Zane Adams wrote:
Dang...Sad to say that 3 out of the 4 of those Raiders are no longer with us, in body anyway .
It's funny to see folks I know suddenly pop up in a photo... Jim, Gunny, Ricky and then Jim hanging out on the back right.
Nifty!
That was a great trip Zane. The "formation" was a bit dicey because none of the B25 owners wanted to spend the money to do a dress rehearsal. I was giving Gunny my impression of the threat level from the tail position and he was watching traffic in front., finally from both ends of the aircraft we said "let's get out of here!" Once we cleared the crowd where The Raiders were standing, we peeled off and headed back to Grimes. Then some bozo cut us off in the pattern so we sucked the gear up and went around. I rarely like a 25 flight to come to a close, but I was pretty happy to climb down from that one. Having Gunny up front, one doesn't really have much to worry about though.
Yesterday's Airbus assignment was for the wealthiest individual in India, one of the reasons security was so tight. It was not, as I had been led to believe, an aircraft that had anything to do with the Prime Minister. The owner is number one on the Forbes roster with a net worth just north of 60B. So,for him, buying a 319 and outfitting it, is proportionally about as financially taxing as me trying to decide between a large Big Gulp, and an extra large. Difficult to imagine, but oh so grateful to be a tiny part of trickle down economics in action.
Hey Glenn, my robotics guys from TI are taking this v3.0 rig seriously. I went to HQ this morning to reorganize my gear for the rest of the week's assignments and they were busily working on a full scale wooden mock up! These guys are wizards, scary bright and can do math way beyond my third grade level ....... A week from today actual fabrication begins. I have a good friend who flies Triple 7's internationally for AA, he moonlights as the most incredible Heliarc artist you have ever seen, every weld looks like a perfect stack of dimes. I talked with him today and he said to plan on anodizing the rig instead of painting it, because it's going to be a work of art. Think I'll anodize it red!
ELinder wrote:
Cool, there's a number of times you can see how much he's throwing that yoke around. Do you video the joins/rejoins with the military guys? There's something special about seeing someone smoothly close in along the ideal line and stop at just the right place.
Erich
Hey Erich: we do but they dont usualy join up so aggressively from out on the wing. he was pretty good!
I may never have to leave my city limits to do business again. Just did a groundbreaking for a $100M development five minutes from my front door. Based upon the people I met with, the next 24 months are going to be rockin' ! And, three more announcements coming that should dovetail nicely into this project.
Glenn Watson wrote:
Hey Erich: we do but they dont usualy join up so aggressively from out on the wing. he was pretty good!
Glenn
There is also something scary about watching someone do that and wondering if they are going to misjudge. Glenn knows whereof I speak. You are looking through the camera, the subject is zipping in on a diagonal to join with you, or slide underneath. There are moments that you hold your breath because a slight miscalculation and it's raining aluminum and fire.
Glenn, remember the Kate sliding underneath us that morning? From our vantage point it looked like about 24" from the prop tip to the bottom of our fuselage. Did we ever look at that clip? I'll go find it.
Registration confirmed for June 9th Behind The Scenes tour. Looks like I may pack some manual focus lenses to lighten the bag a little. The last time I had scheduled a trip there was five years ago, but things changed drastically and I had to cancel.
Some of the restrictions and info below if anyone else is considering a trip this year, they do require your drivers license number (or passport) when registering:
--------------------
* All bags will be subject to search upon entrance to the Museum.
All guests (including base employees) are REQUIRED to stay for the duration of the tour as this is a secured area.
PLEASE BE ADVISED:
During late spring and summer months the Restoration Hangar can get very hot. Please dress accordingly.
Please remember:
* Behind the Scenes participants must be at least 12 years old.
* Participants between the ages of 12 and 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
* All tour participants 18 years of age and older must present a valid, photo ID (i.e. driver's
license) at time of sign-in.
* Addresses and ID information provide at pre-registration must match those on ID provided at time of check-in.
Failure to do so will result in tour refusal. Corrected information may be emailed to this email address.
* Foreign visitors must present an original passport.
* If you must cancel please do so at least 3 days prior to the tour. You may do so via the email address from which the confirmation was sent or by calling 937-255-4652
* No switches to guests list will be made. Guests registered for the tour, may not switch or trade their seats with others.
* For security reasons, all bags are subject to search.
* Backpacks, packages and large camera cases are not permitted on the shuttle bus.
* Shuttle buses are not handicapped accessible.
Individuals requiring assistance should contact the Museum's Education Division at least one week in advance at 937- 255-4652.
Laura, they didn't say anything about my large camera backpack when i did the tour. I even had my tripod strapped to the side. Then again it was 5 years ago, so how strict they are now I don't know.
JWilsonphoto wrote:
There is also something scary about watching someone do that and wondering if they are going to misjudge. Glenn knows whereof I speak. You are looking through the camera, the subject is zipping in on a diagonal to join with you, or slide underneath. There are moments that you hold your breath because a slight miscalculation and it's raining aluminum and fire.
Glenn, remember the Kate sliding underneath us that morning? From our vantage point it looked like about 24" from the prop tip to the bottom of our fuselage. Did we ever look at that clip? I'll go find it.
Believe me, I know how quickly they can get scary. Flew enough scary ones myself when I was getting my FAST wingman qualification. :-) That's why I asked about the military guys - and gals- doing the rejoins. I know all the variables, so may be able to appreciate them even more when done right. When it clicks it's like a work of art.
Erich, For me, it's more the heat factor than security. Heat and I don't get along. Five years ago, they didn't have the metal detectors and bag check into the museum, either. You just walked in.
ELinder wrote:
Laura, they didn't say anything about my large camera backpack when i did the tour. I even had my tripod strapped to the side. Then again it was 5 years ago, so how strict they are now I don't know.
A week from today actual fabrication begins. I have a good friend who flies Triple 7's internationally for AA, he moonlights as the most incredible Heliarc artist you have ever seen, every weld looks like a perfect stack of dimes. I talked with him today and he said to plan on anodizing the rig instead of painting it, because it's going to be a work of art. Think I'll anodize it red!
