Once a month during the flying season the Beaumont Hotel and Restaurant has an “official” Fly-In Breakfast. You can go there any Saturday you want and do the same thing but on the official days more guys show up. Today was the official day and there was a pretty good turnout. I left a little after sunrise. Unusual for our area, the wind was out of the South East so I had a bit of a headwind – 10mph to be exact. Since I fly at 38 to 40 mph my ground speed was reduced 1/4. It took me about an hour and a half to get there but my big thing is being in the air. The stops are just icing on the cake.
Even though I had a slight headwind slowing me down, the great thing that morning was the cloud layer blocking the sun. This time of year the sun rises exactly on the heading to Beaumont from Selby Field.
Cook Airfield at 6am from 1,000 about 3 miles south
Next is Rose Hill just waking for the day.
Third in line on the way to Beaumont is the Butler County Airpark. I have shown Chuck Gantzer's Hangar House in previous Flight Blog entries. It is the large white roofed quonset hut type building in the middle of the shot.
This was a little past Butler Airpark at about 800' shooting South. What I am showing here is the gradual disappearance of the evidence of the huge Canada to Texas pipeline that was embedded through here last year.
The shot is kind of soft but I put it here to show something I think is pretty strange. There is an entire roof of a building laying on the ground over the foundation. I can't figure that one out. Are they going to raise it up on poles and then complete the walls? Or did it fall down?
I liked the pattern this guy made cutting hay.
I'm not sure what caused this but the phrase "dry gulch" from Western Movies came to mind.
When flying into the sun I get this really neat reflection off the spinning propeller blades. I tried twice to capture it to no avail but liked the shot anyway so I put it in.
After a pleasant flight across the Flint Hills I arrived at Beaumont. There is a taxiway from the grass landing field to the hotel/restaurant. You then park in front of the restaurant. From here you can see a number of planes have already arrived.
Closer
I parked way down at the end and grabbed this shot before heading in for breakfast. You can see the famous water tower in the background that the old steam engines used to use when they came through here in the old days.
How nice is that!
He's in Cessna territory but the Piper is a beauty.
A fine Aeronca from Andover, Kansas.
I can't remember what this is but it is not a RANS.
I think this one is a RANS.
This guy must have arrived really early because he was leaving already.
Another class act.
Terry and Lawrence Alley of the famous Alley Field in Douglass, Kansas surprised me and showed up. We sat at the counter and had a great time. Lawrence has some great stories about flying in the Korean War.
After a nice breakfast (unfortunately I can’t drink much coffee, though) we saddled up and headed back to our respective fields. I told the Alleys I might drop into their field if I was getting low on gas but I didn’t need to as the wind graciously moved around to the East and gave me a 5 to 10 mph kicker on the way home.
Here is the recipient of my "Excellent Farmstead of the Day" Award.
Fortunately the property East of Wichita in the Flint Hills has been getting plenty of rain. I took this because the scene needed seeing. It is beautiful.
I've shown this before but I still find it interesting. It is a graveyard nestled in a small forest with nothing else around. A guy was mowing the grass.
This is a log cabin with a nice green metal roof all by itself in the Flint Hills.
An interesting rock outcrop seen from about 200'.
Another one.
I hadn't seen this before. It is an older type suspension bridge. It looks like there is a restaurant or some type of business at the bend of the road there.
This is to verify that I bagged a train on this trip.
I liked the way they put up the earthen dam to make a lake for these homes. I wonder if they know they have now ceeded over that part of their property to the Feds under the demonic "Wetlands Act"...
Just as I was crossing K-15 South of Derby I spied these pretty new blue roofs at the sewage plant. Nice!
Once again, when you Surf The Skies, what for others might have been a mundane trip to merely eat breakfast was for me a joyful jaunt over a delightful wonderland punctuated by a fine time of fellowship over delightful cuisine.
Life is Good and Fun Flying Makes It Better!
Blue Skies & Tailwinds!
Brian FitzGerald
