The first flights started 3 weeks ago. The first was supposed to be on aug 19th but as is normal down here, was delayed a day due to weather. I was packing the snow road the day before when the storm hit. Got stranded for 3 hours in a white out. There are flags every 50 feet on the road, but we couldn’t see much farther than 20 to 30 feet so had to sit in the truck and wait until weather improved.
The first 2 flights came in without a hitch. The last had us worried a little. The air was dead still and it was near -40F. Ice fog was forming and threatened to envelope the runway. The runway people held all the vehicles a mile from the runway until the plane landed so the exhaust wouldn’t add to the fog. None of us saw the plane land. In fact we were still looking at the sky when the call came to drive onto the runway.
So much for photos.
There are always some who are anxious to leave, but this winter was one of the better. Peoples attitudes were much better than normal. My guess is that without any major building projects that had to be completed by winfly, the pressure on the workers was a little less hectic.
Returning to Cheech is always a joy. The first thing you notice when you get out of the plane is the smell of grass and flowers. For most we take it in stride, but for some it’s an overwhelming experience.
mike