| ISSUE 768 - October 11, 2022 • Over 9,000 Total Ads Listed • 1,000+ NEW Ads Per Week |
| Back to Backcountry - Part 1 |
| Dana Brejakova, Contributing Writer & Photographer |
|
Everyone who loves bush flying, nature, and genuine aviation camaraderie had a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the wonders of it all at the Gila Backcountry Fly-In, Reserve, NM over the Labor Day Weekend. Organized and sponsored by the New Mexico Pilots Association's dream team (NMPA) in cooperation with Recreational Aviation Foundation (RAF), the Gila Backcountry Fly-In was a sweet escape from all the noise of the everyday world.
Once again, we got to enjoy the beautiful mountains, forests as far as one eye could see, fun bush flying above the near-by meadows, airplane themed conversations, and the intoxicating freedom of flying. Together with our friend Dennis and his wonderful back seater Poly, we took off early in the morning on Friday. This year we were in for a real treat. The past few weeks brought rains over the region - and as we were informed ahead of time - the Kingdom of Flora, in the mountains, meadows, and forests, was exploding with life. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes were a part of it. But if you somehow managed not to breathe out CO2 (because as we all know CO2 gives a mosquito precise vector of your location) while outside during the dusk and dawn you were safe. Haha. To sum up, I could not wait. This year promised a lovely getaway and an opportunity for stunning photographs. And boy, was I right!
|
|
All systems go, all systems looking good. Dennis was ready and about to take off.
Bye-bye, KELP, we will be back on Sunday. |
|
| I almost forgot how photogenic Dennis's Husky was. That is one good looking bird! It was a beautiful morning and I was super stoked we all were going. |
|
| Delta Golf airborne and on the way for some bush flying adventures. |
|
| I knew it. Look at the local biotope. The topography which usually looks brownish with a few shrubs here and there was now exploding with hues of green. Soon enough, I got very busy fighting my elbows and glares on the Husky windows to be able to capture the marvel as best as I could. |
|
| As I was watching the lush green landscape, it just hit me. I think there are plant seeds absolutely everywhere (deserts included) sleeping. All those seeds are there and they only wait for the rain. It either comes or not. And if it comes - booooom! Even a desert can turn into a beautiful oasis. |
|
While I was contemplating the miracle of what rain brought to our part of the world, I got interrupted by another stunning view.
|
|
| Velvety meadows! They looked like a soft carpet that was neatly rolled over the small hills. Emergency landing with tundra tires here? Noooooo problem. Those were the same meadows we love flying above during the golden hour while at the Gila Regional Fly-In. Look, how lovely they turned out this year! I could not wait for our traditional late afternoon flights. |
|
In the pattern and on a final approach to Reserve Airport.
One last left turn and runway 25 was ours. |
|
| Hello, Gila Backcountry! Great to be back again. Now, chop chop! Park the birds, tie them down, and say Hi to everyone. |
|
| The mighty beacon at Reserve Airport was our lighthouse for the next three days. |
|
While I was staring into the construction of the beacon tower, I remembered to take out our folding chairs and let the battle of putting them together begin! I swear, those things have a mind of their own. But this time I was prepared. Weeks ago, as a part of my routine exercise, I started squeezing one of those hard rubber balls to strengthen my wrists and fingers to be able to open my own jars. (Don't ask. LOL) The results were astonishing. I was able to squeeze those darn chairs into the desired position so I could dress the structure with the seat section without poking my eyes out. A proud moment for Dana.
Time for Czech chick checklist.
Chairs - CHECK
Inflatable lounger - CHECK
Snacks - CHECK
Great company of good friends - CHECK
We were chillin' under the high wings of our Huskies and counting our blessings.
|
|
| Rich attendance this year. And as usual, a beautiful selection of birds. Here we had a Beechcraft Bonanza basking in the afternoon sun. This particular 1969 E33C was factory built for aerobatics. |
|
| "Mirror, mirror on the wall whose prop spinner is the shiniest of them all?" |
|
| The airplanes, tents, happy campers, and beautiful forests in the mountains. |
|
Gila Backcountry Fly-In is laid back, well-organized, and one of the loveliest Fly-Ins I have ever attended. Nature, airplanes, good friends, good times. It takes the team work of many hardworking people who put their energy, time, and their heart into making these gatherings happen. The New Mexico Pilots Association (NMPA) and Recreational Aviation Foundation (RAF) (who are very close partners in New Mexico) plus all wonderful volunteers pulled it off again. A job well done, everyone! Big shout out to all volunteers and all of you busy bees in the background. We see you. We know and we appreciate all your efforts and what all you do for people like us. You help keep bush flying and recreational aviation alive by taking care of us and by taking very good care of Forest Service Air strips. Thanks to people like you, we can have a sweet escape and do what we love, which is backcountry flying!
|
|
| Ground-to-Air communication - CHECK! Nice work, as always, Ron! Ron is one of the busy bees, and RAF New Mexico Liaison, NMPA Backcountry Co-Chair as well as a Board member. At that moment, there was a beautiful red bird on approach and Ron was on it. |
|
| Gorgeous taildragger was following Ron who was leading her to her designated spot. I love the paint job on this one. Especially the top of the wings. |
|
| A warm welcome by the four-legged furry friend for the lady in red. |
|
| Royal treatment! Every day we had a wonderful breakfast and dinner secured on-site. Friday dinner was burgers and green chile bratwursts! And trust me when I say those green chile bratwursts are legendary. |
|
Golden hour arrived and I could see Jimmy the Squirrel taking his "Let's go flying" scan around the perimeter. Winds were calm, air was cool, say no more. With great expectations, we departed for our late afternoon flight.
|
|
| My gosh golly, what a marvelous evening that was! Dennis and Poly on our right with the lush green forest as a background. |
|
| Nature fits these bush planes like a glove! |
|
| The evening became a beautiful painting and the meadows were inviting us to be a part of a wonderful moment. A moment when two Aviat Huskies were set free and were having a blast above one of the most charming topographies. That moment was ours and it felt beyond great! |
|
| Not to run out of daylight, we decided to head back to Reserve Airport. Five clicks on the microphone and voila beautiful runway navigation lights appeared. |
|
| After we landed, the sky got dressed into soft hues of blue and orange. Now, chop chop again to tie the birds down and secure them for the night. |
|
| As we were preparing the birds for the night, I looked around and I realized I had to take a walk along the runway. The light was way too perfect to let it escape. |
|
| Lovely evening was upon us and we were catching up with our friends, sharing stories and good laughs. The Reserve Airport was slowly going to sleep and so were we. |
|
Nighty-night, everyone. It was 9PM - a perfect time to call it a day. We were waking up early to catch breakfast at 7AM and then flying to visit near-by air strips.
To be continued ...
|
| By Dana Brejakova, Contributing Writer & Photographer
|
|
| |
|
