Friday, May 14, 2010

The FlyBQ Begins

Mary and I decided that we would finally attend the pre-Wings FlyBQ event by joining in on the fun on Friday. I put in for the day off a week in advance so I was ready to start the weekend. The start of our three day weekend had us crawling out of bed later than normal and most likely the only contributing factor was the growls of our tummy's. We decided to get a few things done around the house and make a stop for breakfast at Angels.

I monitored the wx and checked flightaware for updates on aircraft heading into Wings (KLOM). The first IFR arrival was Ed on Thursday evening in his Piper PA-24 Comanche. Friday's arrivals began with Grant and Leslie making the trek from the Chicago area in a Cessna 182 Skylane. The tailwinds were great both days from the west which provided some excellent ground speeds. We made our way to Wings in the SUV so we could help out with transporting arrivals to Adam's and the hotel. AdamB was en route and was scheduled to arrive in his Socata Trinidad about the time we would get to the field, we didn't beat him in by much.

I followed RobS and AdamB to the Cheese steak Factory (Adams House) to check in then headed back out for beer and ice. Rob had already taken us to the local market so we could pick up the limes, as requested, and then to Adams. Rob headed out one way and we headed out for the supplies along with a plan to grab a quick bite to eat. While traveling around looking for a package store we stumbled upon a restaurant that would fill the order; quick eats, ice and liquid refreshments.

Eventually we headed back to drop off the goods and soak up the conversations from fellow pilots. We dodged a few rain showers along with a few boomers while Andrew worked his magic on tonight's Smithfield ribs and pork butts for the Saturday main event. The great BBQ smells from the grill were almost to much to handle.

We all tracked Kent and Pete as they were heading east just north of the storm line tracking in the same direction as they made their way to Wings. Ted was also plugged into flightaware as he made his way from Watertown Intl Airport in Watertown, NY (KART) where he had to clear customs. Ted came in from Chibougamau/Chapais Airport in Chibougamau, Quebec, Canada. Yeah, good luck if you can pronounce it!

It was a fun night of good food, great friends and many many laughs. Extra special thanks to Adam and his bride Tamson for hosting the early arrivals and opening up your beautiful home. We can hardly wait for the main event tomorrow. Mary and I loaded up around 10pm and pointed the SUV south. We had some hungry pups waiting for us to let them out. I think I fell asleep when I hit the bed, I was tired. We will be flying to Wings tomorrow morning, let's hope the winds calm down.

2 comments:

Mike Bennett (110knots.com) said...

Did you end up flying to Wings last Saturday? If so how was it? I flew from Morristown KMMU to New Garden for the RV fly-in. Winds were kicking! I was at 6500 on my way to New Garden with a 35 knot headwind. I remember hearing traffic from wings and wondering what was going on. I wish I went to the BBQ.

Gary said...

Flew up saturday morning. Winds were very gusty and landing was an adventure. I'm working on the FlyBQ post and should have that up tonight. 30 planes and around 85 people showed up for the saturday event.

I am going to attend the EAA monthly meeting in June and join.