fiebichpvSeptember 28, 2014, 8:27pm
KANSAS AIR TOUR 2014
The Start
Earlier this week I participated in a portion of the Kansas Air Tour 2014. I departed the Selby Aerodrome at 8:00 AM in my AirBike. It would be a cool 60 degree flight to the starting point in Wellington, KS, about 20 miles distant. Shortly after starting the engine and letting it warm up, I did jumping jacks to generate some heat in my body.
Thirty-three planes gathered at the starting point at Wellington, Kansas Airport for introductions, opening ceremonies, and speeches by sponsors. The entire event is sponsored by the Kansas Department of Transportation to promote interest in aviation and provide a venue for host communities to take advantage of the educational opportunities we presented. The tour stopped at nine airports.
At the starting point several elementary schools were on site to talk with pilots and learn about airplanes and the aviation industry. I did my usual thing of using my plane to offer a "ground school" to those children crowded around my AirBike. There is a wonderful connection evident on a child's face when they can move a control stick and actually see that control surface move! This provides great Kodak moments too!
Planes varied in configuration, I and the Navion were the only single-seaters, others were the "heavy iron" up to six seats. To mention a few, a variety of planes participated including Stearman biplanes, two Cessna 140s, a Piper Cub, a Champ, a Decathalon, Cessna Bird Dog, a Mooney, Navion, and several other fast planes.
First Leg
Our first stop was Hutchinson, Kansas where we were treated to lunch at the airport restaurant, then received a tour of the Cosmosphere. About mid-afternoon most planes departed for the next stop, Dodge City, Kansas, in the three day tour. I flew only the first half of this day's leg and returned to my own hangar. My flight time that day was 2.6 hours. I re-joined the group on the last flight leg Wednesday at Benton, Kansas Airport.
This link will take you to a couple of photos and a brief description of the event as reported by the Hutchinson Newspaper
http://www.hutchnews.com/news/.....d4-df49fa65235a.html
Don't those blue and yellow Stearman planes look cool! The 1940's Piper Cub flown by two women from Olatha, KS. And for the record, I actually flew faster than the Cub! I climbed to 4000 feet MSL and caught a tailwind which was greater than that at lower altitudes. I clipped along at 80 mph, while the Cub only did 65---whooooo---eeee!
The tandem seat biplanes carried a pilot and navigator, one team was a husband and wife I had seen on previous air tours. Nestled between two Stearmans on the ramp, my little plane seemd a mite out of place among the big ones. But the size of one's plane is in reverse proportion to the size of the fun they have. Gotta keep telling myself that!
In addition to the fun of anticipation and planning, we get to meet other pilots seen on previous air tours as well as meet new people. The lady at our airport restaurant lunch table is a writer for AOPA.
The Hutchinson Airport (HUT) is one of the few remaining in Kansas that has a control tower. That requires special communication equipment such as a radio and transponder to enter their airspace. I do not have such equipment. Instead a cell phone call to the tower prior to departing lets them know of my arrival time after making a request to enter. I then orbit over a designated area and wait for the tower to give me a green light from their signal gun (a-la-1930's). When the light shines, I land. A similar process is used when I take off. The FAA works with us little guys!
Last Leg
On the last leg of the tour, all the planes involved landed safely at Benton, Kansas airport Wednesday evening. Closing activities included soft drinks, beer, brats, burgers and lots of fixings. This was followed by some speeches, thank-you's and awarding of recognition plaques to those hosting and promoting the event. The last time such an event was held was 2008. It may be another six years before the next one.
All the participating planes were parked surrounding a private home located on the airport. The Cub was piloted by two women from Olathe, Kansas.
Of lthe thirty-three planes participating, not all (such as me) flew the entire 750 mile three-day route. Those with shorter range planes or other obligations participated where they could. The number of total air travelers was close to 75 as many planes had multiple seats.
Aviation Expo
Below are some photos of this flight event's activities which then transitioned in to the Aviation Expo held at the National Center for Aviation Training in Wichita on Thursday and Friday. The intent was to introduce high school students to the variety of occupations and personal opportunities available in aviation.
The Kansas Aviation Museum had a booth promoting its offerings. As an eye-catching activity, my effort centered around demonstrating and teaching students how to rib lace a fabric wing. I used a sample wing made for that purpose.
Additionally speakers presented a variety of topics related to Kansas aviation concerns. There was also a special guest speaker that was the epitome of what an aviation promoter should be. And of course wherever one finds good-looking airplanes, you will find pretty women.
Amelia Rose Earhart
Amelia Rose Earhart was just that person. In June of this year she and her co-pilot circumnavigated the world retracing Amelia Mary Earhart's shortened trip of 1937. They covered 24,000 miles, flew 100 hours and took about 10 days. Check out her website: http://www.ameliaearhartproject.com/about-amelia/ She is an amazing woman. Check out the story in Flying Magazine with this link: http://www.flyingmag.com/pilot.....p; (Sorry, I can't get all of this link to load onto the post, so do a search for "Flying Magazine Amelia Rose Earhart.)
Obviously she was a highlight speaker and caught the interesting eye of a lot of those H.S. guys and us older men too!
Not one to miss an opportunity, the selfie lets you see for yourself this most recent aviation personality; Amelia Rose Earhart.
All for now, hope you found this to be of some interest and educational value.
