A Pefectly Splendid Flight

Friends of ours are going through tough times. With two little kids, and a
third on the way, my friend recently lost his job, and is having a difficult
time finding equivalent work.

He loves to fly, and his wife's father was an active pilot, so we thought
we'd cheer both of them up with a brunch flight to Janesville (KJVL),WI
today. Our kids are finally old enough to stay home alone, and our friends
managed to find a sitter for their little ones, so the plans were made...

Conditions weren't pretty today -- 2000 to 2500 overcast, with light
winds -- but comfortably doable in the flat Midwest. (And it can be a LOT
worse here in November!) So, after surviving our last crazy home football
weekend at the inn (Iowa 52 - Minnesota 28 -- Go Hawks!), we loaded up and
arced into a leaden sky.

Mary took the outbound leg, and wanted me in the right seat. This left our
friends in the back to snuggle and enjoy the ride, and -- although
visibility was advertised as 10 miles -- there really wasn't much to see.
All the fall colors are gone now, and the harvest is complete, so this is
the absolute ugliest time of year to fly in the Midwest. No snow yet,
leaving nothing but mud and barren trees for hundreds of miles...

Nevertheless, they didn't seem to notice, and were just delighted to get
airborne. Thankfully the air was fairly smooth under a stratiform cloud
deck (pregnant women + flying gives me the "barf-bag-willies"), and our
conversation flowed easily.

Our arrival at JVL was uneventful, and there was a VERY cool Lakes Amphibian
starting up as we taxied in -- the first one I've ever seen outside of
Florida or Oshkosh. (We always seem to see one or two unique aircraft at
Janesville!) Brunch at the CAVU Cafe was good, as always, and the
conversation continued to flow nicely, with everyone very laid back and
comfortable...

On the flight back I let my friend fly. He's a lapsed glider pilot, and
will someday be a very active GA pilot when his financial ship rights
itself. With the girls happily yacking away in the back seat (and the
intercom set to "Crew Isolate", at their request), we had fun circling
barges on the Mississippi, and over other points of interest. He's a good
stick, and his steady hand flew us all the way into the pattern at Iowa
City, where I was lucky enough to grease a squeaker. (Can't have any
clunkers with a preggo passenger! :-)

All in all, a most splendid way to spend a fall afternoon. Flying is always
fun, but as I get older it's most gratifying when we are allowed to share it
with friends who feel comfortable enough with our skills and equipment to
fly with us to brunch in another state...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Geez, why don't chell-speckers work in the Subject line, anyway???

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Too bad your spell checker doesn't know it's a "Lake Amphibian". Not
be confused with a Great Lakes Biplane, of course!

Really? I didn't know that.

It's sad. When I first started on Usenet, I turned my spell checker OFF,
cuz I thought it was "cheating" to have a computer do that for you.

Now, my near vision has deteriorated to the point where I can't see the
difference between "perfectly" and "pefectly" without concentration -- so
the spell checker saves my butt, routinely...

It's hell to get old!

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

It has something to do with the kwality of the software - or the user. :-)

--
Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:8Jagf.588806$xm3.399332@attbi_s21...
Geez, why don't chell-speckers work in the Subject line, anyway???

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Hi, Jay,

My cousin Barb and her husband Bob Zeigler, live in Nauvoo, Illinois. They
have a Lake Amphibian--and a summer home in Ephraim, Wisconsin. Could well
have been their plane you saw in Janesville--you don't really see them very
often.

Small world, all right.

I'm lurking on this group because of an emerging interest in flying. It's
been there for a long time, but life is what happens while you're making
other plans, all right. So now--at age 72--I'm getting more serious about
it. (I LOVED that post about "It pays to be a pilot.")

Anticipation is a lot of fun in its own right. I've spent hours looking
over websites devoted to the Ercoupe--which seems like an inexpensive and
truly delightful way to get into the air. And snooping at plane ads.
Printed out an ad last night for a lovely 1977 Cessna 172--with only 752
hours total time. Fun dreaming.

Anyhow, your splendid flight was delightful. A thoughtful way to add some
pleasure to your friends' lives. And the joy of flight came through with
clarity.

Thanks, and blue skies to you.

Dick Behan
Lopez Island, Washington


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:6Iagf.347584$084.246083@attbi_s22...
Friends of ours are going through tough times. With two little kids, and
a third on the way, my friend recently lost his job, and is having a
difficult time finding equivalent work.

He loves to fly, and his wife's father was an active pilot, so we thought
we'd cheer both of them up with a brunch flight to Janesville (KJVL),WI
today. Our kids are finally old enough to stay home alone, and our
friends managed to find a sitter for their little ones, so the plans were
made...

