Laughter can be heard over the loud hum of a blue Cessna 172 pulling into the concrete parking area just off the runway of the Miami County Airport last week.

The small aviation pit stop, tucked away on a stretch of flat, open land just off 327th Street between Paola and Osawatomie, is infused with the aroma of barbecue and jet fuel.

Donning matching sunglasses and smiles, Dixie Flaigle and Susan Shields kick back around a small table behind We B Smokin', a barbecue joint offering a wide-open view of the runway and parking area.

The two friends continue sharing stories and small talk between bouts of laughter as their husbands secure the plane.

Dixie's husband, Steve, who got his pilot's license after he retired about four years ago, just finished giving Susan's husband, Paul, a bird's-eye view of the Shields' Miami County farm.

“Everybody was very impressed when I said I had friends flying in for lunch,” Susan said with a laugh.

As the clock hits noon and the sun reaches its peak in the clear blue sky, the parking area quickly begins to fill up as plane after plane touches down on the runway.

Pilots of all sorts begin to park their aircraft and make a dash toward the lofting smell of ribs and pork.

Reg Gast of Overland Park lands his Beechcraft A36 Bonanza to refuel both himself and his plane.

Gast, who has flown since 1974, is retired but still works as a flight instructor.

Fellow instructor Mike Douglas of Olathe and student Sarah Owens, also of Olathe, were along for the trip.

Owens works as an air traffic controller, and she said she wants to learn all of the aspects of the job, including how to fly.

Gast said it usually takes about 60 to 70 hours of flight time to get a license, but the Federal Aviation Administration only requires 40.

Owens, who flew solo for the first time a week earlier, was only along for the ride this time — and for the barbecue.

Since We B Smokin' opened at the airport six years ago, the reputation of the barbecue destination has spread throughout the aviation industry.

“It's Kansas City's answer to the $100 hamburger. It's known as a $100 barbecue joint in the pilot community,” said Steve, who has seen many pilots spend a lot of money just getting in a plane and flying to a small town for lunch.

The Flaigles' visit from their home in Blue Springs, Mo., last week was a bit more special.

Both couples grew up in Kansas City, Mo., where they attended Southeast High School. Dixie jokes that her husband always had a crush on Susan.

“She was a cute little blonde that everybody wanted to date,” Dixie said with a smile.

But after graduation, the friends slowly drifted apart, and Paul and Susan eventually moved to Miami County.

It wasn't until more than 30 years after the friends graduated high school in 1960 that they started meeting again. A mutual friend was fighting terminal cancer, and the couples grew close again as they helped her through life's final moments.

Now, the pair of married couples meets about once a month to catch up on old times, and on this particular day, the Shieldses wanted to introduce their friends to We B Smokin' for the first time.

“I told them the best barbecue in Miami County was right at the airport,” Susan said.

After two beef sandwiches, fries and onion rings, it was tough for the Flaigles to disagree with them.

The family-owned restaurant has cultivated a nice mix of regulars — most of whom show up on Saturday mornings for breakfast — and pilots from across the country looking for a fun lunch spot.

“They've come from as far away as Arizona,” said Shannon Czepcinski, who is the daughter of owners Terry and Gloria Bright. “Pilots are about 30 percent of the business.”

On a warm, sunny day, Czepcinski said, it's not uncommon to see 30 planes parked behind the restaurant during lunchtime, but the only official documentation is recorded on the barbecue-sauce-stained pages of the sign-in notebook resting on the front counter.

All pilots are asked to sign in, but it's hit or miss, Czepcinski said.

Airport manager Wayne Harclerode said a more accurate form of record-keeping likely would make it easier to get federal grants for improvements, but the airport still has garnered enough grant money to continue to grow during the past few years.

In 2000, the runway was expanded from 2,800 feet of 20-foot-wide asphalt to 3,400 feet of 60-foot-wide asphalt, Harclerode said.

He added that the concrete parking ramp was installed in 2002 and asphalt was added around the hangars in 2004.

Chain-link fencing also recently was put up around the airport as part of Department of Homeland Security improvements.

The next project on tap is runway repair and resealing, which is set to take place this summer.

Miami County received a Federal Aviation Administration grant last week, as well as the agency's approval of the contractor for the $123,000 project. The FAA will pay 95 percent of the cost.

Miami County Administrator Shane Krull hopes the work will be complete before the Airport Day celebration during Labor Day weekend.

There also has been discussion about extending the runway to 4,000 feet, which is generally the length insurance companies prefer for small jets and other larger planes to land.

But the Miami County Airport Advisory Board's top priority is the installation of a parallel taxiway before anything else, Harclerode said.

Since planes must take off into the wind, there are times when they taxi to the runway and then travel to the opposite end before turning around to take off, Harclerode said.

“It's like driving down a one-way street,” he said.

A parallel taxiway would be built next to the runway to allow easy access to the other end, he explained.

The addition would be especially helpful because the airport, like most small airports across the country, does not have a control tower. Harclerode estimated that only a handful of the more than 100 public airports in Kansas have traffic control towers.

“Unless you're flying in a heavily congested area, flying an airplane in the United States is just like driving a car to grandma's house. You just get in the plane and go,” he said.

The pilots do use caution, though, as all are expected to maintain radio contact and announce when they plan to land or take off so that nearby aircraft can respond accordingly.

Runway repair isn't the only improvement in the works. The county also plans to install a new fuel tank June 11, Krull said.

The tank will increase capacity from 5,000 gallons to 11,000 gallons and allow the county to buy fuel in bulk.

Fuel is essential for airport regulars like Floyd McElwain and David Edwards of St. Jospeh, Mo.

The partners own E and M Aerial Spraying, which is based in St. Joseph but does a lot of work in Ottawa, Burlington and throughout Miami County.

The two pilots frequent the Miami County Airport to refuel their specially designed planes with both fuel and fungicide.

Using a sectional map and aerial photos of their customers' fields, the duo will spray the pest deterrent on crops.

With all the recent wet weather promoting mold, most of their work so far this year has been with wheat, Edwards said.

McElwain has been in the business for about 30 years, but Edwards became his first partner when he joined earlier this year.

“I'd like to learn half of what he forgot,” Edwards said.

While the flyboys from E and M use their planes for business, Steve Flaigle is convinced that his Cessna is the perfect toy for his relaxing retirement.

“I get in it whenever the mood strikes me,” he said.

And his wife has accepted his costly passion — with a little persuasion.

“First, I made him give up his Harley, his camper and his guns,” Dixie said with a laugh.

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