BajaNomad

Early Baja Flying Article

LancairDriver - 9-24-2024 at 11:50 PM

Interesting old article on flying in Baja

https://blog.cabovillas.com/flying-to-baja-in-the-1970s-and-...

pacificobob - 9-25-2024 at 12:24 AM

Flying in Mexico and central America in the late 60s and 70s was great, before smuggling put attention on general aviation. Little airstrips were everywhere.
By the 80s it was getting really structured. Wonderful memories.

David K - 9-25-2024 at 07:02 AM

Great article, thanks!

LancairDriver - 9-25-2024 at 09:17 AM

In the days depicted in the article, not only the numerous air strips but the abundant ocean population was very visible with huge circles of fish swarms all along the coast and lots of whales and birds. Never a dull moment. As the years progressed those scenes became much less common.

David K - 9-26-2024 at 02:00 PM

The old Arnold Senterfitt and other Baja airport books are a great look back in time, as well!

Here is what I have...



1967 (4th edition)



1972 (7th edition)



1987 (17th edition)



1995 (19th edition)



1974



1988



1998

AKgringo - 9-26-2024 at 04:07 PM

The 1974 cover looks like the entrance to Mulege, And the 1988 cover has to be Cabo San Lucas! The 1998 cover isn't directly familiar to me, but I am guessing that it is on the gulf side.

4x4abc - 9-26-2024 at 07:07 PM

Quote: Originally posted by pacificobob  
Flying in Mexico and central America in the late 60s and 70s was great, before smuggling put attention on general aviation. Little airstrips were everywhere.
By the 80s it was getting really structured. Wonderful memories.


during my effort to map Baja I have found more than 500 airstrips

LancairDriver - 9-26-2024 at 09:20 PM

The AIR BAJA book by Galen Hanselman was very well done. Also he has a very entertaining and humorous manner in describing the various people he flew with and met. He is a well known and experienced Idaho backcountry flyer and has written on that flying also.

bajafreaks - 9-27-2024 at 07:01 AM

Do any Nomads still fly into Baja from the states?
Its always been a dream of mine to fly in a small plane the length of Baja.

Glidergeek - 9-27-2024 at 08:27 AM

"during my effort to map Baja I have found more than 500 airstrips"

I think you'd be hard pressed to find 50 -75 landable and legal strips on Baja now adays. I flew down to the last Whales event w/Baja Bush Pilots in March. The Mexican Government is making it so dificult it's just not fun to clear customs. Long waits for unnecessary ppwrk. Once you're in it's not so bad but you're met at every landing by the soldiers to check to make sure you've got your permits and ppwrk right.

Not near as much fun as in the 80s 90s early 2000s

David K - 9-27-2024 at 01:02 PM

Quote: Originally posted by LancairDriver  
The AIR BAJA book by Galen Hanselman was very well done. Also he has a very entertaining and humorous manner in describing the various people he flew with and met. He is a well known and experienced Idaho backcountry flyer and has written on that flying also.


Indeed... he has a page on meeting Jimmy Smith (The Grinning Gargoyle), who was a regular on the Amigos de Baja forums, prior to Baja Nomad. A really fun guy and had so much to share. He had fun with Erle Stanley Gardner in San Ignacio in the 60s, too. That was when Choral Pepper gave him the nick name, when she said he "looked like a grinning gargoyle"... which Jimmy took in a positive manner for the rest of his life!



Dave Deal, the action/ off-road/ Cars movie cartoonist and fellow off road racer and pilot, made the cover and all other illustrations inside Jimmy's book. Dave lived in Vista, CA and we often met up. They are both gone to that forever place in the sky (over Baja) where all 200+ dirt runways are still open and the paperwork is a simple as a picture of an American president!

thebajarunner - 9-27-2024 at 03:19 PM

Not enough room on this entire site to tell all of my old Baja flying stories.
Flew my 172 Cutlass down from San Felipe to La Paz after I drove the first leg of the 1000.....back in the late 70s
Chased the truck over the "Sisters" and then dropped down into Punta Prieta (paved) where I slept under the wing on the ground (The soldiers showed up after I had dozed off, woke me up and wanted to look at the plane.... nice kids, just curious) Up at dawn and caught up with the truck just a few miles from the finish.

