There Are Many Reasons Why Oshkosh is a Week-Long Event

By the good graces of the Aviation Gods – and some luck getting through O'Hare as thunderstorms were pushing inbounds to almost two hour delays – I made it home from EAA's Annual flying machine orgy, Bratfest and Social extravaganza.

I had enjoyed two packed days at the show, and was able to get plenty of exercise chasing down the many wonders found in Airplane Wonderland. But as I was slipping the surly bonds at FL380 inside UAL 949 ORD-PDX last night, it gave me time to reflect not on what I saw at Oshkosh, but what I missed. This post is a primer for anyone who is going to try and squeeze this incredible event into 48 hours...and my advice to them in three concise words is this:

Don't. Try. It.

Sure, if two days is all you can get off, then by all means, go to Oshkosh...it WILL be worth your time. But if you really want to experience this event in a way to allows you to see everything, schedule at least four days.

My "Oshkosh 2010" trip had gaping holes big enough to fly a Dreamliner through. My days and nights were packed solid, so it wasn't like I was stalled out on a bench being lazy. From the minute my brand new, [highly recommended] Dr. Scholl's walking shoes had me gellin' coming in the main gate to the second those same shoes stepped on to the city bus headed back to the dorms at night, I was running from one thing to the next.

Let's me look back now at some of the stuff I missed because two days was nowhere near enough time at KOSH:

Airplane window shopping: Each maker had larger displays showing their latest and greatest birds. I walked, no RAN, past the Cessna, Cirrus, Piper, Pilatus and Kestral booths many times en route to somewhere, but never had time to stop, remove all the gear I was packing and sit inside these ships to inhale that "new airplane smell." Maybe that's for the better because today, that smell comes with ridiculously high price tags.

The vintage airplane parking areas: Sure, I walked past the occasional Stinson or Howard, and yes, you couldn't get through Aeroshell Square without drooling on some of this planet's finest DC-3s. But there are literally acres of beautiful restorations of the older ships at Airventure, and I never got to walk those acres and enjoy their graceful lines or marvel at their legacies. To give those old machines the respect they deserve, one half day is required, minimum.

The avionics booths: I did rip through all four huge exhibition hangars, but never had the time to really stop and shop at Garmin or spend quality time in the Bendix/King store. I have a passing curiosity about the hot new "boxes" but in my reality-based world, I just dropped ten large on a new Trane HVAC system at the DanoDome, so looking at the GPS of my dreams would have been a bit like torture. I guess my subconscious mind instructed my legs to continually move me safely away from the toy department at all times.

Warbirds, including the Zero: I rode to Rock Falls and on into Oshkosh with a very sociable woman named Cindy who was one-third owner in the Japanese Zero on display in the warbird area. She insisted I come over to see it, but try as I did, it never happened. Twice, I was on the red tram headed that direction, only to look at my schedule and realize a forum I really had to attend was minutes away from launch. So I got off at the Pavilions both times and never got to stroll the warbirds. That, it clearly states in the Oshkosh rule book, is nearly a crime.

A million connections missed: I was able to see Lynda Meeks of Girls With Wings long enough to have her autograph her latest Penelope Pilot children's book for my granddaughter. And I caught Max Trescott's forum on night flying, followed by a quick moving chat out to his car as he prepped for the next thing on his busy schedule. But I would have loved to say hello to Tom Haines of AOPA Pilot Magazine, just one of many important people in my aviation journalism industry who I consider worthy of some Wisconsin late summer face time.

I could go on forever with this post, there was that much I missed in my short Oshkosh visit. So please, if you want to do it right, starting planning Airventure 2011 now, and do the whole week. Grab a tent or motor home, a bucket of sunscreen, a pair of quality walking shoes and LOTS of mosquito repellent, and you'll get the full experience this show can deliver.

Dan Pimentel - Writer, Photographer, Graphic DesignerCareer Overview

• Publisher, Editor, Writer and Layout Artist for Airplanista Magazine, an online aviation publication serving general and business aviation.

• Nationally-published feature article writer for 36 years with an emphasis on aviation issues, including numerous articles in AOPA Pilot Magazine, InFlight USA, Atlantic Flyer, National Speed Sport News, others.

• Frequent Speaker on aviation topics at EAA Airventure Oshkosh as well as regional and local aviation clubs and organizations.

• Active member of the Twitter social community, with frequent daily postings of aviation topics, currently with over 1,350 followers including corporate CEOs, major aviation magazine editors and management of AOPA, EAA and NBAA and NATCA.

• Judge of the San Francisco Region ADDY® Awards held in Oakland, California.

• Exclusive on-board media and commercial photographer for Duggy the DC-3 “The Smile in the Sky” the country’s most popular youth education aircraft team as they participated in the 2010 EAA Airventure Air Show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

• Published Av8rdan's World of Flying 2005-2010, This fast-growing aviation blog was frequently featured on Google News/Finance Pages as well as McGraw-Hill’s Aviation Week. USA Today requested permission to quote.

• Authorized Screenwriter for “Three-Eight Charlie”, a feature film script depicting the true life story of Jerrie Mock, the first woman to fly solo around the world.

• Conducted a private photo and video shoot, at the invitation of the Smithsonian Institution’s General Aviation Curator, of Jerrie Mock’s “Spirit of Columbus”, the Cessna 180 she flew solo around the world. This rare closed photography session of this historic plane produced the most extensive series of research images outside of the Smithsonian Collection.

• Founder and Director of Development of the Welcome Sky Aviation Scholarship Program, a California 501(c)(3) that generated funds through private contributions and corporate donations to pay for flight training for the next generation of pilots.

• Professional journalist/news photographer since 1979, with news articles, features, news and sports photos published in numerous national and regional trade and aviation publications and daily and weekly newspapers.

• Since 1999, President, Art Director and co-founder of Celeste/Daniels Advertising and Design, Inc., a full-service creative agency with a specialty in aviation. Also in-house photographer, with specialties in theatrical, aviation and advertising images. Company photographer for Fresno Grand Opera (FGO) since 2003, and of three company photographers for Eugene Ballet Company.

• Official concert photographer of FGO’s Andrea Bocelli, Placido Domingo and Josh Groban concerts, including private session artist photography.

• Active advanced member of Toastmasters International, a worldwide organization that encourages members to become exceptional presenters, lecturers and public speakers.

• Current, licensed instrument-rated private pilot (ASEL with high performance endorsement)

"Sloshgosh" Was Like No Other Airventure I have Attended

As I sit here Tuesday night in a rented room about 5NM north of KOSH, I am thinking about the people who somehow managed to convince both Mother Nature and EAA officials to let them pitch a tent on the airshow grounds. Why? Because a serious-looking, well-defined squall line called "severe" by Accuweather was moving towards their tent stakes at 35 mph with embedded hail and strong winds.

Yes, "Oshkosh" has experienced windy, rainy, thunderstorms before, but with the soggy ground just barely dry enough to park a Stinson, it could be very easy for a blast of Wisconsin weather to rip those tents from their anchors. And I don't even want to think what could happen if the many airplane tiedown stakes pounded into that sopping soil were to come up.

In my two days at the show, it seemed like the weirdest Airventure vibe I have seen yet. This is my fifth trip here, and all before have been pretty standard stuff. But this year, there is nothing standard or normal:

As you might have read, I arrived at the show late Sunday afternoon in probably the coolest way I could imagine, inside the happiest plane in the sky. I was met by Rod Rakics and Mike Miley, the avgeeks behind the very cool MyTransponder.com online pilot community site. As we drove off the grounds past the North 40 – on the eve of opening day – it should have been covered in GA planes and tents. But it was deserted. The lack of flying campers was a testament to the wet ground conditions, and EAA was not letting planes in. While I do not know where all these people were instead of at Oshkosh, it is a pretty safe bet that they were pissed.

