2j4

[HighWing]

I am editing a series of videos on our flight of eight from Central California to Oshkosh and return in 2004. After leaving Oshkosh in marginal weather on our way to Fairmont, MN, we stopped at a beautiful grass strip. My notes says the airport code is 2J4. I can't find any info on the web. Anyone familiar with this great stop. I suspect it is in Minnesota. Thanks for any help.

[avidflyer]

I looked at the Mn airport directory, and didn't find it. There was a 2C4 listed though. Near Rochester Mn. Here is the list I looked at. Jim Chuk
http://www.airnav.com/airports/us/MN

[HighWing]

Jim,
Thanks for the link to that airport. It is perfect as far as the route we took, but The view as we landed doesn't look much like what 2C4 looks like on Google Earth - no dog leg and at the residential end more mature trees. Reviewing the video, it also seems that there are two intersecting runways. I do appreciate the help.

[Dave S]

Lowell,

The airport you have identified as 2j4.......do you recall the the approximate runway length and if this was a public or private strip? Runway orientation? was the cross strip exactly perpendicular or angled? From your video, can you tell approximately how far from Osh to Fairmont the site was? Any addittional clues....someone will figure it out.

Periodically the powers that be rename airports. I checked a listing of airport designator changes and couldn't find 2j4 in the history either.

Sincerely,

Dave S

[HighWing]

Rechecking the video, it appears that the strip is L shaped. We landed at the base of the L and after a 180 taxied to the fuel/hangar area. For simplicity, I have edited the grass strip video with short segments immediately before and after for general terrain orientation. Consider our course is generally westerly. My server is slooooow so it will likely be later today when the video is up and running on YouTube. I will post a link when it is up.

I do appreciate the help and am hopeful that those familiar with southern Minnisota and western Wisconsin will recognize this beautiful strip (especially in the perspective of those of us from out west).

[Dave S]

Lowell,

I am familiar with most of the grass strips in SE MN east of Fairmont, including the 900 foot ultralight park by Wannamingo called Cherry Grove (which is nowhere near Cherry Grove MN). Thinking if you can get the short video clip up which includes the site - some of us from out here should be able to figure it out.

Dave S
St Paul,mn

[HighWing]

Lowell,

I am familiar with most of the grass strips in SE MN east of Fairmont, including the 900 foot ultralight park by Wannamingo called Cherry Grove (which is nowhere near Cherry Grove MN). Thinking if you can get the short video clip up which includes the site - some of us from out here should be able to figure it out.

Dave S
St Paul,mnl

That was my hope that the locals there would be familiar with the strip. Before leaving on a short errand, I checked the time left and it shows about 200 + minutes remaining. We landed at the base of Tha "L", then back taxied to the point we could make a 90
degree turn to the left as backtaxii, but we passed.it during landing as it was on our right side where it exstended off to the right to seversl hangars and a fuel pump. Thanks guys!

[HighWing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_59B5fEemu8This is the video with short segments before and after to give an idea of the typical terrain approaching and departing. Like I mentioned, the runway appears L shaped with hangars and fuel at the short leg of the runway/taxiway running to the right to the fuel pumps as we landed and the runway running the length of the long L leg.

My guess it is a great place to land, fuel, get into some hangar talking for a while, then depart over a perfect grass strip. Consider once again, our flight so far began at Oskkosh and terminated for fuel at
Fairmont With this seemingly closer to Fairmont than Oshkosh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_59B5fEemu8

[Dave S]

Lowell,

Good news....the airport you landed at is unequivocally 2C4 (Chatfield) as Avidflyer suggested.

1) Around time 1:40 on the video - check out the three silos on the other side of the quonset barn...Two with round tops and one without.

2) The hangar with the trees in the SW corner - that's it. I believe the hangar has a newer white roof now.

3) The funny shaped row of trees south of the departure end.....that's linear/crescent shaped sinkhole.

If you have some footage of the area north east of the silos/barn across the road - there is a whole family of round shaped sinkholes. Can't farm sinkholes for crap - so the older ones get trees.


Google earth it.....works out.

100%:)

Dave S

[HighWing]

Dave,
Thanks for the help on this. I do keep a fairly detailed flight log, but I think this landing was one of those where something so good demands a minor change in plans. The change in plans thing is a perfect description of the eight of us when we flew together. Never advance reservations as we would rarely be at the planned days end location. My note - 2J4 was scribbled on my sheet likely from a radio transmission.

I have lots more to do on the California - Oshkosh and return. I am trying to keep them at around five minutes per segment. Maybe a couple of weeks and they will start coming online.

Thanks again for the help.

[Dave S]

Lowell,

Sincerely glad I could help...looking forward to your u-Tube posts when they are ready.

Chatfield is an excellent but underutilized grass strip. More people should go there....we'll even let people who don't fly kitfoxes land there:D...it's plenty long and has an excellent surface.

You know, there is a great deal of truth in your comment regarding not making reservations when flying out....being a gypsie is so much more fun and you can take all the side trips you want when something interesting shows up. I know I need to do more since we have an appropriate set of lightweight camping gear and decent tiedowns + aircraft cover now - with food on board we could easily travel & camp out of the plane for a week without seeing a store of any kind.

Your work with your video materials is a great source of interest and motivation.

[HighWing]

Dave,
Thanks for your help and comments. I guess if there are any regrets, it is that we didn't focus more on the Kitfox guys out there on the way to Osh. Then again, I was pretty much the only list or forum guy in the group. Some of us still talk of doing it again, but of the original 8 to Oshkosh, one sold his Kitfox, one sold his Rans S-6 and now flies a Glastar - behind the power curve if he flew with us again, another got married and that rightfully became his focus. Two moved out of state and one now sells Zippers. That leaves me and my buddy who now lives just down the street in our airpark Both of us are now closer to 100 than to 50 so the inevitable passage of time has a way to modify our dreams and goals.

[mr bill]

Time and gravity are not our friends