Cheyenne Route

By Doug Stewart

405 Norman Ave.

Cashmere, WA. 98815

(509) 679-3485

This route is the one that Rava and I have used the most times to cross the Rockies. This is not because it is necessarily our favorite route, but because it has been the most convenient due to most of the conventions we’ve attended being in the southern half of the U.S. or because of weather being a factor, which made this southern route the route of choice.

This route will put you over fairly high country for several hundred miles, but don’t let this detour your decision to fly it as for the most part it is reasonably flat plateau, and you seldom have the feeling that you are flying in the mountains. Weather is generally good, and visibility is generally 100 miles or more. We have flown this route with scattered thunderstorms and scattered verga without any problems, as with the exceptional visibility it is easy to stay clear of the trouble spots.

Flying westbound, I consider the starting point for this crossing to generally be Cheyenne, WY. (CYS) I say this because I consider Rock Springs, WY.(RKS) to be a mandatory fuel stop. It is about halfway across Wyoming and is very easy to get into and out of with any of our airplanes, as it is located on a high bench with 10,000 feet of usable runway and nothing to climb over after takeoff.

Other areas to consider for fuel stops before heading for Rock Springs are Scottsbluff, Nebraska (BFF) which is 280 nautical miles direct and will put you over 11,000 feet ridges and is a pretty trip. There are others of your choice Just make sure you have the fuel range for the leg you plan and allow for the west winds that are normally blowing.

If you choose Cheyenne(CYS) for your fuel stop this will be your first stop at a high elevation airport. Cheyenne is a controlled field at 6156 MSL and has one runway of 5000 + feet and one at 9200 feet in length.

If this is your first landing at this high an altitude, treat it like you do any others – i.e., maintain your normal approach speed and control your rate of sink with the throttle, and other than touching down just a little faster than normal, you won’t notice much difference.

Also, and this is important, do not go to full rich with the mixture. Leave the mixture at your cruise power setting or just a tad richer. If you go to full rich the engine will be extremely rich and not develop full power if you need to go around. You don’t need the distraction of taking off and trying to lean at the same time. Also the spark plugs will appreciate it.

If Cheyenne is planned as an overnight stop, be sure and check the forecast for morning weather, as we have been stuck on the ground there until 11 AM waiting for the fog to clear. Laramie (LAR) or Rock Springs (RKS) would be the better choice for RON if the Cheyenne weather is doubtful. Very often either of these are in the clear when Cheyenne is not VFR.

Now that we are topped off with fuel, let’s get started. Remember, during your run up and mag check to do a full power run up and set mixture for peak RPM and then slightly richer to be on the safe side. I can’t stress this enough – it is extremely important to lean prior to takeoff. It is possible to have density altitudes of + 9,000 feet.

You will notice right away that the aircraft is not accelerating like you are used to, but give it a bit and before you know it you will be up to your normal takeoff speed and ready to fly. After liftoff I like to accelerate in ground effect to at least 80 and then start a shallow climb, letting the airplane accelerate to 100 or so. I have found you can trade drag for airspeed and not lose any rate of climb up to around 100 mph. Also experience has shown me that departing from Cheyenne gives one of the lowest rates of climb that I will get anywhere on this route.

Leaving Cheyenne, I take a direct route to Laramie, and from there kind of follow the freeway and you will stay over the lower terrain all the way to Rawlins. Both of these have good airports and make nice alternates along the way. From Rawlins, (RWL) the freeway takes a pretty much direct shot to Rock Springs. This is an easy 230 nautical mile leg and you will find Rock Springs to be somewhat higher than Cheyenne, but easy to fly into and out of.

If you choose to RON at Rock Springs there are motels in town that will pick you up at the airport. Also we have never been stuck there due to fog. The same will be found at Laramie which is also a good RON location. Like I said earlier, I consider Rock Springs to be a mandatory fuel stop. By stopping here you don’t get very far into the bottom half of the fuel supply, which is important as there are not an over-abundance of airports in the area.

