BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 07 Oct 12 - 01:27 PM

In my area there are quite a few sights to see if you're a flyer although most of them aren't too spectacular if you're just driving by.

One small town a little east of Wichita used to have a grass strip, sort of a flat space on the top of the hill where the town sat, where a tradition was established that pilots should all land there, taxi down main street, park in front of the hotel and have lunch. Occasionally a group would plan an excursion with a half dozen (small) planes all arriving together. The tradition was quashed when "the town" decided they had grown too much and blocked the road off. (I think the leap in population was from the former 9 citizens to perhaps 11 or 12.)

For several decades, local pilots have also been known to fly visitors 30 or 40 miles north to "prove how civilized we are" by showing the town with two water towers, one labeled "HOT" and the other "COLD" - supposedly originally labeled by local kids as a Halloween prank, but the citizens liked it so they kept them that way. My own observation on this custom was that another 30 miles north and they could show the visitors the buffalo and elk herds at the Maxwell game preserve to show them that we also remembered some of our traditions; but I don't think many took the hint.

A small (grass again) air strip on the southwest side of Wichita achieved a widespread reputation after an unknown pilot apparently encountered a cow on the runway. Within a few months, since no one removed the cow, locals began referring to the strip as "Dead Cow International" and the name stuck to the extent that some flight charts showed it as the official name of the strip for several decades.

In the late 40s and well into the 50s, the "official" reports were that there were 10 or 11 (depending on which official reported) airfields within one ten mile radius, roughly centered on the Beech field here. The count omitted the few farmers that mowed a strip in the pasture when they wanted to go somewhere, and hoped they'd get back before the grass got too tall to land; but so far as I was aware there were only a handful of those "impromptu" strips at any given time.

The smaller fields have mostly been abandoned or turned into other uses, but nearby towns have created their own fields that are out from under the commercial traffic and much better suited to small planes. A "private" field named as Jabara Airport after a local military fellow has a very nice strip very close to a mile long. (The old Beech strip was less than a half mile.) Augusta, about 30 miles east has a very nice "port" and a helicopter rental service. Wellington, about 50 miles south has a good airport and for a small town has a whole bunch of airplane associated manufacturers/sellers. Both Hutchinson and Newton (around 30 - 50 miles?) have pretty good airports with low enough traffic for casual/recreational fliers.

Salina - a former AF Base about 70 miles north, has at least one strip close to 2 miles long (2 ft thick concrete) if any of ya wanna visit us in your C5 or Superguppy. (For some, 70 miles might seem like a long way, but it's 2 trips to the grocery store for lots of us here, or one trip for some.)

John

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Rob Naylor
Date: 07 Oct 12 - 12:18 PM

Frogprince:

In about 1981 my wife and I were doing a tour of Scotland, mainly camping up the west coast. I took her up her first "Munro"...Ben More on Mull. The highlight of the day was standind just down from the summit of Ben More and seeing a Vulcan fly gracefully by, several hundred feet below us. Awesome!

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: frogprince
Date: 07 Oct 12 - 11:55 AM

As long as gnu drifted from airships to ship-ships: Who else has been in a dry dock with a Polaris class nuclear submarine? That, too, was an impressive sight.

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 06 Oct 12 - 05:53 PM

lol! Join the club!

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: gnu
Date: 06 Oct 12 - 05:16 PM

Saw a C5 up close once... makes ya feel small, eh?

Minds me of something a bit similar. Saw The MV Joeseph and Clara Smallwood (bulbous bow ice breaker class ferry) in dry dock. A bunch of us were standing at the front and one lad pipes up, "So, this is the last thing a seal sees, eh?"

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 06 Oct 12 - 04:06 PM

One of the most impressive of sights around an airport is seeing the landing approach of one of the VLAs (VERY LARGE Airplanes).

When you're accustomed to watching "little" things like B52s, KC135s, and F105s going in and out regularly, the landing approach of a C5A coming in at around 135 kt looks like it's "hovering" - or moving at "blimp speed" at best - and on a normal landing approach a C5 makes less noise (at ground level) than the Goodyear "Blimp" hovering over the stadium.

John

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Penny S.
Date: 06 Oct 12 - 03:32 PM

I once looked out of my window three floors up and on the side of a hill to see that Lanc flying past up the valley almost level with me. I wa son the phone to the son of a Bomber Command pilot at the time!

