The Beast!

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.

Ennis-Big Sky Airport

What a beautiful flight. The trip from Bozeman can't be more than 40 mins via C172 but it is really one of my favorite trips so far from a scenic standpoint. The trek took us around the north western shoulder of the dense Gallatin Mountain Range to the east and the Madison Range to the West. The Gallatin Mountain Range includes Ted Turner's famous ranch, two ski resorts, world rated trout fishing, a sliver of Yellowstone National Park, sharp mountain peaks, the Gallatin River, and just all around amazing mountain scapes.

This trip also includes a wonderful view of the Bear Trap canyon section of the Madison river. This is a popular white water destination and boasts great Class 4 challenges. The Airport itself is situated on a quite handy geological formation called an alluvial fan. The alluvial fan is a surprisingly flat and treeless fan shaped deposit of sediment from years of erosion in the mountains to the East.

To top it off one of the local Elk herds greeted us on base leg. For more about this area I suggest you check out  "Chasing Lewis & Clark Across America: A 21st Century Aviation Adventure" a wonderful aviation book.

B.E.

Since receiving my Private Pilot's License it has snowed, blown or rained every weekend, and been bright calm and clear every weekday...from my perspective...

Oh well, we will be attempting a trip to Ennis this coming weekend. Stay tuned!

B.

KBZN 052308Z 32009KT 2SM -SN BKN027 OVC041 M08/M12 A3006 RMK AO2 SNB2259 P0000

We'll try again next week. Ennis is the target.

B.E.

Cold Morning

Having been thwarted by the weather last weekend we were determined to try again today. Liftoff at 8:15 am from KBZN saw sunshine and 5 knot variable winds, however a very big weather system was creeping its way eastward from the west so we knew we'd be in a little bit of a rush if we weren't planning on reviewing a Townsend Hotel as well. We got a few little bumps during the descent but the wind was right down runway 16 according to the wind sock so no crosswind practice today.

At touch down in Townsend there was a wall of grey creeping it's way down the eastern slopes of the valley. We decided perhaps a cup of coffee and a piece of pie might be in order as opposed to a full on breakfast. The TAF forecasted low ceilings and snow by noon.

The warm and cozy pilots lounge was comfy enough but we needed to get the courtesy Van running and get to town! While the van was warming up we met a nice local fellow name Tony Silvestri. Tony is a local instructor and recommended the airport mechanic and the Cowboy restaurant in town. Townsend's FBO has a highly recommended mechanic and very competitive fuel prices. Actually a number of Gallatin Valley and Helena plane owners come to Townsend for service.

Check out our review of Townsend's courtesy car and the Cowboy restaurant.

The run home was 1500 feet lower and just under the clouds which had moved clear to the horizon in all directions. We took the Lewis And Clark route over the Missouri in order to stay VFR. By that point the system was "in" and the air was stable. Touchdown in Bozeman was winds less than 5 knots and variable. Smooth smooth.

Still hungry we went to breakfast at the Country Kitchen in Belgrade and discussed our next trip. Ennis it is... but perhaps lunch this time. 7am on a saturday morning in sub freezing weather  is for the birds..literally.

B.E.

Part of living in Montana is working with the weather. Also I'm getting plenty of practice reviewing the weather information from NOAA, and making the go-no go decision. That's okay I'm getting much better at reading TAF's and METARS without much translation lag.

As I mentioned our first destination is likely to be Townsend. I'm looking forward to our visit. Townsend  (8U8) is easy to spot and what looks to be  a recently resurfaced runway. Lindsay and I did about 6 landings there while preparing for my checkride.  The airport is right next to the rodeo grounds, and has a little road leading up to the runway threshold. It looks like an extended centerline and is great for lining up on runway 16. New pilots like me need every que.

So that's it for this weekend, we'll give it another shot next weekend. The sporty's catalogue just arrived so I guess I'll look up christmas present suggestions.

B.E. 11-14-09