By Mike McCann
APA Day Trip Coordinator
February’s Day Trip to Nogales, Arizona turned out to be a wonder day to fly. Cool temperatures and calm winds made for a great flight for all who attended. Twenty-two APA members and 12 aircraft rendezvoused at KOLS for their annual Open House. Lots of local vendors and governmental agencies had information tents and free giveaways for everyone making their way around the airport.
Beyond all the “normal” things you’d expect to see at an airport open house, KOLS offered some very unique activities….such as a “strong man contest”. The local strong man, pictured below, was challenged to see if he could pull a Cessna 414 UPHILL (the local ramp has an incline). What made it even more challenging was the fact that the 414 tires were badly in need of air and it was clear that the airplane hadn’t been moved in a long time!
Several of us caught him doing a “warm-up” pull just to see if he could get the aircraft to move at all (which he did). We had to fly back to Phoenix before his scheduled uphill pull attempt was to occur so we don’t know if he was successful, but I’d have to bet he was.
Coming in March:
Don’t forget our “rain date” for the Grapevine breakfast fly-in is Saturday, March 21. Be sure to look for the eBlast. This is a special, joint event with APA’s backcountry folks. The number of participating aircraft will be limited for this event so be sure to RSVP if you want to attend.
Feel free to contact me with any questions (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and we'll look forward to seeing you.
Safe flying,
Mike