News Flash! Ice Skating rink in Hell Opens!

[G.R. Patterson III]

My mother remembers when Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic. It wasn't too long
after that when she last rode in a light aircraft. She regards a 19 passenger
turbo-prop as "one of those little planes". Before today, I regarded the odds of
her climbing into my Maule right up there with the chances of sprouting wings
and flying around the room.

Guess it just takes the right impetus. She signed up for a tour of Cape May, NJ.
Got there allright. Then she started trying to figure out how she could make the
100 miles to my house after the tour was over. When I pointed out that her
options were a four-and-a-half-hour bus ride, plus a 45 minute ride from the
terminal, an eight-hour-plus train ride with four changes, or a 52 minute ride
in the Maule, she decided that the plane looked a lot bigger than she had
thought originally.

I got off the ground a few minutes later than planned, but there was a tailwind,
so I made it to Cape May on time. Nobody answered me on the Unicom, so I picked
one of the runways and plunked down. Then I headed for the terminal, pulled up,
and shut down. Nobody there. Closed for the season. Cranked up again and headed
down the line. I was pulling into the next building that looked like an FBO,
when the radio crackled to life. "Maule, your party is down here at Classic
Air." With a heartfelt "Thank you", I waddled down that way and shut down in
front of the building.

I suggested that Mama use the facilities before we left and had a chat with the
line man while loading her luggage. He has a Maule M-4 he's working on, and we
swapped stories a bit. Then it was time to load Mama.

For those who haven't tried the exercise, getting in a Maule is a bit of work.
Short, chubby, old women are not well suited to this. On the second attempt,
Mama managed to get her right foot up on the step. Grabbing hold of the bar
across the windshield was out of the question, but she did manage to get a good
grip on the door frame. After that, it was a matter of only about three tries
before she was able to crawl into the seat.

I climbed in the other side, got her seat belt fastened, and went over the
passenger briefing (which takes about 5 seconds in a Maule). When I offered her
a headset, she looked aghast and told me she'd just turn her hearing aid down.
She didn't feel the need to talk. Got started and headed for the runway.

Cape May was still under a grey 2500' overcast, but twenty miles north, the sun
was shining. We stayed at 1,000' to 1,300' up the coast. I had just come down
that way, so I knew the turbulence wasn't too bad down there. Gave her a view
of the Atlantic City casinos as we passed Bader. We stayed east of the McGuire
alert zone, but that still pulled us away from the coast a bit, and Mama started
checking her watch. I'm starting to worry about airsickness and such, but I
found out later that she just needed a bathroom. Already.

So, feeling a little pressure to get her down, I entered the downwind for 06 at
Old Bridge. Wind was from 360 at better than ten knots at pattern altitude, and
I forgot to allow for the fact that this would produce a short base leg. As soon
as I leveled off on base, it was obvious I was high, so I dumped in full flaps.
As soon as I turned final, I was slipping the plane for all it was worth. At
first, I was worried about what Mama would think - lots of people don't like
slips. Mama didn't bat an eye. I realized later that slipping the plane in would
have been SOP back in the 30s when she last flew in one of these things. Or
maybe it was just hydraulic pressure.

Anyway, we touched down halfway down the field and made the next-to-last turn
off. I pulled up at the FBO to let Mama out. Whoo-boy! If you thought it was a
problem getting her into the plane, you should've seen the gyrations needed to
get her out! If I hadn't told her there was a bathroom behind the FBO door, we
might still be there!

On the way home, she thanked me for the "adventure". Maybe I can bribe my sister
into finding out what she really thinks. On second thought, maybe I'd best not
do that.

George Patterson
If you're not part of the solution, you can make a lot of money prolonging
the problem.

[Harry Gordon]

George,

Very interesting :-) !. My wife's mother lives near by and we want to take
her flying but she is scared to death of flying. Before her husband died,
they flew once in a while with commercial airlines and apparently she hung
on to him during the entire trip. I want to take her up in the 172. Getting
her in/out shouldn't be a problem...it's the in between time (from takeoff
to landing) that I am concerned about. She is in her '80s. The only
motivation for the flight is to have some fun. Any suggestions you or
someone else might have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for the
entertaining posting.

