We will be holding the annual Montana Missouri Breaks flyin in the Breaks and at 9S7 the weekend of June 11-13.
Friday 11th: Evening: Campout in the breaks, dinner at Cow Creek strip. Cow Creek is a strip in the Missouri River National Monument, along with 5 other strips still left open, is in some of the wildest country left in the US. Lots of Wildlife (trophy elk, sheep,..) beautiful views of the Missouri River as Lewis and Clark saw it 200 years ago. See Mike Vivion's article on Missouri Breaks in Pilot Getaways.
Saturday 12th: Morning: Fly to LWT (Lewistown, MT) for pancake breakfast and the Lewistown Flyin. Lewistown sits on flats at the foot of 4 small swarms of mountains. The airport is an old B-17 base, the town itself is an unknown jewel of Montana's cities.
Mid-day: Flyouts to areas in the Lewistown area and to more of the Breaks primitive strips.
Evening: Hangarburgers at 9S7 (Winifred) and adult beverages for those through flying for the evening.
Sunday 13th: Morning: Breakfast at the Winifred Cafe or on your own, and departure.
The Missouri Breaks area lies along the Missouri River in, essentially, the last part of the Lewis/Clark expedition untouched by civilization. It underlies the Hays MOA and when it is active, we should stay below 300' agl (like any of you get higher). The last few years the ANG has abandoned practice during the flyin, both out of respect for us and the fact that so many planes in the MOA screws up their radar. The strips within the Missouri Breaks National Monument are sod, generally E <-->W, not on maps and are the last left open by the BLM. They are grass stripped of brush and somewhat bumpy with cow-tracks. Tail wheel aircraft of all descriptions land on most of these strips and larger tricycle gear have landed at Cow Creek (2400") where the camp is. I will keep this forum updated on conditions as time approaches. We use 122.9 MHz on these back-country strips. If you are camping with us on Friday: BRING TIEDOWNS. We will provide beef, beans, salad, bread....it is a dry camp so bring your own refreshments or bathing water. This is a wilderness/unimproved camp; we will however have toilet paper and a shovel for you....the views are spectacular!!
Winifred (9S7) is now 4000' feet of sod. It is uncontrolled, CTAF 122.9 MHz. We have credit-card (100LL) and will be offering it at very competitive prices during the flyin. The Hangar has held more than 20 cubs during previous flyins, but we exceeded that number of participants during last year's flyin; BRING TIEDOWNS. Winifred itself is filled with ca. 140 august souls. The bars are filled with cowboys and, frequently, their horses. The folks are friendly, hard-working, and always excited to see a new face. The cafe will be open for breakfast and lunch and pilots can always get a "two-handed" hamburger during bar open hours. There is a small grocery store, and a museum. There are several places for Internet access. Pilots have slept in the hangar, under the wing of their aircraft, and in the lounge. There is a restroom in the lounge, and showers will be available at the swimming pool a block away.
Many past year's participants have gone from here to back-country strips in Montana (take fishing rods) and camped their way to the Johnson Creek cub flyin that occurs the following weekend (June 18-20). Some will actually head from here to Johnson Creek and fish the week before the flyin.
More information will be following as time approaches. Don't hesitate to contact me with questions. Ralph Rogers (CC-100 #24) 406 462 5487