Rakics and Miley were staying in Miley's very elegant Fleetwood triple-pop out motor home, which usually becomes the MyTransponder mobile command center during the show. On a normal year, you find the motorhome in Camp Scholler at the epicenter of the Airventure aviation social media community. So why were we driving OFF the grounds? Good question:

While the airplane parking lots were soggy, the motorhome camping areas were a flooded mess. Large areas remained so soggy from the torrential rains that Winnebago County has experienced, it would be "up to the axles" stoopid to try and drive a heavy rig around. So EAA thought on their feet and procured a large number of vacant paved lots around town, and sent the campers off to wait for drier conditions at the show site. So instead of parking steps from Jerry's One Man Band or the 1909 Bleriot, the @MyTransponder rig was parked two miles away...in an old Sears parking lot.

I am sure that as is the case with any Airventure, the 1,000s of EAA volunteers had their hands full coming up with workable solutions for the parking dilemmas. Rumors were everywhere that the usual "reliever airports" for the show, Fond du Lac and Appleton, were at overflow capacity. I heard stories of FBOs with people sleeping in cots, or of large owners groups pinned down en route to Airventure because they were not allowed to land. But as Monday became Tuesday, it did appear that the GA parking areas were filling up.

So with the parking issue changing minute-by-minute for the better, the show was starting to resemble a typical Oshkosh year. But unlike those before, this show felt far more connected:

With the help of a fast-growing community of aviation social media users, there was endless chatter on Twitter all day and night about where the next Tweetup, meet-up or even "meat up" was to take place. One such shindig was the @AirPigz First Annual Bacon Festival, where a bunch of us aviation Tweeps took a few minutes out of our constant tweeting to encircle a Coleman stove at 43rd and Lindbergh to watch bacon fry. It is just an Oshkosh kind of thing, a bacon fest. On any other day in any other place, I do not believe any single event could draw a reported 18 people from their busy Airventure schedules...to chat and consume bacon. Not bacon, salad, corn bread, beans and cheesecake, no, just bacon. In fairness, though, the second course was a different brand of fried, sliced slab o' hog. At a college football game's tailgate party, people drink beer and eat Tri-tip. At Oshkosh, you chug a tasty and very orange non-alcoholic beverage and eat only bacon, and somehow it feels so right.

But while we were sitting far from show center a little after 6P, the normally enthralling sounds of all sorts of flying machines circling overhead went silent. It was as if someone had turned off the soundtrack to Oshkosh. It wasn't long before someone read on Twitter what had happened:

About 6:20P, we learned that Jack Roush – who owns a very prominent NASCAR racing team – had stalled his Premier business jet, landed hard and slid into one of the GA parking lots. The expensive jet broke in half, with the wreckage ending up maybe 100 yards west of the centerline of runways 18/36, about halfway between the runway and the main frontage road that runs the length of the grounds. Roush and a female passenger were both hospitalized, and this incident could have been far worse, judging by the impact, the distance the crashed jet bounced, and the way it landed right where many 1,000s of people were sitting only minutes before during the air show. Had the Roush crash happened earlier, this could have been the most disastrous fatal accident in EAA Airventure Oshkosh history.

Just when the airport was beginning to get back to normal, EAA was ordered by the Feds to shut the movement areas down until further notice. While I was walking by the scene trying to find my ride back to my accommodations, I heard one EAA security team member's radio say that "NTSB was on their way", and that until they concluded their investigation, no flights came in or went out of Airventure. But by the following morning, the wreckage had been move to a maintenance hangar at KOSH and the airspace was re-opened.

We will not hear what caused the crash for some time, but the smart money was on rumor #1, that Roush was attempting to land on 18, made a sharp hard left from base and overshot the runway, tried to correct, and overcompensated in a slow flight condition very low to the ground. On ATC recordings on Avweb, you can hear Roush cast doubt about a Lake amphib that was flying near the approach end of 18. After I listened to the audio, it is easy to speculate that Roush might have tightened his left base-to-final turn to make room for traffic he thought might conflict with his approach.

We at the World of Flying HQ want to personally thank everyone that helps put this show on each year because it is as monster effort....your hard work is appreciated.

Yes indeed, this is sure to be the craziest Oshkosh in anyone's memory, with a mammoth storm on Tuesday night ready to slap those tent campers silly. You can always expect some level of crazy stuff at this show, and this year, the biggest aviation event in the world has not let us down.

Duggy to Oshkosh 2010 via Fargo and Rock Falls

View the PHOTO GALLERY here

(OSHKOSH - 07.25 530P CDT) The happiest airplane in the sky has arrived at Airventure.

After about an hour cruising at 3,500 MSL over endless farmland, it was very cool to see "Warbird Island" at our twelve. That is the reporting point for the "Warbird Arrival" and in case anyone has forgotten this piece of Duggy lore, he began life as a C-47, so he certainly qualifies as a veteran warbird.

The day began in Rock Falls, where I counted 26 ships on display, plus one big yellow guy who was making the kids smile by the dozen:

If you've read your Duggy history book, you'd know that at one time he was sitting in a cold Canadian auction yard waiting for an unknown fate. At that point in his "life" he could have ended up as a neglected freight hauler in some third world country, or worse, left to rot somewhere. But we all know he ended up in the hands of the Odegaard family in North Dakota, and the rest is blissful history. Now, after Mitch Carley talked Bob Odegaard into making his NoDak National Guard ship into "The Smile in the Sky," Duggy gets to spend his days making kids smile.

I have spent two incredible days getting to know this beautiful, awesome DC-3, and along with eight of my new best friends, we "crewed" Duggy for two days at The Last Time event in Rock Falls. We ate, drank, laughed, told flying stories, poked a bit of fun at each other and it was the exact friendly atmosphere you expect when you hang around airplane people. But throughout these two days, one thing never got old:

From the moment Duggy's 14-cylinder engines shut down and the airstair opens, a line forms filled with kids dragging their parents into this bright yellow ambassador to flying. One by one, they climb the inclined aisle to peek into Duggy's flight deck, and then exit grinning like you can't believe! But one kid stood out today, eight-year-old Evan Matravers from Minooka, Illinois. Evan had hand-built a model of Duggy, including of course the electric yellow paint scheme. He then had his parents drive him two hours over to Rock Falls so he could get one special autograph. You should have seen this polite boy's face light up as "Captain Bob" Odegaard signed the model's wing. Duggy was this kid's hero, and you could just tell Evan had the proper respect that a gentleman like Duggy deserves. If one kid had his fire lit today for aviation, Duggy and "Captain Bob" was the ones holding the lighter. Without actually confirm this, I'm going to say that signing Evan's model was the high point of Bob Odegaard's visit to Rock Falls.

It is this mission of lighting fires about flying in young children that Duggy really enjoys. I have ridden all over the Midwest in him this weekend, and as we cruised to KOSH today, his engines were smooth and he was happy. This airplane is very much alive, and you can feel its soul as he slips over another 1,000 acres of soybeans. This is no garden variety airplane. While there were many beautiful ships at KSQI this weekend, only one was smiling.

But while he can make kids happy anywhere he parks, he also can be a very good ship for dumping skydivers out of the side of a perfectly good airplane:

This afternoon, a group of skydivers from QuadCity Skydiving Center and I went up in the Yellow One, with Bob and Casey up front trying to find enough altitude under the broken layer to give the people at KSQI a good skydiving show. We reached altitude and in a moment, six of the seven divers vanished out Duggy's open door. The last guy could not jump because he needed 5,000 AGL for his chute to be safe. But after the divers launched, the last guy helped me position myself very near the door, and had two safe hands on my chute just in case. As the divers fell, Bob as PIC circled the airport, dropping Duggy out of the sky in a hurry, like he was a not a big plane with a 26,200 gross takeoff weight. As I exposed digital film in high speed mode, "Captain Bob" cranked the Dugster HARD left and nosed over to perform a high speed low photo pass at show center. Staring straight down at the cornfields, I could not resist and let out a giant "Yee hawwwwww, GO DUGGY, GO!" followed by a "yeah baby, that's what I'm TALKIN' ABOUT!" as the G forces pushed me and my chute rig to Duggy's floor.

