Longest Day of the Year Flight

Each year we try to fly on the Longest Day of the Year, soaking up the
long-awaited June sunshine and warmth here in Iowa. After all those
cold months with it dark at 4:30 PM, to hang motionless in a sunny sky
at 9 PM is just heaven!

Also, several times each summer we load up a picnic and fly into an
airport that we would not normally visit, due to their lack of
courtesy car or things to do nearby.

Tonight we combined the two, and took a nice, long flight to Charles
City, IA (KCCY), located an hour north of Iowa City. Mary packed a
gigantic picnic basket full of fresh loaves of bread, meats, cheeses,
condiments, chips and dessert, and we simply landed, found some shade,
spread out our blanket, opened the coolers, and started to feast!

Our goal has been to land at every airport in Iowa, and Charles City
was (by Mary's count) our 53rd (of 117). It has taken us ten years to
achieve that number, so we've got a LONG ways to go.

But what a beautiful flight. Light winds, crystal clear, sunny skies
-- and the earth bathed in intense, new-growth greens. Joe, our 16-
year-old son, is slated to start flight lessons in earnest soon, so he
flew co-pilot with me on both legs -- a total of 2 hours experience.

He did great, getting us all the way down to about 30 feet off the
runway before letting me take control -- he's a natural flyer, after
so many hours in the air, and I suspect he'll just zip through flight
training without too much trouble.

Charles City has a very nice airport, much to our surprise, although
we only saw one plane arrive during our two hours there. It was a
beautiful Piper Dakota, being flown by that rarest of pilots -- an
African-American man, in rural Iowa, no less.

We chatted at length, and helped him push the Dakota into his hangar.
His accent indicated African or perhaps Carribbean descent, but we
never got 'round to discussing that -- we were too busy comparing the
Pathfinder to the Dakota! :-)

All in all, a most satisfying day. We converted 28 gallons of gasoline
into an evening of joy for our family -- not a bad way to **** away
$88. AND we got to see a part of Iowa we'd never visited before.

(And yes, I know TOMORROW is the longest day of the year -- but only
by a few seconds. The weather is supposed to go downhill, so we
figured we'd better fly tonight!)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Each year we try to fly on the Longest Day of the Year, soaking up the
long-awaited June sunshine and warmth here in Iowa. After all those
cold months with it dark at 4:30 PM, to hang motionless in a sunny sky
at 9 PM is just heaven!

I didn't realize it then, but I picked the longest day of the year to
get night current. Ok, off by a day or two, but close enough.

Jose
--
You can choose whom to befriend, but you cannot choose whom to love.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

Here's a nit that needs picking. Aren't the longest days those ones
where we have a leap second added to the 24 hours so clocks are more
nearly in keeping with the earth's rotation?

Oh, this is that Clinton thing ("depends on what you mean by 'is',
that's what led him to be disbarred, one of a handful of lawyers to
earn that honor, Niifong joining that group).

Nice idea, visiting each airport in the state. It looks like, speaking
of meanings, your goal is to stop and really visit, not just to a
touch and go. I don't think our logging a fuel stop in Souix City SD
means we really visited that state.

Mary packed a
gigantic picnic basket full of fresh loaves of bread, meats, cheeses,
condiments,

I keep telling you two that if Jay would only get the snippit operation you
wouldn't have to be USING condiments at your age.


(And yes, I know TOMORROW is the longest day of the year -- but only
by a few seconds. The weather is supposed to go downhill, so we
figured we'd better fly tonight!)

Then, as I'm sure Mary will agree, take advantage of the fact that it is
also the shortest NIGHT of the year. But don't forget to use condiments.


Jim