Flying in to Big Bear Lake, California

One of my favorite fly-in destinations is the Big Bear City Airport next to the lake of the same name. The elevation is 6,750 MSL which makes for an interesting take-off on a hot, high density altitude day. In fact they have an electronic sign board at the departure end of runway 26 that continuously displays the correct density altitude.

One of the nicest things about the airport, besides it proximity to several ski slopes and a snow-play area, is that fuel is historically very inexpensive compared to the surrounding airports. For instance, last weekend when the price of 100LL was $5.40 at John Wayne Airport, the self-serve fuel at Big Bear was "only" $3.94. The other nice thing about the airport is the Barnstormer Cafe in the terminal building. The food is decent enough to support a regular crowd of local clientele.

Besides refreshing your mountain flying skills, you should know that inbound traffic is expected to arrive south of the lake, over the Snow Summit and Bear Mountain ski slopes at or above 9,500 MSL. The pattern altitude is about 7,500 and there is right traffic for runway 08, which means that all traffic patterns are flown south of the field. The airport is in a narrow valley between two 8,000+ ft. walls, which for me at least, creates an optical illusion that makes me fly my pattern a little too close in each time. The out bound traffic flys over the lake (for runway 26) at or below 8,500 MSL. Departures on runway 08 climb over (dry) lake Baldwin which is a 10 degree left turn after departure.

Before you go, familiarize yourself with the terrain and call the Big Bear AWOS at 909-585-4033. It is interesting to note that the temperature/dew point information on the recording is often given in Fahrenheit rather than Centigrade. More info at www.bigbearcityairport.com . Lodging information can be found at www.bigbear.com .

Mountain flying is an acquired skill and includes navigating strong up and down drafts - sometimes associated with mountain wave conditions, identifying and avoiding turbulence (often accompanied by lenticular clouds), and being especially alert for rapidly changing weather like afternoon buildups or fast moving cloud bases.

Plenty to do and good food to boot makes Big Bear a favorite destination. Where else can you take off from your home airport, climb to 7,500 feet and land?