The Most Difficult Thing In Aviation?

  

"If you can drive a car, you can learn to fly an airplane."

As a helicopter flight instructor, I've made this statement for years.
I still believe it is true. I fly helicopters AND airplanes, and the only thing I ever found remotely difficult about flying the fixed-wing was landing with a strong crosswind.
(Manipulating the controls of the helicopter automatically adjusts for crosswind landings. Having first learned to fly helos, crosswind landings in fixed-wing aircraft seems totally foreign and uncomfortable to me.)

But there IS one task in all of aviation I believe may be more difficult than learning to hover and do a perfect normal approach in a helicopter-
And that task is landing an airplane on a pitching, rolling, moving deck of a ship.

This video is 27 minutes in length. If you have any interest in aircraft carrier ops or in the history of how we got where we are in Naval Aviation, I think it is worth your time.

And I'll now be searching for a copy of the original "The Fighting Lady".
Neat stuff.

11July- Bristol Tennessee

We wake in Bristol,TN. Within sight just down the street is a stop light that resides right on top of the Virginia/Tennessee State Line. Today we intend to drive down "State Street" and try to find the brass marker marking the VA/TN line and get a photo. That done, we want to drive a short distance out of town to the Bristol Motor Speedway and see the racetrack where so many NASCAR events have taken place.
Then, on the way home, we'll stop and view any attractions that catch our attention...
"World's largest ball of aluminum foil"?

This road trip we once again committed the cardinal sin-
We tried to pack five pounds into a 3-pound bag. We didn't properly consider the amount of driving we'd have to do to get to the things we wanted to experience.
I like to drive. And that's a good thing. Because my two companions on this trip have spent much of the drive time sleeping. While awake they have their noses poked into their Smart Phones.
Me? I've been loving the passing scenery. I've now and again enjoyed the feeling of being pressed into the seat after pushing the "Go Pedal" of our Taurus SHO to the floor, marveling at the fact that this quiet, comfortable car still gets over 25 miles per gallon of fuel while going up and down these mountains.
Trees alongside the road are tall enough to cause gaps in reception of our Sirius/XM radio...
Beautiful, and simultaneously irritating.

Many will feel the same way as we-
Maybe the BEST thing about a vacation is that it makes you realize how comfortable you are in your own home; your own recliner with your own remote control at hand; your own bed.
We'll be there tonight.
Thank you Lord for safe travels.

Dateline- Raleigh, NC

Long day in the car yesterday-
We spent the night in Petersburg, VA. Elsa was acting up as we went to bed, and the forecast was for "partly cloudy" the following day. With all the ground we needed to cover to do what we wanted, we hoped for sunshine. And by the time we rose Mother Nature was cooperating with a "partly sunny" day.

We've decided we LOVE this part of the country. Grass and trees are GREEN. And the tree-covered mountains are absolutely beautiful. Roads we have used have been in great repair. And fuel prices here are not horrible.

We toured the "First Flight" memorial at Kill Devil Hills. Nice little museum there, and walking the same hill where Wilbur and Orville learned to fly using their gliders gave me great respect for the brothers.
(By the way- In the telegram Orville sends to his sister to tell her of their success on 17Dec, he signs his name "Oreville". Have we been spelling his name incorrectly all these years?)

We departed Kitty Hawk and drove South on North Carolina highway 12, down the Hatteras peninsula, stopping first at the Bodie Lighthouse, then the Hatteras Lighthouse. Both beautiful. The peninsula is extraordinarily narrow in many places, making me wonder how it has survived the many hurricanes it has been exposed to. Sand dunes in spots are 15' tall on both sides of the road, making you feel as if you are driving down a pipe with no top. With the (Wright Brothers) wind that blows here most of the time it is obvious road crews must be ready to frequently clear the road of encroaching sand.

We drove back Northwest-bound last night through scattered showers, arriving Raleigh, NC about Midnight. We're meeting friends for Brunch here today, then plan to drive to Bristol, TN to spend the night.

We'll be home Sunday.
Prayers for safe travels are appreciated.

