First Fly-In of the Season
Cribbed by
Brian Gilomen from several emails;
Post-Trip
Write-Up by AirBoss Paul Syverson;
Photos by Media-Maven Kevin
Bertorelli
Some would cynically comment that Paul simply didn't step back fast enough at
the May FVFC meeting, thereby getting stuck with the newly-created job of
"Fly-In AirBoss." But, after he stopped squirming in his chair
and rolling his eyes, Paul definitely got the ball rolling; you've got to give
him that.
Early in our departure week, Paul was emailing newsy bits to all potential
pilots. One example:
According to some dubious weather predictions, the Mt Morris fly-in could be on for us ultralighters. What I've seen is a partly cloudy day with 5 mph winds from the east....what a tease. Currently no tornadoes are in the forecast. As Mr. Wolf coined, "We should have an "Air Boss". Whatever that is, I guess I scratched my head at the wrong time and was selected. I suppose we can meet in the air as we have done with other fly-ins. Us slower guys can leave a bit earlier so you faster guys don't have to wait for us too long. The one thing that a few of us suggested at the meeting was to meet at an airport close to Ogle Co. Apt. and fly in as a group. Brad mentioned that Rochelle was a nice little place with gas. (although I don't think any of us will need any). Rich Wild also mentioned that we were welcome to fly into his field. (If you crash, he doesn't know you)
The breakfast is from 7-12. B-fast is $6.00. I would like to leave early at about 6 or so but that's just me. Kevin B. might want to leave earlier, early bird that he is.
Ogle County Airport (C55) formerly Barnett Memorial Apt. is approximately 47 miles from Cushing and 60 from Clow. If we stop at Rochelle (KRPJ) we'll have another 16 miles to our destination. I'm not sure where Rich's place is. Radio communications for Ogle is 122.9. I called the organizer and he seemed excited that we were thinking about coming. Ok, now that I've thrown all these random thoughts out there, what do you think about: starting time, rallying point, etc. Who is going?
We went, we ate, we conquered. Barely hours after we had returned, Paul -- unsolicited -- submitted his write-up of the day's activities (a new world's record and hopefully a lesson for ALL OF YOU regarding how YOU can help this Newsletter!):
Another successful fly-in. We went to the Mt. Morris (Ogle County Airport) B-fast fly-in today and it was bunches of fun as usual. In addition to the "usual suspects" we had three guys that did their first cross-country trip. Roger Kellog, John Matula and Barry Ward all seemed to enjoy the freedom of going to places other than the Cushing area. All made it back with smiles, safely, and with no incident. John Matula who was "hanging" with me commented on the hairy crosswind and turbulent conditions at Rochelle after landing. It was just a little weird after a beautiful, non-turbulent flight all the way there. Eleven of us arrived at Rochelle almost at the same time, about 8:15 or so, meeting with the Clow guys. El-presidante Mills needed some fuel so we waited for the "gas guy". During the wait Kevin B. climbed upon a flimsy garbage can for a picture (I have yet to develop that pic) and we waited with a smirk on our faces for the can to collapse. What a bunch of smart-asses. I left first having the fastest plane hoping to clear the way for the rest of the boys. Sorry, no girls on this trip. We have to fix that... Shortly after, the group took off from Rochelle and closed in on me fast. The landing at Ogle County was a breeze, the turbulence that we experienced at Rochelle had seemed to disappear. Many watched us as we approached and landed. It turns out that for the most part, we were the only ultralight aircraft at the fly-in. After a pretty nice breakfast we milled about and looked at our dream planes. We watched some nice demonstrations of some military aircraft with rotary engines and just enjoyed being around what we love. Ned Rolston and John O'Neal met us there, increasing our strength to 13 fliers. We took off in different waves and at different times but one thing we did was check out the windmill farm on Rt. 39. WOW. If you haven't seen that it's a must. I think I heard that there are 70 of those things running 2 or 3 miles along Rt. 39. It is something that you can easily see 15 miles away. Up close they are awesome. That's when my camera decided to crap out. I started to think of how pissed my wife would be if I threw it overboard in disgust. I stuffed it in my pocket.
Anyway, it was a nice trip. Congrats to the guys who made their first cross-country trip, they all had "the right stuff." I hope they enjoyed themselves in spite of the adrenaline. Those that planned on or hoped to attend were missed but the season is early and I'm sure we'll make up for time lost.
What a pleasure it was to fly with you all,
Paul Syverson
Air Boss
Ogle County Airport Fly-In, May 2004
Fly-In #1
Where To Now?
The End of an Era: Karl Finishes his Hangar!
Update on the Purchase of Clow by Bolingbrook