Halloween 2007

Well another Halloween has come and gone. It was a beautiful night for it except for about a constant 16 mph wind. This would not have been bad but it played havoc on my fog machine. But everything considered it went well.

I had several comments on how good the cemetery looked. One gentleman said I should charge admission. Several others said it was the best display they saw all night.

One thing me and Lori noticed was the lack of Canadians this year. Perhaps it has to do with national security and they are having a harder time getting across the border. You know the border, the black river which separates us from them. Then again it could have been higher gas prices. The Canadians are not as fond of putting gas in their Cadillacs as they are putting ripple in their guts. Either way it was a nice change.

It seemed the amount of trick or treaters was down in general. But those who did come had some great costumes. Unfortunately Chocolate Cheese had to do his haunting in the house. I tried him for about 45 seconds and that was it. He wanted to taste each trick or treater who came to the house. So he was in charge of guarding the house and the nice raw hide bone I bought for him. Perhaps next year after he attends therapy and they medicate him with some puppy Prozac he'll be able to pass out candy. I'm not holding my breath that either therapy or another year of growing up will help. I guess only time will tell.

So now the stretch for Thanksgiving begins. I already took the Cemetery down and tomorrow I'll start seeing what I can do for Thanksgiving. The thing about this one is it's two fold. While I'll start with Thanksgiving, I'll also start putting Christmas lights up in a couple off weeks so I can flip the switch on them on Thanksgiving night. Always nice being the first on the block and watching the neighbors scramble to catch up. Plus it's so much work it's nice to get a full month out of it.

I hop everyone had a safe Halloween and got lots of goodies. I also hope their mom and dads have plenty of Tums on hand. Cheese is enjoying a chick o stick. Again happy Halloween and don't get so stressed this holiday season that you don't get to enjoy it. Decorate what your comfortable with and soak in each day of the wonderful season.

What a great fall day

Managed to get the grass cut today and put some finishing touches on the yard for Halloween tomorrow. Also started the first of many times cleaning leaves from the yard. That project should be finished sometime in early December. I swear my tree holds on to its leaves just to see how many times it can get me to blow and rake them.

Also freed up some time this evening to get some flying in. I managed to get five planes in the air including the handsome fellow in the picture. While the winds were not kind at first, they eventually settled down and the flying was great.

This evening you can find me glued to the TV at 10 pm watching Everest Beyond The Limit. I watched the entire series last year and have been looking forward to this year. I was amazed to find out that once you enter what they call the death zone, you must be able to walk off or your left there to die. I guess the bright side is the trip to heaven will be shorter at 29,000 feet. I still can't figure out why anyone would climb it knowing the risk. The mountain always wins and NO ONE leaves it with out paying a price. At a minimum you'll have frost bite.

I will post about Halloween tomorrow. Please have a safe and happy one and tell Live, "C" and Reece to save Uncle Scot some candy.

Tambour Battant

This fall as you watch our feathered friends leave remember they do so with a promise to return. They only leave for a short time to complete the cycle of life. Help them in their journey by giving food and water.

Halloween Walk

Went to the Halloween walk tonight with Lori. I have to admit it's not what it use to be. The crowds have grown out of control and the walk it self is not what it use to be.

They have added a Halloween fair, but it has done nothing more than attract trailer trash. The only good thing still left is the Jack-O-Lantern swamp. It is actually better than ever. However, having to deal with the crowds and tripping over kids every three feet is not my idea of a relaxing evening. Oh well there is still the Christmas walk which has only got better each year. Plus you donate a canned food item or money to help the needy to walk it. I try to go at least three times each year. Maybe when you Toni, Chuck and the kids come in this December we can make a trip there with them. With any luck it will be the classic winter walk with a light snow falling.

The video here is of the F-18 I asked Santa for at Christmas. Hopefully the old fellow will have the elf's put one together for me and it will be under the tree. As you know I've always had a love of flying and really love military planes. My world war II collection is about complete and it's time to move on to the modern era. Truth be told there is not a plane out there that I do not love. I'm always amazed seeing them fly. I want to paint the F-18 in blue Angels colors and have the #6 on the tail in tribute to Kevin Davis the Angel who lost his life doing an air show earlier this year and for whom I paid tribute to here on my blog last week.

The birds are gathering at my feeders more and more each day with the falling temperatures. I'm also seeing more variety. Though my emerald jewels (humming birds) are gone for the year, they are now replaced by the dark eyed Juncos (The Snow Bird) as well as several species of migrating birds. I am seeing allot more Carolina Wrens this year. Last fall we only had one, this year there are about five visiting daily. I'm also seeing plenty of Cardinals, Chickadees, White breasted nut hatches, red breasted nut hatches, wood peckers, Gold Finches and Sparrows every day now. I'm hoping the Red Bellied Woodpeckers return soon. They are truly a sight to see.

I plan on doing a bird walk at Sandy ridge in North Ridgeville this week. With any luck I may be able to snap a few pictures and post them here. They have a pair of Bald Eagles nesting there that I see 99% of the time I go there. Pone if you remind me when your here, me and Lori will take you there when you come out. If you want to see a variety of interesting birds, they are usually there.

