Synthesis
For the Williamson Flying Club to host our annual Apple Blossom Pancake Breakfast, the efforts of dozens of volunteers are synthesized into a single, (mostly) coherent effort. From set-up to tear-down, from cooks and ticket takers to aircraft and automobile marshallers, a lot of individual efforts are woven together to create our signature annual event. Before I was based at KSDC, I always loved flying-into this well-organized breakfast.
Since participating in my first pancake breakfast as a member in 2014, I have volunteered as a ride pilot and flown rides for the general public in every one of the club aircraft. This year, for reasons that I will explain later, I withdrew from flying rides and instead volunteered to work the "tower". This is a scaffold set up at midfield for a Unicom operator to help direct traffic and resolve conflicts.
Weather-wise, you never know what you're going to get on each third Sunday of May along the south shore of Lake Ontario. We have experienced anything from snow to blistering heat on the morning of the breakfast. 2025 brought cold temperatures, low ceiling, rain, and gusty wind, the latter fortuitously right down the runway. Fly-ins were few, limited to a medical helicopter, two airplanes, and WFC member Barry arriving in his Widgeon from Rochester. Aeronautical activity at the airport that morning was dominated by our intrepid ride pilots flying a prescribed circuit with community members. Despite the averse conditions and lack-of fly-in breakfast seekers, the club served over 1100 breakfasts that morning. This is the beauty of the entire event -- the community always has our collective backs and this is what makes all the effort worthwhile.
For my part, I spent the morning sitting about 10 feet in the air with the wind howling around me, monitoring the radio through one of my old David Clark headsets. Aside from a couple of interventions, I had very little to do.
So a took a lot of pictures.
A View from the Tower (Mostly)
Shortly after my ascent of the tower, all four WFC airplanes were staged, ceilings were declared high enough to fly the usual ride circuit, and pilots simply awaited the arrival of passengers.
Despite gusting into the high teens, the wind was right down the runway.
Close to 7:00 am, the public began to appear! The community is always supportive of our pancake breakfast, rain or shine.
A medevac helicopter was the first arrival of the morning.
Dwayne marshalled the new arrival to parking while Bob and Dave conducted the preflight inspection of Eight Five X-Ray.
With paying passengers arrived, the WFC fleet taxied out for departure.
Eight Five X-Ray taxied to the runup area as Eight One Six started her take-off roll into the gusty wind.
Eight Five X-Ray went airborne, undoubtedly boosted slightly by the active wind.
Barry's 1946 Grumman Widgeon is probably one of the best known airplanes operating in the Rochester area. Even on the Rochester Approach frequency, it is not uncommon to hear anonymous "hey Barry" greetings from random pilots when the Widgeon's owner broadcasts.
Stick time in this airplane is one of my fondest local aviation memories. Though he is a member of the club, Barry bases the airplane at Rochester and reliably flies into the breakfast every year.
Barry waved while taking on fuel. Club fuel is much cheaper than avgas from the neighboring international airport.
"Would you like some extra breeze?" Ray broadcast as he "buzzed" the tower.
"No thanks, have plenty already," I answered, somehow managing to respond without my teeth chattering.
In the distance, a WFC airplane was joining the left downwind for runway 28 on a 45° entry.
Shortly after I took this picture of the medevac helicopter with Five Five Whiskey and One Delta Tango, I discovered the helicopter crew looking up at me from the base of the scaffold. "You look reasonably important, is there anything that we have to do to depart?" asked the pilot and spokesman for the group. It seemed that he thought I was dispensing take-off clearances.
"Not nearly so important as I look," I answered him. "Feel free to depart when you're ready."
Gilead started Eight One Six's engine in preparation for taxi.
Beebs landed and turned-off at the midfield taxiway with his passengers in Five Five Whiskey.
Our first non-member airplane arrival was this Mooney that arrived from the Southern Tier of NY on an instrument flight plan.
I envied my friends flying as I watched Five Five Whiskey break ground. Five Five Whiskey is a 1967 PA-28-140 with her engine upgraded to 160 horsepower. She suffers from a severe case of 1960s "shotgun panel" and it always takes a moment to locate all the pertinent instruments, but she is one of the sweetest flying airplanes I've ever flown. I can't explain it, but every time I fly this airplane, I just seem to grease every landing. I don't even do that in Warrior 481!
Dave fueled Eight Five X-Ray while Bob and Gilead had what was undoubtedly a deep conversation.
As the event progressed into late morning, rain moved in from the west and with it, lower ceilings. Barry beat a quick retreat back to Rochester.
When Tom radioed in that the ceiling were dropping near the lakeshore, I reported the news to the ride control folks who stopped selling ride tickets. Once we recovered the entire WFC fleet, we shut down rides for the rest of the morning.
As the weather dropped, the only other non-WFC fly-in launched in his Husky. I hope he managed to find his way home safely in the encroaching weather.
As the last breakfast was being served, volunteers switched into wrap up mode. A group of us broke down the tower and stashed the components in a hangar for next year's breakfast. In record time, we had converted the Williamson Sodus Airport from event space back to the airport that we all know and love.
Even when the weather is not as desired, it's still a good time.
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