slipstreamsurfr (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
slipstreamsurfr) wrote2006-12-05 02:58 pm
slipstreamsurfr) wrote2006-12-05 02:58 pm
Entry tags:
Tour deStomach 12-2-2006
I've meant to post about the Saturday let's all meet and fly on our stomachs....
It was all Craigs idea, we just ran with it.
I get to the airport at 7:45 and wait at the fbo for Gary to get there. I see his 56 C172 taxing up, he's made the first turn off again. He parks in front and we grin and say hi as I set up in the cockpit. He has me make the radio calls for him to the tower, almost tripping me up on the tail number. I'm not used to his airplane. We are soon off and on our way to Granbury (GDJ) for breakfast. Gary turns on the autopilot (otherwise known as the student pilot in the right seat) and I take the plane across the country side, a beautiful, smooth morning.
The local EAA group was putting on a pancake breakfast that morning. When we arrived we met Craig in his RV, Jason was there in his Taylorcraft, Liz arrived it in her really nice Cessna 140 tail dragger, and the new guy on the board from Houston, another Gary showed in his 172. There was much fun had visiting and eating breakfast with everyone. Then the fun continues walking around and poking at the planes. Jason tries to convience me that I can indeed fit in his Taylorcraft, and while I believe him that I could squeeze my frame into it, for he's only 2 inches shorter than I am, doing so would cause Craig great harm as he fell laughing to the tarmac. Jason is more than 60 pounds lighter, and 20 years younger.
I kicked in 5 bucks for the raffle drawing (funds going to the local childrens hospital) and won 2 drawigs. I usually don't win anything. One was a bottle of plexiglass polish for plexiglass airplane windows, I gave it to Crag for the RV. The other was a little 5" b&w tv/radio/floodlight thing. I offered it to Gary for his hanger, because I don't really need to collect things like that that I don't need, and I wanted to say thanks for the day today. He was surprised, and happy...
After the drawings we formed up and took off together heading to Stephenville (SEP). We all shoot the landings and there we find Mike and Troy have made it, coming together in a rented Cessna 172. We opt to take
the walk, instead of the carts to Hard 8 for the bbq (about a mile walk maybe?) and talk. Really good lunch. They were right, this is some of the best BBQ I've ever had. We sit around the table just talking flying and airplanes. Before the day is over, just about everyone will asked me when I was going to take my checkride.. (chuckle) it was really... good.. fun...
We take the mile walk back to the field and Liz decides she's gong to head back and skip Keezer(61TE) for desert this time around and departs in her C140. She makes a nice intersection take off. She fly's that thing like she has had it all her life. Troy and Mike have to have the rental back so they head out too. That leaves Craig, Jason, Gary from Houston, and Gary and I in our plane to head to Keezer. I fly most of the crosscountry time on this one too. Our 4 planes are on an air to air frequency and just talking back and forth. Craig is doing aileron rolls in his RV to pass the time.
We find Keezer, and it is narrow, a 20 foot wide runway with a slight rise in the middle of it. Fun though. We park in the grass and walk to the restruant there. The guys have been talking about the Peanutbutter pie this place serves. I've never had even heard of that before, so I try a slice. Not bad. More talk, laughter. Then we are walking back to the field. We have to walk all the open t-hangers and look at the planes hiding in them. Taking bets on how long this one has sat, noting a few that are certainly flying, and look to be being kept by doting owners.
It's starting to get late, 2:30 or so, so we mount up and all head our own ways, Craig and Jason heading west back to their hangers at Graham, Gary, from Houston, is heading back over to Grand Prairie airport (GPM) where he's staying, and Gary and I are heading over to his home field Hicks(T67) because I've never been there before.
The airport is hard for me to find. I've never seen so many hangers on a field. It looks like an industrial complex at first. They runway has recently been repaved and it has no markings on it yet. He shoots the landing and we park in front of his hanger to drop some stuff off. We talk with his hanger landlord that rents him part of the hanger he's in, Ron (captain Cessna on the board) actually lives in a studio apartment that is in the top and back of the hanger that Gary keeps his airplane in. I first met Ron back when we all went to Kansas for the Cessna factory thing a while ago. Good to catch up with him for a few.
After leaving Hicks we head through downtown Fort Worth going to Arlington. Always a pretty flight along I35. We land and he drops me off at the fbo he picked me up from. 4 pm. 8 hours out today, just having a good time flying and visiting with friends.
