Still the Same...But Different !!!

Kim Fri Sep 21, 2012 11:38 am

I got the absolute coolest friends in the world! They inspire me, encourage me, and cause me to buy Lottery Tickets!

My friend, Pete is just as strange as he is cool! You'd think that 14 hour+ days, blasting across fields and through treelines at the controls of a crop-dusting plane might jade him a bit with the whole "low-flying airplane deal".
Not so. Apparently, a turbine-powered, 50 foot span duster just isn't enough...he has to have a fire-breathing-old-school-radial-powered-"Bearcat'esk"-monster!!

I was lucky enough to be treated to a ride in this flying engine!

AND THEN...he takes it to RENO and places third in the first Pylon-Race he's ever entered!

Still the Same...But Different !!! 7_13

When you're measuring your top speed in thousandths of a second, parasitic little stuff like Nav-Lights have GOT to go !!!

Still the Same...But Different !!! 4_16

AND cracks and seams add up to slow you down. "If it whistles in the wind, it's got to be taped!!!"

Still the Same...But Different !!! 5_11

Followed by the "After Party" !

Still the Same...But Different !!! 1_29

So now, it's time for me to head to the gas station and get me some lottery tickets !!!

gcb Fri Sep 21, 2012 1:42 pm

Get those Lottery tickets 'cause you are indeed lucky!

George

WingingIt74 Wed Oct 03, 2012 6:39 pm

Very cool!

**RknRusty** Wed Oct 03, 2012 7:56 pm

Man, I'm stupefied with fascination. At least from modeling, I know something about what I'm looking at. When I was a kid I read book after book about war planes and pilots, Orville and Wilbur, Manfred von Richthofen, Eddie Rickenbacker; I made airplane models to hang from the bedroom ceiling(and battleships to play with in the tub), flew plastic Cox models, even got a degree in engineering, and somehow I overlooked aviation, whether in the air or in the hangar... WTF was I thinking!

Anyway, I'm glad to have you share your experiences with us. Thanks Kim,
Rusty

Kim Thu Oct 04, 2012 8:06 am

RknRusty wrote:Man, I'm stupefied with fascination. At least from modeling, I know something about what I'm looking at. When I was a kid I read book after book about war planes and pilots, Orville and Wilbur, Manfred von Richthofen, Eddie Rickenbacker; I made airplane models to hang from the bedroom ceiling(and battleships to play with in the tub), flew plastic Cox models, even got a degree in engineering, and somehow I overlooked aviation, whether in the air or in the hangar... WTF was I thinking!

Anyway, I'm glad to have you share your experiences with us. Thanks Kim,
Rusty

Hey Rusty!

Your path might not have been such a bad call. There's an old saying that, "If you want to make a small fortune in aviation, start with a large fortune" !

I joke that I and several of my friends had to get out of aviation to get into it, and after making the bucks the best way we knew how, we get to play!

Of course, this is coming from a person whose only use for a slide rule would be as an adjustable window post!

fit90 Thu Oct 04, 2012 8:40 am

Rusty,

You made a good career choice. I left engineering school to get into aviation school. As much as I have enjoyed aviation I think Kim hit the nail right on the head. Except for a very few cases, there is little to no money in aviation. If I continued as an engineer I would probably own my own plane now. Plus, aviation demands a lot of time away from home for a very high percent of its jobs. That is one of the reasons I had to leave it, hopefully temporarily.

At least there is model aviation. It is relatively inexpensive and relatively safe in the event of a crash.

Bob

SuperDave Thu Oct 04, 2012 10:25 am

Bob:

For most of us model aviation is just a sublimation of a greater fascination for the real thing. My first airplane ride was in a Ryan ST many years ago. Looking back in retrospect I found myself drawn to aviation, albiet model, from that day forward.

Further, born in 1937 and living through the years of WWII, I thrived on the adventures of some of the great pilots like "Pappy Boyington and his "Black Sheep" in their F4U Coursairs.

Now in my dotage, aviation still holds strong for me. At every opportunity I visit The Museum of Flight at Boeing Field in Seattle often with my grandsons. The MOF ought to be on every aviation enthusiast's agenda when in the Pacific Northwest.

PV Pilot Thu Oct 04, 2012 10:43 am

SuperDave wrote:

Further, born in 1937 and living through the years of WWII, I thrived on the adventures of some of the great pilots like "Pappy Boyington and his "Black Sheep" in their F4U Coursairs.

Met the man, many years ago at the Abbotsford air show. He signed one of his books for my Dad. "from Pappy to Roger, from one black sheep to another". I still have the book.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQCYG0C89uk

Dad earned his Private Pilot ticket after he left the service(1o1st Airborn, Special Forces), and he always had a private plane for as far back as I could remember. Sadly, the years caught up and the flight physical became tougher and tougher to pass. He sold his last Cessna 185 to a couple Navy pilots from Puget Sound/ Bremerton Bangor Kitsap, and hung up his goggles about 10 years ago. I put many hrs behind the stick with him. He would take off, then hand me the controls to fly the rest of the flight. I would take it all the way to final approach with the aircraft set up for landing and on the glide path, then he of course would take over. Stuff I wont forget any time soon I hope.

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