Abbreviated Visit to the Cradle of Piper Aircraft

Date	Aircraft	Route of Flight	Time (hrs)	Total (hrs)
22 Apr 2007	N21481	5G0 (LeRoy, NY) - DSV (Dansville, NY) - LHV (Lock Haven, PA) - N38 (Wellsboro, PA) - 5G0	3.2	515.6

Today I decided to fly to Lock Haven, Pennsylvania; the birthplace of the Piper Aircraft Company.  I stopped for lunch in Dansville. NY.  On the ramp at Dansville, I called the Piper Museum to verify their hours.  All I got was a recording saying that the museum opened at noon on Sundays.  I called the FBO on the field to inquire about parking and was told that the FBO could shuttle me over to the museum once I arrived.

Lock Haven is located amongst the prominent ridges framing the Susquehanna River Valley.  It was very picturesque.  William T. Piper Memorial Airport is east of town directly adjacent to the river.  As I taxied to the ramp, I was surprised to see that the large hangars on the field still bear the old Piper Logo.  In a way, I was bringing my Warrior home (even though it was built in Vero Beach, FL rather than Lock Haven).   The same person from the FBO with whom I had talked on the phone drove me to the Piper Museum.  A large sign was hung on the door: "Closed to the public on Sunday, April 22 for a memorial service".  So much for that trip.

Climbing away from the airport, I announced my intention to depart northbound.  "Better luck next time," replied the Unicom operator.  Indeed.  At least it was a nice flight south.

On the way back to Le Roy, I stopped into Wellsboro Johnston Airport in northern PA to sample some of the least expensive AvGas in the region: $3.15 / gallon.