Camping on Field

[homer simpson]

Was going through the AOPA Airport Directory and noticed this is a
selection criteria. It sounds like a cool thing to do. I'm thinking
you just fly in, pitch the tent and chill. Has anyone in the group ever
done this? Apart from calling ahead to check with the airport
management, are there any other suggestions?

[Denny]

Apart from calling ahead to check with the airport
management, are there any other suggestions?
************************************************** ****************


MMMmm, yup... Air mattress, warm willing companion, good wine, and
charcoal... What more could you ask for...

Actually, there are any number of smaller airports that allow camping
under the wing... For instance, the Frankenmuth Airport (Michigan) is a
grass strip that has a camping area with a picnic table and a charcoal
grill, at the ready... Now today, there is a major winter storm going
on and the snow is blowing against my window as I type this, so camping
may be a bit cool, but if you have a J3 Cub on skis, and good camping
gear, go for it!

Denny

[Dan Thompson]

Another tip:
If the airport has a rotating beacon, you will want to set up your tent so
that it is in the "shade" of something else, like a hangar, airplane or
tree, between you and the beacon. Even so you will still have pulsating
light in your tent all night long, which might bother you.

"homer simpson" > wrote in message
...
> Was going through the AOPA Airport Directory and noticed this is a
> selection criteria. It sounds like a cool thing to do. I'm thinking you
> just fly in, pitch the tent and chill. Has anyone in the group ever done
> this? Apart from calling ahead to check with the airport management, are
> there any other suggestions?

[Jay Honeck]

> If the airport has a rotating beacon, you will want to set up your tent so
> that it is in the "shade" of something else, like a hangar, airplane or
> tree, between you and the beacon. Even so you will still have pulsating
> light in your tent all night long, which might bother you.

Two things are required for enjoyable airplane camping:

1. Eyeshade/mask. (For aforementioned light pollution.)
2. Ear plugs. (For the inevitable sound pollution.)

Beyond those two things, everything else is optional.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Blueskies]

"Denny" > wrote in message oups.com...
> Apart from calling ahead to check with the airport
> management, are there any other suggestions?
> ************************************************** ****************
>
>
> MMMmm, yup... Air mattress, warm willing companion, good wine, and
> charcoal... What more could you ask for...
>
> Actually, there are any number of smaller airports that allow camping
> under the wing... For instance, the Frankenmuth Airport (Michigan) is a
> grass strip that has a camping area with a picnic table and a charcoal
> grill, at the ready... Now today, there is a major winter storm going
> on and the snow is blowing against my window as I type this, so camping
> may be a bit cool, but if you have a J3 Cub on skis, and good camping
> gear, go for it!
>
> Denny
>


4n0, same things. We even have a car to borrow if need be....

[C J Campbell]

"homer simpson" > wrote in message
...
> Was going through the AOPA Airport Directory and noticed this is a
> selection criteria. It sounds like a cool thing to do. I'm thinking
> you just fly in, pitch the tent and chill. Has anyone in the group ever
> done this? Apart from calling ahead to check with the airport
> management, are there any other suggestions?

Some airfields are better than others. I don't see the attraction of camping
at a typical municipal airport (I don't see the attraction of camping in
your RV in a Wal-Mart parking lot, either), but someplace such as Columbia,
CA or back country airstrips could be a lot of fun. Having actually camped
at Columbia, I can say that we had a great time.

[[email protected]]

C J Campbell wrote:

> Some airfields are better than others. I don't see the attraction of
camping
> at a typical municipal airport (I don't see the attraction of camping
in
> your RV in a Wal-Mart parking lot, either), but someplace such as
Columbia,
> CA or back country airstrips could be a lot of fun. Having actually
camped
> at Columbia, I can say that we had a great time.

WYS--West Yellowstone, Montana has a beautiful on-airport campground.
Located in the trees, so no rotating beacon problem. Courtesy bicycles
for riding into town, and hot showers powered by a propane tank.
Magnificent hiking nearby too. Charge for camping was around $5 as I
recall. One of the av-rags, maybe Pilot Getaways, did a brief writup on
it a few years ago.

Jim Rosinski

[john smith]

Just do not try to camp at an airport with aircarrier service.
You will not be allowed as it is considered a security risk.