July 2021 Road Trip

We won't have a diagnosis of Sara Jean's condition until mid-month. But we are noticing changes in her thought processes and both of us now think the news will be bad. To that end we have decided to check off some of her bucket list items as quickly as possible.

She has always wanted to see Cape Hatteras.
We are in Lexington, KY this morning, surrounded by Blue Grass and beautiful fenced-in pastures. Today we will drive to Petersburg, VA to spend the night and be ready for a drive to see the rocky coast.
Before the day ends we hope to also check off one of my bucket list items- The Wright Brothers "First Flight" memorial at Kill Devil Hills.

Beyond that we are making things up as we go along. Headed back home I think I want to put one leg in Virginia and the other in Tennessee at Bristol.

If you have ideas about what you think we'd enjoy seeing/doing, please leave a comment.

The "C.T.O.L."

Since retiring, I have been struggling somewhat to find constructive things to do with my life. I feel...
Unfulfilled.
Today I realized I've had a valuable job all along, and just didn't fully realize it.

Some time ago I had a friend who, upon arriving home from work would shout, "I HOPE WE HAVE STOCK IN THIS ELECTRIC COMPANY!"
And then he would make the rounds in his home, turning off all the lights in unoccupied rooms.

Me? I probably DO have stock in several power-producing companies via the Mutual Funds I own.
Nevertheless, I have also become an environmentalist. Waste troubles me. Burning unnecessary electricity pollutes our environment, doesn't it?

Therefore I have taken on a new, vital job in our household-
I am now the "Chief Turner-Offer of Lights" in our family.
Sometimes it seems like a full time job. At the end of the day I am physically and mentally taxed.
But I'm saving the environment.
And I am proud.

Hatred

 I've been re-watching Ken Burns' series "The Civil War", and came to the realization that the South must have felt about Abraham Lincoln much as Marxist/Socialist/Communists do about Donald Trump.
Did Southerners quietly, or even exuberantly, celebrate the death of the man most people feel may have been the best President our country has ever had?

The Right To Bear Arms

 "The first battle of the Revolution was fought over gun control. The British government wanted to seize the lawfully owned firearms of the colonists. If British troops could disarm the militia, there would be less of a threat to their control."

"Those ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it."

On this Independence Day, please-
Don't be ignorant of history.

Independence Day

Russia has a 4th of July.
China has a July 4th.
England has a 4th of July.
The 4th of July is a special day for our country.
Remember to wish others a "HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY" to remind them this day is unique for us.

Knowledge About College

 If I take a loan for a full college load now, do I have to repay it?
If so, WHY?

Gilbert, AZ In The Rearview Mirror

 Big Bubba has been living in Gilbert, AZ almost 8 years. He bought a 4-bdrm/2-1/2 bath home so we could live comfortably (separated if necessary) from his personal space. We've spent four months in this home for those eight years from mid-December to the end of March. Weather during these months is as near perfect as you could imagine... 70+ degree days and 60+ degree nights most of the time. During the time we spent there this Fall/Winter, it rained three times.
We've grown to like the neighborhood. It is clean, well lit at night, and almost all our immediate needs are within walking distance.

Big Bubba sold this home this week. Many factors impacted this decision. The biggest of course is family related. His aging parents will need him more and more, and we don't want to be exposed to 120-degree heat for half the year. Our son has also finally tired of the heat. There's a joke in Phoenix that is true:
"My wife arose before me and used up all the cold water."
Turn on the cold water tap and when the water exposed to the home's air conditioning is used up, the cold water feels like bath water. (Big Bubba turns off his water heater in late Spring. It's unnecessary)

It's a seller's market in Real Estate these days. In the time he has lived in this home, the value has more than doubled. It's a good time to pocket his equity.

But a BIGGEE that I've had him considering is the bare water line marking the shores of Lakes Meade and Powell. Water depth in both lakes is shockingly down. Although there is some attention now being paid to the problem, most residents of the Phoenix metro area... and for that matter in virtually all the big cities served by water from the Colorado River, are in denial, big time.
It's gonna become a crisis at some point now. (180,000 more water users illegally crossed our Southern border in May, and I'm reminded of an old truism: "That which cannot continue... won't".)

