The smell of manure hung heavy in the early morning air. It wasn’t here last night when we fueled and put away the Cub.
There were a few cars parked next to hangars, a still cool Saturday morning meant some others had flown off somewhere before the heat of the day set in.
We pulled out the Cub and reviewed our proposed course to stay out of Dayton airspace; northwest towards Waco field in Troy then direct to Hagerstown, Indiana for their pancake breakfast.
I settled into the back placing my heels on its brakes and hand on the throttle while the restorer propped the airplane.
It roared to life – needing to fly as much as we did.
Recently, we took a look at our everyday life and realized something had to change. We had to stack the deck in our favor to get out and get some altitude therapy.
Getting some takeoffs and landings in at the end of the day earlier in the week and clearing the schedule for the day set the stage for our early morning getaway.
As the restorer got situated in the front seat, I turned on the radio and intercom.
Radio chatter was already busy at Waco field, with a fly-in scheduled for the weekend.
Climbing out of our home field, the smell of farmland dissipated before we reached 800 feet.
Departing the airport traffic area to the northwest, we maneuvered to the north of Waco to stay out of the way then turned towards Hagerstown and breakfast.
The restorer knew the general area and I was backing up by navigating with Foreflight to fill in my mental map and fine-tune our course.
As we departed the airspace around Dayton heading toward our more rural destination, the chatter on the radio melted away leaving the breeze coming in the window and the relative quiet outside of the engine.
I can’t remember the last time I flew out for breakfast, the air feels different somehow in the early morning besides the better engine performance.
Maybe it’s optimism for the day ahead.
The runway at Hagerstown is a long, grass runway surrounded by trees which can make finding a challenge.
Luckily for us, there were several aircraft already in the pattern above the field as we got into the area.
The sun glinting off the turning airplanes told us where our traffic and destination were as we approached.
As the runway rose to meet our Cub, the smell of breakfast greeted us.
Parked amongst other airplanes, I could see several Chiefs there as well as biplanes that the restorer knows better than I do.
Off to the side of the grass parking area sat an open-air pavilion with picnic tables adjacent with the smell of coffee wafting through the air beckoning us to come closer.
Breakfast and coffee in hand, we settled down at a picnic table to enjoy the airplanes moving about and talking with pilots from other airports.
As we finished up, a triple-tail Bellanca arrived carrying Uncle Paul and Peppermint Pam along with Rosie’s Husband.
While we said hello to our friends, three Stearmans started up and taxied to the runway end for run-up before departing. Two took off together with the remaining departing after they had cleared the runaway.
We could feel the temperatures climbing and decided it was time to head towards Dayton.
Saying goodbye to our friends, we climbed back into the Cub and departed to the east.
The air was bumpier than the trip over but it still not too bad. The restorer reminded me that the Cub feels more turbulence than Sis, our Bonanza, does.
The fields we flew over were mixes of light green and sickly brown with the restorer watching the dust from farm equipment harvesting to gauge wind direction and speed.
The radio chatter as we closed in on Waco field was less than earlier in the day but still had activity.
The restorer had the airport in sight long before I did. We landed to the north on the grass runway with pictures being taken of airplanes flying in and out of the fly-in.
Like everywhere else in our area, the grounds around the fly-in were brown from the summer heat.
Rides in an open cockpit Waco were available as well as food trucks with lunch options along with plenty of airplanes to admire outside. The adjacent museum provided several air-conditioned hangars with exhibits and aircraft illustrating the history of the Waco factory in Troy.
After several hours in the heat, we decided it was time to head home.
As we climbed out of Waco heading towards New Carlisle, the air was bumpier than our flight in.
The sigh of contentment the restorer let out after shutting down said it all; it’s been too long since we had a day of flying and getting out.