So yes, it has been one very good day, part of a very good weekend, and what is turning out to be the most exciting and satisfying trip to Oshkosh I think I could or will ever experience. Now that I am checked in at the Media Center, I am off to make more new best friends with the crew of MyTransponder.com.

This portion of my story has ended, but Duggy's work at Oshkosh has only just begun. Tomorrow when Airventure opens, there will be more lines of kids waiting to meet their favorite plane, more autographs to sign, more fires to light. There will be more loads of skydivers to loft skyward, and through it all, one very, very special DC-3 will be doing the work that makes him the happiest plane flying.

It must make him happy, because man, this guy NEVER stops smiling.

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(ROCK FALLS, IL - 07.25 630A CDT) Up early for day two of The Last Time event at KSQI - Whiteside Airport. That wasn't planned, but a wayward wake up call at 5A for the Dawn Patrol guys down the hall missed its destination and ended up in my room...thanks Super 8! So while I was up early by mistake, somewhere in this hotel, a crew missed their desired rise-and-shine and are still happily nodding out.

For the lucky thousands that were at the airport yesterday, they saw the same awesome sight I did:

Last night, after a free pizza, beer and lemonade feed courtesy of the event organizers, I took some time to stroll the entire ramp. Somewhere near the gorgeous DC-2 in "The Lindbergh Line" livery, it hit me, another of those "is this really happening" aviation moments. I looked around 360 degrees and saw two dozen of these beautiful, majestic flying machines. They were lined up all over the place, and I was awestruck.

It's like this: You see any one of these planes anywhere else, and it will draw a crowd of fans to honor its linage, history and character. But to see 24 of them on one airport at the same time, for the last time, is really a special event that anyone here will never forget.

I wanted to walk the ramp all day yesterday, but about 2P, a crew of another DC-3 and their bus driver accidentally grabbed my rollaboard bag full of clothes and gear from what I thought was a secure media area. It took all afternoon to track the bag down at a Super 8 motel 12 miles away in Dixon, IL. A round of phone calls to the motel, the bus company and a couple of crew members, and I had the bag back but lost three hours of valuable show time.

If you are a DC-3/C-47 fan and can get to KSQI today, you HAVE to do it. They expect more arrivals today, each doing the prerequisite high speed pass, often in flights of 2-3 planes.

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(ROCK FALLS, IL - 07.24 830P CDT) Quick update...the organizers just announced that there are 24 DC-2, DC-3 and C-47 aircraft on the ground at KSQI. Word is arrivals today from the south had WX that delayed some crews. More arrivals tomorrow...stay tuned right here.

(ROCK FALLS, IL - 07.24 1230P CDT) Duggy has landed.

We arrived at KSQI a little after noon, and oh baby what a flight it was. As far as a DC-3 flying around the country, it was pretty much standard operating procedure. But as a huge DC-3 fan and in particular a long-time Duggy fan and supporter, for me, making the four-hour journey down here from Kindred, ND was so cool, so wonderful and so awesome, it has to rank up there as one of the best times of my life.

But even after arriving in Kindred yesterday, I was wondering if this flight was going to happen at all when I arrived at Duggy's home and saw a group of mechanics – led by Bob and Casey Odegaard – tearing into the engine. Yes, the trip south to The Last Time event was momentarily in limbo, until I saw Team Duggy in action:

As the team was prepping Duggy for a flight down here and a week in Oshkosh, someone broke off a spark plug. After the Easy-Out also broke off, they had no choice but to replace the entire cylinder. At about 10 PM – just before the infamous multi-engine, larger than a Dreamliner mosquitoes chased us inside Odegaard's hanger – Casey fired up Duggy's right engine and ran it up, all reports were good. With cowling back on...we were indeed ready to be on our way early Saturday.

This morning, six passengers plus myself, Bob and Casey loaded up Duggy and departed Kindred for KSQI. It was my very first DC-3 departure, and it was not what I expected:

It is truly amazing how smooth today's crew of Duggy was at planning the flight and starting up. If there was a stress meter on the flight deck, it would have been at zero. Casey, as PIC, taxied this really large airplane around hangars and after a run-up that was without drama, they lined up on the centerline and sent both throttles forward. I was shooting some HD video with my Canon 7D out a side window, and had to glance over the top of the camera to see if we in fact had transitioned from rolling on Duggy's huge squishy tires to flying on his gargantuan wings. We had. It might have been the smoothest departure I have ever experienced.

We hopped up to KFAR to pick up more passengers but on departure, another small glitch developed that was handled without drama by the Odegaards:

These people invented the term "go with the flow." We were at the runway 36 hold short line about to depart Fargo when instead of blasting off, I noticed us heading back to the FBO. A warning light on the right oil bypass filter was on up front, and they had to shut down to investigate. After a quick filter cleaning, we were back in the air following an IFR flight plan which took us easily through the 600 broken overcast. I am beginning to think not much gets Team Duggy excited, except well, maybe FLYING Duggy.

We are now happy following Victor 218 comfortably at 11,000, and all aboard took turns riding the jump seat, watching the flight commence. With 29 inches of manifold pressure and 2,000 RPMs, Duggy was delivering 130 KIAS and 177 knots ground speed. One passenger - Jessica from Minnesota - had just earned her IFR ticket yesterday, and put about 45 minutes of DC-3 time in her log book, after flying Duggy with a steady hand. It could have been an Odegaard on the yoke - nobody in back even knew she was the "pilot flying."

As were flew south, something else happened I did not expect. This is a journey full of surprises, and this one was so cool:

Everyone inside Duggy was chatting, having a ball. Casey, in the left seat, was taking care of keeping Duggy pointed at Rock Falls, so Bob pulled out his Fender Mustang electric guitar he bought in 1964. As the axe's original owner, he has played it a few times, and after plugging into a small amplifier, he lit up Duggy's interior with some good old fashioned rock and roll riffs. Here we were flying in the happiest plane in the sky, with some great new flying friends, listening to live rock and roll from the nicest guy in the sky. I was in airplane heaven, this is just unbelievable. Live music on Duggy, who'd have thought? Last time anyone played live music in the air might have been some guy playing a piano on the upper deck of a Paris-bound 747 back in 1980. It was one of those moments in life when you have to stop and ask yourself if this was really happening. It was.

When we got down to Rock Falls, Duggy made a SOP approach in front of a growing crowd:

Casey had us lined up easily on rwy 25, 90 KIAS, and his approach and landing was smooth like imported silk. When Duggy finally sets down, those gigantic tires really let you know they have met concrete, and you can feel a distinct slowing feeling as each tire spins up. As we taxied into position, it was just wonderful to see the estimated 2,000 DC-3 fans crowding the flight line, waving, smiling, each one holding up a camera or phone.

Duggy had arrived, and this air show just got significantly happier. We shut down on a ramp full of beautiful ships in various military and civilian livery, but one really stood out from them all. Before we could get down the airstair, a line had formed seeking autographs and a look inside of "The Smile in the Sky."

A photo gallery of some images from the trip up until now can be found here.

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(FARGO, ND - 07.24 530P CDT) Preparations are continuing for a planned departure for Rock Falls 0n Saturday. The Duggy crew has been working all day on the plane, and our actual departure will be determined by the WX.

I won't go into detail as to the work being done on Duggy, but watching Bob and Casey Odegaard and a handful of others twist wrenches is a sight to behold. These people know large round engines as well as a NASCAR team knows a race engine. Even when the day has thrown them curves, everyone has remained upbeat. The endless chatter about who's going to Oshkosh, what they're flying there and what "beverages" will be consumed when they arrive is keeping things lively on the ramp.

