Asking help from N Indiana pilots (re: Wawasee airport 4IN9)

FastEddieB

FastEddieB

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Fast Eddie B
We have friends that live on Lake Syracuse that we may be visiting soon.

The nearest airport is Wawasee, 4IN9, a private grass strip.

I contacted the owner, and received permission to land there, but he's not a pilot and did not have much info on the runway condition, other than it was "O.K."

Has anyone been in there recently, or have an idea of the runway conditions? I'd rather have a little more info before attempting a landing there in my Sky Arrow.

Thanks in advance!
 
FastEddieB said:
...2) Less of a chance of getting hassled if we want to top off with mogas from cans...
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I haven't been near the chain-o-lakes in 20 years, but to drift this thread in possibly otherwise helpful directions, have you seen the AK Bushwheel fuel bladders? I'm not affiliated and I haven't used one, but they are popular on other forums. Seems like it would be much easier to pack around than empty cans. Pretty spendy IMO, but saving the space might be worth it depending on your baggage situation.

http://www.airframesalaska.com/LargeBag-p/5.2bag.htm
 
O.K., 4IN9 - Dimensions: 2150 x 80 ft. / 655 x 24 m

Forget my last, the 'Sky Arrow' looks like it doesn't need a whole lot of runway.
 
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gasfiltered said:
I haven't been near the chain-o-lakes in 20 years, but to drift this thread in possibly otherwise helpful directions, have you seen the AK Bushwheel fuel bladders? I'm not affiliated and I haven't used one, but they are popular on other forums. Seems like it would be much easier to pack around than empty cans. Pretty spendy IMO, but saving the space might be worth it depending on your baggage situation.

http://www.airframesalaska.com/LargeBag-p/5.2bag.htm
Click to expand...

Thanks, but most times we are visiting friend and most of those times they can squirrel up gas cans. The Sky Arrow only holds 18 gals, so 2 or 3 5-gal cans get the job done.

And while mogas is preferred, 100LL is not a huge issue when traveling cross country. We use Decalin additive on those occasions.
 
FastEddieB said:
Thanks.

Good observation - typically no more than 500' to 1,000' for either takeoff or landing on "clipped grass".
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Looks like quite a nice strip according to Google Earth Pro. Never been there myself however.

I'm flying back from Erie, PA to Chicago tomorrow afternoon or evening. If it's still daylight out, I'll attempt a low approach to check things out.
 
Google Earth shows a pretty good picture of 07/25. Don't know the date but looks nice.
 

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Discretion and valor and all that...

The Sky Arrow was all topped off and shiny and ready for the trip today.

Nothing but clear skies and high pressure along the route. Yay!

But...

22182061942_0d3ec70c2f.jpg


Pretty sure I could handle those winds, but they are non-trivial in a plane that stalls at 39k.

Probably bumpy down low, and strong headwinds aloft, so...

...we'll try again tomorrow. Weak cold front forecast for over KY, so we'll have to see how much weather goes along with that.
 
FastEddieB said:
We have friends that live on Lake Syracuse that we may be visiting soon.

The nearest airport is Wawasee, 4IN9, a private grass strip.

I contacted the owner, and received permission to land there, but he's not a pilot and did not have much info on the runway condition, other than it was "O.K."

Has anyone been in there recently, or have an idea of the runway conditions? I'd rather have a little more info before attempting a landing there in my Sky Arrow.

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

I would love to know, as being able to fly up to lake Wawasee easily would be fantastic. Great lake, but a long trip from Indy (by car).
 
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Made it safely to Wawasee!

Nice little strip. Little rough but fine.

Bumpy at times, but hardly a cloud in the sky the entire way.

Both Karen and I should have gotten decent videos of the landing. I'll post them when able.

Thanks all!
 
FastEddieB said:
Made it safely to Wawasee!

Nice little strip. Little rough but fine.

Bumpy at times, but hardly a cloud in the sky the entire way.

Both Karen and I should have gotten decent videos of the landing. I'll post them when able.

Thanks all!
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Thanks for the update. Do they have a place for you to tie down or hangar your plane?
 
PPC1052 said:
Thanks for the update. Do they have a place for you to tie down or hangar your plane?
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I brought stakes and tie downs, but the owner had a mostly empty hangar to back it into for 2 nights.

Took a friend of Karen's up for a lake tour today. Still a bit gusty but no problem. She loved it.

Too bad I'm not headed home today. Flying up our groundspeed was about 70-80k down low - would have been brutal up high. Today I'd have about 40k on the tail at 6,000' to start out!

Should be tailwinds of a lesser degree tomorrow, but I'm not complaining.
 
OK. Made it home safely yesterday. Gorgeous flight.

I did, in fact, find 41kt winds at 9,500':

22296369901_3f1f9d6b68.jpg


Made the trip back a lot quicker than the one up!

Anyway, here's Karen being a badass again:

22114406548_a912008071.jpg


And once you leave KY, things flatten out in a big way:

21679390664_e1d3580083.jpg


And I always feel like I'm coming home when the mountains come into view:

22097966258_ab64cd434b_c.jpg


Anyway, just uploaded a 2:30 video of a low pass and two landings at Wawasee. Best in HD.

Enjoy!

 
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PPC1052 said:
I would love to know, as being able to fly up to lake Wawasee easily would be fantastic. Great lake, but a long trip from Indy (by car).
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Here's the agent to call if anyone is interested in buying the strip:

21688056814_d80546e293_c.jpg


Strip plus one large hangar. Various people with adjacent homes have certain rights of access to the strip.

I think they said the asking price was $310,000.

Right now, the person to call for permission to land is Michael Hayes at 574-527-9309.
 
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