Flying & Fish

Steve, Nathan and the kids went to "See All You Can See" day this morning, hitting the flight line, the booths, the fly market, the giant Airbus, everything they could get to. I went to the store to pick up a couple of necessary items, then took three loads of laundry to the laundromat, which is where I am typing this part of the blog entry. They have free wireless access here, and I knew that ahead of time, so I brought my laptop and here I sit waiting for my laundry to dry, in air conditioning, eating an Almond Snickers candy bar, on the computer deleting tons of spam emails and catching up on this. Ahhh. ;)

When I got back, I hit the flight line with Steve, Nathan and the kids, and we took a look at a crosswind simulator and a couple of light sport airplanes. The Falcon LS has an actual Lycoming engine in it, a good useful load, steerable nosewheel, toe brakes, plenty of fuel, and is basically like a real airplane and not a toy. Finally. We need to wait about one generation and make sure the company will still be in business and any bugs will be worked out, but the light sport planes are heading in the right direction. The Lightning is also in the running-I flew that with AE last year or so, and I liked the feel and maneuverability of it.

This evening we went to the sea plane base for their annual fish fry, and man was that good. We got to watch a lot of the sea planes take off and land, and one guy who hopped out of his plane onto the dock, ran along it, then hopped back into the plane as it kept floating past. Instead of a "fly by", we called it a "float by". I always love the ambiance out there, particularly since we go out as the sun is going down. It's just a very peaceful, quiet, relaxing place to be at the little lake in the woods.

While we were there, Jim flew the Mustang for his first time at Oshkosh, and he had a blast. Today's warbird show was really busy-there were like 18 fighters. We watched them from a distance, but I couldn't get any pictures from the sea plane base. I'm still glad Dave brought my camera to me, because I've been using it all day. :)

Tonight we have a couple of extra visitors sleeping at our campsite. A pair of F-15 Eagles flew in today, did a demo for the crowd, landed and were parked in AeroShell Square. They wandered over to warbirds, where Zac put them in the P-51. They were invited over to our campsite, and they took Zac up on it and arrived driving the F-15 tug, which made us all laugh. They were looking for a place to sleep at Camp Scholler here, so Nathan told them to pitch their tent here, and that's what they've done. They're here around the camp fire enjoying the company. What I find funny is that they're talking about what they'd give to fly the Mustang and what that would mean, while they fly around in F-15s, which the rest of us would love to take for a spin. :) They're very nice guys and I've enjoyed their company.

We've had several people stay with us who were here for their first time, and they all had the same reaction. Amazement. And a strong desire to stay longer than originally planned. :) Some of them have watched the videos or looked at pictures or heard all about it for decades, and still were surprised when they actually got here. It's kind of like the Grand Canyon. It's beautiful in photos-and knocks your socks off in person. I don't know if Oshkosh knocks your socks off-that seems a little much-but it's certainly...grand. Of course that only works if you like airplanes, don't mind roughing it a bit here and there, have someone to enjoy it with, and are in the mood. ;)

Kid Day

It started raining sometime during the night, and when I woke up this morning to go to the T-6 seminar at Warbird Headquarters, it was to a steady drizzle. I drove over to the Red Lot, and this time fortunately traffic was light and I made it over in plenty of time. The seminar itself was basically an overview of some things they'd uncovered over the last year as far as maintenance and care for the fleet as it ages and some progress they made on steps to monitor those newly known issues. I filled out the paper stating I'd attended, and I'll get a certificate mailed to me which will go towards reducing what it costs to insure me on the T-6. I saw several of the guys I spoke with from the T-6 group the other day and talked with one of them for a few minutes this morning. I'm still here. :)

But the conversation of note at the seminar was some guy at the end of it who was telling everyone there that to recover from a spin in the T-6 you have to keep the stick all the way back. Even if you go by what he meant (instead of what he said), which was that he was in an "unrecoverable steep spiral", a story which also has several problems, it's just...wrong. Hopefully everybody in there is too smart and experienced to come away from there and try recovering from a spin in anything by keeping the stick full aft. Ack.

Steve, Nathan and I took the kids to "KidVenture" today, at the EAA Museum and Pioneer Airport, and we spent several hours there. Kaylee made a glider that she drew up to look like the T-6 (and did a really nice job on it, too). She rode the hang glider simulator, and for the first time this year she flew a flight simulator with a "Red Bull" airplane on the screen. She was doing very well until she got bored and decided to try to crash it. She ended up doing several rolls, several low passes, and a couple of crashes to see what would happen. She was going to do a remote control airplane that goes pretty fast, and she was next in line, but they shut that down to give a demo right then, and the rains were coming again, so we had to leave.

We had ourselves a big old meal tonight starting with good steaks on the grill, and we had about a dozen people over. The kids did their usual evening routine and disappeared for long periods of time of playing with other kids on the hill and surrounding areas. They are getting lots of exercise and fresh air this week!

Hump Day

I spent today doing nothing special. :) Steve went up with Jim for an early morning Mustang ride over the lake, and Kaylee slept in until very late. She needed it! I sat in the sunshine and read a new Patterson book and did very little of importance all day long except look up at whatever interesting aviating was going on at the moment. Today they celebrated the 60th anniversary of the T-28, and they had a very nice looking formation up several times. We'd watch them fly over and listen in on the discreet airboss frequency for all the performers. They also started in on the skywriting today, so the kids and adults alike enjoyed that as always. For dinner, we all went to our favorite local big restaurant, Kodiak Jack's, and we did it with a record for us of 26 Glenndale people. They had to put us at three tables near each other, but we all made it, and I (and several others) had my favorite King Crab legs. We joked that Sig Hansen and the other "Deadliest Catch" crews were going to have to head back out to the Bering Sea after we were done with all these crabs tonight and catch another load.

The kids have made little friends here and are doing pretty well. They have some independence here and can run around within a certain radius and have some fun outdoors. It's great exercise and it's a lot of fun for them-something they just can't do at home in the city. I could never let Kaylee wander around a few blocks at our house. But here, with a mini-gang of them going together and having a good time exploring and making up games and using their imaginations, it works for us all. Enjoy the irony of the signs and the kids. ;)

MisAdventures at AirVenture

I think today would have to classify as the most frustrating day I've spent at Oshkosh, ever. Yesterday the T-6 was up for judging, and we had the panels off and the plane cleaned up while we waited for the judges to arrive, like plumbers, between the hours of 1-4. You had to be there when they got there, and they'd take a picture of the owner or pilot, judge your airplane, and at the end of the show you get a plaque with your photo on it along with any awards your plane may win. We waited until two something, and then suddenly they cleared the warbird ramp from all persons thanks to a mass arrival they were expecting. So we had to leave the plane and stand behind a rope. I saw what looked like judges pulling up to the plane, and I said to the guy in charge of the rope, "Hey, I think those guys are judging my airplane right now and I'm supposed to be there." He responded with "They are authorized to be there. You're not." Well, okay then. Shortly after that a massive thunderstorm started moving through, and we had to button everything back up, panels on, canopy cover on, etc. We hadn't gotten the right type of tiedowns yet, so I had to jog, and yes I said jog, clear across the field to the tiedown place and buy a set of tiedowns for $20. We got back to the plane, got it tied down and got back to our trailer right about when it started dumping rain, and it rained the rest of the night. Meanwhile, the judges had come and said I wasn't there so they couldn't judge it and we'd have to reschedule and do it all again another day. Okay.

Enter tomorrow. I am relaxing in front of my trailer reading a book in the morning, when Steve called and told me to grab the kids and the Jeep and hightail it over to the Red Lot parking lot and over to the T-6 because the judges had come back and wanted to judge the airplane right now. I hadn't put in the paperwork to be judged this morning, and in fact did not want to be judged today at all because it was going to be a busy enough day and I couldn't sit for a 3-hour time block and wait for them. But they had different ideas, and needed me there in about 30 minutes or so. No problem, I thought. I was wrong. Traffic was stopped cold out on the road, and it took me one hour and 45 minutes to make it anywhere close with two kids complaining in the back seat. When I finally got to the parking lot for which I had a "special" sticker, they blocked the entrance in front of me, came over and said "We're all full here, you'll have to park in the orange lot." At this point steam was leaking out of my ears, but I called the guys again and told them I wouldn't be able to be picked up there after all. The judges were willing to take their golf cart and Come Get Me from wherever. So Chuck and an EAA judge hopped on the golf cart, charged over to the Orange Lot, and had me follow them back to the Red Lot. It was like Moses parting the Red Sea. They paused traffic, they went in an entrance we weren't supposed to, and they cleared a spot for me and escorted me right to it, then piled us all on the golf cart and took us right to the plane where the rest of the judges were still patiently waiting. They asked a few questions, took my picture, and were on their way. Meanwhile I'd lost 3 pounds and 5 years off my life from irritation alone. Or maybe 5 pounds and 3 years, I dunno.