[vincent p. norris]

>Some airfields are better than others. .... someplace such as Columbia,
>CA or back country airstrips could be a lot of fun.

Try Fairbanks, Alaska. Great camping. Tell Ground Control you want
to taxi to the campground; get cleared to the northeast corner of the
field, where you taxi right into a campground. Tie down your plane,
pitch your tent, and enjoy. There's a good-sized shelter with a paved
floor, several sawbuck tables, a large wood stove, a supply of
firewood, and even some old newspaper for tenderfeet who don't know
how to start a fire. Faucet with fresh running water (though a bit
discolored); privy a few yards away.

There's also a shower room in the tower building, although it's about
half a mile from the campground.

Of course, 747s fly in and out all night, but night lasts only a
couple of hours (in summer), so it doesn't matter much.

vince norris

[vincent p. norris]

>Just do not try to camp at an airport with aircarrier service.
>You will not be allowed as it is considered a security risk.

Oops! I didn't know that. Haven't been to Fairbanks since 9/11. So
camping there may no longer be permitted.

vince norris

[john smith]

As always, Alaska may have different interpretation of the rules.
I was referring to airports with passenger service in the lower 48.

>>Just do not try to camp at an airport with aircarrier service.
>>You will not be allowed as it is considered a security risk.

vincent p. norris wrote:
> Oops! I didn't know that. Haven't been to Fairbanks since 9/11. So
> camping there may no longer be permitted.

[Jürgen Exner]

homer simpson wrote:
> Was going through the AOPA Airport Directory and noticed this is a
> selection criteria. It sounds like a cool thing to do. I'm thinking
> you just fly in, pitch the tent and chill. Has anyone in the group
> ever done this? Apart from calling ahead to check with the airport
> management, are there any other suggestions?

A while ago there was a discussion about which airports people recommend for
camping. I collected all the replies (you may want to check google, too):

==========
http://www.airnav.com/airport/S77 if you don't mind bears.
Idaho Wilderness Area. East of McCall. Great!
Georgetown, CA airport, Q61.

In California, we have Oceano (L52), where you pitch your tent within
spitting distance of your airplane, and can walk to the beach (not a
peaceful beach though, plenty of horse backriding, ATV's, etc). There
are a few grills, and two big fire pits for proper s'more preparation.
We went there last summer, it was great. Very reasonable fees.

Lake Murray, just South of Ardmore, OK.
Airstrip(1F1,lighted), Lodge w/restaurant, nice pool, cabins,
camping, hiking, fishing, rental watercraft, horses, etc.
One of our favorite places to stay. Use phone at golf
pro shop at the airstrip to call the lodge for free
pickup. Some just pitch a tent right on the airfield,
and the pro shop does have some snacks and drinks.

If you are in this part of the country, then just south of this is Cedar
Mills on Lake Texoma, 3T0 (zero). 3000' E-W grass runway. They have
cottages or you can camp on the airport. One favorite spot is near the
tree on the east of the runway and near the lake. There is a resturant,
showers, etc on the property.

> Yellowstone has a camp ground next to the airport that is nice. It is
> only open in the summer for 3 months.

Most Montana airports allow camping on the field.

Lake Barkley, KY is nice. The guy that lives on the field there will
always tell you the wrong way of the wind though. There's a lodge with
a sunday brunch and transportation to and from.
Lake Barkley also has a terrific state-owned-and-operated hotel.

Columbia Airport, CA
Lake Isabella, CA
Flying M Ranch, OR
Marble Canyon, AZ
Bar Ten Ranch, AZ
Silverwood, ID
Johnson Creek, ID
Smiley Creek, ID
Ferndale, MT
Nine Quarter Circle Ranch, MT


Columbia, California (O22) - Picnic & campsite at airport. Historic
restored gold mining town (Columbia State Historic Park) one mile away and
an easy walk.

http://www.flyidaho.org/scenes/idapts_c.html
http://www.flyidaho.org/scenes/idapts_n.html
http://www.flyidaho.org/scenes/idapts_s.html

Western Montana has 8U2, 8U4, 3U7, 0S1 (see Airnav for pics and specs).

