Fly-in Camping....

One of the things that I've desperately wanted to do since becoming a pilot is to sleep under my wings. Or near them. Whatever. The idea of flying in, tying down, and setting up camp is simply appealing to me. I love hiking and camping, and make a few trips every year to the Blue Ridge Mountains to get my fix, so the idea of combining flying with camping was a no brainier. The question is, where??

After failing to find any such locations via Google, I made an inquiry on the AOPA message boards to see if anybody knew of an airport in Pennsylvania that either doubled as a campground, was accessible to camping areas by foot, or simply allowed camping. I’m sure most small airports wouldn’t mind a bit if some pilot wanted to pitch his tent next to his plane for a night, but if there was an airport designed for such a need, that would be even better.

A fellow AOPA member was nice enough to suggest I check out Grimes Airport (8N1), and a look at the sectional revealed that this grass strip is just north of Lancaster, about 15 miles. An easy flight from the home base. As an added bonus, there is also a museum on the field, named the "Golden Age Air Museum". Looks like an interesting fleet!

I called the old man to see if he had visited this field. He hadn’t, but was equally enthusiastic about checking it out. (Just give the man an excuse to fly...). So, he and I will set out this Sunday for a little recon. The 2720 ft grass strip should be more than accommodating for our Citabria, and I can get a good look and decide if it’s somewhere I’d like to take the Tommy, and of course, ask if they will let me sleep under my wings. I hope they do....

Pictures to come after the trip!