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Today's flight for 2018


bonal

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Flew to Santa Maria for a birthday lunch. It was a beautiful flight and the food was pretty good (even if they only had Pepsi products...). We were given vectors for traffic four times as we passed through the Burbank area. Once was a vector and altitude restriction on descent for a 737 landing at Burbank that had to go around. The comment the pilot made to ATC was "We were too high and unstable," even the big guys go around.

https://intothesky.us/2018/09/15/birthday-lunch-in-santa-maria/

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Recently (in April) I took over the flight dispatching / coordinating for our mercy flight organization.  I have been the coordinator on and off over the last 30 years, and the guy that took it off my plate 13 years ago was getting fried (24/7/365 on call).  Anyway, I had a flight request going from IMT to RST (Rochester, MN / Mayo Clinic) in late August and all the possible planes for doing it were down for service work.  I would ordinarily use my Mooney, but it's down for an engine right now.  The girl was going over for a bone cancer consult, after just being diagnosed at Bellin in Green Bay.  Mayo wanted her ASAP, as she was diagnosed early enough they thought they could give her a better chance than the 20% - 2 year life expectancy Bellin had told her.

So I'm hearing her story and it's killing me we can't get her over there.  She stated the 2 hour drives, with the tumor on her spine, to Green Bay were brutal on her.  I'm thinking, how in the world is she going to sit for a 6-7 hour drive to Mayo?  I called her and stated my only option was I could do the flight in my "Homebuilt" airplane, but qualified that this wasn't your average "homebuilt".  I would be doing the flight as a friend helping a friend, not under the organization's control or direction.  I also told her the typical hour and 30 to 40 minute flight in the twin or the Bonanza would be done in under an hour.  She agreed to have me fly her over.

She showed up early the next morning, with a close friend and some clear anxiety about the trip.  She would have been nervous about a GA airplane ride anyway, and now an experimental?  After looking at the plane she was more comfortable.  I explained everything that was going to happen during the flight and I flew her over in 55 minutes.  I waited a few hours and brought the two of them back, again in under an hour.  During the flight I found out she has a 13 year old daughter, and has some real concerns she will see her graduate from high school.  She really took a chunk out of my heart.  After the flight she asked if there was anything she could do for me.  I said "make it through this".

A couple weeks later I flew her over again, waiting nearly all day as they did her final consult before beginning radiation.  Her dad (about my age) went with this time and it was cool to see her telling him everything she had learned about my plane in the earlier flight.  She was even bragging to the line guys how fast we were doing her flights (and I'm thinking I'm giving her a bright moment, albeit for a short period, during a pretty rough spot in her life....pretty rewarding!!).   I told dad I was adopting her as my second daughter!

It was just days later she needed to be dropped back over there for a couple days of treatment and two different organization pilots flew her over, and then back the next day.  She was dropped again this past Monday, and I was the only one available to bring her back on Tuesday.  By now I don't care what the fuel cost is, I'm doing what ever I can to make her journey a bit less painful and hopefully more successful.  That was her last radiation treatment, and chemo will be done locally.  Her only trips to Mayo now will be more spread out for follow up.  I think she will get a few more 55 minute rides in the future.

Tom

 

Teresa NWALL Flight.JPG

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Thanks @gsxrpilot and @EricJ but I can’t imagine any of you not doing the same!  If we’re fortunate enough to have some success in life and have our health, how could we not be compelled to help others handed such a challenging fate?

Tom

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10 minutes ago, Yooper Rocketman said:

Thanks @gsxrpilot and @EricJ but I can’t imagine any of you not doing the same!  If we’re fortunate enough to have some success in life and have our health, how could we not be compelled to help others handed such a challenging fate?

Tom

"Where much is given..." 

What a wonderful service you are giving. Happiness can be found through serving others, in doing so we forget our own wants and gain something greater. 

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Yesterday was a trip down to LVK and first time into controlled airspace with the new transponder which functioned perfectly (thanks B26) weather a bit warm but was a nice trip coming and going. As we were heading north towards home we heard on the radio A Mooney ending in bravo bravo and I asked if it was Mark ... To which he answered in the affirmative. I guess he now owners Bennets Mooney. As we approached home the landscape sadly shows so much area of destruction from the fires we have suffered over the past few years is really hard to look at. As we enter the last part of the fire season I can only hope and pray we are done for this year and the rains will come soon.