Harry
PP-ASEL

"G.R. Patterson III" > wrote in message
...
> My mother remembers when Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic. It wasn't too
long
> after that when she last rode in a light aircraft. She regards a 19
passenger
> turbo-prop as "one of those little planes". Before today, I regarded the
odds of
> her climbing into my Maule right up there with the chances of sprouting
wings
> and flying around the room.
>
> Guess it just takes the right impetus. She signed up for a tour of Cape
May, NJ.
> Got there allright. Then she started trying to figure out how she could
make the
> 100 miles to my house after the tour was over. When I pointed out that her
> options were a four-and-a-half-hour bus ride, plus a 45 minute ride from
the
> terminal, an eight-hour-plus train ride with four changes, or a 52 minute
ride
> in the Maule, she decided that the plane looked a lot bigger than she had
> thought originally.
>
> I got off the ground a few minutes later than planned, but there was a
tailwind,
> so I made it to Cape May on time. Nobody answered me on the Unicom, so I
picked
> one of the runways and plunked down. Then I headed for the terminal,
pulled up,
> and shut down. Nobody there. Closed for the season. Cranked up again and
headed
> down the line. I was pulling into the next building that looked like an
FBO,
> when the radio crackled to life. "Maule, your party is down here at
Classic
> Air." With a heartfelt "Thank you", I waddled down that way and shut down
in
> front of the building.
>
> I suggested that Mama use the facilities before we left and had a chat
with the
> line man while loading her luggage. He has a Maule M-4 he's working on,
and we
> swapped stories a bit. Then it was time to load Mama.
>
> For those who haven't tried the exercise, getting in a Maule is a bit of
work.
> Short, chubby, old women are not well suited to this. On the second
attempt,
> Mama managed to get her right foot up on the step. Grabbing hold of the
bar
> across the windshield was out of the question, but she did manage to get a
good
> grip on the door frame. After that, it was a matter of only about three
tries
> before she was able to crawl into the seat.
>
> I climbed in the other side, got her seat belt fastened, and went over the
> passenger briefing (which takes about 5 seconds in a Maule). When I
offered her
> a headset, she looked aghast and told me she'd just turn her hearing aid
down.
> She didn't feel the need to talk. Got started and headed for the runway.
>
> Cape May was still under a grey 2500' overcast, but twenty miles north,
the sun
> was shining. We stayed at 1,000' to 1,300' up the coast. I had just come
down
> that way, so I knew the turbulence wasn't too bad down there. Gave her a
view
> of the Atlantic City casinos as we passed Bader. We stayed east of the
McGuire
> alert zone, but that still pulled us away from the coast a bit, and Mama
started
> checking her watch. I'm starting to worry about airsickness and such, but
I
> found out later that she just needed a bathroom. Already.
>
> So, feeling a little pressure to get her down, I entered the downwind for
06 at
> Old Bridge. Wind was from 360 at better than ten knots at pattern
altitude, and
> I forgot to allow for the fact that this would produce a short base leg.
As soon
> as I leveled off on base, it was obvious I was high, so I dumped in full
flaps.
> As soon as I turned final, I was slipping the plane for all it was worth.
At
> first, I was worried about what Mama would think - lots of people don't
like
> slips. Mama didn't bat an eye. I realized later that slipping the plane in
would
> have been SOP back in the 30s when she last flew in one of these things.
Or
> maybe it was just hydraulic pressure.
>
> Anyway, we touched down halfway down the field and made the next-to-last
turn
> off. I pulled up at the FBO to let Mama out. Whoo-boy! If you thought it
was a
> problem getting her into the plane, you should've seen the gyrations
needed to
> get her out! If I hadn't told her there was a bathroom behind the FBO
door, we
> might still be there!
>
> On the way home, she thanked me for the "adventure". Maybe I can bribe my
sister
> into finding out what she really thinks. On second thought, maybe I'd best
not
> do that.
>
> George Patterson
> If you're not part of the solution, you can make a lot of money
prolonging
> the problem.

