Let us remember the reason for the Season...

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"[c]

Merry Chistmas to all!!!

Scudz

Getting Powder

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...

I have no idea where to begin.

Critters

Last weekend, hunting season came to a close here in New South Montucky. As an avid hunter and outdoorsy type of person I have enjoyed my time traipsing around the countryside with my guns in tow. This is also one of my favorite times of the year to fly. I enjoy looking for places to hunt while trying to spot game from my lofty perch.

Sometimes, much to my chagrin, the critters seem to find me.

For example, Cow Town, one of my usual stops has been a virtual goose gathering area. The Cow Town airport is located on top of the hills west of the river, surrounded by crop land on all sides. The open water of the river and the crop residue left in the field from the harvest is a goose magnet. There are about four flocks of geese numbering in the hundreds that I have had to dodge in recent weeks. Each flock sends up recon flights of 15- 20 birds to torment inbound and outbound aircraft.

My first encounter, an early AM arrival, had me lined up for runway 22. At about ¾ mile final the ground began to move. Not me flying over it, the dirt, like waves on a pond on a windy day. Suddenly I realized I was descending on top of and into a couple of recon patrols I had spooked up off of the earthen field below me.

Pulling the control wheel gently toward me and adding a little power, I arrested my descent and sailed above them to a smooth landing.

A few mornings later, departing runway 4, the solitude of the Cow Town morning was disrupted buy the sound of my engines turning avgas into massive amounts of noise. As the takeoff roll began I noticed that my gas guzzling, air breathing machine had launched an entire squadron of geese ahead and to my right.

Their flight path was much like mine. They departed parallel to the runway and began to climb straight out. They must have not been on the radio with the same controllers as me. The lead goose decided to take the squadron into a left hand turn across the runway towards the safety of the river. It was about this time that I became airborne.

As the wheels rose and clunked into the wheel wells I quickly realized that things could get messy in a hurry. Climbing would make an awful mess of blood and feathers so I pushed the nose over and headed down towards the pavement. 8-10 feet looked like a good place to level off. As the airspeed ripped through 120 KTS, it looked like I would pass below the now panicked geese which were scattering in all directions. I goosed (ducked), held my breath, and waited for the worst.

Surprised I had not heard or felt any impacts on the SUV I removed myself from the fetal position and started my turn for a left downwind departure.

I really don’t like encounters with birds any larger than your common robin or jay. Not only do these encounters with our feathered friends raise a pilot’s blood pressure, they can also have costly results as seen here and here.

I think that I like encounters with geese better when I’m the hunter.

Conspiracy Theory

Where in the world has Aviatrix gone? She has abruptly signed off to take a break from blogging. What event in the fabric of life could change the habits of a faithful daily poster?
Here are my additions to the conspiracy theories.

Is it possible that her recent tip to California yielded a job interview and subsequent move to the US? Maybe she got a job flying the company jet for a computer company that her friends work for. Or possibly flying for some rich individual in wine country.

Maybe it was Sam. I think he got her a job at that regional airline that he flies for in the Pacific Northwest. I know that they currently are hiring. I think that it would be fun to fly a Megawhacker or Barbie Jet

Better yet it was Sulako. I know his company has been looking for a few good pilots. They sure could use a good stick like our dear friend Aviatrix.

No, I know what it was. One of her faithful readers found a cure for DVT in Nepal and she has sold all of her possessions to go and find that Sherpa Medicine Man. Better yet what if she did move to the US to get an unrestricted medical certificate. I hope she comes to New South Montucky so I can buy her a cup of coffee and share “There I was…” stories with her.

My hope and prayer for her is this. She was successful on her Mammal Hunt and is now in ground school and just doesn’t have time to blog. Going through company indoc, learning SOP and systems is much more important than filling our pea sized minds with stories form the great white north.

Aviatrix my friend, Squawk VFR, frequency change approved. We’ll see you on the return trip.

I wonder if she got married….?

This is the Coolest...

thing I have seen in a while. Not anywhere near aviation related but worth a peek.