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Again, it was an on-again, off-again flying week, with severe weather and low ceilings complicating activities. On Saturday, an up-slope condition prevented visual flight westward across Kansas, thanks to an easterly surface wind that pushed warm Gulf Air toward the Rockies. Because Kansas is a 400-mile-long table tilted toward the Mississippi valley, cloud bases will run into ground elevation as one flies to the west.
Some movements were observed at advantageous times; a Piper Cherokee and a Cirrus SR-22 came in, another Piper Saratoga stopped for fuel and business, and a Beech Bonanza V35 landed. From the local hangars, Jeremie Platt took his Grumman Tiger out, the Air Tractor sprayplane worked on farm fields, Randy Miller flew the club Skyhawk and the SkyDive KC Cessna Caravan took jumpers up on Saturday.
Newsworthy happenings included a report from the National Agricultural Aviation Assn that drone encounters by ag planes rose to one in five reporters last year, up from one in six in 2024 and nearly double the tally in 2023. Hitting an unmanned aerial object at 150 mph can be deadly, yet there’s a push by drone lobbyists to allow flying anywhere, anytime. Detection depends on fragile technology, which of course, never fails...(tic) fails...(tic) fails...
An FAA/DOT presentation in DC last week said that artificial intelligence will be relied upon to aid air traffic controllers in predicting potential traffic conflicts in the near future. That will work fine when everything flies on schedule, with no dynamic weather interruptions and everybody landing as planned. But when an airplane on approach has to make a go-around and re-enter the pattern for another try, as happened twice with airliners last week, AI’s carefully-crafted plan may not work. Pilots and controllers will always have to work out a solution on the fly, so to speak.
Cleveland, Ohio Mayor Justin Bib’s push to close historic 450-acre Burke Lakefront airport in favor or parks and marina use is still being debated. At a public hearing last week, opinions were split on whether abandoning a functional city asset, as Councilman Mike Polensek called Burke airport, is a good idea. If it’s not broke, why fix it?
The Air Force’s old A-10 Thunderbolt II tank-killer airplanes, a.k.a. the Warthog, are clinging stubbornly to life. The A-10’s will remain in service until 2030, according to an announcement a week ago last Monday. Nothing else can do the Warthog’s job as well, including going after Iran’s fast attack boats in Operation Epic Fury with its 30mm rotary cannon. Replacement programs, as they put it, “are continuing to mature,” meaning they ain’t ready yet.
Last week’s brain-teaser asked if there was ever a SIX-engine jet airplane produced. Yes, there was the Boeing B-47 Stratojet in the late 1940s, with two-plus-one engines hung under each wing. They were based at Whiteman AFB, where they practiced “toss bombing.” For next week, can you describe that technique? You can send your answer to kochhaus1@gmail.com.
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