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Click Here to see a Video of the flight
The weather during last
year's Marathon Seafood Festival was... terrible! (very strong and
gusty winds). By comparison, the weather for the festival this
Saturday was perfect!
Participating LAFA flyers
met for a pilot briefing (and donuts) at the X51 manager's office at 07:30.
By 08:00 our engines were firing-up.
Eight planes departed from
X51: (Rich & Ricky / Aeronca Champ; Cesil / Avid; Donny / Buccaneer; Ron &
Claire Andersen / MX; John and Doris/ MX, Peter / Kolb; Cap'n Bob / Kolb.
Ron Ohm (who is about to join LAFA although he doesn't realize it yet) also
joined the group in his Aeronca Chief).
Mario Lima who made his own way there was
plane number nine. Our ground crew consisted of Virgil and his station
wagon - loaded to the gills with red 5-gallon fuel containers. (Thank you
Virgil!),
Taxiing before
take-off
Our flight consisted of a
'near-land' route towards Tavernaero Park which was to be our mid-way
refueling stop.
Upon arrival at Tavernaero,
the faster planes made a couple of fly-by's before proceeding to Marathon
without landing. The slower planes arrived a bit later. It was our intention
not to impose on our hosts at Tavernaero any more than necessary, but those
of us who landed discovered that the residents were actually disappointed
that the other planes in our group had not also landed. It turns out
they had hoped for a "mini fly-in".
Aerial views of
Tavernaero Park
Our host Bob in front
of his beautiful runway-front home
The slower planes
arrive...
Virgil rolls in with
the fuel
Take-offs are
followed by...
even more...
...scenic
...views.
As we flew over I
noticed SEVEN dolphins playing games with the people in this boat
(my next camera will have a better
zoom).
LAFA arrived safely
at MTH
...and discovered many other
beautiful planes there as well - though few could fly as slowly as we could.
(Bet they were jealous!)
We also found a few
other interesting things to look at...
By mid afternoon most people were tired
and feeling the heat of the scorching sun. The day's adventure had been enough for most, but
apparently not for Cap'n Bob who was only half way through
his day. As Bob prepared to
depart for home with John and Ron, he "thought" his next destination would
be Tavernaero, but his engine had
other plans.
Eight minutes after departing from MTH,
the on-board decibel level in his plane suddenly decreased by an amount
exactly equivalent to that of his engine noise. Bob proceeded to relax
and enjoy the sheer beauty of silent flight, but ultimately decided to make
a "precautionary landing" to the side of main road at mile marker 62.
This came as quite a surprise to a father and daughter who were fishing
nearby, and who rushed over to offer him a 7-Up as he disembarked.
They then drove off somewhere to buy it!
Perhaps they were just relieved that his
first phrase wasn't "Take me to your leader".
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Bob next to his plane after the
wings had been folded for towing. |
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The "runway" viewed from ground
level (and the 7-Up car). |
Needless to say the outcome
was favorable. Nobody hurt and nothing damaged. A tribute to the benefits of:
1. Always looking
out for that emergency landing spot within gliding distance.
2.
Flying light, low-inertia planes that can land slowly.
3. Pilot skill.
Thanks to the kindness and
help received from Manny Sierra and his crew, we were able to tow Bob's
plane to Manny's Bait and Tackle shop two miles down the road for safe
storage until Bob's daughter arrived from Miami with trailer in tow.
When the trailer
arrived, we went to dinner to celebrate the good outcome.
Aerial view of Runway
06 at "Bob
Int'l Airport" photographed the next day.
Donny
Amador, Mario Lima and I spent the night in Marathon with our respective
families and returned independently on Sunday. During my flight back,
I caught a glimpse of this familiar looking PBY flying in the opposite
direction (see the April photo pf the month). I later learned that LAFA member Graham (alias
"Junkyard Wars") was on
board.
All in all a great week-end!
- Next time... Key West?
Click Here to see a Video of the flight
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