On the Ramp Right Now!

So...there I was...MINDING my own business...slumped in a lawn chair and gathering my Mojo for another lawnmower pass around the yard in the summer heat.  Suddenly, I receive a communique from one my vast net of airport spies, whose report makes me slap the phone shut and grab my camera gear.

A Mustang and a --------SPITFIRE!!!!!------------had taken a weather diversion, stopping for fuel at Cape !!!  The two pilots were having lunch, and I was 25 minutes away, so time was critical.

Calling Beth and catching her as came out of the gym, we negotiated an action plan that was bargained down to my picking her up at a Shell station rather than the shoulder of the Interstate.  We got there as they were finishing fueling the fighters, and starting their preflights.

Anyway...here we go:

Kim, absolutely cool stuff. My son and I attended WWII weekend in Reading, Pa which had many B-25's, B-17, FiFi the B-29 made several low fly by and circles overhead. We got some up close radial knowledge as the oil tanks needed topping off with the 25/60 W. 35 gallons a engine on the B-25's. In addition, the P-47 T-bolt was spectacular. I never witnessed one up close. https://www.facebook.com/PhillyFliersCL/videos/vb.513140418756097/866673903402745/?type=2&theater I loved it and my son and I had a great time just walking about.

Lovely, They don't make them as pretty as that anymore. What beautiful aircraft.

Ken Cook wrote:             Kim, absolutely cool stuff. My son and I attended  WWII weekend in Reading, Pa which had many B-25's, B-17, FiFi the B-29 made several low fly by and circles overhead. We got some up close radial knowledge as the oil tanks needed topping off with the 25/60 W. 35 gallons a engine on the B-25's. In addition, the P-47 T-bolt was spectacular. I never witnessed one up close. https://www.facebook.com/PhillyFliersCL/videos/vb.513140418756097/866673903402745/?type=2&theater          I loved it and my son and I had a great time just walking about.

I ran the short videos Ken. Great stuff especially last one, elbows in speed flyer. I got dizzy just watching him.

Well, I resisted for a year, and that's saying something, but the recent near-miss photo-op with the Mustang and Spitfire (a GRIFFIN Spitfire, no less), along with a request from our airport manager to help during a lineman shortage at my local airport, has me once again donning my red  line service shirt, and start sling fuel.

I missed a lot of Oshkosh traffic, but figure to make up for it by working Sundays and emergency on-call until a replacement can be hired and trained.



So, cameras charged and SD cards emptied...let the good times roll !!!

Yay.   Lots more pics of nice planes to drool over.
I look forward with great anticipation.

Rod.

what he said ! get 'em Kim You always have good stuff for us less fortunate Thanks up front . Eric

Kim wrote:Well, I resisted for a year, and that's saying something, but the recent near-miss photo-op with the Mustang and Spitfire (a GRIFFIN Spitfire, no less), along with a request from our airport manager to help during a lineman shortage at my local airport, has me once again donning my red  line service shirt, and start sling fuel.

I missed a lot of Oshkosh traffic, but figure to make up for it by working Sundays and emergency on-call until a replacement can be hired and trained.



So, cameras charged and SD cards emptied...let the good times roll !!!

Spitfire!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sounds like the best of both worlds, Kim.
Hope you get some nice pics of some
flashy iron. Nice shot of the Buccaneer.
Bob

dckrsn wrote:Sounds like the best of both worlds, Kim.
Hope you get some nice pics of some
flashy iron. Nice shot of the Buccaneer.
Bob

Thanks Bob and all you guys!

Yeah the Buccaneer and it's high-powered sibling Renegade have always held my fascination.  This particular one answered a question that had bugged me for decades, though, 'till now, I'd never thought just to ASK and find out!

I'd always wondered what the little 'hump' at the front of the engine pylon's base was...turns out, it's an avgas-powered heater of course!  The engine is too far away to use it's exhaust as a heat source, and you can't install a heater in the snout (like the Beech Barons and such) due to it's plowing through the waves.  So Lake put the heater in a relatively splash-free spot, with a fan to circulate warm air through the cockpit.

So, another back-file question answered.

Anyway, my first 'reorientation day' went well, though we've got some new customers, and some of our long-timers have switched hangars...but that will iron out as time goes by.

There's at least one exciting event coming, and I'm gathering info on it right now, so when I cut it loose, I'll have all my facts straight, and get the good stuff to you guys !

Later !!  Inquiring Kim/and his Roving Cameras !!!

Oldenginerod wrote:Yay.   Lots more pics of nice planes to drool over.
I look forward with great anticipation.

Rod.

getback wrote:what he said ! get 'em  Kim  You always have good stuff for us less fortunate  Thanks up front . Eric  

Yeah, what they said! Haha, Eric, "us less fortunate" is right.

This is exciting, good to have you back on the flightline.
Rusty

Be careful what you wish for Eric...

I have spent 21 yrs on a flightline to date, sure all the planes can be cool, but after a while they can really become a hinderance.

If you are a pilot then you are in good shape, but ground maintenance crews, AGE, Fire department, Base Ops, air traffic control, airfield lighting  and Navaids Techs etc. all operate around the flying schedule.

What this means is, you work around the clock to support the pilots/mission. Not to mention traversing the taxiways or taking control of equipment is darn near maddening when you have to wait on planes to do their thing first.

