Leaving Yuma Kern and Rink had an argument with the Border Patrol. They wanted to take their beloved plane apart in the search for drugs. With a lot of talking and the help of fellow pilots Kern persuaded the law to leave the airfield. After landing at Brown Field they had technically done it, they were in California. But they continued on to Los Angeles, followed by news helicopters. Unnerved by the downwash, Kern hurtled the plane to the ground at San Juan Capistrano airport. Sadly this airport does not exist anymore, so John Wayne was the next best option.
KNYL, Yuma, AZ
KSDM, Brown Field Municipal Airport, CA
KSNA, John Wayne Airport, CA
Yuma – Brown Field
BuffyGC, the inventor of BushTripInjector, followed me on this one. He made my MSFS Bushtrip for Flight Of Passage possible and I was delighted to have him on board. We started on runway 35 and overflew Pacific Steel. We joined Highway 8 again and passed through the last remnants of the Obregon Mountains. As BuffyGC closed in for a photoshot, we overflew the Glamis Dunes, a spectacular sight. Next up was Gordon’s Well, one of the many reservoirs and canals in this part of the country. We flew into the maze of canals and green fields sourrounding El Centro. Just as we left we passed New River Lake, one of the more natural reservoirs. Back into the desert we started climbing again into the mountains. After turning off the Highway we flew close to the Mexican border across the Campo Indian Reserve. The enourmous city of Tecate passed by as we flew further and further west. Finally, the valley opened up and we reached Lower Otay Lake. Here, the scenery is breathtaking. The Olympic Training Center, the Otay Landfill and finally the Amphitheatre and the Aquatica San Diego waterpark all modeled in stunning detail. Brown Field’s runway 08R was easy enough to spot and land on and then we found ourselves a parking spot on this lovely little airport in the Ocean View Hills just south of San Diego. California, finally!
Brown Field – John Wayne
It was a perfect day for flying. And I was not alone on this last leg of the tour. BuffyGC, Chris and Frank joined me for this flight along the coast between San Diego and Los Angeles. We started east, turned around and flew along the highway to Imperial Beach. Over the pier we turned North. We flow over Point Loma with the old and new lighthouse and the massive tripod of the Naval Shipboard Antenna Model Range. We continued on to Mission Bay, an artifical salt water bay. Our little party hugged the coast and sighted further landmarks. For example, the San Diego Country Fairgrounds, a horse racetrack and the power plant in Carlsbad a few miles later. Shrotly before Dana Point we left the coast along Highway 8 and headed for San Juan Capistrano. Here was the original landing spot of the brothers, right next to the canal. The airports was closed long ago and big warehouses were bulit over the runway. Only the refueling station ist still visible beside a small parking space. A few miles to the Northwest Irvine came into view. We circled around the city center to land at Johny Waynes 2R. Touching down in short sucession we paraded down the taxiway to our final parking spot.