Breakfast Club

An Affiliate of the Arizona Pilots Assn

 

 

 


The Knife & Fork

 

 

 


Breakfast Club Drops-In on Yuma, Dines at Mime’s Café

 

 

13 Apr 2013

by Warren McIlvoy

 

 

 

The last time that the Breakfast Club visited Yuma was a couple of years ago to co-inside with the opening of the Jet-a-Way Café that is part of the Million Air FBO.  In that case, we were the first official paying customers that the café served.  However, the Jet-a-Way Café in no longer open on weekends thus requiring a “change in venue” for any future breakfast fly-ins to Yuma (NYL).  Not a problem, I found a Mimi’s Café within a 10-minute drive from the airport.

 

A couple of months prior to our April event, while on a Flights For Mission,  I spoke with Jim Combs, the General Manager of Million Air to get their two vans reserved for our transportation to Mimi’s.  Jim was a career aviator in the Marine Corp and was stationed across the field at the time of his retirement.  Just to prevent him from having to learn a new route to travel to work, Jim assumed the position of GM at Million Air.

 

Over the 10-years that I have been associated with Flights For Life, I have flown to NYL somewhere around 35 times.  In the 8-years that I have flown out of Deer Valley Airport, I would always get VFR flight following beginning with Luke Approach to Buckeye VOR via a route around the north end of the White Tank Mountains.  Nearing Buckeye VOR, Luke would hand me off to Albuquerque Center who in turn would stay with me to JUDTH INT where they would do the hand-off to Yuma Approach.  It could not be any easier than that.  In the case of our Breakfast Club event, I would not need the hand-off to Center as I would be in contact with the rest of the Breakfast Club group.  After making the turn at JUDTH, I waited until reaching MOHAK INT which is about 35-miles east of NYL, to contact Yuma Approach for our arrival into the NYL class D airspace. 

 

Since runway 8/26 was closed for maintenance and with light winds out of the south, runway 17 was the runway of choice.  I was cleared for a left base entry to 17 which is very convenient since my roll-out will take you right to the mid field exit at Z3.  Yuma Ground cleared me to Million Air via Z/Z3 where the ramp folks were waiting for us and directing us to the tie-downs.  After gathering everyone had gathered in the lobby, we departed the west parking lot entry and piled into one of the vans. 

 

I have driven off the airport only a couple of times over the years so getting to the main east/west street that runs along the north side of the airport was fairly simple.  It was only after passing the turn-off to the main terminal that I had to rely solely on my memory of the MapQuest map to get to the restaurant.  Over the years, there is little of Yuma that I have not flown over but from street level, I may as well have been in Philadelphia.  Nothing at street level looked at all familiar.  Despite my best efforts, we were able to locate Mimi’s without getting too lost. 

 

I had called the restaurant a few weeks in advance of our fly-in so when we entered the restaurant, we were directed to our large table that had been reserved for us.  I have dined at a number of different Mimi’s Restaurants around the state and I can say they don’t differ at all from their format from one place to the other.  You can pretty much depend on getting a good meal at any of their locations.

 

After our hearty meal and plenty of hangar flying, it was time to retrace our steps back to the airport and by now I had it down pat.  I thanked Jim for the use of their van and then, after the mandatory “pit stop”, headed out the door for our aircraft.  The trip home was an exact reverse of route coming in the morning.  We all had a good time at a place not really known for any sort of tourism but with other aviators, how can it miss?

 

The Yuma Gang

 

  • Warren & Jeri-Ann McIlvoy with Paul Fortune in 93MB, BC 1 & 1.5 with BC-201
  • Jim Palmer in 9313H
  • Rich Kupiec and Greg Coomans in 6693M, BC-47 & BC-48
  • Steve & Karen Brown in 57LW

 

What’s Next?

 

May was to be our first overnight event of the year to San Diego but due to a lack of interest, I moved the event to a fly-in to Safford and the Manor House Restaurant.  Payson and the Crosswinds Restaurant will be our June destination as it is one of our all time favorites.  That’s all for now but remember, fly safe.

 

To view photos of our Yuma event, just click on this link Yuma Photos