| Have
a Question about Inyokern Airport? Ask
IYK.
Over the years Inyokern Airport
has fielded many questions concerning the airport, the Indian Wells
Valley Airport District, and the surrounding community. In order to
better serve its many users and others who have an interest in the
airport, Inyokern Airport has instituted the "Ask
IYK" service.
Ask
IYK is the place where Inyokern Airport
will answer any question related to IYK, the airport district,
or anything else Inyokern Airport deems appropriate - or at
least interesting.
If you submit a question to Ask
IYK, Inyokern Airport may publish
your questions and our answer on our web site unless you request
otherwise. We will not reveal your name unless you ask us to.
If you have a question don't
hesitate to send it to Ask
IYK. As far as we know no question is too
dumb - but we may be proven wrong about that. Just keep your questions
civil and at least slightly relevant to Inyokern Airport, aviation,
or something like that. If you don't follow this rule your e-mail will
be automatically deleted by our highly efficient spam filter and you
will have totally wasted your time and effort.
Here's the address
to send your Ask IYK questions: AskIYK@inyokernairport.com.
Ask
IYK Questions and Answers
| Q: |
I
was planning on bringing my P28A-160 Piper up to Inyokern
from a couple of weeks. I was looking at the pilot
weather on your website and noticed a lot of high wind
in the afternoons. Is this a normal weather pattern?
Will these wind conditions continue throughout the
next month or is it a temporary pattern . . . -
High Desert Nubie
|
| A: |
Your
question addresses a common concern for pilots flying to
Inyokern Airport. Inyokern, like all California high desert
airports, frequently experiences relatively strong, gusty
afternoon winds. Normal summer weather forecasts in the high
desert are more like a climate description. Local pilots
take it for granted, but visitors are often concerned.
 |
| Lenticular
clouds like these indicate strong westerly winds over
the Sierra Nevada Mountains. These conditions are frequently
associated with turbulence and wind shear in the vicinity
of Inyokern Airport. |
Fortunately,
Inyokern Airport has three runways (15-33, 02-20, and 10-28),
so cross-wind component is usually not a major factor. The
typical wind pattern favors runway 20 in the afternoon and
is either aligned with the runway or has somewhat of a right
(westerly) cross-wind component.
From a practical standpoint the biggest concern usually isn't
wind speed - it's wind shear. The proximity of Inyokern Airport
to the Sierra Nevada mountain range often creates an unstable
wind pattern. Inyokern Airport is famous (infamous?) for having
the wind socks at opposite ends of a runway point in opposite
directions.
The best advice
we can give you is to get a good weather briefing before
arrival and then use strong, gusty wind landing techniques
when you arrive. Keep your speed up on final (the runways
are plenty long, so don't try to land on the numbers),
and be prepared to make a go-around if things look even
slightly questionable. And don't expect to make a standard "stabilized
approach" – you'll have to "fly the airplane" all
the way to the runway.
Hope you have
a pleasant visit to the beautiful - if sometimes a bit
windy - Indian Wells Valley.
|
| Q: |
Is Inyokern
Airport a good place to stop for a $100
hamburger?. - Famished
in Fullerton
|
| A: |
Good
question, Famished. IYK isn't really a
good hamburger stop, but it's a terrific place to get a $100
burrito! The town of Inyokern is
the home of Bernardino's,
an excellent full service Mexican restaurant. On a nice day Bernardino's is
a pleasant 15-minute walk from transient parking. If the
day isn't so nice (it gets really hot in the summer) or if
you're in a hurry, Bernardino's will give
you a ride . . . just give them a call at 760-377-4012.
Country
Feed Barn
|
And while you're
in the lovely (well unique, anyway) town of Inyokern, you might
also want to check out the antique shops - and don't miss the Country
Feed Barn. The Country Feed Barn doesn't
sell feed anymore, but it has an eclectic array of other other
goods including clothing, hardware, and (of course) antiques. |
| Q: |
Are
there transportation services between Ridgecrest and IYK
in the early morning and/or late evening hours? I have
to catch the 5:12 AM flight. - Early
Riser
|
| A: |
You
have Inyokern Airport's sympathy for having to get up before
the birds to catch the first flight of the day. Fortunately
IYK is a friendly airport that doesn't have long lines
at the check-in counter, and it takes only a few minutes
to pass through security before boarding your flight. Much
better than than that big, impersonal airport in the giant
city.
