October 9, 2021
I believe the Critters Lodge Fly-in in 2020 was cancelled due to the pandemic, but it’s now 2021 and a lot of people are vaccinated, so they decided to have it this year. Well, I did say “a lot of people” but certainly not everyone. We were happy to be going to the fly-in but were still a little dubious about staying for lunch. The 2019 lunch was held in a covered area but, without walls, it’s pretty open and the ceiling is quite high. You can see it in one of the photos I took in 2019:
So the venue was probably okay but there were an awful lot of people there, and that made us (right or wrong) uneasy.
So our plan was to fly to Critters Lodge (on the sectional it’s Dillard Ranch) a bit early, walk around and see the aircraft, then take-off and fly to Lufkin and eat at the on-site restaurant, then fly home. We’d been to the Lufkin restaurant before a few times and while it’s indoors, there are relatively few people there. And they have outdoor seating, too, and if we chose that, then we’d likely be alone while eating our meal.
The first leg to Dillard Ranch [TE01]
We made sure we had plenty of fuel for all three legs of the upcoming flight and then headed out just after 9 am. The flight there was uneventful and we had clear skies for most of the trip. At one point, there was some ground fog in various places which, of course, made me a tiny bit worried about the possibility of ground fog at the destination airport. But there was nothing to worry about. Here are some photos I took on the way.
On the 2019 visit to Critters Lodge, we encountered pretty heavy traffic so we were anticipating the same thing. But, no, there were only a couple of aircraft vying for position in the airspace, so it was pretty easy. We still came in high (where I took the photo below) and then descended into the pattern using a 270-degree teardrop entry. Here is a 3D view of what that looked like:
A view of the field from downwind:
Someone had just come in from the west and landed on 06, but every indication I had was that the wind was coming from the west. So I announced that we would be landing on 24, and no one in the air or on the ground said anything, so I figured it was okay.
As I was in the pattern, another pilot who was entering the area asked on the radio if the runway in use was 24, and I replied in the affirmative. Again, no one contradicted me. And more odd was that no one on the ground said anything at all. Typically at the Critters Lodge fly-in, they want you to establish communications with the “air boss” before entering the pattern. Either they didn’t hear me or no one was listening.
I was able to quickly enter the downwind and do my base and final for 24, and I landed pretty short, as is typical for my plane. A ground crew then got on the radio and said I could park next to the helipad. I replied, “I am not a helicopter.” That apparently confused him, so he said it again. And I replied with the same, “I am not a helicopter. I should park where the fixed wing aircraft are.” He then said, “Park wherever you like!”
I don’t think he was being flippant, he just didn’t quite know what to do with me. In 2019, I received the same instruction and later met the ground crew individual and described to him what a gyroplane was. I guess that guy was replaced with someone else that didn’t know that I land and takeoff like a fixed-wing aircraft. Anyway, he directed us to park in the field where aircraft that didn’t have a reserved spot should park. When we turned the corner, there was literally no one else in that field! 
The good news is, we didn’t have to worry about spacing!
Time in the air for this leg: 46 minutes
Distance traveled: 53.3 nm / 61.3 sm / 98.6 km
In 2019, we flew to Critters Lodge from Anahuac, Texas, so, this time it was a lot shorter!
The fly-in… were we early or was it just lightly attended?
We arrived right around 10 am, and the only planes and pilots there were the ones that had spent the night! As in 2019, they were parked and tents pitched alongside the runway. So, as before, we wandered up and down the runway to see what there was to see.
Overall, we walked around for about an hour. In that time, very few planes came in but it was still pretty early. We had not planned on staying for more than an hour so we headed on back to our lonely field and started to prepare to depart. It was at that time that someone walked up to chat with us. We talked to them a while and as they walked off, someone else came up to talk. It was a nice chat — the guy had flown Bensen-type gyro’s many years prior, so he wanted to know about these newer, European-style gyro’s.
Soon enough, they said farewell, and we saddled up. There was just then a spate of activity, planes arriving and departing. So we announced to the air boss our intentions to depart. Again, thinking we were a helicopter, he told us we could take off at midfield. I thanked him but told him we’d back-taxi to the east end of the runway for takeoff on 24, and he acquiesced.
Since the runway is more-or-less east-west, I got caught off-guard a little in 2019 with a stiff crosswind coming from the south. So I was ready for it this time, but it turned out to be unnecessary as there was very little crosswind.
As planned, we ascended then headed east toward Lufkin.
So, whether the fly-in was lightly attended or whether we just got there too early, I still don’t know (but if you were there later in the day and can tell me, please leave a comment).
Lunch then home
Arriving at Lufkin [KLFK] (formally, Angelina County) can sometimes be a challenge as there are often several aircraft in the pattern or waiting to take off. And there are four runways. Today it was even more challenging since there was very little wind, and it wasn’t clear which runway to use. A small percentage of airports will declare a “calm wind runway,” but Lufkin isn’t one of them. Being a larger airport (although still without a tower), there is a wide mix of different aircraft with a variety of performance envelopes. So, you have to pay attention.
Here are what the runways look like:
As we approached, there was an aircraft waiting to takeoff on 16. Based on the wind, my preferred runway would be 25 so I announced that as I entered downwind. Being slow, I was barely over the 16/34 runway when someone else (in a much faster plane) announced he was coming in on 25. I repeated my earlier announcement and they decided to slow down and let me land.
The plane waiting at 16 went ahead and took off (under me; perfectly safe) and I never did see the second aircraft. I continued on my downwind, base and final, then flew down to just before the taxiway before landing. (I often do this to speed up the process of getting off the runway and decreasing the time to taxi.) Here’s my track:
We then taxied to the restaurant and had lunch inside as it was not at all crowded.
Time in the air for the second leg: 56 minutes
Distance traveled: 58.6 nm / 67.3 sm / 108.3 km
The last leg home
After lunch, I noted that the wind was now coming from the SE, so runway 16 would be a much easier departure, particularly if I entered it just before the 07/25 runway. It wouldn’t be a midfield takeoff, technically (although a lot of people would use that terminology). I still had 80% of the runway in front of me when I turned on to it. After a quick pre-rotation, we were in the air and headed home.
We have done this segment many times before and I tend to take fewer pictures when I’ve already gone over an area, and that was true this time too.
Our planned track was a nice triangle:
and our final track wasn’t much different. It was a very pleasant day for a flight and a fly-in, but I guess we got there too early to see much activity. Still, we enjoyed it and even uneventful flights can be quite interesting!
Time in the air for the third leg: 60 minutes
Distance traveled: 56.4 nm / 64.9 sm / 104.5 km
For the entire flight, we were in the air for 2 hours 42 minutes and covered about 168.3 nm (193.7 sm / 311.7 km).
Comments and discussion are highly encouraged!