At this point I needed to attend the "First Time Flyer at Oshkosh" pilot briefing at 11:30. No time for lunch, none of my stuff with me since I hadn't expected to take two hours to get from my trailer to the airplane. I borrowed a pen from someone and went in, where they had a briefing exactly like every other briefing I've sat through-nothing special to Oshkosh except diagrams of its airspace and patterns-the stuff they'd give at the regular briefing anyway. That lasted until 12:20 or so, at which time Nathan and I went together to the "Fly in today's airshow" basic briefing, which covered the exact same stuff we'd just gone over in the previous hour. That ended at 1:40 p.m. or so, at which point we were supposed to grab lunch and meet up for our specific flight group (T-6 for me, Fighters for Nathan) pilot briefing for the show. I didn't have time to stand in line for lunch, so I just waited until 10 till two then went to the tent where I was supposed to go. The wrong group was in there. The T-28 group was in there and had no idea what I was talking about, but instead sent me to a blue and white tent across the way. I go there only to find...nobody. So I go back to the briefing room and ask and nobody knows-but one guy points out a guy in a red shirt and said "He's T-6 lead, follow him." I followed him back to the tent I started out at in the first place where he realized the tent was taken over and moved us to another tent. By now we were late for the briefing so I didn't get a chance to talk to him ahead of time about me flying in the show.

That briefing starts, and we get a ways into it when he did a roll call and asked if that was everyone. I stood up and introduced myself and briefly explained who I was and what I was looking to do, which was just be a stinger or the person at the very end in trail, not in formation. As expected they weren't too thrilled that I didn't have my formation card yet, even though one isn't required to just fly in trail. Lead has the legitimate discretion to not allow someone in the flight if they aren't comfortable, but he didn't invoke that rule-instead, after making sure I'd met all the other requirements, he told me that there's an "Oshkosh Rule" that first time flyers at Oshkosh have to have someone who is qualified to fly the T-6 and has flown at Oshkosh ride in the back seat with them the first time out. And since you aren't allowed to have back seaters during the show, you also have to get FAA approval to do so. I let that go at the time, but after the briefing I asked what they would like to see from me to make them comfortable, and he knew I thought it was baloney so he said "I'm not bull-oney-ing you, it really is an Oshkosh Rule." Well, that "Oshkosh rule" isn't in the waiver, and it isn't in any printed requirements. When we asked the head of the warbird department of the show, he'd said I would be good to go (at Lead's discretion of course) to fly trail. So did Dave R+10. Nathan had never heard of this rule. Jim had never heard of it. Personally, I would think the "First Time Flyer at Oshkosh" required briefing would mention something about a rule that you have to have a backseater the first time out, since it is for pilots...on their first time out. But it had no such rule mentioned either.

My guess is that it's not really an Oshkosh rule, but rather an unofficial T-6 group rule. I'm actually fine with the rule, if they don't know you and they want to fly with you first, even if you're just behind them, I'm good with that-in fact it's probably a good idea. I don't know about having to do it during the show itself, but okay. I'd rather he just said "You know, you don't know us, we don't know you, instead of tossing you in at the last minute, why don't you sit out today and maybe we can see about someone riding with you later in the week, and if all looks good..." I'd have been good with that, even if I never ended up actually flying. But...it is what it is.

The main frustration here was pretty basic. If a person takes the time to fly all the way to Oshkosh, does their homework and talks to people ahead of time to make sure they meet the requirements, and spend ALL DAY LONG in pilot briefings, it's pretty doggone frustrating to be told at the last briefing that there is some mystery requirement that nobody else told you about that you don't meet.

To end it, they told me that if I hung around through the weekend, maybe one of them wouldn't feel like flying in the show and maybe one of them would be willing to fly my backseat during a show to meet the requirement, and that the show would be thin on airplanes so it would be my best chance at getting in the show. I thought about it. I debated on the "stick around and make it happen" side of me, which has always won in these situations in the past, but decided not to this time. It feels more like cutting off my nose to spite my own face, since I don't feel like losing hours at Oshkosh hanging around waiting to see if just maybe someone might be willing and sitting through hours of more required briefings. Instead, I will now go relax and be on vacation and enjoy myself. But have no fear, I'll be back. ;)

I got back to the campground and washed potatoes and thawed chicken and made a salad and ice run at the store during the airshow instead. I had woken up at 4:30 a.m., and just had one very long, tiring, frustrating day. At least it ended well with chicken on the grill, friends and a warming fire...

The First Official Day.

We learned last night around our campfire that Oshkosh is already reporting fantastic numbers. The campground where we are is going to end up going into overflow camping. Vintage is going into overflow. A lot of the airplane areas are full and going into overflow. Warbirds are way down right now, but then again, the mass arrivals of T-6 and T-28s were supposed to come in yesterday but had to postpone due to weather, so that'll help when they make it in today. Yesterday the mass arrival of RVs happened, and they looked pretty good. The Mooneys came in the day before, and they were a big old gaggle, better known as a "cluster". The Bonanza group came in and for the most part did pretty well, but there was a pretty good crosswind, and Ty was watching these planes coming in with a bunch of them coming down on the wrong wheel first, shoving the nose down, just...bad piloting. Fortunately we've only heard of one incident so far of someone who ended up losing control and running into a tree. They said the tree had more damage than the airplane, and the pilot is fine (other than ego I'm sure), so that's good.

This year, Nathan gave permission for Jim and Zac to put people up in the Mustang. They've got a ladder and some protective carpets, and are letting people climb in and sit in the Mustang for a bit, take pictures, etc. Zac estimated 300 people came through yesterday, and said they were lined up to sit in the Mustang from the plane all the way out to the taxiway. It got enough attention that people at the show heard about it. There was a cancellation at AeroShell Square, which is THE main drag at Oshkosh, where everybody who is coming to Oshkosh will be at some point and where they usually feature the special attractions for the year. Well, the Oshkosh folks told Jim/Nathan that they may put the Checkertail Mustang in AeroShell Square this week, probably around Wednesday. If it happens, that would be pretty darned excellent.

AirVenture Day Two

Yesterday evening we were sitting at our campsite when we noticed some rain moving in. It looked like an isolated thing, so we just kind of sat and watched it come. It was meaner than it looked. :) Suddenly it hit, and it was fierce-winds blowing everything all over the place, heavy downpour, etc. We scrambled inside, dragging chairs and such out of the way, and in a few minutes it had passed. Kaylee, Jamie and their new friend Andrew had been caught at the port-o-potties, and Kaylee came running up soaking wet and yelling "I opened the port-o-pot door and it was like a hurricane out there!" I took a picture of the straggly girl just for the fun of it. :)

One of the less fun things that came from it was when Steve was trying to fix our camper door and his wedding ring caught on the top of the door as he stepped down off the step, swinging him out and hanging his entire body weight off of his finger. We're not sure if he cracked the bone in his finger or not, but it seems to be doing better today.

I won't have as many pictures and probably none of the airplanes flying this year, because I managed to leave my good Canon in my car at the airport. Last year I left my cell phone behind; this year my camera. I'd rather have left the cell phone. But oh well. I still have my little one for pictures of the kids and such, so that's better than nothing...

On the positive end of things, I jokingly (or not so jokingly come to think of it) told people that Oshkosh has finally moved up to meet the minimum acceptable camping standards this year. They redid their showers, and now have an entire row of flushing toilets for starters. Not that you'll be going there all the time, but it's at least an option now and then or in the mornings when you shower. And speaking of shower, that's the second big improvement. For women anyway. They have redone one of the shower houses so there is now a second curtain with a hook, and now you can hang up your towel and your clothes inside a dry PRIVATE area. Wow, you can actually take a shower at Oshkosh now without having to walk around naked in public-unless you want to of course. I don't think the men's area has been redone as nicely as that. I think they still have to walk out to get to a bench where all their stuff is, so I guess you know who complained the most. ;)

Today at lunch we went to Ardy & Ed's, which is an old-style diner where the girls come out on roller skates to your car and set the food in your car window. Or they have tables under umbrellas that you can sit and eat too. We chose to sit and eat, and the whole time we were there, a line-up of planes flew right over our heads. We were right off of final approach for runway 27 at Oshkosh, and it was just one plane after another, low, coming in to land. You could see they were dealing with a crosswind, and one or two guys added a bunch of power to make it to the runway, but it was an enjoyable parade. Nathan got me though. We were sitting there when he said "Huh. That sounds like a Mooney." I leaned out from under the umbrella, and said "Huh-that WAS a Mooney." Then I sat there with one eyebrow up while I briefly wondered how the bloody blazes he could tell it was a Mooney from the sound of it. He'd caught a glimpse of it before it got to my side of the umbrella, that's how. So it became a bit of a running joke-"that sounds like a blue and white Waco" or "that sounds like a V-tail Bonanza". (Well, you know, you can't tell color or shape of tail or Mooneys by the sound of the engine).

Later that afternoon, Nathan and I took Jamie and Kaylee to see "Ice Age" in town. When we came out of it, there was a dark ugly looking storm cell off to the distance, but we got lucky and only a bit of it got us. After one of the little cells passed, there was a double rainbow though. It was just beautiful, and is about the fourth or fifth rainbow I've seen in the few days we've been here. As I was taking pictures of it which won't turn out well on my little point and shoot camera, four warbirds arrived to land, flying right over the rainbow. I took a picture of that, too, which also probably won't turn out. I'd have killed for my zoom lens...

