Prickett-Grooms Fly In

EdFred

Taxi to Parking
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White Chocolate
Sometimes the reasons behind a fly-in are very simple: A few people want to get together and have some food and some conversation, and as often occurs, some admiration of other people's aircraft. From time to time those gatherings grow into something a little bigger, and tend to draw in and benefit the non-aviation community. Fly-ins such as Oshkosh, Sun-N-Fun, and Young Eagles events have become this sort of assembly. But for the most part, fly-ins tend to focus inward with the benefit to the surrounding community being merely an afterthought, or side-effect. With Prickett-Grooms, we hope the primary benefit isn't so much about the gathering of pilots and aircraft, but to make the beneficiaries of the fly-in extend beyond the aviation circle.

The town of Sidnaw is home to Prickett-Grooms Airfield. A humble town with a grass strip tucked among the trees of the Ottawa National Forest. Three years ago, the field was about to suffer the fate of many other airports – closure. The airport was owned and run by the state of Michigan, but was rarely used for aircraft, and most of the use it did receive was by various other forms of transportation. When I was younger, even I used it like many of the others who did, as an open area just off the riding trails to open up the throttle on the motorcycle, snowmobile, or ATV. The main purpose of the strip was not being utilized, and without much argument, the state proposed to close the facility. So, in June of 2004 the strip was officially closed, with ‘perfect’ timing. I had just taken delivery of my first airplane only two weeks prior to that, and had planned on using the field as a means to avoid the near eight our drive to visit the family cabin which sits just southwest of the airfield. The process of resurrection began.

To make a long bureaucratic story of red tape, government policy, and negotiations short, a non-profit organization formed by my father was able to acquire the airstrip at a reasonable price, and a long 25 months after the airstrip was closed, we were able to reopen it with the help of the surrounding communities. As a thank you to the communities, we are hoping this fly-in will start to repay them for their help in reviving a dead airport. The small towns in this area have no real industry, and the town of Sidnaw mainly relies on recreation to keep going. So rather than have this fly-in be solely focused around us, the pilots, we want it to go beyond what we did last year. Last year we have volunteer pilots giving rides, talking to locals, and really mixing with the community. This year we hope to do more as we make it a weekend event.

Our hope is that you enjoy it up there as much as we do, that you’ll want to keep coming back, whether the rest of us are there or not.
 
OH man this is gonna be an awesome Fly In. Who ever goes is gonna have a blast.
 
Holy crap, Ed!!! I didn't realize 6Y9 was on the "other" peninsula. For some reason I just thought it was somewhere a little north of you. Sheesh!! :dunno:

Okay, new flight planning is required. And currently it looks like I'll be flying a DA40, not the Trinnie. But I still can't land on grass cause it has wheel pants (school rules). One of my charts expire 8/2, so I don't want to order the charts I need just yet.

Does anyone have an expired Chicago TAC they'd be willing to send me? I'd planned to overnight at my brother's at EKM on the way out, so I need to figure out my route around Chicago. And no, I'm not willing to cross the big lake. :no: :p
 
Holy crap, Ed!!! I didn't realize 6Y9 was on the "other" peninsula. For some reason I just thought it was somewhere a little north of you. Sheesh!! :dunno:

Okay, new flight planning is required. And currently it looks like I'll be flying a DA40, not the Trinnie. But I still can't land on grass cause it has wheel pants (school rules). One of my charts expire 8/2, so I don't want to order the charts I need just yet.

Does anyone have an expired Chicago TAC they'd be willing to send me? I'd planned to overnight at my brother's at EKM on the way out, so I need to figure out my route around Chicago. And no, I'm not willing to cross the big lake. :no: :p

If you don't want to insist on going by Chicago... crossing at the straits of Mackinaw isn’t really crossing the big lake. It’s narrow enough to build a bridge, it’s narrow enough to glide to either side from a decent altitude. So have any room in the DA-40????
 
kaye i still plan on picking you up from outlying airport in the citabria. looks like Land O Lakes, LNL, is closest.
 
