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Anyone flying to the Burn this year?

kevinh

kevinh

Well Known Member
Hi ya'll,

We haven't flown to burning man for the last couple of years. However, my wife has some time off and really wants to go this time. I also did the sw & hw for an art project and I might need to help in case of problems.

Any other RVers going this year? We'd probably be flying in Weds pre burn.

Kevin
 
kevinh said:
Hi ya'll,

We haven't flown to burning man for the last couple of years. However, my wife has some time off and really wants to go this time. I also did the sw & hw for an art project and I might need to help in case of problems.

Any other RVers going this year? We'd probably be flying in Weds pre burn.

Kevin
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I did not know what the burning man was when I read your post so I Googled it.

For others like me that do not know what Burning Man is check out the link. Explore the rest of the site from the above link.
 
RV6_flyer said:
I did not know what the burning man was when I read your post so I Googled it.

For others like me that do not know what Burning Man is check out the link. Explore the rest of the site from the above link.
Click to expand...

It is highly recommended - though not a 'usual' fly-in. For info on the airport see http://www.burningman.com/on_the_playa/airport/index.html . If you decide you are interested and want some 'first timer' tips on attending or flying-in an RV I'm happy to post more details. Any fellow VAF heads are also welcome to camp with my friends :D
 
Hey Kevin, I'm planning on going, though playa conditions are reported to be extremely bad...may resort to driving. :( Check the mailing list for the latest..

I'm also planning on arriving Wednesday, leaving Sat or Sun.
 
Paul Eastham said:
Hey Kevin, I'm planning on going, though playa conditions are reported to be extremely bad...may resort to driving. :( Check the mailing list for the latest...
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Thanks - yeah I just resubscribed and saw your post on the list. I'm very curious how reports from the early visitors go - I hope it is just the standard 'the sky is falling' based on some early data.

If it ain't flyable we'll be staying home.
 
The crew will probably get the runway into decent shape -- I don't have worries there -- but the "taxiway" and parking areas have been pretty scary over the past few years, with lots of loose dirt and crusty buildups. That nosewheel really likes to sink into places where the playa gets soft, and I worry about that a lot. Got stuck a few times in 2008, and didn't give any rides that year for fear of operating unnecessarily in that environment...

Would be sweet to have a tailwheel model about now :)
 
Fuel price Heads up

Last year, Winnemucca significantly raised their fuel prices that weekend. Prior to that weekend they were reported by AirNav as having one of the lower prices.

I was headed to AZ. Last year the price at Battle Mtn. was much lower.

LarryT
 
Expensive proposition

Being somewhat of a contrairian, and artistic by nature, I was enthusiastic to fly in to the playa for my first BurningMan. Until I saw the cost of entry. Wow! I was so bummed out that I'vnt gone back to double check, but it's like $300 bucks! Sorry, hundreds of $s to be hot and dusty, and risk landing on soft dirt? Ain't gona happen. Temped to do a fly over though.
 
I joined the airport mailing list just for fun... :p

Bring back pics. :) I would be curious to hear more about it from an RV perspective. Saw a number of pics of saran-wrapped and taped Cessna's around the interwebs. And the recurring Citation.
 
billnaz said:
Being somewhat of a contrairian, and artistic by nature, I was enthusiastic to fly in to the playa for my first BurningMan. Until I saw the cost of entry. Wow! I was so bummed out that I'vnt gone back to double check, but it's like $300 bucks! Sorry, hundreds of $s to be hot and dusty, and risk landing on soft dirt? Ain't gona happen. Temped to do a fly over though.
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yah - I understand. Though the bulk of that amount goes to the BLM. Alas...
 
DCat22 said:
Bring back pics. :) I would be curious to hear more about it from an RV perspective. Saw a number of pics of saran-wrapped and taped Cessna's around the interwebs. And the recurring Citation.
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Will do. I've flown the RV in there three years and always had a good time. I do bring tape to close up the canopy when not flying.

