As they are joking on Facebook, you wonder what fresh horror is headed our way for August.
A bunch of people in the airline world just got their notices that they will be furloughed, bumped to half pay, demoted from captain back to first officer, that their bases will be closed, that their company is going bankrupt. Like a BUNCH. That's from the "you can't furlough them until October" thanks to the CARE act, followed by "you must give 60 days notice prior to furlough due to the union", and guess what time it is? Sixty days to October. So the whole industry, which had been in the biggest boom I've ever seen, is tanking again. Two of our instructors were headed to the airlines and now are not. Several of my friends are at half pay, bases closed, and demoted. Most of them are just trying to hang on, but the pilot boards are Filled with people looking for jobs. Crazy times. So far our little flight school is humming along just fine, as is the company I fly for. I flew 92.6 hours in the last 30 days. So we're not slow here right now. Hoping that holds out. Places like LIFT Academy out of Indy that were a pipeline for a regional airline have got to be sweating bullets right now. They took a ton of money from a ton of people who now have nowhere to go in the industry. Gonna be interesting.
I had a full day that didn't even start too early, so that was nice. I got some stuff done in the morning around the house, then had to go to Staples to pick up a mouse for a computer, to a store, and to Subway to pick up our lunch. Flew the other guy's T-6 with Steve briefly for a maintenance check on something. Flew with my student who is in checkride prep and has his checkride in less than a week. Then hopped in the Cheyenne and flew to Dallas, picked up 5 people, flew to Oklahoma City and dropped off two people, and then flew the rest of us home to Kokomo. Went down at 30,000' and was above most of the weather, deviated around some. And Dallas was BUSY, too. Dustin was on the ground there and took a video clip of me landing over his head. :) Coming home I was at 33,000', and wasn't quite on top of the weather, so went up to 35,000', and was. Now that's living. Autopilot, music, not above the storms? Just go higher. Because you CAN. That would have been a completely different and more complicated trip in the 340.
Home by 10:30 pm. Yawn.
But that's the diversity I like. I flew a T-6, instructed in a C-172, and single pilot IFR flew a Cheyenne at FL350 into super busy airspace, in one afternoon. I like that.
Goodnight.
Friday, July 31, 2020
Thursday, July 30, 2020
Music
I'm so glad to have gotten in what I did today. I got to sleep in, and I mostly got that accomplished. I got to fly from 12-2 and 2-4, even though the weather was sketchy. It was good enough and that's all that mattered. Then it cleared off and I took the 340 up on a maintenance test flight, and that went fine too. We may have found the loud squeal that goes off as you climb up. Yay.
Next up I had time to go to Meijer and pick up some supplies for Ann, and run them to her house, before turning around and going to Greentown to watch Kaylee.
Kaylee was invited to perform at "Music at the Fountain", a Greentown festival/event. They invited her and another of their scholarship winners to come perform, along with a singer from Eastern who sang in Indy at the "Circle of Lights" on national TV. The first girl sang three songs, the second girl sang three songs, they did a "cake walk" where you pay $1 for a chance to win a baked good, and dance around on numbered squares, and when the music stops you stand on a square, they draw a number, and if you win, you get a baked good of your choice. It's a fun fundraiser they do towards their scholarships, one of which Kaylee won. Then Kaylee was up, and she played two songs. One she played at graduation, and the other was "Fly Me to the Moon". I have the video clips, but to post here I have to upload to YouTube and I'm too tired to do that tonight. She did a fantastic job though. :) You can see them on her facebook page, both clips. Mine I just posted the one clip.
Home and bed, and tomorrow afternoon I go to Dallas, then Oklahoma City, then home late. Catch you then!
Next up I had time to go to Meijer and pick up some supplies for Ann, and run them to her house, before turning around and going to Greentown to watch Kaylee.
Kaylee was invited to perform at "Music at the Fountain", a Greentown festival/event. They invited her and another of their scholarship winners to come perform, along with a singer from Eastern who sang in Indy at the "Circle of Lights" on national TV. The first girl sang three songs, the second girl sang three songs, they did a "cake walk" where you pay $1 for a chance to win a baked good, and dance around on numbered squares, and when the music stops you stand on a square, they draw a number, and if you win, you get a baked good of your choice. It's a fun fundraiser they do towards their scholarships, one of which Kaylee won. Then Kaylee was up, and she played two songs. One she played at graduation, and the other was "Fly Me to the Moon". I have the video clips, but to post here I have to upload to YouTube and I'm too tired to do that tonight. She did a fantastic job though. :) You can see them on her facebook page, both clips. Mine I just posted the one clip.
Home and bed, and tomorrow afternoon I go to Dallas, then Oklahoma City, then home late. Catch you then!
Wednesday, July 29, 2020
A Good Start
Today was Kaylee's first day of work as a server at Outback on her own! She was nervous about it. She then texted me at 7:15 that she'd been there for two hours and hadn't gotten any tables yet, that it was really slow. Then it happened, she got her first table, and they were friends of hers, who requested her. They tipped extra big and made her first table experience a good one, which was sweet. Then she got another table, then had three all at the same time, and she said it went great. She ended up making almost $70 in tips tonight! She said she didn't drop anything, mix up anything, or lose anything, and that she likes her coworkers, she likes her managers, she likes the attitude/culture of the workplace there, and that she had no idea how much work being a server really was. lol So she is happy! She had originally told us she didn't want us coming in, and I totally get that. I'm the same way. I'm the girl who couldn't do anything if my parents came to watch. Aviation got me over some of that, but to this day I do not like being observed or judged. It's why I hate checkrides so very much. They traumatize me. :p (But seriously...) Anyway, she did great. Her next work night is Friday night, and that's going to be B U S Y. So today was a great introduction, and then she's off and running. Interestingly, they normally put new servers on two-top tables right next to the kitchen. They put her at 4-top tables far from the kitchen on her first night. Usually you work your way up to server and start as hostess. She was started as a server. They seem to have faith in her abilities to jump in the deep end. She's doing great. :)
I woke up not feeling great, but it's not the 'Rona, it's just me crashing. I've been living on low food, hot sun, high humidity, dehydration, minimal sleep, stress, questioning and doubt, and constant activity, for over a week and a half. Last night I slept, and didn't have to get up early, although I was still up by 7 something, and when I woke up, my system just...crashed. I spent the day feeling lethargic, tired, scratchy throat, bleh. By tonight, after a day of only having one flight and mostly being able to be indoors and out of the heat, I was feeling so much better. Now it's almost 1 am and I've caught my second wind. That's not good either. ;) It's finally sinking in, this week and what all it means. Steve and Kaylee both asked me what my next goal is. I thought...huh...I Do need a next goal, don't I. So I thought I'd see if Jordan would let me check out in the C-47 still, and I'm thinking about flying in the T-6 formation at Oshkosh next year. Of course Laura's first thought is...that is not a good memory from last time, and am I good enough for it. And if Steve read this he'd smack me in the back of the head. He's always had more faith in me than I've had in myself. What a great thing to be able to say about your spouse, eh?
