Los Angeles to Chico

1. Lake Tahoe: I would not recommend a flight to either South Lake
Tahoe or Truckee in a Warrior II without good mountain experience. The
plane can certainly clear the terrain if you have patience (I've
crossed in both a 172 and a 7ECA Citabria without any problems) but
you really need to know what you are doing around the mountains, and
around high altitude airports in the summer heat and convective
turbulence. The Trinity Center recommendation of another poster sound
more reasonable, though I haven't been there and can't comment on it
specifically.

2. You can call flight service to get info on the MOAs before your
flight.

-chuck


"Marty Ross" wrote in message et...
I've also been looking into possible scenic flights to take from Chico (once
I'm up there, to take my brother for a spin).

Two questions have come to me so far:

(1) Lake Tahoe. Is there a good, relatively low altitude and safe route to
Lake Tahoe from Chico (e.g., from the central valley on the west) fitting
for a Piper Warrior II and my lack of recent mountain flying experience?
Judging only from the WAC, all of the surrounding terrain seems rough and
that I'd need to climb/fly over 11,000', and I'm not comfortable with that.

(2) All of the MOAs east of Chico (E.g., "China MOA") -- are they often
active and of concern? For instance, a flight up to and around Susanville
and/or Westwood (E.g.., past Butte Meadows to "Rogers" O05) could be scenic
fun.

Any other comments or ideas about where might be nice to fly to from Chico
for the day (radius = 100NM)?

"Marty Ross" wrote in message
...
I'm looking to gain information about preferred routes, interesting/cheap
refueling stops or siteseeing opportunities, or any other pertinent
information (weather/notams/etc.) for my round-trip flight at the end of
this month (July 2003) from the Los Angeles area to Chico (northern
California). I'll be staying in Chico about 4-5 days.

Looking at the WAC, it looks like it could be a pretty monotonous flight
(e.g., lost in the gigantic central valley). The only stop I'm currently
thinking of is at Columbia (O22) because I've heard it's a cute spot to
stretch one's legs (in the old mining town nearby).

Again, any other ideas or suggestions for this flight (and the return
several days later) will be appreciated!

-- Marty

Sounds like important advice, thanks!

"Josh Emmons" wrote in message
rthlink.net...
snip
This time of year, the Columbia runway 29 in no way approximates "soft."
It
might be a little bit rougher than pavement but it is baked hard as a
rock.
The "turf" is actually more of a closely-cropped straw.

If you land on runway 29, you can just taxi off at the campground. It's
the
expeditious way to arrive and a fun way to announce your arrival to the
other campers.

!RIU 07/031 O22 11/29 CLSD WEF 0307141300

11/29 at Columbia is closed for a major overhaul (new turf, sprinklers,
and
more that I don't really know). Summer winds almost always favor 29, but
most planes in the pattern use 17 (sometimes with a tailwind ;-). CDF air
tankers depart 17 and land 35 (keep a sharper eye/ear out for them than
for
deer.)

The walk into the historic park is indeed short, and hot, but you can buy
ice cream when you get there. If you don't know what Poison Oak looks
like,
don't touch any plants along the trail ;-) Have fun...josh

An IFR question about this trip came up.

I started using AeroPlanner.com, and asked it to show me other people's
routes to Chico from the Los Angeles area.
The first plan I looked at uses the same waypoints I was thinking of using,
but it adds the intersection "DURHA" to the end.

Since DURHA is only 9 miles from the airport, and it's on the way, I am
wondering "why" this intersection was added to the flight plan. I checked
all of the approaches, and found that DURHA is used as the holding fix for
the missed segment in all of the approaches for rwy 13L, BUT IT'S NOT AN
IAF!

I thought you should list IAFs in your flight plan, not missed holding
fixes! Any thoughts?


"Marty Ross" wrote in message
...
Thanks!

Is it (O22) pretty well attended days (e.g., 1-4pm)?

Good place for gas?

Is town really just a couple of blocks by foot?

"Larry Dighera" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 15 Jul 2003 21:37:32 GMT, "Marty Ross"
wrote in Message-Id: :

The only stop I'm currently thinking of is at Columbia (O22)

If you've got the time, you can camp there too.

Keep your eyes open for deer wandering onto the runway. It's located
adjacent to the forest.

Marty Ross wrote:

Interesting... I checked it out, and it might be good for the return trip
(later afternoon).

However, check out that 30' wide runway!!! I don't know if I'm comfortable
with that!

I landed at Harris for my long solo x-c during my private training. For
my second stop on the three leg trip, my CFI sent me to Lodi, where the
runway is only 25 feet wide. It was fun, and it really wasn't a problem.
I highly recommend Harris Ranch to anyone headed up (or down) the
central valley. When you land at Lodi you have dirt under each wing.
Pretty exciting stuff actually, especially for a student at the time!
-angus

However, check out that 30' wide runway!!! I don't know if I'm comfortable
with that!

Anyone landed at Harris Ranch (3O8) lately? What's the runway like?


The runway is in great shape. Its very nice asphalt. They now have
self serve gas but have been known to run out on occation. The food is
the best, and you pay for it too. The wife and I usually spend about
$70 between the two of us for dinner.

"Marty Ross" wrote in
t:

I've also been looking into possible scenic flights to take from Chico
(once I'm up there, to take my brother for a spin).