We cooked out brats, dogs and burgers on the grill, and afterwards was a little celebration for Chuck & Nathan's birthdays. Chuck's was today, and Nathan's was the 15th, and Judy had gotten two small chocolate cakes, one for each, then we all had little cupcakes and ice cream cups and had quite a gathering over there. Greg Koontz stopped by for a few hours, so that was nice, and a bunch of the Glenndale gang including Ty, Sam, Jim, me, Chuck, Nathan, Jim Z, all the wives, eh, there was a good 40 or more people there. Another year older and a good place to celebrate it. :)

AirVenture

It was so nice and cool last night that pretty much everyone slept really well. The fan we used for white noise had a bad ticking tendency, but I was tired enough from all the running around in the days prior that I could actually ignore it. :)

The last of our group's stragglers made it in today, and we'll have a couple more who just come up and stay for a night in a tent or truck at our site. We have a really nice site this year with plenty of space, and it makes for a relaxing place to hang out. With the weather as cool as it has been and the breeze we've had going and the mostly blue skies, it's just been downright nice out here.

Today after lunch I went over to the warbird area and got the information out of the T-6 so I could go officially register. I got the set of paperwork to register the airplane there, the paperwork to actually fly during the show, and the paperwork to have the airplane judged this week. I got the two wristbands for access to the grounds all week, and my parking sticker to put in the car so I can actually drive up to the parking area closest to warbirds. Last but not least, I got the nice "Warbirds of America" pilot bag which comes with pilots' notes for the show, a nice program, and complementary gifts like a blue "warbird pilot" hat, a glass mug with a plaque thing on it, etc. A worthwhile trip up there today.

The show doesn't start until Monday, but the campgrounds are getting pretty full. The flight line is a little light still, but planes have been arriving all day, even with another windy day, so I'm guessing it will start filling up soon...

The Arrival

I woke up this morning around 4:30 a.m.-I laid there and tried to pretend like I was sleeping to see if I could fool myself into getting more rest, but unfortunately I didn't fall for it. Sometime around 6 I got up and checked the weather to find fog, mist, and low IFR reported all the way from Kokomo to the Chicago area. The irritating thing about it was that it was blue sky above-it was just a low level ground "fog" that was holding us back. Finally our airport hit legal VFR visibilities, and Trey came on in from Huntington in the G-model T-6. A short time later, we were off and on our way.

The flight itself was uneventful. Much longer than originally anticipated thanks to heavier than forecast headwinds, but clear and smooth. We flew up in formation, sometimes tighter, sometimes looser, and I'd given my camera to Kaylee for her to take pictures from the back seat. She took pictures of all the instruments, about 20 pictures of herself doing various goofy poses, a few pictures of Trey off of our wing, and about two shots out the window after we'd landed at Oshkosh. :)

Coming into Oshkosh was pretty straightforward-the Warbird Arrival is very basic. I was cleared to land #2 on the purple dot of 36L. I ended up having to do a 270 on final after a few planes on a different arrival were turned in front of me, and I ended up #7 or so instead of #2, but I landed on my dot, taxied to warbird parking, and we had officially arrived. I looked up as I was shutting down to see a red hat over there. Even though I hadn't warned them I was coming, Chuck, Judy and Jim Z. happened to all be there right when I got there. Perfect! We cleaned out the T-6 and headed back to camp.

Our trailer arrived about two hours late, but it arrived and it's nice. The weather is beautiful, and we're camped by the hill that the kids love to play on. A few hours after Trey and I landed, the winds picked up gusting upwards of 27 knots at 200. Oshkosh was landing people on 27. We thought about taking a lawn chair out there to watch those landings, but didn't end up doing it. :)

We had steaks on the grill for dinner and a nice fire is going as I type.

We've arrived. :)

The Final Frontier

Well, this was a nuts day. From all the last-minute Oshkosh prep work to all the personal things that need to be done and set up so you can be gone for awhile to the work-related things that needed done, this day was spent...hopping.

This afternoon I did get to solo a student for his first time. He's worked really hard and had several obstacles to overcome to get here, and today he flew an airplane by himself, and I was happy and proud for him.

This evening I finished the ground school portion of the "Pinch Hitter" class. We were supposed to go up and fly this evening as well, but a line of storms moved in over the top of us right when we'd be going, and after it would have passed, it would be dark. So that part is postponed until after Oshkosh, but at least we got all the ground work in.

It's a good thing vacations are relaxing, because this prep work for them is not so much. In fact, my blood pressure was actually elevated at my medical exam yesterday. Well, for me anyway. ;) It was all the way up to 117/68. Seriously, that is high for me-I used to almost never break 100. In fact, 80 something over 50 something was normal for me. But I digress...

Everybody else is up there and camped, and all we have left is ourselves. Steve leaves early in the morning in the Jeep, and Kaylee and I & Trey leave early in the morning in the T-6s. We've got to work the timing right to leave late enough to have better visibilities here while not waiting too long to run into dealing with storms up there. Ah, Mother Nature.

If I get hooked up online up there, I'll post that I've arrived safely when I get a chance, but usually no news is good news, so don't worry. ;)

Well, I've got "miles to go before I sleep" and all that, so I'll catch up to you...soon. :)

Ugh

A "TFR" is a "Temporary Flight Restriction". This is airspace that has basically been "shut off", or restricted to pilots. Any pilot "busting" the TFR will be up for action including having his pilot's certificate suspended or revoked, among a litany of other threats they make. Usually it results in suspension and perhaps additional training required.

President Obama is set to visit Chicago now, and as of today there's listed a huge TFR covering the entire Chicago area. Right now it's listed as only for Thursday evening, but someone from the FAA stated it would probably be extended to most of Friday as well. Meanwhile, Saturday and Sunday there is another TFR in the Milwaukee area. So let me get this straight. The days before Oshkosh begin, when half the pilot population in the country is flying up to Wisconsin, there are TFRs for airspace right by where everyone is going. Anyone want to place bets on how many people bust those TFRs and get in big trouble? Yes, they are supposed to look up that information before they take off. I did, and I will again Friday morning before I leave. But people are human and they forget, or assume that since there are almost never TFRs in the area, there won't be today either, or misjudge where they are in relation to it. And a measure designed to make the masses on the ground feel (not actually be, just feel) safer, instead ends up ensnaring innocent people just tooling along. It's just really bad timing...

I'm torn between being amused and something else at this story by the LA Times. At Los Angeles Airport, a bunch of airport/airline employees are living in a colony of trailers on the airport grounds. Over 100 trailers and mobile homes where if you're say an airline captain, you can live in a cramped trailer part time now on a crumbling concrete Lot B with 99 other trailers and workers for weeks straight. Yes, the life of an airline pilot sure is glamorous any more, isn't it? I may do it for 9 days at Oshkosh, but what you choose to do for an adventure is just that--a choice for an adventure. And I'm with family and friends at a unique event. If you need to do it, away from your family, for days to weeks in a row...hey, who cares if the guys holding a lot of people's lives in their hands have to go to the local gym to take their shower in the morning to conserve water and usually live in a trailer off the end of the runway? ;)

I'm leaving to go get my 2nd class medical here in a few minutes. If I flew at the show, I'd be reimbursed for the fuel as long as I had a 2nd class medical. (It's using the Commercial Pilot Certificate and appropriate medical for being "Compensated" with the fuel reimbursement. And smoke oil if I had any of that. Which people are probably glad I don't.) My 3rd class medical is good for 5 years while I'm under 40 years old, but I still have to go back every year for the 2nd class anyway, which is kind of irritating, but...it is what it is.

Getting some stuff packed up and more paperwork done is on the agenda for tonight-the plans for today went fairly well and I got a lot done staying up until past midnight and just...working. I think we're finally getting close to thinking about being almost ready. ;)

Quotes that came in today...

There will be a time when loud-mouthed, incompetent people seem to be getting the best of you. When that happens, you only have to be patient and wait for them to self destruct. It never fails.
~Richard Rybolt

Patience serves as a protection against wrongs as clothes do against cold. For if you put on more clothes as the cold increases, it will have no power to hurt you. So in like manner you must grow in patience when you meet with great wrongs, and they will then be powerless to vex your mind.
~Leonardo da Vinci

Bites

I got to watch the Mustang fly today, which is always good for a grin. Then I took up the T-6 myself for a little while. There were a handful of workers on the roof of one of the big hangars, and they seemed to enjoy the views. :)

I came home and found another home-cooked meal ready to eat. This is the third REAL food meal we've had in a week, and I am getting spoiled! Steve's mom and dad have fixed food for company, and we've reaped the benefits too. :)

Well, these last two days are going to fly by. Tonight will be my last real chance to catch up on my paperwork stuff and prepare for a few things, and then tomorrow I've got appointments all day, same with Thursday. The caravan leaves Thursday-I already see campers and trailers in driveways ready to go-and Kaylee and I will be heading out in the T-6 on Friday morning sometime most likely, weather permitting...

Visions

Poor Kaylee has been having such a rough time with nightmares lately. She comes by it honestly-I was plagued by particularly nasty nightmares too-and I know how she feels. I think people with vivid imaginations are probably just more prone to it, and she certainly fits that bill. I hate that she's afraid to go to sleep at night, and when she wakes up and feels like she has to explain every detail of the dream, I understand that too. Something about saying it out loud to someone else takes it from that "realness" in your head to actual reality, like it washes it away, makes it fade into silliness. Last night I went into her room at 2 a.m. and she was awake in her bed, lights on, scared to go to sleep for fear of one particular dream that she says has been bothering her over and over. I hate that I can't crawl in there and pull out the nightmares before she sees them, too. I've tried to give her the things that helped me over time, but some of it takes practice, and she can't do it yet. So, if you don't mind, Kaylee would appreciate prayers for some peaceful nights and literal sweet dreams. (Or no dreams. Or neutral dreams. Or anything but those nightmares.) She needs a break...

