Flying in to KCFO

robin ardoin

robin ardoin

Pattern Altitude
PoA Supporter
Joined
Mar 23, 2022
Messages
2,445
Location
Lafayette, LA
Display Name
Robard
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KOPL
I have a rifle match, in mid July, near Byers, CO, and plan on flying in to CFO in a T210. I will come in on Thursday and depart Sunday afternoon (weather permitting, of course). Any local knowledge of weather concerns at that time of year would be greatly appreciated. Is an afternoon arrival (late afternoon) reasonable or is the turbulence really nasty? It looks like only one FBO option per FF...is that correct? Any other information a first timer should be aware of?
Thanks in advance.
 
Tstorms start about 3 pm these days but by July, just miserably hot & bumpy in the afternoon but not much weather. If leaving in the afternoon, you’ll be miserable in the bumps.

Only one FBO and the airport owns it. County owns the airport. Not much to say other than those of us based here like it, although we don’t like the new fence but the county had to spend the Federal money on something. Tower is well run and a nice group of guys.

FTG is the original identifier for CFO. I refuse to change it. None of us like the new identifier. But it gets the little red rocket on the VFR maps.
 
robin ardoin said:
@murphey at what altitude might it smooth out a little?
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Probably 4K AGL or 9-10K MSL. No flight following going southeast unless you're at 9K MSL. IFR is ok because those are the IFR minimums. I really wouldn't recommend leaving after noon, you will not be a happy camper. Stay over, leave early in the morning.

It's not just the bumps, it's the DA, which is more critical, even with the turbo. This timestamp - 3 pm MDT KAPA Centennial, which is 5 miles from my house - temp is 78 F, station elevation is 5680 MSL but DA is 8300 MSL. It will take you a bit of time to get to the flight levels, and that's the time you'll be miserable.

Since you're going to be here, may as well stay an extra day or two, fly to Leadville and get your certificate for landing at the highest paved airport in CONUS. Crew cars are handy, and there's a fantastic diner in town. Depending when you're here, I'll happily come along and point out the route.

This timestamp at Leadville KLXV - Temp 69 F, station elevation is not quite 10,000, but DA is 12,300 MSL. Plus, you need to pop over the hills at 12.5K min. Hm, Wilkerson Pass is my route, east of Leadville, station elevation is 11,300 DA is 13,600 right now. Note: today is a cooler day. Later this week, Denver area will hit 100 (very unusual) but in July, 90s are common.

PS - only strangers call it Lake County (it's real name). Everybody in Colorado call it Leadville on the radio. First time I heard "Lake County", I asked where they were.

West of Leadville is Salida/Monarch Pass. Temp 60, station elevation 12K, DA 14K.

You shouldn't have any problems with the T210, just providing a bit more data.

Welcome to Colorado.
 
murphey said:
Probably 4K AGL or 9-10K MSL. No flight following going southeast unless you're at 9K MSL. IFR is ok because those are the IFR minimums. I really wouldn't recommend leaving after noon, you will not be a happy camper. Stay over, leave early in the morning.

It's not just the bumps, it's the DA, which is more critical, even with the turbo. This timestamp - 3 pm MDT KAPA Centennial, which is 5 miles from my house - temp is 78 F, station elevation is 5680 MSL but DA is 8300 MSL. It will take you a bit of time to get to the flight levels, and that's the time you'll be miserable.

Since you're going to be here, may as well stay an extra day or two, fly to Leadville and get your certificate for landing at the highest paved airport in CONUS. Crew cars are handy, and there's a fantastic diner in town. Depending when you're here, I'll happily come along and point out the route.

This timestamp at Leadville KLXV - Temp 69 F, station elevation is not quite 10,000, but DA is 12,300 MSL. Plus, you need to pop over the hills at 12.5K min. Hm, Wilkerson Pass is my route, east of Leadville, station elevation is 11,300 DA is 13,600 right now. Note: today is a cooler day. Later this week, Denver area will hit 100 (very unusual) but in July, 90s are common.

PS - only strangers call it Lake County (it's real name). Everybody in Colorado call it Leadville on the radio. First time I heard "Lake County", I asked where they were.

West of Leadville is Salida/Monarch Pass. Temp 60, station elevation 12K, DA 14K.

