Flight planning from north CA to north WA

[m100psi]

Hi all,

I'm planning a flight from near Sacramento to the north coast of Washington (kclm). I haven't previously flown north of CA, and it doesn't look like there are any really routes that provide good options in case of engine trouble. Which routes have you found to be best?

Thanks,
Matt

 

[Martin__]

You can follow I-5

 

[luvflyin]

Hi all,

I'm planning a flight from near Sacramento to the north coast of Washington (kclm). I haven't previously flown north of CA, and it doesn't look like there are any really routes that provide good options in case of engine trouble. Which routes have you found to be best?

Thanks,
Matt

I did it on a flight from KWJF to KHIO. This is what I did. Gassed up in KRBL and spent the night in KMFR. There were stretches where I was thinking ‘ok, if it happens, remember to keep flying the plane until the crash is over with and do it as slow as possible.’ In my planning the wisdom I got while researching is ya probably don’t wanna do it if the winds over the Siskiyou’s are greater than 25 knots.

 

[Domenick]

Alternatively, if you need better weather, veer east just after Mt. Shasta and head for Klamath Falls then up the dry side (I-97) of the Cascades to Ellensburg, WA and cross the Cascades over I-90. There is a runway every 15 nm over I-90. If you get weathered in, Ellensburg is nice.

If I may ask, what's in Port Angeles that draws you north?

 

[mr_happyland]

I’ve flown that route a few times…similar-ish route to luvflyin’s example, 10.5 if VFR. Fact of the matter is there are simply a few sections that don’t have good engine out options. You could go further east and it works out a little better, but not worth the xtra time IMO. It’s a beautiful area. Enjoy! Just be aware of winds aloft and expect wildfire smoke later in the summer.

 

[m100psi]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. We followed I-5 and it worked out well. I expected from the charts the terrain would be worse than it was. And the weather was very cooperative.

Domenick, we headed up to Victoria for the long weekend. I haven’t figured out all the international flying stuff yet, so took the ferry across. The ferry adds a lot of travel time to the day, so next time I’ll try harder to figure out how to fly all the way there.

 

[Domenick]

Port Angeles was a good choice for final landing. It's also an AOE and a friendly place to reenter the US. Skagit-Bayview (BVS) is a recent addition to an AOE. I've found CBP at CLM to be much friendlier than at Bellingham (BLI). But times, personnel, and policies change.

If you are considering visiting Seattle, personally, I'd advise against it. It's not the same place it was when it took the moniker Emerald City. It's still green, but subsidized, tolerated, and encouraged, homeless camps, drugs, and crime have greatly tarnished the gem.

Sequim in nice. It's 12.5 nm east of CLM. It's the lavender capital of WA, maybe the world. It should be in bloom now.
The San Juan Islands are great, with airports on every major island and many places to stay.
If you want to take the eastside route home, Coeur d'Alene, ID is nice.