Sunday, February 21, 2010

Back to Work...Sort of--February 18, 2010

Woke up very leisurely...at 8:50 A.M.  Just in time to grab some breakfast.  But I didn't move too fast after that.  The bank had called me and said they had forgotten to send very important papers...i.e. the note!!!  So they e-mailed that to me...and I had to fax it back.

I also got word of the amount that I needed for closing.  $2040.16.  Crap.  It's due this Friday...along with my $5000 credit card bill (one month!).  I ABSOLUTELY positively refuse to NOT pay off my credit card bill each month, so I scrambled to find someone that would spot me money for a day.  We would be paid on Friday, but the money wouldn't clear until Saturday.  I need to have it now!  yikes.

Matt and I headed for the skies mid-morning.  It was an absolutely perfect day for flying.  A high-pressure system had moved on, and our 29.94 altimeter from yesterday was now sitting at 30.34.  Beautiful.  The sky was a gorgeous blue, and there wasn't a cloud to be seen.  Winds were calm...which is unheard of here in Little Rock!  I welcomed the change.

I took off and flew 18 miles north to my location.  My flight plan was only 48 minutes long...and then I had a half of one to do after that...maybe another 45 minutes.  In less than two hours we would be completely done with this project.  After more than three weeks of working on it!!!  But it just wasn't to be.  About five miles from my first line, I started seeing the white stuff:  snow.  Sure enough, the snow STILL had not melted.  It was clear as could be in just about every area except for the northern slopes of the hills.  Where the proverbial sun don't shine.

We couldn't work.  Unbelievable!

I radioed Matt, and we decided to head up to Conway, Arkansas, for some lunch.  I was only 9 miles away.  I landed on the very fun Runway 36...settling down right over the tree-tops.  Hard to beat.  I taxied up to a group of four men.  I got out, and they came over and greeted me.  We spent the next 20-30 minutes just talking...mainly about my flying, but also about the future of the airport, about prospects in aviation, and about our love for the small general aviation side of flying.  Matt and I love this airport because it is located right in the heart of the town.  They are planning to move it several miles outside of town...completely taking away its flair!!!  I HATE that.

All for the sake of money.  Money, money, money.  It's what makes aviation go 'round.

Well, Matt and I grabbed the courtesy car and headed into town.  We tried out The Hog Pen BBQ...the place that we had missed a couple of weeks ago.  This time they were open...and VERY busy!  It was some good food.

We ate, headed back to the airport, then headed back to Adams Field.  I logged 1.1.  We sent the pictures of the snow to our boss, and he sent them to the Vice President of our company.  The VP told us to stay on the ground...we were commanded to not fly tomorrow!!!  There was no way the snow could melt, he said, so it would be worthless to even go up.  Agh!!!

Well, I grabbed a rental car...this time we were going to ENJOY our stay here in Little Rock.  Matt and I went downtown for supper...and got word that Jensen and Ivo were coming into town.  We ate, then came back and picked them up.  I drove the two of them downtown where we grabbed a couple of drinks.

It is sooooooo nice to have wheels.  We came back at 10:30, and I was in bed at midnight.

Nothin' to wake up for tomorrow...I'm not flying!

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