The offender: pilot of a small Citation jet.

Hmmm. Must be a rash of Citation-itis. On Thursday I had a similar thing
happen, in Muscatine, IA .

The wind was calm, but had recently favored Rwy 24 -- so that's the runway
we chose. (I believe it's the calm-wind runway of choice in MUT as well.)

I had just finished my run-up, and had announced that I was taking the
runway for departure when a Citation pilot announced that HE was departing
on the reciprocal runway, Rwy 06! In fact, squinting into the sun I could
see that he was already sitting on the runway, facing me, way down at the
other end, over a mile away.

He had never said "boo" until that point, and his radio transmissions were
VERY weak. Dunno if he was having trouble with the radio, or whether he
simply hadn't announced, but there we sat on the runway, like opposing cars
in a demolition derby.

He then somewhat sheepishly asked if I would mind letting him go first, as
he had a clearance delivery time he had to meet. Not being in any
particular hurry, I rolled back onto the taxiway, but it was a very
unusual -- and potentially disastrous -- situation that ended well.

All I can say is: I'm glad *I* announced.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"