Central CA to Sedona in a Light Sport A/C

Lndwarrior

Lndwarrior

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Gary
This is another question related to my upcoming circumnavigation of the US in my VFR, light sport homebuilt aircraft (a Zenith CH 601 XLB).

My plan for my first leg would have me spending the night in Kingman (after departing Pine Mountain Lake in central CA) and getting a very early start on a bucket-list visit to Sedona. I would probably land, have a short look around and be on my way fairly quickly. I would then head south to a over-night stop at one of the airports south east of Phoenix.

The recent crash of the Cessna 140 at Clark Memorial Field has led me to re-consider my route.

This trip is about the journey, not the destination. I have been fascinated at the idea of landing at Sedona since I first started flying 30 years ago. When I first started planning this trip, Sedona was second only to First Flight at the top of my bucket list.

Under my current plan I would land at Sedona around 8 or 9 am on March 25 or so. The actual departure day my vary slightly based on weather.

I will certainly get a full weather briefing but even then, the winds in this area can be unpredictable.

I guess I am just second-guessing myself on whether to do this - or just bypass Sedona altogether and take the low-terrain route down the west side of Phoenix.

Even if you get a full weather briefing, I know enough about mountain flying to know that wind, turbulence and density altitude can vary greatly from forecasts.

If you were going to do this is a light sport plane, what would you consider no-go conditions for Sedona?

I'm now leaning on the side of bypassing Sedona and avoiding what might be unnecessary stress on my month-long journey.

It would be great to hear from those who may have flown a light sport aircraft in this area.
 
Sedona isn't THAT high. The key there is to get a good understanding of where the passes are and to try and go on a relatively cool day.
 
Lndwarrior said:
It would be great to hear from those who may have flown a light sport aircraft in this area.
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Gary, I flew my Zodiac into Sedona for some air-to-air photos by Jack Fleetwood in November, 2019. It was a non-event, but having flown there several times in a lightly loaded 172 during summer months, I landed in the late afternoon and took off early in the morning to minimize density altitude. Winds can also be tricky since the airport is on top of a mesa.
 
I flew a light sport to all the lower 48 states and landed Sedona many times. Don't miss the excellent restaurant there, Mesa Grill, which has lots of outdoor seating and appears to be open. KSEZ is beautiful and not too challenging, just watch for other planes including jets. The runway is more than 5x as long as you need, consider landing a little bit long and avoiding downdrafts at the end of the runway.
 
Stan Cooper said:
Gary, I flew my Zodiac into Sedona for some air-to-air photos by Jack Fleetwood in November, 2019. It was a non-event, but having flown there several times in a lightly loaded 172 during summer months, I landed in the late afternoon and took off early in the morning to minimize density altitude. Winds can also be tricky since the airport is on top of a mesa.
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That's good to know Stan. Thanks for responding.
 
Cogito said:
consider landing a little bit long and avoiding downdrafts at the end of the runway.
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That sounds like a great tip - and would not have crossed my mind! Thank you.
 
Land to the NE unless there is more than a 5 kt wind favoring the other runway, which is downhill. If landing to the NE, there is a ridge which can create light turbulence on short final. It subsides as one gets to the runway, so landing a little long can help.

Definitely a fun stop and good food.
 
Back in the summer of 2012 when I was still flying trikes, I flew to each of the 48 states in a continuous loop. The attitude I had already developed, is that every airport can kill you and every airport can be a pussycat. So the advice you are getting here is very good. Read the weather and terrain on that day, that time of day, for that location, for your aircraft and your piloting skills. There’s no such thing as a blanket statement of I shouldn’t land at such and such airport.

You will become very good at making these judgements. You probably already know this, but the aviation world changes drastically as you get east of the Rockies and start running into humidity and hot and cold air masses. There’s nothing quite like the first time you see incredible clouds forming up while in the air, along with emergency radio tornado warnings telling aircraft to land.
 
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