Some of the planes ahead of me were being sent in on the Arlington localizer approach. Some were sent to Green Valley to join the VFR procession. I was told to join the localizer but maintain 3000 while Center decided if a holding pattern was needed.

I had plenty of time and plenty of gas, so I was almost looking forward to the challenge of an ad hoc hold. Instead, Center cleared me for the approach. I started down, switched to tower frequency, announced, and dutifully reset the timer as the ADF indicated passing the outer marker.

As I'm descending I'm mostly trying to put together a picture of what sort of VFR traffic pattern I was about to bust into. Since the wind is favoring runway 16, I started leaning to the right as soon as I broke out, to join the expected VFR traffic pattern.

Surprise, runway 34 is in use. Who's afraid of a little tailwind? A Lancair on my tail can't slow down, so tower asks me to land long and get off quickly. Knew all those tailwind landings at Flying M Ranch were good for something.

The forecasts for the return flight that afternoon were much closer to the mark. I had a fun VFR flight under the east side of the Seattle Class B airspace, passing south of the military areas near McChord, then down the I-5 corridor to Oregon. I was flying lower than usual because of the ceiling. It wasn't scud running, but pilotage would have been easier higher up. Conveniently, most of the airports I flew near were on the same frequency, so it was easy to keep tabs on the local traffic and make my own announcements.

I took off for the return flight as the last rays of alpenglow left the hills near the Ranch. The Hillsboro ATIS was reporting a 10 kt headwind right down the runway. The haze and sunset had taken the punch out of the day's thermals, leaving a smooth wind. As I approached I noticed the runup area and Alpha-7 turnoff were both empty. This was too much to resist.

As readers of these chronicles may surmise, there have been two local "Mt. Everest's" on my mind. The first was landing at Flying M Ranch. I've done that 61 times now. It's still a challenge to do it just right, with a maximum of safety and a minimum of wear and tear on N2469R. Another is making the 330 foot A7 turnoff at Hillsboro. Jason did it honestly, but abruptly, in a 172. Book landing roll for N2469R is about 600 feet. To make A7 I need good technique, a tricked out plane, a willingness to stress the plane, help from Mother Nature, and/or a willingness to "cheat".

Left: Taxiway A7 is just this side of the lower VASI lights. The picture has been tweeked to make the taxiways easier to see.

With ten knots help from Mother Nature and a factory stock Skylane, the rest was up to me. I came in low over the chevrons and dragged it in in ground effect. That close to the runway there was little chance of a stall causing damage. I touched down somewhere near the threshold. (The threshold is the thin white line across the beginning of the runway that marks the beginning of the officially usable portion.) I might have touched down a bit short. Pilots often think they touch down sooner than they actually do, so I can't be certain. But it was a gentle touchdown. I had my feet up on the pedals ready for braking. I raised the flaps and stopped in time to make the A7 turnoff with only moderate braking. Tower congratulated me, said I did good.

As I turned to the A7 taxiway I paused for a few moments to get my bearings from this strange vantage point.

Since then I have tried to repeat the caper a few times when an empty A7 and a headwind presented themselves. To date, the winds have not been as favorable, and I have been extra vigilant not to alight before the threshold.

I visited Sheridan (44S) for the first time (left). Ted Mayfield was building Hiperlight ultralight biplanes in a hangar off the west end of the strip. He signed his picture in the December 1999 issue of EAA's Experimenter magazine. Ted said something about being the only centerfold model to be photographed with pants on.

44S is no longer a public access airport.

Apparently others had the same idea. IFR traffic at Hillsboro was heavy. (Since the FAA is too cheap to provide adequate radar coverage, two airplanes in IFR constitute heavy traffic.) I was told I might pass thru the localizer before receiving my clearance. I ended up cleared for the approach nearly 18 miles out, on top of the clouds and below the glideslope at 3500 feet.

I'm used to intercepting the GS at 2500 feet somewhat closer to the airport. To add to the fun, the OBS knob on the indicator came off in my hand because Hillsboro Aviation forgot to tighten the set screw when they replaced it. Besides that, the Directional Gyro (DG) adjust knob was sticking because Hillsboro Aviation incorrectly replaced the instrument panel overlay.

The second time around I decided to fly the approach coupled. This was the first time I've flown a coupled approach in the soup. I also decided to relax and let the intercept happen at 3500 instead of the 2500 shown on the approach plate. I got a buzz when irregularities in the cloud tops produced a false horizon and threw an optical illusion at me. Even with the buzz it was easier flying the ILS from 3500 instead of the regulation 2500. The first 500 feet of the approach were in visual conditions. I started to see patches of ground at 2000 feet and was out of it at 800 or so.

With the glider port socked in and a little playing with the trim wheel I was able to take a picture or two as George held the wheel. The picture above overstates the visibility impairment; when I took it the runway was clearly visible.

George kept the localizer within a dot or so until I took over for the landing. I decided two approaches with blinding sunlight above and a balky DG in the cockpit were enough for the morning. Afterwards I reseated the plastic panel so it wouldn't interfere with the DG. After some prodding Hillsboro Aviation tightened the OBS knob on the 209.

Smoke plumes from field burning near Salem, Oregon, 8/29/00.

Some airports are easy to spot, some are not. Landsem Field (previously Finlay Field) is easy to miss. After "finding" 4OR7 I had to circle twice before spotting the windsock. That was the only thing I could see that confirmed it was an air strip and not a grassy area alongside a field. The hangars were indistinguishable from ordinary farm sheds, and no planes were outside.

Below: looking to the north at Landsem Field. Those trees looked alot taller after the takeoff roll.

I have no trouble spotting Harchenko several miles out. From the air, OR38 just looks like an airstrip.

Harchenko is 2290 feet long, apparently not long enough for some pilots judging by their tire skid marks.

The camera ran out of film, but the new roll wouldn't feed. No more pictures. I called it a day and returned to Hillsboro.

Below: Approaching Flying M Ranch for Sunday breakfast 9/10/00.

Above: Sunset at Flying M Ranch 9/15/00
Left: Low clouds at the Flying M Ranch

Saturday I flew down to Albany for the Oregon Air Fair. I flew down the west side of the valley to avoid low clouds. Passing McMinville I saw a B-17 in the pattern. Sure beats Greyhound.

Below: Oregon shoreline and waves, 9/20/00.

Below: Oregon shoreline, 9/20/00. Regretfully I've been unable to tweek the picture to show the full beauty of the scene.

Below: Lower Columbia River