Back on the Job

Joyce and I got the air carrier started about 1985, more or less. Getting started is tough. When do you actually get started? When you sign the necessary (and many) papers? When the bank puts the money in your account? When that first paying charter shows up? When...? You get the idea.

Anyway you get the idea. We were off and running. Well maybe stumbling along might be a better term. We started off with two airplanes, neither of which was a King Air. We did have a Cessna 182 and a Beech Baron. Neither was luxury equipped, but both were IFR capable. But then again, neither was set up for flight into known icing conditions. We had one part time employee pilot. Very part time. He wasn't needed a whole lot at first.

And I had (still have) a tattoo on my back, "Will you kiss me before I die Johnny?" Joyce never asked about it, and I've never talked about it either. I'll know it's there every day until I die.

ENOUGH!!

All that was a long time ago now. This is today.

I picked up my charter in Laconia New Hampshire after doing the weekly Baltimore run. Are you familiar with Laconia? It used to be the site of a famous bike race and weekend in general Now it's more organized and respectable.

Back when Harrison and I raced the sidecar rig there things were a little wild and wooly I guess. Party like H... all night and ride the same way during the day. When you're young you can do that I guess.

I'm off the ground and you can see the gear just before they tuck away for the two hour flight to Washington NC.

My charter is a motorcycle collector and hobbyist. Yes, he's one of those tech multi-millionaires and likes the old time bikes. Not the bikes from my days in the 60's & 70's, but way back in the really old days. Think teens, twenties, and thirties.

He's on the way south to check out one of those semi-mystical "barn finds". You know what I mean, the car (or bike) that was pushed aside when the owner moves on, grows up, dies or something. Barn finds do exist and finds are still being made almost weekly. This one is supposed to be a Flying Merkel motorcycle. You can find some excellent images of the Flying Merkel here.

In the shot above we're just clearing the extreme southern tip of what is known as the Delmarva Peninsula. Delaware/Maryland/virginia that is. We're over VA in the shot.

In this one, taken a minute or so later, we're over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel connecting the Hampton Roads/Norfolk area to Eastern Shore. Another fun ride by bike or car.

Another shot of the Norfolk/ Hampton Roads area. There is a definite Navy presence here and we in Eastern WV often find fighters practicing contour flying over the Greenbrier River and surrounding countryside.

Ahh, here we are. 500ft annunciator has just sounded. Full flaps and start pulling back on the throttles. If I time this just right I'll be at the throttle stops a very few seconds before touching down.

I gotta smile on this one. It came out nicely thank you very much.

My charter is on his way to check out the hoped for toy. If things work out I'll have the charter back north too. And some awkwardly shaped packing and stowing to take care of.