We've got to do more of these round robin Tour deStomach flights. This was fun. :)
It was all Craigs idea, we just ran with it.
I get to the airport at 7:45 and wait at the fbo for Gary to get there. I see his 56 C172 taxing up, he's made the first turn off again. He parks in front and we grin and say hi as I set up in the cockpit. He has me make the radio calls for him to the tower, almost tripping me up on the tail number. I'm not used to his airplane. We are soon off and on our way to Granbury (GDJ) for breakfast. Gary turns on the autopilot (otherwise known as the student pilot in the right seat) and I take the plane across the country side, a beautiful, smooth morning.
The local EAA group was putting on a pancake breakfast that morning. When we arrived we met Craig in his RV, Jason was there in his Taylorcraft, Liz arrived it in her really nice Cessna 140 tail dragger, and the new guy on the board from Houston, another Gary showed in his 172. There was much fun had visiting and eating breakfast with everyone. Then the fun continues walking around and poking at the planes. Jason tries to convience me that I can indeed fit in his Taylorcraft, and while I believe him that I could squeeze my frame into it, for he's only 2 inches shorter than I am, doing so would cause Craig great harm as he fell laughing to the tarmac. Jason is more than 60 pounds lighter, and 20 years younger.
I kicked in 5 bucks for the raffle drawing (funds going to the local childrens hospital) and won 2 drawigs. I usually don't win anything. One was a bottle of plexiglass polish for plexiglass airplane windows, I gave it to Crag for the RV. The other was a little 5" b&w tv/radio/floodlight thing. I offered it to Gary for his hanger, because I don't really need to collect things like that that I don't need, and I wanted to say thanks for the day today. He was surprised, and happy...
After the drawings we formed up and took off together heading to Stephenville (SEP). We all shoot the landings and there we find Mike and Troy have made it, coming together in a rented Cessna 172. We opt to take
the walk, instead of the carts to Hard 8 for the bbq (about a mile walk maybe?) and talk. Really good lunch. They were right, this is some of the best BBQ I've ever had. We sit around the table just talking flying and airplanes. Before the day is over, just about everyone will asked me when I was going to take my checkride.. (chuckle) it was really... good.. fun...
We take the mile walk back to the field and Liz decides she's gong to head back and skip Keezer(61TE) for desert this time around and departs in her C140. She makes a nice intersection take off. She fly's that thing like she has had it all her life. Troy and Mike have to have the rental back so they head out too. That leaves Craig, Jason, Gary from Houston, and Gary and I in our plane to head to Keezer. I fly most of the crosscountry time on this one too. Our 4 planes are on an air to air frequency and just talking back and forth. Craig is doing aileron rolls in his RV to pass the time.
We find Keezer, and it is narrow, a 20 foot wide runway with a slight rise in the middle of it. Fun though. We park in the grass and walk to the restruant there. The guys have been talking about the Peanutbutter pie this place serves. I've never had even heard of that before, so I try a slice. Not bad. More talk, laughter. Then we are walking back to the field. We have to walk all the open t-hangers and look at the planes hiding in them. Taking bets on how long this one has sat, noting a few that are certainly flying, and look to be being kept by doting owners.
It's starting to get late, 2:30 or so, so we mount up and all head our own ways, Craig and Jason heading west back to their hangers at Graham, Gary, from Houston, is heading back over to Grand Prairie airport (GPM) where he's staying, and Gary and I are heading over to his home field Hicks(T67) because I've never been there before.
The airport is hard for me to find. I've never seen so many hangers on a field. It looks like an industrial complex at first. They runway has recently been repaved and it has no markings on it yet. He shoots the landing and we park in front of his hanger to drop some stuff off. We talk with his hanger landlord that rents him part of the hanger he's in, Ron (captain Cessna on the board) actually lives in a studio apartment that is in the top and back of the hanger that Gary keeps his airplane in. I first met Ron back when we all went to Kansas for the Cessna factory thing a while ago. Good to catch up with him for a few.
After leaving Hicks we head through downtown Fort Worth going to Arlington. Always a pretty flight along I35. We land and he drops me off at the fbo he picked me up from. 4 pm. 8 hours out today, just having a good time flying and visiting with friends.
We've got to do more of these round robin Tour deStomach flights. This was fun. :)