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Rumncoke
Date: 06 Oct 12 - 03:19 PM

I remember some years back being laughed at for calling to my offspring and pointing at some aircraft going over - the group of teenagers thought it was hilarious.

Once the planes were out of sight I walked over and told them that they had just missed seeing the last Lancaster bomber still flying being escorted by a Spitfire and a Hurricane.

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 05 Oct 12 - 09:48 PM

Being raised and working for many years in Wichita where we have a fine commercial airport and a USAF military one, with half a dozen smaller ones pretty much within sight of each other, watching airplanes land and/or take off got to be a little less exciting.

I will admit that on a test flight in a Beech Turbo Baron (a small twin) being buzzed by the pilot's "buddies" in four "thuds" on afterburner at around 3 kft on climbout was a ... ? ... "thrill?."

And on a recent drive we passed a small airport "down south" while a little ole' ragwing was doin' touch and goes that gave Lin a bit of a moment, and elicited more "technical comment" and critique than I expected. (She can get vicious talking about someone else's flying skills.) It probably had something to do with her having owned her own tail-dragger (a Chief) for a while, that had trouble getting over the little hills to get in and out of Seattle if you didn't wind the rubber band real tight.

In my case, I guess "Familiarity breeds contempt" like they say, although sometimes I think really knowing a little too much breeds something more akin to fear. We do agree that all pilots, as a general class, have to be a little crazy - although in some cases it's not a really bad sort of strange.

John

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: frogprince
Date: 05 Oct 12 - 10:43 AM

Vulcan

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 05 Oct 12 - 07:44 AM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Vulcan

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: gnu
Date: 05 Oct 12 - 07:41 AM

Working construction at Atlanic Canada airports for six years I saw many types of aircraft up close and personal and two experiences are far above all others. Both in Goose Bay, Labrador on one job. We were doing routine checks on the landing aids on the sides and approaches of runways while squadrons of jump jets were taking off (4 at a time) and landing. Vibrate your entire body. During one break, my boss took me up a hill until we reached a fence signed "Armed patrols beyond this point". He said I was gonna love it and he was right as we watched Vulcans touch-and-go, come almost at us and turn very close to us for another T&G. Awesome piece a gear! I was amazed at how slow they were flying and how big they are.

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 05 Oct 12 - 05:14 AM

De Havilland Dragon Rapide

Cool.

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Rusty Dobro
Date: 05 Oct 12 - 05:00 AM

Several times I went to a school camp close to Ramsgate Airport. The De Havilland Dragon Rapides would come over at chimney height. Ten or so years later, I treated myself to a flight in a Rapide from Biggin Hill, for my 21st birthday. Real 'planes.

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Ebbie
Date: 04 Oct 12 - 03:16 PM

lol All's well... etc. lol

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Megan L
Date: 04 Oct 12 - 02:05 PM

Sinusull your post reminded me of an incident when i was a traffic warden back in Glasgow. My cousin had got a job teaching at a small school on one of the western isles and she and the other teacher thought it would beeducational to bring all the children (all 11 of them) to see the big city.

I got a call from hq asking me to go to Buchanan Street at St Vincent Street. Now that was a fair distance from my designated beat but I toddled of and found a male warden trying desperately to console two distraught women one of whom was my cousin.

At last the story came out they had managed to misslay all 11 little darlings. One radio message and a quick conversation with a senior warden later the call went out. (All wardens not on points pleasespread out from Buchanan Street and find lost island children.)

He HE 2 were found round eyed watching double decker buses 4 had found their way into the House of Fraser and were absolutely mesmerised by the victorian staircase and large open central well going right up through the building. 3 were captured going up and down the escalator in John Lewis and the final 2 had somehow made it to George Square before bursting into tears.

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Ebbie
Date: 04 Oct 12 - 12:36 PM

"It should be really fun I will take some pics" olddude :)

I agree with your resisting taking pictures, Dan. I believe they would have felt it as some kind of betrayal of friendship. Good on ya.