[Larry Dighera]

On Sat, 08 Nov 2003 13:17:47 GMT, "Harry Gordon"
> wrote in Message-Id:
>:

>The only
>motivation for the flight is to have some fun. Any suggestions you or
>someone else might have would be greatly appreciated.

Consider a destination that interests her. Perhaps a visit with
grandchildren or family friends. It doesn't sound like the flight is
going to be nearly as much fun for her as it will be for you.

[Harry Gordon]

"Larry Dighera" > wrote >
> Consider a destination that interests her. Perhaps a visit with
> grandchildren or family friends. It doesn't sound like the flight is
> going to be nearly as much fun for her as it will be for you.
>

Yea, and that is what concerns me, Larry. Unfortunately, she doesn't have
any friends or other family members close enough to fly too. This has the
potential of being a real challenge that if I am able to get her to go, I
may regret having done so for a long time :-(.

Harry

[Jay Honeck]

> On the way home, she thanked me for the "adventure". Maybe I can bribe my
sister
> into finding out what she really thinks. On second thought, maybe I'd best
not
> do that.

Great story, George -- congratulations! It's not always easy to convince
people that flying in a Spam Can is a good idea.

As a newly minted pilot I had the honor of flying my Mom into her home town
air strip. She arrived like the Queen of Sheba, and even wore headphones,
despite messing up her normally sacrosanct hair! Luckily, it was in a
Piper Cherokee 140 -- not the easiest plane to get into, but easier than a
Maule. (And she was pretty spry, for her age.)

Now that she's gone, it's one of my fondest memories.

On several occasions I've also had the privilege of flying my Mother-in-law,
which is more of a challenge since she's partially handicapped. She's
handled it like a trooper every time, however.

Enjoy them while they're with us, George...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[EDR]

In article <197rb.146656$e01.504987@attbi_s02>, Jay Honeck
> wrote:

> On several occasions I've also had the privilege of flying my Mother-in-law,
> which is more of a challenge since she's partially handicapped. She's
> handled it like a trooper every time, however.

Ater my father became confined to a wheelchair, I learned the best
airplane to fly him around in was a Cherokee Six. All he had to do was
stand up with his back to the airplane at the back door and sit down on
the rear seat by the door.
Prior to that, I experienced similar problems as George describe,
getting him into a C172 to take him on flyouts to a pheasant farm for
lunch. Another trip for $100 hamburgers, we took a Rockwell 112. He had
to scoot up the wingwalk backwards, turn around, then scoot forward
through the door to sit on the seat.
(Time to seriously start looking for that Six, Jay!)

[Jay Honeck]

> (Time to seriously start looking for that Six, Jay!)

Nah. If I had a Six I'd have no excuse NOT to take my mother-in-law
along...

{:-0
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jim Fisher]

"G.R. Patterson III" > wrote in message
> On the way home, she thanked me for the "adventure". Maybe I can bribe my
sister
> into finding out what she really thinks. On second thought, maybe I'd best
not
> do that.

Yeah, some things are better left unasked.

I do believe that is the longest post you've ever written, George, and very
much worth reading.

Thanks for sharing.

--
Jim Fisher

[Big John]

Harry

My mother flew with me only once (in 1945). Every time we made a turn
she would climb up on the high side of the cockpit using the steel
frame of the fuselage.. We flew around Davenport, IA and looked at
where she lived, etc. 45-50 minutes.

In later years when all the old widows got together I would hear her
tell how she flew with me once and what a good pilot I (her son) was.

(I was a good pilot but she didn't know it <G>)

Get a good sunny day with no turbulence and take your MIL for a $100
brunch. If she drinks get her a martini <G> Do you have any children
she can shepherd and show them what to do in the bird and act like a
mother hen? All good to keep her from freezing up.

Best of luck with your MIL.

Big John.