It's a good time for him to bug out.
We will miss our Winter walks in perfect weather. We will miss our wonderful Gilbert neighbors.
And we hope they come to their senses and bug out before water begins to be rationed in the West.
But we also know... addicts sometimes have to hit rock bottom before they realize behavior needs to change.

Life Throws A Curveball

 "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

It's 0300 hours. I'm shocked awake and turn to find my wife sitting bolt upright in bed and confused, looking around the room as if something is threatening her.
This, obviously, is not a comfortable way to be awakened.

When he was 8 or nine years old our son went through a phase during which he had "Night Terrors". We'd hear him in the wee hours crying, and when we asked what was wrong he couldn't explain why he was upset.

Sara Jean has been having late-night hallucinations for some time. She awakens and imagines someone is standing at the end of our bed, or right beside her. Frightened, she screams and in doing so, wakes me.
We sort of equated her problem with our son's situation when he was young.

She's been sensing changes in her thought processes lately. She can't think of words, phrases, or memories to share during conversations. The problem, to her thinking, has accelerated during the last months. She has shared this with our Doctor and he has administered a simple test to check her for "mild cognitive impairment" then declared her normal. But over the last month SJ feels she has declined dramatically so we scheduled a new appointment. And at this time she finally shared the fact that she's been having these nighttime hallucinations.
"Hmmm. Sounds like 'Lewy Body'" he says, very casually.
I had never heard the term. And he said it so nonchalantly I brushed it off as no big deal.
It definitely IS a big deal.
Five to 8 years life expectancy, says the internet.
You may as well have come upside my head with a 2X4.

We've scheduled an appointment with a neurologist and won't know details until after meeting with her/him. In fact, the only way to know with certainty that someone has "Lewy Body Dementia" is after an autopsy.

But this changes everything.
ALL our retirement planning has been modified.
We are now looking at a serious "bucket list" and want to check off items on that list as quickly as possible while we both can share and enjoy them.

Life is short.
Don't be miserable.
It's a tremendous waste of time.

"British Marine Reacts-"

I made note of a few things while watching this video.
This "Commando" is VERY proud of his service. This "Esprit De Corps" permeates the elite of our military. The "Joe Blow" average trooper might have volunteered to serve in order to get an education to further his/her civilian career, but the Aviators, Submariners, Special Forces, etc? ALL those guys are damned proud to have gone that extra mile and took the greater risk to defend freedom. I was glad to see it.

A couple years ago I accompanied my son to a retired "Titan" Missile silo near Tucson. The lethality of that one weapon could pretty much have wiped humanity from the face of the earth... and we had ELEVEN of them around the U.S.. The overlap of weapons we have across our services is mind boggling. We retired the Titan system partly because it was obsolete. Think of the protection we have in place today.

Supercarrier groups?
Just look at the support and strength it takes to deploy those systems!

I had a friend that worked directly with the F-111 and B-2 systems and knew the factoid about the Bumblebee comparison.
Again... mind boggling.

It's easy sometimes to worry about the lack of manpower in our military compared to say, WWII today. But why risk human lives when we have machines that can do the jobs of many, and do them better? And this trend will continue.
How long before we enter "Star Trek" territory and start marching human "results of attack" into "disintegrator rooms"?

In the mid-60's that concept seemed SO far fetched.
In today's world with Karen in control?
I'm not so sure.

Subway Megan

 I used to like Subway restaurants... felt the sandwiches were reasonably priced and if you were careful about preferences, they could also be sorta "healthy".
But like so many businesses today, they inadvertently "stepped on their poncho", as we Dogfaces used to say.
They hired Purple-Haired Megan Rapinoe to be their Spokesperson. If you're not familiar, she's the Olympic Soccer Player that was one of the first to take a knee when our National Anthem was played.
She's now regularly appearing on their TV commercials. It's yet to be seen if this will be as big a disaster for them as was pedophile Jared Fogle.

Not one red cent, Subway.
And maybe even an apology?

D-Day, + 76

"Those that don't know history are doomed to repeat it."
That's a paraphrase of a quote by someone smarter than me.

