You know how you have a day all planned out in your mind? You think about what you're going to do tomorrow and you know pretty much how it's going to go? It was that way for me regarding a particular Tuesday.
I had it all figured out. Butterfly and I were going to sneak away for a mini-hike because Electric Horseman is now able to be left alone with his new hip for extended periods of time.
Then I was going to take care of all the pots and planting beds around here that are home to annuals. They've gone from looking spectacular to looking pretty ragged as soon as we got a few hot days. What pansies! Ha! I crack me up! (Pansies - get it?! It's a flower joke.)
And then I was going to work on drip irrigation (if Butterfly doesn't stop with the new flowers I'm going to have to fire her), and pay some bills, and do some bookwork, and work on the website, and give Celony her summer haircut, and fly wipe the horses and ...
And then ... (cue the "Jaws" music) ... Fifinella called.
"Mom, do you want to go flying tomorrow? You can watch me fly B.B."
Well, dang. That's tempting. And I was hard pressed to think of one single thing that I couldn't procrastinate about just a little longer. Procrastination is my strong suit. B.B., for those of you who might not know, is The Ballistic Butterfly, otherwise known as a Pitts airplane. It's a little single-seat biplane, useful for going upside down in crazy maneuvers, hence the nickname given in honor of Fifinella's grandmother. Both Fifinella and Maverick are taking lessons to learn to safely execute said crazy maneuvers (commonly known as aerobatics) and I like to watch whenever I get the chance.
So bright and early the next morning I met Fifinella and Maverick (my daughter and son-in-law) at our little local airport. The plane we flew to where B.B. is hangared (about 200 miles away) needed some hours put on its newly rebuilt engine, and we had 3 pilots to do the job (Fifinella, Maverick and Guitar Hero). Rarely does a plane leave the airport with an empty seat when there are pilots lurking about.
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| Our chariot - a Piper Arrow |
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Of course there were many piloty things that had to be done before our departure. I was glad that there were experts to walk around the plane and kick its tires and wiggle its thingys and poke their fingers into its orifices. While they did that, I amused myself by taking pictures.
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Hey! This is like the fun house at the fair! |
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Fifinella! Pretend I don't embarrass you! |
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We got settled into the plane with our headsets on. I was given strict instructions to stop yakking whenever I heard our plane's tail number on the radio because that meant that radio communications would be going on between us and the controllers. For some reason, no one wanted me to chime in.
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Hiking Heaven |
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In a jiffy we were in the air and I was getting a bird's eye view of some of my favorite hiking trails in the canyon.
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California's dry spring |
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From up above it's an ominous sight to see the "bathtub ring" around Folsom Lake. It should be filled to capacity with the spring run-off from the Sierra Nevada snow melt. Think before you flush.
I complained to the pilots about the quality (or lack thereof) of the windows through which I was trying to photograph. They didn't care. The back windows were so bad (for photographing - looked like a smoggy day when it wasn't) that I had to stick my camera up by the front window and shoot rather blindly, while trying to stay out of the way of the folks operating the plane. It's hard to to get this job done.
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A crazy quilt |
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I am always mesmerized by the patchwork of of fields and orchards in the valleys.
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Velvety foothills |
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As we approached the foothills to the cross the small mountain range to the next valley, I commented on the beauty of the texture and colors of the hills.
"Oh, you should have seen these a few weeks ago," said Fifinella,"when the wildflowers were blooming. There were swaths of orange and purple!"
"Yeah,' agree Maverick, "you would have gone crazy taking pictures!"
I slapped both of them up the back of their heads. What the heck? They couldn't have taken me for a scenic flight then?
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Windmills |
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A windmill farm! I always love seeing energy being harnessed!
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A touch of green |
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Here, finally, I see the remnants of spring, with a little bit of green left on these hills. I can just imagine what they must have looked like when the wildflowers were blooming. I'm going to have to make a point of chasing the wildflowers next year.