Flew my 210 into Serinadad a few years later and spent a weekend (Yeah, the pig bar b q was awesome) Quick flight over to Punta Chivato (dirt) and then headed home. No gas available, so had to dogleg over to Guaymas to top off and then back to Mexicali and home.

to be continued

David K - 10-9-2024 at 06:42 AM

Quote: Originally posted by thebajarunner  
Not enough room on this entire site to tell all of my old Baja flying stories.
Flew my 172 Cutlass down from San Felipe to La Paz after I drove the first leg of the 1000.....back in the late 70s
Chased the truck over the "Sisters" and then dropped down into Punta Prieta (paved) where I slept under the wing on the ground (The soldiers showed up after I had dozed off, woke me up and wanted to look at the plane.... nice kids, just curious) Up at dawn and caught up with the truck just a few miles from the finish.

Flew my 210 into Serinadad a few years later and spent a weekend (Yeah, the pig bar b q was awesome) Quick flight over to Punta Chivato (dirt) and then headed home. No gas available, so had to dogleg over to Guaymas to top off and then back to Mexicali and home.

to be continued


Please continue!

thebajarunner - 10-10-2024 at 01:18 PM

Back in the 70's a friend blew his Bonanza down to Mulege for a fun weekend. On the way back, somewhere between San Francisquito and San Felipe they spotted the most serene, secluded, gorgeous beach of all time. Couple low passes showed smooth sand and so they put it down for a quick look and maybe a skinny dip.
And the wheels went all the way down to the struts!!
Long story short they grabbed what they could and then watched that amazing Upper Gulf tide roll in and drown their prize.
Explaining that one to the insurance company is probably still in process, and yes, it not only ruined the trip but sure provided a lot of stories at their expense when they finally returned.

Another close friend, a Modesto MD flew a group of other docs down to a remote village to do some charity medical work for a few days. On the way out he neglected to call in his arrival to the US (which has a 30 minute mandatory time requirement.)
$5,000 fine, not negotiable, not refundable, and not a great way to end a charity run.
(Makes you wonder how 12 million can cross the border free on foot but you have to pay five grand if you fly)

to be cont'd perhaps

mtgoat666 - 10-10-2024 at 01:45 PM

Quote: Originally posted by thebajarunner  

Another close friend, a Modesto MD flew a group of other docs down to a remote village to do some charity medical work for a few days. On the way out he neglected to call in his arrival to the US (which has a 30 minute mandatory time requirement.)
$5,000 fine, not negotiable, not refundable,


Crossing an intl border by plane requires attention to detail. The requirement to call in advance of entry has been around for many years. Pilots prone to forgetting things should use checklists, or consider retiring their wings.

Exellent point

thebajarunner - 10-10-2024 at 04:53 PM

Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666  
Quote: Originally posted by thebajarunner  

Another close friend, a Modesto MD flew a group of other docs down to a remote village to do some charity medical work for a few days. On the way out he neglected to call in his arrival to the US (which has a 30 minute mandatory time requirement.)
$5,000 fine, not negotiable, not refundable,


Crossing an intl border by plane requires attention to detail. The requirement to call in advance of entry has been around for many years. Pilots prone to forgetting things should use checklists, or consider retiring their wings.


A group of doctors that have flown at their own cost to a remote village to work dawn to dusk to help the indigent folks sure should have been attuned to the laws of flying across the border.
WE MUST RESPECT OUR BORDERS!!!! on that we can agree

LancairDriver - 10-10-2024 at 06:50 PM

In the "good old days" before 9/11 changed the world, you could just take off and fly down into Baja and check in at a Mexican tower airport, usually Mexicali, Tijuana, or San Filipe for customs. This was done without checking with the US FAA who would just say have a nice trip or give you a short weather report if you bothered to call.Most pilots would check in returning to the US after first checking back out with the Mexican controllers. Then you fly back to a US customs airport after talking to US controllers and stating passenger names and expected arrival times at a US airport with customs. Now it has become a very detailed flight plan very similar to an airline coming and going with both Mexican and US authorities and if you miss the time you have stated it could result in a $5,000 penalty. It has resulted in much less private flying and the old traditional places barely exist any more. Many previous flyers have either stopped flying down and now drive down and enjoy the scenery missed when flying. The world is changing.