For some of my oldest photos (before the plane was painted) see: http://www.geeksville.com/plane/BuildLog/pages/day-2005-09-04.html
 
Noticed the same

billnaz said:
.. Until I saw the cost of entry. Wow! I was so bummed out that I'vnt gone back to double check, but it's like $300 bucks!...
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I also noticed how the tickets skyrocketed. I guess that happens when the event becomes overwhelmingly popular. I thought it was much better when it was really a "Community" and "Project". I can't blame them for making money though...


If anyone flys over and gets shots I would love to see them.
 
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xavierm said:
I also noticed how the tickets skyrocketed. I guess that happens when the event becomes overwhelmingly popular. I thought it was much better when it was really a "Community" and "Project". I can't blame them for making money though...
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According to http://afterburn.burningman.com/09/financial_chart.html, last year they had expenses of about $12 million (payroll $3M), and dividing by 43,000 attendees gives $280 per person.

Given that people who buy tickets early get them for as low as $210, I don't think anyone's getting rich.
 
LarryT said:
Last year, Winnemucca significantly raised their fuel prices that weekend. Prior to that weekend they were reported by AirNav as having one of the lower prices.

I was headed to AZ. Last year the price at Battle Mtn. was much lower.

LarryT
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Winnemucca did not significantly raise their fuel prices that weekend, fuel at KWMC is consistently less expensive than nearby airports. In fact, they offered free showers last year to the dusty refugees from Burning Man. I would encourage you to visit and perhaps enjoy a refreshing shower.

BW
 
Hi ya'll,

It sounds like the taxi situtation is not too bad so I'll be flying in. Also, if you just want to stop in and visit the airport/take photos etc... without paying for a ticket for the event proper, here's probably the best advice on how to do it:

From www.portofentry.org

One Day Only – Sunday, September 5th, 2010

The most unusual airport in the world is having a Fly-In for unusual aircraft. Bring your unusual, rare, or exotic aircraft to the Black Rock Desert to show off to the 50,000 citizens of Burning Man. Be our guests at Black Rock Municipal Airport (88NV) on the last day of the Burning Man Festival and learn more about the art, the community, and the festival, just before our annual airport disappears. In previous years, we’ve enjoyed rare aircraft such as the Antonov AN-2, Sikorsky S-38 amphib, Wren 460, and many others.

We welcome aviation visitors on the Sunday before Labor Day, but you must be self sufficient which is always a primary Burning Man guideline. Bring your own food, water, sunscreen, hat, and other desert necessities because there is no commerce. Make sure you have enough fuel to land including reserve on departure to reach Susanville, Winnemucca, or Reno; also consider having enough fuel to give a brief sight-seeing flight around the city to deserving airport volunteers.

Black Rock Municipal Airport is a Private Use of Public Lands, FAA registered temporary airport. The identifier is 88NV and the runway is prepared dirt; 5280×50 feet with no obstacles. This is a busy airport, so please read and print the latest information on our website prior to flying in. Updates during the event on runway condition and weather should be available subject to technical difficulties (which are not uncommon in the middle of nowhere in a dust storm). You must read the airport advisory prior to departure. Click here for more info. Please also review the Burning Man official website, http://www.burningman.com to get an idea of what unusual persons, structures, ideas, or art you may encounter during your visit.
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If you think you might do this and get a chance to walk around the event without purchase of a ticket, please send me a PM and I can add a bit of context.
 
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Here's a photo:

DSC00651.JPG
 
I flew in on Monday the 30th in our Duchess. I've never been before, and it's been many years since I landed on the desert floor, but it was quite uneventful. The airplane didn't know it wasn't on asphalt. Other than some dust in the landing gear, which blew out as soon as I took off, there was no evidence that I'd even been there.
 
Burning Man Flyover

Greg Arehart and I did a formation flyover at Burning Man on the 31st. We were on a mission to compare the performance of our various APRS antennae, and thought a B-Man recce would be a fun adjunct. I don't know a lot about it, except clean RVs and trailers roll N&E through Reno going to it, and really dirty vehicles roll S&W through town on the way out (don't get me wrong, not belittling it, I know there's much more to it!)