I did the litany of things I told you I wouldn't tell you about to prepare for Oshkosh today, then after lunch I took Kaylee out to the airport so she and Jamie could ride bikes, play in the sunshine, etc. I realize it's a little dorky that the highlight of my day was sitting in the Mustang and flipping a few switches while Nathan and Jon worked on a couple of things. But I defy most pilots to sit in the cockpit of a Mustang and flip a few switches and not feel just a little extra testosterone. No, it wasn't running. Yes, I still enjoyed it. What about it?? ;) Speaking of fun, manly airplanes, I climbed up in the T-6 for awhile too, to clean out my "map compartment" and make sure I have only what I want/need in there for the upcoming trip. I still have some things to put in, but at least I got the unnecessary stuff out. Yesterday was probably the first day that either Steve or myself started actually feeling ready to think about heading to Oshkosh, and today I might have even started getting a little excited about it. :)

Catching Up

On Thursday, Nathan gave the young man who won the Poker Run his ride in the T-6, and he came back with a big grin and a "I want one of those". I drove his dad around on the golf cart so he could take photos, and he was so excited too. That's a lot of fun-I really enjoy even just being there for those kinds of things. :)

I put up just a few pictures of Kaylee's New Hairdo, and there are a few photos of the Young Eagles day as well (those are more for the EAA chapter guys). Personally, I like close-up photos of kids' faces in the planes, but I didn't ask for permission to do that, so this time I just took some ramp shots and left it there.

Steve is already mostly (personally) packed for Oshkosh. Me, I just started doing my laundry for it now, but I may get the laundry and much of my packing done today as well. There is a lot to do, and I have some things to tie up before I go. Being gone for a week or more is a tricky thing.

This will be a bit of a different Oshkosh this year. For one thing, I'll be flying up the T-6, with Kaylee in the back, instead of driving up. Plus I get to have some company, and Trey C. is going to fly up Tim's G-model T-6 with me. This year we won't have the big group camping out like we usually do, either. That can be both good and bad. It was always fun having the large campsite with the "Glenndale" banner across it and the big campfires and such, but it's also nice to have just a more low-key approach to it with a few of us at our campsite and several more at another site nearby. Lastly, I might end up flying the T-6 during the show at Oshkosh this year. We'll have to see.

Since most of this week will be preparing things for our departure, from the business end to the personal end, and since I'm sure reading about the litany of things being done would be quite mind-numbing, I don't know if I'll post much of anything for awhile. I'm not even sure if we'll get online much up at Oshkosh this year, but we'll see for that, too.

I'll finish up with some quotes that came in over the last several days, and catch up again...soon enough. :)
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"Parties who want milk should not seat themselves on a stool in the middle of the field in hope that the cow will back up to them."
~Elbert Hubbard

"One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries."
~A.A. Milne

"He who refuses to embrace a unique opportunity loses the prize as surely as if he had tried and failed."
~William James

"The secret of living is to find people who will pay you money to do what you would pay to do if you had the money."
~Sarah Caldwell

“Hope is the companion of power, and mother of success; for who so hopes strongly has within him the gift of miracles.”
~Samuel Smiles

From the Past to the Future

Two days ago we had the honor of meeting up with an elderly WWII veteran. Today it was about the next generation. Our poor Young Eagles rides that have been rescheduled for three different days were finally able to go today. We lost several of them due to the repeated date changes, but we got in over twenty rides in after all. The skies were low and the rain started hitting around noon anyway, but the guys got them done at last. For most of the kids it will be just an interesting morning, and it's good to get exposure to different experiences in life. And who knows-maybe one will end up catching the dreaded flying virus...just like many of us did as kids.

We joke that along with the "Young Eagles" rides, we need "Old Buzzard" rides too. Those are usually called "Discovery Flights", but it just doesn't have quite the same ring to it. ;)

We were also reminiscing about the days when you just took a kid up for a ride, everyone had a good time, and went home. Today you have to meet certain criteria, fill out a bunch of paperwork, etc. Progress? In some ways, yes; in others, I'm not so sure. At least for now we can still do it...mostly. Some schools are already turning down the option for liability reasons. You know, "Liability" with a capital "L"; that thing that is slowly ruling-and strangling-a wide variety of events, products, and...enjoyment...in life. I wonder what things will be like by the time Kaylee is an adult. Will everyone be walking around in bubble wrap? But hey, for today it is still available, and I talked to one 16-year-old girl who did some hands-on flying herself and felt like she'd accomplished something special. I say she's right...

Another Step Forward

Today a certain young lady made a decision that wasn't an overly popular idea with her family, but it was what she wanted and she stuck with it. The hairdresser didn't talk her out of it, and even her parents and Grandma couldn't convince her otherwise. She stood firm in the face of a handful of "But Kaylee..." comments, and in the end it was her hair and it would be her choice. She wanted something different, and even though she didn't end up with the chin-length puffy bob she originally chose, she is still quite pleased.

Goodbye, long locks.

Hello, short and sassy. ;)

Red Tailed Angel

This afternoon as Steve, Nathan, Jonathan, myself and Chuck were sitting outside at the Kokomo Airport enjoying the cool summer breeze, a car pulled up by the hangar with our 3:30 appointment. A woman from the Civil Air Patrol brought with her a tiny, frail African American man. He walked hunched over, with a cane, leaning on her as they slowly walked over. He couldn't have been more than about 5' 2" tall and 100 pounds soaking wet, was smartly dressed in white, with the words "Tuskegee Airmen" in red on his white hat. He didn't know why he was there-they had left it as a surprise for him-but as soon as he walked into the hangar and saw the Mustang, he went completely still. Lt. Col. Julius Jackson had flown the now-famous "Red Tail" P-51 Mustang during WWII as part of the group known as the "Tuskegee Airmen". They were the first African American group in the country trained as fighters, and while they were originally shunned, over time they had such an amazing record of protecting their bombers that they became known as the "Red Tailed Angels" and ended up the most requested fighter/protectors by the white bomber pilots.

Mr. Jackson walked around Nathan's Mustang, putting a hand on it here, talking softly to it, and just drinking it all in. When he'd had some time, Chuck and Steve helped him get up in the airplane. As soon as he was seated, his hands covered his face and he was overcome with emotion for just a few seconds, and then we saw something we've seen with other WWII veteran Mustang pilots coming to the P-51 for the first time in decades. He sat straighter. His eyes got sharper. He started telling stories, laughing, remembering. And when he got out of the airplane, he never even noticed that he was no longer walking with a cane, he was no longer hunched over, and he was no longer leaning on anyone. He even talked about the fighter jock walk, and he said he was a black fighter jock and he did this cocky little walk with his arm swinging behind his back, and he still had it. We've seen the Mustang become a Time Machine for these men before, and it is just an amazing, incredible, humbling, inspiring sight.

Mr. Jackson moved from the Mustang over to the T-6 and talked about how he'd trained in that airplane too. As I was walking over to the plane with him, he paused and said "Young lady, have you ever figured out why we do this? How to explain what it means?" I told him that I didn't think it was something that people could really explain. Either you understand or you don't. He agreed with me, and said "There's just something...it's just...it's almost..." and he threw his hand up, and I said "It's almost spiritual". He lit up again and said "And that's why you're a woman! You can come up with the right word. That's exactly what it is. I become one with that airplane, and it's spiritual." He then mentioned the line of a poem, "touched the face of God", and I smiled and started quoting it. He was amazed I knew it, but it's a poem I had on my wall for a good long time as a young teen, titled "High Flight". We talked for quite awhile over by the T-6, and we both agree that the best airplanes have sticks not yokes, among other things. :)

He thanked us all, and hugged each and every one of us, and said that he just couldn't tell us what this meant to him, but that only pilots would understand. He then asked for his cane for the first time, and headed back to the car for the trip back to Chicago, back straight, with a promise of coming back next year if he could. We all hope to see him.

Quick and Quiet

Today was a quiet one for the most part. Steve had some lessons to give, and I worked at home on some paperwork and shipped off some stuff. We all met up for lunch, and Happy Birthday to Nathan by the way. :)

Tonight I had a ground "Pinch Hitter" lesson for a couple of people to go over some of the material they need to get a basic understanding of flying, how it works, any concerns they have about flying, and what to do to get a plane down safely in case of a problem with the pilot. I think that has to be the most I've talked in a very long time, because at the end of it my voice was actually going out. One was into physics and wanted to know how everything worked, and the other wasn't as interested in how it worked but did want to know what to do with the radios, the controls, what to say, how to navigate, etc. We had a good time and got a lot accomplished in a couple of hours there.

The corn has really shot up tall these last couple of weeks, and as I was driving down to Sheridan on the back roads at sunset, it was just raining bugs on my windshield. I couldn't even clear them off with wipers and washer fluid--they just stuck to my window like glue, and I couldn't hardly see through my window. So when I finished up, I literally had to run my car through a car wash just to wipe off the bug remains enough to see well. I think I may stick to the slower route down Hwy 31 next time.

