What a party!

On Friday, Oct. 15, the clan starts to gather for our appearance in Meridianville, AL for a one pony show hosted by Dan Gabel. Gene and Sheryl drove up to meet George Dennis, John Thatcher and Joe Roberts who had brought the plane from Shelbyville. Blake Butler drove up with Kyle Dennis so George would have wheels. Training flights were done until after dark.
John was staying with George at his daughter's home where he and Kay were baby sitting for the weekend. But they joined us for the evening as we descended on the Gabel household. There is some trepidation to entering a perfect stranger's home for the weekend with four people and all their gear, but Debbie proved to be up to the challenge. Not only that, but a lovely person who we instantly became best buddies with.
The Gabels are martini aficionados and have one of the best stocked liquor cabinets known to man. So the festivities began. The main topic of conversation was the recent end of Blake's marriage and his re-enty into the single scene. There was a possibility of meeting a new person sometime during our stay here and soon there were seven people giving Blake advice on his future. And the more time went on, the funnier things got. At one point Blake gifted me a herd of 8 Tennessee Walking horses that had appeared in his meadow and made me name them so I would bond with them. (there was a photo) But lo and behold, the next night I overheard him giving them to Brandi. How fickle is that? Dan and Debbie treated us to a fabulous steak dinner with all the trimmings and then folks stumbled off the bed. Literally.
We find ourselves at Madison County Executive Airport on a brisk fall Saturday morning. The folks there could not have been nicer. A very efficient and friendly woman named Marty runs the place and is a dynamo. The airport authority (including Tom Sharp, Joe Patterson and Smith Hayward) were hosting a hot dog and hamburger cook out for donations with all collected funds going to the Flagship. How great is that??
This weekend is the debut of the new tee shirt with the Flying Magazine 75th anniversary logo. We are all wearing them and they are a hit. (see photo) We sold $350 worth of shirts and hats to a relatively small crowd. Dan has done a good job of selling memberships and we have an all but full heritage flight plus the cook out nets another $100.
That evening we repair to Nick's, a combination restaurant and cigar bar. We are joined by new members Peter Voetsch and Brandi and Turk Terkhuerst. Brandi works for Delta in operations and Turk flies helicopters for the oil industry in Eastern Europe. Brandi is a pilot also and has a 140 named Patches because the two wings do not match in color. Turk happens to mention that his flight brought back memories of flying DC-3s with his father. Gene asks if his family had one and Turk replies, "Twenty-six of them." At this point, Gene hones in like a heat seeking missile and does not let up until Turk agrees to accompany the plane to Ft. Worth and consider becoming a pilot member.
This is another fun evening with Brandi and Turk coming back to the Gabels with us and the party lasting until the wee hours.
On Sunday, the next morning the crowd scatters, leaving Dan and Gene keep the plane open that day. I drove down to Birmingham to spend the night with my sister in law and visit with my children, returning to Covington on Monday.
Monday morning, Dan, Gene, Brandi and Turk fly the plane to Ft. Worth. Upon arrival the Terkhuersts catch a Delta flight back to Atlanta where Brandi had a car. Gene will have a busy week in Texas, two charity events, two days of teaching ground school, a Clint Black concert, and air show and Sky Ball. He then returns next week with two pilots in tow to take their exams for their type ratings in the plane.

Leesburg Air Show

All week the weatherman had promised sunny and 63 only to change his mind at the last minute to 59, rain and wind. When we met in the lobby, the men gave Peggy and I the option of not going. Their thought was that nobody would come and we could stay dry. But, we were already dressed and decided to tough it out. We were allowed to drive the van out to the plane which helped comfort wise. No one had really warm clothes. I had three layers under a windbreaker rain jacket. Peggy is in her stewardess outfit which is lightweight wool, but her legs are exposed. The men have sweatshirts over tee shirts.
Peggy stayed up in the middle of the plane where it was more protected from the wind and I stood at the door and handled the crowd. And there was one. I could not believe that people stood in the wind and rain and cold all day (11-4) to see the plane. They were a good and interested crowd with well behaved and interested children. What I had not previously known is that the plane leaks. I had to keep changing position to avoid drips on my head. I kept thinking I was freezing until I would stick my head out and realize how much warmer it was inside.
We mostly stayed at our posts all day, Jake brought food from the vendors and we ate it where we stood. There was free food for us somewhere but it was too far to walk in the weather. When we finally closed down at four the men told us that everyone else had folded their tents and left a few hours prior. No one could feel their feet when the day was over and we all went to the hotel and stood in tubs of hot water to revive them.
That evening the group went to an excellent Italian restaurant and had a celebratory end of the trip meal. On Sunday morning early, Peggy flew out of Dulles back to Florida. The rest of us boarded the Flagship bundled up again as there was still cloud cover which meant we had to fly high where it is cold. And cold it did get!! We soon learned that if we sat on the east side of the plane, the sun helped warm us. As we got further south, the clouds went away and it was a tad warmer. We arrived in Shelbyville, TN around four PM, where the weather was perfect. Gene was to take Jake and Zane for a training session. I went to my car, removed shoes and socks and put my bare feet on the hot dash to try to thaw them out. Around 6PM George took Jake and Zane to Nashville to catch planes and Gene and I headed for home, arriving after 10. Ready to be home for awhile now.

Gettysburg

Friday proved to be one of the best weather days we have had with cool temperatures and mostly sunshine. Gene and I joined George and Kay Dennis and their son Kyle on a trip to Gettysburg which was about an hour and a half away. Gene and George had been there in prior years.
First stop was the visitors center, built in 2008 to replace a previous one, where we watched a video about the battle. Then went to the Cyclorama presentation. We all agreed that the Atlanta one is better. In this one, you stand on a platform and have to walk around to see the various parts of the painting, whereas in Atlanta the seats revolve so that one sees it all without moving.
We picked up a driving map and started hitting the high spots of battle sites, including Soldier's Cemetery where many of the Union dead are buried and where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address. I do not know where the Confederates were buried. It was sobering to see the open field the confederates crossed under scathing fire and all the graves lined up obviously shoulder to shoulder with many reading "unknown." One thing I never thought about was the impact on the small village of having to deal with the bodies of thousands of soldiers in the middle of summer.
Around two PM we stopped into a brewpub for a lunch of very good sandwiches and burgers and realized that if we did not head for home, we would get into the very heavy traffic that is prevalent in the area each afternoon. The drive was very scenic of farms and old farmhouses, picturesque villages with historic homes and beautiful vistas.
During the ride, a phone call informed George that the plane needed to be rolled back about 8 feet to provide clearance for other planes, so on the way to the hotel, we went by and did that with the help of a guy in a Ford F150 and a big rope.
That evening it was Thai food, but no one was very hungry because Peggy and Jake had eaten lunch about the same time that we did.