I am pre planning a trip to Yellowstone in a Cherokee 140, from central Wisconsin. Looks like some big mountains near my destination. I was looking at Cody KCOD as a good place to be based for a week. Any hints and tips on that area for flying or accommodation would be appreciated.
Summer time in a Cherokee 140 to Yellowstone?
Plan carefully for density altitude and don't depent on your service ceiling numbers, if you can climb to 12,000 in the winter then you might do 9,000 in mid summer, fly early and plan on being on the ground by 11 AM if you are doing high elevation airports, our airport which is KAEG is 5,800 MSL and in the summer it can be 9,000 to 10,000 MSL.
Good advice Alex, We are hoping to visit Yellowstone in June. Still like the idea of early starts. My plan is to fly over to Rapid City KRAP aprox 6hrs flight from Wisconsin. Stay overnight and fly in the morning
north of the Black Hills, spot Devils Tower, and land at Cody. sounds like a 'plan'. Any ideas?
Do you have any high passes to cross, if so cross them early and don't cross if the winds at that elevation are 25kts or better? Take the AOPA mountain flying course.
N6469J
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/01/2008 02:43PM by alex.
I flew to Kcod a couple of years ago. Stayed at Spearfish for a few days, then on to Yellowstone. You need to plan on 12000 feet to cross the 9000 ft. plateau that you will encounter flying from SD to COD. Devils tower is a neat view while on the way. I suggest that you leave early morning and carry oxygen. It's a beautiful flight. Yellowstone is a short drive from Cody entering the park at the East entrance. We stayed in West Yellowstone, there are plenty of chain hotels to be had.
Have fun
Bill
From Devil's Tower head NW to Fort Smith (5U7) then south through the Bighorn Canyon and on to Cody. 8,500 gets you there the whole way. With a slight detour north of Ft Smith you can orbit Little Bighorn. Not much to see from the air but you can say you've been there.
We stayed at the Alex Johnson Hotel in Rapid City. The downtown area around it is developing some nice night life.
We ended up in a fleabag in Cody as everyplace else was full. It was a Hell's Angel's convention, interesting night :). You'll probably have better luck. The Western museum in Cody is phenomenal. The rodeo is well worth a vist, too.
When you make your rooming reservations in Yellowstone, also make you dinner reservations. You don't exactly have lots of choices of where to go beside your hotel/lodge (except at Old Faithful), so if you want to eat at a normal hour you want to make reservations early.
I too am planning a trip to the Yellowstone area in April. My daughter owns Yellowstone Raft Co. in Gardiner, mt. I sold my 140 and bought a 180 Cherokee because I was concerned about density altitude. The best I could get out of my 140 was about 11000 which would work but you have to go through passes, light and early. With the 180 I can land at Gardiner at an elevation 5200 and runway 3200ft. I plan on stopping in Jackson Hole for a day then fly over the park into Gardiner. Let us know how your trip goes and I will do the same.
