Texian Outdoors

The Airborne Outdoorsman

Travis — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 00:54:39 +0000

I obtained mycommercial pilot’s license in 2007, and in the time since have flown many types of aircraft for many types of owners. Any pilot that has spent much time in
Texas has likely flown hunting parties to ranches and bays in search of deer, dove, or dorado. I estimate nearly half of the private flying I do involves carrying hunters and their families to and from ranches and leases. Many game ranches have airstrips, some with features found in tower-controlled airports such as advanced navigation systems and large runways suitable for large turbine aircraft to land.

It’s no surprise that aviation and hunting go hand-in-hand—and not just in Alaska. Being the largest thawed-out state in the country, Texas offers vast expanses of terrain and virtually unlimited hunting and fishing opportunities and an aircraft can shrink the state considerably. Unfortunately, the same endless forests and prairies that make Texas a sportsman’s paradise also make for some serious hours logged on the state highway system. Out-of-staters faint at the mention of four and five hour drives that most Texans wouldn’t bat an eye at. That being said, after years in the saddle of your rig en route to your hunting destinations, you may find yourself looking out the window at that
white speck streaking across the sky and thinking “that’s where I should be!”. You may be thinking about buying an airplane, but how much do they cost? What size would you need? Could you fly it yourself, or would you need to hire a pilot? Where would you keep it? These are all questions that you should answer before you make your decision to leave the
asphalt below.

Be aware that aircraft ownership should not be taken lightly. It is much more involved than remembering to install drain plugs or adding fuel stabilizer in the winter. You need to know the aircraft as well as the regulations and maintenance requirements, or be willing to spend the money to pay someone who does. While an airplane opens up opportunities to enjoy locales previously out of reach, the penalty for cutting corners or bending the rules is harsh.

The best way to decide what kind of plane you need is to determine the mission profile.
The mission profile is the exact requirements you either need or want your aircraft to fulfill. Begin by asking yourself where you plan on flying to and from, how many people you will be carrying, the amount of equipment, and runway length at landing locations. Then move on to acquisition cost, operation costs, and maintenance costs. You should also understand and accept that flying a private aircraft will never be cheaper than driving. I cannot stress this enough.

The most commonly used aircraft in Texas for getting to hunting destinations may be
the Cessna 182. The 182 is a single-engine, high-wing airplane that has hardly
changed since its debut in the early 60s. Unlike automobiles which are
“improved” every three years or so, the aviation community lives by the motto
“if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. The design and features that were reliable
and safe 50 years ago are still that way today. The air-cooled piston engine
powering the 182 has been strong and reliable for generations of outdoorsmen.
While new 182s can fetch upward of $275,000, used ones in decent shape can be
found for $40,000-$80,000, depending on avionics and time on the airframe. The
fixed landing gear offer excellent handling of bumpy, uneven surfaces like dirt
or grass landing strips and are one less thing to break and are less expensive
to maintain. The simple controls and predictable handling make the 182 an
excellent choice for the hunter that is also a pilot. The one downside is that the
182 is no rocket—most cruise around 130 mph, but that still will make a six
hour drive from Houston to Junction shrink to 2.5-3 hours. Be careful about
considering the 182’s little brother, the 172. While very similar looking and
available at much cheaper prices; there is a reason for the discount. The 172
is a great trainer and a fine family run-about, but for carrying hunting
equipment such as coolers, guns, game and more, the 172 may be underpowered and
too slow for hunting applications, not to mention it has a longer takeoff and
landing roll than the 182. In my personal opinion, the 182 is a great place to
start but definitely not the only place. I just don’t know anyone who bought
one and later regretted it.