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: bobad
Date: 04 Oct 12 - 09:41 AM

Cool video of an airplane landing into the setting sun at LAX : http://www.flixxy.com/twilight-landing-los-angeles-airport-cockpit-view.htm

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: olddude
Date: 04 Oct 12 - 09:22 AM

I can't Ebbie, it would upset them. They are very simple and shy people so I figured I better not. It would hurt their feelings. One thing that was cool. The little guy was writing down the carriers and the tail numbers of the jets in his book. I asked him why and he said so when they fly over I can see them with my telescope and see if it was one of the airplanes I watched take off.

so cool

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Ebbie
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 11:13 PM

How about them piccies, olddude?

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: GUEST,olddude
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 08:00 PM

I found out my watchmaker is something special for sure. I always knew that but We went into the highest class most expensive Jeweler in Buffalo. He asked to see the owner and when the guy came out he introduced himself. The guy was thrilled told him he is a watch legend around the city. The guy took him back showed him his custom pieces and I bet they spent an hour talking about watches. He told him he couldn't wait to tell the other jewelers that he met him. That was really cool I know he is very humble amish guy but that had to make him feel good

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Bobert
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 08:00 PM

Reminds me of my poor brother, Ol'ster... He was out in the bay on his boat-shaped-object when a major storm hit and it was getting dark and he saw what he thought was a marina... Problem is that it was a Coast Guard station... Well, he knows how to make friends... They all a very beers that night swapped stories and all was well...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: GUEST,olddude
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 07:46 PM

so I was creeping around one of the buildings right next to the fence at the buffalo airport and the officer came out with an administrator. I told him we were just wondering what the building was used for, was it ground radar. He looks at us, smiles and says I will do one better come inside. It was a weather station. I though the little guys eyes were going to pop out and his dad. Ya know you meet all kinds of nice people. Once they know you are not a creep they will be glad to show you stuff and answer questions.
Like I said many time on mudcat. It is easy to make enemies, much harder to make friends but much more rewarding. Now that officer and admin guy could have told us to get in the car and take off. Nope just the opposite

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Rapparee
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 07:32 PM

Indeed it is. The Amish (as Ebbie knows) have an incredible sense of humor and love of life.

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: GUEST,olddude
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 07:25 PM

OMG we had fun, we went all the way up to Niagara Falls. Watched airplanes had a helicopter land 20 yards away on the heliport. Got thrown out of the air force base. I tried to get them in to see the C140's but they made me leave. We had a riot. Laughed all the way. I am beat just got back. Was on the road since 8 this morning

The little guy was in heaven. I took them to any store they wanted to stop at and bought them dinner ... we laughed fun day

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Bobert
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 07:06 PM

For people in the DC area there's a spit of land across from the end of one of the runways that has a parking lot that holds maybe 20 cars... The only thing separating that spit of land is about 75 feet of water... On any given night there are a dozen or so cars that park there and folks set up folding chairs and just enjoy the planes taking off and landing... On a good night when the wind blows up the Potomac River they bring the planes in from the west... That means they are landing over you and at that point they are less than 100 feet above you... Real cool... Kinda hairy for the pilots because it means that their approach has them lining up some 50 miles west and snaking down the Potomac to cut down on noise below...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: SINSULL
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 06:29 PM

When I was a childe, we had friends who had a boat called The Lindy. We would all pile in and go ver to Idlewild (now Kennedy) and set up camp on the beach next to a runway pier. We were less than 15 feet from the planes as they took off. And the looks on the passengers' faces when they saw us there was hilarious. Bet you can't get near the spot now.

It was also where we find HUGE horseshoe crab shells. Several feet across. I wish we had kept one.
SINS

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 05:37 PM

How close are you going to be to the planes, old dude? Your Amish friends may not be used to the noise level, and perhaps you should have some hearing protection to offer.

I always wear hearing protection (the soft Mack brand) when I ride in a plane.

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Bobert
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 01:29 PM

Across the road from where I went to elementary school was Graham Road Airport... It had a dirt runway and about 20 planes tied down... It also had an "aviators club" (wink, wink... i.e. beer joint)... Well, for two of my years I was in classrooms that faced the airport and you could hear the planes as they were landing or takin' off so, of course, what was I gonna do but...

...like the rest of the kids, look out the classroom windows and watch the planes...

