Tuesday afternoon, June 27

Early birds can take advantage of a special tour arranged with NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field in Mountain View. The research efforts of this facility include airspace operation systems (air traffic control, human factors), wind tunnel testing, rotorcraft technology, supercomputing, and astrobiology.

The two-mile walking tour will start at the Ames Visitor Center, and stop at various points of interest, such as a one-third-scale model of the Space Shuttle, a U-2 spy plane, a 80' x 120' wind tunnel (the largest of its kind in the world), a human centrifuge, a vertical motion simulator, and possibly Hangar One, a pre-World War II dirigible hangar.

The tour will require advance registration (available by mail in the spring), and is limited to 35 people. All non-U.S. citizens will be required to show their passports at time of check-in.

As Moffett Field is a towered, federal airfield, not open to civilian aircraft traffic, we will arrive at NASA Ames Research Center by ground transportation.

Tuesday evening, June 27

The IDPA fly-in gets its official kick-off on Tuesday evening at a Welcome Event at Mark Stern's hangar at South County Airport. This will be your chance to get reacquainted with your fellow IDPA members, and to find out the latest updates on the fly-in's activities for the week. Pizza and drinks will be served.

Wednesday, June 28

Our first flight of the week will be to Oceano Dunes Airport, 128 nm south. The flight route will take you across a variety of topology that makes California so interesting: fertile valley floors, jagged rocky mountains, oak-covered hills, fault lines, and of course the rugged Pacific coastline. At Oceano Dunes, you will find an ecologically-unique sand dune complex, and the beach is just a five-minute walk from the tiedowns. The Central Coast Council of, by, and for People who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (CCC) will host a picnic lunch for us when we arrive. If you're interested, you can rent dune buggies for exploring the sand dunes after lunch, or make arrangements for horseback riding. We will also hold a flying contest at the Oceano Dunes Airport.

As Oceano Dunes is right on a coastline often subject to low-lying coastal stratus in the summer, there is a small chance that we may be diverted to an alternate destination: Paso Robles Airport (formerly the Estrella Army Air Force Base), where we can visit the Estrella Warbirds Museum. Paso Robles Airport is in the same general direction as Oceano Dunes, but not as far.

Wednesday evening, June 28

If the coastline is clear of fog in the early evening, we'll fly over the coastal ridge, towards beautiful Monterey Bay, and land at Watsonville Airport to enjoy a Mexican dinner at Zuniga's. This restaurant is located right on the field, and you can even tie down your plane directly in front of the restaurant. Inside, you'll find a charming collection of stained-glass artwork depicting classic airplanes, and an assortment of aircraft models suspended from the ceiling. If you get a table by the picture windows, you'll have a good view of the activity around the airport. And, Zuniga's will be happy to make non-alcoholic margaritas for those pilots flying after dinner.

Thursday morning, June 29

On Thursday morning, we will conduct our own safety seminar. Using educational materials provided by AOPA's Air Safety Foundation, we will view several scenarios on videotape (captioned) and discuss issues presented in the videotape. Scenarios may include Continued VFR into Adverse Weather, Weight & Balance, Fuel Contamination, Flying Beyond One's Abilities, or Stall/Spin/Crash. Conducting our own safety seminar is made possible by ASF's Seminar-in-a-Box(tm) Program. The seminar will be followed by a casual deli-style lunch.

Thursday afternoon, June 29

In the afternoon, we will all fly 52 nautical miles into the heart of the agricultural San Joaquin Valley in central California and land at Castle Airport's 11,800-foot-long runway. The airport served as Castle Air Force Base for over 50 years, before it was decommissioned in 1995, and is now home to the Castle Air Museum. At the 11-acre outdoor exhibit, there are almost 50 restored aircraft that encompass flying history from World War II through the Korea and Vietnam eras, the Cold War, and up to Desert Storm. Here, you will find the Boeing B-52D Stratofortress bomber, for a time, the largest, heaviest aircraft ever flown; the North American B-25J Mitchell bomber, a cousin to the B-25 commanded by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle in the 1942 Tokyo raid; the Convair RB-36H Peacemaker bomber, which served as America's airborne nuclear deterrent in the 1950s; and the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance plane, one of which flew from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. in only 64 minutes and 5 seconds. There is also a small indoor museum that displays a fascinating collection of wartime and aviation memorabilia.

