Best airports to fly to in the Pacific Northwest?

Daven

Daven

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Awesometastic1
Just bought a plane (in Bellingham Washington) and wondering what are some great airports to fly into in the Pacific Northwest (or when the borders open back up, Canada)? Bonus points if good for kids, but just in general?
 
McMinnville, Oregon has the Spruce Goose museum. Water park for the kids, sliding out of a 747. Plus a bunch of aircraft in addition to the Goose.

Further south, Cottage Grove, Oregon has a smaller museum. Hood River as well, and it’s top notch. Hood River is a nice town with a lot of attractions, including a tourist railroad, small brewpubs, windsurfing if you’re into that.

Eugene has a nice little museum as well, including an A-4 and an A-6.
 
I'm partial to Pearson Field in Vancouver WA (VUO), which was my home field for 20 years. It's one of the oldest operating airfields in the US. Elrey Jeppesen learned to fly at Pearson in the early 1920s. National Park Service's replica of 1829 Fort Vancouver is adjacent. Guided tours are available. There's also a small air museum on the field. A block north is Officers Row, formerly the residences of US Army officers serving at Fort Vancouver. In the 1850s Captain Ulysses S. Grant worked as a quartermaster in the building now called Grant House. Nice restaurants on the bank of the Columbia River are a short walk away.
 
I thought Friday Harbor was the big draw? For more outdoorsy, Orcas Island.
 
sourdough44 said:
I thought Friday Harbor was the big draw? For more outdoorsy, Orcas Island.
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For food and culture a short walk from airport to town it’s hard to beat. Not much for kiddie stuff though unless they like to look at boats
 
sourdough44 said:
I thought Friday Harbor was the big draw? For more outdoorsy, Orcas Island.
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+1 Orcas Island. There's a beautiful 1 mile walk due south from the airport to Eastsound village on the bay. If you see Richard Bach at the airport, say hello.
 
+1 Hood River. Nice little museum. Be advised that the TAF is for The Dalles, which is nearby but the weather can be very different.

Thumbs up to Friday Harbor, Orcas, and the other islands with airports in the San Juan’s.

Boeing Field for the Museum of Flight, lots of cool aircraft.

Paine Field for the Boeing assembly plant and a couple smaller museums.

Arlington for the Fly-In in August.
 
Pilawt said:
I'm partial to Pearson Field in Vancouver WA (VUO), which was my home field for 20 years. It's one of the oldest operating airfields in the US. Elrey Jeppesen learned to fly at Pearson in the early 1920s. National Park Service's replica of 1829 Fort Vancouver is adjacent. Guided tours are available. There's also a small air museum on the field. A block north is Officers Row, formerly the residences of US Army officers serving at Fort Vancouver. In the 1850s Captain Ulysses S. Grant worked as a quartermaster in the building now called Grant House. Nice restaurants on the bank of the Columbia River are a short walk away.
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"Great airport" in what sense?

Fun landing/takeoff?
Sekiu (11S). Take off to the east.
Quillayute (UIL). Basically abandoned. A bit creepy. If you time it right you can watch NOAA launch a weather balloon.
Oak Harbor (OKH) narrow, but long, and sloped!
Roche Harbor (WA09) Nice walk to the marina, lime kilns, and food.
Grand Coulee (3W7) Buzz the dam. Land right next to Banks Lake. Bring a couple innertubes.
Darrington (1S2) just because of the mountain.
Concrete (3W5) River at both ends. Nice sink holes over the ice water in summer. Also the Mountain loop has awesome views of Mt. Baker and other peaks. Fly it between 3500-4500 MSL (below the peaks).

Pemberton, BC. It's near Whistler and in the summer has kid things to do. Transportation available from the field.

Almost any flight in the tri-state area is a scenic treat.
Oroville, Willapa, Chelan, Packwood for Mt. Rainier, Toledo for both Rainier and Helena.
Check them out on Google Earth.
 
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KPUW if you are going to a WSU football game (or other reasons to visit).

I agree with Domenick, fllghts around the PNW are great for scenic reasons, even if you don't land anywhere other than back home.
 
Darington for the Burger Barn.
 
I'll throw in Bremerton (KPWT) just for the sake of getting a car and visiting either the USS Turner Joy or the Naval Undersea Museum. The Airport diner is closed but they have had a food truck on the airport since it closed so food is available if the truck is there. As has already been mentioned Friday Harbor and Port Townsend are others that I frequent with the family. My family also enjoys the typical scenic Seattle tour. Just get on the radio with Boeing Field and let them know what you want.
 
Harvey Field (S43) has a pretty good restaurant. Expansive deck for summer dining. Downtown Snohomish (quaint) is just over the bridge.

Skagit (BVS) has an onfield restaurant.

Salem, OR (SLE) has an onfield restaurant. https://flightdeckrestaurant.com/

Before committing to a restaurant visit, verify they are serving.
 
I'd love to fly into PDX just for the view on the river approach. When I've flown in there commercial it is beautiful, so I can only imagine flying myself in.
 
I once flew into Victoria, Canada and visited Butchart Gardens. That was a great flight and a great day.
 
Domenick said:
Harvey Field (S43) has a pretty good restaurant. Expansive deck for summer dining. Downtown Snohomish (quaint) is just over the bridge.

Skagit (BVS) has an onfield restaurant.

Salem, OR (SLE) has an onfield restaurant. https://flightdeckrestaurant.com/

Before committing to a restaurant visit, verify they are serving.
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I thought the restaurant at Skagit had closed for some reason. I might need to take another flight out there one day to check it out.
 
Can we backup a bit... what kind of airplane did you buy?! Pics please.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions. :) @TipTanks It's a 1977 Piper Arrow III Turbo. Have almost 40 hours on it already in the last few weeks, about doubling my previous total flight hours. :) Faster and more economical than I expected, though does have all the speed mods and some upgrades to the Turbo and the engine was blueprinted last time overhauled (pretty consistent 155-160-ish knots TAS at around 9K ft at around 11/12 gph) and otherwise runs great other than the other night flying back from Nevada. Naturally being a night flight the alternator died... :) Shortly after an unscheduled potty break for my littles... Just get everyone back settled and climb back up and then out. ;-) On the plus side, got to land at the Dalles, one of the suggested above. :)
 

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Turbo Arrows are great!
 
Yep, loving it. Now have about 60 hours on it in the couple months since I bought it and a really fun and easy plane to fly in all weather conditions so far. :) Also seems impossible to have a bad landing in it. Lots of landings i thought would be bad then the gear just absorbs and everything seems nice and gentle. :) Makes me look good to the passengers at least. :)
 
Daven said:
Yep, loving it. Now have about 60 hours on it in the couple months since I bought it and a really fun and easy plane to fly in all weather conditions so far. :) Also seems impossible to have a bad landing in it. Lots of landings i thought would be bad then the gear just absorbs and everything seems nice and gentle. :) Makes me look good to the passengers at least. :)
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I have noticed that Arrows with the tapered wings are MUCH better in that regard than the earlier "Hershey bar" design.
 
What is the name of the restaurant in the photo?
 
Take the family to Sunriver, OR (S21). Plan to say for a few days.
 
4S1 Gold Beach is definitely a hidden coastal gem.
 
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