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Fox Valley Flying ClubNewsletter, July 2002 |
Big Bomber at Big Foot Fly-in Breakfast
Story submitted by Kevin BertorelliWhen we crossed Rte 88 and the Fox River we turned north along Rte 31 to avoid Aurora's and DuPage's traffic area. Our ground speed was in the 50's to 60's where Donnie's was showing over 90mph due to his heading. He ended up landing at Big Foot while we were still 20 miles out. Coming into the airport we could hear lots of activity on the traffic frequency, 122.9. That's the challenge and the stressful part about these flyins. Planes of all types are approaching from everywhere and the trick is to not hit one, and land safely. Ken was in front of me when he announced his down wind. Between us was an old Beachcraft twin on crosswind and 5 T6's from Lima Lima in formation on cross wind, but further out and closer to me. They ended up flying in front of, and under me, so I quickly grasped the moment and announced I was turning downwind behind Ken. With the hazy conditions, and all of the traffic in the pattern or approaching, we were glad to have landed safely.
Ken and I were forced to park along the east/west runway were as Mick and Donnie stole their way to spots right up front on the north end. We luckily caught a tram ride and met Donnie and Mick in the chow line to their surprise. One little problem, we were at opposite ends. They quickly sat down with their food and taunted us while Ken and I struggled to join them. Not very nice!
The airport put on a great breakfast and a cool airshow too. There were several acrobatic planes and an awesome B25. I was particularly impressed with B25. While we were positioned behind a large hangar on the north end of runway 18 the B25 seemed to come out of nowhere and explode into a steep climb from about 20 feet AGL. On the next pass the pilot went to land but aborted when his mammoth warbird caught a strong cross wind and started drifting into planes parked on that side of the runway.
We decided to stop and gas up at Dacy on the way back. That's another neat airport. The operator was in his 70's and was real friendly. His dog kept us entertained while the operator took care of getting us fueled up. With all of that open space out there it feels like you're the only pilot at the airport, like you own the place. That's a good feeling and only airport like Dacy can provide.
After leaving Dacy it was kind of every man for himself. Donnie vectored to Cushing, Mike and I were headed to Clow, and Ken decided to head directly to his hangar at Pegasus. The whole time airborne we kept in contact via our radios. It's nice to know that everybody's safely on their way and where they're located. I think the round trip was about 140 miles. Excitement, challenges, a little stress, good food, and friends all helped make this flyin another great one.
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