Watch Where You FlyAs.the Butler Airport lighting project continued at its plodding pace last week, a few passing-by airplanes were seen practicing the RNAV instrument approach procedures, which involves flying down the approach slope leading to the runway. Of course, the approach is abandoned at the minimum altitude, about 250 feet above the ground, but workers laying wire and digging in the line of fire were probably keeping a wary eye out.
With no activity here, Flight Instructor Delany Rindal had to shift her operations to Harrisonville, where the Cessna 150 flew 14 hours last week, despite from lost days due to wind. Resident instructor Jay McClintock flew some of his students in the Piper Tomahawk trainer. I put in some time in the right seat of Cessna 182s as well.
Of course, the season opening of the SkyDive KC parachuting drop zone has been delayed by the construction closure. Since there’s only about 52 days per year suitable for skydiving, this cuts deeply into any break-even the operation might make. It had been hoped that limited local flying could take place when workers wee off for the weekend, but that’s not been the case.
The Butler airport’s native prairie patch got a nice haircut a couple of weeks back, thanks to City brush-hog mowing. Situated at the north end of the airport property, the never-plowed grasses and flowers will benefit with reduction of the overgrowth from last year.
About 20 private airplanes have violated the no-fly airspace around President Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate in Palm Beach, FL since he took office, according to the North American Air Defense Command, which deploys Black Hawk helicopters and F-16 fighter jets to enforce the zone. His sometimes-erratic schedule means the NOTAM goes on and off, depending on when he’s in residence, so local flyers have to adjust to accommodate. Nobody got shot down, because evil intent was obviously not the case, just carelessness, but some pilots probably got shook up by jet wash when they were waved off by F-16s.
Never ones to waste an actual,, near or semi-tragedy, national news keeps focusing on Washington, DC’s Reagan National airport, where two airliners brushed wingtips on the ground last week. The crowded little field is prized by our dedicated public servants rushing home after a hard day on Capitol Hill, because it’s much handier than Dulles International. But old DCA has had its share of close calls between military and air carrier planes, including the commuter jet/helicopter collision earlier this year. The price of safety is eternal vigilance, when it comes to avoiding human error.
Once again, Rodney Rom did his research on last week’s quiz, correctly saying “fledermaus” was German for “flying mouse,” meaning a bat, the only mammal capable of sustained flight. For next week, our question will be “what was the origin of the name Skyhaven for the Warrensburg, MO airport? You can send your answers to kochhaus1@gmail.com.
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