Bates County News

Monday, October 21, 2024

What's Up LeRoy Cook

 Everybody was out last week, enjoying the fall flight weather and high atmospheric pressure. Saturday's sea-level barometric reading was 30.5 inches of mercury, and the old Cessna climbed out like a youngster. The Butler airport parking ramp was cleaned out by Friday, as the Harrisonville refugees were finally able to snuggle down back home, their airport finally reopened.

 

Among the week's visitors were a Piper Archer or two, a Cessna Skylane from Roosterville, a Cirrus SR-22 from St. Louis, a Cessna Skyhawk and a Tecnam Mentor. Dr. Ed Christophersen flew over from New Century in his Piper Archer and an Army Guard UH-60 helicopter sat down. From the home hangars, Jeremie Platt flew his Grumman Tiger, Les Gorden lofted his Beech Twin Bonanza and the King Air C90 jump airplane, and the BCS AirTractor agplane flew on some material.

 

Keep watch for ATP Flight School's trainers conducting a VOR-A practice instrument approach from the west with winds out of the south. Some of their instructors think they are entitled to fly a right-hand traffic pattern against normal traffic turning left to land, simply because they are on an instrument flight plan. Not so; FAR 91.126(b) makes no such IFR exception to the rule, and the Aeronautical Information Manual Chapter 5-4-20(f)2 addresses this, along with FAA Advisory Circular 60-66. Just give them room and hope they learn to follow the rules eventually.

 

The idiocy of big-city mayors continues to be on full display, particularly when applied to general aviation airports. Some 20 years ago, Chicago's mayor took it upon himself to close Meigs Field on the lakefront, a valuable front door to the city, and now Cleveland, Ohio's mayor is wanting to turn Burke Lakefront airport into real estate development. Such shortsightedness ignores the value of access to a metropolitan area. Making it harder to get into your city runs off the very people who have the potential to do the most good for it.

 

In the aftermath of devastation left by Hurricane Helene in the Appalachians, light general aviation aircraft have been doing great work flying critical supplies into roadless communities back in the hills. Volunteer pilots saw the need and, with organization, have filled the void between helicopters and military convoys. Planes from old DC-3s to homebuilt experimentals have been using small airports with 3000-foot or less runway length to get stuff close to the needy. Another example of the value having a runway at your town.

 

American airspace is pretty much wide-open, despite our complaining about the requirement to install ADS-B surveillance gear and flight restrictions over stadiums. It boggles lay-people's minds when I tell them we can fly over Whiteman AFB or Fort Leonard Wood or the Lake City plant without permission or deviating. Our enemies have always taken advantage of our freedoms, like the operators of a swarm of drones that snooped over military installations in Virginia and Nevada in late 2023. If we tried to do that in Russia or China we wouldn't be heard from again. Rather than give up our free skies, let's just drop nets over them or blast them down with shotguns.

 

Our weekly question from last week wanted to know the name of the French airport Lindbergh landed at on his 1927 transatlantic flight. It was, and still is, nearly 100 years later, Le Bourget, named for the nearby village district. For that matter, for next time, can you youngsters tell us what Charles Lindbergh is known for being the first to do? You can send your answers to [email protected].

 



Bonnie Juanita Dickerson, age 76 of Butler

  Funeral services for Bonnie Dickerson of Butler, Missouri will be 10 a.m. Thursday, February 20, 2025 at Schowengerdt Funeral Chapel (660-...