Sometimes, (the recent “Hit and a Miss<\/a>” story, for instance)<\/em> I am concerned I am being exceptionally verbose<\/em> in my Sky Surfing<\/strong> posts. As one who’s musical tastes reflect the aphorism\u00a0“words can get in the way of a good song”<\/em>, perhaps too many words get in the way of a good photo piece, too. This story is going to follow that stricture and let the photos and captions carry it<\/strong> most of the way.<\/p>\n That being said, I do need to put some<\/em> words down to set a path for The Fun Flight<\/strong> you are about to go on.<\/p>\n Bein’s how Fun Flying<\/strong> and Flight Blog Writing<\/em> don’t make me any money, I am still in the workforce. The week leading up to this “Free Lunch”<\/strong> flight\/story was very busy. I did not have a chance to plan a flight to a “never before seen” venue. Regardless, I still was eager to fly that\u00a0Saturday<\/strong> (18 May), so I fell back on the always excellent<\/em> flight\u00a0(and bike)<\/em> destination: The Beaumont Hotel<\/strong><\/a> in\u00a0Beaumont, Kansas<\/strong>. The food is good. The service is good. Also, you can taxi your plane up to the front door of the restaurant.<\/strong> What can be better than that?\u00a0Beaumont<\/strong> it would be.<\/p>\n On arrival to\u00a0Selby Aerodrome<\/strong>, the appearance of the sky put some doubt in my mind as to the possibility of a flight to Beaumont.<\/p><\/div>\n This Spring<\/strong> has been a welcome respite from the drought<\/strong> our region has endured for the past three to four years<\/strong>. In fact, the night before I am writing this, a tornado went through the Wichita area and deluged us with water. There was no loss of life and no major damage but the water fall was great. This made the\u00a0“No Free Lunch”<\/strong> Saturday<\/strong> an extremely humid morning. Instead of\u00a0the standing ground fog<\/strong> as I showed you in the “Hit and Miss”<\/strong> story – today the humidity was all in the air. The sky was completely overcast<\/strong> and visibility was limited.<\/p>\n This was taken immediately after takeoff. Visibility was only a mile and a half.<\/p><\/div>\n Turning to the East with the Ninnescah River<\/strong> and the pass between Derby<\/strong> and Mulvane<\/strong> ahead, visibility even seemed to be decreasing.<\/p><\/div>\n Seen from the ground, the atmosphere was solid overcast.\u00a0After takeoff, though, I was surprised how poor the horizontal visibility was. Obviously if you can’t see, you can’t fly<\/strong>. I decided I would ease in the direction of Beaumont<\/strong> (East)<\/em> and be prepared to turn around if I felt a raindrop or if the visibility decreased any more than a mile. What you are seeing in these photos is extreme humidity<\/strong>. The weather report said it topped out at 96%<\/strong>.\u00a0There were no rain cells evident<\/strong>. Keep in mind I am only moving about 30 miles per hour across the ground.<\/p>\n Heading East<\/strong>, crossing South of Derby, Kansas<\/strong><\/a> the visibility was still about 1.5 miles. This is looking North under my left wing from about 600 feet AGL.<\/p><\/div>\n This was taken South of Rose Hill, Kansas<\/a> looking East from about 500′ AGL. The visibility had increased to between 2 and 3 miles.<\/strong> The atmosphere was very uniform in consistency and was being gently carried along by a Southeast<\/strong> wind of 8 mph. I figured it would blow through the area in the next hour or just remain as you see in the photo. Either way, I decided I would continue unless the visibility dropped dramatically or it started raining on me. If either were to happen I would turn back to Selby<\/strong> or land.<\/p><\/div>\n At the beginning of The Flint Hills, I saw this nicely maintained lake<\/strong>. The quartering headwind<\/strong> was still only about 8 mph so I was able to cruise a little higher above ground level and maintain a 30+mph ground speed<\/strong>.<\/p><\/div>\n The wind was picking<\/strong> up<\/strong> so after crossing the creek shown here I dropped down lower. This was shot from about 175′ AGL<\/strong> looking due East<\/strong>.<\/p><\/div>\n For about a 30 seconds<\/strong> the sun cut through the overcast intermittently like a strobe. I didn’t quite capture it. I am now in The Flint Hills<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n Shortly after the last shot I saw this majestic bluff ahead.<\/p><\/div>\n At the top of the bluff, in perfect location, is this hunting tower. This is one of the best deer hunting spots I have yet seen.