Breakfast Club
An Affiliate of the Arizona Pilots Assn

The Knife & Fork

Breakfast Club Visits Kingman/Tours Airfield Businesses






10 Oct 2009
by Warren McIlvoy


Little did we know last November when the event committee met to consider the itinerary for 2009, that the October event to Kingman would have an added attraction provided by the local EAA Chapter 765. The little airport café is a favorite of not only the locals but also the fly-in enthusiasts who enjoy a good meal at a fair price. In June, I received an email note from John Pool of the EAA Chapter offering a tour of some of the facilities and businesses at the airport. John had recently joined the Arizona Pilots Association and learned off the Breakfast Club via a link on the APA site. I responded to John stating that we would be happy to participate in their hospitality.

Our route on this morning would take us over some notable Arizona landmarks such as, Yarnell and Peeples Valley that are tucked into a valley in the Weaver Mountains, Hillside, where the rail head is for transporting the copper concentrate from the Bagdad Copper Mine, and then over Upper Burro Creek Wilderness Area north of Bagdad. We will also pass over a ridge formed by the Aquarius Mountains that form the eastern portion of a valley that is bounded on the west by the Hualapai Mountains. To the west of this mountain ridge is the Sacramento Valley that the City of Kingman calls home.

The chatter on our "group flight following" frequency would indicate that there will be a pretty good attendance at this event. The winds were light out of the southwest so we were going to use left traffic for runway 21. Following my usual great landing, I taxied to the parking on the transient ramp in front of the terminal building. After attaching a couple of tie-down chains, my next assignment was to prowl the ramp and get some photos of the Breakfast Club planes as they arrived and disgorged their passengers.

From prior visits to Kingman, I knew that the café had a covered, outside patio that would allow all of the Breakfast Club folks to sit together at one, all-be-it, long table. Although we were given menus right away, it did take a while to get our orders placed. As time went on, it became painfully obvious that breakfast was going to be a long ordeal. Although the food has always been good and the prices were there also, I was somewhat disappointed that there was only 3-people to handle all of the cooking and serving duties for both the inside and outside facilities. It was not that we arrived on the spur of the moment, as I had called the café on Thursday to let them know that there would be about 25-people arriving for breakfast. Though this is a good fly-in stop for the hungry aviator, it is best suited for a group not to exceed about 8-folks.

About an hour and a half into the breakfast meal, Gene Wolf of the EAA Chapter came by our table and informed me that the tram was ready when we were finished with the meal. It took about 2-hours for everyone to get served and finish eating so that we could begin the airport tour.

After everyone had boarded the tram, we exited the ramp and traveled along a road that paralleled the fence. Soon we pulled-up in front of a building that had a large hanger with offices attached. The bi-fold door a part way open to exposed a number of airframes in various stages of assembly or disassembly, depending on how you look at them. We were greeted by Carl Hays and Jill Gernetzke, owners of a company called M-14P (http://www.m-14p.com/v2/index.html). This company is involved in many products but the most recognizable is the YAK 52. The 52 is quite similar to the Chinese YAKS more commonly known as "CJ's. They will take your airframe or sell you one and completely strip it down to bare metal and barrels of parts and then rebuild it into your dream machine. The tour continued through their prop shop that also housed a machine shop and a soon to be, certified engine shop. They also had some airframes that they affectionately called "Miglets". It was a conventional geared craft that closely resembled a Wilga without the "grasshopper" main gear. You can visit their web site at the above address to learn more about this fascinating company.

When we had finished the tour of M-14P, we hopped on the tram and headed further down the road and back through the gate. This time we were a lot closer to the "bone yard" at the southwestern portion of the airport. The tram stopped at another airport business called Composite Solutions ( http://alphazulucomposites.com) Paul Gaines, the owner, directed our tour of the facility that had several sailplanes and one Glasair that was being repaired and repainted. There were a variety of sailplane parts on the floor that needed some extensive repairs to the composite skins. I believe that I heard someone say that this particular glider experienced an off-airport landing.

At the completion of the tour of Composite Solutions, the tram took us back to the terminal building. I want to thank John Pool, my initial contact in setting-up the tour. John was not present due to an out of town family emergency. I also want to extend our deepest appreciation to Andy Andrus and Gene Wolf for their hospitality in providing and setting-up our tour.

After some final preparations, we were soon airborne for our return trip back to the valley. Since our direct line course to Phoenix took us almost right over the Bagdad Airport, the "waypoint" became a good reporting point in our "group flight following". To sum it up, we had a good meal at the airport restaurant (all-be-it rather drawn out), great flying weather, and an outstanding tour hosted by the EAA Chapter 765. What more could you as for?


The Kingman Flock

What's Next?

The November Breakfast Club event will see us traveling to new place at an old destination. Borrego Spring (L04) and the Borrego Springs Resort. L04 is just southwest of the Salton Sea and about 40-miles northeast of San Diego. In December, we will going east to a place that we have not been to in about 3-4 years, White River, Arizona. That's all for now but remember, fly safe.


Click on the Kingman link to view photos of this fly-in event.