All Airstrip Reports
First time landing here today. Such an awesome place. Very quiet and desolate. A good spot for some solitude. The windsock is in good shape. Has a small tear and faded but it's standing and functional. It can use some extra zip ties for the upper eye loops. It was helpful. Very light winds out of the south. I landed southwest along the southern shore of the island. That spot is by far the smoothest. It was better than many runways I've landed on. No problem at all for my tiny tires and even smaller tailwheel. Walked around a bit. Though the ponds are full of water, the lakebed is hard and dry. The ponds were just starting to freeze. Fresh water! Not salty. Other spots would be suitable for landing as well, though ever so slightly more bumpy with the alligator cracking on the lakebed. There's a very small yet still very saddening amount of trash around. Wish I had brought a trash bag. Walked around a bit and filled a re-purposed gallon zip lock. Lots of tent stakes, plastic, receipts, batteries, wrappers, and beer cans. Look at the base of the bushes and bring gloves.
For the most part, the runway was in great shape. As previous reports have stated, a road intersects the runway effectively splitting it into thirds. The southern third below the road is becoming more overgrown and has a deep washout area from a previous rain storm. The Northern two thirds are in great condition. There are small clumps of grass on the runway which was fairly firm considering the the temps that the area has been experiencing. Overall, a great strip to check out. You will definitely feel the 1.7% slope. I recommend a minimum tire size of 8.00 x 6 going into this one due to the grass clumps.
Airstrip is in great condition! Eastern end of runway is a little softer than the west end (as usual) and some two inch depressions make it a little more rough than the west end. Brush alongside the runway (pictured below) May encroach upon low wing type airplanes landing here but this vegetation appears to be quite sparse.
Airstrip is in GREAT condition. The ancillary (read: illegal) airstrips seem to have been getting use. Image below helps depict where the approved runway is on the top of the island. It should be very clear to a pilot which runway is the approved one, as it is the one that runs roughly 150º/330º, and is the road that runs the ridge from the weather station to the hill with the parking area on top. The airstrip that runs from the parking area to the northwest is a) not an approved airstrip and b) should not be used. Tracks on this illegal runway appear to be fresh, and used many times, with one deep cut in the west end of the runway where someone obviously turned around. Please do not use any airstrips besides this one and the lower strip as their usage may put future access in jeopardy, and be subject to law enforcement action. If anyone has any questions as to what airstrips are authorized I urge you to contact the UBCP prior to flight.
