Winging It! With Dr. Paul: Unicom

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Winging It! With Dr. Paul

Unicom

Toni Wakes drawing It's an old story, to which I lay no claims of originality, but it bears retelling. On a late afternoon approach to a well groomed grass strip, after the airport workers have left for the day, a pilot calls up on Unicom, the radio party-line for uncontrolled fields.
"Uptown Unicom, Skydevil one three bravo, inbound from the north. What's your weather like down there?"
The janitor answers the radio: "Not too bad for this time of the year."
"Well, how about those winds?"
"Yeah, how 'bout them! I had to rake leaves all day. They were blowin' all over the place!"
"OK, what's your visibility like?"
"Can't really tell, through all that fog."
A long pause on frequency before the pilot ventures one final attempt to gain useful insights. Finally, "Uptown, what's your ceiling?"
An even longer pause as the reluctant radioman deciphers the query. Then, "Sheet-rock."

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