Home Page for Campbell Field Airport

Campbell Field Airport
9VG
Located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia

Updates from the airport and "Soup-on-Sunday"

"Come Roll on the Grass"
"Grassroots Airport for Grassroots Flying"
"Home of the $100 Hotdog"
Taildragger Friendly!

Airport & "Soup-on-Sunday" Updates 2005-2006:

2/05/2006 Soup-on-Sunday: It seems that some of you read my mind. I have been considering making this a "drive-in" event and sure enough most of you arrived on 4 wheels. Only two pilots and their passengers were not on the same wavelength and braved the 20-25 kt winds to fly in. Fortunately the wind was right down rwy 21. In between hot dogs we braved the wind to check out all the GM, Ford and Chrysler model cars (we only buy American) in the parking lot. The Piper Dakota and the Cessna Skylane sat  heavyhearted in their spots on the grass as we oohed and ahhed all the land vehicles.
    Ok, for all you scratching your heads, I guess I could have just said that it was windy and nobody came by plane! (Except for the two that did come.) But then this blog would be boring and you would have Googled something else by now.
    While it was windy the hanger provided a great wind block and when the sun was out it was even warm. There were plenty of meatballs, chilli, and hot dogs for everyone.
    But please, I was never a fan of auto shows so lets keep this an aviation event!
    As for superbowl fans we had one person in a Steelers jacket. Because no one else knew who was playing I guess it was a pro Steeler event by a score of 1-0. Being neutral I will just say "Go Team".

1/22/2006 Soup-on-Sunday: Cooler temperatures and prospects for deteriorating weather kept the crowds away. Still 14 aircraft braved the first winter weather and arrived for chilli and hotdogs. Most of the arrivals were regulars, but it was nice to see a few new faces. A 15mph wind out of the NE meant a great tailwind for anyone arriving from the North but  a headwind for the ride home.
    A big suprise was the arrival of the open cockpit "trike on steroids" out of Williamsburg. Maybe a better name would be a "Rotax with wings". The pilot stated that he hit a warm section of air when crossing the Cheasapeake Bay. We all realized that it was really just the first symptoms of hypothermia and we made sure he had ingested plenty of hot chilli before his trip home! In reality, he really seems to be an excellent pilot and wears enough layers to survive any cold weather in his way. All the other pilots were sure to keep any complaints about cold weather flying to themselves.
    A couple of ultralights based near the MD line (New Church, VA) made quick progress to the event but were spotted near MFV (13NE) almost an hour after their departure from 9VG. Walking might have been a faster (but NOT better) option! Flying is fun and a headwind just means more time in the cockpit.
    Two Aircoupe's made the journey again from Salisbury (yes, they brought the pilots). The Aircoupe is a great design and a fun plane. It just proves that new is not necessarily better.
    "Soup-on-Sunday" is cancelled next week because I will be out of town. See you all on February 5th.

1/15/2006: Don't worry, we did not have a "Soup-on-Sunday" today! And even if we did it would have taken some skill to navigate your plane onto the runway with winds gusting up to 50mph.
    Why am I here? Well, my poor engineering skills led to the destruction of the large windsock on the top of the hanger. I knew I should have wind tunnel tested my design! It held on in 50mph+ winds for a few hours last night but at exactly midnight the windsock, weather station, guy wires and all came tumbling down. How do I know it happened at exactly midnight? Thats when the weather station started to give erroneous readings. Wind speeds just do not go from 50mph one minute to zero the next!
    Fortunately the weather station had no damage and it is back up and collecting data. For proof see the Weather page. As for the windsock, I am going to have to find another more stable location to support it. In the meantime there are two other windsocks on the field for pilots to rely on.