Two questions have come to me so far:

(1) Lake Tahoe. Is there a good, relatively low altitude and safe
route to Lake Tahoe from Chico (e.g., from the central valley on the
west) fitting for a Piper Warrior II and my lack of recent mountain
flying experience? Judging only from the WAC, all of the surrounding
terrain seems rough and that I'd need to climb/fly over 11,000', and
I'm not comfortable with that.

(2) All of the MOAs east of Chico (E.g., "China MOA") -- are they
often active and of concern? For instance, a flight up to and around
Susanville and/or Westwood (E.g.., past Butte Meadows to "Rogers" O05)
could be scenic fun.

Any other comments or ideas about where might be nice to fly to from
Chico for the day (radius = 100NM)?

"Marty Ross" wrote in message
...
I'm looking to gain information about preferred routes,
interesting/cheap refueling stops or siteseeing opportunities, or any
other pertinent information (weather/notams/etc.) for my round-trip
flight at the end of this month (July 2003) from the Los Angeles area
to Chico (northern California). I'll be staying in Chico about 4-5
days.

Looking at the WAC, it looks like it could be a pretty monotonous
flight (e.g., lost in the gigantic central valley). The only stop
I'm currently thinking of is at Columbia (O22) because I've heard
it's a cute spot to stretch one's legs (in the old mining town
nearby).

Again, any other ideas or suggestions for this flight (and the return
several days later) will be appreciated!

-- Marty







For a stunning airport from Chico, try Shelter Cove. The runway is on a
peninsula jutting into the ocean. You land and takeoff over water. It is
surrounded by a golf course.

My cousin lives there!

Prime

"Cecil E. Chapman" wrote in message m...
"Marty Ross" wrote in message
...
Interesting... I checked it out, and it might be good for the return trip
(later afternoon).

However, check out that 30' wide runway!!! I don't know if I'm
comfortable
with that!

Anyone landed at Harris Ranch (3O8) lately? What's the runway like?

Yep... did it in a C-172. When you do it, you'll find your mind has made it
a much bigger challenge than it really is. You'll do fine!

--
--
Good Flights!

Cecil E. Chapman, Jr.
PP-ASEL

I landed at Harris Ranch twice with a Piper Archer, on 1st and 2nd of
July last year. The second time I landed with a complete electrical
failure, but still everything went ok.

The staff at Harris Ranch were most helpful ... they let me use a
hotel room, the telephone, and their fax machine to take care of
important appointments and to arrange for a mechanic to come out of
Bakersfield.

Things got real interesting when I flew as a passenger in a Cessna 150
to follow the Archer to Bakersfield. Two HEAVY guys, plus a spare
battery, in a C-150 on a hot day make for low performance flying. In
fact, the power lines south of the runway were not a problem only
because the pilot went _underneath_ them, and started the 50ft/min
climb afterwards.

Christoph - who was VERY quiet on the flight from Harris Ranch to
Bakersfield.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their ideas and experiences with me relating
to my trip to Chico!

I ended up flying along the eastern edge of the central valley, stopping in
Columbia, on the way to Chico. On the way back, I chose to fly to the coast
just south of the bay area from Chico (via Sacramento, Byron, Livermore, San
Jose), then along the coast, all of the way home to Santa Monica. Because I
left Chico late, I chose not to plan a stop (e.g., at Harris Ranch as I had
considered) on the way back. However, I ended up stopping for fuel at Santa
Paula, as the dewpoint spread was only 2 degrees at Santa Monica, and I
wanted to have a large reserve in case I needed to ask for an IFR approach.
Indeed, the clouds started to form as I arrived, but were no problem in the
end.

While in Chico, I did take my brother and his girlfriend for a scenic tour
to Lake Almanor, and then back around Paradise. There are SO many lakes up
there! Minnesota watch out!!

This was my longest trip I've logged so far, and I learned a lot from it.
It left me with a desire for more long adventures!

Happy Landings everybody,

-- Marty

"The Flynns" wrote in message
news:YdMRa.85549$Ph3.10583@sccrnsc04...
If you're going to Half Moon Bay, I'd recommend Watsonville (WVI) and a
side
trip to Santa Cruz. Beautiful spot plus neat boardwalk with amusement
park.

"III" wrote in message
om...
While we're daydreaming about your trip...

Half Moon Bay could be a nice stop, also. It has fuel, a short walk to
restaurants and a harbor, and beautiful scenery. The risk is that it's
fogged in, and you have to navigate the airspace around SFO.


"Marty Ross" wrote in message
t...
I'm looking to gain information about preferred routes,
interesting/cheap
refueling stops or siteseeing opportunities, or any other pertinent
information (weather/notams/etc.) for my round-trip flight at the end
of
this month (July 2003) from the Los Angeles area to Chico (northern
California). I'll be staying in Chico about 4-5 days.

Looking at the WAC, it looks like it could be a pretty monotonous
flight
(e.g., lost in the gigantic central valley). The only stop I'm
currently
thinking of is at Columbia (O22) because I've heard it's a cute spot
to
stretch one's legs (in the old mining town nearby).

Again, any other ideas or suggestions for this flight (and the return
several days later) will be appreciated!

-- Marty