Date of the Fly-Out is August 19, 2006.
Charts ..... From John Baute's page.
I ran two routes, one going over some 9000+ terrain, and the second at "low altitude", around the same elevation as AZ82. That one ridge at 9000 feet or so on route #1 is as high as we need to go.
I ran a straight line from AZ82 to Durango Animas (00C - "Zero Zero Charlie"). I'll
start from north to south:
Route 1: direct Animas to AZ82
Distance 192 miles - 167 nautical (don't trust me, check the distance yourself!)
Segment 1 - Animas to Farmington:
Farmington to somewhere around Newcomb
Newcomb to Ft Defiance
Ft Defiance to Middle of Nowhere AZ
Middle of Nowhere AZ to Livestock Farms
Livestock Farms to AZ82
The only genuine high altitude terrain along the whole route is this one section of 9000+ feet along a ridge.
Route #2
Animas to Gallup, Gallup to AZ82
Distance 252 miles - 219 nautical (Don't trust me, Check this distance yourself!)
Segment 1: Animas to Farmington
Farmington to Trading Post
Trading Post to Coyote Canyon
Coyote Canyon to Gallup
Gallup to Navajo
Navajo to Livestock Farms
Livestock Farms to AZ82
Bob Brown says about Durango:
Robin and I and our two boys flew from AZ82 to Durango for the 4th and had a GREAT TIME. We stayed in one of the many old bed and bkfst small hotels downtown. It was an easy flight and the FBO was helpful with fuel car and tiedown. The drive into town was easy - We saw a couple of deer on the way. Lots of retaurants downtown. The rafting trip was fun but by now I hear the river is but a trickle until next spring - The train was fun but recommend only taking it one way with a bus ride the other else you are on the train for about 5.5 hours - One way was fun and enough.
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The current plan: Make your own reservations, somewhere near downtown. The Durango EAA will have their annual Pig Roast at 2:30 (cost $7.50), I suppose that's "lunch", and we'll meet later for dinner. Then breakfast the next morning, wherever looks good.
Kathryn and I will get some kind of large vehicle, but with this many people we likely will have to make two trips to anything beyond walking distance.
Plan to arrive at Durango Animas airpark at 10:00am, and when we drive everyone into town we can make plans of when to meet later.
We've got cell phone numbers (below) for everyone, so we can use those for coordination.
The Stater Hotel
Prices are steeper than I remembered, $175/night. Group discount is $169/night, with 30 days
advance notice and 10 rooms minimum. Other hotel information is down below.
The Best Western listed below is $159/night, less if you've got AAA. The BW and the
DoubleTree are supposed to have an airport shuttle.
Committed to go:
Dennis & Kathryn Collins - cell 602-882-2010
Jack & Jeannette Lawless - cell 602-228-5022
Bob & JoAnn Boyd - cell 480-560-8983
Jon & Carolyn Middleton - cell 480-215-2183(J) 480-215-2184(C)
Walter Scurei & Fran - cell 928-535-6986
e-mail me at [LuscombePilot[at]hotmail.com] to get on the list
Sectional Chart (click on the chart to go to RunwayFinder.com for more info)
More Hotel info (click on page to go to Google for more - or if you can't read this)
Durango FBO Info: HERE
FBO - Durango Jet Center - 970-259-7400
(they *do not* have courtesy car for overnight)
Durango Airline Terminal Info: HERE with links to rental cars