2025 Cessna 170 Convention, September 23rd - 29th 2025, Willcox Az. (P33)

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wmoreman
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2025 Cessna 170 Convention, September 23rd - 29th 2025, Willcox Az. (P33)

Post by wmoreman »

2025 Cessna 170 Convention
September 23rd - 29th
Willcox Az. (P33)
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cessna170bdriver
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Re: 2025 Cessna 170 Convention

Post by cessna170bdriver »

Thank you Gene! I’m looking forward to this one; I haven’t been out west with ‘98C since the 2017 Deming Convention.
Miles

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mmcmillan2
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Re: 2025 Cessna 170 Convention

Post by mmcmillan2 »

Cool, I bet there is plenty of nice scenery around there!
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CoaSTOL Cowboy
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Re: 2025 Cessna 170 Convention

Post by CoaSTOL Cowboy »

This gives me a target date to have found my own 170B by then haha.
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Dean170B
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Re: 2025 Cessna 170 Convention, September 23rd - 29th 2025, Willcox Az. (P33)

Post by Dean170B »

I will definitely be able to make this one. Looking forward to seeing some nice 170's
Just enjoying another day free from gravity
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BWeathered
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Re: 2025 Cessna 170 Convention, September 23rd - 29th 2025, Willcox Az. (P33)

Post by BWeathered »

Looking forward to hearing route recommendations from Texas wrt airspace and terrain elevations, if anyone has any tips!

Thanks,
Brent
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GAHorn
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Re: 2025 Cessna 170 Convention, September 23rd - 29th 2025, Willcox Az. (P33)

Post by GAHorn »

BWeathered wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 5:26 pm Looking forward to hearing route recommendations from Texas wrt airspace and terrain elevations, if anyone has any tips!

Thanks,
Brent
Not certain what you are requesting… From Central TX it is only about 600 nm… a one-day trip via El Paso, Deming….perhaps…

If you are planning a multi-day travel…. the Big Bend State Park has a runway and scheduling a stay at the historic Sauceda ranch might be relaxing…but it would take an entire week to really see the Big Bend State Park …and a 4-wheeler and/or bikes and/or horses would be the best way to get around. But this place is truly better left alone as a destination all-of-it’s-own some day when you have a week or more.

Nearby Presidio, Tx also has an airport… This is an interesting border town…. The American side is the “slums” sort-of…. The Mexican side town of Ojinaga is like a Old Spanish CIty with a central Plaza and Cathedral with wonderful restaurants and shops. On Wednesday evenings the young 15-yr-old Senoritas parade the plaza in beautiful Spanish Dresses… in the old tradition of “coming out” or “ Quinceanera“ .
The reason for this situation of town-relationships … American side “slum” / Mexican side “extravagant”….is because in the 19th century it was the American side which attracted scalp-hunters for the $2-bounty paid for Indian scapls…. The Mexican gov’t established a frontier “post” or “Presidio” for the Mexican Army to protect the indigenous people…(although Pancho Villa also quartered his men there for a time, and there were certainly Mexicn scalp-hunters also.)
So the American side was rough, saloons, bordellos, and cheap hotels and camps…. Today, the American Presidio, Tx is a small town of gas stations, cafes, hardware store, and small grocery ..but does have a nice motel or two..and has become a bit of a tourist attraction. (I’ve stayed there when I flew for the state of Tx as the Land Office had interests in the area as did Parks and Wildlife Dept….but I mostly ate and shopped over in Ojinaga because I like that town.)
The issue you might have with this stop-over is ground transportation. The airport had a courtesy car but you’d need several days to see Ft. Leaton, the old mining districts…and you’d have to be a real “history nut” and/or geology-nut like Steve Grimsley to appreciate the area. It’d be a great vacation if you have an RV. Canoeing down the Rio Grande and the Santa Elena canyon, Terlingua, Alpine, Ft. Davis (10th Cavalry “Buffalo Soldier Fort) and McDonald Observatory (especially with it’s Wed-nite “star parties”) are all nearby…. a week would not be sufficient …

Sooo… if you wanted a nite or two in West Texas…you might consider overnight in Alpine, Tx. The Reata Restaurant is famous for it’s steaks and the historic Cinnabar Hotel is interesting…. Also Alpine is where Sul Ross Univ. is and local shops are fun to visit. If you want more modern hotel, there’s Best Western, etc. Marfa, Tx is an attraction for the fine dining and where the cast of “Giant” stayed….but otherwise that town is simply an abandoned oil town.

Roswell, or Ruidoso (with the Inn of the Mountain Gods Casino) or the old Southern-Pacific Railroad hotel/restaurant built as a Resort for railroad Executives at CloudCroft or Carlsbad (Caverns) would be good places to visit if you took a day or two.
'53 B-model N146YS SN:25713
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention.
An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons. ;)
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BWeathered
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Re: 2025 Cessna 170 Convention, September 23rd - 29th 2025, Willcox Az. (P33)

Post by BWeathered »

Thank you, George. I appreciate the tourist tips. My original thought was that in the good old days, I know J-3 and Champs have made the trip from Texas to Californis, so how did they do it, route-wise? If I come that way I would probably visit friends in the DFW area, so from DFW as a start, would there be any routes out to Wilcoxx to be discouraged due to elevations and/or SUA. OTOH, are there routes that "everyone" knows to use to maintain lower elevations and density altitudes. My 170 is still running the O-300 and I have some lung issues from a past health event, so I was looking for routes that might allow 5-8000 foot max cruise altitudes, and maybe avoid having to go above 10k. Otherwise, I might end up picking up an O2 bottle. Also, trying to decide whether getting past R5107 is best done down south past El Paso or to go round to the north and skirt down the western edge of that airspace complex. Any airports you would specially recommend or any that you absolutely avoid?

I really haven't started route planning so I'm really just looking for local knowledge at that time of the year before I sit down to do any detail planning.

Thanks,
Brent
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GAHorn
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Re: 2025 Cessna 170 Convention, September 23rd - 29th 2025, Willcox Az. (P33)

Post by GAHorn »

I flew my Aeronca Chief to Deming, N.M. and never got above 1,000 AGL following I-10 and Route 66… my hiighest ASL IIRC was 6K. (‘course, it was disappointing to see 18-wheelers passing me…)

Here are Ten suggested routes, no legs longer than 3 hrs burning 10 gph at 100 kts:


Click on the attachment to ENLARGE:
IMG_3455.png
'53 B-model N146YS SN:25713
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention.
An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons. ;)
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BWeathered
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Re: 2025 Cessna 170 Convention, September 23rd - 29th 2025, Willcox Az. (P33)

Post by BWeathered »

Thank you, George! I will study these routes, but you have saved me a lot of work! I appreciate it! Brent
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