Place: Linkhaus
Lunch: Chili cheddar dog, tater tots, Dr. Pepper
Linkhaus appears to be wanting to do with hot dogs and brats what Chipotle did with burritos. This is a premium upscale place with premium dogs, brats, and a full bar in a very modern interior with cement tabletops (with the Linkhaus logo engraved in), all-glass walls on the north and south sides of the dining area, and a hodgepodge of light fixtures including some LED bulbs. The dog is in a great big bun that resembles a sourdough hoagie roll and covered in chili, shredded cheddar, red onion, and jalapenos. I got through like three bites of it. The tater tots, which may be the most perfect tater tots ever, were awesome. But there must have been a pound of them.
I can't say a bad thing about Linkhaus. The staff is courteous, the price seems reasonable for the quality, and I wish them all the best, but I think I'm more of a Dog-n-Shake guy.
The Wall Street Journal, in sort of an opposition point of view to proposed airline regulations, did an article on the "golden age of flying" last week that basically argued there WAS no such age, comparing ticket prices, aircraft quality, frequency of flights, and more, basically coming to the conclusion that Hollywood is responsible for the romantic glamorous image flight has. That people who remember flying that way actually never could afford to fly.
It's probably true that people who fly less think of it more fondly because it's a special moment in time for them. People who fly more are jaded from the common downsides. Actual flying kind of sucks. You have to go through security checks and sometimes be physically searched (because as an American, I am guilty until proven innocent). There's all sorts of sitting around and waiting. And there's the flight itself in cramped quarters with limited service unless you can afford first class (and someday, I'm going to spend the money just for the experience). But even THAT isn't what proposed regulations are wanting to stop. Comparing a bumpy, noisy old DC-7 and inflation-adjusted ticket prices does NOT compare to regulations against overbooking, artificially optimistic schedules, and baggage fees.
Flight still holds a certain fascination with me. In my youth, I had a scanner programmed to the airport frequencies to listen to arrivals and departures. I still view pictures of aircraft in various company livery just for fun. I'd probably watch takeoffs and landings from runway viewing areas if they hadn't been taken away from us (again, back to the 'guilty until proven innocent' thing). I wouldn't rule out working in the industry if I could find the right fit one day.
There ARE ways to remember flight fondly out there. Boeing Commercial's VP of marketing Randy Tinseth has been writing some great material on the upcoming 787. Randy does a great job describing where the status of testing is and telling stories about air shows and other events he handles. He throws in some great pictures as well.
Southwest's blog has a feature called "Flashback Fridays" that looks at not only the company's history, but the history of various airports it serves. Some fascinating images and stories there.
There there's Wichita. As the "Air Capital of the World", Wichita is a city rich in flying heritage. The first commercially available planes were built here. Cessna and Hawker-Beechcraft were founded here and are still based here. Most major players in the US aircraft industry have some sort of operations here. Not to mention McConnell Air Force Base. (Local commercial air service, oddly enough, could use some improvement. I suppose they don't really have that much business since the flight industry muckety-mucks probably come in on their own aircraft at their own airports...they all have their own runways at their campuses.)
I recently toured the Kansas Aviation Museum. This building was the Wichita Municipal Airport between 1935 and 1954, a beautiful art deco building that served as a popular hub for the final leg of flights to/from Denver or Los Angeles. Lots of celebrities from the golden age of film came though here. Sort of the air industry equivalent to Ogden's Union Station, I suppose.
The building was taken over by the Air Force, who abandoned it in the 1980's. The foundation to restore the building and create a museum began in 1990. They have a long way to go (particularly when it comes to air conditioning), but it's still an interesting place with lots of props, motors, and planes on display. You can go up to the tower the Air Force added on later for the highest view of the Wichita area available without actually flying over the city.
The displays fill the airport building but don't stop there. Several unique and interesting planes sit outside, including a Boeing 727 and 737, some bombers, and smaller military and commercial aircraft. These include the unique and much loved Beechcraft Starship.
You don't get to enter the planes unless you're apparently a super important elitist (the 727, an old FedEx cargo configuration, was opened up by a staffer for some people...when I followed them in I was kicked out), but how often do you get to walk this close to them...around them, under them? Still pretty cool. It had been years since I'd even seen a 727, my favorite airline of all time, and I'd never before climbed the rear stairs of one.
So if actual flying and the headaches involved has you jaded on a once proud method of travel, look to these guys to feel the magic again.
Or just drive.