<\/p><\/div>\n The wind had picking up so I descended to about 35′ AGL<\/strong>. Now down in my “nap of the earth”<\/em> mode, this beautiful meadow came into view. I took the picture before easing between the two stands of trees. We are looking due East<\/strong>.<\/p><\/div>\n Looking at the next four photos I realized I have not not done enough to make the case for this “overcast, low viz flight”<\/em>. I have flown to Beaumont<\/strong> across this enchanted countryside many times but never was it like this<\/strong>. The “hanging humidity”<\/em> and the “flat” lighting enhanced it like never before. It was dreamlike<\/strong>. I have flown Ultralights<\/strong> in Kansas<\/strong> for almost 30 years and never saw anything like this before. I hope I will get another chance some day.<\/p>\n By the way, my friend Glenn Hopper<\/strong>, who works at Spirit Aero<\/a>, says he likes it when I include a little of the cockpit in the panoramic photos. He says it helps put the viewer in the seat<\/strong> of the<\/strong> Ultralight<\/strong>. I thought of you while clicking the shutter on this one, Glenn<\/strong>.<\/p><\/div>\n Back in the 1970’s, much was made of the “Geoglyphs” on the Plains of Nazca in Peru<\/a>. One best selling writer of the time decided these various depictions could only be seen from outer space<\/em> and\u00a0insisted this was proof the Earth had been settled by spacemen. I don’t buy that and evidence has not borne his theory out. The Nazca signs, just as the one below, can be seen from higher topography in the area. Nonetheless, they are<\/span> seen best from the air. This is the second time of my many flights to Beaumont<\/strong> I have come across this symbol. Last time I spent a little time checking the internet<\/strong> but did not find a brand that matches it. It looks like it might be the “Kay-Bar” brand<\/strong>. One thing this sign\u00a0does<\/em><\/strong> tell me is that I am within minutes of sighting the\u00a0Beaumont Hotel and Airfield<\/strong>.<\/p>\n On a Clear Day, the Wind Generator Field<\/a> would be seen on the horizon at the top right of this shot. There are 100 windmills in this group. Today they are completely hidden. I never saw them the whole day.<\/p><\/div>\n It is always a fine and wonderful thing<\/span> when one’s flight destination shows up precisely where one expects it<\/strong>. In keeping with that, the hamlet of Beaumont, Kansas<\/strong> suddenly appeared from out of the mists directly in front of me. The airfield is at the far right (East<\/strong> side) of town.<\/p><\/div>\n I took one more picture so you could see the Beaumont Hotel and Restaurant<\/strong> more close up. Also take note of the structure to the right of it <\/strong>next to the large tree.<\/p><\/div>\n Seen from the seat of my MXL<\/strong> while taxiing in from the runway. This is facing West<\/strong>.<\/p><\/div>\n The Quicksilver<\/strong> at rest after exactly One Hour and Thirty Minutes<\/strong> in the air. The only thing lacking at Beaumont<\/strong> is aircraft tie downs. I wish they would put some in. (Hint for management<\/strong>: A few 5 gallon buckets filled with concrete with a curved piece of rebar in them work great. They are cheap and can be positioned anywhere needed.)<\/em> The wind was gentle on the surface, though, so I didn’t worry about leaving the MXL<\/strong>\u00a0sitting there on the grass as I went in for breakfast.<\/p><\/div>\n I really like the way this bird looks sitting in the grass…<\/p><\/div>\n When I entered the front door of the Beaumont Cafe<\/strong> I was the only one there. The faster aircraft could not fly in the low visibility and the usual group of touring motorcyclists had not yet arrived for breakfast. That would soon change.<\/p>\n There is also a large dining room but the diner side of the Beaumont Hotel<\/strong> is a classic of the\u00a0American Diner<\/strong> tradition. This one features autographed photos from pretty much All the Aviators of Note<\/strong> on the walls.<\/p><\/div>\n A great morning suddenly got better when Waitress Kim Neves<\/strong> (formerly of California)<\/em> told me the new promotion<\/em> is that pilots who fly in get a Free Breakfast<\/strong>!<\/p><\/div>\n It was great!<\/p><\/div>\n After eating I decided to stroll around a bit and transmutate light into digital memory pixel patterns<\/strong>. The following shots were all taken within 50 yards<\/strong> of The Hotel<\/strong>.\u00a0I think everyone should make the trek to Beaumont<\/strong> no less than once a year,\u00a0preferably\u00a0more. Whether you fly a plane or drive a car or motorcycle<\/em>, it is a special place on the plains<\/strong>.