The Day the Rains Came Down

We're famous around here for changeable weather. The mountains, they say, make their own and we take what the mountains give us. In the case of 8NC9, Johnson Field, the home of the Western North Carolina Air Museum, the mountains and their friends, the beavers, endow us with enough rain at times to make for a perfect venue for seaplanes. Here are some pictures from last month's showers:

  

Looking northwest at runway 32. The beavers, cute little buggers that they are, build dams along the natural drainage creeks and cause havoc for airport people.

More pics:

Fortunately, the mountains also protect us - these were pictures of the aftermath of unusual rains courtesy of Hurricane Michael that devastated the panhandle of Florida and raised havoc all the way to New England. The floods recede and eventually everything gets back to normal.

Time and tide eventually win the day and we are back in business. The field stays a bit soggy in places for about four days after one of these downpours but at that point the crown of the runway is dry enough for a little soft field practice.

Here it is, November, and the weather has been absolutely perfect for flying all this first week ... which, of course changes tomorrow. Warm gives way to cold, calm gives way to wind, fall gives way toward winter - though we've been very fortunate so far to have had a gentle introduction. 

The CallAir Cadet is flying beautifully and graced me with one of those "are we down yet?" landings. Can it get any better?