Kaylee is recuperating from some fun but busy days, and looking forward to a little free swimming (as in not regimented) coming up soon here. :)

You Spin Me Right Round

This morning as soon as I woke up, I got the news that the T-6 was ready for pick-up, so Nathan and I went to Huntington to get it, in the Baron. It was a super clear day-you could see forever. We got back to Kokomo, I put the Baron away, then had to drive to Sheridan to pick up the 172 and fly it to Glenndale for a lesson at noon. There was a decent crosswind today, so that's what we worked on at a couple of different runways. We finished flying and I flew the 172 back to Sheridan and drove home in order to pick up Kaylee and take her to the County Fair which is going on in Greentown this week. We got there around 3 pm or so, in time to get our wristbands and hit the rides. One of those non-stop days, for sure!

Two years ago, it was a total surprise to me when I didn't feel well after going on a bunch of the spinny rides, which had never bothered me before. Last year I was more prepared for it, but still struggled with it, and pushed myself too hard at the end. This year, I was pleasantly surprised that we hit every ride she wanted to hit, most of them twice, and I had no problem. My tolerance is obviously up. Not far enough, but up. What's strange is that I can go up and do a dozen rolls or loops or whatever, and I felt fine. Nathan flew me around every which way but right side up for a long time not that long ago, and I felt fine. I wasn't the one doing the flying there, so you'd think that would get to me if anything would. Nope. But a few of these spinny circus/fair rides, and I'd been turning green. Until this year. We went for several hours, doing one ride after the other. Kaylee had a blast. She loved a "Haunted House" ride, where you sit in a cart and it bangs around in pitch black, running into stuff, stringy things hanging down into your face, loud noises out of nowhere, banging and pop up ghosts and skeletons and so forth. She hung onto my arm for dear life, but she loved it and made me go again. Most of the rides she hit more than once, in fact. She loved the "Freak Out", which goes very high and shoots you around. The swings, the scrambler, all sorts of them. She wouldn't go on the one that goes upside down called "The Screamer", because it was way higher than the ride last year that hung you upside down on which she and every other kid on there freaked out over. She likes the Ferris Wheel, though this year's wheel is WAY smaller than the previous years' wheel. They had a huge one before.

You know, I'm glad I don't spend a lot of time looking at all the bolts and hoping the guy below put it together properly. But that is a very fuddy duddy way to live, so I ignore the fact that should said bolt come out, we would plunge...never mind. See, I ignore that.

We had a fun day, took a break for cold drinks, and hit more rides. The last ride of the day was "The Spider", also known as "The Octopus" at other fairs or parks. It's the ride where your individual seat spins around, while the whole ride spins to the left, while the arms that your seat is on shoot up and down. It was the last ride of the day because it was the ride that finally broke my stomach. And how. No more spiders or octopi for Laura. Ever.

We finally made it home like around 7 p.m. or so I think, I threw in a load of laundry, Kaylee went to a computer game, and it's already 10 p.m. and the whole day has flown by!

I've got Pictures from the Fair up on Kaylee's site, of course. :)

Back to Monday

I was tired enough last night that I forgot to mention one of the prettier things we saw yesterday. On the flight out to Missouri, I'd thrown my purse in the baggage compartment in the back and forgot to bring it up front before we took off. (There may not be any purses in warbirds, but there are definitely purses in Barons.) :) In my purse was my camera and my cell phone. We were flying along at 6000', when the sun was setting off to our right just above a layer of silvery-white clouds, which was beautiful enough. But off to our left was a big, dark, nasty storm. And when we looked to the left, we suddenly saw a rainbow right off our wingtip. It was a perfect rainbow that went from just in front of our wing all the way to behind the plane, for a couple of miles, and it tracked along with us for awhile. I'm looking around for my camera, and realize it's in the way back. I have Steve take over while I try to climb in the back and get my camera, but my seat won't go down, and all the wriggling won't let me squeeze back there, and Steve is making the plane jerk around so I'm getting tossed a little too, so I give up and just enjoy the view. But as I get my headset back on, I hear the controller come on and say "Baron 9255S, we had a stuck mic on this frequency, I think it was yours-sounded like there were kids in the background maybe." I guess that depends on if you consider a 37-year-old woman laughing and 'woo-hoo'ing as her 49-year-old spouse jerks the plane around, tossing her around the cabin, as "kids". ;) I had taken off my headset and put it on the yoke, and it probably depressed the push to talk switch for a few seconds. Steve did the radios until we switched controllers and we kids stayed out of trouble the rest of the flight. I tried to take photos of the rainbow with Steve's cell phone camera, but just by looking at it on the screen, it didn't work. Oh well...

We didn't get home until late, so Kaylee didn't get to bed until midnight, which meant I had to go in and wake her up late this morning so she wouldn't sleep in until lunch time. She sleeps later than I do any more and she's only 8!

After lunch we needed to get the T-6 up to Huntington for something, so Chuck and Nathan took the T-6, and I chased them in the Baron. We did a little formation on the way up, me off of them. It was a little bumpier today, but it was still a beautiful day to fly.

Oshkosh is only 10-11 days away depending on when we go up. I don't think we're going to stay as long this year as we usually do, but we still have a lot of logistics to work out...

The day is young and I've got quite a bit of things to do still, none of which anyone cares about, so I guess I'd best get to it. At least we have food and supplies around here again. :) Oh, Zac Tummers is the "Ramp Rat" in charge of the warbird ramp at the Indy/Mt. Comfort Air Show; he and his dad Steve came up to our Kokomo Air Show as well, and sent me a few pictures they took afterwards, which you can see at the bottom of this page. :)

P.S. Part of what I needed to do today was catch my logbook back up from April, and add up all my times for insurance. I couldn't find my numbers from last year, only 2007, so I had to go back through two years and add up every tailwheel, retract, and multi flight I had individually. It took a few hours to catch up my logbook and get my numbers together, which I needed to do anyway. While I'm not that fond of insurance and all their requirements, the alternative would be bad. No Citabria, no Baron and no T-6? :O I have 64 hours in a T-6 so far. Life is good.

Home Again

I finally finished up my CFI Renewal stuff late last night, got it all printed up, signed my life away, and am ready to Fed Ex it off to the Feds as soon as I get a paper notarized that says I am in fact me. Then I'll be good for another two years, and next year it's Steve's turn...

This morning we slept in a bit, and when I looked at the weather to go get Kaylee from Missouri, there was a wad of storms off to the west that would arrive in Cape at about the same time I would. It was too wide to just go around and too solid to be able work through, so Kaylee got to spend a little extra time down there while I waited for it to move past my route of flight.

Finally this afternoon I ran out to Kokomo to fuel up the Baron before they closed. Steve was out there doing a flight review, and when he was done we fired up the grill and cooked up some hot dogs and finished off some food that was left over out there while we waited for said wad of storms to move.

He went with me to pick up Kaylee, and it was an uneventful flight both directions. There was a little rain and a very ugly thunderstorm off to our east, but we didn't bother it and it didn't bother us. Kaylee rode home in the back seat and wanted her dad to ride back there with her so she could talk to him the whole way home, so I played chauffeur. The good news was, I got to control the XM radio all on my own. ;) Since we came home at night, we could see the lightning from the storm to our east, and it just lit up that corner of the sky constantly. For at least five minutes that I'd turn and watch, the lightning never stopped-there was literally lightning flaring up at all times in a pretty wide swath of sky. Very pretty...from a good distance.

We didn't get home until midnight, and Kaylee was so glad to see her kitties and her house. She's off to bed, and I'm surprisingly tired myself...

Kaylee had a blast with her grandma and grandpa, and they seemed to have a good time themselves. I'm glad she can have a fun memory like that. :)

On the Sobering Side

There is an air show today in Tarkio, Missouri. It's a town with only 2000 people in it, but they put on an air show well enough to get noticed, with a lot of good acts and good-sized crowds. Unfortunately, two of the pilots who were going to perform at the show were both killed on Friday while individually practicing for the show. One was Gary Miller, a long-time and proficient T-6 pilot who did aerobatic routines. He was in Colorado practicing maneuvers for the show when he stall/spun it into the ground. The other was Chandy Clanton, a 35-year-old woman from Nebraska who flew everything from light taildraggers to light twins to jets to warbirds but who focused on aerobatics and was making a name for herself, had won championships and flown at Oshkosh and such. Reports were that she had just completed two outside tumbles when she crashed. Ran out of room or ran out of energy? I don't know. But I do know three things. One, of course, I feel badly for the families involved-Chandy at least had two young sons. Two, I feel sorry for the organizers of Tarkio's air show on multiple levels. And three, I write about it at all not to be morbid, but...to take note. While aviation has more than its share of show offs, blow hards and big egos, it also has its share of responsible, careful, safety-conscientious pilots. I haven't heard that either one of these two pilots killed Friday was anything but the latter...low level aerobatics has such a small margin for error. Hey, it's not crab fishing--so many people do it safely for their entire careers--but they're all quite aware that it doesn't take a very big mistake to pose a very big problem.

