The Breakfast Club
An Affliate of the
The Knife & Fork
Breakfast Club Visits Marana, Sky Rider Cafe
10 Jul 2004
by Warren McIlvoy
There is a small general aviation
airport that is a little northwest of Tucson, a tad south of Casa Grande, and
west of I-10, that, surprising to me, that a few in our Breakfast Club
group, have never been to in the past. Marana Northwest Regional (AVQ)
a.k.a.
Our usual Saturday morning flying routine was just a bit different this time as
we had to pick-up Richard Azimov (BC-2) at
I departed Eloy on runway 20 and continued in a westerly direction until
reaching I-10 and then turned to the southeast to follow the "super
slab" as I leveled-out at 3500'. I tuned-in on our air-to-air frequency to
report in to the rest of the gang that were on their way. Since Marana
was only about 35 miles down the road from Eloy, I did not stay on frequency
very long as it was time to listen in on the goings-on at Marana.
The pattern chatter was quite busy and everyone was reporting over the cement
plant that is along the Interstate. The cement plant is a very good entry point
for the 45 degree entry to left downwind for Marana runway 12. After
reporting the cement plant, I was number 3 on the downwind to the runway. The Sky Rider Café is located near the approach end of runway 3 so it is
somewhat of a long taxi to the restaurant parking. I got one of the last three
spaces in the front row and there were more aircraft on the way. Some
folks parked on grass (?) across the ramp since the main parking area is
located on the far side of the hangars.
The off-ramp areas are now enclosed by fencing with the requisite coded gate
(don't forget to remember the code). The shaded walkway is painted to resemble
the markings on a runway with the dashed lines and numbers at the ends. A
"humpback" bridge crosses over a simulated "wash" and then
it is free sailing to the restaurant door. I had called the café earlier
in the week to let them know that the
Breakfast Club crowd would require seating
for about 25 people. They had arranged two rows of long tables that were
"reserved" for us so that we all able to sit together. The decor is
nothing fancy but there is a definite aviation theme with pictures of assorted
aircraft adoring the walls. The panoramic windows on the north side of the
dinning area afford a great view of the "park-like" scene that
occupies the area between the café and the ramp fencing. The food is
pretty good and portions are ample. I would venture to say that the Sky Rider Café is
just what an "airport restaurant" should be; good food at reasonable
prices.
After getting some photos of the Breakfast Club folks
in the café, I went out to the ramp to get some additional shots of some
of the aircraft and other folks who had already drifted out there. To the west
of the restaurant was about a dozen military aircraft that appeared to be
prepared for painting or storage; I am not sure which but I favored the
painting theory over storage as Davis- Monthan AFB at
The Marana Gang
What's on Tap?
The August event is slated for a return trip to
Click on the Marana
link to view photos of this fly-in event.