[PRCo] Re: True Tales -- Another Installment

[Fred Schneider]

When I was taking flight lessons, many moons ago, I had a solo cross  
country to BWI.   Of course to prove you were there you had to have  
some one sign the log book and I chose to park the Cessna and walk  
inside the main terminal building and look for who thought was the  
most attractive young lady working for one of the air carriers and  
ask her to validate that I had been there.   I thought she was very  
friendly.

For the record, the date was January 17, 1976.   The craft was a  
Cessna 150, tail number N2876V.  The flight was from LNS to HGR  
(Hagerstown) to KBAL (now BWI) and back to LNS.   The log book shows  
a 30 naut crosswind landing at HGR.  And the woman's name was J. Malan.

I vividly remember something else about that flight.     I was flying  
eastward from Hagerstown when I heard a crack like gunfire and I  
watched the altimeter drop 1000 feet before I was able to stabilize  
the craft.  For a novice pilot with only 30 hours experience, I was  
paranoid.   What the hell did I hit that I didn't see.   Then I  
remembered reading about  clear air turbulance.   I'd hit an air  
pocket.   Sure as hell woke me up.

Why did I take up flying?   Because I liked aerial photography and I  
didn't want to be the alone in a plane if the pilot blacked out.   I  
took a few lessons so I would know how to land a plane.   It became  
addictive.   I kept going.  I had a total of 65.5 hours in the log  
book when I gave up.   I had taken and passed the final written test  
but not gone to Harrisburg for the final check flight.

Why did I give up?   Simple.    It was fun using a Strasburg engine  
or a cow to practice turns about a point it was expensive.   Flying  
was really no more expensive than driving a car at that time.   You  
could rent a plane for about $12 an hour which was about 12 cents a  
mile.   Or you could buy one.   But we have to be logical and  
recognize how many of us would have a second car just to drive on  
Saturday or Sunday.   The property tax bill came and I thought it  
made a whole lot more sense to keep my house and forget all these  
shenanigans.


On May 30, 2007, at 12:00 PM, Derrick J Brashear wrote:

> On Thu, 24 May 2007, Fred Schneider wrote:
>
>> ORD   ORD   ORD .... oh yes, O'Hare ... on my list of places to
>
> ORcharD... a nice pleasant place. No subway service (then)
> though.
>
> Somehow BWI is BWI and not something based on Friendship.
>
>