Fly-in to Urbana...

This past weekend certainly perked up my spirits and rekindled an old flame -- an old passion. Out of the blue, my neighbor down the road called and asked me if I wanted to go with him to a fly-in for breakfast over at Grimes Field in Urbana. One of the coolest things about having a private pilot's license is having the ability and means to get into a plane and fly off somewhere for a $5.00 pancake breakfast, see the sights and enjoy the company of other pilots. I know, it probably cost about $40 or so to do this, but it is generally worth it and ends up being something few people have the opportunity to do. Dave has a grass strip behind our house, and it was easy to hook up with him. As we took off, rolling down the field, we saw Pam and Bailey standing at the far end, waiving. I felt like I should have been wearing an old leather helmet and goggles with a long, white silk scarf as we cleared the telephone wires and turned east to do battle with the Red Barron.

In this case, the Urbana folks were also showing off the new hanger they had built and the vintage planes they were restoring. One of the things I have noticed lately at these sorts of things -- fly-ins, ham radio "Field Days", fishing derbies and lazy weekend days along the banks at Lake Loramie -- there are a lot of "old guys" (probably grandpas) there with youngsters -- both boys and girls. I think this is really neat. I was a speaker last year at a father-son breakfast at the Catholic church up the road and the point of my message was there needs to be more of this kind of thing and that sons and grandsons are losing a lot by not talking to dad/grand dad and listening to his stories -- especially if they were veterans of WWII, Korea or Viet Nam. There is a lot of family history and "grandpa wisdom" being lost every day and not being passed down.

Anyway, the planes they were restoring were interesting to see.








One in particular, was a B-25 Mitchell bomber. They have done a fantastic job restoring this piece of history. And though it still has some to go before it's complete -- the tail section and the aft gunner area are being done now -- you can see the hard work and love they have put in so far. Look at it shine.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't at least mention the replica Wright-B flyer they built, and the old DC-3 they were also restoring. I think I could have seen that old plane in the movie "Con Air".








It's pretty much gutted right now and probably saw it's last real flying time as a cargo plane somewhere. The name of the company who flew it is "Desert Air" -- I wonder which desert.

Well, it certainly was a fun time, and brought back some good memories -- like the time I took Doug and Danika on a little flight in the 172. They were pretty brave to both get in the cramped back seat of that little plane and go up with a "low hours pilot" like me. Maybe when I get my ticket back, I'll take Quinn up for a ride ... maybe when he's a little older.

Nobody who has not been up in the sky on a glorious morning can possibly imagine the way a pilot feels in free heaven. (William T. Piper)

When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return. (Leonardo Da Vinci)

Hooah