I was astounded when I pulled into Fairbanks and the tower asked me if
I wanted to taxi to the "camping area". The camping area had a pullout
for each plane. Each site had its own picnic table and firepit. There
was a community pagoda, cut firewood and bicycle. Best camping
ammenities I have ever found at an airport.

I have found you can camp at most small airports. Especially the ones
where there are no "facilities". You can camp at my home base, Boulder
(1V5). But only for a day or two. Its tolerated but not encouraged. I
have also "camped" inside the FBO at numerous airports. Just put my
bag on the couch and spent the night.

Both Death Valley airports (CA) have camping.
Stovepipe wells is a bit windswept and there is no shade, but
its only about 100 yds from the end of the strip. Good restaurant
nearby. Bring tiedowns. Only 3 'proper' tiedown spots, so bring
things to dig into dirt in case spots are full.
Furnace creek has more shade. Campground is about 1/2 mile
from strip. I've camped on the field, but you're not supposed to.
Another good restaurant & fancy hotel if you get bored with
camping. Plenty of space at airfield, probably enough for 50
planes & it's seldom full. Most people are day trippers. Bring
tiedowns to rope plane to wires set in the asphalt.
Spring is very pleasant, but watch for winds which can get
savage (hence comments about tiedowns).

Followed the Alaska Highway back from Anchorage last summer. Camped in the
woods near the airplane at many airports across Canada. Even at the larger
airports, they don't seem to give it a second thought - although it may just
be a grassy area off to the side.
Here in the midwest, I can't think of an airport that I would just pull over
and set up camp. It just seems so natural farther north but not down in the
lower 48 (OK maybe just the middle 12).

Madeline Island. In Lake Superior. Nothing but a picnic spot, though you
could
camp primitive. I'm told there's a diner a reasonable walk away, and
they'll
loan you a bicycle. One resort hotel, and a ferry to the mainland. Not much
else, and you'd have to fly (it's really an island!) to nearby Ashland, Wi
for
fuel. But in autumn it's worth it for the fall colors and locally-grown
apples.
http://www.airnav.com/airport/4R5
The flight instructors at my old school used to take students there because
it
was a good long cross-country and a lovely day's recreation before coming
back.


Nobel County (I10), Caldwell, Ohio.
Adjacent to a state park. Path leads from airport to the lake at the
end of the runway.

Highland County (HOC), Hillsboro, Ohio.
Adjacent to Rocky Fork Lake State Park.

Nehalem Bay State Airport
http://www.airstripamerica.com/cgi-bin/apt_info?3S7
There are five or six camping spots right off the tie down area. During
the summer there is running water and port-a-potties. About a mile walk to
town for supplies. The airport is on the estuary side of the beach, it's
about a 1/2 mile walk to the ocean frontage. The beach is in the lower
right hand corner of the picture, just below Nehalem Bay State Park.

Johnson Creek is posted as one-way (land 17 takeoff 35). There's a
tall hill at the end of 17 with a house on top. Landing on 35 is not
very difficult, but is discouraged to keep the noise over the house to
a minimum.
The airport is not in the wilderness, but it's close to the River of
No Return Wilderness area. If you click on the top link in my post
above, it the second one down on the right. Great place to camp with
showers, a phone, and courtesy vans that you can rent for about 8
bucks to visit the town of Yellowpine (5 miles away on a gravel road).
Caretakers Gene and Cody maintain the runway and campgrounds like it
was their own. Well worth a visit.

Marble, Colorado. Bring EVERYTHING. 1.5 mile hike into town of Marble.
1 pay phone in town, limited, limited store. Great fishing on the
Crystal River. Great marble quarry mine tour... this is where much of
the marble for the monuments in Washington D.C. come from.
View our fly-in briefing:
http://www.coloradopilots.org/marble2003.asp
This is a PRIVATE airport... I am authorized to provide instruction
and contact information.

Columbia California: http://www.airstripamerica.com/cgi-bin/apt_info?O22
Columbia is in the foot hills of the Sierra Mountains and is a historic
gold mining town run the Park Service. Camping is off the grass runway
11/29 on the right side of the picture. The town is an easy 10 to 15
minute walk to the left.
I was there last spring for the Taylorcraft Rendezvous and it is a popular
destination for many others including the 99's and the Luscombe group.