This picture is from my first official stranger back-seater in the Twin Beech during our first formation photo shoot.
I woke up not feeling great, but it's not the 'Rona, it's just me crashing. I've been living on low food, hot sun, high humidity, dehydration, minimal sleep, stress, questioning and doubt, and constant activity, for over a week and a half. Last night I slept, and didn't have to get up early, although I was still up by 7 something, and when I woke up, my system just...crashed. I spent the day feeling lethargic, tired, scratchy throat, bleh. By tonight, after a day of only having one flight and mostly being able to be indoors and out of the heat, I was feeling so much better. Now it's almost 1 am and I've caught my second wind. That's not good either. ;) It's finally sinking in, this week and what all it means. Steve and Kaylee both asked me what my next goal is. I thought...huh...I Do need a next goal, don't I. So I thought I'd see if Jordan would let me check out in the C-47 still, and I'm thinking about flying in the T-6 formation at Oshkosh next year. Of course Laura's first thought is...that is not a good memory from last time, and am I good enough for it. And if Steve read this he'd smack me in the back of the head. He's always had more faith in me than I've had in myself. What a great thing to be able to say about your spouse, eh?
This picture is from my first official stranger back-seater in the Twin Beech during our first formation photo shoot.
And these two are from a photographer in the back seat of one of the planes.
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Yawn
I could've slept in this morning, so when did I wake up? Six. Yep. I had a flight in the Champ at Glenndale at 8:30 am. We mostly worked on takeoffs and landings, but it was the most relaxing part of the day. :)
I landed with her, and fortunately decided to run through McDonald's on my way out to the airport. What I thought I was doing was being flown to WI to pick up a T-6 and provide training in it back to Kalamazoo, then go home. What actually happened was a lot more involved than that. I'll shorten it up for you.
I land at Glenndale, drive to McDonald's, drive to Kokomo, where a guy is waiting for me in a Cirrus. I get flown to East Troy, Wisconsin in the Cirrus to pick up a T-6, and meet my student there. They didn't have the plane ready, so we filled it up, towed it over there, and it hadn't been test flown since the annual, and the aileron and rudder trim tabs needed checked. So he got up front, I climbed in back, we took off, and everything looked great. The landing back in there wasn't great. It's a skinny runway, with a downslope then an upslope, and he forced the tail down, which caused us to launch and be crooked. I grabbed it and saved it but it got my attention.
We flew from there to Kalamazoo, stopping because I noticed hydraulic fluid seeping out of something on the floor. Not another hydraulic problem... (It didn't end up being anything big).
At Kalamazoo, the owner wanted to take a ride, and wanted me to take his buddy for a ride, so I did that. Then we filled up with gas and the student and I went back up and flew for awhile off of a 60' wide 2700' long runway. And then off the long runway with a direct crosswind of 19 knots. Then we went up to Grand Rapids and landed there, got gas, got his keys out of an airplane where he'd left them, and came back to Kalamazoo. Three more takeoffs and landings there, and a go-around, and we put the T-6 away, and the jet, and moved the Cirrus, and then flew the Cirrus back to Kokomo to drop me off. We landed after 8 pm, more than 12 hours after I started this day.
I'm tired.
I tried his helmet, the sound canceling quit working. I had a roaring in my ears for hours, and I can still hear it. On the last flight I wore my Bose in the T-6. I'll have to keep working on it. I want a helmet in there, but I need to be able to hear and protect my hearing...
I'm going to bed now. At least I don't have to get up early!
I landed with her, and fortunately decided to run through McDonald's on my way out to the airport. What I thought I was doing was being flown to WI to pick up a T-6 and provide training in it back to Kalamazoo, then go home. What actually happened was a lot more involved than that. I'll shorten it up for you.
I land at Glenndale, drive to McDonald's, drive to Kokomo, where a guy is waiting for me in a Cirrus. I get flown to East Troy, Wisconsin in the Cirrus to pick up a T-6, and meet my student there. They didn't have the plane ready, so we filled it up, towed it over there, and it hadn't been test flown since the annual, and the aileron and rudder trim tabs needed checked. So he got up front, I climbed in back, we took off, and everything looked great. The landing back in there wasn't great. It's a skinny runway, with a downslope then an upslope, and he forced the tail down, which caused us to launch and be crooked. I grabbed it and saved it but it got my attention.
We flew from there to Kalamazoo, stopping because I noticed hydraulic fluid seeping out of something on the floor. Not another hydraulic problem... (It didn't end up being anything big).
