Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace in General

The song is actually called “Home.”

I was thinking about some of the people I have known and even my son – who doesn’t know where home is. I was a service brat too, but home was were my parents were. It always came back to Maine for me.

His parents aren’t together, and he has lived all over the country. He didn’t have the anchor I did.

Now living in Texas. I wonder if he ponders where home is.

That’s twice I ended a sentence with “Is.”

“That is the sort of thing up with which I will not put!” – Winston Churchill. Fuck it. Strunk and White say it is perfectly acceptable to end sentences with prepositions.

First flight in three freaking months. In a new airplane no less. Oh. And at a new airport.

Forty minute commute. Might be longer during the winter.

The Beechcraft Sundowner is equivalent to the Skyhawk. Only low wing. And all the controls are different.

I mean the yoke and the rudder are the same. But the instrument panel is all rearranged. The flaps go down with the rod that looks like an emergency brake in a Ford. The throttle actually looks like a throttle instead of a plunger.

But same horsepower, same weight.

The most ridiculous part of the flight was as we started the takeoff roll I realized I didn’t know the rotation speed. “60-65” says the instructor. Then I realized I didn’t know where the goddamn airspeed indicator was.

The Beech doesn’t seem to torque as much at high RPM.

An hour of vectors and slow flight and steep turns and stop and goes.

Runway 35 at Augusta has you fly right over the state capital of Maine. When on base.

Then the fact the airfield is basically on a mesa, a flat topped mountain. So on final you are looking at the side of a cliff with a runway above it.

“Just look at the numbers, Duke. Don’t look at the cliff!”

All in all pretty fun. Back again for Tuesday. I need to call and schedule another for Thursday, since Tuesday is already looking squeezy. Worst case I get one flight next week. Best case is I get two flights next week.

Need to schedule that flight physical. This just just might work.

Last updated August 17, 2018