Angwin / Napa Valley

Angwin is a town in the hills to the East of the Napa Valley, roughly abeam St Helena. St Helena is right in the center of the Napa Valley. and is interesting in its own right, and all the major wineries are in the vicinity. Angwin's Virgil O. Parrett field (2O3) is ideal for visiting the Napa Valley.

This picture shows us on (long and high) final approach to rwy 16 at Angwin. For landings this is the preferred direction, as it requires no back taxiing on the runway.

The airfield is owned and operated by the Pacific Union College (PUC), a 7th Day Adventist college. The runway is 3200' long. There is no parallel taxiway, aircraft taxi on the runway. The continuation of the runway is as wide as the runway itself, but should not be used for takeoffs or landings. The boundary between the runway and the taxiway can be seen right in the center of the picture.

There is no control tower and there's usually plenty of students in the pattern. To avoid flying over the college and the town of Angwin, runway 16 uses left traffic, runway 34, right traffic. This picture shows us departing on the right downwind after taking off on runway 34.

The FBO is the PUC Flight Center. It is open every day except Saturdays. Fuel is available during opening hours and they have a pilot's lounge where you can relax, plan your next flight, or just exchange stories.

The PUC Flight Center will also rent you a car by prior arrangement. The cars are not the newest models, but they are well maintained, clean and inexpensive. It cost us $39 for a day for a Chevy Caprice in June 2000.

The Flight Center is closed Saturdays, but restrooms and telephones are available all hours. The College Cafeteria offers its hearty vegetarian cooking to all comers.

What is there to see and do in Napa Valley? There is so much it is hard to know where to start. There are wineries, of course. There is a wine museum, a wine train, wine shops, wine tastings, wine fairs, and the annual Wine Auction, even sake tastings. As well as wine, there are horse rides, limo tours, bicycle rentals, historic buildings, parks, a petrified forest and even a geyser.  There's fancy shopping and there is very fancy eating. Many Web sites are available - one of my favorites is napavalley.com.

When it's time to leave, hopefully all your purchases haven't put you over the weight and balance limits. Don't forget to check density altitude. In the summer it can be over 5000'.

When taxiing for departure, note that a 360' clearing turn is expected before you enter the runway proper. Conditions permitting, runway 34 is the preferred runway for departures. Not only does it not require a lengthy taxi on the runway, but if you encounter engine problems on climbout you might be able to glide to nearby private Pope Valley airfield (Q91).

If you like the thought of flying to the Napa Valley, check out the Spring 1999 issue of Pilot Getaways.