| ISSUE 769 - October 18, 2022 • Over 9,000 Total Ads Listed • 1,000+ NEW Ads Per Week |
| Back to Backcountry - Part 2 |
| Dana Brejakova, Contributing Writer & Photographer |
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My alarm clock set for 6:00 AM went off and no matter how much I wanted to stay in bed I knew I had to kick myself out because that early morning was super worth it. Jimmy the Squirrel was already up and could hardly wait for our Saturday adventures.
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| Early morning offered optimal flying conditions for these two beautiful Rogallo wing trikes. While we were slowly waking up and pouring the hot coffee in our mugs, those guys were already up enjoying a lovely crisp morning. |
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| Blue and white trike just landed and was following the delicious smell of pecan pancakes for breakfast. Our compliments to the chefs who took royal care of us, and a special thanks to Jimmy the Squirrel for providing the pecans. |
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| "Wait for me, wait for me!" The white and blue RV-12 was preparing to get airborne and off to the adventures just as well. |
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| I enjoy the mornings around here. Delicious breakfast, smell of the coffee, and airplanes getting ready for their flights. Everyone helps everyone and when the bird needs to be pushed from the grass to the asphalt, no problem. You will always find three more pairs of strong arms and sometimes you can even get escorted by a cute four-legged friend of general aviation. |
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| Beautiful red Carbon Cub FX airborne. |
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| While some were getting ready to enjoy air as smooth as glass and near-by air strips, others were chillin' and were exploring the beautiful surroundings on bikes. |
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| Guess what we did. Of course, we went flying. Look at those two great looking Aviat Huskies! |
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| After some brainstorming, we decided to visit the Double Circle Ranch in Arizona first, and then do the rest of the air strips in New Mexico. |
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| After approx. 30 minutes in the air, we were landing. This was Dennis on the final approach. Looking good, Dennis and Poly. |
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| Aviat Huskies in their element. I know I said it probably 57 times already, however, here goes my 58th time - "nature fits these birds like a glove!" Nothing like setting these birds free and letting them do what they were built for. |
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| Jimmy's happy bird enjoying the lovely view. |
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| It was one of those mornings that made me appreciate all Jimmy and Dennis can do. Having a bush plane and being able to fly it as good as these two aviators can is an extraordinary privilege. The freedom behind it all cannot be described by words. Even though, I am trying hard. A postcard right there. |
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| The old water tower charming as ever added a rustic touch to the whole place. |
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| Tiny wildflowers were everywhere. The yellow, white, and lilac carpet welcomed our tundra tires and made us feel home, especially the Huskies. "Runways optional" - as my favorite sticker sums it up. |
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| The Double Circle Ranch looked stunning this year. I took a deep breath to take the air deep into my lungs and looked around. The majestic trees, bushes, and wildflowers were emitting a wonderful scent that was forever calming. |
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Charmed by the marvelous views, we decided to walk around a bit and check the near-by billabong. We had a lovely little hike and I was glad I did not let my usual fights with bugs take over the beautiful morning walk in nature. However, I must admit there were a few incidents which must have looked rather funny. While three people were walking normally and in a civilized manner, there was a fourth person occasionally waving her hands into the air, jumping sideways and yelling something like: "Seriously? Get lost, you dummies!". Yup that was me being buzzed almost every 38 seconds by either some big beetle or a cheeky fire ant.
It was time to hop our airplanes and move towards the next part of our plan which was getting fuel. As we got airborne and on our way to Springerville municipal airport, AZ, we could feel the winds started picking up. Time to reconsider visiting the rest of the air strips. After we got the fuel, we decided to fly back to Reserve Airport and see how the day would develop. And sure enough, we were not the only ones. On the radio communication we could hear that other aviators were sharing the same observations and were all on the way back to Reserve.
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| After we landed, we watched a few more birds coming back from their morning flights as well. RV-4 taxiing to her spot. |
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The day turned a bit windy so we stayed on the ground and we were enjoying good conversations with locals who came by to visit and talk all things aviation. The day was flowing by and the winds started calming down. Hurray! Some aviators decided to go flying and I saluted such decision. I ran to get my camera ready to get those prop discs!
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Improving wind conditions brought us back on track to our plan on visiting the rest of the air strips. However, we decided to wait for the golden hour for the departure. In the meantime, we kept chillin' on the ground.
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| Invasion stripes as a main theme on this beautiful Interstate Cadet were inviting my lens for a snap. |
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| How many airplanes on this picture do you see? Three! The lady in red by the trees and then two yellow airplanes on the T-shirts, d-uh! For all, who registered there were these awesome Ts waiting to be worn. |
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| Even though, I myself, am not a T-shirt person, I enjoy wearing this one! It fits great and the design sums the whole Fly-In perfectly. Not only there is a lovely design of a taildragger on the back side, when you look closer, there is also a map of all those well-kept air strips one can visit at this Fly-In. |
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| Secured and distributed by "invaluable advisor in all things aviation in New Mexico" Joyce, who is another essential busy bee who holds several important positions within New Mexico Pilots Association, these T-shirts are super popular. Simple and classy - my cup of tea. |
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| Nice touch of cool looking insignia of New Mexico Pilots Association on the front side and voila we have a bunch of stylish-looking registered attendees as far as one eye could see. |
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| What a nice surprise to find out that our friend Daniel from El Paso stopped by to check out the beautiful Gila Regional Fly-In and to spread a word about his Fly-In that helps raise more funds for cancer research. Before Daniel disappeared behind the horizon, he put up a show for everyone and released a smoke. Nice one! |
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| Don't forget the furry friends of general aviation. Well-behaved and cute as can be, this good girl was happy to be outside saying "Hi" to everyone. |
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"All systems go, all systems looking good." The golden hour was upon us and we were starting our Huskies to explore the rest of the air strips. And by "the rest of the air strips" I mean Negrito air strip. If we went for all, we would run out of daylight and we would have to be racing. Therefore, we picked just one and made sure we made the best of it.
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| Bye-bye, happy campers, see y'all in a bit. |
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| Soon enough, Negrito air strip welcomed us. What a charming spot. |
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| Another beautiful late afternoon was ours. Fantastic job on keeping this air strip in such good condition, RAF Team! |
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| Synchronized with the colors of the wind sock, Dennis's Husky looked stunning at Negrito strip, would not you agree? |
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| Nature, wide open spaces, two bush planes, and four friends enjoying the wonders of bush flying at Gila Regional Fly-In, 2022. |
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| Jimmy on final approach to Reserve Airport that welcomed us again. It is a beautiful spot. I always enjoy the views. |
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| I could not believe it was Sunday morning already! Most attendees were leaving and so were we. |
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| Once again I must say, "Wonderful job, Recreational Aviation Foundation, New Mexico Pilots Association, and all of you volunteers! We are grateful for all you do for us. Thanks to you we got to enjoy another great weekend in Gila." Gosh, I could not believe it was departure Sunday already. |
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While we were getting ready to be wheels up before 9AM, I was watching other birds already taking off and disappearing behind the horizon. There was something joyful about watching all those airplanes taking off. Perhaps it was due to the pure bliss of getting airborne that transcended. We live in a wonderland.
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The joyful wave was quickly replaced with a post Fly-In blues and I was getting all sentimental that the lovely weekend was ending. Blue skies, safe flight, and air as smooth as glass. Until the next time, little birds!
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By Dana Brejakova, Contributing Writer & Photographer
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