Light winds, sunny skies, warm temperatures, the smell of freshly mown grass
and moist earth. God almighty, there is no better place on earth than Iowa
in spring!

Today Mary and I made our first pilgrimage of the year to Amana's little
grass strip, located a whopping 18 miles (or so) from Iowa City.

Chuckle if you must, but flying into Amana (the biggest of the "Amana
Colonies") is a wonderful way to spend a day. The strip is located within
easy walking distance of outstanding restaurants, a microbrewery, a woolen
mill that's been in continuous operation since 1859, a clock shop, a real,
working blacksmith, and a zillion other old world shops that make the place
unique.

Mary took the outbound leg, which meant she was first to deal with that
little grass strip. Her pattern was large and patient -- always a good
approach to a really short field, IMHO -- but her final approach was a bit
steep and fast. To compensate she blew the third notch of flaps, ended up a
tad slow, and we "arrived" in a picture-perfect (if firm) short-short field
approach. If she had buried the brakes, we could've been stopped in less
than 500 feet.

Lunch at the "Ox Yoke Inn" was outstanding, followed by a leisurely stroll
around town. Being mid-day on a Thursday, the crowds were small, and the
shops were much more accessible than on a weekend. We bought a few items
(hand-made chocolates for the kids) and watched in wonder as the giant
Sulzer looms clanked and shuttled in the woolen mill, weaving beautiful
patterns into gigantic blankets before our very eyes.

Then, it was my turn to fly. We meandered our way back to the airport, fat
and sleepy from the big meal and warm sun. The smell of the grass runway,
the routine of the pre-flight, and that wonderful "airplane smell" that
Atlas always has when baking in the sun brought me back to my senses, and we
trundled back down the runway, preparing for takeoff.

Short field. Soft field. Oh, yeah -- I remember how to do this! (Just had
my biennial yesterday, so it's fresh, again...) Facing away from our
direction of flight, I bring Atlas up to about 2000 RPM, rolling the wrong
way before kicking him around to face down the runway. By then, I'm already
rolling at 25 mph, and have effectively lengthened my available runway by a
few hundred feet -- always a good thing when there are big trees and a pond
at the other end!

Rumbling down the runway, yoke back in my lap, the nosewheel comes up almost
instantly, cutting the noise by a third, and we're doing a wheelie toward
that pond, with ever-increasing speed. Suddenly, Bernoulli takes over, and
we levitate into ground effect, where I level out and let the speed build.
Flashing over the end of the runway, I pull up into a zooming climb at over
1000 fpm, rising like an out-of-control elevator -- and immediately start a
standard-rate left bank. The pond flashes by harmlessly below, the sun
twinkling around the lilly pads near the shore...

Damn my eyes, if I *EVER* get bored with that feeling, just kill me -- cuz
I'll already be half-dead. What an amazing, astounding, wonderful
experience it is to fly!

I decide it's way too nice to go home, and I just head West in a long, hard
climb, aiming toward some widely scattered puffies that are floating up
around 6500 feet. As soon as we reach their level, the temperature drops,
the bumps are gone, and Atlas is on rails. I smoothly arc and carve up the
sky, in ever-increasing banks, feeling the air currents and loads on my
controls, master of all I see.

THIS is what being a "pilot" is all about, and to experience it is worth
everything I've had, or ever will have. To gaze down upon clouds -- or up
at their towering countenance as we pass by -- is a view that few people in
human history have ever seen, or appreciate. To see literally hundreds of
miles, in all directions -- and to be utterly in command of all three
dimensions...well, it's beyond words.

Today was a good day. I wish everyone on this troubled planet could have
one just like it, at least once.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"