Signs from my Travels this Past Summer

Dutch village honors Santa Rosa WWII pilot | The Press Democrat

Checkout this great story about a Santa Rosa local, you wont be disappointed.  

Dutch village honors Santa Rosa WWII pilot | The Press Democrat

Cabotage Service Is Not The Answer

 Cabotage Service is Not the Answer

 

Yesterday an article by Matthew Yglesias appeared in Slate asserting that repealing our nation’s cabotage laws and allowing foreign airlines to service U.S. routes would revive airline competition and provide cheap fares to consumers. In response to this flawed position, ALPA has commented:

“Apart from starting from the erroneous premise that the airline industry is not vigorously competitive, Mr. Yglesias hasn’t thought his proposal through. Cabotage would mean that a foreign airline does business in the U.S. domestic market subject to the laws of its own country rather than U.S. laws. If Air China were permitted to operate cabotage service, for example, it would be doing business in the U.S. domestic market as a Chinese business, subject to Chinese tax law, not U.S. tax law, Chinese labor law, not U.S. labor law, Chinese environmental law, not U.S. environmental law, etc. We don’t permit this in any other business sector: if Toyota wants to build cars in the U.S. it must set up a U.S. corporation to do so and have its U.S. plants be subject to U.S. laws; if Airbus want to build planes here it must do the same.

There is no good reason to treat the airline sector differently. This misguided “cabotage is a cure” idea has been raised repeatedly over the years, usually by commentators with no experience in the airline industry. Not surprisingly, it has been consistently been rejected by policy makers of all stripes. We don't need foreign airlines operating in the US domestic market under foreign laws. We need government policy that supports a level playing field for U.S. air carriers so that they can compete in the international marketplace and continue to provide safe, affordable air transportation for travelers.” 

  

Just thought that I'd throw my hat in the ring on this subject. Now you know where I stand.  

Hiking Down to Emearld Bay State Park on Lake Tahoe

Now, you all know that Capt'in Fletterhozen, Owner and Chief Operating Officer of Royal Air Fletterhozen Airways, usually takes his family on the most Exotic Vacations imaginable. And of course,... this year was no exception; as you'll see from the series of posts coming your way.

The first posting of the series has the Fletterhozen family taking it easy in the Northern Lake Tahoe region of California, enjoying everything this area has to offer. For the first outing, the family made the hike down from Highway 89 to the beaches of Emerald Bay on the Southwest side of Lake Tahoe. Nestled on the West end of the Bay is the Great Vikingholm house, and here is what the California State Parks webpage says about this historic home.    

Vikingsholm is one of the finest examples of Scandinavian architecture in the western hemisphere. Mrs. Lora Josephine Knight purchased the property encompassing the head of Emerald Bay and Fannette Island in 1928 for $250,000.

Before starting construction of the summer home late that year, Mrs. Knight and her architect traveled to Scandinavia to gather ideas for the construction of the house. Work on the home ceased at first snowfall in the winter of 1928, and was started up again in the spring of 1929.

Two hundred workers were brought to Emerald Bay and started hand hewing the timbers, carving the intricate designs, hand planing the wood for the interior walls, and forging the hinges and latches. Most of the materials to construct the home came from the Tahoe Basin.

Trees were cut for their size and lack of knots, and the granite for the foundation and walls was quarried from behind the house. The ideas for the construction came from buildings dating as far back as the 11th century. Some sections of the home contain no nails, pegs, or spikes.

One of the interesting architectural designs is the sod roof which covers both the north and south wings of the complex. The interior of the home has paintings on some of the ceilings and walls and two intricately carved dragon beams. The six fireplaces are of Scandinavian design with unusual fireplace screens.

Most of the furnishings in the home were originally selected by Mrs. Knight and reflect typical pieces used in Scandinavian homes of the period. A number of original antiques were purchased and others were reproduced to exact detail, even to the aging of the wood and duplication of scratches.

The furnishings on the second floor were reproduced from the architects drawings of 18th and 19th century museum pieces. A step into Vikingsholm is like a step back into medieval times and a chance to gain an appreciation of a unique style of architecture and the person who had it built.

This home is so authentic to Scandinavian homes of the period, there is even a sprinkler system installed to water the roof where local grasses grow to this day.

 After taking in a swim on the beach, the Mrs. and the Fletterhozen children took to the water in Kayaks to explore the surrounding Bay.  They are on the left side of the boat in the foreground.

And while they were underway, the Capt'in spotted a BEAUTIFULLY restored wooden Chris Craft powerboat cruising by the beach. Coming down Emerald Bay to take pictures of the Vikingsholm just behind the beach area is a favorite pastime.      

  That is it for Day One, a good time was had by all! 

These really exists: Giant concrete arrows across America

I had this great story come to me from a good friend, I was thought it was so interesting that I just had to share. Thanks TC

Courtesy of Aviation Archaeological Investigation & Research

Every so often, usually in the vast deserts of the American Southwest, a hiker or a backpacker will run across something puzzling: a ginormous concrete arrow, as much as seventy feet in length, just sitting in the middle of scrub-covered nowhere. 

