Radio Control Airplanes

A few years ago, my youngest son Chris got me into R/C airplanes. I had done some modeling when I was young but had to put it aside. Now I've picked it up again and it's a lot of fun.

I didn't like the trainer airplanes that were on the market. I wanted something a little nicer.

So I'm learning how to fly a Bellanca Super Decathlon. The wingspan is 66 inches and it is powered by an OS MAX 46. It's a bit more plane than I can handle. But I sure get some attention at the flying field. It's a really nice looking scale plane. And oh yeah, it's aerobatic too! I'm close to soloing in this plane. Chris is helping by doing the take off and landing and then he hands the controls over to me. I'm sure I scared the begeebers out of him when I do a corkscrew roll and not tell him ahead of time.

Last February Chris and Iwent to a model airplane auction. It was like being in airplane heaven. You name it and it was there.

This hobby is addictive!

It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.

George S. Patton, Jr.

Last of the United Airlines 737's

October 2009, United Airlines retired it's last Boeing 737. The 'Guppy' as it was known, has been the workhorse of United's fleet for almost 40 years. It was a bittersweet moment. Either you loved or hated them. Pilots tell me it was an easy airplane to fly. One pilot told me that if you could fly a Cessna 172, you could fly a 737. Maybe that's a stretch....

With the help of friends at United, I was able to fly on the last one. It flew as flight 737 from Washington D.C. to Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco. I got to fly on the Denver to LA leg. Needless to say, it was a party all of the way.

It makes you wonder...

Why do you need to pack a bag that weighs 80 pounds to go to places like Miami or Phoenix?
Do you really need all of that stuff?