New and different circumstances
Among both the joys and challenges of piloting, is that however long we fly we’re continually encountering new and different circumstances. Recently Jean and I attended an FAA Safety Seminar at Mogollon Airpark (AZ82), a private fly-in residential community high on the Mogollon Rim 100 miles northeast of Phoenix.
Our destination likely impacted her decision, too. Picture your favorite childhood piney-woods summer camp, set at 6,700 feet elevation for nice, cool summers. Now add a paved runway and homes with attached hangars on spacious wooded lots, and you’ll appreciate why we enjoy visiting this aviators’ paradise.
The high-elevation strip is only 3,436 feet long, shorter than I remembered, and is surrounded by tall pines. That raised density-altitude concerns. Looking more closely however, I noted that narrow centerline taxiways at each end of the runway effectively add another 2600 feet for takeoff, well within Flying Carpet capabilities.
Finally, I pre-calculated my course since you can’t just dial it in after takeoff. Private airports rarely appear in panel-mounted GPS navigator databases, so getting to Mogollon requires manually entering its coordinates as a user waypoint, or applying old-fashioned pilotage and dead reckoning…
READ THIS MONTH’S ENTIRE FLYING CARPET COLUMN, “AVIATORS’ PARADISE.” (Please allow a moment for the article to load.)
Photos: Arizona’s remote Mogollon Airpark, 100 miles northeast of Phoenix.
(This column first appeared in AOPA Flight Training magazine.)
©2014 Gregory N.Brown
Greg – Would it be possible to print an aerial of Mogollon in the Arizona Pilots Association’s newsletter?
Sure Brad, that would be fine. I’ll drop you an email.