Fri May 16, 2008 1147z
Thursday was pretty weird. No flying, but we did have a runway incident at 52F which resulted in no physical injuries, but some pretty shaken folks and two damaged airplanes. The NTSB will have the final word, of course, but let me remind folks again how important it is to get a mental picture in your head of what's in the pattern before you pull on the runway. The two folks here were apparently in radio contact, but there was confusion obviously. Runway 35 at 52F has trees at the south end, so I prefer to fly a steeper than usual, slipping 180* turn to final when the wind is out of the north. The runway dips down a little there at the south end and if a plane at the run up area pulls way up against the very end they don't get a wide, unobstructed view of what's on final. When I'm about to takeoff on 35, I do my run up on the TAXIWAY a hundred or so feet north of where most folks do. Call me chicken, but I like to be able to look down a long final for the occasional Baron or light twin draggin' it in low.