Airfield Letter April 2024

April 9, 2024

It’s FLYING TIME and our airfield is shaping up!

The old fuel shed is going away step by step completely gone after Sun n Fun and the grass is greening up nicely. Our mowing crew will be on a regular schedule as the warmer weather takes hold. If you’d like to volunteer a couple of hours on the tractor, contact Jerry Moore (cell: 828-674-9050) or Glenn Gordon (cell: 973-714-6605). Glenn and John Duncan will share the duties initially. After a tutorial and some practice you’ll know how to extract and replace the mower in its place in Hangar 3, how to deploy the batwings on the mower, service the tractor, etc. It will take a crew of two – one to mow and one to keep watch with a radio – to keep the field up safely.

As noted in our interim letter on March 17, the restroom on the runway side of Hangar 2 (Leland Johnson’s old restroom location) is now yours to use .. the keypad combination is the runway orientation: 1533. Please let Mark and Alex know if supplies are running low. They check the space regularly but you never know when there might be a run on various things. Your help with a quick wipe here and there is much appreciated to maintain the restroom (it’s old – it doesn’t sparkle). Hot water and upgrades to come as we can. Our thanks again to Bill Kemper and Owen Patton for their donations which made this possible.

Friend Jerry Tice is a computer guru and is gathering information about adding a webcam, weather station and network availability to Johnson Field. More on those things as they develop.

(Museum Director) Bill Kelder is active in the Miata Club and will be guiding its members through the museum on April 13th … if you’d like to volunteer to show off your airplane between noon and two in front of the Museum it would be most appreciated. Contact Bill at 828-691-2030 for details.

We’re looking ahead to Father’s Day, Sunday June 16th. Be thinking about a picnic at the airfield, either as a fly-in event centered around the airfield or open to the public and centered around the museum. Your ideas will be most welcome. Contact Alex (cell: 828-595-5950) or Mark (cell: 860-930-5453).

Our hangars and Airfield use by based pilots require Museum membership. If you haven’t signed up or are in doubt, please contact Don Buck at dsbterra@aol.com or Steve Lyons at slyons@morrisbb.net . The hangars are currently at 100% occupancy.

We all want to keep the airfield safe and usable. Please, no driving across the runway. We’re trying to eliminate risk, rough spots and grow grass. If you see someone doing this, please ask that they use either the North End, Eastbrook Ln. or Museum entrances.

Fly safe! Mark Cigal (860) 930-5453. Alex Nelon (828) 595-5950