N.B. While waiting in front of FBO for plane to get back another
private bird (Piper, T-craft, etc.???) taxied out and made a run up
right in front of us (20 or so away). He ran up downwind and the tail
came up and wind got it and bird turned over upside down right there
(where if I opened the car door I could touch. Didn't seem to bother
mother a bit. Probably had already convinced herself that she would
die if she went flying in one of those little birds even with her
son????



On Sat, 08 Nov 2003 13:17:47 GMT, "Harry Gordon"
> wrote:

>George,
>
>Very interesting :-) !. My wife's mother lives near by and we want to take
>her flying but she is scared to death of flying. Before her husband died,
>they flew once in a while with commercial airlines and apparently she hung
>on to him during the entire trip. I want to take her up in the 172. Getting
>her in/out shouldn't be a problem...it's the in between time (from takeoff
>to landing) that I am concerned about. She is in her '80s. The only
>motivation for the flight is to have some fun. Any suggestions you or
>someone else might have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for the
>entertaining posting.
>
>Harry
>PP-ASEL
>
>"G.R. Patterson III" > wrote in message
...
>> My mother remembers when Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic. It wasn't too
>long
>> after that when she last rode in a light aircraft. She regards a 19
>passenger
>> turbo-prop as "one of those little planes". Before today, I regarded the
>odds of
>> her climbing into my Maule right up there with the chances of sprouting
>wings
>> and flying around the room.
>>
>> Guess it just takes the right impetus. She signed up for a tour of Cape
>May, NJ.
>> Got there allright. Then she started trying to figure out how she could
>make the
>> 100 miles to my house after the tour was over. When I pointed out that her
>> options were a four-and-a-half-hour bus ride, plus a 45 minute ride from
>the
>> terminal, an eight-hour-plus train ride with four changes, or a 52 minute
>ride
>> in the Maule, she decided that the plane looked a lot bigger than she had
>> thought originally.
>>
>> I got off the ground a few minutes later than planned, but there was a
>tailwind,
>> so I made it to Cape May on time. Nobody answered me on the Unicom, so I
>picked
>> one of the runways and plunked down. Then I headed for the terminal,
>pulled up,
>> and shut down. Nobody there. Closed for the season. Cranked up again and
>headed
>> down the line. I was pulling into the next building that looked like an
>FBO,
>> when the radio crackled to life. "Maule, your party is down here at
>Classic
>> Air." With a heartfelt "Thank you", I waddled down that way and shut down
>in
>> front of the building.
>>
>> I suggested that Mama use the facilities before we left and had a chat
>with the
>> line man while loading her luggage. He has a Maule M-4 he's working on,
>and we
>> swapped stories a bit. Then it was time to load Mama.
>>
>> For those who haven't tried the exercise, getting in a Maule is a bit of
>work.
>> Short, chubby, old women are not well suited to this. On the second
>attempt,
>> Mama managed to get her right foot up on the step. Grabbing hold of the
>bar
>> across the windshield was out of the question, but she did manage to get a
>good
>> grip on the door frame. After that, it was a matter of only about three
>tries
>> before she was able to crawl into the seat.
>>
>> I climbed in the other side, got her seat belt fastened, and went over the
>> passenger briefing (which takes about 5 seconds in a Maule). When I
>offered her
>> a headset, she looked aghast and told me she'd just turn her hearing aid
>down.
>> She didn't feel the need to talk. Got started and headed for the runway.
>>
>> Cape May was still under a grey 2500' overcast, but twenty miles north,
>the sun
>> was shining. We stayed at 1,000' to 1,300' up the coast. I had just come
>down
>> that way, so I knew the turbulence wasn't too bad down there. Gave her a
>view
>> of the Atlantic City casinos as we passed Bader. We stayed east of the
>McGuire
>> alert zone, but that still pulled us away from the coast a bit, and Mama
>started
>> checking her watch. I'm starting to worry about airsickness and such, but
>I
>> found out later that she just needed a bathroom. Already.
>>
>> So, feeling a little pressure to get her down, I entered the downwind for
>06 at
>> Old Bridge. Wind was from 360 at better than ten knots at pattern
>altitude, and
>> I forgot to allow for the fact that this would produce a short base leg.
>As soon
>> as I leveled off on base, it was obvious I was high, so I dumped in full
>flaps.
>> As soon as I turned final, I was slipping the plane for all it was worth.
>At
>> first, I was worried about what Mama would think - lots of people don't
>like
>> slips. Mama didn't bat an eye. I realized later that slipping the plane in
>would
>> have been SOP back in the 30s when she last flew in one of these things.
>Or
>> maybe it was just hydraulic pressure.
>>
>> Anyway, we touched down halfway down the field and made the next-to-last
>turn
>> off. I pulled up at the FBO to let Mama out. Whoo-boy! If you thought it
>was a
>> problem getting her into the plane, you should've seen the gyrations
>needed to
>> get her out! If I hadn't told her there was a bathroom behind the FBO
>door, we
>> might still be there!
>>
>> On the way home, she thanked me for the "adventure". Maybe I can bribe my
>sister
>> into finding out what she really thinks. On second thought, maybe I'd best
>not
>> do that.
>>
>> George Patterson
>> If you're not part of the solution, you can make a lot of money
>prolonging
>> the problem.
>

