Winter Solstice Fly -- December 2007

by Jim Tiller

Our winter solstice fly was designed to be an opportunity to try out flying in the snow. The past few years we haven’t had enough to warrant changing wheels for skies. That all changed in December of this year. A few hardy souls showed up to try some ski flying or spend the morning shoveling about 4 inches of new snow.

Wayne Zimmerman tried the ski route with his fun fly Extra and after getting tired of shoveling, I decided to make the best of what the others had uncovered. I managed to get my trusty Rapier off the ground using the taxi way, and made an attempt at a carrier landing on a small patch of cleared runway. As the photo shows, I just about made it.

Needless to say, most others waited for a little more snow to be removed. The day was actually a great day for flying and the warm temperatures helped to clear the runway.