They represent some of our most precious resources in aviation, and a collection of more than 11,000 volunteers coordinated by the RAF have helped maintain them and promote them to the flying community.

Join FLYING’s editor-in-chief Julie Boatman as she flies in with a work crew in a Daher Kodiak 100 to experience the camaraderie and satisfaction that participating in such an important effort can bring.

Look for the full story in our feature in the latest issue of FLYING, Issue 944 for December 2023/January 2024. Subscribers will receive it in their mailbox or inbox soon.

The post We Fly: The RAF at 20 Years Into Moose Creek appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

According to the Washington State Department of Transportation Aviation division, the deceased cetacean is a fin whale. According to whalefacts.org, the fin whale is a baleen whale that can grow up to 90 feet long and weigh up to 130 tons, making them the second largest whale in existence after the blue whale.

Washington DOT has issued a warning to pilots about the whale on the runway, noting, “We’re asking pilots flying into the airport over the holidays to use extra caution as officials will be working to determine the cause of death of the whale, while other pedestrians and beachgoers could be in the area.”

Copalis Beach Airport is located 15 miles north of Bowerman Airport (KHQM), in Hoquiam. Copalis is one of the airports the state manages, and the only beach airport in its system where aircraft are allowed to land legally.

State wildlife officials add that at this time, they will be allowing the whale to decompose naturally and the tides to take its remains out to sea again. According to the state, “The airport access may be temporarily restricted if the tide moves the carcass and blocks the beach landing area.”

The fin whale is a brownish gray with a white underbelly and usually travels alone rather than in pods like the orca whales, which are more frequently spotted in the waters of the Pacific Northwest. It is not uncommon for deceased whales to wash up on beaches in the Pacific Northwest.

Removal of the whales from the beach has been treated with caution ever since the state of Oregon highway division used dynamite to remove the carcass of a 45-foot sperm whale that washed ashore near Florence. The idea was that the whale carcass would be destroyed and the remains would land in the sea.

Portland television station KATU was on scene for the event and captured the moment on November 12, 1970, when the eight-ton whale was blown to bits. Reporter Paul Linnman and cameraman Doug Brazil on the beach shooting on 16 mm film were a quarter of a mile from the whale at the time of the explosion. Linnman noted that when the pieces of blubber began landing around them, they realized they were too close and started to run.

“We were running away when we heard a second tremendous explosion in front of us. A piece of blubber the size of a coffee table hit the top of an Oldsmobile and completely flattened the roof,” Linnman wrote of the event that day.

The event went viral even before the invention of the internet. In the 1980s and 1990s, the filmed event was transferred to videotape and became part of the holiday blooper reel shown at television stations in the Pacific Northwest.

The post There’s a Whale on the Runway at a Seaside Pacific Northwest Airport appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Given this background, I became curious about the use of a video recorded off a television on to a cellphone that was used to justify the suspension of the private pilot certificate of YouTube pilot Trent Palmer. The pilot was accused of violating FARs 91.13 and 91.119—that is careless and reckless operation of an aircraft and flying too low—over two years ago. 

FLYING obtained a copy of the video clip through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. 

The original video was reportedly recorded by the security camera on a neighbor’s house adjacent to a backyard airstrip. 

The incident with Palmer occurred on November 24, 2019, in a sparsely populated part of Nevada. Palmer was attempting to land by invitation at a backyard airstrip owned by a friend. “The neighborhood is sparsely populated with a lot of room between properties. The strip is on a 10-acre parcel carved out in sage brush,” Palmer told FLYING.

Doorbell cameras are distorting—they tend to result in images that look like something from a carnival funhouse. Additionally, anytime you make a copy of a video by videotaping off another screen—in this case, the television playback to recording on a cellphone—there will be a loss of digital clarity.

The FAA contends that Palmer was flying at a hazardous altitude that endangered life or property and was less than 100 feet off the ground when he was within 50 feet of a stable, shed, and propane tank. He was also in close proximity to homes, as well as adults and children.

FLYING watched the 8-second video clip several times, clicking through it frame by frame looking for evidence of people or proximity to them and/or the structures mentioned. We did not see them.

• READ MORE: Trent Palmer Says His FAA Penalty Could Pressure Pilots

However, in its response to FLYING’s request for copies of the video the FAA noted, “We are withholding another video under Exemption 6 of the FOIA. Exemption 6 of the FOIA protects information that pertains to an individual “the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,” (e.g., names, dates of birth, social security numbers, home addresses, and telephone numbers of parties mentioned). When applying Exemption 6, the FAA weighs the privacy interest of an individual against any public interest in the records. In this case, the identity of a woman and an infant.”

