I regularly make a 25-minute flight in my 1946 Piper Cub from our local home airport in Pella, Iowa, to a grass strip in an even smaller town, Sully, Iowa, where I walk the five blocks to the local Coffee Cup Café for lunch and almost always a slice of their most excellent pie. On one particular day, as I lifted off and headed for Sully, I announced, “Pella traffic, Cub 1234 departing three-four … northbound after departure for Papa-India-Echo.”
A couple of seconds later, I heard some laughter on the frequency and a comment by a friendly but unknown pilot who asked if I was going to take any fuel stops between Pella and St. Petersburg-Clearwater airport in my Cub. (St. Pete-Clearwater identifier is KPIE). The unknown flier has likely heard me make my call to Sully quite often. And, it hasn’t hurt my reputation for being “that guy travelling to Sully for lunch and Papa-India-Echo,” and you should know that I am a regular visitor.
