Monument Valley Lunch Daytrip

Jim02U

Jim02U

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Tucson, AZ
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Jim02U
Last Friday the area weather was great so I flew from Tucson to Monument Valley for lunch, with a fly-over of Canyon de Chelly on the way. UT25 airstrip at Gouldings Lodge is private so I called and got permission on Thursday and submitted required paperwork. It is a little over a 2hr flight, plus a fuel stop at TYL Taylor in the White Mtns. There is no fuel at UT25. I had a nice lunch at the restaurant... Navajo Taco is my favorite. After lunch I flew to the Mexican Hat area before heading south. It doesn't get much better than that for a daytrip. If you are ever out in the area it is definitely worth a stop. They have rooms and a campground if you decide to stay over and take the guided tour.

 
beautiful! i'm extremely envious. we've been there on the ground but not in the air. stayed at Goulding's RV park and did both a guided and self-driving tour of Monument Valley. also drove to Mexican Hat and the Moki Dugway. thanks for posting!
 
I'm a seven hour trip away from this. After watching this I am going to plan a trip to see this area. Thx for the vid.
 
Lndwarrior said:
I'm a seven hour trip away from this. After watching this I am going to plan a trip to see this area. Thx for the vid.
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Awesome! When you come to visit this area I recommend you stop at UT25 MV for lunch, then fly west over Lake Powell and overnight in Page (PGA). From there it is a nice flight over Marble Canyon and the Zuni Corridor of the Grand Canyon. Here are a couple of my recent videos from there.

(Lake Powell and Marble Canyon)

(Grand Canyon - 3 VFR corridors)
 
We were just out that way a few weeks ago, in our pop-up camper, and stayed at the KOA. It was an awesome trip, including the day we rented a jeep (at the KOA) and toured Valley of the Gods and Natural Bridges (via the Moki Dugway).

I see no special markings on the Sectional for Monument Valley in particular. Is there anything stopping one from flying low over that area? It’s Navajo Nation territory and I had the sense you needed to get their approval to fly over there but can’t find anything that actually says that.
 
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Llewtrah381 said:
We were just out that way a few weeks ago, in our pop-up camper, and stayed at the KOA. It was an awesome trip, including the day we rented a jeep (at the KOA) and toured Valley of the Gods and Natural Bridges (via the Moki Dugway).

I see no special markings on the Sectional for Monument Valley in particular. Is there anything stopping one from flying low over that area? It’s Navajo Nation territory and I had the sense you needed to get their approval to fly over there but can’t find anything that actually says that.
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We had ultralight fly-in's at UT25 several years back in mid 2000's and heard from the Navajo's that they didn't like us flying over that area low. They wanted us to pay admission to the park since we were flying over their land without paying admission. We told them we would be happy to pay, but they never came back to collect. Since I was stopping for lunch at Gouldings Lodge, I didn't want to press my luck by flying lower that I did and be greeted by unhappy Navajo's waiting for me at my plane when I came out from lunch... :( Here are photos from our 2005 fly-in and as you will see I was flying much lower and slower back then. :)
 
Thanks - and very nice video! It looks like it would be a great place to see in a gyro. I may work with Gyrotrips.com to see if they want to try going to that area. The trick is finding hangar space for overnight, if possible - but you can get about 5 in one hangar.
 
That looks great and is a trip I've been wanting to do. It's a short flight from here (Sedona). Is the runway in good condition?
 
Llewtrah381 said:
Thanks - and very nice video! It looks like it would be a great place to see in a gyro. I may work with Gyrotrips.com to see if they want to try going to that area. The trick is finding hangar space for overnight, if possible - but you can get about 5 in one hangar.
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Forget finding hangar space anywhere around the Monument Valley area. Most of us ultralight fliers trailered our planes in there and flew locally around the area from UT25 ... That is Navajo land... if someone has to land on their land, they will confiscate the plane as we were told by them back in the 2003-2009 timeframe when we were having a fly-in there.
 
