Day 53 - Sandpoint to Seattle

Tony Cacciarelli • Aug 07, 2020

Sandpoint, ID (KSZT) to

Paine Field, WA (KPAE) - August 6, 2019

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Great way to start the day

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Wildfires north of Spokane

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Mount Baker (I think)

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Landing at Paine Field
Photo: Steve Hingley

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Landing at Paine Field
Photo: Steve Hingley

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Tagging along on a short relocation flight in the Beaver

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Seattle skyline

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Original Instagram Post

Started the day with an amazing sunrise right out my hotel window. I got an early start out of Sandpoint and had to climb above some smoke from wildfires north of Spokane. Made a fuel stop in Ephrata, WA, which has a decent sized glider port and I think I saw a Catalina PBY rotting in a corner of the airfield. I'd love to be able to save some of these old planes I've seen around the country. Makes me sad to see so many aircraft just withering away.

From Ephrata I climbed up to 10500' for a smooth trip over the mountains to Seattle. Had some great views of Glacier Peak and Mount Baker on the way in.

I was met at the airport by Richard, a long-time friend, and his brother Steve. We ended up riding along with their friend Alistair on a short ferry flight in a de Havilland Beaver from Kenmore Air's base at the north end of Lake Washington down to Renton. What a great way to check out the Seattle area and an amazing airplane. Huge thanks to Alistair, Steve and Richard for the opportunity!

I'm in Seattle for a few days, so planning to hit some of the local lakes and meet up with a couple other A5 owners.

😀👍🏼

I had another mountain crossing to get from Sandpoint to Seattle, but having done a couple other mountain flights I was feeling more comfortable, although not necessarily confident.

Steve was able to get a few shots of me landing. It was nice to see the A5 from an angle I don't often get.

My favorite part of the day, aside from meeting up with some good friends, was the spur of the moment flight in the Beaver.

I like it when aviation is spontaneous and sort of casual. Since it was a short flight there wasn't any elaborate planning. It was a flight that Alistair does regularly, so we showed up, jumped in a plane and took off.

The rest of the evening was hanging out, having a fantastic meal and a few drinks and talking aviation with Alistair, Steve (who's a captain for British Airways) and Richard - and I didn't have to worry about getting up early the next day.