Holy crap, Ed!!! I didn't realize 6Y9 was on the "other" peninsula. For some reason I just thought it was somewhere a little north of you. Sheesh!! :dunno:

Okay, new flight planning is required. And currently it looks like I'll be flying a DA40, not the Trinnie. But I still can't land on grass cause it has wheel pants (school rules). One of my charts expire 8/2, so I don't want to order the charts I need just yet.

Does anyone have an expired Chicago TAC they'd be willing to send me? I'd planned to overnight at my brother's at EKM on the way out, so I need to figure out my route around Chicago. And no, I'm not willing to cross the big lake. :no: :p

Kaye,

Go from Elkhart to JOT north to DPA and then just keeping north. I'll check at home tonight for an older TAC and sectional that you could have.
 
If you don't want to insist on going by Chicago... crossing at the straits of Mackinaw isn’t really crossing the big lake. It’s narrow enough to build a bridge, it’s narrow enough to glide to either side from a decent altitude. So have any room in the DA-40????

I'll probably have room. Will let you know in a week or so. Reason for the delay........couple of days ago the hubby decided he wanted to go. But, I'm betting that it was just the "beer" talking. Even tho he likes flying places with me, he just doesn't get excited being stuck with a bunch of pilots at a fly-in doing what pilots do.......talking pilot stuff. :rolleyes:
 
I'll probably have room. Will let you know in a week or so. Reason for the delay........couple of days ago the hubby decided he wanted to go. But, I'm betting that it was just the "beer" talking. Even tho he likes flying places with me, he just doesn't get excited being stuck with a bunch of pilots at a fly-in doing what pilots do.......talking pilot stuff. :rolleyes:

Oh, there's plenty of non pilots who will be there as well.

Also, you could do EKM -> CVX -> ISQ

Hmmmm, I wonder if we could close down the highway for you to land on. LOL
 
kaye i still plan on picking you up from outlying airport in the citabria. looks like Land O Lakes, LNL, is closest.

Yep, and I'm still looking forward to that ride!!!!!

And if hubby comes, he can drive a rental car. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
 
Does anyone have an expired Chicago TAC they'd be willing to send me? I'd planned to overnight at my brother's at EKM on the way out, so I need to figure out my route around Chicago. And no, I'm not willing to cross the big lake. :no: :p

I'm sure I have one somewhere, but you can look at SkyVector too. I think if you go to an airport that's on the TAC, it shows the TAC.

Here's a few suggestions...

1) If you're stopping at EKM and you don't want any overwater time, I'd suggest you just head west and fly the lakeshore (2500 or below is the lowest segment, below the 3000-foot shelf of ORD). You'll want to call GYY tower (though it's possible to fly over their airspace and under ORD's), and Midway may give you flight following part of the way up the shore. ORD won't talk to you. When you get to the north side, call UGN tower for overflight (again, it's possible to squeak between them and ORD, but why bother?) MKE approach will talk to you after you're in WI, but will tell you to remain clear of their Charlie (ORD wanna-be's :mad:). Chi-Center and Minne-Center will talk to ya the rest of the way if you want it, though in far northern WI they'll probably lose you on radar unless you're pretty high (at least 6000, maybe 8).

2) If you don't want to see downtown Chicago from the air, well, there's no point in going around it the other way. In that case, I'd suggest heading North to PLN and follow V78. Yes, that goes over water. No, you won't be out of gliding distance of land, you'll have Beaver Island and its two airports right in the middle of the lake on that route. That is also the time of year when the lake is at its warmest and there should be a lot of boats on the water that weekend. Also, remember that the DA40 has exceptional glide performance. The POH states 1.45nm per 1000 feet with a windmilling prop or 1.70nm per 1000 feet with it stopped. The maximum distance from land on V78 appears to be less than 15nm, so 10,500 feet should keep you within gliding distance of land for the entire crossing. Note: I'm a big-time Lake Michigan wimp, and I'd do this one in a heartbeat.

In fact, if I were you I'd do one of the above going up, and the other coming back. :yes:

Have fun, and see you there!
 
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