If you plan on flying your airplane yourself there are some things to consider. If
you do not already have your pilot’s license, getting one is a great idea,
though it can be time consuming if you do not have enough free time to dedicate
towards lessons. A private pilot’s license costs anywhere from $7000 to $10,000 and a minimum of 45 flight hours must be logged before you can take your flight test. Depending on the size of the aircraft you buy, it could be quite some time before you can legally or
safely fly the plane yourself. A basic private pilot’s license will legally allow you to fly yourself and some friends but most insurance companies will not cover a new or inexperienced pilot flying an advanced aircraft with multiple engines and retractable landing gear. You can hire a flight instructor however, to ride along with you while you gain experience and many will even do it for free. Don’t get me wrong; I think everyone should get their licenses and ratings all the way to commercial multi-engine but that isn’t realistic for everybody. If you plan on flying yourself, picking a plane you are capable of
flying is a good idea.

One of the pitfalls a prospective aircraft owner can encounter is what I call the
“big body goggles”. In a desire to have ramp presence, an owner will buy a
large, older, cabin-class aircraft for a low acquisition cost. The owner often
ends up with an old airplane with outdated avionics, and exorbitant operation
and maintenance costs. The good news is that the bad economy has resulted in a
buyer’s market for aircraft. Prices have dropped substantially in the past few
years. You should also be wary of odd or rare aircraft as well as it is hard
enough to get maintenance or parts in backwater airports for common planes like
Cessnas and Pipers. Trying to get a fuel pump for your French-made Partenavia
on Memorial Day in Cotulla would not be easy.

If you still think you want to join the club and leave the truck in the driveway
in your future endeavors, take the time to hang around some small airports and
talk to pilots and owners. Most are more than willing to help and almost
everyone likes to talk about their airplane. The aviation community is a
close-knit and friendly bunch, just as the sportsman community is. The two
overlap in many cases, especially in Texas.

good news for gringo honeymooners

Travis — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 18:57:36 +0000

Many people have heard Robert Earl Keen’s iconic song ‘Gringo Honeymoon”. It is one of the most popular in the Sharpstown, TX raised singer songwriter’s repertoire. It recalls two newlyweds honeymooning along the Texas-Mexico border and meeting local characters and soaking in the culture. While the song could be describing any of the dozens of small border crossings along the Rio Grande, it’s not. It is specifically refering to the tiny pueblo of Boquillas del Carmen, nestled within the crags of the Deadhorse Mountains in the Chihuahuan desert. I myself have taken Captain Pablo’s rowboat across the river and rented a donkey, albeit the owner wasn’t blind. After the quarter-mile or so ride to the town, some friends and I went to “the town’s best bar”, which it appeared was the “town’s only bar”. We sat and drank 7oz Coronas, and watched the dust blow across the street, while children tried to sell us bracelets, Chiclets, and anything else they had on them. It was late afternoon on a Sunday and we were the only white people in town, so we were somewhat of a spectacle. That was in 1999, three years later the border crossing was shut down. 9/11 had happened, and the illegal immigration debate was beginning to heat up. Boquillas struggled as its geographic isolation made it almost totally dependent on tourism from north of the border. The story ends on a good note however, as according to the Alpine Avalanche, the crossing is to be reopened in the Spring of 2011. There are no details on an exact opening date, or whether the crossings at Lajitas and Santa Elena Canyon will be reopened, but the announcement does provide hope to the residents of Boquillas, as well as Texans who love to experience the almost-forgotten village on the edge of the frontier.

hell on earth

Travis — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 15:12:52 +0000

From border to border, Texas is burning. Most of the fires are in the western half of Texas but the driest March on record threatens to turn the entire state into a vision out of Dante Alighieri’s ‘inferno’. Texans are used to turning on the television and seeing pictures of San Diego or Estes Park in flames, not Marfa, Possum Kingdom, and Brownwood. Each fire has its own unique cause: a welder’s torch, a hobo roasting a hotdog, a military unit shooting tracer ammo– All have the same outcome: destruction, death, and untold emotional and financial cost. Rural Texas may not be as accessible or interesting to the major news outlets as California or Colorado, but The Atlantic has published these high resolution photos that are haunting, yet frighteningly beautiful if for the only reason that they capture life in its most brutal moments.