I'll close tonight wishing everyone a Happy Halloween and with some time off this week I'll be able to update my daily activities. Until next time I hope everyone has a great week.

Well another week has passed. It was business as usual at work. Still pushing hard for the union and the company is pushing back with their never ending lies. Of course we catch them, confront them and they recant. Then they put out more garbage and it starts all over. You would think by this point that there should be no one buying their garbage. Unfortunately there are many who should be wearing hockey helmets and taken out of society. What can you do?

Managed to mail my P-51D mustang back to the manufacturer Monday. It arrived there Wednesday and hopefully it will be back this coming week some time. I look forward to one uneventful flight. The Bombers Squadron restaurant by the airport finally put a P-51 Mustang as well as a P-47D thunderbolt out in front of the restaurant. They are mounted up on poles and look like they are taking off. I look at them every day going to work thing "hmmm I fly your little brothers."

The above picture is my cemetery in the front yard. I have a fog machine and strobe lights as well as a skeleton coming out of the ground which is not shown. I do not want to put the skeleton out early because it will end up getting stolen. Oh well.

We are planning on going to the Halloween walk tomorrow night. It will depend on wether or not the monsoon ends. Right now they are calling for high winds and rain. Keep your fingers crossed and I will post here if we go.

Hope everyone had a great week and I'll post more tomorrow evening.

Remembering Blue Angel LCDR Kevin Davis

Today as I was sitting here watching the windy conditions and thinking about flying, I remembered the tragic accident which took place on April 21 of this year.

While flying an air show in South Carolina, LCDR Kevin "Kojak" Davis lost his life.

Kevin reported to Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Florida, for Officer Candidate School and aviation indoctrination in September 1996. He completed primary flight training at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas, and transferred to NAS Meridian, Mississippi, for intermediate and advanced flight training. While there, he flew the T-2C Buckeye and TA-4J Skyhawk, and received his wings of gold in June 1999.

Kevin reported to Fighter Squadron 101 (VF-101) at NAS Oceana, Virginia, for training in the F-14 Tomcat and was the “Top Stick” in his class. In July 2000 he reported to the VF-11 “Red Rippers” where he completed deployments aboard the aircraft carriers USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) and USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67). While with the “Red Rippers,” Kevin served as the airframes/corrosion branch officer, air-to-ground training officer and head landing signals officer. His deployments included extended operations in the North Arabian Sea and Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

In July 2003, Kevin transitioned to the F/A-18 Hornet through Strike Fighter Squadron 125 (VFA-125) at NAS Lemoore, California, and then reported to the Fighter Composite Squadron (VFC-12) “Omars,” stationed at NAS Oceana, Virginia. While at VFC-12, Kevin served as a Navy adversary pilot providing valuable air-to-air training for fleet squadrons. In December of 2004, Kevin graduated from the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) as an adversary pilot. During his tour at VFC-12, Kevin worked as the schedules officer, legal officer, FRS/SFARP officer and assistant operations officer.

Kevin joined the Blue Angels in September 2005. He has accumulated more than 2,500 flight hours and 200 carrier arrested landings. His decorations include the Air Medal, two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, and various personal and unit awards.

So when observing Veterans day, Memorial day or just enjoying an air show, remember Kevin and his contributions to this great country and the millions of smiles he brought to peoples faces while performing with the Navy's Blue Angels.

Tribute To Blue Angel #6

Kevin flew Angel 6. He died April 21, 2007 while performing at Beaufort MACS, South Carolina. He'll never be forgoten.

Dreams

There is no greater rush in the world as watching these guys perform.

Saturday October 20, 2007

Another beautiful fall day here in northern Ohio. The temperature is about 66 and sunny. The down side is the winds are pretty high at about 15 mph so flying is out today.

So I managed to get the grass cut and I'm watching the Ohio State vs Michigan State game. All is well right now with Ohio State up 17-0 at half time.

This evening will find me and Lori glued to the TV watching the Indians knocking the Boston Red Sox out of the play offs and moving on to the world series.

I did get a letter from Olivia today that really brightened up my day. If you read this Pone let her know I got it and loved it.

Other than Hunter (AKA Chocolate Cheese) helping me with some yard work today, it's going to be a day just to relax and enjoy the wonderful fall weather. May go on the Halloween walk at the duck ponds tomorrow. If I do I'll post about it here. If not we will definitely be there next weekend. Enjoy the picture of Hunter, you can tell he was not thrilled.

Thursday October 18, 2007

Well approaching the end of another week and looking forward to the weekend. It was another typical week at work where everything always seems to go backwards. The good new was we filed again for the third time to get a union at work. The company has already started their anti union campaign. Oh well I guess it's to be expected. Just can't believe the garbage which comes out of their mouths. I guess some were just born to be RATS.

Looking forward to a nice weather weekend here in Ohio. It was in the 70's today and is expected to stay there through the weekend. Needless to say that after some house work I'll be looking forward to relaxing while watching some birds and hopefully getting some flying in. Speaking of flying, Parkzone the company who makes my Mustang said for me to just mail the plane in and they will replace it. While I do not agree I should pay for the shipping, it's better than losing a complete airplane that was not my fault like I have in the past. I'll count my blessings and be happy to get a new one.