David K - 10-10-2024 at 07:11 PM

Flying from Alfonsina's to Oceanside, in Doug Bowles 209, we intended to fly to Brown Field (San Diego) after leaving San Felipe Int'l. When I saw he was flying over Hwy 5 northbound rather than towards San Diego, he saw that his GPS wasn't working. He contacted Calexico and asked if we could land there, only 15-20 minutes out, rather than that 30 minute minimum. Fortunately, they said okay and come on in. Lucky us. Sadly, a few years later, Doug flew into a mountain near Palm Springs on his way home from Gonzags to Long Beach. His grandson and another were on board, as well.

thebajarunner - 10-12-2024 at 12:40 PM

Flying out through Mexicali years ago the guy at the desk pulled a really subtle hustle on me.
There was a small glitch, according to him, in the paperwork. Maybe number of passengers did not match coming in, something like that.
So, I simply asked "Is there someone we could hire to fix this issue?"
He never looked up but simply slid the lower drawer of his desk open about six inches. It was half filled with crumpled peso notes and green bucks.
I took out my wallet, crumpled a fiver and dropped it in the drawer
He slid the drawer closed, checked two more boxes and stamped us "good to go" All without looking up or making a comment.
Slick, efficient and not too costly
Only in Mexico

David K - 10-12-2024 at 01:03 PM

Quote: Originally posted by thebajarunner  
Flying out through Mexicali years ago the guy at the desk pulled a really subtle hustle on me.
There was a small glitch, according to him, in the paperwork. Maybe number of passengers did not match coming in, something like that.
So, I simply asked "Is there someone we could hire to fix this issue?"
He never looked up but simply slid the lower drawer of his desk open about six inches. It was half filled with crumpled peso notes and green bucks.
I took out my wallet, crumpled a fiver and dropped it in the drawer
He slid the drawer closed, checked two more boxes and stamped us "good to go" All without looking up or making a comment.
Slick, efficient and not too costly
Only in Mexico


That story is gold!

Reminds me of the time when my folks and I were headed to Castro's Camp for some bottom fishing (rock and ling cod) near Ejido Eréndira... late 70s
The (tourist card) inspection station was still open, just south of Maneadero. Technically, tourists are supposed to get the card at the border (like now) but they can still issue them at the inspection station.
The official was duded-up in a uniform like some kind of comandante and after handing my dad the tourist cards, he calmly said, "If you would like to give me a tip, I will accept it"!
Viva Mexico!

thebajarunner - 10-12-2024 at 04:02 PM



That story is gold!

Reminds me of the time when my folks and I were headed to Castro's Camp for some bottom fishing (rock and ling cod) near Ejido Eréndira... late 70s
The (tourist card) inspection station was still open, just south of Maneadero. Technically, tourists are supposed to get the card at the border (like now) but they can still issue them at the inspection station.
The official was duded-up in a uniform like some kind of comandante and after handing my dad the tourist cards, he calmly said, "If you would like to give me a tip, I will accept it"!
Viva Mexico![/rquote]

Yeah, that was just a little wooden shack, right at the curve going out of Maneadero.... we called it "the telephone booth"
So on an early 70's pre-run one of our sponsors asked us to take his 16 year old kid along for the ride. (Gave him the thrill of his life after he got done dumping in his britches)
Anyway, the little general in the booth looked over our papers and declared that the kid could not go on South.
Hmmmmmm
Back a few blocks into town, out of sight, headed up the hill and spotted the city dump smoldering away. we looped around it and came out half mile south of the shack and we are gone with the wind.

(I often felt that guy had no official posting but had just tacked that thing together and was making his own toll road.)

David K - 10-13-2024 at 10:54 AM

Photos of American presidents are 'collectables' in situations like that (in the 70s)!