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Lewis and Clark Route by Parachute

Friday, June 18, 2004

We were on our way to the airport by 5 A.M.  No restaurants were open so breakfast consisted of an apple, crackers, granola bar and Leonard had a roll.  After unloading and setup it was 6 A.M. for liftoff.  On the ground it was perfectly calm.  A few minutes later a few hundred feet in the air the GPS gave a reading of 10 mph ground speed and 10 hours to the destination Woodland airport.

Aerial view of Astoria from the parachute

I had thought it would take two hours in route.  At first I thought the GPS was haywire, but as every pilot knows you have to trust your instruments.  I soon discovered the higher the altitude the slower the speed.  I ended up dropping down just above tree top level and averaged about 16 mph for the first couple hours while cutting directly cross country.  The whole area was rolling hills covered with trees.  After the halfway point the head wind eased somewhat allowing up to 28 mph.

I had radio contact with Leonard at first but due to the low altitude it didn't last long.  Woodland airstrip lays right up next to I-5 north of Portland.  Due to the head winds, Leonard waited for an hour for my arrival.  My time in route was three hours.  It took 30 minutes to refuel and take off the snowmobile suit before leaving, headed for The Dalles, Oregon, although the airport is on the Washington side.  At first the GPS indicated three hours in route by going direct.  I started out doing 25-30 mph.  As the higher hills approached the speed lowered gradually.

Woodland Air Strip

Lewis and Clark would have a hard time believing the number of people now livng in the forested area between Mt. Saint Helens and Portland.  The route was north of the Columbia River and the tree covered hills soon become tree covered mountains.  The higher and further I went, the stronger the head wind and the longer the time in route indicated, up to ten hours after being in the air for an hour and 45 minutes.  By the time I reached the higher peaks my speed deteriorated to 4 and 5 mph.  The wind gusts made the chute jerk as if a giant hand was shaking it.

I was almost at the top of a long high ridge where I hoped the winds would subside when I could go lower on the other side.  Then the chute started losing altitude . . . the altimeter showed I was in a down draft at the rate of 600 feet per minute at full throttle and the side of the mountain coming up rapidly.

To keep from going into the trees I made a left bank toward lower terrain.  I was still in the down draft and I could see the chute was now traveling at 27 mph, sideways.  It finally made it out of the down draft and as hardheaded as I am, I decided I was not going to get to The Dalles and looked on the GPS for the nearest airport at a lower elevation.

I found Camas off to the south and not that far away.  As I headed for the new destination at almost 30 mph I come across an updraft and with the throttle cut back I was ascending at 900 feet per minute.  It took me over the 5000 foot level before getting back to normal, I was longing for the warm clothes I had discarded earlier.

At Camas airport the chute on approach was up down and sideways, but finally sat down on the grass next to the runway soft and easy.  With just less then 5 foot of roll.  I was able to catch Leonard on the cell phone and he arrived about 30 minutes later.  We are staying here tonight hoping the winds go down enough for us to slip through the Columbia Gorge early in the morning.  There are storm clouds and squalls around this evening.

Saturday, June 19, 2004

We were up at 3:45 A.M.  Had a continental breakfast at the hotel.  Met Mark, a reporter from Portland at the airfield at 5 A.M.  He asked questions while we prepared for flight.  The air was calm and the sky clear.  On take off I dropped the map holder and pad because forgot to strap it on my leg.  Leonard found it after I left.  I did the same the day before but it slid down between the frame and the gas tank and was still there when we landed.

Columbia Basin Gorge

The air was smooth and the ground speed good until about half way through the Gorge.  We had hoped to slip through early in the morning before the normal east wind started.  Even small fixed wing aircraft are careful of the Gorge and we were apprehensive as well.  I was flying at 4000 to 5,000 feet on purpose to miss the turbulence as much as possible, but the winds got stronger and to gain more speed I dropped below the surrounding hill side.  It worked but the ride was a bit rougher.  We felt if we could get through the Gorge to Hood River the winds wouldn't affect us as much.  By the time I got to Cascade Locks the ground speed was 4-5 mph.  It took 15 minutes to fly the length of their small landing strip.  At least with a tail wind it wouldn't take long to get back.

I was on the south side the river not far from the high rocky bluffs which seemed almost too close for comfort but had no problems.  When the landscape opened up toward Hood River the ground speed increased to the point where I was able to go all the way to The Dalles airfield where Leonard was waiting with fuel.  The flight took four hours.

The first half of the next leg to Hermiston, Oregon is why people fly parachutes.  The air was smooth, the air was clear.  All the major mountains, Hood, Rainier, Adams and Saint Helens were in a panoramic display with the Columbia winding through them.  The second half again was rough and slow but we arrived at Hermiston and with some cloud buildups in the path toward Walla Walla we decided to lay over the night.

We had not been able to send any messages out from Leonard's or my computer so far, but tonight, at the Oxford Inn & Suites, Vicky came to our rescue and actually got them both able to get on line and send emails.  The personnel here are very helpful and we both appreciated their time for which they didn't charge.

Bob

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