At Kalamazoo, the owner wanted to take a ride, and wanted me to take his buddy for a ride, so I did that. Then we filled up with gas and the student and I went back up and flew for awhile off of a 60' wide 2700' long runway. And then off the long runway with a direct crosswind of 19 knots. Then we went up to Grand Rapids and landed there, got gas, got his keys out of an airplane where he'd left them, and came back to Kalamazoo. Three more takeoffs and landings there, and a go-around, and we put the T-6 away, and the jet, and moved the Cirrus, and then flew the Cirrus back to Kokomo to drop me off. We landed after 8 pm, more than 12 hours after I started this day.
I'm tired.
I tried his helmet, the sound canceling quit working. I had a roaring in my ears for hours, and I can still hear it. On the last flight I wore my Bose in the T-6. I'll have to keep working on it. I want a helmet in there, but I need to be able to hear and protect my hearing...
I'm going to bed now. At least I don't have to get up early!
My morning Champ flight young lady
Bug headed me
The back seat panel of this one.
Lake Michigan
Chicago
Leaking hydraulic fluid
Monday, July 27, 2020
Back to Work
Although I'm not really sure we ever stopped. Our vacation week was busier than most of our work weeks and that says something. lol
Okay, first of all, I have caught up on our NOshkosh posts, photos and all. It's so big you'll have to go to "older posts" at the bottom of the page to see all the days. But it's all up now.
This morning at 6 am it was rise and shine again and fly the Cheyenne with five souls on board to Dallas, Texas. Uneventful on the way there, with an ILS to shoot to get in, but weather building fast, so I threw them out of the airplane, picked up one guy to come home with me, got gas first in line, and headed right back home at FL310. There was weather most of the way, but it was off to the side, and all around the home airport, while leaving me a perfectly clear (mostly) path. Timing was everything, and it was good I didn't get delayed any more in Texas, as the weather around here hasn't been so whippy since for the rest of the evening.
Today starts "Mandatory Mask Wearing" in the state of Indiana in any indoor place, and any outdoor place where you can't "socially distance properly". You have to wear one in the gym while working out too, per their rules. I'M not in a gym, naturally, but Kaylee is. The news is pushing for another full shut down. I guess we'll see what happens.
Kaylee is playing a couple of saxophone pieces for "Music at the Fountain" in Greentown this Thursday. She's been practicing tonight quite a bit. She's going to do "Fly Me to the Moon" and was going to do "Hit the Road, Jack" but I think she's nixing that one for something else.
Steve almost had a heart attack mowing the lawn today. We've been so overheated and over-exposed this week that when he went out to mow the lawn, he said he could hear his heart pounding in his ears, he was soaked with sweat, and he felt awful. He came in and drank some electrolytes and has been doing all indoor work the rest of the day. Phone calls and emails that are backed up, paperwork, etc.
I also am overheated, and my flight today left me tired and sluggish, so after I got done with it, at 2 pm, I too came home and have been sitting in air conditioning and drinking water and Gatorade all afternoon. I did dishes and have done about 5 loads of laundry so far, things that desperately needed caught up and are thankfully INDOORS. I did have a student at 5 pm, but I had canceled him not knowing when I'd be back from Texas, and I was glad, because getting in the 172 in the pattern this afternoon would have taken me over the edge. I'm ready to face tomorrow now that I've had almost an entire afternoon indoors. It feels luxurious almost. ;)
Okay, first of all, I have caught up on our NOshkosh posts, photos and all. It's so big you'll have to go to "older posts" at the bottom of the page to see all the days. But it's all up now.
This morning at 6 am it was rise and shine again and fly the Cheyenne with five souls on board to Dallas, Texas. Uneventful on the way there, with an ILS to shoot to get in, but weather building fast, so I threw them out of the airplane, picked up one guy to come home with me, got gas first in line, and headed right back home at FL310. There was weather most of the way, but it was off to the side, and all around the home airport, while leaving me a perfectly clear (mostly) path. Timing was everything, and it was good I didn't get delayed any more in Texas, as the weather around here hasn't been so whippy since for the rest of the evening.
Today starts "Mandatory Mask Wearing" in the state of Indiana in any indoor place, and any outdoor place where you can't "socially distance properly". You have to wear one in the gym while working out too, per their rules. I'M not in a gym, naturally, but Kaylee is. The news is pushing for another full shut down. I guess we'll see what happens.
Kaylee is playing a couple of saxophone pieces for "Music at the Fountain" in Greentown this Thursday. She's been practicing tonight quite a bit. She's going to do "Fly Me to the Moon" and was going to do "Hit the Road, Jack" but I think she's nixing that one for something else.
Steve almost had a heart attack mowing the lawn today. We've been so overheated and over-exposed this week that when he went out to mow the lawn, he said he could hear his heart pounding in his ears, he was soaked with sweat, and he felt awful. He came in and drank some electrolytes and has been doing all indoor work the rest of the day. Phone calls and emails that are backed up, paperwork, etc.
I also am overheated, and my flight today left me tired and sluggish, so after I got done with it, at 2 pm, I too came home and have been sitting in air conditioning and drinking water and Gatorade all afternoon. I did dishes and have done about 5 loads of laundry so far, things that desperately needed caught up and are thankfully INDOORS. I did have a student at 5 pm, but I had canceled him not knowing when I'd be back from Texas, and I was glad, because getting in the 172 in the pattern this afternoon would have taken me over the edge. I'm ready to face tomorrow now that I've had almost an entire afternoon indoors. It feels luxurious almost. ;)
Obligatory out the window shot of blue skies
See? Lots of weather
Some of the cells from up on high
Like I said, timing is everything!
Sunday, July 26, 2020
NOshkosh Day Seven: DONE
I'm going to go backwards, and date the entries appropriately, so as I get them done you'll have to go back and look, if you care. ;)
Back to life. So as I'm writing this, it's Sunday at 8:20 pm. My body is aching, I have bruises on my arms and I'm not sure where they came from. I'm sunburnt, dehydrated, wind blown, limping and sore, past exhausted, and a little exhilarated too. All the airplanes are home safe and sound, we have started cleaning up from our week of NOshkosh, and I'm trying to catch up on laundry that has piled out of the basket and dishes that are all over the counter.