MonkeyClaw said:
That looks great and is a trip I've been wanting to do. It's a short flight from here (Sedona). Is the runway in good condition?
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The runway is in good condition but it is one way in and one way out... no go arounds with high terrain at the south end. When Red Bull had air races there in 2007 they paved and widened the runway. When I was going there with my ultralight the northern 2/3 was red dirt and narrow. You land to the south and take off to the north. This time I had a 9kt quartering tailwind on landing, but with the uphill slope and about 4000' it's no big deal.... I still had to power up and taxi quite a ways with no braking after landing. There are tie-down cables in the gravel parking area near the south end if you are planning to stay overnight or it's windy. No parking is permitted on the pavement at the end... that is only for tourist air taxi loading/unloading... Caravan's and Twin Otters.
 
Reviving this old thread because we flew to L41 today. The runway was as described - paved, but bumpy. Landing on 03, there is a pretty quick rise in elevation, followed by a more gradual rise after the first 500 or so feet. Also, the first 250 ft or so is not paved, but it wasn't an issue. We parked at the end of the runway with the tail hanging off the pavement. The restaurant looks good, but they didn't have any propane to heat their ovens, etc. because a fire has closed the road from Flagstaff. The gravel parking area had 3 cessnas on it, so I had to park across the taxiway from them. It was no issue, but there's not a lot of room for very many planes. We had a very slight tailwind on departure. The runway looks shorter than it is due to the downslope.

Thanks for all of the help and advice! It was a good place to fly, but considering the runway conditions I'm not sure I'll be doing it many more times in the Columbia.
 
MonkeyClaw said:
Reviving this old thread because we flew to L41 today. The runway was as described - paved, but bumpy. Landing on 03, there is a pretty quick rise in elevation, followed by a more gradual rise after the first 500 or so feet. Also, the first 250 ft or so is not paved, but it wasn't an issue. We parked at the end of the runway with the tail hanging off the pavement. The restaurant looks good, but they didn't have any propane to heat their ovens, etc. because a fire has closed the road from Flagstaff. The gravel parking area had 3 cessnas on it, so I had to park across the taxiway from them. It was no issue, but there's not a lot of room for very many planes. We had a very slight tailwind on departure. The runway looks shorter than it is due to the downslope.
Thanks for all of the help and advice! It was a good place to fly, but considering the runway conditions I'm not sure I'll be doing it many more times in the Columbia.
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This original thread was about flying into UT25 in Monument Valley and I replied to your question about the runway. You would have no problem landing your Columbia at UT25 on a smooth, paved uphill runway with plenty of parking for many planes on the gravel area. Parking on the paved area is only for tour planes. You flew into Marble Canyon airport L41, which is a whole different situation. If you are based in Sedona you should hop over to UT25 sometime. You need to submit an online form with a copy of insurance before landing there. Good luck.
 
Jim02U said:
We had ultralight fly-in's at UT25 several years back in mid 2000's and heard from the Navajo's that they didn't like us flying over that area low. They wanted us to pay admission to the park since we were flying over their land without paying admission. We told them we would be happy to pay, but they never came back to collect. Since I was stopping for lunch at Gouldings Lodge, I didn't want to press my luck by flying lower that I did and be greeted by unhappy Navajo's waiting for me at my plane when I came out from lunch... :( Here are photos from our 2005 fly-in and as you will see I was flying much lower and slower back then. :)
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This is the new link....
 
Regarding flying low-ish. Just follow the 500 ft rule. Comply with the FARs. There are very few people out there.
 
Jim02U said:
This original thread was about flying into UT25 in Monument Valley and I replied to your question about the runway. You would have no problem landing your Columbia at UT25 on a smooth, paved uphill runway with plenty of parking for many planes on the gravel area. Parking on the paved area is only for tour planes. You flew into Marble Canyon airport L41, which is a whole different situation. If you are based in Sedona you should hop over to UT25 sometime. You need to submit an online form with a copy of insurance before landing there. Good luck.
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Haha - Yeah, I realized that after I posted :) UT25 is definitely on my list! I got confused by the Marble Canyon video. It was good watching them again though!
 
Timbeck2 said:
Cherokee 140 based at Tucson
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Cool. I've always wondered what it would be like to be based at TUS... much different experience than where I'm based for sure. I'm sure you get used to it.
I like your handle... Timbeck2 ... clever! :)
 
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