My epic flight through Glacier Ntl Park and landing at 58S Whitefish, MT

[Jim02U]

After overnighting at a hotel near S27 Kalispell City Airport, on Sept 7, midday, I flew through Glacier National Park and landed at Whitefish airport, where friends picked me up for an overnight visit.

The flight was a surreal experience that I will always remember.
It had been on my bucket list for several years. I got lucky with the weather and wildfire smoke during the first week of September and had an amazing trip. On Sept 8th, I departed from Whitefish and flew through Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons... if interested you can see that video and others from my trip on my YouTube Channel... search for Jim Hefner. This video was shot from a Insta360 One X2 mounted on the right wingtip of my RV6A.

 

[Sudburian]

Jim, I've followed your videos on youtube for a while and didn't realize you posted here too. I live in Phoenix but am from Tucson so I've loved seeing your Tucson flights. Cool stuff!

 

[Jim02U]

Jim, I've followed your videos on youtube for a while and didn't realize you posted here too. I live in Phoenix but am from Tucson so I've loved seeing your Tucson flights. Cool stuff!

Thanks, I don't usually post local Tucson area flights here since they are mostly of local interest.

 

[CJones]

Wow. Absolutely gorgeous. We were out there about 5 years ago (took the train, no flying unfortunately). We were there in the middle of June and the Road to the Sun wasn't open yet, so we only saw the western part of the park. We did the boat tour on Douglas Lake and could see the peaks in the background, but had no idea how much lay beyond what we could see. Obviously we missed a LOT! It's on our list to go back and maybe next time we'll take the plane.

View from Douglas Lake. Much whiter peaks than what you have in your vid. I think they had a big dump of snow in the mountains a few days before we got there ~June 10 or so.

 

[Jim02U]

Wow. Absolutely gorgeous. We were out there about 5 years ago (took the train, no flying unfortunately). We were there in the middle of June and the Road to the Sun wasn't open yet, so we only saw the western part of the park. We did the boat tour on Douglas Lake and could see the peaks in the background, but had no idea how much lay beyond what we could see. Obviously we missed a LOT! It's on our list to go back and maybe next time we'll take the plane.

View from Douglas Lake. Much whiter peaks than what you have in your vid. I think they had a big dump of snow in the mountains a few days before we got there ~June 10 or so.
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Thanks, it was amazing. I'm sure the park would look a lot different in June than it does in September, but I was told by my friends who live in Whitefish that the glaciers are fading fast, so I'm glad I flew there while there are some glaciers left to see.

 

[mandm]

Awesome, enjoyed flying into Whitefish although the runway is a bit short for my Piper Arrow. Nice large dog park adjacent the airport and the downtown area was nice too.

 

[Jim02U]

Awesome, enjoyed flying into Whitefish although the runway is a bit short for my Piper Arrow. Nice large dog park adjacent the airport and the downtown area was nice too.

Thanks. I really enjoyed landing and visiting in Whitefish. My friends showed me around town and we had a nice Italian meal at Ciao Mambo. Tom told me they had recent rain and advised me to land long since the north end gets soft. The next morning, when I left there, I taxied down to the 29 end and took off toward the north, since it is a little downhill and doesn't have trees close to that end of the runway. Whitefish is a very cool little town. Home prices have gone out of sight over the last 5-10 yrs, like many places.