It was Friday and I had most of my work caught up so I blasted down to the hangar and rolled the MXL out for a flight. The wind was from the south at about 20mph. My strategy for “fun flights” in my ultralight when the wind is this stiff is to pick a crosswind destination. My favorite from Selby Airpark where I hangar is Alley Airfield in Douglas, Kansas.
Mulvane, Kansas from the north at about 1,000 feet AGL
Heading east as soon as I crossed the Arkansas River I saw a pleasant scene and snapped this shot. I wish the river would have been more pronounced as that was what mostly caught my eye but nonetheless all the colors and general layout was nice to see.
A couple of nice spreads
One thing I notice since I have been flying a lot on the southeast side of Wichita is the large amount of really nice homes with property around them. Although the one in the foreground is pretty nice I was mostly looking at the one in the middle of the shot with the lake and dock, etc. It looks like it was just built because the landscaping around the house is not completed yet.
A football game at Douglas, Kansas
As I approached Douglas, Kansas I saw a sight that set the tone for the flight. A High School football game was in progress so I whipped out my pocket cam and grabbed this shot. I really like the colors of the field and the track around it. Note at the upper left of the photo you can see Alley Field with the water tower marking it’s east side. I made a low pass and did not see anybody stirring so I just continued on to my next serendipitous destination. I flipped a mental coin and Cook Airfield came up the winner.
Sun rays penetrate a cloud layer over the plains
Before I got to Cook Field I was impressed by the scene above. When the clouds form a layer like this the contrast is striking. Some areas of the ground appear to actually be in the dark even though the sun is still at a fairly high angle. It was about 5pm.
Rose Hill, Kansas football stadium
On my way to Cook Field I saw another football game in progress at Rose Hill. You can see the field just to the right of the water tower in the picture above. I decided not to get a closer, better shot because Cook Field is a bit farther to the west (left in the photo) of Rose Hill.
A party in the country complete with custom cars
As I headed over to Cook Field I saw something in the distance that interested me more so I headed over there. Above you see what produced the attention grabbing multicolored hues. About 2 miles east of the break between Derby and Mulvane, Kansas I saw a party with a lot of custom cars in attendance. There was a stretch limousine at the house so maybe it was a wedding party. Anyway, people were waving so I did a tight 720 over them and then dived down above the empty field west of them (the upper left of the photo) and performed a near vertical pull-up for the finale. I think they liked it.
To the southwest of that position I saw some bright lights and figured I would complete the football trifecta.
The football field at Mulvane, Kansas
Sure enough it was another High School football game. This time Mulvane was the venue. One thing you can really tell from the air is how much these different small towns treasure their football. All of these fields were very attractive and had a newness about them along with their extensive lighting that spoke volumes about the budget they were consuming. People like football in these parts…
Three snakes on the plain
This is the corridor I pass through from east to west to get to and from Selby Field. Tonight I was impressed by the way the highway, the river and the train looked like three snakes bedding down for the night.
Another great time in the air drew to a close as the sun set.
Blue Skies & Tailwinds!
Brian FitzGerald
Brian,
The caption under the first photo should read “Mulvane ks from the north”
Chris
Dear Chris,
Good eyes! I fixed it.
Brian