Western Soaring Safari to Bishop, CA - Jan 2005

Recall back in August of 2004, I suggested to the XOG, a Western Soaring
Safari to Bishop California?  Well, now its time to get serious and do some
planning.  If you would like to refresh you memory of what I had to say
about Bishop, look in XOG Archives and do a search on the word =93Bishop.=94=

==============================================

Date:         Tue, 25 Jan 2005 02:06:51 -0500
Reply-To:     Ximango Owners Group <XIMANGO@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM>
Sender:       Ximango Owners Group <XIMANGO@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM>
From:         Rob Morgan <LS484@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Western Soaring Safari to Bishop, CA - 4th of July 2005
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Western Soaring Safari to Bishop, California
July 4 -9, 2005

Recall back in August of 2004, I suggested to the XOG, a Western Soaring
Safari to Bishop California?  Well, now its time to get serious and do some
planning.  If you would like to refresh you memory of what I had to say
about Bishop, look in XOG Archives and do a search on the word =93Bishop.=94=


Lodging =96 This is perhaps the item that must be planned first for going to=

Bishop in the July 4th time frame.  Bishop is a very popular destination
for many people at that time of the year.  As a consequence, hotels and
motels often book up very early.  Room reservations in Bishop and the
surrounding areas should be made as early as possible.  I suggest making a
reservation either in January or February.  By March, your chances of
finding a place are diminished.  There are numerous hotels and motels
available in and around Bishop.  Rather than listing them I have included
some links that should provide more than enough information.

http://hotel-guides.us/california/bishop-ca-hotels.html
http://www.bishopvisitor.com/
http://www.accomodation.ws/Bishop-California.php
http://www.accommodationandhotels.com/ca/bishop.html
http://www.city-data.com/city/Bishop-California.html (interesting stuff!)
http://www.airnav.com/airport/KBIH

Two places that I know of and in which a number of sailplane pilots have
stayed in past have been the Elms (few if any frills, but clean and
inexpensive), and the Vagabond Inn.  The Vagabond runs a little higher and
offers a bit more.

For those that are interested in camping (either in a tent or an RV) there
is also a nice campground in town.  Here is the link to their web site:

http://www.brownscampgrounds.com/

On some occasions in the past, RV overnighting has been permissible at the
airport.  Historically speaking though, RV overnighting at the airport has
been a little fickle depending a great deal on the airport manager at the
time.

Also available in town are quite a few restaurants, a couple of large chain
supermarkets, a Wal-Mart, numerous little businesses, and a delightful
bakery by the name of Schatt=92s.

Transportation between the airport and town =96There are several options
available for transportation between the town and the airport:
1.  The county dial-a-ride (which is based right at the airport) offers
both scheduled and dial up transportation services every day except
Sundays. Their number is 760-872-1901.
2.  There are two rental car companies in Bishop:
  Enterprise =96 760-873-3704 (local # in Bishop)
  U-Save Car Rental =96 760-872-1070 (local # in Bishop)
3. Other pilots and crews =96 the July 4th week usually draws a number of
sailplane pilots and their crews to the Bishop area.  Most are a very
friendly bunch and will gladly provide rides to and from town when they=92re=

going in that direction.

Location:
The airport in Bishop is located about 2 miles east of the town center.
(From 395 turn east on E Line Street (Route 168) and continue for about 1.8
miles.  Turn left to the airport.)
Detailed information about the airport can be found using the airnav link
below:

http://www.airnav.com/airport/KBIH

A few side notes about the airport:
1.  Tiedown fees are $4/night or $17/week.
2.  There is a shower at the airport available to visitors.
3.  Expect a great deal of sailplane activity at Bishop over the 4th of
July weekend.  Many pilots visit the area for the great soaring conditions
that are typical that time of the year.
4.  The 4th of July fireworks for the town of Bishop are always held at the
airport.  As a result, the west side of runway 25 =96 7 is usually closed
from about 1pm on the day of the fireworks to accommodate people and
vehicles coming in for the evening fireworks.  The town usually puts on a
really great fireworks show.  If you leave the airport area on the day of
the fireworks and come back in after 1 pm, you will probably be charged a
few dollars to get back on the airport, for the fireworks show.
5. The breakfast and lunches at the airport restaurant have really been
good in the past.  I=92ve never had dinner there, so I can=92t speak to that=
.

Oxygen =96 This is a must for Bishop.  If you don=92t currently own an oxyge=
n
system for your ship, you should consider getting one prior to going to
Bishop.  Many of the mountain peaks in the area go to 12,000 to 14,000
feet.  Thermals will often times allow you to work all the way up to the
base of positive control airspace (Class A airspace in the current
vernacular).  I presently fly with a portable EDS system from Mountain High
using a Kevlar bottle.  Besides being extremely efficient, it is very light
weight and easily put into the baggage area of the Ximango.  The EDS system
I use includes 2 EDS regulators and an 11 cu ft Kevlar bottle, and is
advertised to be able to provide oxygen to 2 people for 10 hours at 18,000
ft.  I personally like it a great deal.  For flight below 24,000 ft, I
believe it to be the best system of the 4 different systems I=92ve owned ove=
r
the last 30 years I=92ve been soaring.  Refills on oxygen are available on
the field at Hangar One, or in town just a couple of miles from the airport.=


Other Activities =96 There are a number of activities available to visitors
in the Bishop area during July.  Within just the immediate area of Bishop
visitors can enjoy trout fishing (lake or streams), camping, hiking, tubing
down the Owens River, a nice railroad museum, shooting, and probably a few
others I=92ve not thought about.  Within a hour and a half drive of Bishop, =
a
person can visit Mammoth Lakes/Mammoth Mountain, the Bristlecone Pines
(more than 4,000 year old pines), or Whitney Portal (start of the hiking
trail to Mount Whitney.  You can drive to the trail head which is at about
the 9,000 ft level.  Mount Whitney is 14,495 ft; the tallest peak in the
lower 48 states).

Though each person should be responsible for making their own arrangements
and plans for lodging, flying, and other transportation, I would appreciate
knowing who and what planes will be planning to come to Bishop during the
4th of July week.  I hope I=92ve peaked your interest and have you planning
to come to Bishop.  Though I=92d really like to see a bunch of Ximangos and
Ximango drivers, if you happen to have friends flying other types of
motorgliders who would like to come, that=92s OK too.  If you have any
questions that I=92ve not answered with all my words above, give me a call o=
r
send me an email.  My phone number is 858-385-7833 (eve), or email me at
LS484@aol.com

Rob
1-24-05


PS  I=92m sending this as an MS Word file to those pilots who previously
expressed an interest in going to Bishop