(NGC) -Aviation related.

[Gliderjohn]

We live in the country but have quite a bit of general aviation air traffic due to the Newton, KS airport. We are also blessed with a 36 acre watershed lake close to our house that tends to attract fly overs. Ruth and I were sitting on our back deck this evening when a tail dragger plane that I could not ID flew about a 10th of a mile from our house from the lake side at about 200 to 300ft agl. I gave it a big wave and was rewarded with three wing wags, love it! The plane appeared to be a restored four seater with a great paint job. Was more angler around the cabin area than Cessnas are. Once again you need to have your camera handy to get pictures and I didn't.
GliderJohn

[Rough Edge racing]

 We live a bit north of the Finger Lakes in NY in an agricultural area with rolling hills. There's a small airport a few miles away so  we see small aircraft  and a few open fields have a private runway...... ...But at times formations of five or so military helicopters fly over and they are loud.

[Gliderjohn]

From Rough Edge racing:

.But at times formations of five or so military helicopters fly over and they are loud.

We are right in the middle of the flight paths for helicopters from Ft. Riley flying back and forth to Wichita. Usually single or paired Blackhawks and also Chinooks. A few years ago we had a formation of six Chinooks fly by close to our house at an est.500ft agl. That made a lot of noise!
GliderJohn

[Rough Edge racing]

 The small planes flying south seem to be taking off from the airfield about 3 miles north. The engines sound like they are working hard...difficult for me to gauge their altitude but could they still be climbing ?

[Gliderjohn]

From RER:

The small planes flying south seem to be taking off from the airfield about 3 miles north. The engines sound like they are working hard...difficult for me to gauge their altitude but could they still be climbing ?

Probably still climbing. Most small planes climb between about 500-800 fpm, some higher performing stuff can be 1,000+. Speed from 70-90 mph common when climbing. Chuck from Indiana will be much more educated than me in these things and may chime in.
GliderJohn

[wrbix]

Before retirement we lived about a mile and a half from KDCM, which has a very active skydiving operation. Lots of take offs and landings, and could always tell when a plane full of “meat bombs” was climbing to altitude - takes a number of circles at full gross weight. Then shortly thereafter the sky would be full of their whoops and hollers as they came down ‘diving.

We now summer below a low level MTR, and a couple times a week a flight of two to four fighter jets pass overhead....quite the thunder echoing through the valley. Just figure our tax dollars at work.

...and winter just a few hundred feet from KCDK. Always a lot of general aviation traffic in and out there. A time or two per week a Navy helo comes in the evening to practice landings and low level hovers. Couple of years ago a Navy Blimp meandered a couple hundred feet overhead. I monitor CTAF and they explained to the taxi driver who offered a ride to town that they couldn’t land without their ground crew.....guess that’s right!

Being a pilot, I don’t mind the noise.

[wrbix]

The small planes flying south seem to be taking off from the airfield about 3 miles north. The engines sound like they are working hard...difficult for me to gauge their altitude but could they still be climbing ?

Yeah, three miles from runway they’d mostly still be climbing out on runway heading if departing the pattern.  Comfortable climb rates of 500-1000 feet per minute at 80-100 knots (90-115mph). Planes staying in the pattern mostly turn away from runway heading well before that and remain 1/2 to 1 mile from runway at about a thousand feet above runway elevation.

[s1120]

My old house was in Schenectady NY and right on the flight path for the Schenectady airport/Stratton air base. The big transport planes used to fly over the house all the time. During overcast low ceiling days they would be so close that I swore there would be scrapes on the roof!!  It was cool how they would just hang there moving so slow..  Now I live about 45 min south east..  We get the big planes on the way to Albany NY but too high to be a bother. We have a few small airports around, and at least one grass field, and get small plans quite a lot. Im about 1/4 mile from a lake, and lots of flyovers. ALso a few flote that land in the lake, and thats always cool!!!  Ive always wanted to fly... my bad eyesight had other plans though.

[wrbix]

!  Ive always wanted to fly... my bad eyesight had other plans though.

Can’t be corrected to 20/40, near and far?
It’s never too late.....I started flight training in my 60s.

[Testarossa]

Lots of cool traffic when I lived in Boulder. North-south traffic is squeezed between Denver/Jeffco (BJC) airspace to the east and the sharply rising terrain of the foothills on the west, and I lived smack under that corridor. Small planes inbound to BDR from the west descend from Rollins Pass and reach pattern altitude near campus, westbound climbing laboriously toward the pass. Lots of sailplanes out of BDR. On football days there were military flyovers and of course banner-towing planes with weird modifications. All kinds of north-south military traffic associated with Colorado Springs. Very busy corridor with a lot of traffic under 2000 AGL.

Here not so much. High terrain, 11 to 12000 feet in all directions except to the southwest so most traffic passes at 6000 AGL or higher. Traffic between Denver and Montrose passes about 20 miles south. We have a local airport but I'd be surprised if they do half a dozen operations a week.

[Rough Edge racing]

 I mentioned there are a few private grass runways around here...Does a flyer with a strip on his own land just takeoff and land  when ever they want? 

[Gliderjohn]

From Rough Edge Racing:

I mentioned there are a few private grass runways around here...Does a flyer with a strip on his own land just takeoff and land  when ever they want?

Basically yes unless it is located within controlled airspace, generally in the vicinity of an airport or airbase with a control tower.
GliderJohn

[Chuck in Indiana]

I mentioned there are a few private grass runways around here...Does a flyer with a strip on his own land just takeoff and land  when ever they want?

Pretty much. 

[s1120]

Can’t be corrected to 20/40, near and far?
It’s never too late.....I started flight training in my 60s.

Single sighted... left eye only fills in colors and light..  Still would love to.. I probably like the mechanics of flight the most. Between my love of all things mechanical, and a interest in aerodynamics, Not sure in my life it will happen..  but still a interest.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Single sighted... left eye only fills in colors and light..  Still would love to.. I probably like the mechanics of flight the most. Between my love of all things mechanical, and a interest in aerodynamics, Not sure in my life it will happen..  but still a interest.

Wiley Post had one eye. I don't have any depth perception.. <shrug> Yeah, I like the mechanics, too. I like building airplanes more than flying any more. There is something extremely satisfying to me to be able to build a machine that will fly.

[wrbix]

I trained alongside a student from Australia who was monocular. He went through regular training sequence then had to do a brief extra flight with an FAA inspector. Didn’t seem a big issue for him

[Chuck in Indiana]

Didn’t seem a big issue for him

It's not. You can get an FAA third class medical with monocular vision. You need a waiver for second or first.