What’s Up
by LeRoy Cook
9-11-23
Suggested banner: Little Lincoln Shows 'Em How It's Done
The greatest time of the year to own an airplane is upon
us. Much as we need serious running-off rain, these beautiful September days
are great for flying. The Canadian smoke limited visibility at mid-week, to as
little as three or four miles, even less when looking into the sun. It was good
for practicing instrument flying.
You never know what will pop in to the airport, and we
don't pretend to catch all the traffic that comes through, but we did see the
little Beech Skipper again, a few Piper Archer trainers, a Piper Cherokee, and
the ubiquitous Cessna Skyhawk. Locally, Les Gorden flew his Beech Bonanza F35,
Bob Plunket practiced in a Cessna 150, I flew to Clinton and Harrisonville via
150 and Jeremie Platt had his Grumman Tiger out.
If heading over to Jefferson City next Saturday, be aware
that something is going on that closes the airport most of the day. The NOTAM
looks like there's an airshow with pyrotechnics, but I have no information of
it. Gotta watch those pop up closures; Larry Hawes was telling me about going
into Paola the other day, landing normally, and while he was refueling at the
gas pump, trucks drove out onto the runway and started unloading barricades.
Took a little doing to depart.
I've always wondered what happened over at the Lawrence,
KS airport when KU has a football game, because the runway is within the 3-mile
radius covered by the stadium's Temporary Flight Restriction on game day. I researched
it, and evidently they've worked out an arrangement with our over-protective
Transportation Security Administration. You can depart to the north, away from
the stadium, and land to the south, staying on the ground when inside the ring
and thereby avoiding flight within the TFR. Just don't plan on going around or
flying a practice instrument approach.
We made it over to the Lincoln, MO fly-in on Saturday, and
it was a real treat. There was about 70 airplanes parked there, requiring
overflow stashing on the runway margin, and the crowd was busily chowing down
on breakfast and lunch. The traffic flow was constant and wild, providing
action for the onlookers. Everything imaginable was on hand, biplanes,
homebuilts, ultralights, helicopters, antiques and vintage planes. The ground
crew did a great job managing the affair, without lots of rules and
restrictions other than fencing. We need to adopt their free-and-easy teamwork
to put on a similar late-summer event.
Last week I asked readers to name the airplane that had
the most engines installed for normal flight. One reader guessed the Convair
B-36, which had six piston engines and four jets, but I have to give it to the
1929 Dornier DO-X flying boat, with twelve motors mounted in six push-pull
nacelles. For next time, reader Jeff Turner wants you tell him the name of the
pioneer aviator whose career spanned from fabric planes to the space age,
helping win World War 2. You can send your answers to [email protected].
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