About once every couple months my dad would take me over to the airport and we'd walk into the "aviators club" where a bunch of retired (or not) WW II pilots would hang out, drink beer, tell lies and have them a fine time... Most of them had planes there and my dad would look around and find one who wasn't all that drunk and ask him to take me up for a couple bucks... I loved those early experience 'cause all these guys loved to show off their stuff and most of them would let me fly the plane a little...

Man, thems were some good times...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 01:11 PM

We are a couple of miles from ILM (Wilmington (NC) International Airport). We are on the usual approach route. Lots to see from out front porch. Commuter jets, corporate jets, some mid size airliners, oh yeah and Air Force One 747's practice landings every few years and Ospreys, F18's, Harriers and Marine helicopters from local Marine Air bases. Sometimes we see them leaving, but mostly landing.

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Ebbie
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 12:44 PM

As an Amish kid at the age of 13 a car ride was still a treat to me.

To this day I love to watch airplanes- the fact that a plane can go from a standstill to airborne in 20 seconds is still an amazement to me. I don't know why rockets should be surprising.

If I had come to Alaska earlier than I did, today I would probably not own an airplane but I would definitely have a pilot's license.

I don't remember if/when an airplane was particularly fascinating to me early on, but in the '40s airliners overhead were still enough of a novelty that we ran outside to see them.

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: EBarnacle
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 12:22 PM

One of the nice features of Jamaica Bay in NYC is that it is under the takeoff and landing routes for JFK airport. the Concorde [aka Dinosaur/Thunder Lizard] used to fly directly overhead both ways and I grieved its last flight when it was landed to be brought to the Intrepid Sea Air and Space museum. The sound was distinctive. It looked great, toos, but was really small by today's standards.

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Rapparee
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 11:25 AM

I'd go by commercial airline too!

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Bobert
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 11:01 AM

Well, no Amish or even all that related...

In the 2nd half of my working life I owned and managed an independent car rental company (among other things)...

One day I get a call from France, as in Europe... This guy wants to rent a car and tells me that he needs to be picked up at the local air strip on such a such day and time... That's about it...

So I show up at the appointed time and in comes an ald Moonie and this 75ish old guy gets out of it and so I'm driving him back to my office and and he tells me that he had flown that Moonie from France... NO shit!!!

Yup, had to stop in Greenland for fuel but he pulled it off... His plan was to fly it to the West Coast and have it updated with a new and more powerful engine and then fly it home... His wfie, BTW, came in commerical...

True story...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Bettynh
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 10:46 AM

There's a smallish airport (can and often do land corporate jets there) about a mile away from here. The end of the runway has a parking lot that often sports a hotdog stand and usually has at least a half-dozen cars parked there. We have a small aviation oriented college which makes some sense, since the FAA has a center here. A F18 landed (and took off with full afterburner) a few years ago. A local tycoon has a pretty red biplane. Lots to watch.

The thing is, they give flying lessons there too. One of the things you have to learn when taking lessons is what to do when the engine quits. Having small planes overhead quickly becomes routine, but every time one of them goes suddenly quiet it sends a cold chill up my spine.

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Rapparee
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 10:02 AM

Around two a.m. on a summer morning watch a barge lock through a dam on the Mississippi (the Upper River, of course -- the good part of The River).

Or stand on a dock and watch the mists rise off the water in light of a full Autumn moon like the wraiths of the drowned coming back to accuse the living.

Or see the snow-covered ice -- too thin to hold your weight -- turn to crystal silver in the moonlight of January as flakes of snow from an approaching storm whirl and dance around you in the night.

Or look, really look, at a mother duck taking her ducklings for their first swim on a Spring morning when the first wild violets are starting to bloom.

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: SINSULL
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 09:02 AM

Years ago I came to know a Russian family whose sister was emigrating to the US. When they arrived I took her and her son to a supermarket and a shopping mall. Just like Disneyland to them. I can still see the frustrated fitter at Macy's trying to convince Sasha (14) that he needed a larger size in slacks. He wanted them skin tight and got them.

Nice, Dude.

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Musket
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 05:01 AM

I've been spending the weekend in an area of The UK where they still point at aeroplanes...

I note that they keep up to date on the price of beer though.

(Will, we used to try similar tricks with underground locos, which to be fair were much smaller, lighter and easier to stop / start, being either electric or diesel. Peanuts in shell were seen as being a neat trick, as were hard boiled eggs. But like I say, not as impressive as your steam loco!)

