Questions pondered at 6500 feet

ps; We missed IOW on the way to DEN. We'll have to catch you next time.

I was *wondering* if you were still coming?

Oh well -- swing by in the summer. It's prettier anyway...

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Here in Jackson Hole Wy I thought the same thing. We have several
majors that fly into here and on those 100 miles+ visibility days they
could fly a visual. So I asked some captains the same question. There
answer was all the same ... Their airlines require them not to pick us
a visual and stay in the "system" for safety reasons. Seems kinda silly
since we have a very competent tower here.

Brien - I think the big circle on Grosse Ile airport was for blimp
landing. Grosse Ile was a Navy reserve seaplane base in the '20's, but
changed to a Naval Air Station during WWII, protecting the tank plants
in Detroit. To facilitate its mission, it had a blimp hangar.

It was kind of cool when I was a kid, because the Goodyear blimp used
to land there and was hangared there while in the area to cover events
in Detroit like the Hudson's Department Store Thanksgiving Parade or
the Garwood Trophy hydroplane race. The blimp hangar was eventually
torn down. Here's a photo: http://nasgi.org/n17.htm.

The seaplane hangar burned down when I was a kid ('68 I think.) The
base closed in '69 and became a municipal airport.

Wiz


Brien K. Meehan wrote:
Jay Honeck wrote:
1. Airports were originally huge grass fields that allowed arrivals and
departures in any direction, on any heading. Are there any airports left
that provide 360 degrees of access?

I picked up a friend at Grosse Ile (ONZ) the other day. It's at the
southern end of an island (obviously?) where the Detroit River empties
into Lake Erie. Oh, here's a link:

http://www.grosseileairport.com/

That big circle in the middle is a PAVED 3000ft circular landing area.
It's also obvious that this airport was also a seaplane port.

No, it's no longer usable, but it's a cool bit of local history that
you can look at when you're in the pattern.

Yes, the circular area was used for blimp operations after the straight
runways were built and the circle was closed to airplane traffic.

wrote in message
oups.com...

Here in Jackson Hole Wy I thought the same thing. We have several
majors that fly into here and on those 100 miles+ visibility days they
could fly a visual. So I asked some captains the same question. There
answer was all the same ... Their airlines require them not to pick us
a visual and stay in the "system" for safety reasons. Seems kinda silly
since we have a very competent tower here.


What "system" is it that they leave by selecting a visual approach but
remain in if they select a SIAP?

("Dave Stadt" wrote)
Also Watertown, Reedsburg, Palmyria, Prairie du Chien, Lake Lawn, Grand
Geneva, American club at Sheboygan, Baraboo and several others.


At Prairie du Chien, Jay radioed the FBO to have the Casino (buffet) van
pick us up. Is there another restaurant near the airport?

Nice smooth air, beautiful day, a train below us, river frozen over, State
Park on the bluffs - all very scenic. Very, very, very scenic was one
pilot's estimation of the the area's beauty. g


Montblack

Jay Honeck wrote:

Since we haven't heard the airliner SAY they wanted an instrument
approach, how/why does the controller know to clear them for anything
other than the visual approach?

Use of an instrument approach simplifies establishing an arrival sequence.


So this choice is entirely up to the controller?

Seems like a giant pain for the flight crew, to have to keep all the various
approach plates, etc., at hand. (I'm assuming the commuter airlines we
usually hear don't have the sophisticated flight controllers on-board, with
all the pre-loaded approaches ready to be punched in at a moment's notice?)

The airlines have the plates for the airports that that particular type
of aircraft will fly into. For example we have Northwest fly here into
Billings. We get DC9's and Airbuses. NWA 747 pilots do not carry
approach plate for BIL. When the normal NWA flights show up they will
always fly the localizer and glide slope, they are required to if it is
available. Doesn't mean they fly the ILS it just means they must follow
those navaids.

"Stubby" wrote in message
. ..

I believe Lakehurst, NJ still has the circular field where the Hindenburg
disaster happened. I used to see it out the right side of scheduled
airliners on the way from DCA to BOS just before going over NYC.

The question I have about this installation is what are the converging
sets of lines around it. IIRC there are 3 sets of 4 lines pointing into
the center of the circle.


Are you referring to the large circular area to the west of the current
runways? I don't believe that's where the Hindenburg disaster happened.
That part of the installation was constructed well after the Hindenburg
disaster. The big dirigible hangar, the blimp mooring circles, and the old
runways were all located further east.

On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 05:32:41 -0500, Cub Driver usenet AT danford DOT
net wrote:

On Sun, 15 Jan 2006 21:03:05 -0600, Rachel wrote:

There are a few in southern Indiana, I think. I couldn't remember the
names to save my life, but I remember flying over one.

Do they have a windsock in the center?

I would hope the windsock is on the side or corner!

On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 14:32:21 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:

Have you been to the restaurants at Madison or Lone Rock? The food is
arguably better than Janesville. (Still a lot of greasy fried stuff)

Sure! We go to Lone Rock at least once a month.

I haven't been to Madison in over ten years. The restaurant was pretty lame
when I was there, last -- I take it they've improved?

They rebuilt the FBO a few years ago and added space for a restaurant.
It is better than most on-field restaurants.