What are these giant arrows?  Some kind of surveying mark?  Landing beacons for flying saucers? Earth’s turn signals? No, it's…

The Transcontinental Air Mail Route

Every so often, usually in the vast deserts of the American Southwest, a hiker or a backpacker will run across something puzzling: a ginormous concrete arrow, as much as seventy feet in length, just sitting in the middle of scrub-covered nowhere. 

What are these giant arrows?  Some kind of surveying mark?  Landing beacons for flying saucers? Earth’s turn signals? No, it's…

The Transcontinental Air Mail Route

Expand 

A re-creation of a 1920s map showing the route of airmail planes; the dots are intermediate stops along the course.

·     On August 20, 1920, the United States opened its first coast-to-coast airmail delivery route, just 60 years after the Pony Express closed up shop. 

    There were no good aviation charts in those days, so pilots had to eyeball their way across the country using landmarks. This meant that flying in bad weather was difficult, and night flying was just about impossible. 

·     The Postal Service solved the problem with the world’s first ground-based civilian navigation system: a series of lit beacons that would extend from New York to San Francisco. Every ten miles, pilots would pass a bright yellow concrete arrow. Each arrow would be surmounted by a 51-foot steel tower and lit by a million-candlepower rotating beacon. (A generator shed at the tail of each arrow powered the beacon). 

    Now mail could get from the Atlantic to the Pacific not in a matter of weeks, but in just 30 hours or so. 

·     Even the dumbest of air mail pilots, it seems, could follow a series of bright yellow arrows straight out of a Tex Avery cartoon. 

    By 1924, just a year after Congress funded it, the line of giant concrete markers stretched from Rock Springs, Wyoming to Cleveland, Ohio. The next summer, it reached all the way to New York, and by 1929 it spanned the continent uninterrupted, the envy of postal systems worldwide. 

·     Radio and radar are, of course, infinitely less cool than a concrete "Yellow Brick Road" from sea to shining sea, but I think we all know how this story ends. New advances in communication and navigation technology made the big arrows obsolete, and the Commerce Department decommissioned the beacons in the 1940s. 

    The steel towers were torn down and went to the war effort.  But the hundreds of arrows remain. Their yellow paint is gone, their concrete cracks a little more with every winter frost, and no one crosses their path much, except coyotes and tumbleweeds. 

    But they’re still out there!

Past WWII Rides of the Ole Pelican

I was thumbing through some more of my treasure trove of Memorabilia today and came across the Ole' Pelican's Pilot Log book from his WWII days. The inside memoranda page of his logbook showed First Solo's for Howard E. Flett  Lt. A.C. starting with:

 

First Aircraft Solo - February 17, 1943 - Stearman PT-17 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. His first introduction flight was on Febraury 2nd, and lasted just .37 of an hour with Joseph B. Carl as his Flight instructor. This was the primary trainer for cadets equipped with a Continental R-670 225 HP engine.   

Second Aircraft First Solo - April 12, 1943 - Vultee BT-13A in Greenville, Mississippi. His first introduction flight was on April 6th, and lasted .9 of an hour. The Vultee BT-13 was the second phase of the three phase training program for pilots. After primary training in PT-13, PT-17, or PT-19 trainers, the student pilot moved to the more complex Vultee for basic flight training. The BT-13 had a more powerful engine and was faster and heavier than the primary trainer. According to the logbook, there was a 440, and 450 HP variant. It required the student pilot to use two way radio communications with the ground and to operate landing flaps and a two-position Hamilton Standard controllable pitch propeller. It did not, however, have retractable landing gear nor a hydraulic system. The large flaps are operated by a crank-and-cable system. Its pilots nicknamed it the "Vultee Vibrator."

Due to the demand for this aircraft, and others which used the same Pratt & Whitney engine, some were equipped with Wright powerplants of similar size and power built in 1941-42. The Wright-equipped aircraft were designated BT-15. According to his logbook, he flew both versions.

Third Aircraft First Solo - June 7, 1943 - North American AT-6A Texan in Napier Field, Dothan, Alabama. His introduction flight was on June 3rd, and lasted .8 of an hour.  The North American Aviation T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the US Army Air Corp, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s. Designed by North American Aviation, the T-6 is known by a variety of designations depending on the model and operating air force. The AT-6A was equipped with a 650 HP  Pratt & Whitney R-1340-49 Wasp radial. 

I just thought you ought to know!

Here is a Picture of Michael with his Star Rank already sewn on his shirt;... 

before his Court of Honor.  

And here is Caroline's Senior Project, it was a Half Marathon for Cancer Research.  Note the "Inspiration Picture."  That's Caroline with Uncle Norman & Corner Kitty.  Yes, of course there's a story there.

 

Another First of Firsts for Troop 9

I forgot to mention in my last post about the William T. Hornaday Unit Award for Distinguished Service in Conservation being bestowed on Troop 9 at the Eagle Court of Honor. 

This awards program was created to recognize those that have made significant contributions to conservation. It was begun in 1914 by Dr. William T. Hornaday, director of the New York Zoological Park and founder of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Dr. Hornaday was an active and outspoken champion of natural resource conservation and a leader in saving the American bison from extinction. He named the award the Wildlife Protection Medal. After his death in 1937, the award was renamed in Dr. Hornaday's honor and became a Boy Scouts of America award.

