divine intervention... from above

Does anything taste better than sand?


Does Sand come in Multiple flavors....


Will there be enough sand for my childrens children.... 

Chevy 19B69 cleared for the option

For those who don't know, this is what the open road looks like. Sometimes, you can see a car here or there. I'm glad the plane is back, sometimes on the longer trips, I like to think of these desolate roads as runways... and I practice driving down the middle.. (its the whole stripe-ed line thing.)Sometimes the other drivers show signs of annoyance. They apparently don't like people pretending that they are airplanes landing on their desolate roads. I figure its good practice for them just in case an airplane does have to land on their road. Perhaps they would rather be in an airplane themselves, or they are just annoyed that someone else thought of it first. Or maybe they just don't like someone driving down the middle of their road. I doubt they want to stop and chat about it, so I let them pass, and then I go back to making my airplane noises, and driving down the middle of their desert runway..

only Twice in 12 years! A three hour tour?

Having had 4 kids, its obviously not the number of times we've been able to obscond to a quiet corner, and have sex... Therefore, two would be the number of times I've been able to get kimberlee to go somewhere in the plane. (in the last 12 years) Being our anniversary, we load-balanced the kids between her parents and her sister. Just as we were leaving the last dropoff (yes, we spent more time visiting, and dropping kids, than we spent on our 12 year anniversary date), kimberlee figured out that I had made all the arrangements to fly to wendover for dinner.
She caught on instantly when I was making a last minute weather check.. and argued a fair bit of the way to the airport. Only after making me promise that we could have another child (eventually) in exchange for her getting into the plane did she actually get into the plane. (stuff deleted here.) At any rate. She did get into the plane after being re-assured by a 19 year old (almost commercial) private pilot who fueled the plane, and checked the tires that if a 19 year old was still alive after multiple trips, it must be safe... somehow..

Long story short, we bailed out over the great salt lake, and the plane flew into the largest open pit copper mine in the world. (I think it landed safely where its visited and admired year round by tourists.) We swam to antelope island where we live without electricity, or any modern amenities... castaways... living in harmony with the buffalo, wondering what they did with the antelope. Fortuneatly, we make trinkets to sell in exchange for food from tourists, knowing that our children are being raised pel-mel by relates and pygmi tribes found in northern idaho. This may be our last update, as we relay these messages to tourists who come to the island across the causeway (smuggled in empty SoBe jars.) we hope to some day raise the $5 cause-way fee, (or learn to swim the 20 miles) and see our kids again. So it ended as well as could be expected.

Til we see the next SoBe toting tourist, otherwise, see you on the island! 

one tired pilot in training

Back when we started learning how to fly, one of nico's favorite things was to hang out at this place called "the perfect landing" where he could get a mongo sized burger, and steak fries while he watched really big planes that served what he called "lunch on board." His big division between aircraft really was nothing more than that.. While we waited for our burgers, he'd look out the window, pointing at the aircraft as they pulled by: "That ones big enough to have lunch.... and that ones too small.. hey dad, do you think they serve lunch on that one?"

 

places weve been, places to go

Now here was a conversation we had today. Amongst the apollo 11 lunar landing, and the gov. Bangerter watering of the desert via million dollar pumps. Swedish transplanted tree's... what they won't think of next. and it only cost... a million. The major complaint of course being that of no restrooms, parking lot, on or off ramps. I reckon its all for the best as that would have required 1.2 to 1.6 million instead of the initial miniscule million. That's after all just crazy money. leave that to the state to maintain (*or water with Bangerters pumps.) its all good. Most people just use the tree as the typical watering relief spot, as witnessed by the yellowing cement base (or perhaps its packs of wild dingo's who live in the desert and territorially mark the tree to keep the wild um.. sharks away.. I always wanted it to have much bigger balls. (on top) and more of them.. (a bit sparse for my liking) with squirrels and chipmunks running about. Course, if those are leaves on the ground, I'd hate to see the squirrels. A site to be certain. so I figure in the next few months, when opportunity presents itself, we'll load up the kids and fly/drive to this obscure spot in the desert between magna, and wendover, to pay homage to a tree whose memorably buried its roots betwixt Tooele, Stalin, The Shah of Iran, and the swedish mind of a guy named Momen. 

pondering life, or eating sand...

Hard to tell really, but you can see that she is one smart cookie... She appears to be using her 8 month old intellect (size of a planet) to sort out how much sand she can ingest before working it off in the ocean... Its either that or enjoying the appreciable amount of sand between her, and her brothers down in the ocean... either way, she ate alot of sand!

The last time someone had their fingers in our cranks!

Kim (the aircraft and powerplant mechanic) called and said that he had to break a few bolts, tig weld some threads onto the cylinders, pulled one of the cylinders to drill out the threads, and scoped the crankshaft with a borescope.. Apparently Embry Riddle (having overhauled the engine in 1967) did such a good job, that the crankshaft doesn't have a spot of rust. Almost 40 years later and 1000 hours past the recommended rebuild, and the thing is still high compressions (that would be good for those like myself not technically cylinder savvy). I don't know which student did it, but I'd like to think they are out there now 40 years later still doing an awesome job!