Unfortunately,
there's (almost) no
public transportation to Inyokern Airport, but we do have
two rental car agencies:
Dollar
Rent a Car, 760-446-4554
Avis Rent a Car,
760-446-5556
Taxi service is
available between Inyokern Airport and Ridgecrest:
Ridgecrest Taxi
760-793-7374
Ridgecresttaxi@yahoo.com
Also, if you stay at the Carriage
Inn hotel in Ridgecrest, you can take advantage
of their van service between the hotel and Inyokern Airport
terminal for a nominal fee. The van leaves the hotel at about
4:00 AM for the 5:12 flight, which makes Inyokern Airport
wonder whether it's worth bothering to go to bed the night
before.
|
| Q: |
I
will rent a car at IYK in the near future. Does IYK still
have free unlimited parking? I intend to park my own vehicle
at the airport during the rental period. -
Ground Bound
I am flying out of IYK for the first
time and need to know if there is LT (1 week max) parking for
my vehicle? -
Taking Flight
|
| A: |
 Unlike
some of those giant, unfriendly big city airports, Inyokern
Airport tries to make traveling a pleasant experience. This
includes convenient, free parking
with no time limit. (Okay, it's not exactly unlimited - you
should have some reason to park at the airport. We don't
want people to use the airport to store their unused cars.
But other than that we're pretty flexible.)
There are two public parking lots at Inyokern Airport. One
is directly adjacent to the airline terminal and is normally
used by airline travelers. The other is across from the airport
administration building and is used by general aviation travelers
and for long term parking. We recommend that you use the lot
across from the admin building if you plan to stay for more
than a week and/or aren't taking an airline flight.
|
| Q: |
Good
morning, hope this finds y’all well.
I just wanted to thank you very much
for the outstanding service I received the other day. I
took the 12:45 flight out on Monday to LAX and it was fantastic.
The check-in process, baggage check and security were an
absolute breeze. You have a wonderful staff there and that
makes such a difference when traveling.
Again, thank you so very much.
Have a great day. -
Happy Wanderer
|
| A: |
Thank
you for your kind words. Yes, we think we have a nice little
airport . . . much better than those giant, unfriendly
big city airports. We're happy you had a good experience
with us.
Yes, unlike those
other airports, Inyokern Airport always has short check-in
lines, and security screening is easy and fast (unless
you're a bag guy, in which case you're toast). And we offer free,
unlimited parking only a few steps from the
airline terminal. What could be better?
But however must
we would like to take all of the credit for you good experience,
we mush point out that that when you board an airline flight
at Inyokern Airport the fine folks that serve you are from SkyWest
Airlines, the Transportation
Security Administration, and possibly one
of the rental car agencies. They're all great people, but
they don't work directly for the Inyokern Airport. We'll
convey your appreciation to them.
Oh, because your
e-mail to Ask IYK wasn't in the form of a question, we
unfortunately are unable to award you any Ask
IYK Rewards Points™. Feel free to choose a
new category and try again.
|
| Q: |
I’ve
never had the pleasure to leave on the early morning flight.
What
time does the airport open for the 5:10 AM flight on SkyWest?
Thanks - Dark
and Early
|
| A: |
Dark
Inyokern Airport at 5:10 AM
|
Thank you for
contacting Ask IYK.
We extend our
sincere sympathy for having to take the 5:10 AM flight.
Our only suggestion is that you pretend you're on the East
Coast where it's 8:10 AM. Or in Europe where it's where
it's already afternoon. If that's you destination it may
also help with jet lag.
Well, Inyokern
Airport is open 24/7 (including holidays), but we know
what you mean. The airline (SkyWest
Airlines) determines flight schedules and
check-in times. We could tell you what we think check-in
time is for the 5:10 AM flight (we can tell you
that we think it's way too early), but if we're wrong we
don't want to get blamed.
The best
way to find out check-in times for all flights is to
call the local airline office
at 760-377-5000. They're open
around the times of the daily flights, which the last
time we checked, are:
| Departures*: |
5:10
AM
|
12:33
PM
|
8:36
PM
|
| Arrivals*: |
12:13
PM
|
8:09
PM
|
10:44
PM
|
|
| |
| : THESE
DEPARTURE AND ARRIVAL TIMES CAN CHANGE WITHOUT
NOTICE AT ANY MOMENT. DO NOT USE THEM
TO PLAN YOUR TRIP. IF YOU DO, DON'T
BLAME US IF THEY ARE WRONG. WE WARNED
YOU! |
|
| |
Enjoy your flight (if that's possible at 5:10 AM). |
|
|
