Flying into Gaston's for the First Time

Steve

Steve

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Fly Right
It looks like this year will have a number new attendee's at the fly-in next weekend. It will be a fun event if everyone keeps safety at the forefront of the activity and exercises a little patience when needed.

I know there's been a lot of discussion in other threads about the flying conditions around 3M0. I'm starting this thread to try to pull that info into one location for easy last minute review by those who are arriving by plane.

Add your own comments if you landed at Gaston's before. I'm just covering a few points to get the thread started.

1. This is not a "waivered airspace" event. There is no temporary tower or special FAA monitoring. Although we'll have volunteers listening to and reporting traffic on the Unicom frequency it is still the pilot in command's responsibility to see and avoid. Any communications on the Unicom frequency is strictly advisory.

2. The preliminary weather forecast for the duration appears to be accomodating to VFR flight. Gaston's is a popular fly-in destination on the weekends for a Saturday lunch or Sunday brunch. Not every arrival will be aware of the increased activity associated with this group's presence. Be prepared to respond to unexpected traffic and pilot behavior.

3. The grass runway at Gaston's is nominally landing to the southwest and taking off to the northeast. Be on the lookout for the one pilot that chooses otherwise.

4. There are three paved runways within 5 nm of Gaston's. Two have instrument approaches and one lies very near to the downwind leg of Gaston's when landing to the southwest. Be aware that the traffic you see in the area may or may not be landing at Gaston's and may or may not be looking for you. If you have dual comms, use them.

5. If you feel uncomfortable landing at Gaston's due to wind conditions, the grass surface, proximity of the trees, traffic, or the confined manuevering area in the base leg to landing southwest by all means land at one of the other larger paved airports nearby. There will be, it is safe to say, someone willing to pick you up at the outlying airports. Failing that, the resort has several large vans they are willing to dispatch to the other airports if you decide not to land at Gaston's. Several people in the past have done so and they are respected for flying to their own level of comfort. Don't force yourself into a situation you don't feel comfortable with.

6. Expect a fairly continous stream of arrivals and departures Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Many of these will be "ride hoppers" who will be staying in the vicinty of the lake and entering the pattern from over the dam northwest of the runway. When the traffic warrants it, the Bull Shoals Lake dam is a relatively good landmark to start from to enter the pattern at Gaston's.

7. There are a limited number of permanent tiedowns at Gaston's. Be prepared by bring your own tiedowns. The permanent parking area will likely fill up and you may be required to park along the edge of the runway.

8. Many guests staying at Gaston's are not pilots or plane owners. Expect a few curious spectators who are not well versed in airport operations. Try to be polite but don't let that stop you from preventing an unsafe act on or near the runway. Also, you may be approached with questions about flying. This is your chance to be a good will ambassador for aviation.

9. If you are concerned about what to bring, there is ground transportaion available to make a "Wal-mart run" or do grocery shopping. Although "rustic" Gaston's is not as remote from commercial enterprises as one might think.

10. Have fun and stay hydrated, particularly those flying ride planes.

Feel free to add to this initial list.
 
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Thanks for the tips, Steve, that is very helpful to know for someone who's never flown in before!
 
While it was intended to be a joke, the diagram I drew up does detail the most common way people come in. Either join the flow, or keep a keen eye out if you choose to do it differently:

3m0plate.png
 
Thanks, Nick, for copying that diagram over. It has become the "preferred routing" over the years. ;)

Since the runway at Gaston's is nestled in a narrow river valley the lake dam is an easier landmark to find visually. It certainly wouldn't be a good thing to have everyone watching their moving map as they cross the ridge coming into Gaston's.
 
Great thread Steve. Couple of other things to keep in mind:
  • The airport is a challenge to find if you are unfamiliar with the area. The "approach plate" Nick posted is the easiest way to enter the pattern. Fly over the dam and trust me you'll see the airport off your left wing if you keep looking down. It is unlikely you'll see it until you're right over the end of the runway.
  • When you make your turn onto downwind keep in mind that the ridge is higher than the runway. If you fly 1,000 feet over the ridge on downwind there is a strong chance you'll be too high to land.
  • If you don't keep your downwind close you will lose sight of the airport on downwind. Don't worry about it--it's not going anywhere. You'll see the airport again about 1/2 through your base leg.
  • I'd like to echo Steve's comment that there will be a lot of airplanes taking off and landing on Friday / Saturday / Sunday. Make the radio calls, listen with your ears, and don't be afraid to exit the area if it gets too busy. Last year I had to circle several miles west of the airport for about 10 minutes before there was a space in the traffic flow for me.
  • Don't land short of the runway. The elevation decreases off the end of the runway and if you land short you will hit a fairly steep grass rise and cause damage.
  • My rule, use it how you want: If I'm not down in the first 1/3 of the runway I'm going to go around.
  • Don't let any of this scare you--the grass is beautiful and the landing is easy if you think about it in advance.
 
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When you're on base about to turn final, there'll be an inviting area that looks like a grass runway. That's not the runway. Due to the "goal post" trees near the threshold, you can't see the real runway until you're completely lined up with it. Look for the white markers along the sides, and the airplanes parked at the opposite end.

*cue someone to post the video here*
 
flyingcheesehead said:
When you're on base about to turn final, there'll be an inviting area that looks like a grass runway. That's not the runway. Due to the "goal post" trees near the threshold, you can't see the real runway until you're completely lined up with it. Look for the white markers along the sides, and the airplanes parked at the opposite end.

*cue someone to post the video here*
Click to expand...
The infamous oil door video:
http://www.ridetheskies.com/LandingGastons.wmv
 
Thanks for the tips. I look forward to seeing familiar faces, and meeting new ones.
 
