What's Up by LeRoy Cook

Ready for a warm-Up

Winter started early last year, and it hung on until the bitter end, gusty winds thwarting most flying plans over the weekend. Even if we could handle the wind, it wasn’t worth the pain of fighting the wind chill. With spring’s arrival this week, things are supposed to warm up, although the March winds remain a problem.

Transient travelers coming through last week included a Cirrus SR22 Gen 2, a Beech Musketeer, a Cessna Skyhawk and a Piper Archer. Jason Bohnert flew down from Harrisonville in his Cessna Skylane. Locally, CFI Christian Tucker took a Cessna 150 to New Century, Jerry Burns exercised his gyrocopter and Jon Laughlin had his Piper Cherokee 180C out.

If you’re embolded to aviate this Saturday, there’s a free BBQ being offered all day at Springfield’s Downtown Airport (3DW). The long-established little airport, famous for the TV tower on the premises and crosswinds on its east-west runway, is under the new management of Fulltron Aviation and they are having a Grand Opening party. Slide in under the Class C airspace to check them out.

Coming up next week is the big Sun ‘N Fun fly-in at Lakeland, Florida, starting Tuesday the 28th and running through April 2nd. It’s always a warm-up destination for winter-weary pilots on the East Coast, kicking off the year’s fly-in season, kind of a half-scale Oshkosh show. Former Butler residents Dave and Deb Hopkins will welcome you for a visit if you go to the show. 

The Jack Brown Seaplane Base, located next door at Winter Haven, FL, took a tragic hit last week when one of its famous yellow Piper Cub floatplanes collided in flight with a Piper Cherokee over the lake. All aboard perished and the resident alligators guarded the debris. For over 50 years, pilots have come from all over the world to obtain their seaplane rating at Browns, usually uneventfully over a long weekend.

The weekly brain teaser in our previous column asked “which type of aircraft gets the most miles per gallon?” The answer we were fishing for was “a sailplane”, because the only fuel gliders use is that burned by the tow plane that pulls them up to get started. Updrafts power them for free in good soaring conditions. For next time, which U.S. airline makes much of its own jet fuel instead of buying it on the open market? Send your answers to kochhaus1@gmail.com.