AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 53

Jackson Hole Airport tower manager Rick Schmidt (below) wants you to leave feeling you got great air traffic control service—but he also wants you to know you are entering an area of high traffic, high wind, and high altitude.

Given the Jackson traffic, the sometimes huge “handling” fees, and the weather conditions, your best bet is to base your aircraft 45 minutes from Jackson at Driggs, Idaho. Fuel costs are lower, too. The Driggs-Reed Memorial Airport runway (below left) has open approaches on both ends, often better weather, rental cars, and impromptu entertainment as warbirds come and go.

While June signals summer for flatlanders, it’s still only spring here above 6,000 feet. Flood warnings abound as AOPA Senior Photographer Mike Fizer and I tackle a weather-dependent schedule of glider rides, paraglider photography, balloon rides, and air-to-air photo shoots above Yellowstone and “The Grand,” the name locals give the tallest peak. Fizer and I are here to meet the “pilots of the parks” as a part of our occasional series, “Epic Flights,” but just because we’re here doesn’t mean the weather is going to be on our side. Good weather is frustratingly close by at Driggs-Reed Memorial Airport in Driggs, Idaho, a 45-minute drive west across the Tetons from Jackson. The airport has fewer fees and less traffic than Jackson Hole Airport, plus rental cars and a Warbirds Café that is the equal of restaurants in Jackson. You can rent an aircraft there, but Spike Minczeski will ask you to take three hours of mountain flying instruction to assure your safety. Other surprises at Teton Aviation, in which the restaurant is located, include a warbird museum off the main lobby and a glider instructor who happens to be an opera star. You may meet opera singer Kristine Ciesinski (her husband is an opera star, too), should you choose to take Teton Aviation’s spectacular glider ride to the back of The Grand. She is one of
AOPA PILOT • 53 • APRIL 2011



AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011

AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011
Contents
Contents
President’s Position
President’s Position
Hangar Talk
Hangar Talk
AOPA Media
AOPA Media
AOPA Action
AOPA Action
Letters
Letters
Waypoints
Waypoints
Proficient Pilot
Proficient Pilot
Safety Pilot
Safety Pilot
License to Learn
License to Learn
Pilot Counsel
Pilot Counsel
Fly Well
Fly Well
Pilot Briefing
Pilot Briefing
Rally GA: Giving Women Wings
Rally GA: Giving Women Wings
Epic Flights: Flying Yellowstone and ‘The Grand’
Epic Flights: Flying Yellowstone and ‘The Grand’
Fulfilling its Promise
Fulfilling its Promise
A Half-Century Training Legacy
A Half-Century Training Legacy
Challenges: Fling-Winging It
Challenges: Fling-Winging It
Crossover Classic Sweepstakes: Flying Behind Glass, at Last
Crossover Classic Sweepstakes: Flying Behind Glass, at Last
First Look: You Too Can Be on YouTube
First Look: You Too Can Be on YouTube
High Anxiety
High Anxiety
Technique: Unconventional Wisdom
Technique: Unconventional Wisdom
Pilot Products: Odds and Ends
Pilot Products: Odds and Ends
Never Again
Never Again
Fly Outs
Fly Outs
Fly By Wire
Fly By Wire
Pilots
Pilots
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - President’s Position
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - Hangar Talk
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 7
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 8
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 9
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - AOPA Media
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 11
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - AOPA Action
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 13
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 14
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 15
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 16
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 17
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 18
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 19
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 20
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 21
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - Letters
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 23
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 24
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 25
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - Waypoints
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 27
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - Proficient Pilot
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 29
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - Safety Pilot
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 31
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - License to Learn
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 33
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - Pilot Counsel
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 35
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - Fly Well
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 37
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - Pilot Briefing
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 39
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 40
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 41
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 42
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 43
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 44
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 45
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 46
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - Rally GA: Giving Women Wings
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 48
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 49
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - Epic Flights: Flying Yellowstone and ‘The Grand’
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 51
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 52
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 53
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 54
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 55
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 56
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 57
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 58
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 59
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - Fulfilling its Promise
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 61
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 62
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 63
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 64
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 65
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 66
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - A Half-Century Training Legacy
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 68
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 69
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 70
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 71
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 72
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 73
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 74
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - Challenges: Fling-Winging It
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 76
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 77
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 78
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 79
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 80
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 81
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 82
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - Crossover Classic Sweepstakes: Flying Behind Glass, at Last
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 84
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 85
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 86
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - First Look: You Too Can Be on YouTube
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 88
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 89
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 90
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - High Anxiety
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 92
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 93
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 94
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - Technique: Unconventional Wisdom
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 96
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - IAOPA1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - IAOPA2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 97
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 98
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - Pilot Products: Odds and Ends
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 100
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 101
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - Never Again
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 103
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 104
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 105
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - Fly Outs
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - Fly By Wire
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 108
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 109
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 110
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 111
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - Pilots
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - Cover4
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