My Uncle Garlin was on the Battlesthip West Virginia in Pearl Harbor as she sank on 7Dec41. He then spent the rest of the war on a destroyer.
My Uncle George was aboard a glider that crashed upon landing 76 years ago. His ankle was broken in the bad landing and he spent the remainder of the war in a German P.O.W. camp.
My Father was injured by Mortar fire in the Philippines all thse years ago; received the Purple Heart and was sent home early due to his injuries.

I am VERY aware of the sacrifices made for me by the "Greatest Generation" and I tried my best to meet their standard.
I don't need a "Safe Room" or "Safe Space" to survive.
I am scared to death of the attitude I sense around me.

Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.
What cannot continue... WON'T.

Dr. Fauxi, Our Hero?

"It's worth the risk" Fauxi said, when questioned about the possible connection, direct or indirect, to the Wuhan laboratory.
-3,500,000 million deaths later? He perjures himself when asked about the connection.
At what point does our liberal media tell the world about our hero?

Greybeard The Hobo?

When I was VERY young, an older cousin had a serious argument with her husband and, wanting to get away from him as quickly as possible, ran to the rail yard to hop a freight out of town.
She had apparently been enjoying a few adult beverages and somehow lost her footing while trying to board the train, fell beneath the wheels, and was killed.
The story has always fascinated me, partly due to the grisliness of it, and partly due to the idea that she intended to escape an ugly situation by hopping the train. I wish I had gotten the chance to know her.
I imagine she'd have been "interesting" to know.

Trains and helicopters... Aren't they pretty much opposites as to what they do and how they do it?
"Simplify and add lightness" is the aeronautical engineer's credo. Make a part BARELY heavy and strong enough to do what it must do without failing and killing people.
With trains, seems to me, the opposite is true. The weight of the locomotive is absolutely critical to the machine's ability to do what it must do.
Weight? Schmate!

My fascination with trains has lead me to the guy in the video below... "Hobo Shoestring".
He looks like a bum. He's got a Southern twang to his speech that would make someone from one of the coasts dismiss him as a "rube".
He's neither. He owns an apartment in Johnson City, Tennessee, and refers to himself "houseless, NOT homeless". He has produced and published LOTS... maybe hundreds, of videos about how the rail system and components of trains work, and he ain't dumb... to me he's VERY interesting.

If you, like me, have an interest in how trains do what they do, I think you'll find taking the time to watch his stuff worthwhile.
Start with this one, and lemme know what you think:

 

L.B.D.

"Lewy Body Dementia".
Ever hear of it?
We had not.

It's what drove Robin Williams to kill himself. He was initially misdiagnosed as having Parkinson's Disease, as some of the symptoms are similar.
L.B.D. is probably the second major form of Dementia, just after Alzheimer's.

There's a LOT of dementia happening in our world these days. Part of the reason for that is that we are living longer lives. Part of it is that we are exposed, more and more, to some pretty extraordinary chemical compounds in our lives.
Dementia runs in our family, so there is also a genetic factor. Whatever... when you notice you have "C.R.S. Disease", you begin to wonder if it is normal, or the beginning of a long, rough road ahead.

More on all this in the future.

Those Poor Palestinians

Palestinians-
The would LOVE to wipe Israel off the map.They cannot do it because their most efficient weapon is a rocket they cannot guide to it's target. So they must launch them and hope they hit right in the middle of some elementary schoolyard.
Their next most potent weapon?
A sling and a rock.

IF they would put their money and efforts into improving the lot of their people, the lot of their people would improve.
Duh.

Biden? He's this generation's Neville Chamberlain, trying to appease Iran.
Thank you Biden voters.
You've proven the truth to the old Chinese proverb-
You've made life "interesting".

Cracker Barrel

We used to like Cracker Barrel.
Used to.

The food there was uniformly "fair",  sold at a moderate price.
Breakfast was available anytime the restaurant was open.
The Country Store was an interesting place to peruse.
But for us, the thing that we valued most about Cracker Barrel was their "Books on CD" program.

We frequently take long trips in our car. We'd stop at Cracker Barrel and get a bite to eat, then find the Books on CD carousel, buy a book we found interesting, and listen to it during our drive. When we finished with it we could stop at the next Cracker Barrel we passed and return the book for a refund, minus a couple bucks for "handling". We used this service a LOT, and recommended it often to others.