For the record, our bird started life in 1965. (Sarasota Florida to be precise) where all good pipers started. for the first 1000 hours she was at the university, whereit most likely spent its youth training students to fly and mechanics to maintain. At $9,624.80 (almost $60k in 2006 dollars) the university paid Avemco $267.35 a month! to keep the bird from the bank (thats alot of cash to be forkin out for her, and 30 of its closest siblings..)

It was sold to "Pandora Aviation" (Rockledge Florida) in 1968
and then again to a private owner in Largo Florida that same Year for $5,736.00
(Avemco enjoyed the fruits of its interest labors - yet again)

for a mere $120 a month, Herman flew it until he sold it to Arthur over in ClearWater Florida (for a mere $4,660.32) in 1969

Arthur paid up a meager $194.18 a month until he sold it that same year to Robert over in east Canton, Ohio (For $4,448.16)

Robert Paid $92.67 a month (on the 4 year plan) and flew our beauty around the flatlands of OHIO until he owned it outright, free and clear of Avemco. You can tell Robert loved this plane, because he proceeded to fly / maintain / park the plane (the logs show more parking than flying) until 1991. He did rack up some time on the airframe but not alot for a 22 year span... Given the same amount of time, I'd have flown her to the moon and back! ;)

in 1991, he passed it along to Ronald in St. Clair Michigan, Who sold it in 1994 to Randall over in Hinkley Illinois for over $11k dollars.(lots of R Owners to this point.)

Breaking the R chain, Randy sold it to a co-ownership of Bradly (Toledo, Ohio) and Thomas (Perrysburg Ohio). in 1995 Bradly got tired of the long distance relationship, and opted out in 1995 (giving Thom full ownership.) I suspect he was doing Thom a favor to avoid giving Avemco any revenue ;)..

Now from 1995 til 2006 Thom (being an A&P) put his weekends, heart, soul and every spare check into restoration. (I know he loved that plane) cause he kinda looked real sad as I flew it off its home field in Bowling Green Ohio. His Wife on the other hand looked a bit like the jealous girlfriend ready to let the other girl go... (jk) He still "had" a premo 172 on the field.. beautiful bird.

I say "had a 172" as with our rescue (purchase -- read on) of the aircraft, it narrowly averted disaster (As the hangar and field where it was parked in Ohio, was torn up by a twister within a few weeks of it arrival in Salt Lake City Utah.) It's remaining 172 hangarmate, wasn't as lucky. apparently insurance returned it to diet coke can recycling program after a 4x4 from the hangar framing harpooned itself through the engine compartment.

Since then, (and its flight from ohio) its flown to Wyoming, Las Vegas, Colorado, and California. The Kids have flown in it several times, and think its the low wing "ride" of the century...

Now why.. would I put all this in here. Well, the airplane is now my morning commute, taking us wherever the business takes us and I thought just to put our adventures in perspective, that it would be fun, to know just a little bit, of the life and times that our ride has already seen since 1965.
And ultimately why, Kim the Mechanic was letting me know that the engine was good to go, for a little.. while.. longer.. (well, at least until the next 100 hours.) Thanks Piper, and Embry Riddle, for the fine start, and all the other care-takers (especially Thom) who took such good care of our newest family member! We'll carry on with Thom's parting advice and continue to "put the tired old wheels down softly."

Good ideas are always well aged....

When a 7 year old turns to a 4 year old and says, "You go first" that always sets into motion what inevitably becomes a great idea.

Isaac's been catching on tho, and to Nico's credit, he still shows him just how to do it. Like the other day when the whole neighborhood showed up in our front yard to help Nico re-design the weekly zip line between the tree where we usually find all the neighborhood boys, and the blue spruce that the power company decided to fold up and extensively trim like a snowflake. (Making it a memorable landmark on our street.) He's obviously done this before, so this time, its as tight as he could get it (slack rope improvements retained from the previous weeks design...) Tension and knot tying complete, he offers to let Isaac take the first trip.

Isaac eyes him in that usual "why are you trying to send me to the emergency room" kinda brotherly way, and counters with the "you first" self-defense. To his credit, Nico climbs the tree, with everybody cheering him on (holding onto his improved pulley and handle purchased at home depot that same weekend), he jumps out of the tree.. hanging on to the pulley, and went much farther than before (avoiding the ground this time), he flew straight into the first set of branches.. which flipped him into the second set... and then finally released him (now travelling backwards) to careen at a fairly good 45 degree angle into the prickly bushes bordering the drive... (did I mention he was wearing shorts and a t-shirt?)

Still, he did avoid the shortcut straight to the ground this time.

For the most part he came out of the bushes laughing with the rest of the boys, after all, 7 is a very forgiving age, and has now had ample opportunity to further analyze his test results. His list now includes 1) a ratcheting winch for even more tension, 2) a pulley bar to stay forward facing, and 3) a climing harness so his hands are free to "move things" that might get in the way. He will .. eventually .. make it.. sometime next week I reckon.. And then the rest of the boys will be lining up for his great idea..