=================
>Columbia is in the foot hills of the Sierra Mountains and is a historic
>gold mining town run the Park Service.

Columbia is *so* cool! I would love to return there.
http://lairds.org/Kyler/photos/disk0023/img_1592.jpg/image_viewer
Note that the town largely shuts down in the evening but during the
day there are plenty of places to eat.

>Camping is off the grass runway 11/29 on the right side of the picture.

way ahead and to the right in this photo
http://lairds.org/Kyler/photos/disk0023/img_1591.jpg/image_viewer
There's a bit of a hill at the other end of the strip.

I haven't been to many strips with camping. Columbia impressed me.
There are nice/adequate camping facilities that are accessible only
from the runway. Is that common?

>I was there last spring for the Taylorcraft Rendezvous and it is a popular
>destination for many others including the 99's and the Luscombe group.

Yup, that's why we went. No shortage of good people in the area.
=========================

Another place that has camping on the airport is Oceano. There are
shuttles running into Pismo and restaurants in walking distance. The
beach is a couple of hundred yards away.
=================

jue

[[email protected]]

wrote:
>
> WYS--West Yellowstone, Montana has a beautiful on-airport campground.
> Located in the trees, so no rotating beacon problem. Courtesy
bicycles
> for riding into town, and hot showers powered by a propane tank.
> Magnificent hiking nearby too. Charge for camping was around $5 as I
> recall. One of the av-rags, maybe Pilot Getaways, did a brief writup
on
> it a few years ago.
>

WYS is one of my favorite stops. My website has pics and info of
several cool camping destinations in the Western U.S.

http://members.cox.net/jgalban/index.html
John Galban=====>N4BQ (PA28-180)

[[email protected]]

john smith wrote:
> As always, Alaska may have different interpretation of the rules.
> I was referring to airports with passenger service in the lower 48.
>

Not always. West Yellowstone (mentioned above) has air carrier
service and camping on the field. They just don't want you loitering
around on the ramp when the commercial flight is there.
John Galban=====>N4BQ (PA28-180)

[[email protected]]

vincent p. norris wrote:
>
> Try Fairbanks, Alaska. Great camping.
<snip>

Also one of my favorites : http://members.cox.net/jgalban/id45.htm

> Of course, 747s fly in and out all night, but night lasts only a
> couple of hours (in summer), so it doesn't matter much.

The 747s aren't bad, those ancient DC-6s with the giant radials that
take off every morning to haul fuel make for an interesting alarm
clock. As I recall, they usually started their day at around 6 A.M.
John Galban=====>N4BQ (PA28-180)

[Newps]

Jay Honeck wrote:
>>If the airport has a rotating beacon, you will want to set up your tent so
>>that it is in the "shade" of something else, like a hangar, airplane or
>>tree, between you and the beacon. Even so you will still have pulsating
>>light in your tent all night long, which might bother you.
>
>
> Two things are required for enjoyable airplane camping:
>
> 1. Eyeshade/mask. (For aforementioned light pollution.)
> 2. Ear plugs. (For the inevitable sound pollution.)
>
> Beyond those two things, everything else is optional.


If you need those then you gotta stop camping in the middle of a big
city for christ sakes. Come out here to the mountains and you don't
need that crap.

[[email protected]]

Newps wrote:
> Jay Honeck wrote:
<snip>
> > Two things are required for enjoyable airplane camping:
> >
> > 1. Eyeshade/mask. (For aforementioned light pollution.)
<snip>
>
> If you need those then you gotta stop camping in the middle of a big
> city for christ sakes. Come out here to the mountains and you don't
> need that crap.

I needed item #1 the whole time I was in Alaska and the Yukon. It
never gets dark if you camp out in the summer :-)
John Galban=====>N4BQ (PA28-180)

[[email protected]]

homer simpson wrote:
> Was going through the AOPA Airport Directory and noticed this is a
> selection criteria. It sounds like a cool thing to do. I'm thinking

> you just fly in, pitch the tent and chill. Has anyone in the group
ever
> done this? Apart from calling ahead to check with the airport
> management, are there any other suggestions?
Don't pitch your tent on the runway.