Dream Wacos Collection

Early summer is such an awesome time to fly in an open-cockpit biplane! Mornings are cool and smooth, evenings the same, and being out when the popcorn starts to go off can be magical. This morning, I flew west to El Reno which has the biggest grass strip anywhere that I know of (200×4,000 feet). You can take off and land a couple times and never leave the airport! They’ve had their concrete runway closed for repairs for a month or longer with more to go and I’ve been going over there to pretend their grass runway belongs to me. Because it does! I’ve had the airport to myself.

After a few three points on RWY 18, I decided to taxi in and see if the bathroom was open. As I got to the deserted ramp a Cub called in from 4 miles out and said he was going to land RWY 36. The ASOS is turned off (I guess because the main runway is closed) so I called back and told him 18 was in use as I double-checked the windsock. After visiting the facilities, I climbed back in and noted the windsock pointing south at 10 knots. That was a quick wind change!

I took off RWY 36 circled to land and the darned sock had changed directions again! After landing RWY 18 I headed home where they were advertising 3 knots from 010 degrees and landing 17L. Hmm. At KPWA they have to follow KOKC flow. The ATIS was just out so they must have a south wind at Oklahoma City while Wiley is still north. This is why TAFs are only good for 5 NM right?

With lots of traffic coming in from the east from a BBQ fly-in, I got bumped to the small runway 17R – I knew they wouldn’t let me land wrong direction, so I decided to give it a try. Only 3 knots tail wind, right? I came over the numbers too fast and made a wheel landing but wasn’t slowing down as I should, and it felt squirrelly, so I went around. I thought I’d try one more time and then go somewhere else and take a nap. A wind check on crosswind was calm. I checked again on downwind and now the wind is 110 degrees at 4. I made a piece of cake landing. As I turned off the runway, I thought to myself how seldom I’m grateful for a crosswind!

After putting the plane back in the hangar I hung around my deserted airport for a few more hours messing around. Our runways are open so the pilots of the several hundred airplanes trapped behind closed hangar doors have no excuse. One of the prettiest flying days all year, no holiday to keep anyone at home, and the place is deserted. Pretty typical, unfortunately. And pretty sad. But none of that can dampen the glow I feel from a morning with the wind and sun on my face, the smells of newly cut alfalfa mixed with burned Marvel Mystery oil in my nostrils, and the thrill of making blind landings – every one of them different. to grade my landings and a low pass or two. What fun!