Page 13 - Volume 14 Issue 3

All airports in the Four-Corners area are relatively near something within the National Park System. One great example is Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado. Mesa Verde protects over 5,000 archeological sites and over 600 cliff dwellings from Ancestral Pueblo people who lived in the area between 600 & 1300 A.D.
Author’s Note: The following is the third installment in a series of articles which will resonate most with King Air corporate and charter pilots, but can apply to the owner/pilot, as well. After all, making the most of layovers and planned or unplanned travel downtime is a goal any pilot can pursue. If you have layover pursuits or places you’ve enjoyed visiting that you feel are “must-sees,” please feel free to send an email with any ideas you might have for future installments of this series (contact information follows the article).
In Review
rest be sacrificed leading into flying duties. However, when surplus time is in your day’s clock, exploration is hard to beat for using that time to remind you that flying really can take you to interesting places.
During my many years of aviation layovers while flying as a corporate, charter, fractional, airline and traveling- instructor pilot, I’ve had many lists going concurrently. In this installment, I’ll discuss one that can be pursued within both your work travel and family travel life. Over the years, I’ve found it one of the simpler ways to utilize downtime while reconnecting with nature and the great outdoors.
America’s Best Idea
The National Park Service (NPS) manages all public sites within the National Park System. While it has
In Part I and II of this series, we introduced the con- cept of layover list making. A sort of bucket list, used to enhance your layovers (long and short) by encouraging you to get out and explore, checking boxes on your list(s) along the way. In the end, you’ll surely return home with more stories to tell, more memories made, and far less FBO coffee and cookies consumed. As with anything in life, endeavoring to make your layovers more productive and memorable will be as successful as the energy you put into it. Starting a list or two is the first step but checking the boxes off your list is the real goal. Flight safety is always your first priority as a professional or owner-flown King Air pilot. So, flight planning and preflight/post-flight duties should never take a backseat to layover touring. Nor should adequate
MARCH 2020
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 11