One word best describes the vibe surrounding this crew and this plane tonight...

Calm.

Yeah, these guys go with the flow, I LOVE that! But as another lighting strike smacks a soybean field next to the Kindred Airport, and with dark, angry clouds in any direction this evening, maybe that should be...

Calm. Before the storm.

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(FARGO, ND - 07.23 130P CDT) I've met up with the crew of Duggy, who all have the last name of Odegaard. Their family complex at the airport in Kindred, ND is quite interesting, with parts and pieces of all sorts of exotic flying machines everywhere you look. Is that a R-4360 Wasp Major radial engine over in the corner? And they have enough P-51 wings hanging from jigs in various stages of restoration that if you could bolt them all back together, you could launch a minor assault on a small country.

Parked out on the ramp though, is the reason I am here. He is big, he is yellow, and he is smiling...and so am I.

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(EAST OF BEND, OREGON - 07.23 650A PDT) This journey has officially begun.

As I slide effortlessly over the "dry side" of Eastern Oregon enroute to Fargo via KDEN, I find myself lost in thought wondering what awaits me in Duggyland.

While waiting to board UAL 6151 in Eugene, I saved KFAR as a favorite in my Foreflight mobile app, and my excitement level rose when I noticed there is an airport in Kindred, ND called Odegaard. It's a grass strip probably in Duggy's backyard. How cool is that...your very own airport.

So first and foremost, this stopover in Fargo to hook up with Team Duggy will if nothing else expose me to the Odegaard Aviation stable of rare birds. Those I know of include a number of beautiful Reno race planes, P-51s, a pair of DC-3s (including one bright yellow one) and God knows what else.

There are many things about this trip I do not know...but this I do know: I am very happy to be reporting from this journey as much for your enjoyment as mine, never forgetting of course the underlying foundation being my personal contribution to help keep moving youth aviation education forward.

More later after I get settled in Fargo. Wow, this is gonna be a trip!!

Through Eager Eyes - Chapter 6

Full of Wonder and Innocence, a Young Girl Romances the Sky

A Short Story by Dan Pimentel

(Note: This is the final of six chapters in this story. Click here to read all chapters - dan)

Chapter 6: Wow Wow Wow

I do not claim to be very good at navigation. I have heard terms like "north" and "south," but they mean nothing to me. But up here, floating along on Katy's wonderful wings, I can certainly sense things, and get a feel for where we were going before, and where we are going now.

Before, my adventure was taking me away from the field where we departed, away to a great unknown, seeking to find out where this day was to take me. Even though I can't tell you which direction we are headed, Katy continues to slide through thin air with the greatest of ease, and the feeling prevails that this flight is nearing its end. If that is true, it makes me ponder just why we came up here, up to paradise, only to swiftly turn back towards the airport. Maybe I should tell them my dismay in seeing this journey end, maybe kick my feet hard on the back of DooDah's seat while throwing a fuss with enough determination to get someone's attention. But no, I am content to just go with the flow, to see where this escapade ends.

While pondering this concept of compass direction to see if I can somehow noodle out how to confirm if we are in fact headed back to the field, something miraculous happens that again makes me think this whole adventure was customized specifically for me by the Universe. As I gaze out the window, I spot a large bird, possibly a strong, ambitious Hawk, gliding majestically alongside Katy. He – or she – seems to be dancing on the airflow coming off Katy's wings, riding the waves of air flowing with turbulent force behind the wing.

My new friend, the Hawk, slips right up to the window, tight in formation with us, so tight, I am sure nobody else in the plane can see it. Maybe I can't even see it, maybe again my mind has taken a holiday from reality, and this beautiful creature toying with our flying machine is just another manufactured part of my fantasy.

As it shadows our every move, the bird's muscular wings never move, instead using our Cherokee's slipstream as its power, as if Katy were leading the way for a huge flock of birds, and the sizable bird was our wingman. I study its graceful body, the way the wings flex and move effortlessly. If the bird wants to turn slightly, a tiny adjustment in one wing's geometry is all it takes to make the course correction. It's as if the miniscule twitch of a single feather can alter the bird's route of flight. I marvel in God's engineering as it relates to birds, and must confess, am quite jealous that they are allowed to be able to fly using only their body, while we need a complex machine to achieve the same feat.

Are we the lucky ones, or are the birds, this I ponder. With the freedom to fly naturally with only the mere movement of its wings, the bird can move about without a care. They are able to travel long distances or zoom with reckless abandon through the trees of the forest, using cunning instincts to somehow miss making contact with the smallest of branches. We, on the other hand, possess far smarter intellect than the birds, but the freedoms of flight we share with them have to be earned.

In a moment, the bird twists his mighty head hard left, putting his beak squarely into the wind to immediately launch his body up and to the left in a "break off" maneuver that any Top Gun would respect. With a blink, my Hawk friend is gone, and my attention turns to the drone of Katy's engine, which has changed tones. I notice DooDah's hand is again on the important white knob, and he is fiddling with a number of things up front.

It is clear now that the engine's sound has decreased, and it appears Katy's nose has dipped down below the horizon. Are we going down? We certainly are not going up any longer, this I can validate. And unlike the past few minutes where we strolled through the sky kind of straight and generally level, I sense now we are in fact descending, but for what?

Then it hits me...our flight is about over. How can this be so, we didn't go anywhere. We didn't go find some tiny airport with biplanes and hamburgers and other kids as mystified with flight as I am. No, it's becoming apparent once I indeed spot the airport that we might well be coming back to where we started, without ever reaching a true destination.

DooDah is busy now, talking through that strange spike near his mouth, and turning a bizarre little crank handle that I am just now noticing which inhabits a space just above the two front seats. Whatever could that crank be for? It must be quite important, because as we continue to head downward back towards the airport, DooDah reaches up periodically to rotate it with great care and precision.

Closer, closer still, we fall towards the ground, in a controlled way that feels equally safe and crazy, all at the same time. We seem to be traveling now at a much slower speed, and again I am baffled when DooDah reaches between the front seats and pulls the emergency brake handle...at least that's what Mommy calls that handle in her car! Could it be that's how DooDah stops Katy in the air, with some kind of braking system to deflect the air and slow us down? Man, it is great that as this adventure continues, new things come my way all the time. Yeah, I guess abundance will do that!

I peer down to see that same odd street we were on before, the one with the big white line down the middle and large numbers on the ends. There are many other precisely-drawn markings, none of which make any sense to me now. We are flying perpendicular to it going away from the airport...wait, am I confused, maybe this adventure isn't over after all.

DooDah continues doing the same routine, talking into his spike thingy, twisting the important white knob, pulling up on the emergency brake handle, and turning the little crank handle up above him. He does these things in rapid succession, it is really clear now that something important is happening. But what is a little strange is the fact that as DooDah plays around with all this stuff, Katy continues to fall from the sky, and the ground is coming up to greet us in a way that seems a bit unnerving, I must now admit.

And while I have already determined that my sense of direction is still developing, it's easy to see that we are turning now back towards the airport, back to the funny street with the big numbers. DooDah's turns seem calculated, as if he is trying to turn only so far before flying straight a while before again starting another similar and equally precise left turn. Once that turn is complete, I am amazed to see the funny street's big numbers filling our windshield.

The excitement is building towards what feels like a conclusion to a great piece of living. As Katy comes closer and closer to the ground, we seem to be flying fast and low and it is now that I feel the very first wee bit of anxiety on this entire flight. We are mere feet from the ground, and without warning, Katy's nose pitches upwards and the plane slows as it slips back to Earth riding on a cushion of invisible air. We float for what seems like infinity in a strange sort of transitional otherworld where the flying machine struggles to maintain its ability to fly before eventually giving up when wheels hit runway and it again becomes a rather unstable rolling vehicle.