I spent the night in Terre Haute last night, at JP & Kathy's house. We had a photo mission first thing this morning in BOB, with Greg Moorehead, the photographer for Warbird Digest magazine. We both had our flight suits on, and we were out at the airport before the sun rose. Do you know what time that means we got up this morning to be there before sunrise? Mmmhmm. It didn't matter though, because I woke up out of a dead sleep at 4 am anyway. I've been running on fumes for days, long days, tons of walking, extra brutal heat and humidity, and you'd think I'd sleep like a dead person, but you'd be wrong. Anyway, JP did the flying and I sat right seat. Greg was in Jordan's C-45 with Elliot flying, and a T-28 was up for the photo shoot too. I'm thinking Greg's going to get some good shots with the ground fog and the sunrise, even though we ended up getting up a little late. Not sure what took them so long, but we were supposed to be up by 6:45 am and it was closer to 7:30, so they almost missed the golden morning hour. JP and I were ready and sitting in the plane for a long time before they were ready to go, so at least it wasn't us. ;)
The photo mission went for about an hour. It's a great view up there, the Twin Beech engine out the side of your window, the sound of two radials rumbling under you, the sight of another shiny one right out your window, it's just pretty great.
When we got done, it was hot, we were sweating (already), and both JP and I kind of hit a wall. All that focus and concentration and work and sweat, on top of days of it, on top of low sleep, and we were all just about done. The ramp cleared off as all the other pilots also wore out and bugged out. Once I got up the energy, after lunch, I hiked back to the plane, hiked back to the FBO to pay my fuel bill (gasp), hiked back to the plane and left. I had almost 3 miles of walking today alone. You'd think I'd be down a few pounds but nope. lol I was so worn out that I had trouble climbing up on the wing of the T-6. I had to crawl up it because my legs wouldn't support me. I was just very weak. Fortunately you don't need muscles to fly, just concentration, and I had that fine. ;) Landed back at Kokomo, drank another two bottles of water and a Gatorade, topped off the T-6 on fuel, pulled out the Cheyenne and topped it off on Jet A, waited for JP and laid down on the couch and tried to sleep until Steve came in to work in the hangar. We were there until 3 or so, waiting until JP arrived. Topped off the Twin Beech, put everything away in the hangar, and then I was out of there, and came home to crash. And boy did I. Hard. Since my nap I've filed a flight plan for Texas tomorrow leaving at 7:30 am, did the dishes that are piled up everywhere, ran a necessary load of laundry, and tried to get my pictures all at least downloaded to my computer. Updating this blog has been last on the list, but I'm getting there. I got Monday done. And today. And I'll do yesterday too. The rest may be another day. I have to get up early again.
Kaylee's last day of job shadowing was today, and next day she works she is on her own as a server. She said she had a grumpy guy and his grumpy demanding little boy, and they were barking and stuff at her, snapping at her and the server who was helping them. Then someone must have told him she was new, because he asked if this was her first day, and she said basically, yes, and he said "You're doing great". :D She also told me that one of her friends there had three tables that didn't tip AT ALL, and a fourth table that tipped $.24. After all that work. At Outback Steakhouse, four tables in one night didn't tip. So the manager took care of her and made sure she got something extra, because that's just egregious. What is the MATTER with people?? Don't go out to eat if you're not going to tip. C'mon. Kaylee's nervous about being able to remember everything, and carry the tray appropriately, and being yelled at, so pray for her to relax and enjoy and remember stuff and learn quickly and take it easy on herself and have peace about it all. :)
From today:
Back to life. So as I'm writing this, it's Sunday at 8:20 pm. My body is aching, I have bruises on my arms and I'm not sure where they came from. I'm sunburnt, dehydrated, wind blown, limping and sore, past exhausted, and a little exhilarated too. All the airplanes are home safe and sound, we have started cleaning up from our week of NOshkosh, and I'm trying to catch up on laundry that has piled out of the basket and dishes that are all over the counter.
I spent the night in Terre Haute last night, at JP & Kathy's house. We had a photo mission first thing this morning in BOB, with Greg Moorehead, the photographer for Warbird Digest magazine. We both had our flight suits on, and we were out at the airport before the sun rose. Do you know what time that means we got up this morning to be there before sunrise? Mmmhmm. It didn't matter though, because I woke up out of a dead sleep at 4 am anyway. I've been running on fumes for days, long days, tons of walking, extra brutal heat and humidity, and you'd think I'd sleep like a dead person, but you'd be wrong. Anyway, JP did the flying and I sat right seat. Greg was in Jordan's C-45 with Elliot flying, and a T-28 was up for the photo shoot too. I'm thinking Greg's going to get some good shots with the ground fog and the sunrise, even though we ended up getting up a little late. Not sure what took them so long, but we were supposed to be up by 6:45 am and it was closer to 7:30, so they almost missed the golden morning hour. JP and I were ready and sitting in the plane for a long time before they were ready to go, so at least it wasn't us. ;)
The photo mission went for about an hour. It's a great view up there, the Twin Beech engine out the side of your window, the sound of two radials rumbling under you, the sight of another shiny one right out your window, it's just pretty great.
When we got done, it was hot, we were sweating (already), and both JP and I kind of hit a wall. All that focus and concentration and work and sweat, on top of days of it, on top of low sleep, and we were all just about done. The ramp cleared off as all the other pilots also wore out and bugged out. Once I got up the energy, after lunch, I hiked back to the plane, hiked back to the FBO to pay my fuel bill (gasp), hiked back to the plane and left. I had almost 3 miles of walking today alone. You'd think I'd be down a few pounds but nope. lol I was so worn out that I had trouble climbing up on the wing of the T-6. I had to crawl up it because my legs wouldn't support me. I was just very weak. Fortunately you don't need muscles to fly, just concentration, and I had that fine. ;) Landed back at Kokomo, drank another two bottles of water and a Gatorade, topped off the T-6 on fuel, pulled out the Cheyenne and topped it off on Jet A, waited for JP and laid down on the couch and tried to sleep until Steve came in to work in the hangar. We were there until 3 or so, waiting until JP arrived. Topped off the Twin Beech, put everything away in the hangar, and then I was out of there, and came home to crash. And boy did I. Hard. Since my nap I've filed a flight plan for Texas tomorrow leaving at 7:30 am, did the dishes that are piled up everywhere, ran a necessary load of laundry, and tried to get my pictures all at least downloaded to my computer. Updating this blog has been last on the list, but I'm getting there. I got Monday done. And today. And I'll do yesterday too. The rest may be another day. I have to get up early again.
