As many of you know, I participated in the 2010 Air Adventure Tour to the west coast with Warren Arnholtz and Stu Simpson. The one thing I wanted to do on the Tour was to go to Arlington.

Leaving from Vancouver, Washington on day 4, we had planned to fly along the Columbia River and up the Pacific coast to Harvey Field, just 15 nm south of Arlington. The first 20 minutes went well until we encountered a little fog over the river and hugging up to the Pacific shoreline. For an East Coast pilot, this was just a normal day of flying, but my prairie pilot wingmen were not too comfortable with it. They decided on a different route while I continued on the original plan.

The flight was wonderful with views that made me homesick for Newfoundland. Of course, this changed when I got further north and encountered the Olympic Mountains. This small mountain range pushes up out of the forest to a height of 8000‟. My path took me east along the south edge of the Olympics and then north over Puget Sound along the east side of the mountains. Traffic was fairly light and the controllers were quite polite and helpful. I decided to remain out of Mode C airspace by going around the north end of Paine Field‟s control area and then south to Harvey Field. As I descended, I was informed that a Boeing was on approach to Paine out of the north and would be passing under me. As I got closer I found the Boeing and asked the pilot if it was a 787. She confirmed that it was 787 serial number 3.

Unfortunately, the rather dramatic descent I elected to do left me with a massive headache. I guess that 1500 fpm from 9500‟ to the 22‟ was pushing it a bit! A couple of Advil and a quick nap later and I was ready for a night at Safeco Field with the Mariners and Yankees.

By the way, I‟d like to pass on a little tip for those planning to travel. LEAVE THE TRAVELER’S CHEQUES AT HOME!!! A certain member of our Tour, who shall remain unnamed… Stu, decided that traveler’s cheques would be the way to go. At some places, they wouldn’t take them, at others, the cashiers (typically those under the age of 25) didn’t even know what they were. At Safeco field, it took 30 minutes to get our tickets as the teenager had to read through a manual (I believed it was hand printed on parchment) to learn how to cash one. Oh well, we didn’t miss anything in that first inning anyway 

The next morning was our day at Arlington. I had originally hoped to fly into Arlington field. The plan had been to fly to Harvey Field one day, then fly to Arlington the following morning and returning to Harvey that evening. We chatted about our options and finally decided that the combination of high temperatures and the potential for a long hold before take-off after the airshow could lead to very hot engines in the climb. Driving the short distance to Arlington was the unanimous decision.

This was my 7th year attending Arlington. Despite the incredible weather, numbers seemed to be down this year, both in attendees and exhibitors. In fact, one large area normally occupied by aircraft vendors was completely empty. I went back through some pictures of previous Arlington Fly-Ins and it looks like there were only about half the numbers this year.

Despite the lack of numbers, it was still a great way to spend a day. It’s certainly pumped me up for Oshkosh 2011. Anyone interested?