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LancairDriver
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Early Baja Flying Article
Interesting old article on flying in Baja
https://blog.cabovillas.com/flying-to-baja-in-the-1970s-and-...
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pacificobob
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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.
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David K
Honored Nomad
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Great article, thanks!
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LancairDriver
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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.
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David K
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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
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AKgringo
Elite Nomad
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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.
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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4x4abc
Ultra Nomad
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Location: La Paz, BCS
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Mood: happy - always
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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
Harald Pietschmann
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LancairDriver
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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.
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bajafreaks
Nomad
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Location: Gardnerville, NV./ Los Barriles BCS
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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.
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Glidergeek
Nomad
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Location: Hesperia Ca
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"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
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64842
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| 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!
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thebajarunner
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3718
Registered: 9-8-2003
Location: Arizona....."Free at last from crumbling Cali
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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
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64842
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| 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!
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thebajarunner
Ultra Nomad
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Location: Arizona....."Free at last from crumbling Cali
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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
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mtgoat666
Select Nomad
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Location: San Diego
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| 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.
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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thebajarunner
Ultra Nomad
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Exellent point
| 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.
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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
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LancairDriver
Super Nomad
Posts: 1593
Registered: 2-22-2008
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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.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64842
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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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.
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thebajarunner
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3718
Registered: 9-8-2003
Location: Arizona....."Free at last from crumbling Cali
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Mood: muy amable
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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
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64842
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| 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!
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