Last spring, as a crew member of the Flying Midwest Podcast, I tossed around the concept of hosting a fly-in event other than a typical pancake breakfast or hamburger social. There were already dozens those throughout the summer, and we didn’t want our event to get lost in the shuffle. As I thought about what would make our event unique, the idea of a weekend camping at an airport popped into my head.
The more I thought about it, the more I fell in love with the idea. A weekend-long gathering offered more opportunities for people to stop in that otherwise might not have made it to a one-day event. It would draw people from farther away who might not make a five-hour flight for a two-hour breakfast, and it would allow us to explore the area and spend more time with other Midwest aviation enthusiasts.
When I pitched the idea to my fellow cohosts, Jim and Madi, they gave it the green light. Thus, the first “Flying Midwest Podcast Camping Fly-In” was born.
The next task was to find the right location—and it had several requirements! We wanted something that had a wilderness feel but was accessible to even the newest of pilots. It needed to have at least one paved runway close to 3,000 feet, with bonus points if it had a shorter crosswind runway (and double bonus if it was grass!) It needed an option for at least one on-field meal and access to a nearby town for anyone who might have forgotten some essentials.
Most importantly, it had to be central to Madi, Jim, and me, which meant a general area of western Wisconsin and Illinois, or eastern Minnesota or Iowa. I studied Google Maps, looking for interesting landscapes near airports—forests or hills—something more than just a bean field with a runway in the middle.
Early on in this process I reached out to Rich Wellner, an avid aviation camper who has shared many beautiful airport experiences on his self-titled YouTube channel. He is also a prolific campsite cook—he doesn’t believe in dehydrated dinners—he’s into making gourmet meals while camping at airports across North America. Without knowing my desired parameters, Rich started rattling off some of the most beautiful options in the Midwest. Most of them were quickly added to my shortlist of places to visit on my own, but they were either too short for beginner pilots, grass-only runways, or not in a convenient geographic area.
When I told Rich what we were looking for, he had the perfect solution: his home airport, Tri-County Regional (KLNR), affectionately referred to as “Lone Rock.” It has a 5,000-foot paved runway with a shorter crosswind runway, ample camping space, an on-field diner, Sam’s, and the bonus of an award-winning maintenance shop.
Jim, the creator of Flying Midwest Media, did some historical research about Lone Rock and discovered that it was used as the half-way point for Contract Air Route 9, a 100-year-old air mail route between the Twin Cities and Chicago. Through an online search, Jim was able to locate most of the checkpoints online and develop a flight plan that allowed him to follow the same route as the early aviators who flew these mail routes. He documented his journey in a video on his YouTube Channel, “Aero Exploration” and stated in the video that it gave him the opportunity to reflect on the rich legacy of the pioneer pilots that flew the mail routes in the early days of aviation.
After months of planning and anticipation, the big weekend finally arrived: August 23 – 25, 2024. As I taxied onto the ramp on Friday afternoon, I was thrilled to see there were already several planes parked in the grass and tents being set up. Friday being arrival day, Rich and I sat under the wing of his Maule M-7 Super Rocket and watched the planes come in. We had received a respectable number of RSVPs through social media posts, but we were still a little nervous about how well the campout would be attended. One of the first was EAA’s One Week Wonder, N2018, an RV-12 flown by Sport Pilot Cindi Pokorny.
With her passenger, Rose Dorcey, we talked about their flight from Oshkosh to Lone Rock before they made tracks to Sam’s for lunch. By the time they came out, several more aircraft had arrived, and soon the field/camping area was filled with gear. Tents were set up, camp chairs unfolded, pop-up canopies/sun shelters secured, all as introductions were made. It was interesting to note that many campers said the words, “I’ve heard your name,” or “I follow you on social media,” but many had never met in person before. Soon they were gathering up, swapping stories and lessons. Many in our group brought stickers with their social media handles/logos to trade with others. At one point we watched a Piper Cub landing long on the grass, then confidently taxi past the fuel farm and onto the ramp. Someone commented, “That pilot knows this airport well.” Sure enough, it was local pilot Jeff Plantz, stopping to say hello. Another local pilot, Jeff Russell, stayed for an hour or two, sharing his flying adventures with others.
Once traffic lulled, we called a local shuttle service, River Valley Area Bar Buddies, to pick us up and take us to Arthur’s Supper Club in nearby Spring Green. Ryan Krueger loved having dinner with us. “It was as quintessential Midwest as it could get,” he said. “From the backdrop of the rolling hills and farmland by the airport, to sharing a meal together at a local supper club, this is why I love these experiences with new friends.” After enjoying the delicious Friday fish fry surrounded by knight-themed decor, Bar Buddies took us back to Lone Rock for a campfire and camaraderie, which Rich described as “telling lies to each other.” But I have to say, I believed about 90 percent of the stories told… either they were all true or I’m naïve!
Saturday was the featured presentation day. Some of our group went for a morning stroll and marveled at the beauty of this small airport. “Walking among the planes at sunrise with a light fog is a picture I'll never forget,” said Cindi. Soon our breakfast group of about ten gathered to fill a table and start the day with a hearty breakfast at Sam’s Airport Diner. From the outside, Sam’s looks like an old, single-family house perched on an airport. The only identifying feature is a red sign with white lettering that reads, very matter-of-factly, “Restaurant.” It’s a come-as-you-are joint, where you’re addressed as “guy” or “buddy.” It sports a very at-home feel where the buttering up was saved for the toast and the fluff was saved for the pancakes.
I eventually equated the atmosphere to a less-raunchy Ed Debevic’s (the Chicago diner with snarky servers), and it led to great banter during breakfast. We all chuckled when Sam’s Diner Owner, Mike, was taking our order. He suddenly looked at the kitchen and yelled, “Damn” and ran back to turn down a burner. Thankfully, no fires, no burned breakfasts!
