Anyone Ever Fly Here?

[Tom Tyson]

Interesting plans for air travel from the middle of nowhere.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/dadecollier-training-and-transition-airport?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=atlas-page&fbclid=IwAR1c30NlCK1pJqwTVjFiBcBjWJAgcUdGafHzK2mXmVa2KhaVbE9p_LpM1_s

[Ralph Jones]

I did my PPL with Mary Gaffaney in 1960 at the old Tamiami, which was the way-out-there airport in those days. It since became a college, whose pedestrian bridge over the Tamiami Trail collapsed two years ago killing eight people.

[Randy Sohn]

[QUOTEwith Mary Gaffaney[/QUOTE]

Searching back thru my memories, didn't she fly a Pitts?

best, randy

[Ralph Jones]

Searching back thru my memories, didn't she fly a Pitts?

You betcha, N6W, women's national champ 5 times and world gold medal in 1970.

But my favorite Mary story came circa 1962 when she got a late night call from the airport cop, saying one of her trainers had taken off NORDO and headed for Cuba. She hustled out to the field, got in her Aztec and got ATC to vector her for an intercept. She guessed the radio would still be on the freq where the last student left it, got hold of the guy, and said turn around. When he didn't comply, she overtook from below, pulled up, and hotnosed his a** -- whereupon he got remarkably compliant. Good times.

[Bruce Gorrell]

Interesting plans for air travel from the middle of nowhere.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/...haVbE9p_LpM1_s

We went out there to do landings in an F-28 pre-Class D simulators. Middle of the night in the pattern with 747s and DC-8s.

[Tom Charlton]

Interesting plans for air travel from the middle of nowhere.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/...haVbE9p_LpM1_s

Hi Tom T.

KTNT. Yup, BTDT. Well . . . never landed there but photographed it countless times over the years under contract by Miami Dade Aviation Department. Imaged each of their airports from multiple altitudes with color, B&W and infra-red films. KOPF, KMIA, KTMB, KHST, KTNT and X46 (long since closed)

The fun part was the annual ten east/west flight lines at 1,000 ft. covering Miami International. With pre-coordination and working with sharp controllers it wasn’t too bad. Came to know a lot of fine ATC folks on a first name basis in the Miami TRACON.

Regards,
Tom Charlton

[Randy Sohn]

We went out there to do landings in an F-28 pre-Class D simulators. Middle of the night in the pattern with 747s and DC-8s.

That Piedmont reference made me recall about Jack Brannon, checked him out in GA ANG C-97s at Savannah.

best, randy

[Jeff Hartmann]

I'll jump in to say we used it on 6-16-83 to make a few approaches with an examiner named Arthur Chestnut (retired Pan Am guy ...I think) for my ATP checkride. On one occasion we were head on to a departing 747, but we were communicating and broke off for the ADF work. Everyone was too busy for an approach into MIA, so he sent me to a broadcast station to hold and fly a modified ADF approach. I was late gettting my ATP...should have gotten it while it was an ATR, but back then you only needed it to be a 121 captain. Later it became a necessary credential for any old airplane job.
Curious that there was no tower(at least then), only a fire/crash rescue unit.
Edit: to say, I just noticed in my logbook that he wrote "above average"...(Ahem) I would hope, considering I had about 1500 hours in the same type airplane.. an Aztec.( and about 6600TT)

Also add, I used to motorcycle out west of Perrine (?) to watch Mary practice, with her husband on the ground critiquing her. 1967 or so.
She came to a couple of informal airshows in Pahokee later in the 70s. Yellow and Black Pitts.