I am sure small civilian airports are a little more relaxed, but I bet they have their issues as well. Kim can weigh in on that.

I love my job, but there are days that I really despise the aircraft.

Hope you are having fun Kim!!! Thanks for the pictures.

Ron

Sorry for the long time to answer...got computer/internet issues up on The Hill.

Yeah...in our airport's case, I sometimes wish we leaned a little more toward the military as far as job disciplined is concerned. Our FBO, and the airport in general, are owned and run by the city of Cape Girardeau, which is both good and bad. It allows a little more pay and benefits than a private business might offer, but the political correctness that comes with it makes behavior corrections with troublesome employees a lot more difficult.

It can really wear down your work mojo when your boss is afraid to get tough with employees who feel that their job is below their station in life, and just refuse to do some jobs. Some of this goofyness was the reason for my finally bailing last year, and is why I'm only working vacation/sick day cover until they get someone hired to replace a kid who headed off to college last month.

The planes themselves are great, and I fortunately never lost my ability to see them as art-forms. The pilots CAN be a pain, as we have our share of "Chuck Yeager wanna-be's, coulda-beens, and shoulda-beens", but we've got enough good guys and gals to thin out all that bull. The occasional comment/complement kinda helps keep the wheel spinning, and I DO enjoy trying to shock the transient crews with a level of professionalism they might not expect from such a small airport.

Anyway, we shall see how this all works out....the perks CAN be pretty rewarding:

Good for you, Kim.
That Jet Buggy above is one impressive project that you took on and followed all the way through with. I hope the Canadians were grateful for all you had to deal with, to make the time you spent to design, build, paint and get that done.
Rusty

RknRusty wrote:Good for you, Kim.
That Jet Buggy above is one impressive project that you took on and followed all the way through with. I hope the Canadians were grateful for all you had to deal with, to make the time you spent to design, build, paint and get that done.
Rusty

I can say without qualification...the Snowbirds are a class act...in the air AND on the ground.  You couldn't ask for a sharper group of young men...extremely professional and with all egos in check.

True Story:  A slightly overzealous deputy wouldn't let their van through the back gate because it didn't have a "RAMP ACCESS CARD" in it's windshield!  So, rather than puff about the goofy kid, the Snowbirds all got out, gathered their gear, and walked out to their planes to prep them for a practice flight !

Our airport manager nearly blew a gasket when he heard about it, but the Snowbirds never griped at all.



As often is the case, Miss Beth was able to talk her way into one of the planes:



The Snowbirds got a real kick out of our "Baby Snowbird", a couple of my buds even used it to "Carrier Qualify"...much to the entertainment of the Friday Night restaurant crowd...

Had this trim little RV-8 spend the night in our hanger after getting cornered by some weather. They STILL had some decent murkiness on their departure, but a lot more benign than the storms we previously had around here!

Noticed the Race Number on it's fin and so looked it up!







http://sportairrace.org/sarl/node/1847

I was THIS () close to ordering an RV-8 kit. My wife had bought off on it. But, for the kind of flying I do, it would have been way overkill.

The Underkill Mark

That's awesome Kim! You back working at the airport?

WingingIt74 wrote:That's awesome Kim! You back working at the airport?

Yep...Sundays right now...may expand it over the winter, but will see...

batjac wrote:I was THIS () close to ordering an RV-8 kit.  My wife had bought off on it.  But, for the kind of flying I do, it would have been way overkill.

The Underkill Mark

They are fantastic little aircraft. We've got one based here, and I was able to compact my bulk into it's back seat (with assurances from it's owner that the weight and balance (CG) was within limits), and enjoyed a high-speed run around Cape Girardeau.


Sometimes, I wish I'd gone this route rather than with the slow-flying, cow-pasture stuff I did for so many years.

Kim wrote:

batjac wrote:I was THIS () close to ordering an RV-8 kit.  My wife had bought off on it.  But, for the kind of flying I do, it would have been way overkill.

The Underkill Mark

They are fantastic little aircraft.  We've got one based here, and I was able to compact my bulk into it's back seat (with assurances from it's owner that the weight and balance (CG) was within limits), and enjoyed a high-speed run around Cape Girardeau.


Sometimes, I wish I'd gone this route rather than with the slow-flying, cow-pasture stuff I did for so many years.

Kim: I'm jealous. Can I use photoshop and put my face in place of yours and repost the pic? LOL  
     
happydad    I'm retired        

Is Beth a pilot?
Is she still rid'n around on the back of your bike... if I may ask personal questions.
The sometimes nosey Rusty

happydad wrote:

Kim wrote:

batjac wrote:I was THIS () close to ordering an RV-8 kit.  My wife had bought off on it.  But, for the kind of flying I do, it would have been way overkill.

The Underkill Mark

They are fantastic little aircraft.  We've got one based here, and I was able to compact my bulk into it's back seat (with assurances from it's owner that the weight and balance (CG) was within limits), and enjoyed a high-speed run around Cape Girardeau.


Sometimes, I wish I'd gone this route rather than with the slow-flying, cow-pasture stuff I did for so many years.

Kim: I'm jealous. Can I use photoshop and put my face in place of yours and repost the pic? LOL  
     
happydad    I'm retired        

Hey H.D. !

I'd consider anyone, doing that with any photos I post to be a great compliment! I've had a great life of mooching AND occasionally sharing...thanks to all the cool dudes and babes who tolerate my presence !!!