Sunrise 4:34 AM 6:10 AM
Sunset 11:04 PM 8:24 PM
60℉ 80℉
Jeff had a GREAT time yesterday. Several days ago a woman came into the office with her cat and, while talking, she told Jeff her husband (Dr. Paul Silvieira, a local dentist) is a pilot and has a plane here in Valdez. She 'hooked them up', and, weather permitting, they were going to go flying yesterday. It was quite overcast so, instead, Paul asked Jeff if he wanted to help him exchange the wheels on his plane for floats. His plane is a 1976 Cessna 185 - same year as our Piper Lance. Needless to say Jeffrey, Dear jumped at the opportunity. When they were close to lift-off he called, and John, Terry (our landlords/friends) and I went out to the airport. The driver of the pick-up that towed the plane, Bill, invited me to ride in the back of his truck and take photos out of his back window. I should have been in the bed so I could watch Paul fly away. We were going about 60mph in the truck at lift-off. To keep it on the trailer, Paul pushed the yoke forward to keep the weight on the front of the plane. Once we were at the speed he needed to fly, he pulled back on the yoke and up he went! It was so, so neat. We all wanted him to do it again so we could get better photos.
(You can tell he has a cat - it's a litter bucket. The bucket holds the hoist chain when it's not in use. It started to break part way through, so there were two buckets at the end)
Bill, Paul & Jeff
Dr. Paul Silveira
You can tell they are both pilots.
Paul's new three blade propeller
Get Ready .....
I'm in the yellow sweater in the back.
Get set ......
GO!
The beginning of the video is from the back seat - the end is from Jeff on the ground.
He beat us to the lake
They had a very late Spring and a fair amount of snow - the line on the siding and door show just how high the lake was a couple of months ago.
I think Robe Lake is so beautiful.
On the way back from the airport we saw the mile markers for The Fireweed 400. The dot in the photo is a helicopter.
The Finish line - I tried to find the results of the race, but apparently it isn't quite as famous as the Tour de France.
There was a good looking party at the Finish line.
Where else can you get such a great experience? Was Jeff in the plane, did he fly it?
ReplyDeleteNo, but he promised to take us up in the plane before we leave - weather permitting.
ReplyDelete