Palmer maintains he did not see anyone during the flyover, and that he was following recommended  procedures in the FAA’s publication Off Airport Ops. The publication advises pilots to make multiple inspection passes over unfamiliar unimproved runways to check for hazards, such as “cuts in gravel, rocks, dips, bumps, etc.” The ops manual goes on to state: “It is important to be at an angle to the runway, not above it. Certain light conditions can make a bad site seem good. Check and double check any area not used before.” 

The manual continues: “Each pass should result in you becoming more comfortable with your chosen landing area. If you are becoming less comfortable, abandon the site and seek a more suitable landing area.”

After a few passes, Palmer decided to abort the landing. “Because of recent dirt work, I didn’t have a good visual of where I would touch down and decided not to land there,” he explained. FLYING pulled up a satellite image of the yard in question and there is evidence of what looks like a motocross or BMX track carved in the dirt.

Palmer forgot about the aborted landing until a few days later when he received a call from an aviation safety inspector from the Reno Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) requesting a meeting. Palmer was informed there was video of the low pass as captured by a security camera and the inspector told him he was going to recommend a temporary certificate suspension of 210 days.

In April 2020 the FAA notified Palmer through Notice of Proposed Certificate Action that the agency proposed suspending his private pilot certificate for 210 days because of the alleged violation of three FARs:

• FAR 91.119(a), which states: Except when necessary for takeoff or landing, no person may operate an aircraft below the following altitudes: Anywhere. An altitude allowing, if a power unit fails, an emergency landing without undue hazard to persons or property on the surface. 
• FAR 91.119(c), which states: Except when necessary for takeoff or landing, no person may operate an aircraft below the following altitudes: Over other than congested areas. An altitude of 500 feet above the surface, except over open water or sparsely populated areas. In those cases, the aircraft may not be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure, and 
• FAR 91.13(a), which states: No person may operate an aircraft in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another.

Palmer obtained legal counsel and legal fists flew back and forth, resulting in a reduction of the suspension to 120 days. Then, in April 2022, the FAA reduced the suspension even further.

“A [National Transportation Safety Board] NTSB Administrative Law Judge affirmed the alleged violations but reduced the suspension to 60 days,” an FAA spokesperson told FLYING. “Both parties appealed that decision. The suspension is held in abeyance until the appeals process is complete.”

Palmer maintains that he did not violate FAR 91.119 since the low passes were made in preparation for landing. The judge argued that since there was no windsock or other runway marking identifying the area as a landing strip, the 60-day suspension would remain.

Careless and Reckless 

As for the allegation that he operated his aircraft recklessly, Palmer replied, “FAR 91.13 careless and reckless is the FAA rubber rule, they throw that at anything.” Palmer said that had he landed, the 91.119 violation would not have applied, but the landing would have been risky for him, perhaps resulting in an incident or accident. He is worried that the judge’s ruling, if allowed to stand, will put external pressure on pilots to make potentially risky landings to avoid being cited for violating the regulation.

Flight instructors are supposed to educate their learners about “careless and reckless” operation of an aircraft. Some are no-brainers. Two low passes over an outdoor high school graduation in a Cessna 172, flying so low that the aircraft’s registration number is easily identified by the numerous people and you can see the pilot is wearing Ray-Bans and a blue polo shirt—that’s careless and reckless.

However, most of the time “careless and reckless” is in the eye of the beholder—and very often the people reporting the behavior are “aviation challenged.” On two different occasions I have encountered people who were 1/4 of a mile from the extended centerline of the runway complaining about “being buzzed by low flying aircraft” and “fearing for their lives.” In the first instance, it was a woman in a shopping center parking lot who called 911. She did not realize there was an airport on the other side of the road behind the dirt berm—and the airplanes were on final approach to Runway 17 and at the appropriate altitude. 

On the second instance, there were multiple people who ignored the “No Trespassing” signs placed in the grass field off the extended runway and used the field as a dog park and playground for their children, despite the fact the runway approach lights were mounted there. This got the attention of local pilots. Yes sir, there’s nothing like breaking out of the clouds on the ILS 17 and seeing little Timmy flying a kite off the extended centerline. The airport manager fielded those calls—some came from people who felt endangered from the low-flying aircraft, and others from pilots who were concerned about encounters with hostile kite strings.