In the early 1970s, the present awards program was established with funding help from DuPont. At that time, the late Dr. Hornaday's idea of conservation was broadened to include environmental awareness.

Approximately 1,100 medals have been awarded over the past 80 years. These awards represent a substantial commitment of time and energy by individuals who have learned the meaning of a conservation/environmental ethic. Any Boy Scout, Varsity Scout, or Venturer willing to devote the time and energy to work on a project based on sound scientific principles and guided by a conservation professional or a well-versed layperson can qualify for one of the Hornaday Awards.

A day of First Firsts

Well, I know you all are aware that the EG (Me) moonlights as an Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 9 in Petaluma, CA. This is a young Troop, having only started in April of 2009, so sit back and relax as I tell ya'll the short story. 

This little story of mine is about several "Firsts", and I happen to be the happy recipient of two of the Firsts as well. Over this past weekend I attended my first ever Eagle Court of Honor (that was the first of firsts for me). As luck would have it; I was asked by the Eagle Candidate's parents if I would MC the event, that's Master of Ceremonies for those of you who don't know; the second first of firsts for me. 

To continue; this was the First Eagle Scout Court of Honor for Troop 9, and Robby also happens to be one of the first Scouts to have joined the Troop after his and another Mother started the Troop back in 2009; how about that!

To continue with the first of firsts, Robby was bestowed with the "First" National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) "Certificate of Recognition of Eagle Scout" in this BSA Council in Northern California. This is all due to the fact that the SAR had never had a Eagle Scout Recognition Committee in the Local Chapter, of which there is now one and I am now a member.

This committee is due to the efforts of one man named Robby Burt, who is credited with organizing the SAR's Eagle Scout Recognition Program back in 1980. Turns out that Robby was an Eagle Scout himself, circa 1947, and then went to work for the BSA for 28 years. After he retired, he joined the SAR and got this program off the ground. As luck would have it, he now lives here in Northern California and is Chairman of the Eagle Scout Recognition Committee. How about that!     

In continuing, Robby also received the First SAR Eagle Scout Patch in his Council for submitting his Application and Lineage Record for possible admission to the SAR, Turns out that his Grandmother is a member of the Daughter of the American Revolution (DAR).      

And to conclude with the final first of firsts, Robby also received the first Partnership For Good Citizenship Patch in his Troop.  This patch is sponsored by none other than yours truly here; I have pledged to present the patch to any Troop 9 Scout who obtains all three Citizenship Merit Badges.  Currently only three Scouts have earned the patch.

    So, here you are, I present to you - Robert A. Marchionni - Eagle Scout 

That's Robby's Grandfather to his right- Eagle Scout 1953

 

The-North-Coast-Scouter--February-2013

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/The-North-Coast-Scouter--February-2013.html?soid=1102092851774&aid=sG1181wvQME

Another tidbit from the EG's past

Well, here is where it all started, about two years after I first got started flying in the summer of 1977, right after high school was over. The Ole' Pelican (Capt'in Flett) wouldn't let me get started during high school, because he didn't think I was serious enough. He was right of course, but I didn't think so at the time.

It took a while due to household budget cuts late 77 through 78; wedded bliss at "Casa de la Flett" took a nose dive in 78, as the Pelican sought other living arrangements.  So it was more paying work and minimum school hours at the local Jr. College, plus a few extra bucks from dear Ole' Mom to help gets things done.

BTW, Mary Gafianey as a Designee, was no easy ride; she wasn't even that nice to ya when she wasn't given you a check ride.  I guess it didn't matter whether you give her all your money for lessons at her fine flying establishment, she played no favorites in the cockpit.  

Just how we roll at UAL

To: Chief Pilot IAH base

The entire family was on board for a 50^th wedding anniversary dealio in Maui when grandma realized she had left her purse in the terminal.  The Captain (with a capital ‘C’) held the flight so as to re-united the family with the patriarch and his spousal unit since grandpa had gone along for the search.  Another successful FN delay as they arrived in Maui on-time.

If you would please let everyone involve, what a great job he did on this day I’d appreciate it.

V/R

Andy

Chief Pilot SFO Base 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Flett, Duncan [SFOFO]
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2013 11:45 AM
To: Allen, Andy [SFOFO]
Subject: Fwd: Flight Crew of 52 on 2/12/13 SFO-OGG

Andy,

Here is the crew from FLT 52 of the 12th.  They held the pushback till a senior family member was 

able to retrieve her purse.  Awesome job,

Duncan 

Captain Duncan Flett

AIRBUS Line Check Airman 

Flight Manager - SFOFO

The Four Horseman of Aviation

Came across this picture the other day; made me smile just remembering the day.

These are but a slice of some of the fearless aviators I know in Charlotte, NC.   

Hawaiian Airlines to purchase A321neo aircraft from Airbus - Airlines for America SmartBrief

Hawaiian Airlines to purchase A321neo aircraft from Airbus - Airlines for America SmartBrief