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Rock outcropping |
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Fifinella and Maverick wanted me to see these great rock outcroppings and hiking trails, so they banked the plane and made a steep turn so I could get a good view. Looked like a terrific hiking spot, but how you access it is beyond me.
Before long my aerial tour was over and we had landed at our destination. Time to stretch the legs and see some action.
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How clean is your hangar? |
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Here at the Tutima Academy of Aviation Safety, everything is in tip-top shape. These are the planes that Fifinella and Maverick first flew in (with an instructor) to learn the various aerobatic maneuvers.
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What the heck? |
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This is why you ("you" in this case being me) should not be taking picture in the men's bathroom. Look what you find! Of course, this is why I was taking pictures in the men's bathroom.
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The Ballistic Butterfly itching to go! |
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Is there no crew to help me out here? |
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It's a good thing this plane doesn't weigh much! |
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Fifinella pushes B.B. out to the flight line.
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Guitar Hero and Fifinella in front of the school |
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Me and Fifinella and Coach Bill |
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Coach Bill arrived to offer his services to Fifinella and Maverick. If you've ever seen this guy fly, you know how valuable his coaching advice is!
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Fifinella's helmet |
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We first watched Maverick take B.B. up for a spin. It would go something like this:
He flew loop after loop after loop.
"What'd he do wrong?" Coach Bill would ask Fifinella.
"He floated too soon."
"Right. Tell'm."
"Mav, you floated too soon," she'd say over the radio.
"Gotcha," Mav would respond.
Another loop. Better. Another loop.
Then Coach Bill would get on the radio.
"How many G's did you pull?"
"About 4.5," responded Maverick.
"What do 4.5 G's have to do with a loop?" asked Coach Bill, his point being that the more G's, the tighter (and better) the loop.
"I want to see a 5 G loop."
By the time Maverick was done going through his paces, Coach Bill turned to Fifinella and told her, "You'd better watch out or he'll end up being better than you!"
Fifinella laughed - she was glad to hear it. And now it was her turn to practice.
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Fifinella reacts to advice from the peanut gallery |
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Mom, I'm gonna smile just one more time. |
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Mom, if you don't get that camera out of my face ... |
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Fifinella threatened me within an inch of my life if I didn't take my camera and get away from her and her airplane immediately. I think she was a little tense and did not find me the least bit amusing
I just think she looks so cute in that plane!
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Butterfly is never going to believe this! |
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Coach Bill decided to get comfortable while Fifinella was taking off and getting into the aerobatic box - which, in this out-of-the-way little airport, is almost directly above the airport. How convenient. I was speechless when he carried a chair out of the office and plunked it down right on top of all the pretty poppies.
"Coach Bill! What are you doing?! You're killing those flowers!" I yelled, as I whipped my camera up into position.
"Nah," he said, "they're only those poppy things."
"Only those 'poppy things'? Are you crazy?" I ranted. "They're gorgeous. Have you any idea what Butterfly is going to say when she sees this?" Click, click, click went my shutter.
He simply leaned back, with a smirk on his face.
Poor poppies.
We watched Fifinella fly loops from one end of the box to the other, back and forth, back and forth.
"Hey, the crowd wants to see more interesting turns at the end of the box," Coach Bill radioed to Fifinella.
Something unprintable came back over the radio and I suggested she stop arguing with the crowd, but she then proceeded to perform some Immelmans. That's a half loop followed by a half roll to bring the plane upright. Make sense? I didn't think so.
She then practiced P-loops, competition spins and mini-sequences.
All too soon the fun of practice was over and it was time for us to head home.
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A family that flies together ... |
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For the return flight poor Guitar Hero was stuck in back with me. I had fun playing with my CamelBack water bottle. The pressure made it a terrific squirt gun. I didn't realize this until Chelsea turned to me at one point and said, "Mom, you'd better drink your water now, while you still can, before it turns into a dangerous projectile."
"Cool!" I said, and promptly pointed it at the unsuspecting Guitar Hero. His sunglasses needed cleaning anyway.
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