On our drive home from Arizona this Spring we stopped and ate at Cracker Barrel. Finished with our meal we strolled around the store looking for the CD carousel and couldn't find it. When I inquired as to where it was I was told, "We discontinued doing that some time ago."
I'm heartbroken.

The TSA and Covid-19 restrictions have made flying a very unpleasant experience these days, so we'll be in our car for most future trips.
The Cracker Barrel Books on CD program could have been an important part of those trips.

But I won't miss the unexceptional food.

"We're From France."

Coneheads.
Something about their appearance makes them pretty easy to identify.
I have to be careful about stereotyping individuals of their group, but DAMN it is hard sometimes!

1. We watched the cop-cam video of an incident in Minnesota. Five or six Coneheads were congregated around a car in a drive near the street. One of the Coneheads, a female, had a big knife. A policeman disembarked his car and his camera picked up the sight of a scuffle. The Conehead with the knife was trying to "cut" one of her fellow Coneheads. The Law Enforcement Officer shot and killed the knife-wielding Conehead, and the incident made National news.

2. My wife and I just returned from an excursion to Chicago via Amtrak. Shortly after we had settled in for our trip a group of recently released Conehead prisoners joined us in our car. Obviously elated about being set free, they were really feeling their oats and apparently they wanted to share their excitement with everyone else in our car. One of the Coneheads intermittently stood up and, addressing some of his fellows looked around to make sure everyone could hear his comments-
"F*** this."
"I F***ing told him..."
"That Motherf***** thought he was bad."

This public display continued for 20 minutes or so. I started to reach for the Conductor call button and Sara Jean said, "Please don't. It'll just cause trouble."
And then we sat through another five minutes or so of Conehead celebration and loud exposition. I once again started to reach for the call button, and SJ stopped me once again. "I'll take care of this" she said. She went to the cafe car and told the attendant there what was unfolding in our car.
"If you don't get this under control, my husband will try. I don't want him to get hurt."

Five minutes later the Conductor appeared.
"Sit down and be quiet or I will remove you from this train."
He came and told us IF he removes Conehead prisoners from the train... they go back to prison.
Our Conehead suddenly found a way to be a quiet Conehead.

3. We reserved a room for the weekend in a nice motel close to the Memorial Service we would attend. At 1900 hours or so we began to hear what sounded like children running and screaming up and down the hall. When I investigated the activity I found three Conehead children, without Covid-19 masks, using the hallway as a way to stretch their legs. Now and then their Mother would come out of her room and scream at her young offspring. They ignored her.
I made the decision to not call the front desk until 2200 hours, hoping by then the halls would be quiet. Kids are suffering mightily during this Covid-19 stupidity.
The kids settled down, thank Heaven.

But the next night at about 2000 hours we heard a female screaming that sounded something like "Get the mouse out of here!" We eventually figured out the dialect and realized the scream was saying, "Get HIM out of here!"
When I went into the hall to investigate I sighted a large female Conehead standing in the hallway pointing and looking at someone in her room.
She wanted to share her emotion with all 30 or so rooms that adjoined our hallway. Once again we retreated, hoping the dust would settle. Again, thank Heavens it did.

4. In Union Station waiting for our train we were in the Food Court eating at Chick-Fil-A. Sara Jean noticed a fellow passenger, a pretty Conehead, wearing a beautiful dress. As we departed to head for our train SJ walked near her, got her attention, and complimented her on what she was wearing.
Her eyes became daggers. No response.
I can only assume this Conehead truly WAS from France and didn't understand the compliment.

Some Coneheads claim their like are discriminated against when it comes to housing, job opportunites, and life in general.
I know there must be Coneheads amongst us who are embarrassed by the behavior displayed by their obnoxious brethren. Are those Coneheads actively trying to instigate change?
I hope so.

We are a divided Nation.
In some areas that division is palpable... uncomfortable.
And I am worried about where we, as a Nation, are headed.
I know this post might get me in trouble, but I love my country and hope we can once again be "E Pluribus Unum".
ALL LIVES MATTER.
Can we work toward making the world a better place for everyone?