You shouldn't have any problems with the T210, just providing a bit more data.

Welcome to Colorado.
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Thanks for the info. I am going to be on an IFR flight plan. However, as you mention, the roller coaster getting up and down are the concerns. Unfortunately, my schedule won’t allow any leisure flying. I do plan on getting back there for the mountain flying course eventually.
 
murphey said:
Only one FBO and the airport owns it. County owns the airport. Not much to say other than those of us based here like it, although we don’t like the new fence but the county had to spend the Federal money on something. Tower is well run and a nice group of guys.
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I've gotten fantastic service there, it's a go-to overnight stop for me when I'm heading somewhere in that general direction.
 
midlifeflyer said:
CFO is FTG.
Rocky Mountain Metro is JeffCo.
Lake County is Leadville.
Northern Colorado Regional is “Fort Love.”
And Fort Collins Downtown is but a memory. :(
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Don’t forget that Denver Intl Airport (DEN) is DIA to everyone else.
 
There's also Idlewild in New York.
For the OP, indeed, Front Range airport (CFO) is great, good service, etc. Watch your charts, it's very close to Denver Class B airspace. Murphey's insight on the afternoon turbulence is spot-on. I would add, if you must plan for afternoon arrival and departure, allow enough leeway to set down somewhere else (or delay departure) if necessary, while you wait for late afternoon thunderstorms to dissipate. More than once, when in the Denver area (from any of the area airports), in summer for a business day, with maybe 5pm departure, I've had to wait an hour or two for convective activity to subside. Even been at Denver International when they halted traffic for a while as a big cell passed through the area.
 
I’ll be out there July 13-17 any locals want to show me the way to Leadville early one morning ?
 
muddy00 said:
I’ll be out there July 13-17 any locals want to show me the way to Leadville early one morning ?
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Email me when you get into town. Trip will be early in the morning and only if forecast winds are tolerable. Will be happy to be self-loading cargo. What are you flying?

There's a lot of POA out here...might be able to make it a lunch meet.

[email protected]
 
robin ardoin said:
I have a rifle match, in mid July, near Byers, CO, and plan on flying in to CFO in a T210. I will come in on Thursday and depart Sunday afternoon (weather permitting, of course). Any local knowledge of weather concerns at that time of year would be greatly appreciated. Is an afternoon arrival (late afternoon) reasonable or is the turbulence really nasty? It looks like only one FBO option per FF...is that correct? Any other information a first timer should be aware of?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
If you need in/out of the security gate after hours be sure to call the FBO ahead of time and let them know.

I've showed up after hours and played phone tag for 15 minutes trying to get through the gate so we can unload the airplane into a car. Called the ops number on the gate several times and it was a huge PITA. Just call the FBO during business hours.

Last time I was there (May 2025) I got to pay $15 (I think it was $15/night) a night tiedown.
 
murphey said:
Email me when you get into town. Trip will be early in the morning and only if forecast winds are tolerable. Will be happy to be self-loading cargo. What are you flying?

There's a lot of POA out here...might be able to make it a lunch meet.

[email protected]
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Will be in a Columbia 300. I’ll send you an email closer to then. Thanks.
 
bnt83 said:
If you need in/out of the security gate after hours be sure to call the FBO ahead of time and let them know.

I've showed up after hours and played phone tag for 15 minutes trying to get through the gate so we can unload the airplane into a car. Called the ops number on the gate several times and it was a huge PITA. Just call the FBO during business hours.

Last time I was there (May 2025) I got to pay $15 (I think it was $15/night) a night tiedown.
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Thanks. Good to know and avoid surprises.
 
murphey said:
Email me when you get into town. Trip will be early in the morning and only if forecast winds are tolerable. Will be happy to be self-loading cargo. What are you flying?

There's a lot of POA out here...might be able to make it a lunch meet.

[email protected]
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Sent you an email. Not sure weather will be good.
 
@murphey I flew in to CFO early this afternoon. Bumps weren’t bad probably due to the overcast that persisted throughout the morning reducing the thermals. Fortunately I was able to get in a hangar (Rich provided space) as the thunderstorm that hit south of DEN during supper dropped a bit of hail. Thanks for the info. One day I’ll return for some mountain flying.
 
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