Presidents' Day Weekend - Part 1

Since we had a three-day weekend over Presidents' Day, Uncle Buck, Eric and myself decided to do a little aviation hunting. This was to include stops at three airports along the Keys, between Key West and Marathon.

Here is the first airport. It was a private landing strip. This was an old Cessna that was modified as a skydiving plane. Notice how the heat distorts the picture.

Our next stop was the hardest to find. It was a little aviation community, with houses built around a small strip. Several airplanes were parked out in front of these houses. How would it be to go outside, climb in the plane, and go flying?!

Marathon was the farthest away we could take the government-rented rental car, so we made the Marathon airport our last stop. Here we saw a lot of different airplanes and had a bite to eat. This picture is of a Waco biplane. The owner was giving 20-min rides for $70 a person. That seemed a little steep, so we contented ourselves with photos.

...And Back Again

I have returned from another TDY (temporary duty) trip. It started off on the wrong foot. Our means of transportation, a Boeing KC-135 tanker from Grissom ARB arrived to fly us down to Key West on Sunday the 11th. We boarded the plane and loaded our baggage. Then we picked our seats and waited while the aircraft was started. Prior to taxiing, the crew noticed a gauge that was not functioning. As this was necessary to fly, we ended up waiting around all day until another gauge could be located. We got one late in the afternoon, but by then it was too late, so we had to spend Sunday night at Hill AFB here in Utah.

The next day, we took off on schedule and had an uneventful flight to Key West. The trip took about 4.5 hours. Here is a view out the window at two of our jets which were flying formation.

When we got off the plane, we did some basic in-processing, got the rental cars, room keys, and our baggage. Then it was off to the dorms to put our stuff away. We then drove over to the flightline and did a couple of hours' work. After that, it was a quick change, and off to TGI Friday's for dinner. Here are three of the guys: Eric, "Turtle", and Ryan.

Since the group I was with was working swingshift, a few of us decided to go to breakfast in the morning. Here is my first picture I took in Key West!

After breakfast at Denny's, we drove around a little to see the area in the daytime. It was totally different than at night. Here is one of the local phenomena: a pink taxi!

Before returning to the base for work, we drove down one of the main drags in town, Duval Street. Duval is probably the most well known street on Key West. It is lined with shops, tourist traps and bars. Quite the interesting spot! Here's one of Duval from the car.

Off to Key West

Well, it's off once again, this time for a couple of weeks on Reserve duty. My annual tour this year is in Key West, FL. In know, rough work but someone's gotta do it! Anyway, I'll catch up with all y'all when I return.

First Albie Flight of '07

I arrived in Boulder City at around 4:30 or 5:00 in the evening. I first stopped by the airport to say hi to whoever was there and then head for the hotel. I met up with Dennis and Tami Buehn, the folks who are behind the whole event. Dennis said that they would be going up for a quick flight over to Lake Mead in a few minutes and asked if I wanted to come along. Did I?!



Here is a shot of Dennis and Tami's Albatross N7141S. This was the first Albatross I had ever ridden in, getting my first flight this time last year.



Here is another shot of 41S, showing the sun reflecting off her bare metal airframe and the solid wing float in the foreground.



Starting the engines produced the satisfying puff of exhaust as the big round engine came to life.



Soon we were airborne, roaring (and believe me, in an Albatross it is a deafening roar) above the sagebrush-dotted landscape near the airport.



The moon was out and I was able to catch it in a couple of photos, framed by the wing float.



Moments later we were arriving at the lake.



Dave Cummings was the pilot in the left seat, and he executed some beautiful water landings and takeoffs.



Soon it was time to head back to Boulder City. Not bad for the first night out!

When You Come to a Fork in the Road...

So there I was...sitting in a nice steakhouse. My salad had just arrived and I was ready to eat. I looked down to the left of the plate and sure enough there were two forks. Hmmm...now which one to choose? One was shorter and had four prongs, the other was longer and had three prongs. Somewhere from the back of my mind came a whisper of etiquette that one fork was a "salad fork" and the other was for the entree.

Ok, well that didn't help. How does one decide? Well, logically, salad is composed of lighter weight materials, so that should dictate the choice right? The soon-coming steak was a heavier and tougher material, so that should help...shouldn't it? Wouldn't the three-pronged fork have more leverage?

I looked down again at the forks. The longer one with three prongs looked more "skookum." But would three prongs have the holding power of four? Wouldn't it have been easier to just give me two forks of the same size and shape? Why was I being forced into making a decision like this? Who came up with these rules of etiquette anyway?

I looked down once again at the forks. They looked back at me with a blank stare. Hmmm...they sure weren't going to be any help. Meanwhile, my salad was starting to wilt. I had to make a choice. I lifted my hand and reached over towards the forks...

...and grabbed the three-pronged fork. And happily dug into my salad. Did I pick the right one?

(By the way, the prime rib was excellent!)

Home From Boulder City

Well, I arrived home this morning around 4:30AM! That was after about 16 hours of driving! I know, you are probably wondering how I turned a 7.5 hour drive into 16 hours...well, glad you asked. Actually, I drove over to Flagstaff, AZ and then up to Valle, AZ where the Planes of Fame Museum is located. After about an hour there (looking at one airplane...yes it was a Grumman amphibian), I drove up to Page, AZ, then off to Kanab, UT. Anyway, to make a long story short, I was ready to hit the hay when I arrived back in Logan.

I had an amazing time down at Boulder City. I flew in three different Albatrosses, met and re-met folks who like Grummans, and took hundreds of pictures (literally). The picture I posted above was taken this last week at Boulder City. I'll be sharing more pictures here on the blog. It is good to be back, though!