Kaylee's last day of job shadowing was today, and next day she works she is on her own as a server. She said she had a grumpy guy and his grumpy demanding little boy, and they were barking and stuff at her, snapping at her and the server who was helping them. Then someone must have told him she was new, because he asked if this was her first day, and she said basically, yes, and he said "You're doing great". :D She also told me that one of her friends there had three tables that didn't tip AT ALL, and a fourth table that tipped $.24. After all that work. At Outback Steakhouse, four tables in one night didn't tip. So the manager took care of her and made sure she got something extra, because that's just egregious. What is the MATTER with people?? Don't go out to eat if you're not going to tip. C'mon. Kaylee's nervous about being able to remember everything, and carry the tray appropriately, and being yelled at, so pray for her to relax and enjoy and remember stuff and learn quickly and take it easy on herself and have peace about it all. :)
From today:
Proof I was there for the sunrise.
Just a quick snapshot of the photo ship as we were moving around
Shadows coming in to land
The "Daggers" skydiving down with a 5000' flag.
Saturday, July 25, 2020
NOshkosh Day Six: Terre Haute FAST
JP arrived at Kokomo just before 7:30 am in order to bring the C-45 down to Terre Haute, so I was out there as well, as was Steve, to pull everything out. I got the T-6 ready, and he and I went down together in an illegal formation. It was illegal because I don't have a FAST or Formation card, and to fly with a CAF airplane in formation, you have to have a formation card. JP was carrying Steve Tummers and Andrew Pratt, along with JP's wife, and I was carrying Jon Tharp. We got down there, landed, and made it in time for the 9 am pilot briefing.
It was standing room only in the room, so I was standing by the door. All sorts of folks were there. Tim Savage, Brad Deckert, the Red Daggers skydiving flag team, just a ton of warbird guys. So Jordan says publicly, the one thing to mark off for the weekend is to get me through to a FAST card. I was really surprised he just said that to the room, and I was a little embarrassed, and waved awkwardly at everyone. But he put it out there, and people rallied. It was mega hot, nasty, muggy out. And flying was tough because of it. But right out of the gate, we did a three ship. I was #4, with a phantom #3, with JP as #1 and Tim Gillean as #2. I didn't do great on this flight. The Phantom #3 confused me, I hadn't been #4 in years, I was rusty as heck. We came back and debriefed, and they decided I needed another flight, with 4 ships. So we waited for Mark Novak to land, and as soon as we did, we roped him into it, and the four of us went up. I thought the second flight was rougher than the first, but they were all pleased with it. Many of my issues were from #2 and 3 doing various things that they admitted later, but I kept with it, flew smoothly, got back into position quickly. Tim said after the first flight that I was smooth, not jerky, that I could control my plane well, and that he would fly with me any time. Which I greatly appreciated. At the end of that second 4-ship flight, they turned it into a "Recommendation Ride". They lined up a guy from the JLFC. Joint Liaison Formation Committee. L-birds. He was my check pilot, and he worked hard to print out all the paperwork and get it all ready to go, he made sure all the i's were dotted and that the paperwork wouldn't get kicked out. I filled out literally a dozen sheets of paper, handed over $25 to join the organization, and sat there and got really nervous. I knew the things I wasn't as good at as I wanted to be, and I was afraid of how embarrassed I'd be if he didn't pass me. It gets worse, because ALL the line guys and pilots and people on the grounds knew I was going for a checkride too. I mean, no pressure here! Then, by the time they got around to doing it, Steve and Nathan and everybody from Kokomo was on the ground there too, watching! I'd been flying a lot, I was hot and tired and nervous and I kept thinking "One more flight, just one more flight".
Each of those flights started with an element takeoff, where you take off right next to the other T-6, and stay in position with them the entire time. I hadn't done one of THOSE in ages either, have probably done like 3 of them ever. Fortunately I pulled that off. We ran through the routine. There were a few things I didn't get quite right, most things I did. One time on a rejoin, #1 and #2 were in quickly, and I was lined up to get right in position, but #3 was way out there. So I had to maneuver around a bit, slow down, stay on that bearing, and just wait for #3, and make my move. My check pilot Mike piped up "NICE job" from the back seat. Later in the debrief he said that was the moment he knew I was good to go for this, and that I'd make a good Lead pilot some day. I appreciated that.
When we did the maneuvers, they put me into the "slot", or #4 in the diamond position, and we flew right over the top of the field. Where everyone was standing, watching, etc. I haven't had the best luck of being and staying in position when cameras are out, and I often cringe and see myself out of position. This time apparently I nailed it. When we got on the ground, I had a bunch of different people tell me it was "Sierra Hotel" which is airplane talk for really good. ;) Jordan said when he saw it that I'd BETTER get my card or he was going to riot. lol. Brad Deckart whom I don't know that well came up and complimented me, which meant a lot because he doesn't compliment loosely nor does he do it without meaning it. LINE people came up to me to congratulate me. It was actually really cool, because like the whole airport crowd seemed to know who I was and what I was doing and that it went well. :D
The debrief was a little odd because the check pilot had more things to say about some of the other guys than he did me, and while I appreciated that from my own perspective, I also didn't want them to feel weird. But the check pilot was super complimentary, we sat and talked for a long time at the party later. He kept telling me what a pleasure it was to fly with me, and what a good job I did, and how I should start teaching two ship Lead soon, etc. Kind of wild! But at the plane he said "You've got a new Wingman!" and they all clapped and I smiled and it never really sank in. I've waited 11 years to have a FAST card and now I do and it happened in ONE DAY thanks to the efforts of JP, who called about the JFLC stuff, Jordan who declared it was going to happen and then helped make it so, Mark and Tim who were willing to fly a ton on a nasty hot day, and Mike, willing to stick himself out there for strangers and be a check pilot. I owe the next round of steak dinners.