Our Young Eagles were supposed to come back today to finish up their rides from our air show last weekend, but unfortunately the rain came back too, so we had to postpone yet again. It's a good thing we got Young Eagles flights in from 8-11 a.m. or so last Saturday, or we'd have a LOT more waiting to finish up. The rain also cancelled a flight review Steve was going to give at Kokomo and a primary lesson I was going to give at Sheridan. On the bad news front, that's lost income. On the good news front, I didn't have to go out early on a Saturday. On the bad news front, I had to wake up early anyway. Oh well. :)

I've been working on my CFI renewal stuff last night and today. I'm about done with "Stage Four" here and will have three more quizzes to take. It's so exciting, sitting here on the computer listening to it rain while I "study" for 100 to 250 minutes per section (insert eyeroll here). But I expire on July 31, and I'll be in Oshkosh in about ten days through to August, so it's definitely time to get my ducks in a row and get it done.

I cannot believe Oshkosh is coming up so fast-we are not nearly ready, on several levels. But we're working on it. It's always a little crazy getting ready and getting up there, which is why it is then so nice to be there, be set up, kick up your feet, enjoy the view and enjoy relaxing with friends. Of course, I won't have an 8-10 hour drive this year, since I'm flying the T-6 in, but I'm not sure I won't be just as tired at the end of the day. ;)

Well, I've taken care of forty email things to do and it's time to take Stage Four's quiz on the FARs, airspace, and TSA security, oh joy, so I'll end on the quote and get back to work.

"If you treat an individual as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be."
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Shortly

We got up a little earlier this morning so that Steve could get to work on some tax things and I could go on a flight lesson. For the ole logbook, which I am behind on again of course, I went up in the RG with BG and we worked on his CFII for 1.6. Localizer and VOR approaches, hold entries and holds, missed approaches, all that good instrument stuff. And in an irony of the FAA, even though I wasn't doing all of those things, as the CFII, even though he was practicing being a CFII, I get to log them anyway, so it counts towards my own currency should I want it to.

I got done in time to catch a ride with Nathan and Jonathan back to Glenndale for lunch. We were going to fly in with the Baron, but today was salad and meatloaf, so we drove and stopped at Subway on our way in and got a sandwich too. I wanted to leave plenty for everyone else, you know...

Steve and I were asked to fly a guy down to Kentucky tonight, but the weather up here just wasn't going to cooperate most likely, so he cancelled. The trip and the income would have been good, but Mother Nature had other plans, and besides, that meant we were free still to go to dinner and celebrate a friends' birthday. :)

The house is quiet without the kiddo thumping around, and we still hope she's behaving and having fun. I keep thinking I'm forgetting her somewhere or forgetting to pick her up from some practice or something, and then I remember it's all good...

I guess I'll end on a few quotes that came in today:

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"It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are."
~e. e. cummings

The belief that youth is the happiest time of life is founded on a fallacy. The happiest person is the person who thinks the most interesting thoughts, and we grow happier as we grow older.
~William Lyon Phelps

"I am more and more convinced that our happiness or our unhappiness depends far more on the way we meet the events of life than on the nature of those events themselves."
~Karl Wilhelm Von Humboldt

"You will find yourself refreshed by the presence of cheerful people. Why not make earnest effort to confer that pleasure on others? Half the battle is gained if you never allow yourself to say anything gloomy."
~Lydia M. Child

Catching Up

When I woke up this morning, I realized I had nowhere I had to be until lunch. No swim, no flights, no events, no morning errands. Steve was already up and on the phone and working, and finally feeling better too. So I started in on laundry, dishes, straightening up, organizing all my computer files, and putting up pictures until then.

First up are photos of Kaylee and Gabe. Those two got along so well. You can tell by the pictures, how they are smiling and laughing even at each other. I sort of assumed that the age difference would be a barrier for a few years here, but he took right to Kaylee, and she to him. It reminded us so much of how her cousins have always been with her. Even though she's so much younger than they are, they would take the time and play with her, and I think even enjoyed themselves too. She was the same way-even though Gabe is two, they found things to play and they both had a fun time. It was sweet and a little strange when we'd stop and think that this was the first time our kids had met.

Next, this cracks me up. The first picture is of Stephanie and myself at the SAC Museum (Strategic Air Command) in Nebraska, where we lived when we were teens. (Okay, I lived in Nebraska, she lived in Iowa, but Omaha and Council Bluffs are just across the river from each other). I think I was fifteen or sixteen here, and she was thirteen or fourteen. We both wanted to take flying lessons, and I'd started saving up a certain percentage of my money in a hot pink giant Crayola crayon bank in my room. When it got full, I'd deposit it to my savings account. Mom took us to the SAC museum I don't know how many times, and this time we climbed up on the wings...I wonder if they'd let you do that today...and snapped a shot.


The next picture is of Stephanie and I several years later, after I had gotten my pilot licenses, so I'd have been maybe 20 or 21 here, and she would be 18-19. We found the same plane and climbed back on the wings for a "later" shot. (Huh. So that's what my shape used to look like.)

Finally, this was Stephanie and I this weekend. We'd just landed from about an hour-long flight in the T-6, doing formation flying off of Nathan. I'm 37, she's 35. Over twenty-two years later. We should have sat on the wings for this photo too, even if it is a different plane. ;)


Trey sent a cd of photos he took during Saturday's show, and I got those up as well. I always appreciate his photos. Dave Jackson from the Indianapolis Air Show came up as well, and he took a few photos as well. I had to laugh when I looked at the big versions of some of these, because while you feel like you're alone when in an airplane flying by, you are so not alone. You can see facial expressions and hand positions and all sorts of things. So, mental note to self: watch facial expressions and hand positions when flying by people with large-lensed cameras. ;)

The one thing I wish I'd done was take pictures of the crowd. The view of the crowd with a bunch of multi-colored umbrellas and rain gear all lined up and waving was really neat, and I wish I had a shot of that. Both from the air and the ground. Unfortunately, doing it from the air would be...unwise...and I didn't have my camera out in the rain, so I just didn't take hardly any photos period.

Lastly on pictures, I took some snapshots with the little Canon during my flight to Missouri yesterday. I had an empty seat in the Baron, but I was leaving too late for Chuck's schedule, Nathan had homework, Steve was sick, and Ty was busy, so I had it all to myself after all. I was going to bring a book to read, but after a closer look at the weather before I left, decided that I'd have plenty to keep me 'entertained' with radar and tunes, and I did. It was a short flight anyway, but I really enjoyed it-it felt good to hand fly some in various conditions on an actual trip again. It had been awhile!

After I got my pictures up today, it was lunch time, after which I went out to the airport to *really* finish up billing. Really. Finally. I was supposed to have a flight lesson at 1:30 today for Steve, but the gentleman cancelled at the last minute, so I instead ran a bunch of errands for Steve. Since then I've been working on a bunch of organizational stuff, paperwork, going through my emails which have backed up into triple digits again, and other various work, SMA and home-related things to do. I haven't even put a dent in it. Well, maybe a small dent...

Steve, on the other hand, has spent all day long on the phone. He IS feeling better, so he's stayed home and on the ground today to try to not push himself into getting sick again. Except if you heard a loud hissing noise, it was the steam escaping from his expanding head. Those phone calls were all the ones that you put off because you know it won't be fun. For example, he called Vonage over a goof-up they made. He spent more than two hours on the phone being transferred from person to person, having to explain the whole thing over and over. He JUST got it resolved, was in the process of agreeing to a final deal, when his phone battery died mid word. I'm not kidding. He had to call back in and start all over again because nobody knew who he was talking to, and they couldn't just take him at his word that the other person had agreed to do such and such. Can you imagine?? After Vonage, he got to talk to AT&T for a problem. Then he got to talk to the XM people for a problem. Then he got to talk to the insurance company. And he worked on taxes from there. You getting the general idea here of how much fun he's had today??

Kaylee is apparently enjoying herself in Missouri, celebrating her half birthday today with Grandma & Grandpa. Her dad called to see how she was doing, and she was busy playing and eating cheesy puffs. Life is good for Miss Kay. ;)

As for me, I'm sure I'll just keep doing laundry and wading my way through all the stuff on my desk and inbox...

And P.S.: Ha! What She Said!

Zoom

This morning was Kaylee's last swim lesson, and it was Testing Day to determine if she should stay in Level Two a little longer or move on to Level Three. Usually you don't find out until the next day, which is a "free swim" day, after which you get your certificate. But Kaylee wasn't going to be here tomorrow for her free swim day, so I went up to the coach afterwards and asked. She's in Level Three. :) She was so excited! Okay, I was excited too. She just wasn't ready to swim until now, but once she got in the mode for it, she barreled ahead full steam. The girl who wouldn't put her head under water without an argument 12 lessons ago did a cannonball into the water today. Go Kaylee! She came home and pretended to be upset to her dad for awhile, and then surprised him with her news. All the way home she was plotting how to not smile while she pretended to be bothered at not passing, and she pulled it off. This is her last swim lesson of the summer as the next batch of lessons fall during Oshkosh and she won't be here. But for the rest of the summer she gets to just have fun actually swimming. She earned it. :)

I brought her home afterwards, where Steve was still lying sick on the couch, and left her to take care of things while I went out to Glenndale to finally get the billing finished. I made the last changes and got the email statements sent out and the snail mail statements printed out, but ran out of time.

I took the Citabria and flew it to Sheridan where I picked up the 172 to bring back to Glenndale in order to fly with a student. We did about an hour of ground school, then took a cross-country flight the good old fashioned way. We used a map, time, and ground references to find our way there...the foundations of navigation. It took us about two and a half hours for the whole flight, and I had him fly me back to Sheridan so we could put the 172 away where it belongs, after which I brought him back to Glenndale in the Citabria. He enjoyed the flight in the little taildragger with few instruments, and so did I, frankly.

