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A day in the life of "Palmetto Flight" ....<>

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jclarkmail(at)gmail.com
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Posted: Sat May 13, 2006 6:45 pm Post subject: A day in the life of "Palmetto Flight" ....<>

Today has been a LONG day.

<And this note is long, so skip now if you are in a hurry    >



It all started some months ago when the FBO manager of a very nearby airpor=

t

asked if there was any chance the local RV folks could do a fly by and have

the RVs on display for a little while at an upcoming "open house".



SURE!! I said, know that "Palmetto Flight" at the time would be glad to hav=

e

additional motivation to practice.    Sure enought the gang also said ye=

s

when approached. But later there is to be a little "problem".



You see, our buddy Lee Logan down at Ridgeland was also planning a special

event .. The Race to Ridgeland (a unique approach to a local fly-in). And

last year in the fall, I helped by running to the "prototype" race to see i=

f

there were any bugs in the process. And depending on how you counted my

timing, I was either first or third. Not bad. But Lee's event is ALSO on th=

e

13th and Lee has heard that we had been practicing so he asked if there was

any chance "Palmetto Flight"could swing by. What's a buddy to say but ..

ahhhhh SURE(!).  



Thanks to Ken, we had a proposed routine based on what we were working from

last year. And sense Ken, Len, Bill and I had worked parts of this before,

we knew that we needed to clean up some of the rough edges, meaning we

needed more PRACTICE.



As things would conspire though, gettingin practice has been difficult

**AND** a new positive wrinkle pops up. ROn Schreck is willing to fly with

us in "Miss Izzy". Wow! We can now have a 5-ship! But again we need more

PRACTICE.



So off to KLKR -Lancaster we go (quickly becoming one of our favorite

airports as the "Lady in Charge" always makes sure there are burgers and

dogs (or steaks) available for us if we stop by for luch and coffeee and

doughnuts if we stop by for breakfast.). For a non-morning person, an 8:30

AM practice session at an airport some distance away is not my cup of tea. =

I

think there were odds on whether I would be there on time. :- )  (I was!!)



We are to BRIEF, WALK, FLY, DE-Brief the 5-ship routine. And then FLY it

AGAIN and de-brief. Then we would fly to KFDW and fly the routine at the

open house.



Of course things don't go exactly as planned. We get a phone call. "2" has =

a

problem with his plane and is enroute to the airport via 4 wheeler to add

moral support. We are now back to a 4-ship. No problem. As "Lead" I had

printed out copies of BOTH routines (4-ship and 5-ship). We would adjust.



First practice, GREAT! Next practice, well let's just say not as good but

pass-able.



It is now about 11:30 so off to KFDW we go, (to do the routine exactly at

11:30 as planned) and even though the announcer got a few things mixed up i=

t

seemed to be well received by the audience.



I must say that all the practice is worth it when a person walks up to you

and says "you guys did great". EVen though we might have beat ourselves up

in the de-briefs, the people on the ground liked it! And that is good. My

buddy Doug took the time to come to the practice and VIDEO tape the practic=

e

*and* go to KFDW to tape the event. Let's just say we have "evidence" for

our next get together. [Yes, I know my time is coming.]



Thanks goes to Chris the FBO manager for helping us out with the gas. He

said he appreciated the time and effort we put in and the cost of gas to

come up to help with aviation in his area.



We have some burgers, BBQ and Italian sausages to fill our bodily tanks and

then fill the aircraft tanks and off we go to Ridgeland. I had planned to

run the race and gather some data for sotware effort I will share with

everyone at a later (appropriate) time. But by now, we will have a strong

headwind, it will be very bumpy and *oh*, I think I have a vibration in the

prop that I just refinished at annual. [I **know** there is a vibration!] S=

o

we launch as a 4-ship (with Bill as my passenger ... gotta keep the flight

team together)to Ridgeland.



We arrive at Ridgeland right at 2:00 and go right into our routine. Our

buddy Lee clears the pattern so we can do our 20 minutes of RV ballet. Much

fun was had by all even though it WAS BUMPY!



Now even though this time was not our best (we were getting tired I think

and it was getting bumpier), another one of those nice things occurred afte=

r

we landed. We had to back taxi in trail and there we people to direct us to

parking but for some reason we were about to be sent to the wrong place.

What that meant was that we taxiied the entire length of the runway and hal=

f

way back before we were to get to the right place. And along the way, the

locals we APPLAUDING as we passed!! Now that was nice. We did not do it for

the applause. We do it because we want to do it and be good at it. But to

have people show such appreciation for something we do just because was

heartwarming.



Now, I did not get to run the race and win the big trophy (would not have

won anyway   ) but someone from our gang ***DID*** win a BIG trophy. I

willnot spill the beans. I'll let HIM tell you about it.  



You all missed a great event put on my Lee and the crew. Lot's of fun and

food. Lots  of vintage bi-planes (and of course RVs and their "cousins", th=

e

Grummans) Did I mention he is moving "up" from an RV4 to an F1 Rocket!

Beautiful workmanship going on in that hangar!



On the way home, Tad tagged along as the "5th" plane with Bill riding along

coaching. You looked great out there Tad once you settled in. Just take it =

a

step at a time. And we (you and I) **will** get some practice time together=

!

Can you say 6-ship???? Radomir rode with Len and as usual, got some great

shots (see his email on such).



Just before entering Columbia, airspace, Ken and I take "Palmetto Flight of

2" on to KCUB and Ron takes "Mustang Flight of 3" northbound to North

Carolina. I hope everyone made it back back home safely.



It was a good day. Good flying, good fun, good food, GREAT people!



James



--

This is an alternate email. Please continue to email me at

james(at)nextupventures.com .

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Ron Schreck

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 94
Location: Gold Hill, NC

Posted: Sat May 13, 2006 7:16 pm Post subject: A day in the life of "Palmetto Flight" ....<>

James, Len, Ken & all,



It was a GREAT day.  Kathy and I had lots of fun and are ready to do it

again.  



Ron Schreck

RV-8  "Miss Izzy"



Do not archive

--

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