The runways were covered in snow and the wind made it feel like the temperature was below zero. Four small private planes landed, although recent snows likely mean the only arrivals by air for the rest of the winter will require skis, like the hydraulic retractable skis on Don Kiel’s Cessna 170B tail dragger.
Kiel, 68, a retired commercial airline pilot, was among a gathering of about 45 people who shook off the cold to fly or drive this month to one of the most unique fly-ins in the country. For the last 11 years, the privately owned Central County Airport, four miles east of Iola,Wis., has hosted a fly-in lunch, only it’s not a one-time affair or limited to sunny summer days.
This fly-in, 135 miles northeast of Madison in Waupaca County, happens every Friday at 68C (the FAA’s identifier for the airport) regardless of weather, season, flying conditions or the depth of the snow on the grass runways.
For video and the complete story by Barry Adams of the Wisconsin State Journal, click here.
Photo by Amber Arnold, Wisconsin State Journal