We have arrived, and I hear DooDah tell me over his shoulder something about a "greaser," however I see no grease anywhere. In time, as with many things about this flight and this adventure, I will learn these things, if not from DooDah, then from anyone who will talk to me about the wonders of flight. If nothing else, today has sparked my curiosity about flying and airplanes in a way that requires me to learn more.

After a rather boring ride in Katy as we return to the exact place where we began, I watch as DooDah pulls out a big red knob, one he handles with as much respect as the important white knob. As he pulls it out, Katy's big engine comes to a stop, the big spinny thing in front stops rotating, and in a moment, all is quiet inside the cabin. As everyone turns to look at me, I speak with great intensity the first word I've spoken on the trip. "How'd you like that," Daddy asks. My reply was with great energy.

"More!" I shout, raising my arms up high over my head as an exclamation point. It was the only word I could imagine having the required amount of clout to describe my feelings for the joy I have experienced this day.

This adventure has officially come to an end, and after I step out on Katy's wing, Mommy lifts me down to the ground, and notices that I'm smiling wide, my face awash in the afterglow of a most incredible day. I have been introduced to something so cool, so wonderful and so surreal, I know I'll fly again with DooDah and Katy, if not tomorrow, then soon. It feels completely reasonable to imagine myself up there in the front seats one day, my hand on that important white knob, commanding my own flying machine as we fly like birds to places unknown.

I have seen the romantic side of the sky through my eager eyes, and it has been delightful. I desire to tell everyone I meet about the fantasy flight I have just enjoyed, but today it is just not possible. Words live in my mind in perfect harmony with my thoughts, but I am unable to verbalize this experience to the world, or shout with glee from any rooftop. The words are just not there to convey my excitement, not yet. But trust me, there will come a time in about six months when I'll be able to say those words clearly and with purpose, and describe this wonderful adventure.

Yes, I'll tell the world my story about flying in six months, when I am two years old.

KFAR - KOSH: What You Can Expect From Me Next Weekend and Why I'm Honored to be Invited on This Journey

I've been writing about Duggy "The Smile in the Sky" for some time now, and still think he is the coolest, most important airplane the general aviation community has today for inviting the next generation of pilots to join us in our beautiful sky.

When it comes to lighting up small faces, nothing makes that happen better than a bright yellow Skytrain with a gigantic smile on its nose. It is my opinion that Duggy is the single best example of a group of pilots who put their money up to create something that will educate children about the romance of flying. As a huge fan of non-profit efforts and the generous people who support them for a cause, I hold the principals behind the Duggy operation as heroes on our quest to keep GA alive well into the future.

Not long after I heard about the Last Time event in Rock Falls, IL being organized ahead of EAA's 2010 Airventure, I wanted to be involved. It all surrounds the 75th anniversary of the DC-3/C-47, and that has always been my favorite airframe. So I made contact with Mitch Carley, the original illustrator who created Duggy from a blank sheet of paper as a young boy (true story). Mitch now handles Duggy's PR, so I pitched him on an idea:

I've always wanted to find a way to raise Duggy's visibility not just in the aviation world, but outside this group, where the young flight students of tomorrow reside. So I told Mitch that if he arranged for me to ride along to Rock Falls with the crew of "The Smile in the Sky," and then on into Airventure aboard Duggy, I would report continuously throughout the journey. The plan was to also shoot as many high resolution digital images as I could, all to be handed over to the crew rights-released to use as they saw fit to further promote the Duggy brand.

Mitch ran this by Robert Odegaard, Duggy's owner, and we made the deal. So I am off this Friday, 7/23 to Fargo, ND to meet up with Odegaard and the rest of Team Duggy. While I am not 100% officially sure of the itinerary, I believe we'll head down to Rock Falls sometime Saturday, and then over to KOSH Sunday afternoon or evening. Here is what I have planned during this once-in-a-lifetime trip:

There is no shortage of DC-3/C-47 fans, this I know. We fans of these exquisite vintage flying machines hold this airframe dear to our aviator hearts, but I realized we really do not know what it takes to move one around the country. So from the time I land in Fargo to the minute we go wheels down at KOSH, my task will be to observe and report on the details of how a DC-3 crew operates...from the inside. I am tempted to call myself an "embedded reporter" but that does not do justice to the courageous journalists who risk life and limb in the Middle East when "embedded" with our Armed Forces. But, the idea is similar...observe and report, taking my readers along for the ride with me.

What do I expect to find out during this journey? Plenty...

The crew of Duggy are all seasoned aviators, so I want to see their process for flight planning, specifically as it relates to flying a DC-3. How much oil will Duggy burn during each leg? Will they fly low and slow, or go high and crank it up? VFR or IFR? Lots of questions will require answers. But since the final destination will be a week at Airventure, what other preparations must Team Duggy do in order to show off "The Smile in the Sky" on the world's largest aviation stage? Once we get to Rock Falls, I want to observe how the crew interacts with the public, and how the public – especially the kids – relates to Duggy.

While technically "working" on this trip, I must confess that just hearing Duggy's engines crank up from inside him will be an unbelievable experience. And to go flying with him, this is a dream come true for this pilot as well as most others. So I will use my words and images to take you along for the ride:

I have installed a blogger.com app on my iPhone to allow me to blog straight from my phone. So as this journey progresses, I plan to start a post thread and keep updating it with my observations along the way. Not really "live blogging", but sort of a second cousin to that...I will update with factoids about Duggy and my feelings on what it's like to cruise through the sky inside his storied fuselage. What might it have been like when the first paying customers rode aboard DC-3s for their initial journeys across this great land, launching the commercial air travel industry as we know it today? What will happen to me as a complete aviation junkie when two huge radial engines meet their red line power settings and Duggy's tail rises prior to takeoff? Not going to lie to you, I expect full-on grinning to take place.

But there is one element of this experience that is front and center in my mind. That is to meet the people who make Duggy happen. I want to learn more about the crew and their families, a devoted bunch that feels as I do that Duggy is not merely a machine, he is alive and has a soul:

I expect to have a good deal of down time with the crew and their families, eating, chatting, and helping to prep Duggy for the trip. I have told them I fully expect to help any way I can as a de-facto crew member for three days. So while they are not working on the flight deck, I want to dive into the character of this crew, and find out why they have devoted so much time and money to share the happiest plane in the sky with the rest of us. Once we find out the backstory, I'm sure we'll all have an increased level of respect for everyone that keeps Duggy flying.

And last, there will be one common thread in all of this, and that is the fund raising component. As I mentioned at the outset, Duggy is our most valuable asset in youth aviation education, and he is a not-for-profit entity. If you just inherited the family fortune, or have a nest egg in the Bill Gates neighborhood of riches, I will be asking that you contact Team Duggy and think of them when you write your next round of donation checks to support aviation education. Just visit duggy.com to learn more and then click on the contact link to make sponsorship arrangements.

Through Eager Eyes - Chapter 5

Full of Wonder and Innocence, a Young Girl Romances the Sky

A Short Story by Dan Pimentel

(Note: This is the fifth of six chapters in this story. Check back next Weds, July 21st when I will present the final chapter, or click here to read all chapters after they are published - dan)

Chapter 5: Fantasy Has No Restricted Airspace

We float through the sky effortlessly now, and it is as if I'm indeed in Heaven, or at least closer to it now.

Above me lies a vast unknown, blue and inviting. I rejoice in the hue of the sky – it is a shade of blue that is reserved for aviators who pilot their elaborate machines above the layers of air closer to the ground that have been browned by the pollution of too many cars.

As Katy climbs higher, the city below is a maze of colors, a tapestry of designs woven together into one giant carpet of humanity. Oh how blessed we would be if the humans that attempt to coexist down there could be as perfectly intertwined in reality as they look from up here.

Our flight is progressing well, my gaze out Katy's side window takes my mind away to places and things I have never before experienced. Yes, apparently flight can do that. With a glance around Katy's cabin, I notice everyone has forgotten to keep watch on me for some sort of fear response. They are as immersed in this lovely journey as I am, Daddy is listening intently to DooDah up front while Mommy sits beside me, smiling and happy that I am enjoying the ride.

