Columbia (O22), 2121 MSL, is an uncontrolled, GA airport nestled in the foot hills of overly-priced but climate friendly, California just east of Stockton. It has one long paved runway (17 - 35), 4670 x 75 and a grass runway (11 - 29), 2600 x 50. Immediately adjacent to the grass runway are 20 regular campsites with picnic tables and fire rings, 1 large community fire ring, 5 small pedestal barbecues, a volleyball court and horseshoe pits. Also, on site are bathrooms with flush toilets and actual showers with hot water! Also, a pavilion with a large kitchen facility for meals and group meetings.
There is ample parking but tie downs are not available on the grass so please bring your own. Camping is $10 a night per aircraft. Fuel is available via self-serve and truck and usually discounted for the event. Parking and campsites are on a first come first served basis. And again, some participants arrive the day before the actual start of the event.
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Rental cars are available with advanced reservations through Bald Eagle Aviation (209-533-4616), 2 cars only. Enterprise (209-533-0500) located in Sonora about 6 miles away but inconvenient.
Hotels can be found in Sonora about 3-5 miles South of the airport but in and near Columbia are B&B types of places. A very recent find is a place called Columbia Cabins which is very near the airport. You could almost stagger there from the FBO! Phone number is 209.213.1061. The owners name is Howie Rodgers. Unfortunately, the days of our fly-in are already booked but we are wait listed.
Friday night we traditionally walk or drive into historic Columbia for dinner. I have reserved space at the St. Charles Saloon which boasts outstanding, artisan pizzas, wine and beer selections. We will have ample outdoor seating for our group with plenty of opportunity to catch up with friends. There should be transportation available from locals with vehicles but the remainder of us can walk or crawl home!
Saturday will be full of action! There will be a fly out breakfast to Auburn, CA. where there is a great restaurant on the field. Leave Columbia at your desired time as a group or individually and meet at Auburn Airport. Plan breakfast for 7:00 am or later. Skywagon flight time from Columbia is roughly 30 minutes.
Further, a new event this year will be an aircraft poker run, conducted by Dale and Denise Stanley. There will be 5 airports where you can pick up cards. These airports will be easily accessed on your way to and from Auburn for breakfast. You do not have to have all five cards to win. Sometimes, one card wins it all. Rules for participation in the event will be available at the pavilion in the campground. The winner will be announced at the dinner on Saturday evening. There will be a grand prize and a few other prizes as well. There is no cost to participate.
Last but not least, dinner. This year's dinner will be a catered tri-tip dinner by Bill Pearce. He did such a great job last year, we asked him to do it again. Dinner includes, tri-tip, dead chicken, corn on the cob, sourdough bread, beans and a green salad. Soda and water will be provided. There will be a $20.00 (cash) charge per person. No apple pay! The chicken is generously provided by Garrett Diestel and Diestel Family Ranch of Sonora, CA.
At the conclusion of dinner, we will have an informative and interesting presentation by our guest speaker Ryan Marshall. He is a highly experienced and knowledgeable maintenance professional known to many Skywagon owners.
If you stay through Sunday, Bill Pearce will be leading a group to the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. You would be flying into McClellan airport. Tickets for the museum are $12 for adults, $6 for children 6 - 17, and free if you are 5 and under. The museum is home to 225,000 sq. Ft of exhibits and beautifully restored railroad cars and locomotives which illustrate railroad history in CA and the west. If you are interested in going on the tour, please e-mail Denise Stanley at dstanley540@hotmail.com. Ground transportation will need to be arranged from the airport to the museum and we will need an approximate head count to make this happen.
We will be seeking contributions for incidental expenses like coffee, facility fees, fire wood. A $35 dollar “donation” is requested from all enthusiastic participants to what promises to be a totally bitchin event!! And, totally cool t-shirts will be available with preorder and payment.
Register online at the club website, www.skywagons.org. You can find the event after log-in and navigate to the “Events” page. Contact me if you have any questions or suggestions.
Michael Thibodeau
P: 209.221.5774
E: jetmikie@comcast.net
Poster