PIREPS - Airfields

We had a great flight yesterday from Mystic Bluffs to Gallup for low priced fuel, a swing around Shiprock and Four Corners and wonderful sights across Lake Powell and on into Escalante. And almost no wind………..wow!!!

Here’s my report for two NM runways (we discussed some of this already).

1. Me-Own: Runway very good. Windsock good. Runway margins recently mowed.
2. Negrito: Windsocks good. Tetrahedron functional. Crosswind R/W 03-21 good surface. Main R/W 17-35 has/had a rough patch (water erosion and deep tire tracks) from just north of the pit toilet (at road intersection with runway) to near the intersection with 03-21 (see photo). I believe I mentioned that on the second day of our visit a pilot by the name of Gary Sims (sp?) took a drag towed by a jeep to that rough area. Natala and I marginally helped by tossing rocks off. It’s still a bit rough but much better and should not be an issue for most aircraft. Of course that runway is so long you really do not even need that section but for those landing south on the main runway that patch is in the roll-out area.

Stay well………looking forward to another meet-up with you!

Cheers,

Don

November 2, 2020---swept, mopped and cleaned toilet. Restocked tissue. Toilet is open and unlocked.

Runway 17/35 clear and dry, windsocks good.

1-15-21 Swept and cleaned toilet. Runway 17/35 in good shape. Appears that USFS spread more gravel on upper end past the intersection. Windsocks good. Someone left more firewood at the fire ring. No snow in the area on this day.

2-27-21 Runway 17/35 centerline dry and cracking. Runway edges moist. Camping area has patches of snow.

Clear areas are spongy. Aircraft parking area soft. Windsocks and tetrahedron OK. Toilet swept and cleaned.

More snow forecast for Negrito this week.

3-28-21 Runway 17/35 was in good condition. Both windsocks and tetrahedron good. Parking area dry and firm.

Cleaned toilet.

4-3-21 CAUTION There is a new wildland fire on East Elk Mountain, about 10-12 miles east of Negrito. Helicopter traffic is flying back and forth between the fire and Reserve Ranger Station, and very close to Negrito.

Better to stay clear of Negrito and Rainy Mesa until fire is contained.

The Elk Fire near Negrito Airstrip has reached 100% containment. There is no need to avoid the area.

5-22-21 Negrito runway 17/35 was dragged in the center 15 feet to apparently smooth some ruts. There are some 3" rocks that were dislodged, and some have been thrown aside. More remain, so use caution and throw some more if you visit. Both windsocks and the tetrahedron are OK. There is now most of a concrete picnic table near the fire ring. Do not try to move it or you will wrench your back. There is a plan to repair the table. The toilet was swept and cleaned.

7-21-21 Runways are mostly firm and dry, but monsoon rains could muddy them. Wild onions are sprouting all over, so it is very green. Both windsocks and tetrahedron are OK. East side tie downs were marked for location. Vault toilet door latch assembly was replaced with OE type, so it should prevent the door from getting locked except during use. Toilet was cleaned.

9-3-21 Runway 17/35 looked to be in pretty good shape with low grass along the centerline and scatted wildflowers 12"+ also along the centerline. The edges of the runway had more consistent 12"-15" wildflowers and assorted vegetation. Runway 03/21 was not looked at. Both windsocks and the tetrahedron appear to be OK. There was a elk archery hunting camp set up at the camping area that will remain through the end of September. The owners are aware of the Gila Fly-in and the likelihood of aircraft landing at Negrito, but please be considerate with your operations. The toilet was cleaned and swept.

10-1-21 Mowed runway 17/35 from the intersection all the way south. Also mowed east and west tie-downs.

Cleaned toilet and swept. South windsock OK. North windsock condition uncertain, since the wind was calm.

11-2-21 All looked great on the runways, windsocks and tie-downs. Cleaned and swept toilet, and restocked tissue.

Many cows were outside the airfield, but none inside, so maybe the fence is holding up.

12-16-21 3 planes and a pickup truck arrived for a micro work party. Did some cosmetic patch work on the old picnic table.

Brand new picnic table is there also. Windsocks good, runway good. No snow on this day, everything was clear except for early morning frost. Cleaned, swept and restocked toilet.

Visited airfield on 2-22-22. Runways were in great shape, firm and dry. More snow could be coming this winter. Both windsocks were good. Aircraft parking and camping areas were good. Cell phone coverage with Verizon has improved. On the last 2 visits, I was getting 1 bar with 4G at the camping area. I was able to send out a text message, and was getting email. I suspect that the cell tower in Arizona has increased the power output a little. The signal is also a little stronger at the north end of the airfield compared to before, was getting 2 bars there. Swept and cleaned the vault toilet.

4-3-22 Runways in good condition. Everything was clear and dry. The north end of runway 17/35 was dragged sometime prior to this date, so there are numerous 1" rocks that are loose on the surface where the gravel base has always been. The windsocks look OK. The USFS painted the floor of the toilet, and it looks great. Swept and cleaned toilet.

5-27-22 Runway 17/35 in good shape. Windsocks OK. Cleaned and swept toilet.

7-22 to 7-23 2022 NMPA work party was held, but cut short due to WX and forecast. It rained hard on the afternoon of the 22nd, so runway 17/35 became very soft. 2 aircraft became stuck, then unstuck on the morning of the 23rd. All aircraft departed safely, but landings are not advised until it dries out. Everything is very green. Some vegetation on the runway is approaching 12" high, but it is scattered. A large elk herd was on and near the runway on the evening of the 21st. There are numerous elk tracks about 3" deep.