Ultimately the FAA paid for a fence to keep trespassers out.

The post Does Trent Palmer Deserve a Suspension? appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

While long, wide runways can be a welcoming sight, short fields truly draw us in. Pilots love a challenge, and a turf strip roughly half the length of your home airport’s runway and carved out of a forest on a hillside can be an irresistible invitation.

Short runways can also give us pause. After years of flying off smoothly paved strips that are at least 4,000 feet long and 75 feet wide, a 1,500-foot gravel path that seems barely wider than your driveway might be too terrifying to consider. Still, we know that out-of-the-way airports with minimal runways often are gateways to memorable places and one-of-a-kind experiences. Pilots who want to get the most out of flying naturally include such destinations in their travel plans.

One good approach is to practice short-field technique often. Consider doing so with an instructor if you are especially rusty. I regularly fly into an airport with a 2,000-foot runway, which on many days can be enough of a challenge. But if I can make the turnoff at the halfway point without drama, I begin to feel my inner bush pilot emerging.

No matter how short your last landing was, though, there always seems to be another runway that is shorter still. So keep practicing and, to paraphrase Clint Eastwood in “Magnum Force,”’ know your limitations.

Below are some of the shortest runways listed in airport directories. We focused on airports that are open to the public, but included a couple of private-use strips that seem impossibly short.

Simko Field (1ID9)

Serving: Inkom, Idaho
Elevation AMSL: 5,640 feet
Shortest Runway: 1/19
Dimensions: 400 x 20 feet
Surface: Turf
Fun facts: This may be cheating, but when you search for “short runways in the U.S.,” this one typically tops the list. And while 400 feet might sound more like a patch than a runway, owner Tom Simko says he routinely flies his Rans S-7 light sport aircraft from here, often on skis. A significant slope means you take off downhill and land uphill.

Ousel Falls Airport (MT94)

Serving: Big Sky, Montana
Elevation AMSL: 6,600 feet
Shortest Runway: 5/23
Dimensions: 900 x 60 feet
Surface: Turf
Fun facts: This strip might look more like your neighbor’s backyard than your home airport. But it is close to Big Sky attractions including Lone Peak, resorts and the Ousel Falls Trail. If 900 feet is just too short, you could try Ennis-Big Sky Airport, which is 13 nm away and has a 7,600-foot runway.

Hinshaw Airport (N61)

Serving: Liberty, North Carolina
Elevation AMSL: 750 feet
Shortest Runway: 3/21
Dimensions: 1,400 x 100 feet
Surface: Turf
Fun facts: It seems like a rule of thumb that public airports have runways that are at least 1,500 feet long, but Hinshaw is an exception. The airport is three miles from the center of Liberty, which is known for the Liberty Antiques Festival, held April 29-30 and September 23-24.

Wilson Bar USFS Airstrip (C48)

Serving: Warren, Idaho
Elevation AMSL: 2,275 feet
Shortest Runway: 6/24
Dimensions: 1,500 x 50 feet
Surface: Turf/dirt
Fun facts: This U.S. Forest Service airport is located in the Nez Perce National Forest, which covers about 4 million acres. Designated wilderness areas within the park include the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, Hells Canyon Wilderness, Gospel Hump Wilderness and Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness. The forest also includes the Penman Deposit, a former gold-mining hub.

Soldier Bar USFS Airport (85U)

Serving: Soldier Bar, Idaho
Elevation AMSL: 4,190 feet
Shortest Runway: 7/25
Dimensions: 1,650 x 15 feet
Surface: Dirt
Fun facts: According to Forest Service documents, the airport got its name from Private Harry Eagan, a soldier who was buried in the site after dying from wounds sustained in an 1879 battle with indigenous Shoshone fighters. Work on the airport began in 1932 and Bob Johnson of Johnson Flying Service was first to land there, flying a Travel Air. 

Camano Island Airfield (13W)

Serving: Stanwood, Washington
Elevation AMSL: 145 feet
Shortest Runway: 16/34
Dimensions: 1,750 x 24 feet
Surface: Asphalt
Fun facts: This field is home to P.Ponk Aviation, which is well known for engine conversions, landing gear modifications and other STC work on Cessnas, particularly 180s and 185s. Speaking of modifications, the company name is a twist on the founding family’s name, Knopp, spelled backward. 

