columbia Fly-in a Success!

[VictorBravo]

The 2007 Columbia CA Taylorcraft fly-in was a success. Well, almost a success. We who was there had a great time but we woulda had a much better time if you who was not there was there instead.

L Fries... Flyguy... where were you guys? We really missed you. The two big-tire bushplanes from Oregon... some of the Bay Area guys... come on this was a fantastic thing!

We had about 10-12 Taylorcrafts there at one time or another. Our host Ron Sawyer celebrated the 18th time he put this little fly-in together. This event was fun, low-key, and we shared our love of this wonderful airplane.

In a few hours (after dinner and detox) I will try to post some of the photos I took, and some more details. But I will say right now that some of you missed a good time, great weather, world-class hangar flying sessions, and a chance to feel some good old "salt of the earth" camaraderie.

Bill

[lfries]

Re: columbia Fly-in a Success!

Sorry I missed it. Too close to Mothers Day and Youngest Sons B-day.
Also, need to finish getting the Engine Installed then priorities could
change. Looking forward to the Pictures.

[VictorBravo]

Re: columbia Fly-in a Success!

Here are some photos:

1. The two blue and white airplanes next to each other are none other than John Miles and Steve (sorry didn't get last name) from Sonoma Sky Park. I looked into Steve's fuselage and I first thought he had converted it to a walk-in closet! Steve had many interesting updates and clever ideas incorporated into his airplane. These two guys are a riot! They are living proof that "old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill"

2. The yellow airplane belongs to Jim "Doc" Meeker, who flew in from Fla-Bob at U-2 altitudes to take advantage of tailwinds. How his 65 horse airplane gets up to 9000 feet+ is a mystery to me, but I saw him burying some cardboard boxes in the woods that had Caution: Live JATO printed on them. Jim was kind enough to provide cold beer for more than one of our evening BS sessions.

3. This is one of the reasons Columbia is such a great place to fly in. We don't have grass runways where I come from. The thought of a manicured, perfect, lush grass runway... that makes your every landing appear to be blessed by CG himself was just too much for me to bear. I had to take off Saturday and shoot touch and goes on that grass... it might be a year before I can do it again. Jim Meeker felt the urge to do a few landings later on as well, complete with a supersonic 100 mph pass down the runway.

4. Some airplane showed up at midnight, invisible to radar, and had the words Groom Lake painted on the side in very light gray paint. The aircraft was gone before anyone could identify it, but a long range spy satellite operated by the People's Republic of CashBackistan managed to get a photo of what appears to be a movable cooling flap on the cowling. No other information was available at press time.

5. The flight line at Columbia was shared between the genteel and always high-class T-crafters and an unruly mob of Cessna 180/185 owners in for their fly-in. One of these ignoramii needed to leave the fly-in Sunday morning at 5:15AM, and felt the need to do so with his propeller control torqued all the way forward and supersonic shock waves form the prop tips rattling the windows of every house within a mile.

[VictorBravo]

Re: columbia Fly-in a Success!

More Photos:

1. George DeMartini's beautiful red Taylorcraft parked next to mine. George is one of the remaining good guys at our favorite regulatory agency.

2. Dew drops on the trailing edge of George's plane at dawn. This is your intrepid author's attempt at "art photography" with a medium-caliber digital camera.

3. Mark Pearson got the record for distance flown, something like 7 and a half hour's worth from Vancouver, WA to Columbia. Here he's packing up his airplane Sunday morning in preparation for the return voyage.

4. My airplane and tent setup at dawn on Saturday.

5. The first of two group dinners. This one was at Jardine's restaurant in Columbia on Friday night. From left to right:Ron Sawyer, George DeMartini, Wes Meyers, Ted Miller, Jim Meeker, Craig Sawyer. Not pictured were later arrivals Mark Pearson, John Miles, Steve (from Sonoma). Bill (didn't get the last name) George Wacker, Paul (didn't get the last name), and Fred Westerling.

[whake]

Re: columbia Fly-in a Success!

Great pictures...you guys are lucky living out there in the hill country...tent camping in Florida is not the greatest...Flying out of Northwest Chicago was good. I gave up a lot when I moved south to live in the sunshine.

[dedrekon]

Re: columbia Fly-in a Success!

I'm so sorry I didn't get to pop down from Portland. I really wanted to go this year, but life got in the way....time and tide wait for no man.

