Now that we’re into spring, it’s natural to expect some thunderstorms and showers, which may inconvenience aviators trying to get somewhere in their little airplane. “Time to spare, go by air” is the old adage, meaning we often have to sit around and wait on the weather to move out of the way.
When the skies cleared, many airplanes were seen making up for lost time. The Piper Twin Comanche, a Cessna Skyhawk and a 1956 Cessna 172 were in this week, along with a Piper Warrior and a Beech Bonanza. Tom Bowles was in from New Century in his Cessna Turbo Skylane RG, accompanied by a friend in a nice 1965 Cessna Skylane. Instructor Jay McClintock came down from Harrisonville in his Piper Tomahawk trainer.
From the local fleet, Jeremie Platt flew his Grumman Tiger, Jon Laughlin was up in his Piper Cherokee 180D, Brandt Hall took his Avid Flyer homebuilt out, and Jim Ferguson exercised his Cessna Skylane. Drake Cashman made a run to Columbia and Jeff City in a Cessna 150, as did Samantha Bruns on a trip to Pittsburg, KS.
This Saturday morning is the appointed time for the Fliars Club to meet, along about 7:30 a.m. on the Butler Airport ramp, in order to determine a suitable destination for eating breakfast. May the weather prognosticators favor us. The following Saturday morning, June 3rd, is the Turkey Mountain omelet feed at Shell Knob, MO.
A Miami-bound American Airlines passenger learned the hard way not to push and shove a flight attendant and disregard an order to sit down. He complained about not being able to get a vegetarian meal (I didn’t know meals were even a thing anymore) and demanded to see the Captain. Instead, he got preferred disembarking in Miami, after finally taking his seat, into the waiting arms of the police. Two months later, he’s pled guilty to a misdemeanor. Like I’ve said before, don’t argue with the cabin crew.
Russian airlines are asking crews not to write up maintenance faults after a flight, according to leaked reports. The reason being, that would require documented action to fix the problem, and due to the Western sanctions imposed over the Ukraine invasion, they can’t get parts. So, the Boeings and Airbuses fly unrepaired, hoping no one will notice. Good luck with that.
The question from last week wanted to know what kind of tires were used on the Wright Brothers’ first airplane. Actually, it didn’t have tires; it took off on a greased launching rail and landed on bare wood skids. Only in later years did the Wrights offer wheeled landing gear. For next week, tell us the horsepower rating of a Lycoming O-235 engine. You can send your answers to kochhaus1@gmail.com.
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