As the world slips by underneath Katy, I am taken into a trance-like state, and my imagination – which can get pretty wild – begins to take over my consciousness. As if lofted into the very universe aboard this dream ship, I am pulled into a fantasy that one can only experience riding the wings of an airplane. The drone of Katy's strong engine combines with the smoothness of the still air, and from this world I am taken into another, and it is beautiful.

There I am – it must be 25 years from now – sitting with authority in the left seat of an aging Boeing 787 Dreamliner. My quest to fly for a career has taken me to this place, Captain of a ship that has served my airline well. The Dreamliner entered service not long after my first flight in Katy, and today, the "eight seven" is the workhorse of every airline in the world.

But this is my fantasy, and this is no ordinary scheduled flight to a far away hub. No, today, on this very special dream-like flight, we have a cabin full of only VIPs, a collection of individuals related to me in a special way.

Throughout my life, I have had the privilege to grow up with a large number of special humans, the children of my Daddy's cousins. We all came into this world at generally the same time, and as my Dreamliner rockets through the sky, they have all come together in my fantasy to travel with me on my own personal adventure.

With the "eight seven" fat and happy at flight level three-niner-zero, I stab the autopilot and tell my FO to keep an eye on things while I make a tour of the cabin, something airline captains used to do back in the day. But since this is only my fantasy flight, I choose to take the opportunity to chat with this special collection of passengers.

I first sit and discuss the exciting upcoming 2035 New York City Ballet season with Rachel, who I have always been most jealous of if not for her beauty and grace, then for her intelligence. She has enjoyed a long, noble career as a prima ballerina, and now manages one of the largest, most important ballet companies in the world. She is seated next to her extremely handsome brother Zachary, who everyone knows was Major League Baseball's MVP last season. Unless you've been under a rock, you have seen that big Number 23 behind the plate for the Texas Rangers. He's on his way to Cooperstown today be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, carried there with his 678 career homers. Yes, Zach has always been a long ball hitter.

He is in deep conversation with his younger brother Sam, who is about as hip as anyone on the plane. Sam is the CEO of Curious DesignWorks, the world leader in animation technologies for film and television. After a number of years as a game changer working for Pixar, Sam bought a start-up animation studio and is busy re-inventing the entire 3D visual arts industry.

Across the aisle are two of my favorites on this fantasy flight, the darling Mia and her hulk of a brother, Joe. Mia is the brainiac in the group, and has been responsible for engineering a number of high-profile software breakthroughs. I have always admired her inquisitive nature – she has never met a question that she allowed to remain unanswered. We all know that her Oxford University fellowship was what landed her the sweet gig as V.P of Communications Development for Apple, Inc., and it is so groovy that this year, she had a hot new iPhone 12 teleported to everyone in the family!

Mia shares a first class row with her Man Mountain brother Joe, who clearly would not fit into even the wide business-class seats of the 787. Joe is a genuine gentleman, and stands to greet me and give me a warm, heartfelt hug. It seems almost contradictory to see that kind of sincerity coming from the Pittsburgh Steelers' 365-pound star left tackle. Joe has been the reason the Steelers have been crushing the league the past few seasons. It is breathtaking to see the different man he is off the field than on, when he is a vicious but smart tackling machine who has held the NFL's record for quarterback sacks every season since he was drafted in the first round from Syracuse University.

My fantasy flight is wonderful, I am surrounded with joy and happiness, as it should be in a dream. I move through the cabin and meet four more special people, making the non-stop from their home in Southern California. There is Adrian, who I hear is a top aerospace engineer these days, specializing in avionics technologies. One of the panels he has designed can be found in the Gulfstream 1000, a plush private jet that carries his brother Gabe around the world as the CEO of a family enterprise that owns three professional soccer teams. Gabe is a picture of success, having parlayed a career as a star midfielder into team ownership. He is joined on these trips by another brother, Enrique, who has enjoyed a successful career as a commercial airline and charter pilot but today loves his new role as Director of Flight Operations and Chief Pilot for the seven jets used to transport the soccer players who play for the family teams.

And of course, they are sitting with their lovely, exceedingly gorgeous sister Lilia, who is today the top-paid supermodel in the world. We all knew she would be beautiful the day we learned of that wonderful name that flows off the tongue like a perfect summer breeze, and as we have all grown up, Lilia blossomed into the one model every magazine fights over for their cover. And with good reason, her line of Lilia! cosmetics is now selling more product than every other brand in history.

Finally, I sit and chat with two of my favorite people, Ava and Julia. I cannot start my day without watching Ava on the country's hottest national morning show "America This Morning" on PNN, the Pete News Network. Some say she got the anchor gig because her dad owns the network, but that is hogwash, Ava is the girl every woman in the country wants to be, her on-screen persona is contagious! Always perfectly dressed, she is an study in female versatility, elegant and very professional. Her fitness comes from the years she spent as a girl roaming the country with her "joined-at-the-hip" sister, Julia as they checked in on the family's chain of Yoga Centers. I am forever amazed at how Ava looks equally hip in designer jeans or an evening gown, and we all know she has always been the quickest wit in the room. But it is Julia that is the focused one – she gets that from her mother – and can be ruthless in business despite being the clown of the family. When we have spent summers together in the past, it is Julia who cracks us all up. Yes, the apple did not fall far from the tree with this girl.

As I slip back onto the flight deck, the fantasy is becoming a blur. I am coming back to reality, back to Katy's cabin, back to a world where a city slips by quietly below. Mommy looks at me, and wonders out loud why I look as if I have been hypnotized for the duration of the short flight. What she does not know is that while my body sat motionless inside Katy, my mind was taken on a flight of fancy to a future world full of success and wonder.

And while I sincerely loved the dream flight my mind has just taken, I still remain enamored with the journey inside Katy, it continues to be one of bliss, contentment and adventure.

"Wow, this flying stuff is pretty cool," I think to myself, as I ponder what path I must now take to get into that Dreamliner's left seat, for real.

Competitive Advantage for This Airport Comes With Two Wheels

In today's general aviation world, an FBO – and an airport – must do anything they can to draw airplanes full of customers to their field. I have written before on here about how some FBOs offer a free cookie, and of course we have seen those stops who lavish free steaks on bizjet crews buying lots of fuel.

Even when an airport has nearby activities, we GA pilots must always consider ground transportation, be it the occasional crew car or a much more expensive rental car. But what happens when your airport is literally surrounded by awesome, refreshing things to do, what can you do to keep pilots coming back? You offer them simple and free ground transportation that is a brilliant as it is fun:

Free bicycles.

The airport that does this is Sunriver Airport. located along the banks of the Deschutes River, nestled against the Cascade Range in Eastern Oregon. Land there, and you'll find a rack full of about 20 bikes, free for the taking while you recreate at Sunriver. I have always been impressed with this little perk, one that is not easily forgotten once you leave this scenic part of the Pacific Northwest.

I wanted to find out how the bikes came to be one of the coolest things you will find at any GA patch, so I interviewed Stephanie and Scott Hartung, the husband/wife team that has managed the Sunriver Airport for three years. Both are pilots and airplane owners (a Cessna 182), so they know how we think, and what it takes to make a transient pilot happy when they spend a few hours at Sunriver.

World of Flying (WoF): The biggest surprise I found upon flying into Sunriver Airport for the first time was the free bicycles waiting to be borrowed. I have not seen this at any other airport. Tell me how the idea came about to have these bikes waiting for transcient pilots.
Stephanie and Scott Hartung (SSH): The previous manager had the idea of having bikes instead of having to utilize the shuttle van since the area is so easy to bike ride in. Started with some used bikes from the Bike Barn at the resort, then the idea grew. Now have a fleet of about 20 bikes. Sunriver is very “green” oriented and much is done on bikes in the community so it was a natural fit.

