Breakfast Club
An Affiliate of
the
The
Knife & Fork
Breakfast
Club Kicks-Off New Year in Payson/Crosswinds Café
8 Jan 2011
by Warren McIlvoy
What better place could you choose to kick-off our 18th
year of monthly breakfast fly-ins than
A small informal fly-in was planned in the first of January to welcome-in the new decade but weather did not cooperate. The runway was only partially cleared but still had snow over ice with braking conditions somewhat on the poor side. Those conditions offered way more excitement than most of us wanted so it was a no-go. However, on our schedule fly-in date a week later, conditions were vastly improved. The sun was shinning brightly, the runway was cleared, and all of the ramp parking has been cleared of snow.
After landing on runway 24 in calm winds, I easily made the first turn-off just past the restaurant and taxied back to the ramp that is just to the east of the small ramp that is in front of the restaurant. After securing the airplane, we waited on the ramp as other Breakfast Club aircraft were arriving. I am sure glad that I had opted for a heavier jacket as the temperature was hovering right around freezing. I took some ramp photos while greeting other Breakfast Club folks but the chill of the early morning and the allure of some hot coffee made this greeting session an abbreviated one.
I had called the Crosswinds earlier in the week to reserve the “patio” dinning area and I thought that we might have about 20 people for the fly-in. Although it is only about a 25-minute flight from Deer Valley, the first hint that my head count might be just a tad off. The radio chatter was greater than normal and there were some voices that I had not heard for some time. Another hint was that the traffic pattern was like a beehive and while waiting on the ramp, you could see no less than three aircraft in the pattern at all times. When all was said and done, we had a total of 41 people show-up. We completely filled the patio dinning area and we overflowed into the main dinning area by one table. I guess that there was a lot of pent-up flying energy and it was a great day to kick-off a new year of flying adventures.
The Crosswinds Café has always been known for their good “airport” food and ample portions. Over the years, the only thing that has changes is the size of the building. Back in the early 80’s, the Crosswinds Café was made-up of two small trailers joined at a right angle so it was obviously small. The same person who worked the Unicom radio was also the same person who fried your eggs and flipped your flapjacks. The present building came about around 1990 with the “patio” dinning area being added a few years later.
Even with the Breakfast Club group being double what I had told them, the serving folks got our orders to us in pretty good time considering that the locals also know where this place is. One of the neat things about the Crosswinds Café is that the wide windows that overlook the ramp parking area, also provides an excellent view of the Mogollon Rim to the north. It is often called by the locals, “the million dollar view”. With Sedona being in the process of replacing their restaurant, Payson has become even more popular, but then again, it always has been.
The Payson Group
What’s Next?
In February, the Breakfast Club will be making its first ever trip
to
To view photos of this fly-in event, just click on Payson photos