So Long, One-Niner Foxtrot..

I got an email yesterday from one of my flying friends.. the Bay Area
Aero Club's Cessna 172 was destroyed as a result of Hurricane Ike at its
home base of Pearland Regional Airport, formerly named Clover Field.
When I returned to flying in 2000, I joined the Aero Club.. it was then
based at Houston Gulf Airport in League City, now the site of Tuscan
Lakes..

One Niner Fox (short for its full call sign/tail number N1219F) was the
workhorse plane in the club rental fleet. It was easy to fly, and for
most was the step up aircraft for newly minted pilots. Its interior was
worn, original 1980's interior, but it was on its 4th engine then..
Every 2200 engine hours (the equivalent of 100,000 car miles or so), the
old engine would come out and either be overhauled to new limits or
replaced outright.. It flew solid, and was forgiving for new pilots..

One Niner Fox was the plane I first flew my then wife as a newly minted
private pilot to Carls Barbecue in Cy Fair (behind the restaurant is
Weiser Airpark).. I'd been there once before as a student.. but I was
high and fast, and had to abort the landing and come back around.. My
wife wasn't new to flying - her brother was my first instructor, but I
think she sensed I was uncomfortable and she put her hand on my
shoulder.. She never admitted if she was the least bit scared..

One Niner Fox carried me and my Mother to Laredo on my first long-long
cross country and my first time to fly my mother. We went over Bay City,
The nuclear plant (wasn't a big deal then), Corpus, Alice and then
finally into the old Air Force base that serves as Laredo's airport.
This was the place my mom met my then to be dad.. It looked nothing like
that now - lots of empty lots where the base buildings stood. My
grandfather was still alive then, and we flew there to walk across and
buy his meds for cheaper than here. Even with the cost of flying, we
saved money when buying a 3 month supply. Customs always had a wink and
nod attitude back then, as long as you weren't blatant.

One Niner Fox took me on countless flights in and around the Houston
area. It took my good friend Craig on the first of several flights with
me. He used the pictures he took for planning purposes for the county
disaster drill (he was a fire chief there in Liberty County). It was the
platform I used for giving friends tours, showing them their homes from
the air, and for fetching the ubiquitous "hundred dollar hamburger"
(plane fuel was cheaper then... its now a $200 hamburger).

Ted, the owner, put very little money into the plane other than what was
needed for airworthiness. It was safe, but she wasn't a looker, and sure
wasn't sexy. The engine ran well. The radios and nav equipment were once
state of the art, and still were pretty substantial. It was dependable.
It had never been hangared since I first saw the plane. At Clover.. er
Pearland Regional, many upgrades have happened, but a few of the hangers
were decades old, and half rotten. They served as little more than rain
shelters. Why Ted put that plane in that rickety rat trap.. why he
didn't tie it down somewhere.. or fly it out.. I will never know. I left
the club years ago as my interests and finances changed..

The hangar is scattered across the taxiway.. its COMPLETELY gone to the
slab. One Niner Fox's tail is twisted.. her wings torsed and flexed, the
nose gear twisted off. It looks like it was lifted up and dropped from
above. It only takes 45-50 mph of wind over the wing to make it climb.
110 mph will make it climb like a homesick angel. But she will never fly
again. Given that water got inside of her.. very little is salvageable.
Maybe the tires and ashtrays.. Little more.

Its a sad end to a plane that never got dressed up pretty... never was
the darling of the fleet.

Goodbye little workhorse.. thank you for the memories..

test

"Dave S" wrote in message
...
I got an email yesterday from one of my flying friends.. the Bay Area Aero
Club's Cessna 172 was destroyed as a result of Hurricane Ike at its home
base of Pearland Regional Airport, formerly named Clover Field. When I
returned to flying in 2000, I joined the Aero Club.. it was then based at
Houston Gulf Airport in League City, now the site of Tuscan Lakes..

One Niner Fox (short for its full call sign/tail number N1219F) was the
workhorse plane in the club rental fleet. It was easy to fly, and for most
was the step up aircraft for newly minted pilots. Its interior was worn,
original 1980's interior, but it was on its 4th engine then.. Every 2200
engine hours (the equivalent of 100,000 car miles or so), the old engine
would come out and either be overhauled to new limits or replaced
outright.. It flew solid, and was forgiving for new pilots..

One Niner Fox was the plane I first flew my then wife as a newly minted
private pilot to Carls Barbecue in Cy Fair (behind the restaurant is
Weiser Airpark).. I'd been there once before as a student.. but I was high
and fast, and had to abort the landing and come back around.. My wife
wasn't new to flying - her brother was my first instructor, but I think
she sensed I was uncomfortable and she put her hand on my shoulder.. She
never admitted if she was the least bit scared..

One Niner Fox carried me and my Mother to Laredo on my first long-long
cross country and my first time to fly my mother. We went over Bay City,
The nuclear plant (wasn't a big deal then), Corpus, Alice and then finally
into the old Air Force base that serves as Laredo's airport. This was the
place my mom met my then to be dad.. It looked nothing like that now -
lots of empty lots where the base buildings stood. My grandfather was
still alive then, and we flew there to walk across and buy his meds for
cheaper than here. Even with the cost of flying, we saved money when
buying a 3 month supply. Customs always had a wink and nod attitude back
then, as long as you weren't blatant.

One Niner Fox took me on countless flights in and around the Houston area.
It took my good friend Craig on the first of several flights with me. He
used the pictures he took for planning purposes for the county disaster
drill (he was a fire chief there in Liberty County). It was the platform I
used for giving friends tours, showing them their homes from the air, and
for fetching the ubiquitous "hundred dollar hamburger" (plane fuel was
cheaper then... its now a $200 hamburger).

Ted, the owner, put very little money into the plane other than what was
needed for airworthiness. It was safe, but she wasn't a looker, and sure
wasn't sexy. The engine ran well. The radios and nav equipment were once
state of the art, and still were pretty substantial. It was dependable. It
had never been hangared since I first saw the plane. At Clover.. er
Pearland Regional, many upgrades have happened, but a few of the hangers
were decades old, and half rotten. They served as little more than rain
shelters. Why Ted put that plane in that rickety rat trap.. why he didn't
tie it down somewhere.. or fly it out.. I will never know. I left the club
years ago as my interests and finances changed..

The hangar is scattered across the taxiway.. its COMPLETELY gone to the
slab. One Niner Fox's tail is twisted.. her wings torsed and flexed, the
nose gear twisted off. It looks like it was lifted up and dropped from
above. It only takes 45-50 mph of wind over the wing to make it climb. 110
mph will make it climb like a homesick angel. But she will never fly
again. Given that water got inside of her.. very little is salvageable.
Maybe the tires and ashtrays.. Little more.

Its a sad end to a plane that never got dressed up pretty... never was the
darling of the fleet.

Goodbye little workhorse.. thank you for the memories..