"Marty Ross" wrote:

Another question I'd like to consider at any airport I might stop at is:
what are the normal/typical winds/active runways?

I realize I can get some/all of this information from Flight Guide and/or
other sources, but I also like to hear people's recent experiences...

So far, I'm looking at Harris Ranch (3O8) and Columbia (O22).

My flight sim seemed to get winds 260 at 12 for Columbia (direct crosswind)
when it downloaded "real-time weather". Not too bad, but it prompted this
question.

The prevailing wind at Harris Ranch will favor a landing to the north.

Columbia is less predictable. For terrain and noise abatement, preferred
landing runway is 35 and departures are back the way you came from on runway
17. In my few trips up there, the wind is usually light from the west,
favoring if anything the turf runway 29. When winds are light, you can
expect pilots coming and going every which way.

We've camped at Columbia on two occasions. One time, there were WWI
biplanes using the turf runway and CDF fire tankers using the paved runway.
On the most recent trip, I happened to have my handheld monitoring CTAF at
my campsite when I heard "Columbia Traffic, North American XXX low approach,
Columbia." That gave me just enough time to run out to the turf runway and
witness an impromptu P-51 flyby.