Despite its unassuming posture, Sam’s Diner was filled to near capacity all morning. Everyone inside was friends, whether they had known each other for years or had just met. About half way through breakfast, the door creaked open, and two men unassumingly walked in. They were greeted with the same banter as everybody else as they made their way to one of the last vacant tables. Turns out it was Kelch Aviation Museum Director Pat Weeden, along with Jeff Skiles. A Wisconsinite himself, Skiles was the First Officer on the famous “Miracle on the Hudson” flight. Rose went over to chat with Pat and Jeff. It seemed that at Sam’s, everybody interacted as if they were old friends.
When we finished, another group about our size walked in. As we made room for the group (which wouldn’t have had anywhere to sit if we had stayed), I commented that I had overstayed my welcome. Mike winked as he quipped back, “I’m glad you recognized it, so I didn’t have to tell you.” On a sad note, Sam’s Diner is no longer in business, it closed about a month later. I was sad to hear the news but glad I got to enjoy their breakfast while I could.
After breakfast, we met with Ryan and Cory Johnson, owners of the Johnson Brothers Flying Service, based there. Together, Ryan and Cory run an aircraft maintenance shop that specializes in restoration projects. They were humble about their work, but stories of their award-winning restorations were eventually coaxed out of them. The highlight of the visit was seeing Piper Vagabond S/N 1.
I knew it would be a cool piece of history, but it hadn’t occurred to me how unique and meaningful that airplane was. We learned how that exact airframe was originally certificated as a PA-15, a bare-bones aircraft that Piper created to use whatever parts they had lying around when they were on the verge of bankruptcy. When the company recovered, they added features like dual controls, shock-absorbing landing gear, and a baggage compartment. The upgraded plane was re-certificated as a PA-17, and the airframe we were looking at was the very first PA-17 in existence. It is one of the few aircraft in history to have received its airworthiness status under two different type certificates.
As a Piper owner myself, the significance of this plane was not lost on me. To me, it marks the turning point of Piper getting out of near-bankruptcy and eventually becoming one of the most-produced aircraft in the world. My Piper Cherokee would not exist if that Vagabond hadn’t been built. Although what we saw was a basic structure resting on stands, with no fabric, wings, rudder, or engine mounted, it was still a very cool piece of aviation history to see in person. The Johnson Brothers hope to restore it back to factory specifications to be displayed and judged at a future EAA AirVenture Oshkosh—as soon as AirVenture 2025!
The last item on the itinerary for the day was a special treat for lunch: a campsite cooking seminar by Rich. Rich took volunteers to cook while he coached us through how to make a campsite stir-fry. He talked about food safety, prepping the ingredients, and cooking the meal. Each person got to choose their protein (beef, chicken, or tofu) and assemble their plate to taste. It was the most flavorful campsite meal I’ve had in recent memory! The concepts we learned worked great in the kitchen, too, and I am now enjoying more creative cooking at home.
Dinner was kept simple. A local LNR airport tenant let us pile into his Suburban, and Rich drove us into town for ice cream at the Rumble Seats Rock ‘N Roll Drive-In. To our surprise, Rumble Seats was going to be closing its doors for the last time the very next day. The menu consisted of two remaining choices: lemon meringue or brownie fudge. As we ate the last bit of ice cream, we chatted with a former council member who gave us a brief history of the politics of the Lone Rock Airport.
When we returned to the airport two of our campers, Cindi and Rose, had to head back to Oshkosh. But not before they shared how much they loved the experience! “What an amazing weekend with aviators from around the region!” Cindi said. “It was like the smallest slice of camping in the North 40 during AirVenture, but without the Fisk arrival!”
Sunday morning, we rose early and packed up camp. We enjoyed another great breakfast at Sam’s before saying our goodbyes and heading out. I assumed that the pilots who flew in had previous camping experiences. I was wrong! Alyssa Miller took herself out of her comfort zone by camping there. “I’m not much for camping usually, but spending a couple days with my pilot family, camping under the stars at a remote airport, and sharing stories, was an absolute blast,” she said. “I would be shocked if anyone of us left the fly-in not feeling like we had met someone new that we could now call friends.”
A few people had to settle for driving to the event, due to airplanes being in maintenance and other reasons. Jeff Patten, the Live Show Director for the Opposing Bases Podcast, stayed for the whole weekend and was kind enough to give me a ride to the airport because my plane was still in its annual inspection. Yes, that’s right. I organized the event, and I couldn’t fly there. Still, we had a wonderful time. “The real treat was sitting around a fire sharing stories and making new friends,” Jeff said.
As I headed home, I reflected on the weekend. I had previously met most of the people who came, but there were also a few fresh faces. Leading up to the event, we had a general idea of what to expect for attendance, but we also knew that plans change, planes break down, or people just forget. We planned for about 25-30 people, knowing the number might be a little lower. In total, we saw about 16 or 17 planes come and go throughout the weekend, totaling about twenty attendees in one way or another. Whether tenting overnight, like our core group of ten did, or taxiing over to chat for an hour or two, we were thrilled with the turnout. I can’t wait to find another excellent location next year for the Second Annual Flying Midwest Podcast Camping Fly-In.
Ed and Caitlin Becerra (The Flying Stampede on YouTube) summed up the event perfectly. “The Flying Midwest Podcast Flyout offered a unique blend of aviation adventure and Midwestern hospitality,” Ed said. “As we gathered at beautiful Lone Rock airport, nestled in the heart of Wisconsin’s Driftless Area, we were constantly reminded of the special connections that can be forged in the world of aviation.”
For more information about the Flying Midwest Podcast, visit flyingmidwest.com
