AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - March 2019 - 68

THE WASHINGTON STATE

ferry system is the main
means of transportation
to the islands, but pilots
have the joy of flying from
island to island.

can easily walk to town from the airport, although a rental
car from close-by M&W is easy to reserve (and you'll need
a car to drive the island's fascinating and naturally beautiful circumference).
Friday Harbor Airport (FHR) has a rich and interesting history, established in 1982 when the Port of
Friday Harbor bought the airfield from local aviator Roy
Franklin. The World War II fighter pilot began flying
passengers to San Juan Island in 1948, landing on a cow
pasture. He purchased a 66-acre lot on the west side of
the island and cleared it to create a 2,300-foot runway.
He was famous for flying his Stinson 108, and the airport
terminal bears his name.
"Because the islands are not connected by bridges, virtually all of the inhabited islands have airfields," says Taylor.
"Traffic in and around the islands
can be quite busy with short island
hops to deliver freight and people.
It's not unusual for charter pilots to
log 15 to 20 takeoffs and landings on
a busy day in the summer. There is a
common traffic advisory frequencyb
for all the islands to help with situational awareness with multiple airfields in proximity, along
with significant seaplane traffic from Seattle."

Islanders say they are
"Going to America"
when they leave the islands.

THE PIG WAR

I've been blessed with three trips now to this remote
and beautiful area, courtesy of this magazine ("Flying
Them Home," July 2018; "A Day in the Life of America's
Airports," August 2007), but I had never seen the entirety

68 | AOPA PILOT March 2019

of San Juan Island. Friday Harbor is an
easily walkable town. With its charming
restaurants, inviting shops, and expansive
views of the harbor and mountains, one
could happily stay here and never venture
forth throughout the rest of the island. But
then you'd miss Roche Harbor, the lavender farm, and the British and American
camps. So, photographer Mike Fizer and I
set forth to circumnavigate the island. Fizer
hates my erratic driving, so I only drove us
to Roche Harbor, a small community at the
northern tip of the island. A Tacoma lawyer discovered the largest deposit of lime
in the northwest there in 1884 and established a lime company and hotel. The lime
factory and its docks, warehouse, and piers
are no longer in use, but the pretty little harbor town is, as is the Hotel de Haro. Clocks
chime on the hour, and music is piped in
from speakers along the pier. Fizer wasn't
charmed, but I was. I guess it could get a little fey and somewhat annoying after a while.
Continuing around the island on a
pine-tree-bordered, two-lane road, we saw
bicyclists and SUVs topped with kayaks,
so we followed one vehicle to the "English
Camp." At Smallpox Bay (yes, really-Native
Americans named it because when struck
with the fever of small pox, they waded
into the cool waters) we watched birds

AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - March 2019

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