Sunday, March 27

Westward Ho!

Friday dawns cold. We know it will be even colder aloft and so everyone dons layers of clothing. Dave remarked that he had no further use for his suitcase as he was wearing everything he brought. There is frost on the roof of the cabin and some concern about the wings of the Flagship. We meet for a hearty breakfast at the Midway, not knowing when we will eat again.
George, Kay and Kyle Dennis are already at the airport when we arrive. It has warmed up enough that frost is no longer an issue. Some rather boorish guy is sauntering over to the Flagship and enters with a cup of coffee without asking anyone. Gene cautions him about the coffee. He tells us that is his Citation over there. We are under impressed. Then he asks us what the Flagship is worth. I tell him that you cannot put a price on history, the Flagship is priceless. Amazing how quickly this guy got under our skin!

Kay Dennis took a wonderful group photo and then we launched. And, yes, it was cold. We did have a couple of blanketss on board that were very welcome. We also had a strong head wind which ended up making the trip an hour longer than we had thought. We stayed a bit low as the wind was worse aloft but that made for a pretty bumpy ride. Peggy goes into flight attendent mode distributing snacks and water along with the banter.

As we got further west, it became warmer and first we jetisonned the blankets, then the coats. About an hour from our destination, the plane suddenly looked like a strip club as clothes started flying everywhere and we all get down to short sleeved T-shirts. First stop was Meachum Field where we dropped Steve and Peggy and their luggage. They were to get transportation to his condo, get his car and come to pick up Gene and Sheryl at Alliance. We were supposed to alert Jeff Selby of our impending arrival, but forgot. Jeff was hard at work when he heard a familiar sound. Hmmm, he thought, that sounds like radial engines. He peeked around the corner of the building and sure enough, here we came. So he was quickly on the scene with a tug to tow us into the hanger. We met one of the guys who built the galley and his pride and love of the plane was obvious.

Jeff traded the tug for a golf cart, loaded us up and ferried us to the front of the mainenance facility where we sat on the steps amidst our luggage awaiting our ride. Dave Buffington's wife had already collected him and Fred, who they were taking to DFW to try to get a flight home. We got a lot of strange looks from the people going in and out of the parking lot.

Peggy and Steve arrive and first stop is a Mexican restaurant as we are all hungry and parched. For some of us, the last liquid was morning coffee. Then off to Steve's condo, the view from which is pictured here. Now we await the next leg of the journey and prepare the Flagship for that.

No comments:

Post a Comment