1/8/2006 Soup-on-Sunday: I thought that the new year would bring reduced appetites as pilots went on their yearly weight loss campaigns. Was I wrong! These "Soup-on-Sundays" are going to ruin the new light-sport aircraft designation. The aircraft will be the only thing "light" about it!
    Getting past the joking, we had another great turnout. Luck has definately been on the AV8R's side these past few weeks. Seems like every Sunday brings another warm and clear day. I am still waiting for a cold day with frigid winds out of the NW to see who the real diehard pilots are.
    We had about 25 planes landing including a couple of nice RV's, two Grummans, a great looking Piper Apache, a bunch of 172's and 182's, I think I saw at least one Husky, and many others. Even the State of Virginia was represented with their Cessna 182. I think they like to do a "grip and grin" session this time of the year to make you feel better about paying your taxes.
    The Piper Apache was part of a group of 4 or so planes from EAA Chapter 339 out of Norfolk. A nice group from Charlottesville, VA also joined us. The distance award goes to a great couple from New York City. I think they had to take the Subway, then Taxi, then Car, and finally their Grumman Tiger to get down here! What people will do to escape the big city.
    I could keep going on and on but I will save some room for next week. See you then.

1/1/2006 Soup-on-Sunday: After a break last Sunday for the Christmas holiday pilots were out in force again. It was another sunny and warm (for January) with temps in the low 50's and light winds out of the North. Planes started arriving as early as 11:30 with a final tally of about 22 planes. Once again the RV crowd was out in force. Either they're not getting fed at home or those RV-8's are a hell of a fun plane to fly! I'm guessing the latter. We also had a great looking Stinson 108 piloted by a Marine Corps Capt out of North Carolina. It looks like he is going to have a lot of fun in his newly acquired Stinson, but I bet he misses the verticle take- off capabilities that he is accustomed to in his Harrier! A nice suprise was the open cockpit ultralight trike that came in from Williamsburg. Most trike pilots have either packed them away for the winter or have gone to Florida. His trike is powered by a Rotax 912 making it a fun plane to fly. Hope everyone had a great time and see you all next Sunday.

12/18/05 Soup-on-Sunday: The weather service was predicting rain and snow but once again the Eastern Shore was spared any precipitation. Unlike many areas to the North this local area has received no snow this past month. The poor forecasting resulted in a low turnout at "Soup-on-Sunday". Only 5 planes showed up but suprisingly all reported smooth flying conditions with light winds right down rwy 03.  So the combination of great flying weather and low turnout was dissapointing, but to be fair, conditions outside of this area might have been very different. The group that showed up enjoyed some great hanger talk and had plenty of food. Enjoy your Christmas and don't forget to fly your plane on Sunday, Jan. 1st!

Maule Upate: Unfortunately my relationship with the Maule did not even get off the ground (pun intended). I guess it was just never meant to happen as her rightful owner was nice enough to explain to me; "...as you were able to see for yourself, the stubborn Maule finally saw what was good for her and agreed to come home after all ........ anyway, she really enjoyed being there and appreciated your hospitality.  You have to understand that Maules are like mules, bred to be country girls and carry big loads to small places.  The stubbornness is just part of their true colors .......... and when she saw that she was going to be traded for a ground hog Britt with 4 wheels !!!! ........ that really helped to make up her mind......" So it looks like I have my "ground hog Britt with 4 wheels" still available for trade. Any Cessnas or Pipers interested? Hmmm, there is a cute Fisher across the field!

12/11/05 Soup-on-Sunday: Another beautiful Eastern Shore Sunday brought out a large crowd to Campbell Field. Some 23 fixed wing aircraft and a great looking Robinson R22 Helicopter landed, or bounced in, and enjoyed the warm and clear day.
    We had a diverse crowd including several retired airline pilots, FAA examiner, FAA safety officer, several CFI's, plane builders, etc. I'm sure if we added up the total hours of the group it would be well over 100,000 hours. 
    Three  EAA club organizations were also well represented; the Delmarva Aviation Association based out of Salisbury, MD., the Hampton Roads 99's (EAA Chapter 399) and Ray's Raiders ultralight club (EAA Chapter 108/ul) based on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
    Luckily everyone came hungry and finished off 4 gallons of Chili and around 60-70 hot dogs. I hope they were all full on departure.
    All aircraft except one stubborn Maule departed at the end of the day. Personally I think the Maule had such a good time it did not want to leave. Fortunately for the Maule owners they were able to strike a deal with me (I was in a charitable mood) and I traded my 1999 Land Rover Automobile for their Maule. I am sure they will get years of enjoyment out of my old car. The Maule sure seems happy in its new home! Come on back next week, I have one more car to trade!