If the flight in and walking around makes you hungry, you can grab a bite at the Flight of Fancy Grill, located on the museum grounds.

Thursday evening, June 29

Harris Ranch Inn and Restaurant will be our fly-in destination for Thursday night's dinner. This well-known ranch is located along the gently rolling hills along California's Interstate 5, halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. It sports a 2820' x 30' paved runway with ample aircraft parking. The restaurant is only a short walk from the tiedowns.

The Harris family has been farming for over 100 years, and is now California's largest cattle feeder, fed beef processor, and beef marketer. You will even see their large stockyard as you descend to land at Harris Ranch. Their country-style Ranch Kitchen restaurant is an excellent venue for sampling their Harris Ranch USDA Choice Beef selections, as well as produce, fruits, and nuts grown right on the Ranch. Vegetarian options are also available. The Country Store adjacent to the restaurant offers collectibles, hand-crafted gifts, and a wide variety of gourmet food items, including Harris Ranch Beef that can be packed in ice for your trip home.

Due to mountainous terrain along the flight route and the lack of night illumination, we must plan on an early dinner and fly out of Harris Ranch no later than 7:00 pm to assure a safe return to South County Airport before nightfall.

Friday morning, June 30

Friday morning has been set aside for the IDPA Membership Meeting, presided over by Clyde Smith.

Friday afternoon, June 30

After the membership meeting, you will have a choice of two flying activities:

1. Fly or drive to Hollister, only 14 nm away, where you can experience the wonders of a scenic glider ride, or test your fortitude with the highest tandem skydives in the world, from 18,000 feet, with ninety seconds of freefall. (Of course, more typical tandem skydives from 10,000 feet are offered for the faint-of-heart.) When you return to terra firma, you can treat yourself to an old-fashioned milkshake at the Ding-a-Ling Cafe, located right on the field. Even if you're not up for soaring or skydiving, you'll find the flight line at Hollister Airport an interesting mix of experimental, amatuer-built, classics, gliders, crop dusters, turboprop jump planes, warbirds, private jets, and of course, the usual Cessnas, Pipers, Mooneys, and Bonanzas.

2. Fly along the Pacific coastline for 50 nm north to Half Moon Bay Airport, and explore the Pillar Point Harbor in Princeton-by-the-Sea (within walking distance of the southern tiedown area). In any of the several restaurants around the harbor, you can try the famous Crab Louie or Shrimp Louie sandwiches. Or, if you want to keep flying, continue north past Half Moon Bay and underneath the San Francisco Class B airspace for a scenic crossing of the Golden Gate Bridge at 2,000 feet and a breathtaking view of San Francisco, Alcatraz, Angels Island, and the Marin Headlands.

Friday evening, June 30

On Friday evening, the IDPA Banquet will be held at Guglielmo Winery in Morgan Hill, just five miles north of South County Airport. As one of Northern California's wine pioneers, the Guglielmo family has been producing award-winning wines at this Santa Clara Valley location since 1925. The winery is situated on 80 acres of estate vineyards, with views of majestic oak-covered hills. A buffet dinner will be served outdoors in the early evening, with seating at round tables in a spacious courtyard framed by colorful beds of seasonal flowers. Wine and beer will be served from an elegant vine-covered, granite-topped bar. Guglielmo Winery is truly a destination rich in the charm and tradition of Old California. Check out some pictures!

If there is sufficient interest, an interpreted tour of the winery's production facilities can be arranged before the banquet.

Saturday, July 1

We'll begin Saturday with a digital slide show by Mark Stern, a deaf pilot and IDPA member. Last fall, he achieved a long-held dream of taking off and landing in each of the Lower 48 states in his own single-engine airplane. We'll have a chance to relive this remarkable journey through Mark's digital slides and narration.

At midday, we'll enjoy a community picnic at the Wings of History museum, located across the street from South County Airport. Members of the deaf community in the the San Francisco Bay Area will be invited to join us and learn about IDPA.

During the picnic, the Wings of History Museum will be open for tours. (Tour admission will be included in the ticket cost for the picnic.) The museum's unusual collection includes an exact replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer, a flyable 1928 American Eagle, a 1934 Waco 10, a flyable 1934 Pietenpol Air Camper, and a 1934 deHavilland D.H.88 "Comet" replica.