"St Louis Flying Club Newsletter"

Fly-in Destinations

Alton, IL - UPDATE July 2020: Unfortunately, the High Flyers Grille restaurant closed. Hopefully another restaurant will open up. For those members who have been flying in the area for a while, there has been a restaurant at the base of the control tower at St Louis Regional Airport (KALN) for over 40 years. Unfortunately it has changed hands numerous times and been out of business many of those years. I highly recommend the current restaurant, High Flyers Grille. On a recent visit, we ate on the patio which directly abuts the ramp (literally 20 feet from where we parked the plane). The restaurant has great support from the local residents so we had a great crowd watching our arrival and departure. The food is typical tavern style (burgers, chicken wings, etc) and unfortunately a great assortment of beers!! They are not open for breakfast (opens at 11:00 thru 10:00 PM). It's a great short hop for your $100 hamburger fix!!
Bismarck, MO - On 24 July, I (PIC) flew the C-172 to Bismarck, MO, H57 (55 nm south of SUS). Sleepy, but great, airport with a 2,000' runway. I walked into town (about a mile) and had breakfast at Sissy's Corner Grill. I had the Big Breakfast (2 eggs, 2 pieces of meat - bacon, sausage link or patty, 2 pancakes and hash browns) for $5.95. Sissy's has a sign on the door that they are only opened from 8 - 12 on the weekends (all 3 meals during the week). Sissy's is across the street from the empty train station (it looks like the town has seen better days). I had a good conversation with a couple of local pilots (the tie-downs used to be full but no more - no gas either - not enough demand). I've included some pictures. Great change of pace destination with a nice 2,000' runway to test out you short field technique.
Bloomington, IL - On Friday, 22 July, I (PIC) flew the Arrow, with Phil Self, to Bloomington, IL (KBMI), 135 nm northwest of KSUS, for dinner at CJ's restaurant on the field. We were surprised to actually find an airport restaurant that had a waiting line to be seated. Rather than the long wait, we ate on the patio which was in the shade and had a breeze blowing. Friday night was all-you-can-eat Walleye night ($8.95) - quite a deal (that's why there was a line).
Branson, MO - Branson is a great place to visit as there are numerous attractions and places to see while you are there. The closest airport to Branson is KPLK or M. Graham Clark - Taney County Airport which is 173 nm southwest of KSUS. The airport has a nice FBO and Avis/Budget rental car facility on site. Traffic at the airport has gone down since they opened the new airportKBBG last year. Shiv has flown down in both the Cessna 172 and the Piper Arrow. John recently flew down in the Arrow and stayed at the Big Cedar Lodge located about 8 miles south of the airport.

Final approach to KPLK airport runway 30

Photos of Big Cedar Lodge Resort just south of Branson

Shiv's family on the Branson Bell Showboat on Table Rock Lake
Columbia, IL (Sackman Field) - On the way back from Sparta, Il, Pic and I (John H) stopped at Sackman Field (H49) in Columbia Il (KSAR). There aren't any restaurants close by but it is a nice close grass strip for practicing landings in the Citabria. Sackman field is 23.2 NM SE from KSUS and has a 2,400 ft grass runway (3-21).
Dexter, MO - Pic highly recommends the Dexter, MO (KDXE) Airways Cafe. Good food, good service, it's literally right at the end of the tie-down ramp and it's got 3 large picture windows overlooking the flight line. Even though we were the only airplane there, on a Friday at 9:30, the Cafe was half filled by local patrons (you know a restaurant is good when the local population supports it). By the time we left, the seats were starting to fill up with lunch time traffic. It's open from 6 AM - 2 PM Mon - Fri, Sat 6 AM - 1 PM, closed on Sunday. The airport is 136 mi SE (162 degrees) with a 5,000' N - S runway (right hand traffic to 36).
Farmington, MO - Mary and I enjoyed a short flight for lunch to Farmington, MO. The city has a strong tourism promotion going on. The city has a new terminal building (photo below) and the person in charge of tourism has an office in the terminal. He was very gracious and gave us a $25 gift card to be used at the Crown Valley Winery and Tiger Sanctuary (we'll visit that next time). The town has 2 courtesy cars available (all they ask is you put a few gallons of gas in the tank). We drove the mile or two into town and had lunch at 12 West Bar & Grille. It's directly across from the St Francois County Court. We enjoyed walking the various antique and handicraft shops in the immediate 2 block perimeter. The airport, KFAM, has a 4,220' runway that's in great shape and is only 60-some miles south of KSUS.
Frenchlick, IN - I (PIC) flew my wife and daughter to French Lick, IN in the 172 for a short vacation. It's a perfect resort for pilots! KFRH has a 5,500' runway and is 189 nautical miles due East. Free tiedowns, beautiful terminal building (picture below), free resort transportation (not just to the resort but everywhere you would need to go; stables, golf course, restaurants, etc) all you do is ask and give nominal tips to the drivers! French Lick Resort is actually 2 tremendous hotels with all the amenities, 3 golf courses, and a casino.
Gastons, Lakeview, AR - Gastons is a great place to fly to as everything is right next to the airstrip. You can fly down in the morning for a half day fishing trip with a guide, swim in the pool and have dinner at the restaurant that sits over the white river and then fly back in the evening. They also have cabins along the airstrip/river if you want to stay longer. The photos below are of John's trips in 2005 (note the old Cessna paint scheme) and in 2010. Shiv flew the Arrow down and took some great photos of the plane and airstrip (looking to the east or the takeoff direction).