Conditions weren't pretty today -- 2000 to 2500 overcast, with light
winds -- but comfortably doable in the flat Midwest. (And it can be a LOT
worse here in November!) So, after surviving our last crazy home football
weekend at the inn (Iowa 52 - Minnesota 28 -- Go Hawks!), we loaded up and
arced into a leaden sky.

Mary took the outbound leg, and wanted me in the right seat. This left
our friends in the back to snuggle and enjoy the ride, and -- although
visibility was advertised as 10 miles -- there really wasn't much to see.
All the fall colors are gone now, and the harvest is complete, so this is
the absolute ugliest time of year to fly in the Midwest. No snow yet,
leaving nothing but mud and barren trees for hundreds of miles...

Nevertheless, they didn't seem to notice, and were just delighted to get
airborne. Thankfully the air was fairly smooth under a stratiform cloud
deck (pregnant women + flying gives me the "barf-bag-willies"), and our
conversation flowed easily.

Our arrival at JVL was uneventful, and there was a VERY cool Lakes
Amphibian starting up as we taxied in -- the first one I've ever seen
outside of Florida or Oshkosh. (We always seem to see one or two unique
aircraft at Janesville!) Brunch at the CAVU Cafe was good, as always, and
the conversation continued to flow nicely, with everyone very laid back
and comfortable...

On the flight back I let my friend fly. He's a lapsed glider pilot, and
will someday be a very active GA pilot when his financial ship rights
itself. With the girls happily yacking away in the back seat (and the
intercom set to "Crew Isolate", at their request), we had fun circling
barges on the Mississippi, and over other points of interest. He's a good
stick, and his steady hand flew us all the way into the pattern at Iowa
City, where I was lucky enough to grease a squeaker. (Can't have any
clunkers with a preggo passenger! :-)

All in all, a most splendid way to spend a fall afternoon. Flying is
always fun, but as I get older it's most gratifying when we are allowed to
share it with friends who feel comfortable enough with our skills and
equipment to fly with us to brunch in another state...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

My cousin Barb and her husband Bob Zeigler, live in Nauvoo, Illinois. They
have a Lake Amphibian--and a summer home in Ephraim, Wisconsin. Could well
have been their plane you saw in Janesville

Well, shoot, I should've noted their "N" number. They are a pretty
rare bird, though, so I'll bet your cousin was "out to lunch" Sunday...
:-)

I'm lurking on this group because of an emerging interest in flying. It's
been there for a long time, but life is what happens while you're making
other plans, all right. So now--at age 72--I'm getting more serious about
it. (I LOVED that post about "It pays to be a pilot.")

That's fabulous! Don't wait another minute. I spent the first 35
years of my life on the ground, looking up -- and I regret every minute
of it. I've done my best to make up for lost time in the intervening
years, but there's really no way to get that time back.

Get out there and DO IT.

Anticipation is a lot of fun in its own right. I've spent hours looking
over websites devoted to the Ercoupe--which seems like an inexpensive and
truly delightful way to get into the air. And snooping at plane ads.
Printed out an ad last night for a lovely 1977 Cessna 172--with only 752
hours total time. Fun dreaming.

Absolutely. I remember the excitement of buying our first plane, back
in '98. Man, I couldn't sleep nights, and my eyes were sore from
staring at ads. As with so many things in life, the "wanting" is
darned near as much fun as the "having."

Anyhow, your splendid flight was delightful. A thoughtful way to add some
pleasure to your friends' lives. And the joy of flight came through with
clarity.

Thanks. I enjoy reading flying stories here, but (like letter writing)
you gotta post 'em to get 'em. Lately, it seems the stories have been
too few and far between. I know there are a LOT of people on this
group, so, c'mon, folks, let's post some good flying tales!

Thanks, and blue skies to you.

And to you as well...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:
Thanks. I enjoy reading flying stories here, but (like letter writing)
you gotta post 'em to get 'em. Lately, it seems the stories have been
too few and far between. I know there are a LOT of people on this
group, so, c'mon, folks, let's post some good flying tales!


Jay,
I meant to write a long post on our exciting and fabulous trip from
New York to Colorado late last summer but got buried with work after
the trip and never found the time to do it. Rick did manage to sort
through hundreds of digital images and uploaded a 'condensed' version
of the trip here

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&x=0&y=-jf8eht

Enjoy the picture story.

Hai Longworth

Good photos Hai,

Thanks for the virtual cross country. I really enjoyed it.

Tom
PPASEL

Jim,
Just select broadband or dialup then click on the picture to get the
slideshow. Then click play or advance one image at a time at your own
pace. There is no need to sign up with Kodak gallery or enter any
password.

Hai Longworth

"Longworth" wrote

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&x=0&y=-jf8eht

Enjoy the picture story.

How do you get around the password?
--
Jim in NC