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/04/texas-wildfires/100050/#img20

dem bugs

Travis — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 14:19:31 +0000

Lord Tennyson wrote “in the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to love”. Indeed, crawfish season is here and it appears Tennyson’s mind was where many other young lads and lasses are right now as well: peelin’ dem bugs. Crawfish season runs roughly from March to early June with the previous winter determining season length and bug size. While found virtually over the entire globe where conditions permit, the freshwater cousin of the lobster is seen in the greatest variety in the North American Southeast, with over 300 individual species. Crawfish often carry the undeserved reputation for being dirty “bottom feeders”. While they are opportunistic omnivores (I can think of a few others as well), crawfish survive only in unpolluted, clean water. This makes their meat tastier and healthier than filter-feeder seafood such as oysters. Another unique aspect of the humble crawfish is the status of cultural icon which it has achieved. Virtually unknown north of the Mason-Dixon, crawfish are consumed en-masse in the South and Gulf Coast regions with Louisiana being the true home. East Texas, which shares a more than fair amount of culture with Louisiana, participates also in the yearly feast. The most popular method of consumption is the crawfish boil, which by its very nature is a social event. It would be nearly impossible, and hardly worth it to
boil a few pounds for one person. Typically, a skilled peeler can eat around 5 lbs by themselves and in the process of peeling, people tend to congregate around a large pile and socialize. One topic that inevitably be discussed is which method of peeling provides maximum meat with minimum effort, to which there are as many opinions as species of crawfish. Other topics discussed may include the terminology debate; crawfish, crayfish or crawdad, and whether or not to suck the head… a topic far too controversial and lengthy to be hashed out here.

If you are in the Houston area May 13-22, head to Old Town Spring 30 minutes north of downtown for the Texas Crawfish Festival: http://www.texascrawfishfestival.com/

the last of the hardcore troubadours

Travis — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 18:19:11 +0000

There are times when you’ll hear the first guitar licks of a song, or the first of lyrics and you instantly know that you’re listening to good music. “There ain’t a thing in the world to take me back, like a dark-haired girl in a Cadillac…”– that was the line that did it for me. The smooth-as-molasses words of Turnpike Troubadours’ song ’1968′ instantly gave me that warm feeling that I’d found something special. In a time where it seems that truly unique and talented artists are getting fewer (even in the desperately individual Texas/Red Dirt/Alt-county scene), finding a band that can hit the sweet spot not just once, but repeatedly and effortlessly is a rare find. The TT are of the Oklahoma Red Dirt scene, and have the unmistakable “not-Nashville” sound that typifies the genre, but with the easy melodies that make listening for extended periods enjoyable. This was the first albums in a while I put on repeat in my truck, even with a 30 GB Mp3 player on standby. The melodies are not the only attraction however, as the lyrics paint vivid pictures of life in rural America. The sound lets you know that the band is young, but their roots are deep and extend through the decades. The band’s latest album ‘Diamonds and Gasoline’, released January 2010, is stuffed with songs like ‘Every Girl’, which made #30 on the Texas Music Chart and features lines like this:

“She’s a sober Sunday kitchen conversation with my dad,
Aw she’s every friend I’ve ever had”… if that doesn’t stick with you, maybe you should put Keith Urban on shuffle again.

Welcome to Texian Outdoors

Travis — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 18:35:58 +0000

This is the place to find interesting posts and articles about various aspects of Texas outdoor life through the eyes of the author. Texas is unique in that there is little separation between the outdoors, and culture. Being the largest state in the lower 48, Texas is also a sportsmans paradise; coastal flats, piney woods, big rivers, spring fed creeks, wild mountains and vast prairie offer sportsmen unlimited opportunity to experience the one-of-a-kind culture that is the seasoning of the Texas life. The best music, food, and people in the world are here. To that, this blog pays tribute.