Great pics Bill! I'll definitely try to make it next year. I'll bring scotch and cigars!

V

[VictorBravo]

Re: columbia Fly-in a Success!

I gave up a lot when I moved south to live in the sunshine.

You already moved south, so just move west now, and you'll have all the sunshine and hills you could ever want

And fewer tornadoes and fewer hurricanes and fewer insect bites and less humidity and...

ALSO... anyone who has additional photos from Columbia please feel free to post them.

[flybikefarm]

Re: columbia Fly-in a Success!

What about EARTHQUAKES? Aren't you afriad California will fall in the ocean?

[VictorBravo]

Re: columbia Fly-in a Success!

It's supposed to fall into the ocean... that puts out the wildfires

[Bobdog]

Re: columbia Fly-in a Success!

Just how soon is that suppose to happen? I'm looking forward to owning ocean front property.

Bill: How's your latest story coming? Hope it's long, I still have quite a bit of space left in my flight bag.

[VictorBravo]

Re: columbia Fly-in a Success!

Aw Jeez Bob... you're assuming that I am going to admit my mistakes publicly after all

I'll tell you what. I will write out that story, I even thought of a few cute parts of it flying back from Columbia (the part about the midnight psychotic conversations between the airplane and myself). However, it has been said more than once on this forum (with some amount of truth) that I may have too much time on my hands... and it has been said more than once today by my wife (with some amount of a cast iron frying pan held next to my head) that I have too little money in my pocket.

So I gotta go back to work banging on the keyboard for profit instead of fun for a while. I have to make asses out of people other than myself for a little bit (can you imagine), once I have amassed enough money for the rent for a couple of months then I can spend some time writing out a story about chasing the cooling problems and getting to Columbia.

How about you? I can't be the only guy here with some interesting stories. In this forum there are plenty of guys with ten times as many hours in the air as me, and I surely can't be the only one who can spin half a humorous yarn. Write up a story about your project, how it's coming, etc.

[flyguy]

Re: columbia Fly-in a Success!

OMG! The grass is green. Not sure I have ever seen the grass green at Columbia.

Well, I'm guilty of not showing up when I had planned to make it. I just got the plane back together from the annual and had not flown for 3 weeks and had a doctors appmt Friday. Had a 20+ across the runway here, and was still putting out fires late Friday evening and didn't have all my gear in one place.

I have always tried to avoid getting the "I have to go" itis when it comes to flying. Really sorry I missed it this year, but later when I would have come back the wind was still blasting across the runway and I would have had to land on the Helipad. Not what I want to do when I am even a bit rusty.

Went down to go around the pattern this AM and there it is again 15 or so at 270; not supposed to be doing that in the morning. Irritated me so muchI forgot to stop by the AI to see if my paperwork was finished and give him some money. Ah, summertime and the Monterey express jetstream: I love it. Think I'll just go to the beach.
Darryl

[Jim Meeker]

Re: columbia Fly-in a Success!

Bill
Here are some additional pictures

1. Bill shooting landings on grass

2. My best effort show the 185 guys that a Tcraft can get its prop tips to go supersonic, didn't work.

3. Back of the flight line

4. Columbia airport

Cheers
Jim

[Jim Meeker]

Re: columbia Fly-in a Success!

[
2. The yellow airplane belongs to Jim "Doc" Meeker, who flew in from Fla-Bob at U-2 altitudes to take advantage of tailwinds. How his 65 horse airplane gets up to 9000 feet+ is a mystery to me, but I saw him burying some cardboard boxes in the woods that had Caution: Live JATO printed on them. Jim was kind enough to provide cold beer for more than one of our evening BS sessions.

Bill
This was a normal trip at 9K but I was going 115 through Tehachapi with a good tail wind See 1 & 2. Wasn't so lucky in 2003 had to go to 12K to get over clouds, picture only shows 11.5K ground speed was in the 30s (see 2,4,&5).
Cheers
Jim

[high time cub]

Re: columbia Fly-in a Success!

2. The yellow airplane belongs to Jim "Doc" Meeker, who flew in from Fla-Bob at U-2 altitudes to take advantage of tailwinds. How his 65 horse airplane gets up to 9000 feet+ is a mystery to me,

The secret is the YELLOW!

Jim