Snow Day

Today I really wanted to find a new airport I suspect is in the area.  There must be one somewhere beside the highway and very close to the Deschutes river because an airplane, in landing configuration, flew right over me at an estimated altitude of 200 feet as I quietly motored along the road toward home yesterday.  His engine was not making a lot of noise and, with the flaps fully deflected , a touch down was certain within a half mile or so from where the Guzzler was guzzlin.   First thing I did upon arriving home was to look for my sectional charts.

I've flown this area before, so there just happened to be an old, out of date, dog eared chart stuffed inside my dusty flight bag.  It's the kind of thing that gets tossed out the window in case of an inflight emergency.  The FAA deducts SERIOUS Brownie points if they find an out of date chart in your bag while investigating anything out of the ordinary.  I believe "Toss old charts out the window" is the first or second item on the emergency check list.  Maybe I'm wrong - I'll have to check. 

The chart was unfolded in short order and there it was!  Right where I imagined it to be.  Beside the highway between Redmond and Sisters, just west of the river, was an airport located at 2920 feet above sea level with a 3000 foot long runway.  Next to the airport was a symbol noting that it is a private, not public, facility.  That means ya have to know somebody, or call somebody to use it.

I love finding new pilot places.  Even though there probably is not one soul I have met before at this airport, it's full of friends.  I'll be able to pull up a chair and spend the day swapping tales with the local hanger rats.  We'll look at airplanes, those capable of flight and those that are being rebuilt, discuss the relative merits of droop tips and wonder out loud about how they're ever gonna replace leaded Av gas.  Then reality sank in.  I can't spend the day doing that anymore.  There are more pressing issues around this household now.

Besides that, it was snowing again this morning, and there aren't all that many guys that leave the ground in small planes when that's happening.  I've been there, done that, and it won't happen again.  Little airplanes don't fly all that well with a couple thousand pounds of ice on the wings.  I learned that the same way I've learned most things in this life - the hard way.   So, instead  of parading around the tarmac, we took Muffy to visit his friend, Rodeo, in Sisters.  Oh yeah, Carolyn got to visit her sister and mom, and I got to visit with Richard at the same time.  A much better reason to convert gasoline into heat, motion and noise than most.

We worked on a new jig-saw puzzle I brought with us, ate dinner and had a great time.  Family is important to Carolyn and me these days, and I'm glad we made the move to be closer to hers.  The old song says "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."  It snowed today and that did not keep us from enjoying the day God gave us.


Authors note:  I have not flown since moving and ALL my charts are now out of date.  If, sometime in the future, I am able to resume spreading my wings, the dust will be removed from my flight bag and the charts will be replaced before the wheels lose contact with the ground.  Most pilots, myself included, are sticklers about current charts.  We have to be sticklers about most things.