A few cattle were on and near the runway on the afternoon of the 23rd. Both windsocks OK. Vault toilet cleaned and swept. A new shade structure and kiosk were installed and the outside of the toilet got some paint.

As of 8-28-22 Runway 17/35 has 3" grass over entire length, with scattered 12-18" wildflowers. Centerline is better than edges. Runway still had standing water in places, but seems to be drying out. The forecast is for a drying trend. Some areas of the runway were fairly firm. There are numerous cattle tracks that seem to be a few weeks old and are blending out. There are also elk tracks, especially on the south end.

Since I was not able to mow, use caution. Condition of crosswind runway 03/21 is unknown, it was too wet on the access road to investigate. Bigger tires will handle the cattle tracks better. Both windsocks are working, but the south windsock may be torn.

I trimmed around all 5 in-ground tie-downs on the east side of runway 17/35 at the camping/picnic area. The vault toilet was cleaned, swept, and mopped. There may be a elk hunting camp since archery season starts on September 1st, but pilots have every right to use the runway, just be mindful of prop blast.

10/20/22 There are many ruts in runway 17/35, but the worst are between the picnic tables to north of the toilet. It was still wet in that area. I was able to mow most of the runway 17/35, except for the south 1000'. It was still too soft. The width of mowed runway varies from 20' to 30'. Also I was able to mow some of crosswind runway 03/21 about 20' wide. It is also soft along the edges and at each end. Things are drying out slowly. Both windsocks are working. The south windsock is new, Thanks to Perry. The north windsock is faded. The tetrahedron seems to be working. The east tie-down area was also mowed. The best part of the runway, by far, was the north 2000' of runway 17/35. The vault toilet was cleaned and restocked.

As of 5/9/23, there were many ruts down runway 17 from the toilet area all the way to the end. I used Gary's drag and ran up and down about 5000 feet or so many times; about 25 miles worth to smooth out the ruts in the center 15 feet approximately. Now there are just a few shallow ruts in the center of the runway. The edges still have some deeper ruts. I cleared all rocks that I saw stirred up that were 4" and larger. Some 3" and smaller remain. The main runway is firm and dry. The crosswind runway appears to be landable. The south windsock looks good and is working. The north windsock was very faded and torn, so I put up a new one. I swept and cleaned the vault toilet. I installed 3 eye bolts on the front of the shade structure to attach a tarp or equivalent for extra shade. Someone, probably Forest Service, left some firewood.

Flew into Negrito on 6-8-23. Area was somewhat smoky due to the Pass Fire near Beaverhead, and was worse around the VLA.

Runway 17/35 was good. I landed on 35 and departed on 17. The gravel on the upper end is a little loose due to my having to drag it last month. The center 20 feet seems pretty good full length, with occasional ruts and cattle tracks outside of that. No fresh sign of cattle. Both windsocks are good. Cleaned and swept toilet.

7/15/23 Cleaned and restocked vault toilet. Windsocks good. Runway 17/35 has short grass overall, but has moderate 18-24"

weeds. The upper 2000 feet centerline is clear of the weeds. Runway 03/21 has short grass overall, but heavy coverage of 18-24" weeds that could cause directional instability. 2 new lightning caused fires were burning ENE of the airstrip several miles away, and fire crews were on them.

As of 08/27/23

Runway 17/35 was mowed from the approach end of 35 up to the runway intersection and virtually full width. If you are getting into tall weeds along the edges, you are also getting into large rocks. From the intersection north, the centerline is clear.

Runway 03/21 was mowed from the approach end of 21 to the runway intersection, about 20' wide. SW of the intersection, there is moderate weed covering 18-24" high. Both windsocks are good. The runways were firm and dry, with some cattle and elk tracks.

There were about 3 dozen cattle on the airfield because someone left a gate open. I will be complaining to the District Ranger about that. The toilet was swept, cleaned, and restocked.

As of 9-25-23

Runway 17/35 was pretty good. Both windsocks are good. Cleaned, swept and restocked the vault toilet.

As of 10-21-23

Runway 17/35 was pretty good. Both windsocks were good.

As of 11-29-23

Finished mowing X-wind runway 03/21 full length and nearly full width. Except for some cattle tracks along the edges, the surface is in good shape with very low grass covering the entire surface. Main runway 17/35 is mostly good except for some cattle tracks along the edges and some longitudinal shallow ruts at the south end. Mowed a little more along the edges from the camping area to the north. Both windsocks and the tetrahedron are good. The kiosk has a map of all the Gila area airstrips. Swept, cleaned and sanitized the vault toilet and restocked the tissue.

On 2-25-24 2 planes landed on the x-wind runway due to standing water on the main runway. As one plane was taxiing to the tie-down area, it became stuck in the soft surface, right on the centerline. I was supposed to meet them driving in with the drag on my trailer. My truck became stuck about 1/2 mile from the airstrip. I walked to the airstrip and they had freed the stuck plane. Then 3 of them hiked with me to my truck and we got my truck freed and reconnected to the trailer. All of us were able to get out OK., but no runway dragging was done. Lessons learned: The area had 12-18 inches of snow that had all melted on the runways and in open areas. It had been clear for about 1 week. That is not enough time to dry out after that much snow. The pilots did report that the x-wind runway was in decent shape. Apparently, the drainage is much better in that area of the airstrip. The runway edges will be dragged to smooth cattle tracks when conditions allow.

On a flyover on 3-28-24, both runways looked really dark, like asphalt. So they were soft and muddy. I think a significant snowfall had just melted.