I fly out of St. Charles Municipal (3SQ) E airspace tucked under St. Louis International - Lambert (KSTL) B airspace. The little podunk airport sets at an elevation of 442 feet beside it's 3400 feet of asphalt that's rough, rolling and uneven. After many takeoffs and landings over cracks with grass and weeds growing in them, the two grass strips perpendicular are not much of a shock. I utilize the grass strips when cross winds are above my personal limit on the asphalt. The mighty Mississippi River is within 2 nautical miles separating Missouri and Illinois. So, when I say the winds were so strong they blew me into the next state, I mean it. The area is lined with never ending corn fields, soft rolling hills, scattered bird sanctuaries, lakes, railroad tracks and highways.
And, I fly out of Spirit of St. Louis (KSUS) D airspace also tucked under B. It's the second busiest airport in the state of Missouri with the overhead (KSTL) being the busiest. I have mixed emotions landing there because it is so busy and towered, but yet, the 7400 and 5000 feet of concrete are a nice change..... huge and smoothe as glass. It's so smoothe you have to take second look to make sure you've really landed.
2.) What are you flying?
I flew Cessna's 152's to my Private Pilot License. I'm flying 172's for my Instrument Rating. And I fly my brothers Travel Air B-95 (below) for building multi-engine time.
3.) What type of flying do you do?
My flying consists of practicing on what I've learned thus far, to building time and to learning instrument flying, as I am working on my Instrument Rating.
4.) What type of weather or other things keep you grounded?
St. Louis Missouri gives us the pleasure all four seasons to the fullest making flight planning challenging from day to day. October rains gets windy, and then becomes calm and foggy. November makes us wait for frost to melt and fog to disappear before flying. In winter we awaken to ice and then springtime there's more rain. Usually the spring darts right into smoldering heated summers making flying over the fields so bumpy it's like riding the waves in the sky. The 90 - 100 degrees weather deturs me. I don't like sweat in my eyes. It burns and makes it hard to read maps. In a nutshell, the weather that keeps me grounded is wind, fog, ice and smoldering heat. The only other things that keep me grounded is working long hours and limited funds.
5.) What type of terrain do you fly over and how does this effect how you fly?
The terrain is filled with flat crop fields to rolling hills. It's nice to fly in October to see its mark of pumpkin patches surrounded by brilliant orange, yellow and red trees. During the smoldering hot season, I make sure I gear up in cool clothes, there is a wet washcloth draped on my thigh, a rubberband in my hair and a rag handy to wipe off the sweat from my eyes. I also make sure my food is digested prior to flying, as it will be bumpy. I will fly higher to get cooler. I keep the Mississippi in view when I can as it's a reassuring landmark. Otherwise, there's not much to see until you come up to a large lake, airport or city.
6.) What do you look forward to as the seasons pass?
I am enjoying every minute of flying and look forward to many seasons to come. Especially, I look forward to the day I no longer miss out on flying because of long work hours in a nonflying job.
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