[EDR]

In article <i4hrb.149526$Fm2.132275@attbi_s04>, Jay Honeck
> wrote:

> > (Time to seriously start looking for that Six, Jay!)

> Nah. If I had a Six I'd have no excuse NOT to take my mother-in-law
> along... {:-0

Does Mary read these postings?

[Bushy]

> Does Mary read these postings?

Do you have an aerobatic rating?
Current on inverted spins?
;<)
Peter

[EDR]

In article >, Bushy
> wrote:

> Do you have an aerobatic rating?

There is no such rating in the United States.

[Jay Honeck]

> Does Mary read these postings?

Thankfully, no. ;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Bushy]

Hi Mary, just kidding.....

Peter

"EDR" > wrote in message
...
> In article >, Bushy
> > wrote:
>
> > Do you have an aerobatic rating?
>
> There is no such rating in the United States.

[David CL Francis]

On Sun, 9 Nov 2003 at 00:19:10 in message
>, Big John
> wrote:

>My mother flew with me only once (in 1945). Every time we made a turn
>she would climb up on the high side of the cockpit using the steel
>frame of the fuselage.. We flew around Davenport, IA and looked at
>where she lived, etc. 45-50 minutes.

Sounds a bit like an inexperienced passenger on a motorcycle. Every time
you go around a corner they try to move to keep their upper body at
right angles to the ground. It can be quite disconcerting to the rider.
--
David CL Francis

[Trent Moorehead]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:197rb.146656$e01.504987@attbi_s02...
>
> Enjoy them while they're with us, George...

For Father's day, I took my Dad out for lunch to a restaurant named Fran's
Front Porch, which is right on the field at Causey Airport in Liberty, NC.
Good food, by the way.

I made up a little ticket, a boarding pass, if you will, that I was going to
punch when we took the flight. It was meant to be cute. Because of weather
(summer) and schedules, it was a couple of months before we could take the
trip and I had totally forgotten about the ticket. But he didn't. He proudly
pulled it out of his pocket and said, "Captain, here's my ticket". Something
about that gesture touched me. Then I remembered that I had seen that ticket
sitting on his dresser in plain view during the months after Father's Day.
My father would usually tuck something like this away, but he put it where
he would see it every day. Having that ticket to look at kept him reminded
of our plans and perhaps kept him looking forward to the day when we could
take the flight. I have to say that we really enjoyed that little trip, it
made for a fond memory.

For those who want to take a loved one flying, think about using a ticket
and giving them some time to warm up to the idea.

-Trent
PP-ASEL

[G.R. Patterson III]

Jay Honeck wrote:
>
> Enjoy them while they're with us, George...

Unfortunately, "enjoyment" and close contact with my mother are not items that
one normally considers as being related.

George Patterson
If you're not part of the solution, you can make a lot of money prolonging
the problem.