The only time there was some tension other than Tim being annoyed by Mike's assessment of a couple things in the flight, was when Mike said for the 13th time that this wasn't a "gimme" thing, that they didn't want any impropriety or hint thereof, etc. I finally said "This isn't something I thought looked fun and hope somebody gives me after a day. I've been working on this for over 10 years." He said he understood, he wasn't trying to say I was looking for that, etc. I got a little uptight about it because I did have a RPA Lead pilot tell me "You wouldn't want us to just give it to you", after I spent years flying with them, going to a ton of events, spending money I didn't have, working hard at it, being told I was ready for a checkride *multiple* times and then never having it happen because of this, that or the other, and I was offended that he said if we did the ride now they'd just be 'giving' it to me. As if. So after we got THAT cleared up, we had a good rest of the day. lol
I told Jordan I was nervous, but he didn't believe me. Steve told him I was nervous, and Jordan said "She said that, but she's not acting nervous. She doesn't look nervous." Steve said "Oh, she is." And oh, I was. Really so. But I can hide my nerves really well most of the time, which I take as a compliment. ;) But I'd been waiting for this for so long, and if you never take the checkride, you can't be embarrassed if you fail it, especially in front of the whole world down there watching you. Eye yi yi.
After the successful checkride, Elliot comes over and says "Laaaaura. Whatcha doin?" I'm sweating and red and tired and said "Nothing, why?" He asked if I wanted to hop in BOB and do a four ship formation photo shoot. Now I can legally do that, because...I have a FAST card. ;) JP was going to but got busy. So I said sure. I mean, I have a whole 10 hours in the plane and have never flown formation in it and have a formation card 5 minutes old, but why not?? :D So they loaded up three passengers in my plane, including a very eager guy who wanted to be in my right seat. Mark N was the T-6 photo ship with the photographer. Jordan was in his polished one, and Elliot was in the other. And the four of us went up and did a photo shoot. I had sweat running down my face, into my eyes. My right seater was touching stuff and being very distracting and I was annoyed, all the way up to the point where I actually needed help and utilized him. Then I was glad he was there, because I got behind. We had a good photo shoot, and then I brought the three of us in to land safely.
THEN I was exhausted. Long, hot day of intense flying, all day, every couple hours. They had an after party, and I decided to stay and spend the night at JP's house, because Greg wanted to do another photo shoot in the morning. So I sat in the hangar and socialized with people for awhile, which you know I'm bad at. I looked like the wicked witch too, no makeup, sweated through fourteen times, hair a disaster, but...I have a FAST card, and it may need renewed in 2022, but for now nobody can take that away. ;) I am going to turn it into NATA and see if they will issue a NATA FAST card out of it, so that I can possibly go to Oshkosh and fly in the big formation there next year. They SHOULD issue it because it was a four-ship of T-6s. But we shall see.
I had forgotten deodorant in my bag, of ALL things, so JP had to stop at a Meijer for me to pick some up at 11 pm. We got to his house, I went to bed, and promptly woke up at 4 am and was awake the rest of the night. And so it goes. But what a day.
These are out of order because I stole them off of FB, which just assigns them a weird number, not in order.
It was standing room only in the room, so I was standing by the door. All sorts of folks were there. Tim Savage, Brad Deckert, the Red Daggers skydiving flag team, just a ton of warbird guys. So Jordan says publicly, the one thing to mark off for the weekend is to get me through to a FAST card. I was really surprised he just said that to the room, and I was a little embarrassed, and waved awkwardly at everyone. But he put it out there, and people rallied. It was mega hot, nasty, muggy out. And flying was tough because of it. But right out of the gate, we did a three ship. I was #4, with a phantom #3, with JP as #1 and Tim Gillean as #2. I didn't do great on this flight. The Phantom #3 confused me, I hadn't been #4 in years, I was rusty as heck. We came back and debriefed, and they decided I needed another flight, with 4 ships. So we waited for Mark Novak to land, and as soon as we did, we roped him into it, and the four of us went up. I thought the second flight was rougher than the first, but they were all pleased with it. Many of my issues were from #2 and 3 doing various things that they admitted later, but I kept with it, flew smoothly, got back into position quickly. Tim said after the first flight that I was smooth, not jerky, that I could control my plane well, and that he would fly with me any time. Which I greatly appreciated. At the end of that second 4-ship flight, they turned it into a "Recommendation Ride". They lined up a guy from the JLFC. Joint Liaison Formation Committee. L-birds. He was my check pilot, and he worked hard to print out all the paperwork and get it all ready to go, he made sure all the i's were dotted and that the paperwork wouldn't get kicked out. I filled out literally a dozen sheets of paper, handed over $25 to join the organization, and sat there and got really nervous. I knew the things I wasn't as good at as I wanted to be, and I was afraid of how embarrassed I'd be if he didn't pass me. It gets worse, because ALL the line guys and pilots and people on the grounds knew I was going for a checkride too. I mean, no pressure here! Then, by the time they got around to doing it, Steve and Nathan and everybody from Kokomo was on the ground there too, watching! I'd been flying a lot, I was hot and tired and nervous and I kept thinking "One more flight, just one more flight".
