Linda Goering, from Bend, Oregon, feels that Goering Ranches Airport (50OR) is the perfect location for an airpark that will attract aviators from near and far.

“We started building the runway…in 1984 on what was a 200-acre property,” Goering said. “As we saved money, we bought more and more pieces, so that we ended up with a square mile surrounded by thousands of acres of BLM [Bureau of Land Management] land, yet just minutes from downtown Bend. So, it’s totally private around us, and we can’t really be encroached upon, which is important for a private airport. There are 360-degree panoramic views, including the seven-peak mountain view of the Cascades.”

Bend, a town of roughly 100,000 and home to Epic Aircraft, is touted as both a great place to visit and live. Recreational highlights range from local shops, restaurants, and golf courses to hiking trails, museums, and resorts.

“Bend has become one of the most desirable resort towns to live in this country, located along the Deschutes River in Oregon,” Goering said. “It is known for the great weather, natural beauty and year-round outdoor activities, often being called the outdoor playground of the west.Mount Bachelor Ski Resort is just minutes from town, and the crystal-clear water of the Deschutes River offers kayaking and floating the river even right through downtown. The numerous high lakes of the Cascades offer endless mountain camping and hiking opportunities.

“It is a beautiful mountain getaway with a cosmopolitan downtown appeal. The historic Old Mill District offers an outdoor amphitheater with summer concerts, more than a dozen riverside restaurants, premier shopping, a 16-screen movie theater, and many signature golf courses. Bend is known for its local 22 breweries in the area. The downtown area is filled with art galleries, boutique shopping, spas, and all types of restaurants, many with outdoor seating.”

Goering explained that the 40 year-old airport is protected into the future, so she, her husband, and others will be able to enjoy it for many years to come.

“In Oregon, we have the Airport Protection Act, which [means], if you can prove you’ve had an airport in existence for a certain amount of time, you’re pretty much protected [from it being closed],” she said. “It’s a nice little safety net. Our runway runs from north to south and is hard-packed gravel and is a little bit longer than a mile [at 5,500 feet]. My husband has flown 690 Commanders and all kinds of other planes into here.

“When we started, we got our county approval, then state approval, and finally FAA approval. Our dream has been to see if we could do an airpark. It has been a lot of work doing that, because Oregon has a lot of land use laws and state goals you have to meet for anything you do.”

In 2006, the couple began working to get approval for a fly-in community. A considerable amount of work has been done since to overcome the zoning hurdle and ensure the feasibility of an airpark.

“This ultimate destination airport development took many years to get this exclusive zoning in place,” Goering said. “It was created to provide one of the longest and most private airport facilities on the West Coast of the United States. We hired land use consultants, attorneys, and others and created this really cool zone called a ‘rural aviation community,’ a ‘RAC zone.’ The purpose of the RAC zone is to provide for private aviation and aviation housing uses within the community.”

Now that the correct zoning is in place, with the provision for clustering (cutting down on infrastructure costs), the Goerings are still planning to have their property become a fly-in community. But they have taken a step back and determined that an experienced airpark developer can better execute their vision. 

“For years, my husband has bought and sold airplanes and got into the ag aviation business,” she said. “We rebuilt turbine Thrush aircraft here, put Garretts on them. We put out about two and a half planes a year. So right now, that’s really the only things on the property, our house and hangar. There are various ways to develop this property within the approved RAC zone, depending on the intended use of residential and or aviation industry use or both. All sites would have runway access, common areas, and open spaces throughout—including walking and biking trails, a community gardening area, and outdoor gathering space for all to enjoy.

“The goal of the development…is to recognize and appreciate the existing beautiful character of the land while providing and supporting aviation activities and related uses. With a PUD (planned unit development) being put in place, zoning will allow homesites to be clustered, yet some sites could be platted as large as 80-plus acres if desired. We’ve had a lot of interest in people wanting to buy lots. But we have to have the developer in place before selling lots. This is the ultimate destination where dreams take flight it is finally ready to market.”

The Goerings plan to continue living at the private airport and keep their home and business hangar, meaning they expect there will be up to 30 homesites available for development.  

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But today I’m finally taking a day off. I’ve had an ultra-productive week, I’ll be flying for work tomorrow, and Dawn just headed to her parents’ place in South Dakota. It’s just me and my flying pooch, Piper, living the bachelor life. It’s time for a playdate to go explore those Cascade mountain strips I’ve been eyeing from high above on the CHINS5 and GLASR2 arrivals. This would ideally be done in the cool, still air of morning, but I got waylaid by another project, and it’s after noon by the time Piper and I finally depart and turn northeast. It’s not a terribly hot day, though, and we’re light, and the highest airstrip is at only 3,000 feet in elevation. The puffy cumulus over the Cascades aren’t looking too threatening—yet.

