Runway One Two: November 2015

New Cuyama has a newly paved runway and The New Cuyama Buckhorn Restaurant is now open!
L88 is a privately owned, public-use, day-use general aviation airport located in rural Santa Barbara County. The runway and supporting facilities were originally constructed by the Richfield Oil Company in 1950. A Santa Barbara Pistachio farmer has done the repaving, and plans on building a sustainable living center there called Blue Sky.
We left VNY on a nice Fall day, and headed towards SZP, crossed the Ojai valley, and flew a line that basically followed highway 33, over the mountains, then followed the large wash that leads into the Cuyama Valley. The Las Padres National Forest mountains reach heights of 7500', so plan on crossing at least 8500' to give yourself plenty of clearance, smooth air, and radio coverage to LA Center. We had flight following on 135.5 MHz, and ARTCC lost contact with us just after crossing the peak of the ridgeline. There was nobody on the CTAF when we arrived. There is a windsock, if you look hard, it was dirty, and blended in to it's surroundings from overhead, so I missed it. The newly paved runway is nice but not perfect. It's still a bit bumpy as you do your rollout. Gone are the potholes, and nothing that will do any damage. Be sure and bring your wheel chocks. We walked the short walk north from the end of the runway to the small town. The Burger Barn and Cuyama Buckhorn are just a couple blocks from each other next to the main highway. The Buckhorns lunch portions are HUGE! Plan on bringing your eating pants and an appetite. It' decor reminds me of an mini version AJ Spurs or McLintocks, they had a good sized lunchtime crowd for a place in the middle of nowhere. The 1/2 lb burgers and Chicken Quesadillas were awesome!