Each of those flights started with an element takeoff, where you take off right next to the other T-6, and stay in position with them the entire time. I hadn't done one of THOSE in ages either, have probably done like 3 of them ever. Fortunately I pulled that off. We ran through the routine. There were a few things I didn't get quite right, most things I did. One time on a rejoin, #1 and #2 were in quickly, and I was lined up to get right in position, but #3 was way out there. So I had to maneuver around a bit, slow down, stay on that bearing, and just wait for #3, and make my move. My check pilot Mike piped up "NICE job" from the back seat. Later in the debrief he said that was the moment he knew I was good to go for this, and that I'd make a good Lead pilot some day. I appreciated that.
When we did the maneuvers, they put me into the "slot", or #4 in the diamond position, and we flew right over the top of the field. Where everyone was standing, watching, etc. I haven't had the best luck of being and staying in position when cameras are out, and I often cringe and see myself out of position. This time apparently I nailed it. When we got on the ground, I had a bunch of different people tell me it was "Sierra Hotel" which is airplane talk for really good. ;) Jordan said when he saw it that I'd BETTER get my card or he was going to riot. lol. Brad Deckart whom I don't know that well came up and complimented me, which meant a lot because he doesn't compliment loosely nor does he do it without meaning it. LINE people came up to me to congratulate me. It was actually really cool, because like the whole airport crowd seemed to know who I was and what I was doing and that it went well. :D
The debrief was a little odd because the check pilot had more things to say about some of the other guys than he did me, and while I appreciated that from my own perspective, I also didn't want them to feel weird. But the check pilot was super complimentary, we sat and talked for a long time at the party later. He kept telling me what a pleasure it was to fly with me, and what a good job I did, and how I should start teaching two ship Lead soon, etc. Kind of wild! But at the plane he said "You've got a new Wingman!" and they all clapped and I smiled and it never really sank in. I've waited 11 years to have a FAST card and now I do and it happened in ONE DAY thanks to the efforts of JP, who called about the JFLC stuff, Jordan who declared it was going to happen and then helped make it so, Mark and Tim who were willing to fly a ton on a nasty hot day, and Mike, willing to stick himself out there for strangers and be a check pilot. I owe the next round of steak dinners.
The only time there was some tension other than Tim being annoyed by Mike's assessment of a couple things in the flight, was when Mike said for the 13th time that this wasn't a "gimme" thing, that they didn't want any impropriety or hint thereof, etc. I finally said "This isn't something I thought looked fun and hope somebody gives me after a day. I've been working on this for over 10 years." He said he understood, he wasn't trying to say I was looking for that, etc. I got a little uptight about it because I did have a RPA Lead pilot tell me "You wouldn't want us to just give it to you", after I spent years flying with them, going to a ton of events, spending money I didn't have, working hard at it, being told I was ready for a checkride *multiple* times and then never having it happen because of this, that or the other, and I was offended that he said if we did the ride now they'd just be 'giving' it to me. As if. So after we got THAT cleared up, we had a good rest of the day. lol
I told Jordan I was nervous, but he didn't believe me. Steve told him I was nervous, and Jordan said "She said that, but she's not acting nervous. She doesn't look nervous." Steve said "Oh, she is." And oh, I was. Really so. But I can hide my nerves really well most of the time, which I take as a compliment. ;) But I'd been waiting for this for so long, and if you never take the checkride, you can't be embarrassed if you fail it, especially in front of the whole world down there watching you. Eye yi yi.
After the successful checkride, Elliot comes over and says "Laaaaura. Whatcha doin?" I'm sweating and red and tired and said "Nothing, why?" He asked if I wanted to hop in BOB and do a four ship formation photo shoot. Now I can legally do that, because...I have a FAST card. ;) JP was going to but got busy. So I said sure. I mean, I have a whole 10 hours in the plane and have never flown formation in it and have a formation card 5 minutes old, but why not?? :D So they loaded up three passengers in my plane, including a very eager guy who wanted to be in my right seat. Mark N was the T-6 photo ship with the photographer. Jordan was in his polished one, and Elliot was in the other. And the four of us went up and did a photo shoot. I had sweat running down my face, into my eyes. My right seater was touching stuff and being very distracting and I was annoyed, all the way up to the point where I actually needed help and utilized him. Then I was glad he was there, because I got behind. We had a good photo shoot, and then I brought the three of us in to land safely.
THEN I was exhausted. Long, hot day of intense flying, all day, every couple hours. They had an after party, and I decided to stay and spend the night at JP's house, because Greg wanted to do another photo shoot in the morning. So I sat in the hangar and socialized with people for awhile, which you know I'm bad at. I looked like the wicked witch too, no makeup, sweated through fourteen times, hair a disaster, but...I have a FAST card, and it may need renewed in 2022, but for now nobody can take that away. ;) I am going to turn it into NATA and see if they will issue a NATA FAST card out of it, so that I can possibly go to Oshkosh and fly in the big formation there next year. They SHOULD issue it because it was a four-ship of T-6s. But we shall see.
I had forgotten deodorant in my bag, of ALL things, so JP had to stop at a Meijer for me to pick some up at 11 pm. We got to his house, I went to bed, and promptly woke up at 4 am and was awake the rest of the night. And so it goes. But what a day.
These are out of order because I stole them off of FB, which just assigns them a weird number, not in order.
Coming in to land
I'm #4, the last one
Jon looks ready to attack
The money shot
The Daggers jump team
Another nice close up
Before I left Saturday morning. Shadows.
Some of the party. The band in front of the C-47
My right seater took this picture and it made me and Kaylee laugh. My nostrils are flared, my lips are tight, I am seriously focused on my formation flying here.
Taken from the other plane
Beautiful shot of the DC-3 under the sky.
Friday, July 24, 2020
NOshkosh Day Five: Kokomo
Friday! It was our day at Kokomo, Warbird Training Centers. We were out there pretty early setting up, having our Oshkosh style breakfast of pancakes, bacon, eggs, hash browns, OJ, donuts, etc. It was deeelicious. ;)
Did I mention it was super hot again?