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: nickp
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 04:48 AM

Wonderful, Will. I'm really jealous.

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Will Fly
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 02:26 AM

Airports, schmairports. Now when I was little lad, my great-grandfather (retired locomotive driver) and his son, my grandfather (locomotive works fitter) took me round the Horwich locomotive works - this would be about 1950 or so - to see the steam trains being made. A day I'll never forget - huge wheels being lowered, noise, steam, hammering.

The highlight was standing on the footplate of a shunting loco in the works yard, while my great-grandfather drove the engine slowly towards the buffers. When nearly there, my grandfather put a walnut between the track buffers and the train buffers - and my g-gfather cracked the shell without damaging the nut.

I never saw it before - and I'll never see it again...

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 02:12 AM

A fun, cheap date in high school was to go to the frontage road at the head of the landing strip in the evening.

We parked and spread a blanket over over the hood and windshield to lay on. The planes gave noise and an awsome sense of power and beauty as dusk faded to night.

It was a nice way to get to know someone. Lots of time to talk. The point of view gave it excitement.

You are a good friend. Try the landing approach area and finish with the terminal.

Gargoyle

another cheap date was to go to hotels (three were enough for one night) and ask to see "the honeymoon suite - which they would escort us through. Cripes I could give a dozen more...including parking in the cemetery, playing music in a buffalo pasture, going to random funerals, passing out two dollar bills.

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: gnu
Date: 02 Oct 12 - 09:33 PM

I worked construction at airports for a lot of years. Plane landings meant we had to clear and wait until takeoff so we would go into the terminal to look at good pussy. Seriously, some top notch lookin women on them planes.

Yeah, I know... but I like girl watchin (if anyone is affronted by me callin that pussy watchin.... fill in the blank). Ah, well, I did when it meant somethin.

Now, ain't that 180 degrees drift?

Sorry, Dan.

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: ranger1
Date: 02 Oct 12 - 08:56 PM

When my brother and I were little, our dad used to get a buddy of his to take us for a plane ride on our birthdays. Usually was the best present of the year.

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Rapparee
Date: 02 Oct 12 - 06:25 PM

The Amish don't use "thee" and "thou", or at least the ones I worked with for 28+ years never did. They'd say things about you in Plattdeutsch, however.

They're good people, mostly -- like the rest of us.

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: GUEST,999
Date: 02 Oct 12 - 06:21 PM

My grandfather took me to the airport a few times when I was not yet five or six. It was a blast. I got to see the cockpit of a BOAC four-prop plane. Quite a thrill. Would have been in 1952-4. Those kids will be thinking of that for a long time, Dan.

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Bobert
Date: 02 Oct 12 - 05:39 PM

Hey, no matter... Watchin' planes land and take off is cool... Actually, take off suck but landings, especially if you've ever done 'um, is still an art to be graded... When you fly into an air show you want to grease the skids 'cause you know every pilot is going to look over at the touch down to see how smooth you are...

Me??? I like unit pricing... I go for a small bounce 'er two but been known to grease the skids on rare occasions... lol...

BTW, I was just talking with my brother and he was tellin' me that a guy ground looped his Cesna "tail dragger" at the Kitty Hawk Airport just this week... I don't know why people convert Cesnas into tail draggers???

As for ground loopin' tail draggers... Did that when I was 16... Broke a perfectly crappy Cub in half but, hey, any landing you walk away from is a good 'un, right???

Hope the Amish enjoy themselves... Get 'um to go up some time... They'll prolly become Lutherans, 'er somethin'... lol...

B;~)

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Mrrzy
Date: 02 Oct 12 - 05:03 PM

We used to go to watch the planes, but now you aren't allowed through security to where you used to be able to watch the people come off the planes...

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 02 Oct 12 - 05:01 PM

In the circustances I'd say an airport would be much more exciting than Disneyland.

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: Dead Horse
Date: 02 Oct 12 - 04:52 PM

Who pinched my cookie, eh?

Subject: RE: BS: Taking the Amish to the Airport
From: GUEST,DeadHorse sans biscuit thingy
Date: 02 Oct 12 - 04:50 PM

I trust they will repay thee for thy kindness by providing hay for thy mode of transport :-)