What’s
Up
by LeRoy
Cook
24
December 23
Suggested
banner: Busy Skies
There
was competition for airspace last week, as pilots took advantage of flyable
weather to practice their procedures. As we were conducting an Instrument
Proficiency Check with a client on Thursday, we heard an Army Guard Black Hawk
announce inbound for a low approach to Runway 18, followed shortly by a Beech
Baron shooting the RNAV 18. When we lined up for the VOR-A final approach
course we saw a traffic alert on the ADS-B display, which was a Piper Archer
right behind us, doing the same thing.. There was room for everybody, of
course, but it proves you gotta keep watch.
Other
transients seen were a Piper Warrior, a Cessna Skyhawk, and a Cessna 182. Scott
Buerge was in from Nevada in his Beech Bonanza V35B, and as we were taking off
on Tuesday afternoon we observed a huge Boeing KC-135 tanker making a turn
westbound about 3000 feet above us, probably out of the AF Reserve refueling squadron
at Topeka’s Forbes Field. Out and about from the local hangars were Christian
Tucker in the Mooney M20C, Jeremie Platt in his Grumman Tiger and Eric Eastland
in their Cessna Skyhawk.
Once
again I failed to note the Anniversary of Powered Flight on December 17th.
That was the day, in 1903, when Wilbur and Orville Wright made history by
achieving some successful hops at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. All pilots are
supposed to make a tribute flight on that date every year; bad me.
This
coming Saturday, the 30th, would be the usual time for the Breakfast
Flyout of the Fliars Club, so all Fliars are summoned for an 0730 assembly on
the Butler flight ramp. I checked with the WeBeSmokin’ cafe over at Paola and
they will be open, as well as on New Year’s Eve.
The
Ukrainian Air Force, fighting against the Russian invaders with obsolete Soviet
Migs, are about to get some surplus F-16 built in the U.S., courtesy of Denmark
and Romania, but their bomb-blasted runways may not be in the best shape for
the hot-rod Vipers. The old Migs have big tires and fly slower. Meanwhile,
Ukraine reports that trigger-happy Russian ground troops shot down one of their
own Sukhoi Su-25 attack planes. Oops-ski.
Reader
Rodney Rom accurately researched our weekly brain-teaser, about where the first
Transatlantic flight landed, in 1919. As
said, the plucky pilots of a British Vickers Vimy biplane bomber took
off from Canada and wound up ingloriously stuck in an Irish bog that they
mistook for a suitable landing site. For next week, we want to know what
defines the term “general aviation.” You can send your answers to [email protected].
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