All Airstrip Reports
Uneventful landing from the South down in the canyon. Dramatic approach! Never get tired of this strip. Rwy condition good ... dry and firm with small rocks. Plenty of room at N end for 2-3 planes. Don’t recommend landing S or taking off N. Rising terrain to N is taller than it looks. Takeoff to the S requires flying back up the canyon unless you have more HP than me. Great fun either way.
Camped here 10/2/19. I set up under the wing, but there is a decent spot for a couple tents off to the right of the upper end of Rwy6. Beautiful views at sunrise and sunset. Recommend landing uphill 6, T/O downhill 24. Runway is narrow with rocks on either side, so it’s important to stay in the track. I came out loaded with a very slight tailwind on 24, lost momentum by nudging some rocks just outside the track and got flying just at the end. There’s a bit of extra room at the far end of 24, so if in doubt, back the plane up to the edge for more takeoff roll. No problem if done right, but a hair unforgiving under the right circumstances. I like this strip. Also, cell phone service and great views of Navajo Mountain.
Today a group of us drove out to Locomotive Springs to put some of the finishing touches (for now) on Locomotive Springs. Both airstrips were dragged to remove any the vegetation that had grown. We also walked both runways with hand tools to remove any bushes, roots, rocks, etc as well as fill in any soft spots. While the strip is a little powdery in some spots, overall it is now once again in great condition. A new sign identifying the area as an active runway was placed at the entrance, a new windsock was set up in the middle of the segmented circle, and the arrow was painted. A member also brought a tractor out to remove some of the berm between the north/south runway and the parking area. Thank you so much for those that came out and make quick work of the tasks we had to knock out!
Flew into Locomotive Springs on July 27th and made two landings on the on the north south runway. The runway was in good condition with the soil being firm with little dust. There was grass that had filled in on the north end and was approximately 6 inches tall. The rest of the strip had small patches all along the runway. I made one take off on the east west and one on the north south runway. The east west runway was in the same condition as the north south. I did one take off on this
Flew into Rustler Canyon this morning. It is in surprisingly good shape. Landing 31, there is some minor lengthwise rutting (2-3” deep) caused be water runoff for the first couple hundred feet or so (see closeup photos). The surface seemed plenty firm. Several stretches of the runway have weeds/flowers growing in the center, about a foot high. However, there is no sagebrush, so it’s fairly safe to roll through. One morning with a string trimmer would make it about perfect. I’d never been there before, and I have to say it’s one of the most beautiful locations I’ve ever flown into. This strip is a hidden gem. I saw no other aircraft tracks, only some pretty old vehicle tracks.