Hope this posting finds everyone well. I'll try to post a more detailed post this weekend. Also I'll try and get some pictures of the cemetery in the front yard and post them here. Have a great weekend and hope the fall weather is great where ever you may be.

F-14 Tomcat Anytime Baby!

Here's some video of the raw power of the Tomcat. I was lucky enough to see this on a daily basis from 1985 - 1989. I'll be building one this winter to fly with remote control.

Today was another beautiful fall day here in NE Ohio.

I started it by sleeping in until early afternoon. Not sure why, but it did feel good. I then treated my self to a breakfast/lunch of a hot dog. May as well start it healthy.

I then decided to (what else?) go flying. I loaded my planes and headed to LCCC around 4:30pm.

I started with my Spitfire and it flew fantastic. I was thinking to my self nothing could be more relaxing (other than hunting or fishing) at the time. So after about a 12 minute flight the battery was running low and I knew it was time to land.

Next in my flying circus was my Mustang. After just getting it yesterday I was really looking forward to flying it. WELL that was until my third time around the field. Now the Ghost of the Red Barron was on board. The plane started doing crazy things and the motor was pulsing. Recognizing the problem I started flying a pattern to land. The plane seemed to mellow unlike me. I was mad this was happening again. Well I was on final and getting ready to land when the Ghost hopped in the seat again. He first killed the throttle, turned right and nosed down then decided "why not throttle up and go in hard?" I was lucky the plane was low and only suffered minor damage. How ever I also know the hobby store will try and pin it on me because there is damage. So I brought the plane home and put a receiver from another plane in it and it's fine. I'll have it back in the air tomorrow.

After cooling off I was joined by my friend Chris who I met flying at EC this year. He flew some off his planes as did his daughter who flys very well. He designs and builds allot of his and I love when he brings something new and gets it flying.

While I was flying my F4U Corsair, his daughter got out their video camera and recorded me flying. I made several low level fly bys and she caught them all. I grabbed the video off off You Tube. It's on the page entitle flight of the GWS Corsair. It was getting late but you can still enjoy it.

Time permitting I'll post again tomorrow. I do work Tuesday through Friday from 10:30 to 9:30 so I may not post those days. I will try to post something but make no promises. The bright side is hopefully I'll have a good week and be able to post it here. Until next time take care.

Flight of the GWS Corsair #1

Flying My Corsair at LCCC October 14, 2007. Just doing low speed low level fly bys

Saturday October 13, 2007

Today was a typical fall day in northern Ohio. The temperature was cool in the upper 50's with a mix of sun and clouds. I really appreciate these days other than the winds were between 12-15 mph and I really wanted to go flying.

So as I watched the weather I got a phone call from my local Hobby store. They called to tell me that my Spitfire that my nephew Colin broke was finally in. I was happy because I had paid them the $180 for the replacement a month ago. I asked if they also happened to get my P-51 Mustang in as well. I bought it and during the first flight I realized that there was a problem with the electronics as the engine was pulsing. After sever anxious minutes I was able to land the plane and back it went. As luck would have it, the plane was on back order. Well it did. So now I had two new planes to fly. I put the Mustang and Spitfire together and as luck would have it the winds did calm. Not as low as I would like, yet I knew I could manage them.

I also worked on my original plane a Parkzone Super Cub this week. I was proud of my self to be able to fix it and was looking forward to flying an old favorite.

I started with the Cub and she did not let me down. The plane looks so nice in the air. It did break its own speed record on down wind runs as the wind was moving at higher altitude.

From there I moved on the my F4U Corsair. If you are familiar with the show Black Sheep Squaron, it was the plane they flew on the show. It's a more difficult aircraft to fly, but it really takes you back in time when it's in the air.

Next was the new Mustang. The P-51 Mustang was the number 1 fighter aircraft of all times. his plane still thrills audiences at air shows each year. The plane flew and looked great in the air. I took it up twice and both flights really had my heart racing. I look forward to flying them for my sister Toni's kids.

I also was happy to have the Spitfire up and flying again. It was sometimes referred to the plane that saved a nation during WWII. It is the smoothest of all the airplanes I fly.

I quit flying right at sun set and went home to watch my Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox 13-6 in extra inning.

As for those of you who love feeding and watching birds, the first dark eyed junco was spotted in my yard today. It's often referred to the snow bird so as much as I lived seeing it, it's also a sign that winter is right around the corner.

Also I spotted a tufted titmouse feeding in one of my feeders out back today. When I first started feeding birds, the titmouse was the first birds I tried to attract. While I've had everything else on a regular basis, I have only seen a titmouse a couple of years ago. I'm hoping this one sets up shop and graces my back yard for years to come.

I do plan on flying again tomorrow and will once again post how it went here. Also if there are any new birds that show up I'll be sure and post them on here.

Have a great Sunday and I look forward to sharing my next post.