![]() |
If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
![]() Missing the CAF this year and someone asking about flying to Wings Over Houston got me thinking... Several years ago I had been saving all my nickles and dimes for months in order to rent a C-172 and fly, instead of drive, to the CAF Airsho out in Midland, TX. From Waco It's about a 2.5 hour flight IIRC, which beats almost 5 hours on the road. I knew the Airport closed at a certain time and I flight-planned to arrive in plenty of time before Midland International's closure went into effect. Well, the C-172 wouln't start. It cranked but would not fire. They had a C-152 available. Ugh. I unloaded and re-loaded and got off about 45 minutes later than I had planned. Now I was nervous. According to my calculations (more like good guesses) I would arrive minutes before the a/p closure. Of course the C-152 cruises slower than the 172 so I had a stress-filled flight west, which was NOT fun. At the windmills (about halfway) it was obvious I would miss the close of Midland International by about 5 minutes so I redlined the rented Cessna and started descending to speed things up. 20 miles out the bad news came on my watch...and on ATIS...the airport was closed! Have you ever BEGGED ATC? I begged that morning. I kept it short, but I begged them to let me in, to no avail. I thought about declaring an emergency but I think that would have made a bad day even worse. I had to divert to Midland Airpark north-east of the city, which was the only other a/p I knew of with avgas. On the ground I caught a taxi to Midland International, which cost almost $50.00. All courtesy cars were being used. I missed the first hour or so of my favorite airshow, had a huge cab bill, had to fly a C-152, and couldn't land where I wanted. The Airsho was awesome as usual but was somewhat bitter that year. Have you ever flown to an airshow and yet couldn't land at the field because it was closed? Ricky |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
![]() |
||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Mammoth airport closed temporarily | Hellman | Soaring | 1 | August 31st 08 11:41 PM |
Identifying a closed airport | A Guy Called Tyketto | Piloting | 12 | March 11th 07 05:40 AM |
Wurtsboro Airport NY Closed ?? | PA-12 | Piloting | 2 | January 5th 06 03:28 PM |
Wurtsboro Airport NY Closed ?? | PA-12 | Piloting | 0 | January 5th 06 01:21 AM |
VKX airport (Home of SuperAWOS) CLOSED | awos | Piloting | 0 | November 8th 05 03:15 PM |