May 26, 2007:  This was my first visit to the airport in Penn Yan, NY (PEO).  From across the field, this Stearman called to me.  So I wandered over and took a couple of photos.  Great airplane, wonderful setting.

May 26, 2007

March 2, 2008:  Taken while departing runway 28 at Rochester.  I have no idea what kind of jet this is.  I just enjoyed going faster than one for a change.

March 2, 2008:  This jet holding in position on the end of runway 22 had to wait for me to finish my touch and go on runway 28 before the tower cleared it for takeoff.  Right after I captured this lucky shot, I was given a new transponder code, switched to the departure controller, and turned on course for Le Roy.  I may have delayed this regional jet's departure for a moment, but it soon left me in the proverbial dust.

May 25, 2008:  On a trip back to Kalamazoo, we stopped at South Haven.  While there, we discovered that the South Haven airport had become a veritable flying museum.  Our first hint came when Mike G's Grumman Wildcat strafed the field while I was taking advantage of $4.30/gal avgas.  Mike even let The Bear and I climb up on the Wildcat's wing to get our pictures taken.  Other new additions to the airport included a Stearman and a T-28 Trojan that launched from runway 22 just before we did.

July 25, 2008:  We planned to stop at Lock Haven, PA for lunch.  Ten miles out, we overheard "Snoopy Three" making a low pass at the Piper Memorial Airport in Lock Haven.  When we announced our arrival at the airport, Ed Watson's voice came across the Unicom frequency to warn us of a blimp departing the airport to the west.  Did he say blimp?  Sure enough, we soon spotted Met Life's "Snoopy Three" departing the area to the west.  The blimp was surveying the field in anticipation of mooring there a few days later.  The low pass must have been a sight to see and certainly slower than most.  Photo by Kristy.

September 1, 2008:  After I landed at Jamestown, NY, a rare bird took the runway and launched: a 1931 Sikorsky S-39 flying boat.  I recognized it because I had inspected one up close in Kalamazoo during the 2003 National Air Tour.  What I did not appreciate until later that evening was that there is only one flying S-39 left in the world.  Thus, this had to be the same aircraft I had seen in Kalamazoo five years earlier.  Perhaps I should have known; how many people would deliberately paint an airplane in a giraffe motif? The paint scheme, of course, is a tribute to the "Spirit of Africa" - an S-39 flown by African naturalists Martin and Osa Johnson back in the 1930's.

October 5, 2008:  While waiting at the hold line to depart runway 32 at Dansville, I watched this Piper Pawnee tow a glider skyward, breaking ground from the grass runway running parallel to the pavement.  Glider activity, something I do not see often, always makes Dansville an enjoyable place to visit.

October 7, 2008:  My arrival at Piseco (K09) was coincident with this New York State Police helicopter.  As I walked across the ramp, the pilot greeted me.  "Awful day, huh?" he chuckled.  Unlike me, however, he was working.  The helicopter was restocking fish in local lakes.  As we chatted, a truck arrived to supply the helicopter with more fish.  "Just out flying for the sake of flying?" he asked.  When I nodded, he looked a little envious.  At the same time, it seemed to me that he had one heck of a cool day job.