Tucson, Santa Fe, Sedona trip report
in Travel
TRIP REPORT:
We left San Diego on the 18th of March and flew direct to Tucson via V66 airway which turns southeast at Gila Bend, AZ. The flight was uneventful except for a few bumps between Gila Bend and Tucson.
The service at Tucson Executive Terminal was excellent. The plane was tied down and the gas truck was there before we could get out. Our luggage was loaded into the golf cart and we were taken into the terminal.
Budget screwed up as usual (never again) and our car and the paperwork were not at the terminal as promised. The staff loaded our stuff into their van and drove us to the rental car counter at the main terminal where we picked up a car. The price for 100LL avgas was about $.50 lower than San Diego.
After a couple days in Tucson, we departed for Santa Fe, NM. We made a short stop for fuel and a break at Deming, NM which is about 70 miles NW of El Paso. The FBO people were friendly and helpful. We then took off and headed north for Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
The service at Capitol Aviation in Santa Fe is the best I have ever seen. We barely climbed out of the plane and our rental car was there; next to the plane. The paperwork took a few seconds and our luggage was loaded in the car. They later towed the plane to a parking spot and tied it down. Fuel was also reasonable and they gave us our choice of gift salsas when we left. We spent several nights in Santa Fe and also explored the surrounding country.
On to Sedona, AZ. Service at Sedona was minimal, although very helpful and friendly. We found our own place to tie down and walked to the terminal with our stuff. We stayed at the Sky Ranch Lodge, which is within easy walking distance of the airport. It is less expensive than staying in town and is one of the best landscaped hotels we have ever stayed at. The airport restaurant is a short walk. Service and food were very good. Prices were reasonable. Enterprise picked us up and took us to the office to get our car. Absolutely beautiful country. Fantastic views everywhere.
Landing at Sedona is different. The airport is on the top of a mesa with sharp drops on all four sides. Judging altitude and distance is a little tricky. They say it is like landing on a carrier, except that it was not pitching or rolling.
We left Sedona for home with full fuel. Our route was Prescott, Needles, Thermal, Julian VOR and into Montgomery Field in San Diego. We bucked a little headwind all the way and it took almost 3 hours. A little chop along the way, but nothing serious.
Great trip and we saw a lot of country. The area we covered is sure a lot of nothing and there are long segments where you see no signs of life. The ground gets pretty high along the way. Take off out of Santa Fe took about 2000+ feet of roll with the Archer about 150# under gross with just two of us on board.
Had not flown a cross country that long for almost 17 years. Good experience and a good confidence builder. Now we are talking about going back east in the fall. Have flown coast to coast five times, but that was back in the late 70s and early 80s when things were different. Once we got away from the west coast, flight following called very little traffic and were extremely helpful all along the way. Lots of G-2s, Citations etc. way above us, but we forgot our check book at home, so will have to stick with the Archer for now.
We left San Diego on the 18th of March and flew direct to Tucson via V66 airway which turns southeast at Gila Bend, AZ. The flight was uneventful except for a few bumps between Gila Bend and Tucson.
The service at Tucson Executive Terminal was excellent. The plane was tied down and the gas truck was there before we could get out. Our luggage was loaded into the golf cart and we were taken into the terminal.
Budget screwed up as usual (never again) and our car and the paperwork were not at the terminal as promised. The staff loaded our stuff into their van and drove us to the rental car counter at the main terminal where we picked up a car. The price for 100LL avgas was about $.50 lower than San Diego.
After a couple days in Tucson, we departed for Santa Fe, NM. We made a short stop for fuel and a break at Deming, NM which is about 70 miles NW of El Paso. The FBO people were friendly and helpful. We then took off and headed north for Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
The service at Capitol Aviation in Santa Fe is the best I have ever seen. We barely climbed out of the plane and our rental car was there; next to the plane. The paperwork took a few seconds and our luggage was loaded in the car. They later towed the plane to a parking spot and tied it down. Fuel was also reasonable and they gave us our choice of gift salsas when we left. We spent several nights in Santa Fe and also explored the surrounding country.
On to Sedona, AZ. Service at Sedona was minimal, although very helpful and friendly. We found our own place to tie down and walked to the terminal with our stuff. We stayed at the Sky Ranch Lodge, which is within easy walking distance of the airport. It is less expensive than staying in town and is one of the best landscaped hotels we have ever stayed at. The airport restaurant is a short walk. Service and food were very good. Prices were reasonable. Enterprise picked us up and took us to the office to get our car. Absolutely beautiful country. Fantastic views everywhere.
Landing at Sedona is different. The airport is on the top of a mesa with sharp drops on all four sides. Judging altitude and distance is a little tricky. They say it is like landing on a carrier, except that it was not pitching or rolling.
We left Sedona for home with full fuel. Our route was Prescott, Needles, Thermal, Julian VOR and into Montgomery Field in San Diego. We bucked a little headwind all the way and it took almost 3 hours. A little chop along the way, but nothing serious.
Great trip and we saw a lot of country. The area we covered is sure a lot of nothing and there are long segments where you see no signs of life. The ground gets pretty high along the way. Take off out of Santa Fe took about 2000+ feet of roll with the Archer about 150# under gross with just two of us on board.
Had not flown a cross country that long for almost 17 years. Good experience and a good confidence builder. Now we are talking about going back east in the fall. Have flown coast to coast five times, but that was back in the late 70s and early 80s when things were different. Once we got away from the west coast, flight following called very little traffic and were extremely helpful all along the way. Lots of G-2s, Citations etc. way above us, but we forgot our check book at home, so will have to stick with the Archer for now.
Comments
Sounds like you had a great trip. I have thought about flying to Sedona in the summer. Looks like a "fun" place to set your wheels down! Reminds me of Pine Mountain Lake here in CA. Glad you had a good & safe trip...
The FBO rents cars but there is no courtesy car that I could see. I think you can get a taxi to take you to eat. I was put down for the night by thunderstorms and rented the car to look around. It's a beautiful half hour drive to Zuni if you want to take in the sights.