We had quite a few folks come out for breakfast, and the P-51 flew in with Tom McCord, and Larry and the Stearman, and Walt and the T-28, and RVs and taildraggers and the ramp was looking pretty good. Around 10:30 am, an 11-ship formation from the Red Star guys showed up, did two passes, landed, got gas, ate lunch with us. I was supposed to go up flying with them, but between you and me, I'm glad it didn't happen. When I came up to talk to them, only about two of them gave me the time of day. The others obviously didn't care, and me going flying with them would have been something they did because they were supposed to, not because they were actually interested in helping out or doing it. I even tried to put myself out, walk over to them at the planes, at the lunch tables, etc. They looked through me like I wasn't there. Fine by me. See ya. Their formations looked good and I was glad to have them fly in and provide some activity for our day though.
The reason I couldn't fly with them is because MBros needed me to fly a guy to Georgia, either Friday or Saturday. The problem was I was supposed to fly with Red Star then go over to Terre Haute and fly with a four-ship of T-6s over there on Friday, then be back for our steak dinner. Saturday all day I was supposed to be in Terre Haute. So I chose to ditch Red Star and lose out on Terre Haute for Friday so that I could have a full uninterrupted day in the Haute Saturday, and that ended up being the exact right decision.
I took the 340 and flew the gentleman back to Macon, Georgia. Just like the last two times I went down there, I had a line of thunderstorms, two actually, somewhere in Tennessee and Kentucky, that was bad on the way down and worse on the way home, making me do a lot of planning, deviating, etc. I kept it smooth for him, and he even slept back there for awhile. I dropped him off, got gas in the plane, spun around and headed back home as fast as I could. When I landed at Kokomo, I taxied in past our hangar, and there were about 80 people sitting in the hangar waving at me as I went by. Ha. I hopped out and someone had saved me a plate of steak dinner with the fixings, so we sat and ate and had some wine and dessert and relaxed and had a really nice evening. We ended that with a camp fire in between the hangars, looking at the satellites and stars again. I didn't stay super late this time though, because I wanted to download some photos, and I wanted to get to bed because of what an early morning and a big day was coming on Saturday.
So Friday didn't go totally as planned, but in a way it was better. 1) I didn't fly with Red Star which I think was a good thing considering how rusty I was and a 12 ship formation is a lot and they weren't that in to me so wouldn't have been very patient or helpful. 2) I had a job and got paid for it while still otherwise basically on vacation. 3) I still got my formation card done anyway on Saturday and my steak dinner eaten on Friday so I still accomplished everything I needed to. The event on Friday did go pretty well though. People showed up, food was eaten, a good time was had by all. :)
Also out of order on these photos, but this is Friday:
Did I mention it was super hot again?
We had quite a few folks come out for breakfast, and the P-51 flew in with Tom McCord, and Larry and the Stearman, and Walt and the T-28, and RVs and taildraggers and the ramp was looking pretty good. Around 10:30 am, an 11-ship formation from the Red Star guys showed up, did two passes, landed, got gas, ate lunch with us. I was supposed to go up flying with them, but between you and me, I'm glad it didn't happen. When I came up to talk to them, only about two of them gave me the time of day. The others obviously didn't care, and me going flying with them would have been something they did because they were supposed to, not because they were actually interested in helping out or doing it. I even tried to put myself out, walk over to them at the planes, at the lunch tables, etc. They looked through me like I wasn't there. Fine by me. See ya. Their formations looked good and I was glad to have them fly in and provide some activity for our day though.
The reason I couldn't fly with them is because MBros needed me to fly a guy to Georgia, either Friday or Saturday. The problem was I was supposed to fly with Red Star then go over to Terre Haute and fly with a four-ship of T-6s over there on Friday, then be back for our steak dinner. Saturday all day I was supposed to be in Terre Haute. So I chose to ditch Red Star and lose out on Terre Haute for Friday so that I could have a full uninterrupted day in the Haute Saturday, and that ended up being the exact right decision.
I took the 340 and flew the gentleman back to Macon, Georgia. Just like the last two times I went down there, I had a line of thunderstorms, two actually, somewhere in Tennessee and Kentucky, that was bad on the way down and worse on the way home, making me do a lot of planning, deviating, etc. I kept it smooth for him, and he even slept back there for awhile. I dropped him off, got gas in the plane, spun around and headed back home as fast as I could. When I landed at Kokomo, I taxied in past our hangar, and there were about 80 people sitting in the hangar waving at me as I went by. Ha. I hopped out and someone had saved me a plate of steak dinner with the fixings, so we sat and ate and had some wine and dessert and relaxed and had a really nice evening. We ended that with a camp fire in between the hangars, looking at the satellites and stars again. I didn't stay super late this time though, because I wanted to download some photos, and I wanted to get to bed because of what an early morning and a big day was coming on Saturday.
So Friday didn't go totally as planned, but in a way it was better. 1) I didn't fly with Red Star which I think was a good thing considering how rusty I was and a 12 ship formation is a lot and they weren't that in to me so wouldn't have been very patient or helpful. 2) I had a job and got paid for it while still otherwise basically on vacation. 3) I still got my formation card done anyway on Saturday and my steak dinner eaten on Friday so I still accomplished everything I needed to. The event on Friday did go pretty well though. People showed up, food was eaten, a good time was had by all. :)
Also out of order on these photos, but this is Friday:
The end of the day at Sunset, the Champ getting pushed away for the night.
Hangar steak dinner
Thunderstorms on the way home close by
Little pop up cells all over
Kokomo
Me and my bad attitude
Steak dinner
My sucker hole, or gap in between storms that I shot before it closed in.
They sent me directly over the top of Atlanta International both on the way there and the way home.
Thunderstorm cell on the way there
Red Stars taxiing in
Airplanes on the ramp for breakfast
A few shots of the formations
Breakfast
Sunrise at Kokomo
Steve being interviewed by somebody
People steak dinner
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