WoF: Where did the bikes come from, how many are there, and who maintains them?
SSH: We get the bikes from the Bike Barn at the Resort and do most of the maintenance at the airport with our staff. Occasionally maintenance is more than we can handle, so we have the Bike Barn (rental and repair shop) help with maintenance.

WoF: Do you know of pilots who fly in specifically because of the free loaner bikes?
SSH: Yes, we have regulars that just fly in to go for a bike ride. Many are outdoor enthusiasts so they fly in, grab a bike and go for a walk along the river, go fishing, go for a bite to eat or just cruise around for the fun of it. We seem to have a regular following.

WoF: What can pilots do on the loaner bikes around the Sunriver Airport?
SSH: River scenery, exercise, fishing, have a meal, shop at the village, and virtually go anyplace in Sunriver.

WoF: Tell me a couple of funny stories about people who have flown in there, borrowed the bikes, and then had some great experience, or complimented you on having the bikes available.
SSH: Sometimes people to decide to use a bike and realize they haven’t done any bike riding since they were kids many years ago! They come back with a big grin on their faces and say “wow, that was fun!”

WoF: Do certain pilots and airport staff have their on personal favorite loaner bike?
SSH: The airport staff definitely have their favorites – we “reserve” the ones we like to work on the ramp and greet guests. The two of us have antique Schwinn coaster bikes. Heather owns and flies an old Cessna 150 which is orange and white – she calls it “Pumpkin”, so she has a bike that is orange and is called “Pumpkin bike”. Ben rides a nice old cruiser as does Nicole. Most fly-in customers enjoy the old fashioned cruiser bikes as well, but no one really has one that they use all the time.

WoF: How many miles of bike paths are there for people to use when riding the loaner bikes?
SSH: 35 miles. All of the bike paths are owned by the Sunriver Home Owners Association which is the “governing body” of all of the privately owner property in Sunriver. The Resort owns much of the other properties, including the golf courses, resort property, airport, marina and stables. Both entities work closely together to make Sunriver a great experience for all visitors.

WoF: Would you say having the bikes has increased the popularity of Sunriver Airport?
SSH: I think so, at least among locals and those that fly day-trips around Oregon. People are getting to know about the airport and bikes and we have had some folks fly up from the Bay area in California just to “play” for a day!

WoF: Anything else you want my readers to know about the free loaner bikes available at your airport?
SSH: We try to encourage day use only for the bikes. If they go out overnight, sometimes they end up in a rental unit garage and don’t make it back to the airport, then the next group that flies in may not have bikes to use. Plus, it then takes time to track them down and get them hauled back to the airport. No special rules apply – we do ask that people sign them out on a clipboard. Even though most people are really good about returning them so that others can have use of them, occasionally we need to make a call to get someone to return them. Overall, the system works very well and people really enjoy the bike riding.

Through Eager Eyes - Chapter 4

Full of Wonder and Innocence, a Young Girl Romances the Sky

A Short Story by Dan Pimentel

(Note: This is the fourth of six chapters in this story. Check back every Friday at noon when I will present the next chapter, or click here to read all chapters after they are published - dan)

Chapter 4: Wheels Up

Throughout my young life, I have been waiting for this moment to arrive. The sensation of flying in a small airplane is one I shall feel today, a sense of freedom, of soaring not unlike Eagles. It will be grand.

But the path here has been torture. For what seemed like forever today, my DooDah, Mommy and Daddy have been driving around the airport in Katy, with everyone waiting for me to scream "Let me out!" But I did not. They have tried to see if anything about flight scares me, they tried to remove me from my comfort zone, and they have failed miserably.

As I sit here about to take off on the most exciting adventure I have ever encountered, it seems so natural, this concept of flight. Some of my earliest memories are of watching birds hover in our bird feeder, their tiny wings moving in a blur as they hover to a stall before landing gracefully on the minuscule edge of the tray holding their bird seed lunch. I'm mesmerized as they then depart in an effortless ballet of movement, and catch the wind to glide off into the distance. Each time I see another small creature soar through our yard, I become hypnotized in the familiarity of it all.

DooDah has just said those words I have been waiting to hear, and we are cleared for takeoff. He again twists the very important white knob before him and Katy begins a tip-toe towards the large number one-six painted on this big road-like strip of tarmac. We line up in the center of the big numbers, and things start happening extremely fast. The anticipation inside me is about to reach explosive levels as I know we are about to...fly.

I am fixated on the capable hands of the pilot in the left seat directly in front of me, his hands moving everywhere now. But his right hand settles on that white knob, and he gingerly starts rotating it, screwing it in with a gentle, calculated touch. As he does, Katy's engine begins to come alive, and we lurch forward swiftly. As the white knob continues moving towards the panel, the engine's roar gets louder and louder, and we pick up speed quickly. As the white knob reaches the full-in position, Katy is racing forward, and as the speed increases, I can clearly feel something changing under the plane. It is the wheels, protesting as if they do not want to leave the ground. We seem to be stuck momentarily in a metamorphosis between rolling and flying. In a very short time, I see Katy's nose rise, and the angle of the plane changes dramatically, pushing me solidly back into the seat. Underneath the plane, the rolling sensation I have been experiencing soon vanishes, and as if lifted by the hand of God himself, Katy's big wings grab the air with enough force to lift us skyward and as we climb, I am amazed at how fast the ground falls away.

We are finally...flying.

Yes, I have flown in big jets, but the sensation was one of a flying living room, boring and without any real adventure. But as Katy takes us upwards, away from the tarmac, I am stunned at how cool this feels, how fantastic this adventure has just become. Inside the big airliners, I am usually fast asleep before the plane leaves the ground, but on this glorious ride through the sky, I am awake, alive, and feel privileged to be one of the lucky few humans on this day to be able to enjoy the freedoms that come from flying your very own airplane.

This freedom is something I treasure as each second of this flight takes place. Like the birds outside my window at home, we are now gliding through perfectly blue sky, no tethers of any kind keeping us from chasing this day's dream. I let my mind race on what a person could achieve with the freedom of flight, of the accomplishments that could be completed with such a magical flying machine at your disposal.

The houses below are getting smaller, the cars look like toys as they slip slowly beneath Katy's wings, which look to be shaped a bit like a Hershey Bar, square in design but sturdy in build. Down below, I see parks full of kids playing, and can only imagine that like me so many times before, they are looking up as Katy slips through the sky, wishing they could fly like I am today. I might be the luckiest girl in the world at this very moment, those kids are stuck on the ground while I get to dance elegantly through the sky like a feather.

This flying stuff is something I could get very used too. For some reason, I seem to be attached to it in some strong way, linked to aviation in what feels like a perfect relationship. As we move across the sky, my mind races at what I could do with my life if I too had a freedom machine like Katy waiting to take me skyward. There would be wonderful trips with friends to discover the best airports with the tastiest airport food. For some reason, it sounds splendid to enjoy a hamburger at a cafe overlooking a runway. There might be important trips to do environmental work on behalf of my community, getting there quicker so I can have the opportunity to do more good on the ground. In times of need, I could use my airplane to fly supplies to those suffering through a disaster, or maybe take some kids up – they would be like young Eagles looking to be set free as I have been today.

But that is tomorrow, and this is today. Now, I am smothered in glory and immersed in sweet emotions as the four of us are taken through the air inside a craft that seems content with providing a supple ride on invisible rails. As the city slips by below, all is right in my world. What troubles there are in the streets below are not welcome here inside Katy, she is my shield from the harsh realities of life, if only for the few moments that we are airborne.

Up here, there is abundant joy because we are flying, and angels have my back, this I know.

Peace and Quiet at 1,200 MSL

I had one of those airplane ownership moments recently, one of those special times when the joy of being sole owner of your very own flying machine washes over you like a 50-footer chasing down a longboard at Mavericks.

