Sunday, September 23, 2012

The Spay Waggin and Oregon



Well here is the Van (the Spay Waggin) that I will be working out of for the Abbey Animal Final Fixit Project.  It looks pretty new but only a visit in person will tell!  Just got back from Oregon where Kath, Diana and I were visiting with other professionals this past week about how to manage a practice.  We have been doing it for the past 17 years so this was a great tune-up!  The flight out there was quite the experience as the unrest in the Middle-East has the TSAs on their toes.  To make a long story short, we missed our flight because they closed the doors 10 minutes early!  We ended up flying up to New Jersey then down to Houston then out to Oregon… we should have gotten there at 10:00 in the morning and instead ended up there at 8:00 in the evening.  Now folks, I like to fly… but I only like to fly my own plane for that length of time.  Needless to say it was a very long day as we woke up to get going about 3:30am and ended up getting there at approximately Midnight East Coast time!  The jet lag was a force to be reckoned with… it took me till Wednesday to feel human again.  Louis and Clark would have been amazed at how short we made their trip but they didn't have to put up with jet lag!

Still, a great time was had and we met some great folks.  Justin and Denelle were young owners of their practice (approximately 4 years) and had a new kid (just over a year)… it reminded me of where Kath and I were at that time in our lives.  What a great time of life.  At the time I did not realize how great it was because we were busier then a one legged man in a butt kicking contest!  The years pass quickly so I encouraged them to enjoy them… it did not look as though they needed my advice as they seemed to be enjoying life to the fullest.  Did I mention that they were Canadian?  No?  Well I meant to as it seems that the Canadians I know sure try to squeeze the most out of life… "EH"?

Oregon is a beautiful state with lots of big beautiful trees and country.  We hiked out and enjoyed some of it.  

I can't believe that it is this close to the take off date.  Alli's husband got her an embroidery machine for her birthday and I have to say the world has not been the same since.  She has been embroidering everyone's scrubs at work and she made a shirt for me to fly in.  It says Capt. Rob which is a take off of Capt. Ron… the movie with Kurt Russel.  Lots of fun and appropriate for our trip to the Caribbean…  land of the Pirates… "Ahrrrr me maties".  
Ok well it's off to bed to try and beat the jet lag of coming home.  Thanks for your support.  Bye for now… Robin.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

5 weeks till take-off!

Brad and Randy with the SIX


The count down to take off continues for the Abbey Animal Final Fixit Program in St. Croix.  We are getting closer… only about 5 weeks till take off.  I have been watching the weather closely and I have been in touch with two pilots down there. They have given me some advise about the trip.  I am currently in the hunt for a life raft… just in case.  Alli has been in touch with several companies and is waiting to hear from them.  Brad and I are in the process of putting together an itinerary so we can know a little more about what to expect.  I know that we will have to rent a car to get around the island.  Other then all that, things are on track!

I was able to fly down to Triple Tree Flyin (www.tripletreeaerodrome.com) with my Flybuddy Tim this past weekend.  We decided that we need to get our wives to come with us next year as it was tons of fun.  Flying there was a great way to test my cross country skills.  

Tim is a fellow pilot and was able to serve as a "Safety Pilot" while I practiced some IFR flying.  The weather was great until we got there… then we had to fly in near minimums (one mile and clear of clouds).  There were lots of Experimental aircraft and vintage fabric planes there.  The only thing that we had to watch out for were the Fire Ants… those suckers are fast and painful!  Fortunately the staff was quick to treat any mounds that cropped up.  I took a picture so you can watch out for them if you see the mounds.
Fire Ant Mound!

Ok, back to work and more coffee!  Thanks for everyone's support, Bye for now, Robin

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Anual Inspection, Thank you Jennifer!



Only about 7 and 1/2 weeks till takeoff to St. Croix for the Abbey Animal's Final Fixit program.  Just met with my Penn Vet Rep. Jennifer who so graciously arranged with her supplier of sutures and gloves to donate supplies.  We were thrilled to get these gifts and they will be put to good use.  Thanks again Jennifer and to Penn Vet for their support.  Also thanks to everyone who has donated so far, its great to get support for this noble cause.

The past several weeks have been crazy.  The Six went through her annual inspections with Tom Stevens (thanks Tom) and is ready to go.  I had to stop my IFR lessons during this time but now I am back on line.  I tried to use the simulator but its just not the same… Rick says that if you can fly a simulator you can fly the real thing.  Simulators are a mental work out.  They can be "touchy" and they expose all of your mental weaknesses.  I found out that I needed to spend more time with my VOR without the help of my GPS.  I have a great up-to-dated IFR certified TSOed GPS but what am I going to do if (Heaven forbid) it goes out… I need to be able to navigate with my VOR.  This should be simple but it can get rather confusing especially since I only have one VOR in my plane.  It makes for a busy pilot when you are trying to triangulate with only one VOR… it can be done but you need to keep moving to stay ahead of the curve!  Any way, I took her (the Six) up for her maiden voyage (post inspection) and everything checked out great… it was great to get back up into the "Wild Blue Yonder"!   

I was able to fly up to the Shenandoah Valley for the weekend during the checkout and helped out with a "Work Day" at my families' farm. When I got there I was met with a surprise of wasps nests in my car door!  I had to do battle and clear them out of my car before I could get going. For those of you who don't know me, I have a history of being allergic to wasp stings.  This was at night and  I still had to drive 40 minutes in the dark where I was sure the bees were in the car and crawling up my legs… luckily this was not the case, but I was on high alert the rest of the drive (you can imagine!).  I took pictures of the nests when I got back to the parking lot 2 days later… Bee Armageddon!   

I got to the farm and we cleared a lot of brush and mowed the yard  and replaced several broken windows and updated some of the plumbing and on and on.  This place is pre-civil war and takes a lot of care.  There is still plenty to do.  My nephew was there and it was great to catch up with his life.  I haven't seen him in years… he told me he is about to turn 29… where does the time go?  Let me tell you those 29 years went FAST!  I took a picture of him with the chainsaw that makes him look like he is from Texas!!!

Ok, well its back to work… another cup of coffee… bye for now, Robin.