Paul
a.k.a. AirBike Ace
More photos on next entry
The Start
Earlier this week I participated in a portion of the Kansas Air Tour 2014. I departed the Selby Aerodrome at 8:00 AM in my AirBike. It would be a cool 60 degree flight to the starting point in Wellington, KS, about 20 miles distant. Shortly after starting the engine and letting it warm up, I did jumping jacks to generate some heat in my body.
Thirty-three planes gathered at the starting point at Wellington, Kansas Airport for introductions, opening ceremonies, and speeches by sponsors. The entire event is sponsored by the Kansas Department of Transportation to promote interest in aviation and provide a venue for host communities to take advantage of the educational opportunities we presented. The tour stopped at nine airports.
At the starting point several elementary schools were on site to talk with pilots and learn about airplanes and the aviation industry. I did my usual thing of using my plane to offer a "ground school" to those children crowded around my AirBike. There is a wonderful connection evident on a child's face when they can move a control stick and actually see that control surface move! This provides great Kodak moments too!
Planes varied in configuration, I and the Navion were the only single-seaters, others were the "heavy iron" up to six seats. To mention a few, a variety of planes participated including Stearman biplanes, two Cessna 140s, a Piper Cub, a Champ, a Decathalon, Cessna Bird Dog, a Mooney, Navion, and several other fast planes.
First Leg
Our first stop was Hutchinson, Kansas where we were treated to lunch at the airport restaurant, then received a tour of the Cosmosphere. About mid-afternoon most planes departed for the next stop, Dodge City, Kansas, in the three day tour. I flew only the first half of this day's leg and returned to my own hangar. My flight time that day was 2.6 hours. I re-joined the group on the last flight leg Wednesday at Benton, Kansas Airport.
This link will take you to a couple of photos and a brief description of the event as reported by the Hutchinson Newspaper
http://www.hutchnews.com/news/.....d4-df49fa65235a.html
Don't those blue and yellow Stearman planes look cool! The 1940's Piper Cub flown by two women from Olatha, KS. And for the record, I actually flew faster than the Cub! I climbed to 4000 feet MSL and caught a tailwind which was greater than that at lower altitudes. I clipped along at 80 mph, while the Cub only did 65---whooooo---eeee!
The tandem seat biplanes carried a pilot and navigator, one team was a husband and wife I had seen on previous air tours. Nestled between two Stearmans on the ramp, my little plane seemd a mite out of place among the big ones. But the size of one's plane is in reverse proportion to the size of the fun they have. Gotta keep telling myself that!
In addition to the fun of anticipation and planning, we get to meet other pilots seen on previous air tours as well as meet new people. The lady at our airport restaurant lunch table is a writer for AOPA.
The Hutchinson Airport (HUT) is one of the few remaining in Kansas that has a control tower. That requires special communication equipment such as a radio and transponder to enter their airspace. I do not have such equipment. Instead a cell phone call to the tower prior to departing lets them know of my arrival time after making a request to enter. I then orbit over a designated area and wait for the tower to give me a green light from their signal gun (a-la-1930's). When the light shines, I land. A similar process is used when I take off. The FAA works with us little guys!
Last Leg
On the last leg of the tour, all the planes involved landed safely at Benton, Kansas airport Wednesday evening. Closing activities included soft drinks, beer, brats, burgers and lots of fixings. This was followed by some speeches, thank-you's and awarding of recognition plaques to those hosting and promoting the event. The last time such an event was held was 2008. It may be another six years before the next one.
All the participating planes were parked surrounding a private home located on the airport. The Cub was piloted by two women from Olathe, Kansas.
Of lthe thirty-three planes participating, not all (such as me) flew the entire 750 mile three-day route. Those with shorter range planes or other obligations participated where they could. The number of total air travelers was close to 75 as many planes had multiple seats.
Aviation Expo
Below are some photos of this flight event's activities which then transitioned in to the Aviation Expo held at the National Center for Aviation Training in Wichita on Thursday and Friday. The intent was to introduce high school students to the variety of occupations and personal opportunities available in aviation.
The Kansas Aviation Museum had a booth promoting its offerings. As an eye-catching activity, my effort centered around demonstrating and teaching students how to rib lace a fabric wing. I used a sample wing made for that purpose.
Additionally speakers presented a variety of topics related to Kansas aviation concerns. There was also a special guest speaker that was the epitome of what an aviation promoter should be. And of course wherever one finds good-looking airplanes, you will find pretty women.
Amelia Rose Earhart
Amelia Rose Earhart was just that person. In June of this year she and her co-pilot circumnavigated the world retracing Amelia Mary Earhart's shortened trip of 1937. They covered 24,000 miles, flew 100 hours and took about 10 days. Check out her website: http://www.ameliaearhartproject.com/about-amelia/ She is an amazing woman. Check out the story in Flying Magazine with this link: http://www.flyingmag.com/pilot.....p; (Sorry, I can't get all of this link to load onto the post, so do a search for "Flying Magazine Amelia Rose Earhart.)
Obviously she was a highlight speaker and caught the interesting eye of a lot of those H.S. guys and us older men too!
Not one to miss an opportunity, the selfie lets you see for yourself this most recent aviation personality; Amelia Rose Earhart.
All for now, hope you found this to be of some interest and educational value.
Paul
a.k.a. AirBike Ace
More photos on next entry
