Deer Lodge: A team effort
Our second attempt on Deer Lodge is successful! The first attempt was also actually my first time as a pilot of one of two planes traveling together. My club partner Mike and I lifted off on a cool late fall morning with quick instructions on how to communicate plane to plane. He suggested "Winchester" frequency and called it 30-30. While I was focusing on getting our passengers straightened out (4) between the two planes I somehow turned the numbers into 30-03. Later I thought about it for a minute and realized why 30-30 was called "Winchester".. duh... So of course once in the air I never heard from Mike again. We were both checking local unicom on occasion but never at the same time apparently. Note to self: Passengers get a little nervous when you can't raise the other plane on the radio.
Mike's route took him low and over the freeway which was the open corridor, while my direct route drove us right to a storm front. With my novice VFR experience, the sight of snow flakes on the windshield means "we are going to have breakfast somewhere else" so we didn't make it to Deer Lodge. Mike did a fly over of Deer Lodge and returned to Bozeman with his passengers. Fun was had by all, but Deer Lodge and it's courtesy car were not completed on our checklist.
Attempt number two was also a two plane effort, however this time we were accompanied by a new friend - Tom whom is Lindsay's flying buddy from his Grand Canyon air tour days. Tom is an experienced ex-ATP and owner of a very lovely Cessna 206 which he is personally restoring. I was allowed to fly it on the way home since Jeff and Lindsay could take 830 home. Wow what a difference more horsepower and weight make! What a treat! Thanks Tom!
This time there were no clouds in the way and the frequency choices were ironed out so it was smooth sailing. The 206 had to throttle back a bit to keep from passing us in the 172. This was my first flight over Butte, so we took a jaunt over the pit. I was flying not taking pictures so unfortunately there are no pictures of the toxic lake and obliterated mountainside. Sorry. We did get to see the Lady of The Rockies statue from a new vantage point though, and the valley from Anaconda up to Butte and northward is another excellent example of Montana's wide open spaces framed by snow capped peaks.
Another Chevy van almost identical to Townsend's awaited us, along with a hearty breakfast at Scharf's. If you have the time I highly recommend you check out the old prison tour and the Antique car museum downtown. It's not to be missed!
Courtest Car Review - Airport info - Restaurant reviews... coming soon.
Lewistown Complete
I'm sitting at my kitchen counter typing away while the rain taps on the windows. Rifling through the most vivid memories from this trip invoke images of tall windmills, green open valleys and antique airport buildings.
Lewistown is a scant 103nm away from Bozeman and almost perfectly northwest on the chart. We start off working our way north up the western face of the Bridger Range, then hang a shallow right once we pass the northern shoulder of our home range. From this vantage point at 8500 feet we can see all the way to Judith Gap. Judith Gap is the name given to the "Gap" between Big Snowy and Little Belt mountain ranges that serves as direct passage from the south right into Lewistown sitting in it's geographic center of Montana. We don't stay at 8500 for long though since my friend and CFI is in the left seat. Years of high-speed jets have made him prefer the lower altitudes in order to get the sense of speed. I confess I'm still more comfortable higher up as I'm constantly contemplating my route and grasping the security blanket of altitude. Lindsay however can afford to fly lower with the skills he acquired from a lifetime of flight. During short field training I've seen him come within 20 feet of his runway targets in 15 knot crosswinds.
This particular route takes us over velvet green hills springing from the roots of snow capped mountains and idealistic Hutterite farms in the Martinsdale and Harlowton area. Just before taking a turn north we swing over the Judith Gap Wind Farm. It's a 95 turbine collection of Windmills producing 135 megawatts of power.
The Lewistown Airport (KLWT) is just to the south of town and is a collection of active and inactive runways. I should say that some of those runways while inactive for aviation are by no means unused. As we flew over I noticed a nicely equipped drag-strip on one and a school buse driver's training course on the other.
The airport has a historic past and was named the 2009 Montana Airport of the year.
The following links cover the courtesy car, airport and dining experiences we enjoyed.
More about the Airport
About the Courtesy Car
About the Restaurant
Columbus Ahead
Well the winter weather is beginning to break a little so Ashlynn and I took the opportunity on a fine calm Sunday to make the run to Columbus.
Having been to Billings airport and back during my training I'd been in the vicinity but never actually seen the airport from above.
The flight from Bozeman and back is about 50 minutes each way and rolls right down a gorgeous open valley between some of the most dynamic and beautiful mountain ranges I know of. So far.
Actually I was so enthralled with the view, that I came up on Columbus a little sooner than I thought we would. I found myself dumping altitude at 1500 to 2000 feet per minute in order to avoid a fly around or 360's. Once at pattern altitude though we had an uneventful final leg straight in for runway 10. During my flair I got a little spooked because the slight curvature of the runway hid the opposite end making the runway seem about 1000 feet shorter. I instantly shortened the flair and got out of the air asap. Of course once down I realized I'd only used a quarter of the runway, lol.
After parking we enjoyed some hangar talk, a great Pilot's Lounge ( The largest and best we've seen yet at AFR ), a choice of three courtesy cars and some good old fashioned greasy "bad for you" food.
All in all a very good trip! This is a highly recommended GA airport.
Check out the airports, cars, and restaurant pages for more details.
B.