When we were done, I folded, stuffed, licked, stamped and mailed off the rest of the billing and came home where Kaylee was waiting for me with bags packed and ready to go on her next big adventure...visiting Grandma & Grandpa Chiles for several days straight, all by herself. :)

I got everything ready to go, called to file a flight plan, and the weather briefer said "Um, have you looked at the radar?" Why yes, yes I have, and yes I see all that. There was a decent-sized wad of storms in Illinois rather right in my way, but I had a couple of options and enough on-board equipment, so Kaylee and I loaded up the Baron (I love that plane too) and headed off.

The whole time we were in the air, Kaylee asked me questions about the props, the throttles, the instruments, and mostly the weather. She was fascinated by the weather. We talked about plans. I showed her Plan A, which was direct to Cape, and showed her our track and why it wouldn't work. So we went to Plan B. She wanted to know what Plan C was, and I showed her that, and then she sarcastically asked for Plan D, and I told her that was "Turn around, go home, and come back tomorrow."

I pretty much got current with the majority of my aviation world in one day today. I flew a trainer/C-172 with a student on a cross country using nothing but a map and a watch. A taildragger/Citabria into and out of a grass strip. Then went on a cross-country to Missouri in an airplane with every piece of fancy equipment you could possibly need, including Garmin 430, 530, and 696 GPSs, onboard radar, XM radar, and XM radio. You know, the important thing at the end there. ;) I got to go through rain, around storms, and into day IFR, then had a beautiful clear sunset leg of the trip, then got to come home at night VFR, then a little night IFR too, into a bit more rain. Did I miss anything?! It was actually very nice. I turned up the tunes and watched the sun go down.

Kaylee and I had dinner with Grandma & Grandpa (thank you!) before I headed home, and when I left it was to them waving arms on the ramp. I gave the required wing-wag goodbye, and left them at her mercy for a few days here. I know she'll have fun, and hope they do too. :)

I didn't get home until about 11 p.m., putting the plane away in the light rain. I'd call that another rather full day. I think I was home long enough to pick up Kaylee in the last fourteen hours....so it's good to be home!

...And Boy Are My Arms Tired...

Steph, Todd and Gabe left this morning, after we took some pictures of the kids in Ann's gardens. I took Kaylee to swim lessons while they headed back to Iowa, and she had a great time. She's swimming into the over-her-head range without any help or devices, and for her that's a big deal. She's doing well and having fun in the water, and that is really what we wanted to accomplish almost as much as her actually being able to swim. She's not a fish yet, but she can do it, and that is what our goal was for her for this summer. :)

Steve is sick. He's been fighting off something since the morning after the air show, and it's kind of hit him harder last night and today. Deep cough, stuffed head, etc. So he spent today at home trying to not push it so he could hopefully recuperate.

Nathan and I flew formation again twice today in the two T-6s. That makes four flights we did in two days. That's just more fun than a person should get to have. ;) It's a lot more work than just "hold her steady", too. I was so sweaty afterwards that I had to come home for repairs. There's a reason to keep the flightsuit on longer than I did today-you stay hotter, but at least you're not visibly so sweaty. I suppose guys don't care as much about that. I don't normally care much about being perfectly coiffed by any means, but this level of...disheveled...gets even my attention. ;)

So how'd it go? It reminds me a little of when someone first starts flying IFR. You grip the yoke, think too hard about the scan, focus on one thing a little too long, tense up and fight yourself more than anything. Until suddenly it clicks in and you relax, loosen up your grip, focus in on the scan without even thinking about it, and there you go. I think the thing that I fought the most today was turns with me on the inside (or turns towards me). I didn't remember having that much trouble yesterday with it, but I did several times today. Dale at Huntington said that was what he'd fought as well. And consistency in being mentally in the "zone". It's hard to force that. "Stop thinking, grasshopper, just do!" :) I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so it's easy for me to pick apart everything to do better, and harder to talk about what went well, but let's see. The last join-up was in about 120 degrees and felt pretty good at just sliding in on the line. I seem to be able to get to where I'm supposed to be relatively quickly now, and the majority of the time I stayed pretty close to where I was supposed to be. If I hadn't had this morning's flight, I could have said that more authoritatively, but this morning's flight had a couple of times that left me gritting my teeth as I got back to where I was supposed to be. I really like the formation takeoffs. Actually, I just like formation flying in general. It's fun, looks good, is another piece of the history of the plane and its former military uses; and while a workout for us newbies at it, that makes it an enjoyable challenge. I wish there were two T-6s here all the time so I could actually get some good time in and get proficient. And stop sweating so much. ;)

We did a pass over Glenndale, though I had no idea until my peripheral vision caught some trees on short final. I truly hadn't known we were that close to the ground (500' at least of course) or where we were. That's a strange feeling, but that's what you're supposed to be doing. That's why the guy in the front is called "lead". He leads, you follow, and you have to trust him explicitly. (Nathan joked that a good wingman will hit the same side of the mountain lead does. I know, there's a lot of dark humor in aviation, but that's okay with me. ;)) It doesn't come naturally to me to not pay attention to where I am and what's going on around me. In fact, that's what Steve "yelled" at me for doing when I went up with him, so I'd been mentally working on that, and was actually glad to find I could shut that pretty ingrained part of my self-preservation gene off in the right circumstances after all...

I got my last formation flight of the day in while following the plane on its journey back to its rightful owner (Tim Savage, to whom I am grateful for letting the plane come down to our air show and for letting Nathan use it to fly with me) up in Huntington; then I got a nice relaxing flight home, doing nothing in the front while Nathan flew us home from the back. For the first time, I realized it was really a very pretty day outside. :)

I enjoy flying with Nathan. We have a lot of similarities in how we think and what we do in regular ole flying, trips, IFR, multi, etc. And when it comes to me learning something new that he's already an old hat at, he's never thought that just because something is new to me that suddenly I've lost all previous 19 years' worth of piloting skills and judgment.

I was supposed to go do a Discovery Flight at Sheridan this evening as well, but they cancelled on me, so instead I went out to Glenndale where I tried to finish the end of the month billing stuff, yes, from June. On my way home I stopped for fuel, I mean gas (when I slid behind someone and switched lanes in my car, I also thought "cross-under", so I guess I know what gear I'm in). Anyway, at the gas station I heard someone really complaining about the price of the gas, so I looked up and saw $2.59/gallon. I realized, I don't even look. I don't care. It doesn't matter. I need gas. I have gas cards for two places-Marathon and Shell. Marathon is cheaper and there are more of them, so that's where I go. Whether the gas is $3.00 a gallon or $1.95 a gallon, I still need gas. It's not like I'm not going to get gas if it's over $2/gallon, like I can walk while I hold out for prices to drop, or like I need to stress out over something like that which I cannot change. So yes, I hate it when prices go up too, but I don't even bother looking at what it is most of the time. Why?

Well, I have some photos of the kids to put up, and Trey's photos came today from the air show too, so I'd better get busy. I love this one. Ty in the background in the Cub coming around to race the Model-T car. :)

Quickly

I'm so sleepy, I'm going to just make this quick and choppy.

Kaylee had a day camp that started today that she wanted to go to, so I got her there, only to find out that only three kids total out of the original 8 who signed up actually came. So the rest of the camp is cancelled. Kaylee was bummed, but happy to see her teacher and a fellow classmate at least.

After lunch, Nathan took Tim's T-6 and I took Nathan's T-6 with Stephanie in the back seat, and we went up and did some formation practice, for about an hour. Came down, had a drink and a break, and went back up for a shorter one. It was the first time I'd flown formation with similar aircraft in the T-6, using the points Duane had sent, first full formation takeoffs and such. I...really enjoyed that. So did Steph from the back seat.

Formation flying isn't for someone with ADD, that's for sure. "Trailing edge, tailwheel, oh look at that pretty bird..." Doh. :)

Afterwards, I ran to the school to make an appearance at a board meeting, in case they needed me for a quorum, which they did not. So I went home, cleaned up, and we all went to Outback for dinner, and we did it all, from cheese fries appetizer to Chocolate Thunder from Down Under dessert. After which we rolled ourselves home in a ball and sat on the couch for awhile to recuperate.

Steph, Gabe and Todd have to leave tomorrow, and I can't hardly believe they've been here this many days already. The days have Flown by (so to speak)...

Recuperation

Today was a day of rest in many ways. We didn't get up extra early, and everybody but me and Kaylee took at least one, sometimes more, naps. There was a lot of sleep to catch up on and a lot of energy to regain. Besides, Steve went to bed not feeling that well with a sore throat, and is trying to just chill out today and recuperate.

