Pilots flying their planes into a fly in happening will often camp under the wing of the plane, or near it, in a tent or by throwing a tarp over the wing to make a tent. We are actually in an open ended hanger with several planes and a very large tractor trailer in here with us. But let me start at the beginning.
We are headed to Knoxville on Thursday, which is another perfect spring day and we had a leisurely drive, stopping when the spirit moved us. We arrived about 3:30 and installed the camper at the back end of Remote Area Medical's (RAM) hanger. This is the very worthy outfit that provides free vision, dental and medical care to indigents in the U.S. and abroad, created by Stan Brock, once a star on Wild Kingdom. There is an electrical connection but prior to setting up, we drove the camper over to a nearby water hydrant to fill up our holding tank. We have brought extra water for cooking and drinking as we often do, not knowing what the quality might be at the destination. (For instance, the water in Dallas tastes like mud.)
We are headed to Knoxville on Thursday, which is another perfect spring day and we had a leisurely drive, stopping when the spirit moved us. We arrived about 3:30 and installed the camper at the back end of Remote Area Medical's (RAM) hanger. This is the very worthy outfit that provides free vision, dental and medical care to indigents in the U.S. and abroad, created by Stan Brock, once a star on Wild Kingdom. There is an electrical connection but prior to setting up, we drove the camper over to a nearby water hydrant to fill up our holding tank. We have brought extra water for cooking and drinking as we often do, not knowing what the quality might be at the destination. (For instance, the water in Dallas tastes like mud.)
We are looking out across a grassy field toward a treeline with the Tennessee River 
beyond the trees. We are at Downtown Island Airport which is surrounded by the Tennessee River. Looking down the runway, you can see the skyline of Knoxville. The sun is at our back so we get afternoon shade. One of the guys here tells us there is a trail throught the woods and down the river and that a bald eagle lives in those woods and can be seen flying from time to time in late afternoon. We will keep our eyes peeled.
Gene is here to give check rides to a couple of people and perhaps take one, though he doesn't think he is due yet. He has an arrangement to call an FAA examiner en route and take an oral as they say he is not legal until he does. When he calls, the guy tells him the deal is off, RAM has not jumped through the hoops and our trip is for naught. Gene calls Stan. Stan calls the FAA and quotes to them from the letter they sent him in response giving the authority. The FAA man is terribly embarrassed and faxes the permission and now the deal is on again. At our arrival, Ron Tallent calls and asks that Gene fly with him this evening as he has company coming tomorrow. He is about 45 minutes away and by the time they cranked the engines it was 7:30 PM. It was about 9 when Gene got back to the trailer for dinner. Meanwhile I set up my watercolors on a table outside and painted, at dark I walked down the line of hangers to the runway to see the city lights. It was a delightful balmy evening the airport is very well lit. No one around but us chickens.
For this flight, they are using Ron's DC3. Gene reported there was an electrical failure on the plane, possibly from an electrical fire as there was a lot of smoke at one point. They opened the windows to blow the smoke into the back and used flashlights to read the guages. The flight might have been ended a teeny bit sooner than planned.
beyond the trees. We are at Downtown Island Airport which is surrounded by the Tennessee River. Looking down the runway, you can see the skyline of Knoxville. The sun is at our back so we get afternoon shade. One of the guys here tells us there is a trail throught the woods and down the river and that a bald eagle lives in those woods and can be seen flying from time to time in late afternoon. We will keep our eyes peeled.Gene is here to give check rides to a couple of people and perhaps take one, though he doesn't think he is due yet. He has an arrangement to call an FAA examiner en route and take an oral as they say he is not legal until he does. When he calls, the guy tells him the deal is off, RAM has not jumped through the hoops and our trip is for naught. Gene calls Stan. Stan calls the FAA and quotes to them from the letter they sent him in response giving the authority. The FAA man is terribly embarrassed and faxes the permission and now the deal is on again. At our arrival, Ron Tallent calls and asks that Gene fly with him this evening as he has company coming tomorrow. He is about 45 minutes away and by the time they cranked the engines it was 7:30 PM. It was about 9 when Gene got back to the trailer for dinner. Meanwhile I set up my watercolors on a table outside and painted, at dark I walked down the line of hangers to the runway to see the city lights. It was a delightful balmy evening the airport is very well lit. No one around but us chickens.
For this flight, they are using Ron's DC3. Gene reported there was an electrical failure on the plane, possibly from an electrical fire as there was a lot of smoke at one point. They opened the windows to blow the smoke into the back and used flashlights to read the guages. The flight might have been ended a teeny bit sooner than planned.
We think this is about the best location we have ever camped in, good view, under a cover, private and quiet.
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