P.S. Next Sunday 12/18 is the last "Soup-on-Sunday" for 2005. Come and enjoy the Christmas party next week.

7/16/2006 Sunflowers:  We have 25 acres of Giant Sunflowers that will be in bloom for the next 5-7 days.  They look great so fly on in and enjoy.

7/09/2006 Sound of Freedom:  The Marines of the Wild Goose Squadron (Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 774) held a night training excercise at Campbell Field Airport.

 

    Two CH-46E Helicopters took part in the excercise.  At the end of the excercise LtCol Robert J. Goetz presented me with an American Flag flown over Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.  Some of you may have met LtCol Goetz at the previous Saturday's fly-in.   The American Flag and the Certificates will be proudly displayed at Campbell Field and all are welcome to view them.
    The Wild Goose Squadron is always welcome to "Come Roll on the Grass" and we hope the excercise here was a success.

The Squadron maintains hundreds of photos on the internet.

These are just a few samples from their recent tour in Iraq.

Click  here for more Wild Goose Squadron photos.

Click  here for more Wild Goose Squadron photos.

7/08/2006 EAA Chapter 108/UL Fly-In: Our first Saturday fly-in in several months proved to be a success with 15 aircraft from around Virginia arriving as well as a good crowd traveling in by car. 
    The seagull population must also be getting my emails because we had one hundred or so join us on the runway.  While we feasted on hamburgers and hot dogs the Seagulls enjoyed live grasshoppers.  Fortunately there were no collisions with Seagulls and they proved to be excellent aviators. 
    Some of the planes flying in included a locally based Glastar and a Cessna 177B Cardinal based on the Western side of the Cheasapeake Bay whose owner is building a RV8.  Out of Fredericksburg, VA two aircraft with verticle or near verticle lift of capabilities flew in.  The first, a Safari Helicopter, needs no runway, the second, an Aircam needs very  little runway (see the pictures below!).   The AirCam published takeoff roll is LESS than 200 feet!  So much for "rolling on the grass"! Powered by two Rotax 912S engines (total 200HP) this experimental has a great power to weight ratio.  My vote for the best paint goes to a RV-7 based in Cheasapeake, VA.

Some photos of the day:

Airplanes and Seagulls enjoying the fly-in.

Making it look easy at the controls of a Safari Helicopter.

AirCam's Twin Engine-Rotax 912S

Grill master working to keep the lines short.

6/11/2006 Soup-on-Sunday:  Our book signing and fly-in was a huge success.  The action started at 8AM with the arrival of the "Trike on Steroids" out of Willamsburg, VA and did not end until 5PM with the last departure.  Over 25 planes flew in and quite a few locals drove in to listen to author and pilot Louis Stannard talk about his book China Diaries: a saga of Pan Am, CNAC, the Flying Tigers & the 4th Marines in the Thirties China.  The weather was perfect, all the books were signed and everyone had a great day of flying.  Look for more of these events in the future. 

Some photos of the day:
 

Beautiful RV-8

.
Crowd enjoying the presentation.

Author & Pilot Louis Stannard  talking about  China Diaries.

Checking out the planes!

Piper Cub taking a "roll on the grass".

Cessna on departure.

RV-6 off the ground in 400 feet.

Mom with a future pilot!

  On a sad note our much beloved Tommy (our airport mascot)  passed away this past on June 12th.  His little heart just could not keep up with his busy social schedule.  It was not a suprise as his health was deteriorating but we will miss him very much.