Converse Airport (1I8)

Serving: Converse, Indiana
Elevation AMSL: 840 feet
Shortest Runway: 7/25
Dimensions: 1,800 x 40
Surface: Asphalt
Fun facts: Founded during World War II as a satellite airport for the former Bunker Hill naval Air Station, the field exhibits the octagonal shape that was ideal for airports at the time, allowing tor takeoffs and landings into the wind regardless of direction. 

Inter County Airport (31D)

Serving: McKeesport, Pennsylvania
Elevation AMSL: 1,250 feet
Shortest Runway: East/West
Dimensions: 1,800 x 120 feet
Surface: Turf
Fun facts: Just 22 nautical miles from Pittsburgh International Airport, this field is also clear of Pittsburgh’s class B airspace. Pilots landing there can visit McKeesport, named for David McKee, a Scottish settler who moved to the area in 1755.

Clearview Airpark (2W2)

Serving: Westminster, Maryland
Elevation AMSL: 798.6 feet
Shortest Runway: 14/32
Dimensions: 1,840 x 30 feet
Surface: Asphalt
Fun facts: There is an active flying club based at this airport with more than 60 and three aircraft. The group includes flight instructors for various levels of training including private pilot certificates and instrument ratings. Monthly club activities include cookouts, safety and educational seminars and movie nights.

Pacific City State Airport (KPFC)

Serving: Pacific City, Oregon
Elevation AMSL: 10 feet
Shortest Runway: 14/32
Dimensions: 1,860 x 30 feet
Surface: Asphalt
Fun facts: This may be the longest runway in this group, but experience tells us many pilots begin to feel queasy on anything shorter than 2,000 feet. We’ll still call it a short strip. Practicing ahead of time to hone your technique is worth the effort as beaches are walking distance from the airport.

The post America’s Shortest Runways appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Quite a number of aerial adventures start and end at privately owned grass airstrips. These places dot the country and come in varying forms with differing origin stories and histories.

Heaven’s Landing Airstrip (4WV4) in Medley, West Virginia, is a fly-in destination that was created with a higher purpose in mind. 

The turf runway is the center point of Just Plane Adventures’ offerings, which include: 

• Fly-in camping
• Overnight hangar and cabin rentals
• A conference center

The Special Purpose

The airstrip has welcomed visitors (with prior permission) for more than two decades. The business’ origination was the byproduct of the Penningtons’ shared passions. Mitch Pennington, who owns the airstrip along with his wife Teresa, says their efforts to build Heaven’s Landing Retreat have been personally rewarding. 

“First and foremost, our hearts are in ministry,” Mitch says. “We have been fostering Christian retreats in an aviation setting since around 1996. Just Plane Adventures was founded as the for-profit arm of Visions Beyond Ministries, to help fund its operations of helping people find a vision beyond their own circumstances through a relationship with Jesus.” 

In the subsequent years, the couple has hosted thousands at the appropriately named Heaven’s Landing Airstrip. These fly-in visitors have come for a variety of faith-focused conferences, marriage seminars, and for a few days away from their daily lives in a peaceful setting easily accessible by airplane.

With such a diverse customer base, it’s not surprising that a unique array of aircraft have landed there over the years. But one type of traffic has been most common at Heaven’s Landing Airstrip: conventional-gear aircraft.

“We have had Cessna 206s, Quest Kodiaks, Cessna 182s, Piper Cherokee 180s, Grumman Tigers, and lots of other similar aircraft,” Mitch says. “We have also had all the taildraggers that you can think of.” 

Mitch operates a 1965 Comanche 260 from the 2,000 ft by 60 ft airstrip, an aircraft that he has owned since 1999. 

“My airplane, though, is probably one of the largest that has flown into Heaven’s Landing Airstrip, in terms of takeoff distance.” 

One of the business’ key differentiators from other fly-in destinations in the area is the hangar space it has. Between the three hangars that surround the airfield, there’s room for about five standard single-engine piston general aviation aircraft to be kept out of the elements. 

One of these buildings also doubles as a venue, accommodating anything from weddings to corporate retreats, with the top floor being able to comfortably shelter 70 patrons. 

Simple History

Prior to the Penningtons starting their business venture, though, the airstrip was nothing more than wooded farmland. 

“Everything that is a part of our footprint was pioneered from scratch by us,” Mitch says. “We added roads, water connections, and electric hookups all by ourselves. 

“In 1996, we purchased a 60-acre tract of land from my wife’s parents with the intent of turning it into a runway. Luckily, my dad had recently retired as a heavy machinery operator and he spent around a month [clearing and other obstructions] with a D8 dozer with a ripper. Then a grader was used the next year to smooth it all out.”

