RV8Squaz
Well Known Member
The mission: Give a a friend of mine a ride in my RV-8.
My friend and I were classmates in USAF pilot training 21 years ago. We both work for a major airline in Atlanta. He lives about 10 minutes from my house and his daughter babysits my 4 yr old son. Small world. Anyway, we set a day and time for the ride, today at 0900. So yesterday afternoon I say to my son, "We need to go the hangar after supper to clean the airplane." After supper I am hardly feeling motivated to go out to hangar and clean the airplane, but I do have to make it presentable even it isn't painted yet. At 1930 yesterday, still "thinking" about going out to the airport, my son says, "Daddy, let's go flying. I wanna see the city lights!" Darn, the airplane cleaning will have to wait; I must fulfill my son's request! That's just the sort of arm twisting I needed. So we take off into the night, fly around Atlanta in clockwise fashion at an un-hurried pace. My son is excited at all the sights including the downton buildings, the traffic on the highways, the jets flying overhead in the class B airspace, and of course Turner field home of the Atlanta Braves which were playing last night but we couldn't get any closer than 3 mi./3000' AGL.
The field I keep my airplane is an unlit grass strip, so prior to takeoff I knew we wouldn't be able to land there. We did however take a cursory look. Yup, it was dark despite some moon illumination. We landed at nearby Falcon Field, put the airplane to bed, and called Momma for a ride back home. Both fields are relatively close to my home.
I wake up this morning with the anticipation of giving my friend a ride in my airplane.... 500' overcast skies forecasted to stick around 'til noon. We postpone the ride 'til the afternoon, but I decide to head out to the airport at about 1000 just to see if anyone is around. Not much activity around but I decide it is a perfect opportunity to practice some approaches in "the soup." It was really perfect IFR conditions, no wind, rain, ice, or convective activity with tops at about 2 or 3000'. So I spend the next hour and a half getting in tune with my Garmin 430 knocking out localizer, NDB/GPS, stand-alone GPS, and ILS approaches, full procedures, vectors and even some holding to boot!
The weather lifted, got some gas, and flew back to the home field. NOW I was properly motivated to clean the airplane. Ater cleaning the airplane and having a little lunch with the Mrs. and son, it's getting time to give my friend the ride. Unfortunaley, the Atlanta skies darken and we postpone the ride to a future date.
A little while later, a friend calls and invites me to come and do some formation flying this evening, maybe a 3 or 4-ship evening hop. I ask what time.... Drat! It conflicts with our semi-annual Home Owners Association meeting. I'm not one for stuffy and sometimes violent HOA meetings, but here we have a pretty good group doing some good work and I was genuinely interested in going. So with much regret I decline the formation invitation.
At 1930 I'm sitting by the pool with all my neighbors at the HOA meeting. Their discussion is interesting but certainly not as much fun as flying in formation with your buddies. Then all of a sudden I hear the distinctive sound that only a formation of RVs can make. It was my friends flying overhead! I saw many of my neighbors looking up with curiosity. I of course looked up with that RV gleam in my eyes!
So depite some lousy weather in the morning and postponing giving my friend a ride, it has been a wonderful 24 hours -RV style!
Jerry
RV-8 N84JE
My friend and I were classmates in USAF pilot training 21 years ago. We both work for a major airline in Atlanta. He lives about 10 minutes from my house and his daughter babysits my 4 yr old son. Small world. Anyway, we set a day and time for the ride, today at 0900. So yesterday afternoon I say to my son, "We need to go the hangar after supper to clean the airplane." After supper I am hardly feeling motivated to go out to hangar and clean the airplane, but I do have to make it presentable even it isn't painted yet. At 1930 yesterday, still "thinking" about going out to the airport, my son says, "Daddy, let's go flying. I wanna see the city lights!" Darn, the airplane cleaning will have to wait; I must fulfill my son's request! That's just the sort of arm twisting I needed. So we take off into the night, fly around Atlanta in clockwise fashion at an un-hurried pace. My son is excited at all the sights including the downton buildings, the traffic on the highways, the jets flying overhead in the class B airspace, and of course Turner field home of the Atlanta Braves which were playing last night but we couldn't get any closer than 3 mi./3000' AGL.
The field I keep my airplane is an unlit grass strip, so prior to takeoff I knew we wouldn't be able to land there. We did however take a cursory look. Yup, it was dark despite some moon illumination. We landed at nearby Falcon Field, put the airplane to bed, and called Momma for a ride back home. Both fields are relatively close to my home.
I wake up this morning with the anticipation of giving my friend a ride in my airplane.... 500' overcast skies forecasted to stick around 'til noon. We postpone the ride 'til the afternoon, but I decide to head out to the airport at about 1000 just to see if anyone is around. Not much activity around but I decide it is a perfect opportunity to practice some approaches in "the soup." It was really perfect IFR conditions, no wind, rain, ice, or convective activity with tops at about 2 or 3000'. So I spend the next hour and a half getting in tune with my Garmin 430 knocking out localizer, NDB/GPS, stand-alone GPS, and ILS approaches, full procedures, vectors and even some holding to boot!
The weather lifted, got some gas, and flew back to the home field. NOW I was properly motivated to clean the airplane. Ater cleaning the airplane and having a little lunch with the Mrs. and son, it's getting time to give my friend the ride. Unfortunaley, the Atlanta skies darken and we postpone the ride to a future date.
A little while later, a friend calls and invites me to come and do some formation flying this evening, maybe a 3 or 4-ship evening hop. I ask what time.... Drat! It conflicts with our semi-annual Home Owners Association meeting. I'm not one for stuffy and sometimes violent HOA meetings, but here we have a pretty good group doing some good work and I was genuinely interested in going. So with much regret I decline the formation invitation.
At 1930 I'm sitting by the pool with all my neighbors at the HOA meeting. Their discussion is interesting but certainly not as much fun as flying in formation with your buddies. Then all of a sudden I hear the distinctive sound that only a formation of RVs can make. It was my friends flying overhead! I saw many of my neighbors looking up with curiosity. I of course looked up with that RV gleam in my eyes!
So depite some lousy weather in the morning and postponing giving my friend a ride, it has been a wonderful 24 hours -RV style!
Jerry
RV-8 N84JE