Tommy
11/18/1995-6/12/2006

5/21/2006 Soup-on-Sunday:  One of the prettiest days we have had.  Temperatures were in the mid 70's with a  breeze down the runway and clear skies.

A tricycle gear RV-6A came in from Fredericksburg, VA, then a  Piper Cub that is based on the Eastern Shore
.

Top picture is a Cessna 150 with new paint and great looking interior from Norfolk area and bottom picture is a Piper Cherokee based at Melfa (MFV).

Everyone enjoyed the sunny day, including this
future aviator and his dad!

5/7/2006 Soup-on-Sunday:  Rain moving in from the Southwest kept some pilots away.  The rain held off until 4PM, just in time for the 7 aircraft that arrived for "Soup-on-Sunday" to depart for home.  The first plane to arrive was a Beech 18 out of Tipton (FME), deep within the Washington DC ADIZ.  The pilot of this gorgeous airplane had a very capable copilot; his 13 year old son.  Soon after a Piper Apache from the Norfolk area arrived.  We all spent some time admiring the Beech 18 but unfortunately they had to leave early.  Shortly after the departure of the Beech 18 several more planes arrived including a Piper Colt out of Salisbury.

Piper Colt based at Salisbury, MD (SBY)

4/10/2006 Sun n' Fun Update: While I have attended Sun 'n Fun in the past I never camped "under my wing" at the event.  So this year I packed up my Grumman Tiger and flew to Lakeland for a week of Sun 'n Fun.  Aircraft camping was on the East end of the airport which afforded a great view right down the runway and I thought it was a great vantage point for the airshows.  Especially when the military jets were flying.  The highlight of the trip was watching the F-14, f-15's, F-18's and F-22 Raptors fly.  Those are some incredible machines.  The rest of the week was spent walking around the miles of displays and sitting by my plane enjoying the sun.  Every type of plane was there as well as vendors trying to sell you all the latest and greatest for your.  Even the Virginia Department of Aviation had a display and full staff to promote general aviation in Virginia.  It is great to live in a State with a positive attitude towards general aviation. Now if they could only do something about the price of avgas!  Sun 'n Fun ended up being a great trip I look forward to the same at Oshkosh this summer.

3/26/2006 Soup-on-Sunday: I guess the winds in March will one day yield to the April showers. But not before blowing hard out of the West for one more Sunday!  Today saw a small crowd, maybe no more than 6 planes, but it was a very interesting group and we sat and talked all afternoon. The highlight of the day was listening to a gentleman who back in 1944 jumped out of a perfectly good aircraft in the dead of night with little knowledge of where he was!  Why would anyone do this?  Well, for a good cause! He was a member of the 101st Airborne Division and was one of 6,700 soldiers dropped behind enemy lines to fight the Germans so just prior to the Normandy beach assault.  It is great to hear these stories from WWII Veterans and I hope he comes back to share more.  On a side note he is now more comfortable staying in planes than jumping out of them, and, with his son, flew in on a great looking Piper Colt.  I am off to Sun 'n Fun so see you all in a few weeks.

Piper Colt out of Virginia Beach, VA.

3/19/2006 Soup-on-Sunday: Approximately 9-10 planes ventured in on another windy March day.  What is interesting is the number of new faces each Sunday.  While we do have many repeats it is nice to see new faces and the planes they come in on.  One arrival from Fairfax, VA was a plane I had never seen before.  I soon learned that it was a Pazmany PL-2.  Not many were made, or at least not many are flying but it was an interesting bird.  Another interesting plane to come in was the Thorp T-18 out of Manassas, VA.  By the way both the Pazmany and the Thorp are homebuilt experimental aircraft.  While some may cringe at the notion of an experimental aircraft the experienced will tell you that often you get a better, safer and more reliable plane by building it yourself.  Just look at all the great RV's and Lancairs out there.  One of my favorite aircraft, a Maule M-5, arrived from Maryland.  A Maule really is at home on a grass strip.