‘…It’s Not an Airport for Greenhorns’

While the airstrip is well-graded and maintained, it still can be a challenging operating environment for those without experience flying into it. Mitch, who is a 16,000-hour former commercial freight and business jet pilot, unsurprisingly has the most experience at his own airstrip.

He routinely provides primary and recurrent training. As a preface to these flights, he is careful to advise students and visitors alike with an upfront caveat about the potential challenges of flying at the airport. The lone runway sits on a plateau between two mountain ranges, which are each about 3,000 ft and 4,000 ft high, respectively. 

“So, I tell people it’s not an airport for greenhorns,” he says. “The airstrip is one way in, one way out, with Runway 24 being used for landings and 6 for takeoffs. At the end of Runway 6, there is about a 400 ft drop-off to an 800 ft valley below. Between the two ends, there is a 60 ft difference and a 3 percent grade.”

Mitch concedes that practice helps to rectify challenges that first timers may have at the airstrip. 

“Having said that, I trained someone last summer, who got their private pilot certificate in 41 hours,” he says. “He did all of his training from here [4WV4]. It’s just what you are familiar with. For example, there are airline pilots who haven’t ever landed on grass. It just takes some getting used to.” 

In line with the Pennington’s efforts in their own personal ministry, they have supported and hosted a number of Christian aviation groups over the years. Many of these are missionary flight organizations, who serve others across the world by utilizing fixed-wing aircraft.

Often, these groups’ work is conducted in the most austere corners of the Earth, so pilots are routinely challenged by their operating environments. But rigorous training helps to assuage the realities of flying in remote, inaccessible places that are flanked by inhospitable terrain. 

Since its completion, several of these organizations and mission-specific training providers have included Heaven’s Landing Airstrip as a training ground to better prepare pilots for future challenges.“Among others at certain times, the School of Missionary Aviation Technology comes to us for a few days each year when they are ready to do their mountain and short field flying, usually around May,” Mitch says.

Some of the flying techniques and skills that this and other groups practice at 4WV4 include:

• Grass airstrip operations
• Reconnaissance (high observation and low observation)
• Uphill landings
• Downhill takeoffs
• Flying over obstacles
• Crossing power lines at the poles
• Nap-of-the-earth (NOE) mountain flying

The post This West Virginia Fly-in Destination Has a Higher Calling appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

“This milestone delivery comes as the Kodiak program is on the rise following its acquisition by Daher in 2019,” said Mark Brown, Kodiak’s director of sales and marketing, and chief demo pilot. “Having been with Kodiak for eight years, the improvements made since 2019 in terms of manufacturing enhancements, production efficiencies and the product support integration is remarkable.  These are exciting times, and I’m really proud to be part of the team at Daher’s Aircraft Division.”

FLYING had a tour of the Kodiak 100’s upgrades from Brown while we attended the static display at the National Business Aviation Association’s BACE in Las Vegas in October.

FLYING first flew the Kodiak in 2009, not long after its debut in 2007 as a 10-seat competitor to other utility aircraft in the category, such as the Pilatus PC-12 and Cessna 208B Caravan. Its design roots reach back even further, to Todd Hamilton, founder of Stoddard-Hamilton Aircraft, which developed the multidimensional Glasair lines of experimental aircraft.

Now, Daher reports on the successful marriage of the Kodiak into its product portfolio, joining the TBM 910 and 940 in current production.

“Every day around the world, Kodiak aircraft meet the mission: from delivering crucial aid in conflict zones to providing comfortable airlift for business and personal travel,” said Nicolas Chabbert, senior vice president of Daher’s Aircraft Division and CEO of Kodiak Aircraft.

Performance Specs

The Kodiak 100 was developed for the backcountry, and mission-based flying, and it shows in the aircraft’s performance numbers.

Ability to take off from unimproved airstrips less than 1,000 ft long

• Loiter time of up to 10 hours
• Up to 1,000 nm range
• Landing weight of up to 7,255 pounds
• Large tire size in Series III, at 29-inch diameter

The flight deck in the Series III models includes the Garmin G1000 NXi with GFC 700 digital autopilot and the GWX 75 weather radar system.

The Kodiak is powered by its original Pratt & Whitney PT6A-34 producing 750 hp. The fleet has logged a combined total of more than 278,700 flight hours worldwide.

The post Kodiak 100 Reaches 300 Deliveries appeared first on FLYING Magazine.