Cirrus down enroute to OSH

[tonycondon]

ray,

you're making me jealous!

 

[2256Q]

ray,

you're making me jealous!

I lived in exciting times, Tony, and consider myself one of the luckiest men on Earth. One of our mottoes was, "The difficult we do immediately, the impossible takes a few minutes longer". I had that sign in my office in the 60s and we really believed it.

In our flying, as with everything else, we were risk-takers. Some of the stories I could tell...today's aviation community would consider us totally insane, and perhaps we were. Ever had to clean grass stains off propellers? I have. It was admittedly tall grass but...you get the picture. Worst part was, we thought nothing of it and laughed. Drop the gear on a T-38 and run the wheels on top of the Gulf of Mexico. Waited for a calm day, of course, but still. We should have been killed a hundred times. There was continual competition among us to see who could get closer to the edge. Bunch of kids in our twenties without enough sense to come in out of the rain, but Lordy, did we have some good times. I wouldn't trade those memories for the world!

 

[t0r0nad0]

Ray, I can't wait to meet you in person one of these days! You should fly out to 3T5 (La Grange) for the EAA BBQ on Saturday... I'll probably be going out there with the new raffle plane for the museum.

 

[2256Q]

Ray, I can't wait to meet you in person one of these days! You should fly out to 3T5 (La Grange) for the EAA BBQ on Saturday... I'll probably be going out there with the new raffle plane for the museum.

Hope you're not expecting a sleek fighter pilot type. Afraid I've become just another over-weight old man these days. We'll do our best to make the La Grange meet. Do they still have that cow-pasture asphalt strip across the hiway from the great steakhouse? Used to stop in there often. Park the plane, climb through the barbed wire and walk across the road. MAN, those steaks were good!

 

[ScottM]

you have better memory than me Ray. I gave up on trying to remember specific numbers a long time ago and just stuck with formulas!

That is the better approach Tony. Learn the formulas and apply the knowledge. Learn the numbers and only have one answer in the hope that someone asks that question.

 

[2256Q]

That is the better approach Tony. Learn the formulas and apply the knowledge. Learn the numbers and only have one answer in the hope that someone asks that question.

Scott, if I tried to remember every formula I've dealt with over the years, I wouldn't have room left to remember my name. That's why they make books.

 

[tonycondon]

yea ray, i guess i should've said that I know that there are formulas, in books, somewhere around this place...

 

[2256Q]

yea ray, i guess i should've said that I know that there are formulas, in books, somewhere around this place...

It's just Scott being Scott, Tony. Not to worry. Fact is, if he didn't throw a little barb now and then, I'd think he was sick.

 

[t0r0nad0]

Hope you're not expecting a sleek fighter pilot type. Afraid I've become just another over-weight old man these days. We'll do our best to make the La Grange meet. Do they still have that cow-pasture asphalt strip across the hiway from the great steakhouse? Used to stop in there often. Park the plane, climb through the barbed wire and walk across the road. MAN, those steaks were good!

I'm not sure about the steak place, I'll have to look for that. I know that there's what appears to be a grass strip on the south end of town off of rte. 71, and there's the main airport with the EAA Chapter that holds the BBQ. It's about a 4000' paved strip. Unfortunately, I got word last night that the raffle plane is down for radio work this weekend, so I won't be able to make it out this month.

 

[SCCutler]

I'm not sure about the steak place, I'll have to look for that. I know that there's what appears to be a grass strip on the south end of town off of rte. 71, and there's the main airport with the EAA Chapter that holds the BBQ. It's about a 4000' paved strip. Unfortunately, I got word last night that the raffle plane is down for radio work this weekend, so I won't be able to make it out this month.

I am pretty confident that Ray is talking about the Cottonwood Inn (hotel and what used to be a great restaurant, assume it still is). It is still there, and is across the street from what used to be the La Grange airport; looking at Google satellite images, it appears that the runway is still there, but is clearly no longer being used as an airport.

Fayette County built a new airport a few miles to the west, looks like an excellent field, 5000' and several approaches, but (of course) it is not walking distance to V. A. "Boss" Hrbacek's Cottonwood Inn.

 

[2256Q]

I am pretty confident that Ray is talking about the Cottonwood Inn (hotel and what used to be a great restaurant, assume it still is). It is still there, and is across the street from what used to be the La Grange airport; looking at Google satellite images, it appears that the runway is still there, but is clearly no longer being used as an airport.

Sounds right, but even when we were landing there, there wasn't really an airport. No buildings of any kind, not even a tool shed, just the narrow asphalt runway with a small apron at the end close to the road. Must have been about 4,000 feet long as I was flying a 680 Commander in those days and the runway was not uncomfortable at all, even coming out at near-gross.

 

[SCCutler]

I am pretty confident that Ray is talking about the Cottonwood Inn (hotel and what used to be a great restaurant, assume it still is). It is still there, and is across the street from what used to be the La Grange airport; looking at Google satellite images, it appears that the runway is still there, but is clearly no longer being used as an airport.

Sounds right, but even when we were landing there, there wasn't really an airport. No buildings of any kind, not even a tool shed, just the narrow asphalt runway with a small apron at the end close to the road. Must have been about 4,000 feet long as I was flying a 680 Commander in those days and the runway was not uncomfortable at all, even coming out at near-gross.

That's the place. Runway's still there, it just has trucks and stuff parked on it. Never were much in the way of hangars, etc. there.