3/12/2006 Soup-on-Sunday: Well today was a lot of fun. The "Soup-on-Sunday" went great. Not a huge turnout due to 15-25 knot winds but a fun crowd. Earl in his 172 was the first in and I think he holds the attendance record for  "Soup-on-Sundays". He even shows up when they are cancelled!
    Two doctors came in from Norfolk in a 182 RG. One of them is a AME. After several hot dogs and some chilli I stayed away from him fearing that he might invalidate my medical!
    Then a A&P/IA strolled in and between sips of coffee he kept a close eye for any botched landings that might be in need of his services! Maybe I am in cahoots and we put those bumps there on purpose! A few of those bumps were felt by the small tires on a great looking Glasair out of Chesapeake.  Then a Cessna 150 came in using up not more than 200 feet of runway and made me wonder why in the world I spend hours mowing 3000 feet!
    Once again the Grumman Tigers were out in force with two landing today. That made three on the field including mine. I would of flown the Tiger today but my new Phantom Ultralight was begging to be flown.
    And that brings me to why today was special. By 4PM, after eveyone had departed, the winds died and I decided to try out my new Phantom. I did a few crow hops the other day but had not flown higher than 20-30 feet. Today I filled it up with 5 gallons of gas, taxied out, did a few crow hops then blasted off! What a fun machine! After years flying the Grumman Tiger I just saw flying in a different perspective. After a few minutes in the pattern to get comfortable with the Phantom I headed over to Nassawadox Creek that flows into the Chesapeake Bay.  Flying at 200-300 AGL at 40-50 mph was an incredible experience. I followed several forks of the creek and waved to people out on their docks. I then transversed the peninsula we call the Eastern Shore, tried to keep up with some cars on Route 13 and then flew a few circles over Red Bank, a small community on the sea side. I can't wait to fly over to the barrier islands in the upcoming months and I will be sure to post some great photos from my flights here.

3/05/2006 Soup-on-Sunday: After a month delay due to bad weather this past Sunday brought us nice weather but a strong wind directly crosswind to the main runway. Luckily many planes were able to use the short (1455 ft.) runway.      The first plane to arrive was a Cessna 182 out of Charlottesville, VA. The pilot brought 3 passengers, all who are also pilots. Logging PIC time has to be tough in a situation like that. We have all heard of "back seat drivers". I'm sure the three passengers had enough comments on the flight over to qualify for some PIC time! Well, whoever did land the plane sure made it look easy and used up very little of the short runway. The group were all members of EAA Chapter 1257,  and two have completed the Virginia Ambassadors Program. Congratulations!

 
Charlottesville EAA 1257 Invades Campbell Field!

    Other planes that trickled in during the afternoon included a great looking 1952  Cessna 195.  Supposedley the plane has been declared "totaled" three times! (See article in SportsmanPilot.com) I would like to complement the owner on the quality of the restoration but he has owned it some 38 years so he had plenty of time to make it look nice! I guess it gives me another 25 years to get around to washing and waxing my Grumman. The pilot is also a seaplane instructor. Go visit him at ChesapeakeSeaplanes.com.
    From the South two Stinson 108's arrived in formation. One was from New Bern, N.C. (his 2nd "Soup-on-Sunday") and the other from Raleigh, N.C. From the North a Piper arrived from Neward, DE., and a Grumman (One of two today) was from Laurel, MD. The other Grumman was from Gordonsville, VA (Near Charlottesville). I was told the town was named after yours truly.
    In addition we enjoyed the company of several Cessna's, Pipers and a shiny RV8 (Used exclusively to transport the President of EAA Chapter 571).
    Forecast for this coming Sunday is 70 and sunny so GO FLY!

Couple of Stinson 108's enjoying a "Roll on the Grass".

Some of the aircraft at "Soup-on-Sunday"

We are the first airport to have an official mascot!

Tommy
Little Tommy passed away on June 12th, 2006

New York's JFKAirport-NO Mascot!
London's Heathrow Airport-NO Mascot!
Paris De Gaulle Airport-NO Mascot!
Campbell Field Airport-Official Mascot "Tommy"