I skirt south of Paine Field (KPAE) and enter the mountains via the dramatic Skykomish River valley, with 6,000-foot peaks towering over both sides. Fifteen miles in, the town of Skykomish appears around a bend along with our first destination, Skykomish State Airport (S88): 2,000 feet of turf runway, 1,002 feet elevation, trees on both ends. The left pattern to Runway 24 makes for a tight downwind along the southern ridge and close by a granite outcropping before turning a blind base. Turning final, the runway appears again out of the trees, and I ease down a groove and land on the grass. With just Piper and I and partial fuel, I easily turn off at midfield without getting on the brakes.

Piper is a much less anxious flyer these days, but he’s still always glad to clamber out of the airplane and run his little heart out. The airport is deserted today, so I let him wander off leash while I take a look at the picnic tables and camping spots. The field is ideally set up for group camping by an EAA chapter or a gaggle of friends. The guest book reveals mostly old taildraggers like mine, the most recent some 10 days ago. There’s no reason you couldn’t take a Cessna 172 in here easily if you kept it light, but alas, many flight schools and FBOs in the area now prohibit landing at unpaved airports.

After a quick lunch, Piper and I load up again, start up, and take off on Runway 24. I fly a mile beyond town and then turn around in a wide part of the valley, climbing steeply to have plenty of altitude before approaching 4,056-foot Stevens Pass. I see the alpine lake to which Dawn and I snowshoed last winter and turn north to cross a 5,000-foot ridge into the Rainy Creek watershed. I follow it down to beautiful Lake Wenatchee and the Lake Wenatchee State Airport (27W), elevation 1,936 feet msl. As I approach, I can see the middle half of the 2,473-foot runway appears to be bare dirt and decide to do an inspection pass down Runway 9. I don’t see any big rocks, but on the next approach I touch down right at the threshold to get slow before the bare patch. Even at reduced speed, we bounce around a lot, and I can hear stones hitting the underside of the fuselage. Maybe I ought to have landed beyond the dirt—there was a good 1,000 feet of grass left. Soon after we arrive, a Cessna 182 buzzes the dusty strip and peels off into the left downwind. I film his landing, which is a dramatic plop right in the middle of the rocky zone. The hardy Skylane seems no worse for wear, and I’m soon talking to Bryce from Las Vegas. He’s flown all the way here for the Touratech Rally for adventure motorcyclists in nearby Plain, Washington. We talk dirt bikes for a bit before I eye the skies and decide it’s time to go. Those cumulus have built a good bit. They’re not ugly enough to chase us out of the mountains just yet, but Piper and I should get moving.

I purposely came into the mountains with partial gas, necessitating a fuel stop at Wenatchee’s Pangborn Memorial Airport (KEAT). From there, we climb out over Mission Ridge, dodging rain shafts. My Stratus ADS-B receiver shows some strong precipitation northeast of Mount Rainier and over the Goat Rocks Wilderness, but so far it’s staying clear of our next destination. Passing Cle Elum, Snoqualmie Pass looks very doable—that’s my backup option. As I work my way southwest, though, the weather holds. Crossing Bethel Ridge, I marvel at a fantastic ridgetop trail and file it away for a ride on my KTM dirt bike. From there, it’s a fast drop into the Tieton River valley, where Tieton State Airport (4S6, elevation 2,964 feet msl) is nestled on the shore of Rimrock Lake.

In late summer, Tieton State becomes a busy Forest Service firebase, but for now it’s quiet. The vertiginous dome of appropriately named Goose Egg Mountain lies just off the north end, making this a mostly one-way-in, one-way-out airport. The wind is nearly calm. I fly out over the lake, make a spiraling descent, and set up a dogleg approach to 2,509-foot Runway 2. There’s a decent bug-out option to the left down to about 150 feet, but below that you wouldn’t want to go around without a good bit of power. This time, speed and glide path are right on target, so I continue over the shoreline and make a wheel landing on the grass. Overall the strip is in great shape.

Tieton looks like a fantastic place to airplane camp. There’s plenty of shady parking alongside the strip, an indoor pit toilet, and nice views over the lake and mountains. It’s a short walk to the beach, where Piper frolics in the sand. For a minute, he’s a young pup on Windbird again. But now it’s 5 p.m., and those overdeveloped cumulus are getting a lot closer. I can see rain shafts cutting across the far side of the lake. Our playdate is almost over. The hourlong flight home will take us up and over White Pass, past Mount Rainier via the Skate Creek and Nisqually River drainages, and thence via Puyallup and the Tacoma Narrows. As a young pilot, this would have been a grand adventure, and now it’s all part of my backyard.

My 20th wedding anniversary is coming up, and while we’re celebrating with a monthlong trip to New Zealand later in the year, we didn’t have plans for the big day itself. When I asked Dawn what she’d like to do, she said airplane camping in the mountains. I think Tieton State Airport will be a great place to base ourselves for a few days of exploration. I’m a very lucky guy.

This column first appeared in the September 2023/Issue 941 of FLYING’s print edition.

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