We studied the online info, and were glad we did. There is a specified tour pattern and specified comm procedures: clockwise pattern, outside the city fenceline, with postion reports at clock positions from "The Man" (the centerpoint, 12 o'clock to The Man being due north). I was pretty impressed with the air to air and air to ground communications on our tour...they had their stuff together at NV88!

Here's a picture at about 10 o'clock, looking SSE.

burningman001.jpg


So that's what 50,000 people in the desert look like! Reportedly the 3rd largest city in Nevada for the period it exists each year. I think the airport is just to the left of the city in this pic. Since I was wingie and had a photographer aboard to maneuver for, I didn't get a good look around at the airport.

Here's another at about 1 o'clock, looking SSW.

burningman002.jpg


For perspective on where it is, here are our APRS tracks. Tahoe and Reno at the bottom, and Black Rock City (B-Man land) at the top, where we circled. Looks like they put up a repeater there during the event.

burningmanaprs2.png


Satellite view...some pretty parched parts out there!

burningmanaprs.png


Glad you guys had fun out there. Had to work a trip on Labor Day weekend, or would have come out for the show and tell day, and given a few rides. Maybe next year! (I won't have to drink any strange potions or say any chants will I...I'm just joking of course!! :D)

Cheers,
Bob
 
rvmills said:
Greg Arehart and I did a formation flyover at Burning Man on the 31st. We were on a mission to compare the performance of our various APRS antennae, and thought a B-Man recce would be a fun adjunct...
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Bob,

Great photos! I'm also curious - what did you find on your different APRS antennae?
 
I saw you guys go by the area on APRS before I headed out on Wednesday. It was good to know that the Gerlach APRS station was working!

Here are some random photos I took while there:
http://picasaweb.google.com/eastham/Bm2010#

You guys might especially like my packing job: water on the front floor, baggage compartment full up, folding bike in the passenger seat...bike doesn't fit with the seatback in place, so I threw that in as well for people riding along on short joyrides:

IMG_1607.JPG
 
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Great photography

Outstanding report Paul.
That place is definitely on my bucket list. :D
 
Kevin,

The upshot of the APRS is.... we're not entirely sure. Certainly my wingtip j-pole got less hits than Bob's external antenna and maybe less than his gear-leg j-pole. But, he was running both wide 1-1 and wide 2-1 at least some of the time, whereas I was just on wide 2-1.

However, over labor day, I flew to CO with new settings (wide 1-1 and w9de 2-1 and got almost perfect results in places where I was unable to get a signal at all before (I got signals out at 8000 ft whereas before I couldn't get anything out even at 13000 ft). So, in my opinion, the wingtip works fine and the key is having the right radio settings.

That said, we expect to require more extensive testing to validate the hypothesis. Guess I'll just have to go flying again:D. Tough duty but someone's gotta do it.

And Paul, thanks for the photos - some really good photos and incredible confabulations!

greg
 
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kevinh said:
Bob,

Great photos! I'm also curious - what did you find on your different APRS antennae?
Click to expand...

Greg Arehart said:
Kevin,

The upshot of the APRS is.... we're not entirely sure. That said, we expect to require more extensive testing to validate the hypothesis. Guess I'll just have to go flying again:D. Tough duty but someone's gotta do it.
greg
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As Greg said, we're still testing. My trimmed down belly whip Loran antenna (CI-122SP) did great, and could get hits down quite low...often on the ground. The jpole in the gear leg stops getting hits at home field at about 700-1000' AGL. Terrain is an issue here...it does better in the flatlands.

I just pulled that belly whip as a speed mod, and installed a second jpole in the right wing, with a zig-zag pattern up and down to get more vertical polarization. Initial test yesterday showed similar performance to the gear leg antenna. Will test again today to see how it does in the pattern. Then Greg and I will do a side by side test of the tip jpoles to see if zig zagging it has much effect.

NYTOM said:
Outstanding report Paul.
That place is definitely on my bucket list. :D
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cjensen said:
Mine too...I GOTTA get there someday...:cool:
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Sounds like a future RV fly-in to me! :D

Oh, and by the way...Paul, that was quite a packing job...you were either in the Navy (AMHIK) or are very good at the game Tetris! :)

Cheers,
Bob
 
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