Stephanie and I were talking about our local airport crew today. I had told her that while we had our share of characters, we were surrounded by good, honest, hard-working, solid people. She could tell on her own though. :) What you see is what you get. Equally as important, when you need help, they're there, no matter what. They will be out there physically working for hours a day, every day for days straight before and after an event. This year, on Saturday alone we had over 30 people from Glenndale who came out for us, to help us make the Kokomo air show happen, who stood out in the mist/rain all day long, who walked flight lines, gave rides, took care of paperwork, marshaled airplanes, and ran every possible errand you could imagine, including emptying trash and keeping the grounds clean and safe for planes and people alike. For free, without any benefits or expectations. I'm sure they were as cold, wet and tired as we were, maybe more so for some of them who were out there late on Friday and worked for several days ahead of time too, but they didn't complain or hesitate at all. In fact, they were as into making it successful as we were; it was their show with our people. It only works because of them and their dedication. That's pretty special, and it's part of why we have a close crew. :)

I've got a few photos up from Friday and Saturday. I didn't take hardly any photos this whole time, which is just highly uncharacteristic of me! I guess I just wasn't in the mood, but there were certainly some times I wish I had my camera going. Tugging the T-6 back into the hangar with the clear skies and the bright moon, with Trey sitting on the wing hitching a ride, coming back to the brightly lit hangars with planes shining and music playing. Or Saturday, looking out at the crowd of people under colorful umbrellas everywhere. Sitting in the hangar with a Mustang, T-6, and fifteen good friends celebrating the successful completion of an event and a whole lot of work. Snapshots just in my mind, I guess. Fortunately, some other people did take pictures, and I know Trey took some too which I'll be seeing and posting soon!

The adventure this afternoon was going out to the airport to grab my camera, sunglasses, t-shirt and flight suit, all of which I'd left in the hangar when I left last night, picking up Dairy Queen and Steak and Shake for all of us, and coming back home to work on pictures, watch tv, and relax. It was a tough day. ;)

Oh, here's a photo Justin G. got of me coming down to race the dragster on Friday. I PhotoShopped out the buildings behind it so you could see the plane, car and flagman better, but I put the original on the photo pages too, for authenticity. I have photos of Ty in the Cub against the Model T too that I'll have to send him. I'm sure he'll get a kick out of that. :)

The Show Must Go On

Happy Independence Day!

I don't know what time Steve's alarm went off, but he was already out of the house by the time I woke up at 5 something a.m. I'd fallen asleep sometime after 1:30. That explains a lot at the moment, actually. Like why I feel like I'm walking in molasses and why Steve passed out in his chair with three adults and a young child chatting and playing all around him.

When I got up at 6, I walked out to the computer only to find the weather radar up on the screen, with a big blob of rain covering Illinois and headed our way. That's just not a good sight. There is no rain date; either the show is on, or after all of the work and time and money and effort that went into it, the show is off. But so far the morning was perfect and clear. And like any event like this, you go forth as planned until outside circumstances prevent you from doing so. So we got out there, and I proceeded to wrestle with the pilot briefing materials for the next hour, and things were set up, and the pancake breakfast was "on", and people flew in and drove in, and we got probably six calls from the general public on "is there going to be a show?" We didn't really know, but we planned on it. The Young Eagles rides started up, and as of almost noon, everything was going according to plan except several of our static display planes and the lighter warbird planes cancelled due to the incoming weather (understandably!). We had our air show briefing, where Mark T. with the dragster let us know that if there was any moisture on the runway at all, he wouldn't be able to run, and the briefing wasn't over when it started to sprinkle, then lightly rain. The drag race with the T-6 was out of the show. The Young Eagle rides were called off after several hours for low-ish visibilities, and many remaining children were rescheduled for next Saturday.

As of the last minute, we were still determining whether or not we'd be able to do the show in the rain or not. It wasn't a thunderstorm, so that was fine. The clouds were high enough for both the aerobatic guys and the warbird guys to be able to do their things. Two things fine. The rain was light enough that it wasn't going to damage the paint on the planes, which was certainly important. There were a fair amount of people out there on the ramp, in the rain, in slickers and under umbrellas in lawn chairs, wanting to see a show. If they are willing to sit out there, they should have something to look at, as long as it's safe of course. The final go/no go decision was a "go".

We ran around and got gear and our stuff ready while Greg, Bob and Mike did their aerobatic routines. Then Ty took a J-3 Cub and "raced" a Model T car. This was supposed to be the joke race after the T-6 and dragster race, a funny side race, but it ended up the main event and everybody loved it. In fact, we think it's the first time that may have been done, at least around here: the two slowest vehicles that still have a motor racing each other. ;) And the Model T beat the Cub once. (The Cub is faster). :) Ty had a blast, and the crowd enjoyed it too. While Ty was doing his thing, the four warbirds who could make it today in the rain for the show (including two that are based at that airport) started up. Dave Rothenanger was there in his T-34, I was in the T-6, Nathan was in the Mustang, and Dan Schiffer was in the Corsair. We were really grateful for those two for coming up anyway, even with that wad of rain on the horizon, even at a small venue like this.

I suppose I might as well tell on myself before Steve does. ;) I got a ride out to the airplane by hanging on to the back of a golf cart standing up, because it didn't have any seats in the back. I had my flight suit and such on so I could just get in the plane, because it was raining pretty steadily and everyone was geared-up and ready to go. That was a little conspicuous for my tastes, but oh well. Except once we got to the airplane, on my way up the wing, my left foot missed the black "no slip" strip and landed on the wing, which was wet with rain, causing my foot to slide off of there, and slammed my foot and ankle onto the trailing edge of the wing. Which hurt. A lot. Of course I had to do that in public. But when my foot slid off and I basically fell off the wing, I immediately spun around and opened the baggage door like I'd left something in there I needed, so it looked like I meant to do that. ;) Then I climbed up in without further incident, and while I was adjusting my rudder pedals, I took a moment to rub my throbbing ankle while I was drying off the bottoms of my shoes with a towel to prevent my feet slipping on the rudders. That really, really hurt. Later I saw my ankle is swollen and has several bruised areas. No, it's not sprained or anything, it's just banged up and is by far not the worst injury I've had. But still, that was brilliant. ;)

Our part of the show was basic-there were four of us, and we ran circuits in front of the crowd for a few passes, then did "photo passes", down to 200', evenly spaced to always have someone in front of the crowd. It was a little dribbly and everything was a little gray, so I kept a very close eye on the T-34 I was following so as to not lose him in the gray sky. He had a smoke system on his plane, and on several of the passes he had the smoke on, which actually was nice because I had a completely clear visual of his track and path and it made it easy not to lose him, too. Plus I still like the view from my seat. ;) We did our thing for awhile, then came in to land, safely. As we taxiied back in front of the crowd, I noticed they were all waving at the T-34, and he was waving back. So when I got up there, I started waving too, and started laughing at myself, because you wouldn't think waving would require having to think about how to do it properly, but frankly, I'm just not used to people waving at me other than a quick hands-up "hey". Jim Z was the announcer, and he did a great job, and got them waving and upbeat.

There were so many people out there, sitting on the ramp in chairs, under rain gear, in a steady rainfall, in the cool air, and I was just impressed that they were there. I thought that was really neat.

Anyway. We all shut down simultaneously and climbed out, and it was just a few seconds later that the ramp was open and people were everywhere, coming over to talk, look at the planes, ask questions, etc. I actually enjoyed that, too. A veteran shook my hand and thanked me for flying the plane from an era which meant a lot to him, to which I replied quite honestly and sincerely that it is an honor for Me. Two strangers hugged me. One mom brought up her maybe 9 year old daughter Emma, who she said wanted to meet me, because she liked airplanes too. I talked to her for several minutes, and then they wanted some pictures of us together by the plane, so we did that. One smart-aleck guy and his wife came up with a pen and paper and asked for my autograph, but I was a snob and refused. ;) On the strange end of things, I had a "gentleman" who insisted that I'd helped him after he had a seizure at the car show at the park after he was dancing like Michael Jackson. I explained it wasn't me, and he insisted, so I told him I didn't go to the car show at the park and I must have a twin around town. He was...different. But we were all standing outside in the rain this whole time, just talking to people, and I really enjoyed it...

Dave was also very nice, and gave me a warning. He told me that newbies get to make each mistake one time, and this was my one for this offense. I had thrown my purse in the baggage compartment of the T-6 since my pilot's license, medical, etc. are in there. Nobody knew until it was over and I'm walking around in a flight suit and carrying a purse. Dave shook his head and said "Only one thing-the next time you fly with me, no purses. There are no briefcases, umbrellas, or purses in warbirds." Got it, will do. :)

After the show was over, people went home and it was time to clean up, get the planes put away, dry them and Nathan's Corvette off, and shut things down. I made a store run with Judy and we picked up a bunch of steaks, bread, dessert, drinks, potato salad, cole slaw, chips, just everything we needed, and Nathan fired up the grill and we set up tables again and we had about 15 of us sit around and share a meal to end the day. A delicious meal, might I add. One more clean-up job, and Kaylee was at the end of her rope and the rest of us were worn to a frazzle too.

We were able to get the show and rides in anyway. Nobody got hurt. The fundraiser went well for the band. The rain didn't stop people or performers from happening, people had a good time, and nobody broke Rule #1 of air shows: Don't Do Nuthin' Dumb. :) (Well, except one transient guy who thought that 2 pm was a good time to come motoring in to land in the middle of an active air show. But he's not part of our show or our crew, and he managed to do that in front of the FAA who was there watching, so he had some explaining to do.) I picked up a couple more small but important to know things from Nathan & Dave, it all felt pretty good and more familiar, and I'd call it all a tiring but successful day. The crowd wasn't bad, particularly for a first time show, let alone in the rain. There's a lot of potential for it to be pretty good sized in the future, really.

But for tonight, we're wiped out, and tomorrow is definitely a day of rest...