The International Cessna^® 170 Association

The '54 and I set sail for Johnson Creek, Idaho tomorrow.
Looking forward to 5 or so days of camping/fishing and
"debriefing" in the Idaho back-country. 7 airplanes and
14+ people will make the trek over from Western Washington.
Weather should be a pleasant mid-70's with little threat of T-storms.

Can't wait to get going....

I will have the eyeballs and ears wide-open. My flying
(stock '54 B) will take place from the crack of dawn to
10:00am max daily, and/or from 7:00pm to dusk.
We (more like I) am lucky in that instead of the 90-100
degree temps which have occurred lately, the forecasts
say mid 70's all through the week (lower density altitude
is my best friend!).

My 180 buds have been giving me a hard time saying
my airplane will be up for sale as soon as I get back
(we'll have to see about that....). I've got the thing
about as light as I can get it without completely gutting it,
and the '51 pitch prop with just me and light fuel has been
giving half-way-decent performance (for those familiar
with the Pacific Northwest, I took her into Ranger Creek
last week on a hot day, density altitude was around
6000 feet with 20+ knot gusty winds, and the ole' stock
B did just fine....).

When I get back, I'll post some pictures of the trip somewhere
and provide a link to them.

Eveyone have a safe/enjoyable 4th of July weekend....

Bela P. Havasreti
'54 C-170B N170BP

We were in Johnson Creek last weekend with the 170. You should have no problems if you stay light under 2000 lbs and operate in there before 11 and after 7. Land to the south take off north

Idaho has many fun places to visit. You should stop into Chamberlain, Big Creek, Idaho City, Warms Springs Creek, Garden Valley, Smiley Creek and Cavainagh Bay in northern Idaho. Elk City Dixie, Atlanta and Moose Creek if you have the time. Indian Creek, Sulfer Creek, Upper Loon Creek, and Thomas Creek are worthy of a stop and see.

Well, I had a great time, and learned new respect
for high altitude/DA operations (and flying in that
!@#$%^&* wind during the afternoons!!!!).

Unfortunately, someone in a Beech Sierra crashed at
Johnson Creek on Friday.... Also, a Mooney almost went
off the end of the runway after going around and trying
to land again.

If there was one thing drilled into my head over the last
several days, it's *NAIL THE APPROACH/LANDING*, don't
go around. Many of the strips are one way in, the other way
out and have no place to go around (unless you're the guy
driving that 540 powered Harmon Rocket around in the woods....).

We went to Cold Meadows (warm-up for me, 7000 feet elevation),
Cabin Creek (what a fun approach), Upper Loon, Big Creek,
Wilson Bar, Chamberlain, Graham, and a couple of other places
I forgot. For a stock, lightly loaded 170, 6:00am to 11:00am works
(also evenings). We were having fun fishing at Upper Loon and I
didn't get out of there until 12:15 or so.... Taught me a lesson....

I had the priveledge of flying two different early Cessna 180s
also during my time there, and the extra power (full rpm with
that C/S prop) was very comforting (no flames here, I know
this is a 170 list and the 180 doesn't have the cool round tail....).

It was nice running into our own Dick Lemmon while at
Johnson Creek. The Bruise Bros. (180 crowd) got a
real kick out of your stories....

Here's a picture of 7 of us at Cabin Creek (5 180s, an
early 182 and my 170):

http://www.geocities.com/snjdrvr/1_small.jpg

More pictures later....

Bela P. Havasreti
'54 C-170B N170BP

Bela:

Do you have any details on the accident at Johnson Creek. What we have heard is that he tried to go around after missing the approach. ? Last fall there was a Cherokee 180 that also went around and burned after crashing in the trees off the end of the runway.

I hate to arm-chair quarterback airplane crashes, and a good
friend of mine is an accident investigator who was on-scene
an hour or so after the crash (we camped together at the
same site). So, although I should probably keep my mouth shut,
doing that is sometimes extremely hard for me.... <grins>

I didn't see the crash. I was enroute to McCall at the time
it happened. When I got back (close to 1:00pm) the winds
were what you might call nasty in that bowl around Johnson
Creek.

From what I gathered after landing (and talking with those who
witnessed the crash), the pilot came in too hot & high and went
around. Some folks said he flew up the middle (center-line)
of the canyon (a no-no). He got the thing cleaned up, and
after gaining some altitude, appeared to initiate a left-hand turn
to return to the airport (from the middle of the valley). This accident investigator friend of mine and I went up the next day to try to get aerial photos of the wreck. We found the aircraft at about 6300 feet
(about 300-400 feet below the east ridge), approx. 4.5 miles south
of the strip.

What went wrong? I don't know.... I'm just a newby at mountain
flying, but my buddies did drill several basics into my head before we
headed east. Never fly up the center of a canyon (always hug one side, preferably the right). Never go around (nail the landing). Always leave
yourself an out when maneuvering around rising terrain. There are
countless more "rules", and I hope to learn as much as I can from
those who have been there/done that.

For what it's worth, the aircraft in question appeared to have
enough altitude to continue climbing to the south (could have
went all the way to Salt Lake City if he hadn't turned).

Bela P. Havasreti
'54 C-170B N170BP

Forgot to add that my investigator friend did that Cherokee
accident too. He's the one who's been coaching me on what
to do and what not to do (to avoid being killed in the hills!).

He did another go-around accident at Atlanta, ID awhile back
(an Aviat Husky if memory serves). It's always the same thing....
Too hot/fast, higher than a hippie, the attempted go-around, and.....

Bela P. Havasreti
'54 C-170B N170BP