A couple years ago when I was in flight training I started thinking about where I wanted to fly and what I would do. I eventually started a list of all the airports I wanted to visit for different reasons and since it wasn’t easy to find a good list for west coast GA flyers, here we go.
Shelter Cove, California (0Q5)
Shelter Cover is one of my favorite small airports and I’m lucky to be able to say I’ve been able to land here. The small town of Shelter Cove is on the Lost Coast of California perched on the cliffs of the pacific ocean. The approach is along the shoreline with 100-300 foot cliffs as you descend to pattern altitude. If you aren’t taking a straight in approach you will need to turn out over the water to use the Left pattern for Runway 30 or Right traffic for Runway 12. The most common landing will be on 12 with the prevailing wind and you should aim to be in around 10AM while the fog it lifting and out by 3PM before if comes in again. Best part about Shelter Cove is it’s absolutely beautiful with a small golf course, camping ground and good food at the local brewery (Gyppo Brewery). The black sand beaches are right off the airport and are easily accesable, this is a amazing day flight and one that makes it my favorite airport.
Sedona, Colorado (KSEZ)
Sedona is beautiful from the air and ground but the airport is a jewel of the area due to it’s position on a plateau. This does present some issues with crosswind to certainly practice landing with crosswind approaches but if you are coming in before 11am the wing should be fairly tame. Visibility into the airport is excellent as it’s very easy to identify the airport in the reds of the desert but one note is to pay attention to the pressure altitude. Although there’s almost no humidity it’s high with an altitude of about 4831ft and HOT with summer heat of about 100 degrees. As long as you consult your aircrafts performance charts and abide by weight and balance limitations, you will have a great time.
The other great part about the position of the airport is that it’s so close to the center of town. There are hotels directly off the airport for overnight stays and there’s plenty of great option about 1/2 mile into town by rideshare or a short walk. I have to give a shout out to Tamaliza which is AMAZING Mexican food and the Mesa Grill for having one of the most solid airport dining restaurants I’ve ever seen. Whether you’re just flying in for a meal or spending a relaxing weekend in Sedona, it’s a gem of the desert.
Napa, California (ACP)
I live in the California Bay Area and I love NAPA, the airport is no exception. I’ve flown into this 3 runway airport more times than I can count and I’ve always had great experiences with ATC here. They’ve always been friendly and since I was flying here during my PPL training I know they must have the most patience of any ATC, I made some mistakes let’s keep it at that. Since this is by the San Francisco Bay you do have to deal with gusty winds and foggy mornings but it’s well worth some chop to spend an amazing weekend in Napa. One of my favorite resorts is the Carneros Spa and Resort and there’s an great restaurant called Boon Fly Cafe which is close to the airport so get an rideshare and enjoy a weekend of wine tasting and great food.
Catalina California (KAVX)
This single strip airport is one of the most interesting experience you can have if you’ve flown on the mainland your whole flying career. This is the only island I’ve flown too and that’s a budget list item alone but Catalina is a nice short ~25 mile hop from the coastline to the island. As with any airport by the coast or in hilly areas you will deal with crosswind and since Catalina is both on the coast and on the top of a hill, you deal with some turbulent updrafts on final.
Bring your hiking shoes, drinks and some sandwiches since there hiking directly off the airport but not a whole lot else. I liked the hike but getting into the small port town of Avalon is a 10 mile journey so it’s not walking distance and taxis are about $50 each way. If you do head into town, go to The Naughty Fox, it’s great American food which has something for everyone and beautiful views of the ocean. I stick close to the airpot and eat at the dinner or have a sandwich mid hike while enjoying the bison which are randomly walking around after being used for a movie over 50 years ago, they have thrived there after never being removed.
Truckee California (KTRK)
The Truckee airport is at about a mile of altitude and it tends to have some very hot days in the summer so it’s another one where you will have to watch out for performance limitations. Don’t be surprised if you’re clime rate is half of what you are used to so do your calculations before you go. I also like to fly into Truckee as early as possible to avoid stronger mountain winds since the terrain turbulence can make for a less than fun flight for passengers later in the way. I strongly recommend flying with a experienced montain pilot first before trying this yourself or take a mountain flying course so you know what you are getting into. This is not a highly technical rout but it’s nice to have experience under your belt. Most pilots will follow the highways in and it get’s you right to Truckee.
Once there you will find an amazing mountain town with plenty of resorts so book yourself some golf or maintain biking in the summer or get lift passes for winter skiing. There’s more retruants and resorts than I can name so take your pick, I’ve never been disappointed with Truckee.