One more tip for those punching it in to your GPS. It is 3M0 (three mike zero) not 3MO (three mike oscar). 3MO is 114 NM NNW and it can look about right on the map if you're coming from the north.
 
Should we add the missed approach procedure to Nick's IAP? :D
 
Kent brings up an excellent point in the landing at BPK thread many carriers have horrible or no cell recepton at Gastons. So you may need to overfly gastons and let then know on CTAF you need a pick up. I was there 2 yrs ago and Verizon had really crappy reception if at all.
 
I'll stick to day VFR, thanks! :)

I'm not allowed to fly at night under VFR anyway, club rules. :(
 
Steve, thanks for starting this thread...you've posted some great information here. I'll post a link to this on the other boards for those there who are flying into Gaston's (and also our fly-in) for the first time.

I don't have as much trouble getting cell reception as other people. It hasn't been a problem for us the past few years. We have AT&T.
 
Whatcha all think of this for the missed approach? Suggestions to edit are welcome, especially since I've never been there. :)

3m0plate.JPG
 
Here are several videos showing the landing from one point of view or another:

http://www.pointsix.net/gastons/

Jesse makes a good point about the ridge line on downwind. When I take students in to Gaston's for the first time they're almost always too high on downwind, too close in on base (there is another ridge line running along base about one mile from the approach end), and too fast on final. The sight picture throughout the pattern is strange to most pilots the first time they land there.

Fly your airplane by the numbers and be prepared to go around if you need to. Don't be like the guy last year (not part of our group) who landed about 3/4 of the way down the runway and skidded to a stop just short of the road and about 30 cancer survivors learning to fly cast. If you need to go around a couple of times to get it figured out everyone will applaud your good judgement.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Whatcha all think of this for the missed approach? Suggestions to edit are welcome, especially since I've never been there. :)

3m0plate.JPG
Click to expand...

I would hasten to think that the best missed approach would be to turn crosswind and do another pattern. Lol, it is VFR.
 
Ahh Nick, I was trying to make it nice and IFR like you did! :D
 
Jesse, the points on this thread would make a great page on the website, for future reference.

Sunset the three days of the event are at 8:25-8:27pm; if you're planning a late arrival, or get stuck enroute due to weather or mechanical issues, it's nice to have those times "pinned" in the back of your head.
 
Ok, I've edited the approach plate, let's try this one:

3m0plate.JPG


Missed approach: Climbing left turn to 150 heading, enter crosswind to rejoin pattern, try again.

Better? :)
 
I had some other commitments so I won't be making the trip to Gaston's this year. I will miss seeing all my fellow boarders there. Here is a video of me and two of our children landing at Gaston's some time ago. My son is working the camera on this video. Have a great time and I will be thinking about you. Bob

 
FlyNE said:
One more tip for those punching it in to your GPS. It is 3M0 (three mike zero) not 3MO (three mike oscar). 3MO is 114 NM NNW and it can look about right on the map if you're coming from the north.
Click to expand...

Is this experience talking here!:D
 
On my old appolo GPS if you hit the info button it will give you the mane. Like 3M0 would say for example Gaston's White River Resort. Bob
 
Bob Bement said:
On my old appolo GPS if you hit the info button it will give you the mane. Like 3M0 would say for example Gaston's White River Resort. Bob
Click to expand...
The Garmin 430 and up will display the name after you type the identifier in (i think).
 
So will the King in the Archer.
 
jesse said:
The Garmin 430 and up will display the name after you type the identifier in (i think).
Click to expand...

Jesse, They are a lot alike, as II Morrow that made Appolo GPS, was bought by UPS Tech. and in turn that was bought out by Garmin. I like my old Precedus hand held. I have been across the country 4 times and it always got me there. In fact my first one was giving me a little trouble in one small area and I found another one on line for a little of nothing. Bob
 
I can only think of a few things to add for the new to Gaston's pilots.

1> If it's been raining a lot the runway can be very soft, call ahead for a report in this case or ask for runway conditions on the CTAF when near.

2> There are power lines in the "valley" you fly through on base. There's plenty of room but if you are low and wide you could encounter them.

3> It's possible to fly a final that comes over the ridge NE of the airport but this requires a fairly steep descent (about 5-6 degrees IIRC). If you're not comfortable flying the "valley" on base this might be an option but watch your speed (easy to get too fast) if you try that.

4> The "goal post" trees just NE of the threshold look like they are about 40 ft apart (canopy to canopy) but there's a lot more room than that. Don't worry about hitting them and absolutely do not pull up at the last minute to clear them. You can make a steep approach to the runway from above these trees but it's neither necessary or recommended.

5> If you decide to abort the landing do it early. If you're past halfway down the runway and slow, a successful go around could be iffy. There's really nothing to hit on the ground for a long ways past the SW end so staying on the ground is likely a safer option (maybe they will hold the casting lessons elsewhere this year).

6> Announce, announce, announce your downwind, base, and final, even if you don't hear anyone else on the radio. Departing traffic cannot see you until you are on short final.

7> If you spot a departing airplane while you are on final just swing to the right and go around.
 
I don't recall there being a lower path if you turn to 150. If my memory is correct you'd better clear the ridge and power lines SW of the airport while climbing straight ahead, you will lose some if not all climb in the turn.


Ted DuPuis said:
Ok, I've edited the approach plate, let's try this one:


Missed approach: Climbing left turn to 150 heading, enter crosswind to rejoin pattern, try again.

Better? :)
Click to expand...
 
With regard to the "Dam Approach", people should be aware that there is another dam not very far away so be sure that you have the right one. I'm not looking at a map but I believe the other one is for Lake Norfolk and is Northeast of of the White River dam.
 
I don't think that Gaston's is that difficult of a place to land. I do land in some places that are a lot more difficult than Gaston's. Here is a picture of one of those places.
 

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