<\/p>\n This\u00a0Beech D-18S<\/a> sits in the park adjacent to the Hotel<\/p><\/div>\n Main Street Beaumont, Kansas Looking North<\/p><\/div>\n People were starting to arrive. This truck caught my attention because it had Texas<\/strong> plates.<\/p><\/div>\n Walking by the Texas Pickup<\/strong> I noticed they were carrying a saddle<\/strong> and other ranch-type gear in the bed. Just what I hoped to see out here on The Great Plains<\/strong>.<\/p><\/div>\n The airstrip<\/strong> is about 175 yards from The Hotel<\/strong>. I didn’t think you needed to see it because this tells you what you need to know.<\/p><\/div>\n If you review my aerial photo as I approached The Hotel<\/strong> earlier in the report you will see this special wooden water tower<\/strong><\/a> adjacent to it.<\/p><\/div>\n This section of track has been left in place to retain the look and feel of the old railroad stop<\/strong>.<\/p><\/div>\n \u00a0 It was time to return to Wichita<\/strong><\/a>. I had made my pre-flight check of the plane, had my earplugs in\/goggles on when Brian Wend<\/strong> pulled up on his rocket ship. He was motioning to me that he would like a picture of my plane so I stopped to accomodate. Far be it<\/strong> that I would be in such a hurry on a Fun Flight<\/strong> that I wouldn’t stop to chat about Airplanes, Cars, Guns or Motorcycles<\/strong>.<\/p>\n I found out Brian<\/strong> is an engineer at Learjet<\/strong><\/a>. He recently moved to Wichita<\/strong> from Fort Worth, Texas<\/strong><\/a>. He had heard about the cool drive to Beaumont<\/strong> and this was his first trip.<\/p>\n Then in short order another bro on a Saturday Morning Adventure<\/strong> showed up. He was very excited<\/em> to see my plane because his brother flies Ultralights<\/strong>, too. This is Abe Khalid Ebrahim<\/strong> and he is an accountant at Via Christi<\/a> in Wichita<\/strong>. He wanted a shot of us with my Quicksilver<\/strong> to send to his Brother<\/strong>. Brian Wend<\/strong> cycled through all<\/strong> the cameras to get all<\/strong> the requisite shots for all<\/strong> of us.<\/p>\nThe Flight Plan<\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1547.jpg\")
<\/a>\u00a0Drought Over?<\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1548.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1549.jpg\")
<\/a>\u00a0Decision Time (is all the time)<\/em><\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1550.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1551.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1552.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1555.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1557.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1558.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1559.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1560.jpg\")
<\/a>New And Different<\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1561.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1562.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1564.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1565.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0A Sign Just For Me<\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1566.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1567.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1570.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1572.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1573.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1574.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1575.jpg\")
<\/a>\u00a0Weather Is A Great Affecter of Retail Activity<\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1581.jpg\")
<\/a>\u00a0There’s No Free Lunch, But A Free Breakfast Is Every Bit As Good!<\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1582.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1578.jpg\")
<\/a>A “Must Go” Place<\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1584.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1585.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1586.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1588.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1589.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1591.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1592.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1596.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1595.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nNew Acquaintances Made<\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/IMG_1597.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nMore Bikes<\/h4>\n