the Husky while I flew several hours of grass and asphalt landings. When I had three hours under my belt with Gord, I turned myself loose and brought the airplane back to Ottawa solo. I know that Gord and Bruce Musgrave were on the ramp at Buttonville shaking their heads as I departed on my first tailwheel solo. I landed back at Carp at dusk. My first solo landing had a couple of small bounces but there was no damage and no witnesses.

I told my friend Dave in Arizona about my new airplane. Dave and I met three years ago in Australia, when we each flew Cessna 172s on a GOANA Air Safari. Dave flew P3C Orions (aka Auroras) in the US Navy and now flies for South West airlines. Dave flies to Colorado and Idaho every year to camp in the backcountry. He suggested that I fly the Husky out to Idaho and join him and a few buddies for some camping at Johnson Creek.

The most experienced Husky instructor in the world is probably Bob Jones in Idaho Falls, so why not fly the new airplane back out there? It would give me a week or two of intensive flying in the plane to realy get acquainted with the aircraft. I had four weeks to study the charts, order the “Fly Idaho” book, and find as much as I could about the area on the internet.


First Flight - CPW3 Nobleton, on the grass