Leaving Rock Springs (LEAN PRIOR TO TAKE OFF ) you have a couple of options. One is to go slightly south and stop off at Ogden, Utah (OGD) (*OGD) for fuel. This will take you over Fort Bridger (GBR) and Evanston (EVW) and have you at Ogden in 150 nautical miles. This is a neat leg. As you approach Ogden you will fly over a ridge of mountains that are around 9500 feet elevation and all of a sudden the Great Salt Lake will appear over your nose and over 1 mile below you. What a sight! It is almost like you have flown off the edge of the world as the high stuff drops sharply off and bottoms out at around 4300 feet. The only stinker to this is the Salt Lake Class B airspace which you will want to avoid.

From Ogden you can head up toward Burley, ID (BYI) and follow the valley up to the Boise, ID (BOI)(*BOI)area. Since you chose to fly this southern leg, why not over fly Ogden and on the shore of Salt Lake you will see an uncontrolled airport outside of the Class B called Tooele Valley (TVY). This is a good stop and their fuel prices are the lowest in the area. ( anyway they use to be if not now)

Since you are at Tooele Valley, why not depart directly west and fly over the Great Salt Lake Desert to Wendover, UT., (ENV) which will take you over the Bonneville Salt Flats. Wendover is an interesting stop. There is a nice museum there and this is also where the B-29’s were fitted for the Atomic Bomb and the actual loading pits are still there. Lots of history and a good place to stretch you legs. From there, proceed to Wells, NV (LWL) and then north to Jackpot, NV. (06U) (*06U) or just take a direct shot to Jackpot from Wendover. You might even stop at one of the three and try you luck in one of the casinos. From Jackpot it is only about 40 nautical miles to Twin Falls, ID. Tooele to Twin Falls can be made without a fuel stop and this makes a neat dog leg in the trip and will put you over some fascinating desert country.

The more direct route from Rock Springs is to take a direct shot to Malad City VOR ( 180 nautical miles ) which will take you over Kemmerer, WY. (EMM) In this area look for the large open coal strip mines that are in the area. Usually you will see a very large Monigan type dragline which they use to remove the overburden and then strip out the layers of coal. The veins of coal are easily seen when you fly over the mines.

About 40 miles west of Kemmerer you will over fly Bear Lake, which makes a good checkpoint. From Bear Lake it is about 60 miles to Malad City VOR. From Malad City a bearing of 273 degrees will have you over Burley, Idaho, in 70 miles. Just that quick, the Rockies are a done deal.

Flying through the Rockies is really not that difficult and will be an experience that you will long remember. When I fly this route I normally go nonstop from Rock Springs to Mountain Home, ID.(U76) (*U76)where I stop for fuel and a good leg stretch. With my long range tanks I have flown from Rock Springs to Baker, OR.(BKE), but that is a long ride when bucking a strong westerly.

Now that we have arrived in Idaho, I will assume that we have stopped for fuel somewhere around Mountain Home or one of the airports in the Boise area. From the Boise area you can go direct to Baker City, Oregon, or if you prefer just follow the freeway to Baker City. This is an interesting place to stop since it is right on the Oregon Trail. Drop in there and use the loaner car and go to the Oregon Trail interpretive center, which is just a short drive from the airport. Extremely well done and gets you up close and personal with what it really must have been like on the trip. I highly recommend this stop and I’m sure you will agree that it is time well spent if you do it.

When you leave Boise you will notice that you are heading back into the mountains again. Unlike the high plateau areas of the Rockies that you have just crossed, the Blues that you are heading into will look like mountains. For the most part they are heavily timbered with pine, fir and other species of evergreen trees. The freeway pretty much follows the direct route, so if you are more comfortable with it, follow the freeway as it is not much further. I like to get up to about 9500 feet through this stretch and enjoy the scenery.

Between Baker and Pendleton, OR (PDT) you will pass just to the southwest of LaGrande, OR.(LGD)  which is a good alternate if needed. Arriving at Pendleton is the end of the mountains and just a few miles from the Columbia River. Just a few miles north of Pendleton is Hermiston, OR (HRI) which is where you will pickup the Columbia River. Here you will turn west and follow the river to the convention. Be very aware of the Hermiston TFR restricted area 5701 which is on the south side of the river. Read about flying the Gorge in one of Dave Luse’s articles. This is a class act ride on the other extreme from the Rockies. This is the only sea level route through the Cascade Mountain range which is much more rugged to fly over than even the Rockies.