After a bit over a month of on-and-off activity, the
long-awaited upgrade to Butler Airport/s lighting system wrapped up last week.
The contractors did a good job of bringing all the scattered components
together, and they cooperated with airport users to allow some limited access,
much like the old days of common-sense give-and-take. A test flight on the
second night of full lighting proved everything was working as planned, even
the automatic activation at dusk. The PAPI approach lights are still awaiting
official blessing by an FAA survey aircraft.
The week’s traffic was fairly heavy, despite the continued
lack of fuel availability. We noticed a Cessna Skyhawk, a Skylane, a Piper
Cherokee and a Cirrus SR22 on the ramp, and a
Beech Bonanza V-tail also visited. Based activity included the King Air
E-90 jump plane hauling skydivers, BCS’s turbine AirTractor applying crop
treatment, and a Cessna 150 trainer aircraft returning to Sky4’s home hangar.
Layne Anderson rolled out his Darter Commander, Roy Conley had his Grumman TR2
aloft, and Jim McCanles gave his Piper TriPacer a spring cleaning.
By far the most common question we heard this week was “Do
you think we should accept the Arab gift of a Boeing 747 for an Air Force One?”
Opinions run pro and counter, depending on political leanings, but facts have
to be sorted out. Problem is, Qutar’s royal barge is nowhere near ready for
use; by the time every government agency gets its wishes installed, the present
administration will be gone. Accepting the Emir’s gift is actually taking a
problem off his hands; just keeping the big jumbo jet airworthy takes a big
staff of technicians and support people, let alone four flight crews to rotate
duty time. The alternative is to place it in storage, and then waiting a week
or so to make it ready to fly. As I can attest, a free airplane isn’t really
free, it costs a lot to keep one up, even if you don’t fly it. In ancient Siam,
if the King didn’t like someone, he’d bestow one of the royal white elephants
on him, which he is obligated to feed, house and doctor. A 747-8 is a big White
Elephant. But, of course, the pair of-VC-25s we’re flying now are 35 years old,
and their replacements have been 15 years a-building; still nowhere near ready…
Saturday, a final investigation report revealed that a
German Lufthansa airliner was enroute from Frankfurt to Seville in February,
2014 with 200 s.o.b.’s (Souls On Board) when the captain stepped aft to relieve
himself, leaving the copilot alone behind the locked door. Said First Officer
had a medical issue and passed out for 10 minutes, while the plane flew on
autopilot. Calls to open the door went unheard, the let-me-in buzzer didn’t
work and an emergency override had to be used, by which time the copilot had
revived but needed medical attention, with the flight diverting to Madrid. So
much for single-pilot airliners…
In a survey of passenger satisfaction with U.S, airlines,
Southwest Airlines came in first, with JetBlue and Frontier joined at the
bottom of the list. I’d have to concur, based on trips I’ve made in the past..
The weekly question from the previous column wanted to know
how the Butler runway lights are able to shine at the same brightness despite
being spaced at various locations over a two-mile loop of wiring. A
constant-current regulator box controls the juice. For next week, what’s the
difference between a forward slip and a sideslip, using in landing? You can
send your answers to [email protected].