John's trips to Gastons to fish in 2005 and 2010

Photos from Shiv's trip to Gastons in 2010

Photos from Jeff and Todd's flight to Gastons on 27 Aug 2011
Indianapolis, IN - I (PIC) had the opportunity to check out Rick's Cafe Boatyard at Eagle Creek Airpark (KEYE) near Indianapolis. It has great seafood and views of the lake and it's just across the ramp as shown in the photo below.
Jefferson City, MO - Pic highly recommends the Dexter, MO (KDXE) Airways Cafe. Good food, good service, it's literally right at the end of the tie-down ramp and it's got 3 large picture windows overlooking the flight line. Even though we were the only airplane there, on a Friday at 9:30, the Cafe was half filled by local patrons (you know a restaurant is good when the local population supports it). By the time we left, the seats were starting to fill up with lunch time traffic. It's open from 6 AM - 2 PM Mon - Fri, Sat 6 AM - 1 PM, closed on Sunday. The airport is 136 mi SE (162 degrees) with a 5,000' N - S runway (right hand traffic to 36).
Marshall, MO - I (Pic) discovered the Marshall, MO (KMHL) airport has a small (but very well done) aviation museum. The airport is 140 miles west - northwest from KSUS (West of Columbia and North of I-70). The airport is also wind friendly with paved N - S and grass E - W runways. The Nicholas-Beazley Aviation museum is centered around the history of the aircraft manufacturer, flight school and aircraft parts supplier of the same name that was located in Marshall during the 1920s and 1930s. In their hey-day they were grossing more than $500K annually. They have two models displayed; NB-3 and NB-8. The museum also displays the artistry of master propeller builder Ole Fahlin, who worked for NB and then went on to make his own propellers. Check their website for times as their hours are limited. (Pic June 2015)

Mattoon, IL - I (Paul) took a date to Coles County Memorial Airport (KMTO) in Mattoon/Charleston IL, for lunch at the on field restaurant called Airport Steakhouse. My date had the restaurant specialty, Fried Elephant Ears (which will feed two people easily) and the fried mushrooms. I had the Chicken breast/mushroom dinner, that came with a salad and fried potatoes. The restaurant is open from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM daily and has a varied menu with low prices, and breakfast is served all day. KMTO has a 6,500' runway that's in great shape and is 120 NM ENE of KSUS.
Shelbyville, MO - Shelby Country airport (6K2) is 95 nautical miles from KSUS on a 317 heading. It's a 2,300' turf runway, public -use that's in great shape. What drew me to the airport is that it is directly next to a very nice city lake and park.
There are no services (what used to be a 2 stall hangar is now relegated to field maintenance stuff). It;s an easy 6 or so blocks to the center of town, which is the county seat of Shelby county )population 6.100). While the town (Shelbyville) has seen better days, the few people I saw were friendly. Since Shelbyville is the county seat, most activity goes on in the Court House during the week, The Kountry Korner Kitchen Kafe was closed on the weekend. I round up getting a breakfast to go from the Casey's quick-stop which was next door.
A couple of things to point out to pilots:
- The strip is only 46' wide (a little narrow for a grass strip but plenty wide for our planes) and while there is grass beyond the well marked runway sidelines, it is either raised or lowered from the runway heigh. Also, the overrun of the strip drops sharply (about 50' drop) toward the lake.
- Be careful turning off the runway. There are some drainage paths that could catch a wheel, There is one very level exit path to the hangar area that is pretty level with no drainage paths, You shouldn't have a problem just take a good look before you exit the runway.
Sparta, IL - Pic and I (John H) flew down to Hunter Field in Sparta, Il (KSAR) for breakfast at the Route 4 restaurant just across the road from the terminal building. Hunter field is 54.4 NM SE from KSUS so it counts as cross country time. Hunter field has a paved N-S runway (4,002 ft) and an intersecting E-W grass runway (2958 ft). On the way back to Spirit, we stopped at Sackman Field (H40), Il (See information on Sackman Field under Columbia, Il above)

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