The Breakfast Club
An Affiliate of the Arizona Pilots' Assn.

The Knife & Fork
Breakfast Club Visits Parker, Blue Water Resort & Casino



15 Dec 07
by Warren McIlvoy

The Breakfast Club finished out the year with great flying weather and an even better turn-out for our December event to Parker and the Blue Water Resort and Casino. We had a slight headwind but very smooth conditions all the way to Parker and the airways were busy with position reports and further confirmation of the smooth flying conditions.

Nineteen aircraft funneled their way into the traffic pattern avoiding the temptation to land on the newly constructed runway that is to the east of the existing runway. Although it appeared to be finished, there was no stripping or runway lighting. I guess that we may have to make a larger donation in the casino in order for the tribe to have the funds to finish the runway construction.

After gathering the Breakfast Club group on the ramp to get some group photos, we split into groups that either wanted a ride to the Blue Water Resort or, for the more adventurous, to take the 25-minute hike through the desert. I have taken the hike in the past and saw all of the desert scenery that I cared to see so it was the van ride for me. As we were the first wave to hit the resort, I advised the restaurant people that we would be a group of about 30-people and, if possible, to sit as close together as possible. I also suggested that we wait for the rest of our group so that everyone would be seated together.

You have two options for eating; You can either order from the menu or indulge yourself at the buffet bar. As far as I know, everyone chose the buffet. After the "ole timers" discount, the breakfast tab comes out to about $5.50 per person. Not too bad and the food was fairly decent.

While some of the guys sat around and did some lying and hangar flying, a few of the wives had to explore some of the opportunities of supporting the local economy. I believe that my wife donated about $20 and that should help buy a gallon of paint for the new runway. I also had an opportunity to chat with some folks from the Sun Lakes Aero Club that accompanied the Breakfast Club on this event. If you would like to learn more about the Sun Lakes folks, just click on this link: http://www.sunlakesaeroclub.org/

After rescuing my wife from the dastardly clutches of the "no arm bandits" and limiting the damages to "our" local economy, we summoned the van for the ride back to the airport. The ride back to Deer Valley was every bit as smooth as the ride in but, then again, that is winter time flying in Arizona.

The Blue Water Resort Coalition

What's Next?

The Breakfast Club crack(ed) event committee sat down and while stuffing our faces, hammered-out the itinerary for 2008. Beginning in January, we will be returning for a visit to Kingman, Arizona and the Airport Café. In February, we will be returning to Valle and the Grand Canyon Inn. We have also rescheduled a weekend stay in Avalon on Catalina Island. As you recall, the weekend of our planned trip, a wild fire broke-out on the island and forced cancellation of all events. We have also rescheduled a fly-in to Bisbee that inclement weather forced us to cancel that event also. Take a look at the new event calendar on our web site and pencil-in some of these events for your flying pleasure. That's all for now but remember, fly safe.

Click on this Parker link to view some photos of this fly-in event.