Gold Hill pilot: Ron Schreck wipes off the propeller of his RV-8 experimental aircraft, which he flew across the state on July 4th to touch down on all 109 public-use airports in North Carolina. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.
Posted on 07/09/2007 3:17:06 AM PDT by SkyPilot
GOLD HILL — Retired Air Force pilot Ron Schreck completed an N.C. aviation milestone for the Fourth of July: He touched down at all 109 public-use airports in the state in a day.
Schreck took off just before midnight from Gold Hill Airpark, where he lives, and finished his feat in 19 hours and 51 minutes at 8:09 p.m. — plenty of time before any fireworks might have interfered with his flight plan.
He said the idea sprouted from hangar talk after he noted the number of airports in a state Department of Transportation booklet. Schreck said he contacted Tom Freeman in the state agency's Aviation Division, and Freeman didn't know of anyone who had touched down at all the public-use airports in any stretch of time, much less a single day.
Gold Hill pilot: Ron Schreck wipes off the propeller of his RV-8 experimental aircraft, which he flew across the state on July 4th to touch down on all 109 public-use airports in North Carolina. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.
When Schreck, 61, decided he'd try, he contacted a Georgia Tech professor who has been working on solving logistics problems for 16 years. William Cook, a professor of mathematics, had created an algorithm to find the shortest route for someone like a traveling salesman to take if he has many stops along his route. If you need to go to a dozen locations, the combinations could reach into the billions.
"I'm no math genius," Schreck said, "so I just gave Cook the coordinates of the 109 airports that I needed to visit, and he came back with the optimum route."
Cook's flight plan covered 2,291 miles. Schreck said he only had to waver from that slightly and completed the trip with only four stops to refuel.
Cockpit view: Ron Schreck checks the storage area of his plane while it's parked in Gold Hill.Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.
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Except for refueling, he didn't stop at the other airports, only slowing to 80 mph to touch his wheels down briefly before roaring off to the next destination, averaging 91/2 minutes between landings.
He first touched at Concord Regional Airport at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. Next was the biggest airport, Charlotte Douglas International, at 12:15 a.m. The last of the 109 came at Siler City Airport at 7:52 p.m.
He returned to his home at Gold Hill Airpark, a private airport, 17 minutes later. He's lived there for about 31/2 years.
"I was surprised to do it so quickly," he said. "It didn't really seem that hard. I wasn't dead tired."
He touched the big-city airports early in the morning because they have lights and the traffic wasn't as busy as during the day. He said it wasn't much trouble getting clearance from the towers at that hour, when about the only other traffic was from medical helicopters.
"It's nice to fly then. The air is smooth, and it's cool," he said.
It was much more tricky at some private airports that are listed as public use. One, called Kecks in the thriving metropolis of Julian in Guilford County, was only 1,400 feet long and sits next to some farm buildings. Other hazards included tractors, irrigation lines on the runway and a farmer trying to wave him off.
Schreck said 21 of the airports were grass, and the short ones, like Kecks, are mostly for planes like ultralights to use.
The other Shrek: Schreck keeps a toy figure of the character Shrek on the dash of his plane. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.
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"I could have landed there, but it would have been tight," he said.
The state has about 300 private airfields. About 75 of the 109 airports he touched are also publically owned; the others, while under private ownership, allow pilots to use them.
After touching down in the big metro areas, he flew to Currituck in the far northwest corner of the state and then went down the coast before heading west.
He flew in a two-seat RV-8 plane that he spent 31/2 years building from a kit. He finished the plane and took his first flight in March 2006. The all-aluminum aircraft is powered by a 180-horsepower Lycoming engine and can fly at 220 mph.
He decided to try his quest over the summer because the days are longer and many of the public airports are not lighted.
Schreck has been flying for more than 40 years and has more than 9,500 hours in the air.
He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1969 and served as a forward air controller during the Vietnam War. After 20 years with the Air Force, he retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1989.
He joined Piedmont Airlines, which later became part of USAirways, and spent 14 years as a commercial pilot, flying Fokker F-28, Boeing 727, 737, 757, 767 and the Airbus 320-series aircraft.
He continues to work for Orion Aviation, based at Siler City. He flies in support of whale survey missions with graduate students from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington who are tracking the migratory habits of the endangered Northern Right Whale.
The green dot in the center of this special map of North Carolina shows the route of pilot Ron Schreck who took his RV-8 experimental aircraft and touched down on 109 publice airfields in NC in one day. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.
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He also joins missions to combat wildfires for the U.S. Forest Service.
That's where he got the call sign of "Smokey " — along with the smoke generator on his plane that he uses during demonstrations at airshows.
His RV-8 is capable of aerobatics and is equipped for instrument and night flight. He calls it "Miss Izzy" after his granddaughter, Isabelle.
Schreck and his wife, Kathy, recently completed a 4,000-mile trip to Yellowstone Park, along with 10 other RV aircraft from the Southeast RV Squadron, a group of pilots who share the love of homebuilt aircraft.
What's next for the ambitious aviator? Well, he notes there are 49 more states.
Contact Paris Goodnight at 704-797-4255 or pgoodnight@ salisburypost.com.
:^>
Thanks.
Pong.
Great story, thanks for the ping. Love those RV’s. Had a ton of them at a recent flyin at Ellsworth AFB SD.
It gives a whole new meaning to “touch and go”.
I believe it.
I’ve seen that plane from the road. It is a great looking machine.
But... But... LOOK AT HIS CARBON FOOTPRINT!!!!!! /s
Heading to Oshkosh on the 21st of this month, be there on the 22nd to drool, slobber, and wish.
Have you flown one yet?
They are really neat flying airplanes. The only thing better is a Harmon Rocket.
If you want on or off this aerospace ping list, please contact Paleo Conservative or phantomworker by Freep mail.
Great story. Thanks
What about all the carbon?
Love this article. Go Man Go.
interesting story
Wow! Congrats///
LOL!
Ah...the Dash 80 barrel roll...gotta love it.
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