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28 minutes ago, amillet said:

Engine rust prevention flight today over Olympic National Park 

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I would love to make an appropriate contribution towards rust prevention and be able to see those sights from the air. I'm working for a new company in Seattle and am spending a bit of time there off and on.

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Went to Ithaca yesterday with our youngest son Adam (17) to see his brother Scott, (20) our middle son at Cornell.  Fun day.  First time my son showed interest in the airplane. He had me explain every instrument on the panel and what I was thinking as I touched each button and switch.  This is a big change for a kid who generally didn't like flying until recently!

Meanwhile - on roll out at KITH tower said to me - WOW they like my paint job!

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23 hours ago, bonal said:

Yesterday was a trip down to LVK and first time into controlled airspace with the new transponder which functioned perfectly (thanks B26) weather a bit warm but was a nice trip coming and going. As we were heading north towards home we heard on the radio A Mooney ending in bravo bravo and I asked if it was Mark ... To which he answered in the affirmative. I guess he now owners Bennets Mooney. As we approached home the landscape sadly shows so much area of destruction from the fires we have suffered over the past few years is really hard to look at. As we enter the last part of the fire season I can only hope and pray we are done for this year and the rains will come soon.

@bonal Yup, I bought N335BB from @Bennett at the end of July. It was sitting in LASAR's hangar for the duration of the fires, and it wasn't until the end of August that I was finally able to take her up. I've been averaging around an hour of flight time a day since then, and am enjoying the heck out of that aircraft. Bennett did a wonderful job on the upgrades and equipment selection.

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10 minutes ago, bdash said:

@bonal Yup, I bought N335BB from @Bennett at the end of July. It was sitting in LASAR's hangar for the duration of the fires, and it wasn't until the end of August that I was finally able to take her up. I've been averaging around an hour of flight time a day since then, and am enjoying the heck out of that aircraft. Bennett did a wonderful job on the upgrades and equipment selection.

WOW - CONGRATULATIONS bdash!

I have sat in that airplane, in Bennett's hangar once when I visited him.  That is a STUNNING example of an M20J.  Maybe the nicest M20J on the planet - well I haven't seen all of them but its the nicest I have seen with some special mods, special paint, special interior and clean...and I am sure there are none nicer.  Congratulations and enjoy!!!!!

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1 hour ago, bdash said:

@bonal Yup, I bought N335BB from @Bennett at the end of July. It was sitting in LASAR's hangar for the duration of the fires, and it wasn't until the end of August that I was finally able to take her up. I've been averaging around an hour of flight time a day since then, and am enjoying the heck out of that aircraft. Bennett did a wonderful job on the upgrades and equipment selection.

Wow! Congratulations! It's a wonderful plane. I'm jealous . . . .

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Today was Babys second engine run in flight.  4 hours, 75% power all the way down the south coast and back. (One end of the country to the other, Mooney Speed)   Ive posted a couple of pics for you.  My favourite is the one going east bound from Cornwall, where you can see the Irish sea to the left of the pic (north) and the English Channel to the right (South).  
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Cornwall with the two seas north and south
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That strip of land in the top is called Chesil Beach.  Very famous for its geology.  Google it.  The smugglers used its grading to work out whrre they were, but before the bronze age it was a cliff that connected the Isle of Wight with the point in the next picture, there was no sea there at all. 
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The Needles off the Isle of Wight, see pic above, the distance between these two pics is approx 100 nm.
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Pretty cliffs ruined by a holiday trailer park.   
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Corfe Castle destroyed in the Civil war (ours not yours) built in the 12-1300s. 
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Old Harrys rocks in the bottom (part of that cliff line again, Studland beach in the top where APD and I spend lots of sunny weekends, the spit of land to the Right is called Sandbanks and is the second most expensive piece of real estate in the world.  
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Approaching the Isle of Wight from the east going west.  Portsmouth harbour to the right then Southampton.  Note actue lack of naval vessels even though Portsmouth is out largest naval port.  Isle of wight in distance on left.
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For those old enough to remember.  Lyme Regis where The French Lieutenant's Woman was filmed.  The Cobb  is the pier sticking out.  I have had the "hounour" of sailing a 14 foot dinghy into that harbour in a force 6, i was young and stupid.   
Baby off to Holland later today.  New panel time and a historical "issue" to be looked at.  
 

Wow!!!


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