What it's like to fly in my backyard

I've answered some questions that will give you a glimpse of what it's like to fly in my backyard. Feel free to answer the same questions and send them to me in the comments.

1.) What airport & city do you fly out of?

I fly out of St. Charles Municipal (3SQ) E airspace tucked under St. Louis International - Lambert (STL) 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 over 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. I also fly out of Spirit of St. Louis (SUS) D airspace also tucked under B. It's the second busiest airport in the state of Missouri with the overhead (STL) 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 I have to take second look to make sure I've really landed.

2.) What are you flying?

I fly Cessna's 152 and 172 SEL on my own and a Beechcraft 95 Travel Air MEL with my brother, but, mostly I fly the Cessna 172.

3.) What type of flying do you do?

My flying consists primarily of practicing those tasks necessary to pass the instrument rating.

4.) What type of weather or other things keep you grounded?

St. Louis Missouri offers the pleasure all four seasons to the fullest making flight planning challenging from day to day. October rain leads to gusty winds, and then becomes calm and foggy. November makes me wait for frost to melt and fog to disappear before flying. In winter I awaken to ice and then spring time 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.

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 with pumpkin patches surrounded by brilliant orange, yellow and red trees. During the smoldering hot season, I make sure I gear up in cool clothes, a wet wash cloth 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's usually bumpy. Flying higher the better as it gets 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. I hope you enjoyed vicariously flying in my backyard and I look forward to hearing about yours.