A zillion fires out here now. Today the Benchmark airstrip was closed as there is a fire very near the runway and evacuations are in effect. The USFS flew their DC-3 into Benchmark today.

Is that a Basler conversion?

Doug

Some good friends moved to the Bozeman area recently. He's a minister, she's a health nut. They have loved it, but the fires are putting a damper on things now. Now she says she can't run due to the smoke. She has a marathon in 3 weeks and it doesn't look good for prep.

Dan

Some good friends moved to the Bozeman area recently. He's a minister, she's a health nut. They have loved it, but the fires are putting a damper on things now. Now she says she can't run due to the smoke. She has a marathon in 3 weeks and it doesn't look good for prep.

Dan

Yes.

Sadly word in the fire world is that USFS is getting ready to sell it.

DC3 is great at a lot of the USFS strips

This is the last year for the DC-3. Last March I heard they were trying to raise funds to restore and display it. Talk also was of getting rid of the stupid turbines and going back to the radials.

Most days for the last month our air is classified as unhealthy. That's the middle of the scale. The worst is hazardous.

Scott that is awesome, how long of a strip is Benchmark and what is the elevation. Would they have to go IMC on departure to depart under those conditions. That is a nice DC3 heres a pic I took of it a year ago, I like the upswept exhaust.: I've always had a passion for DC-3's I want to think it has two big Pratts -65's or -67's IIRC

Benchmark is 6000 feet long and paved at 5400 MSL. The reason we have a paved runway in the back country is back in the 60's LBJ's wife wanted a wilderness experience so they paved Benchmark for her. She came and stayed for a short while and the Forest Service has been saddled with this abomination ever since.
I am going to a meeting tomorrow as it turns out and we are going to discuss some options for the airstrip. The pavement is seriously deteriorating. Benchmark is 32 miles via dirt road from the nearest town(Augusta). It costs way too much to repave, which we wouldn't want anyways and also cost too much to have someone come and pick up the pavement.
The valley it sits in is relatively narrow. You wouldn't want to go IMC. Here in Seeley today was about 3-5 miles vis but looking straight up you can see blue sky. I'm sure Benchmark is the same

Whats wrong with the stupid turbines, I heard it was a good conversion?






This is the last year for the DC-3. Last March I heard they were trying to raise funds to restore and display it. Talk also was of getting rid of the stupid turbines and going back to the radials.

Yeah really, what's wrong with them???

Out of place on a DC-3 to be displayed.

I bet the DA in their today was quite high, sounds like not a lot of options if it turned to soup or closed in.

Very interesting history about the strips history. I can see the cost to keep it up could be astronomical now. I don't know if it could somehow be converted to a grass strip somehow, if so that would be awesome. I see on that register a 210 dropped in there and I assume there is no cell service but if he was to have an issue getting started up the next flight was 13 days later.... That is big country out there. Thanks for the info!

Converting it to grass is an option. No, no cell service there. Benchmark is 14 miles from electricity. If you want lights you have to make it yourself. The wilderness ranch right there at the airstrip is cool. I stayed there a few nights when my brother came out for a fishing trip. No electricity but they have hot and cold running water by using gravity and they use propane for heat and lights.

http://www.benchmarkwildernessranch.com/

There's a weather station at the airport, looks like it got to 82 today.

http://raws.wrh.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/roman/ ... 8&time=GMT