On the way home from a meeting, the OAT was unseasonably warm for an early July evening the Pacific Northwest..so much that I had the window of my truck most of the way down. As I eased out of Eugene's downtown towards my home just on the outskirts of town, I began to notice that the sky was crystal clear, not a cloud to be found anywhere on the horizon. I also noticed the wind was 0000KTS, the perfect night for a flight:

Prior to my recent night landing when my CFI-I and myself landed back at KEUG when delivering 8527W up here from SoCal, I had not done any night flying in years. I cannot blame that night flight draught on anything but my lack of wanting to arrange a rental plane after hours. But now, as a sole owner, I get to reap one of the finest benefits of owning a plane – you do not have to "arrange" anything, there is nothing to schedule. Not that renting is bad, it is not. The place I was renting from was a great flight school, and I recommend them highly. But of course, due to insurance requirements, I would have had to go up and get a "night checkout" in order to do a few laps at night around the patch. So just to get current, I was looking at a couple of hundred bucks. So I remained a day only VFR driver until I bought 27W.

After making the "go" decision, I blasted through my house, grabbed my flight bag and jammed the 10 minutes to the airport – and yes, living 10 minutes from my hangar is truly golden. After swiping my TSA-approved badge to get in the gate, I slid open the hangar doors, and there she was waiting to go play, Cherokee two-seven whiskey, a.k.a. Katy:

KEUG was deserted at 9PM, and as I taxied out, I immediately remembered how suck most GA landing lights are as I almost taxied straight onto the grass. After following that HUGE yellow line to 16L, I screwed in the throttle and 27W launched skyward into the clear, still night. I was about to enjoy the view when I realized that with 235 ponies pulling me and that monster Hershey Bar lifting me, you get to pattern altitude in no time. I pulled power, spun in some nose up trim, and set up for a nice stable downwind and final. After a decent arrival, I flew one more lap, and planted 27W back on the runway with a "no chirper", one of those landings you remember – one that is so sweet, you don't even hear the wheels touch down. Yes, this was a landing any pilot would love to brag about.

I had forgotten that night flight was truly wonderful. Just me and Katy up there dancing across the perfectly still night sky, the lights of Eugene sliding by under her belly. I love how well this new KEUG runway is lit up at night...an arrival at a commercial Class Delta patch at night seems like you are in your own airliner, it feels important.

This, my friends, is freedom.

Through Eager Eyes - Chapter 3

Full of Wonder and Innocence, a Young Girl Romances the Sky

A Short Story by Dan Pimentel

(Note: This is the third of six chapters in this story. Check back every Friday at noon when I will present the next chapter, or click here to read all chapters after they are published - dan)

Chapter 3: Flight Delayed, Flight Denied?

This adventure just keeps getting better and better.

Now, with Katy's engine playing a new song I have never heard, I find myself listening with increasing glee to the throaty but smooth sounds reverberating throughout her cabin. Maybe this isn't the same song that angels listen to when they lay down to sleep, but to me this rumbling near the front of Katy is soothing, and makes me feel safe.

With each new movement of DooDah's hands on yet another of her controls, something new happens that makes this day increasingly rich. I watch everything that is happening with focused attention, perhaps because while it is still foreign to me, this thing everyone is calling "flying" seems natural, it seems right. It is with that in mind that I stare at the way DooDah moves gracefully through his duties as he coaxes Katy into moving. That white knob must be important, because he touches it in a special way, twisting it with incredible precision.

Eagerness surrounds me as Katy begins moving across the tarmac towards somewhere, I am not sure where. I hear DooDah say some words into the thing covering his mouth, but it seems odd and unexplainable that he is not talking to anyone inside Katy. Oh, but that is so like DooDah, always full of mystery and surprises.

I hear him say some words I sort of recognize, like "taxi", "bravo" and "Mike." As Katy's engine starts growling louder and the spinny thing rotates with increasing speed, we begin rolling faster, faster still, it is really cool! Mommy and Daddy are staring at me as we pick up speed and move across the airport, as if it has been pre-determined that at some point in this adventure I was going to freak out big time. What they do not yet know is that this feels so right, I only want more of what's next.

We are moving along well-marked roads on the airport, their edges defined by stubby lights set in perfect unison in the grass just beside the concrete. The huge yellow line running down the middle is like our guardian, pointing to...somewhere. Again, this entire day is one part dream, one road trip and three parts adventure, so whereever we end up, as long as I am with my family – including Katy the Cherokee – I am good.

We move along and I notice one of the big airplanes with all the people in it pass by on a parallel road, and as I get a good look at the two uniformed pilots in the front windows, I see something that really starts my inquisitive mind racing. From my seat in Katy's plush back seat, I clearly see that in the left and right positions in this little jet airliner's window, both pilots are...women. On many levels, this feels perfectly natural, because while traditionalists might say why, I exclaim "why not!" Why can't both pilots on a commercial airliner be women?

This is a question I am not yet qualified to answer. But I have a theory on this subject, and it is possibly as solid an opinion as anyone else might produce. Throughout my life, I have been told by everyone that being a girl shall not impede my progress towards accomplishing anything that I shall set out to achieve. If that task is to learn to fly big airplanes full of people headed off to Grandma's, or to become President of these United States, or walk on Mars, or cure cancer, then being a girl – and soon to be a woman – will not hurt me, it will in fact propel me to any heights that my goals and dreams require.

We taxi over to a large, deserted thing DooDah calls a "ramp" but this confuses me because unlike any ramp I have seen before, this area is flat. Go figure. We drive Katy up one side, turn, and drive her down the other, again, and again, around and around. It's as if the adults along for this ride are actually trying to scare me, as of that is remotely possible when flying is involved. I sit and watch as they go overboard trying to make me flinch, and smile occasionally to let them know that ain't happenin' today. What IS happening today – when they stop all this on-the-ground foolishness – is some real, life, get air under your wings aviating. I think. At this point though, all we are doing is driving around this airport while the other planes get to play with the sky.

But then...things start looking up as DooDah stops and gets really, really serious. He tells everyone to please refrain from chatter, and pushes in that important white knob to make Katy's engine ROAR! We sit alone on this deserted tarmac pointed generally at nothing, and DooDah is revving the engine while turning switches and looking intently at various engine gauges spitting out valuable data. With the brakes locked and the spinny thing clawing at the air, Katy rocks on her wheels in a fierce battle between her thrust and her brakes. The sensation is not unlike a rodeo ride on a bucking animal. It is clear that Katy wants no part of this ground condition with her brakes locked as what feels like a gigantic team of strong horses tries to rip the calipers from the discs holding us in place.

When this short testing phase is deemed successful, DooDah says Katy is ready to fly. Well it's about time, I say, I've been ready for hours! The adults in the plane again study my facial expressions, my aura, my outward appearance for any sign that I might be frightened having just watched Katy perform this crazy full-power parking stunt. They look at me and see only a grin, happiness oozing from every pore in my tiny body. It is because of this fearlessness for flight that the decision is made that we shall in fact go "once around the pattern" to see how I handle it.

Are they kidding me? Once around the pattern? Without even knowing what a "pattern" is or how many nautical miles it takes to go around it one time, how can I say to my fellow passengers and especially to my Captain, DooDah, that I want a longer ride? How do I convince them with enough emphasis that a quick hop isn't quite going to cut it today.

I consider throwing a fit to telegraph my feelings, but am afraid any sort of emotions other than "elated" might be construed as fear, and this adventure may come to an abrupt end. So I smile and try to look cute, it is something I go to when I want the big people to be happy with me.

Before any time passes, Katy has again moved about the airfield, and is soon parked just this side of a complex triple yellow line near what I assume might be a runway due to a very large number "one six" painted on the end. Don't even ask me how I know this, but I do.

The time has arrived for this day – and this life – to change dramatically, because I just heard DooDah say something that I've been waiting to hear forever:

"Cleared for takeoff."