Jay - You guys under water?

[Blueskies]

"Airbus" > wrote in message ...
> Got floats on that single?
> Floats on the hotel?
>

Floats on the 'Coupe?

[Jay Honeck[_2_]]

Not quite.

We spent all day sand-bagging, with an army of volunteers helping. Water is
flowing across the road between us and the airport to the south, and at the
intersection to the north. We've built a wall around the lowest of our two
buildings, (but have little faith that this will hold if the river rises as
much as predicted. Dozens of sand-bag walls have failed, all over town.

The American Barnstormers Tour, an event we worked on for six months (and
for which we provided primary sponsorship) has been cancelled. The pilots
could have made it in today, but -- with the river expected to go up another
four feet -- they probably wouldn't have made it out. No sense in risking
20 one-of-a-kind aircraft, so they've moved on to their next stop on the
multi-state tour.

Since they had the whole hotel booked, we are nearly empty. Unfortunately,
being nearly cut off by flood waters, even though we're still dry we've got
little business. And no none knows what tomorrow will bring, so folks are
sensibly staying in hotels that are on higher ground.

We flew Atlas to a nearby airport today (and one of the wonderful volunteers
gave Joe and I a ride back, fording deep flood waters to make it back), and
our "new" Ercoupe is now hanging from the engine hoist in my A&P's hangar,
like a big Xmas ornament. Ironically, we saw the most GA traffic at our
airport in YEARS, with everyone getting out of the rivers way.

This catastrophe -- the worst natural disaster in Iowa history -- has been
an awful, slow-motion freight train crashing, like watching a freighter
heading toward the Golden Gate Bridge. Nothing and no one can stop it.

Still, we've been very lucky. Hundreds of businesses and home are under
water right now... See: http://tinyurl.com/5o823a
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"
"Airbus" > wrote in message
...
> Got floats on that single?
> Floats on the hotel?
>

[romeomike]

Jay Honeck wrote:

>
> Still, we've been very lucky. Hundreds of businesses and home are under
> water right now... See: http://tinyurl.com/5o823a

Good luck to you and sympathies to all the people in the mid west losing
so much.

[Jay Honeck[_2_]]

>> Still, we've been very lucky. Hundreds of businesses and home are under
>> water right now... See: http://tinyurl.com/5o823a
>
> Good luck to you and sympathies to all the people in the mid west losing
> so much.

Thanks.

Incidentally, the bar in the first picture ("Wig & Pen", in the gallery
linked, above) is one of our favorite places to eat, and one that many folks
who have joined us for dinner/drinks will recognize. The Heartland Inn
(also pictured) is where we always send folks when we're sold out, as they
are run by a great bunch of folks.

Hard to imagine their despair at having six feet of water in their
businesses...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"
"romeomike" > wrote in message
...
> Jay Honeck wrote:
>
>>
>> Still, we've been very lucky. Hundreds of businesses and home are under
>> water right now... See: http://tinyurl.com/5o823a
>
> Good luck to you and sympathies to all the people in the mid west losing
> so much.

[Ken S. Tucker]

On Jun 13, 8:10 pm, "Jay Honeck" > wrote:
....
> This catastrophe -- the worst natural disaster in Iowa history -- has been
> an awful, slow-motion freight train crashing, like watching a freighter
> heading toward the Golden Gate Bridge. Nothing and no one can stop it.

Incredible, worst in 500 years the news says, comparable
to Katrina/New Orleans in damage, and from what I can
tell, worse yet to come...hot summer heat, mosquitos,
fungus after the water receeds.

> Still, we've been very lucky. Hundreds of businesses and home are under
> water right now... See:http://tinyurl.com/5o823a

Good Luck!
Ken

> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination""Airbus" > wrote in message

[Airbus[_4_]]

Got floats on that single?
Floats on the hotel?

[Paul M. Anton]

Good luck to you and yours Jay

Paul
N1431A
KPLU

[Stella Starr]

Jay Honeck wrote:

>
> The American Barnstormers Tour, an event we worked on for six months
> (and for which we provided primary sponsorship) has been cancelled.

I see Ames got it early because of your loss. They had some flooding
too, though, didn't they?

>
> This catastrophe -- the worst natural disaster in Iowa history -- has
> been an awful, slow-motion freight train crashing, like watching a
> freighter heading toward the Golden Gate Bridge. Nothing and no one can
> stop it.

Glad you're safe, and won't lose everything even if it continues to get
worse. I've got old friends who spent their time between work shifts in
Des Moines sandbagging. I'd be too, if I hadn't moved out to the edge
of the continent last year.
Stay safe and warm. You're the most important thing to keep secure from
the floodwaters.

[Peter Dohm]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:yPG4k.207524$yE1.83100@attbi_s21...
>>> Still, we've been very lucky. Hundreds of businesses and home are under
>>> water right now... See: http://tinyurl.com/5o823a
>>
>> Good luck to you and sympathies to all the people in the mid west losing
>> so much.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Incidentally, the bar in the first picture ("Wig & Pen", in the gallery
> linked, above) is one of our favorite places to eat, and one that many
> folks who have joined us for dinner/drinks will recognize. The Heartland
> Inn (also pictured) is where we always send folks when we're sold out, as
> they are run by a great bunch of folks.
>
> Hard to imagine their despair at having six feet of water in their
> businesses...
> --
I certainly hope that your sandbags hold, and the water level recedes.

Peter

[Jay Honeck[_2_]]

> I certainly hope that your sandbags hold, and the water level recedes.

Latest aerial photos from Iowa City:
http://tinyurl.com/5awhnt

Latest photos from the Alexis Park Inn & Suites, our hotel:
http://www.alexisparkinn.com/great_flood_of_2008.htm

Things are looking better here.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Lou]

On Jun 14, 10:51 pm, "Jay Honeck" > wrote:
> > I certainly hope that your sandbags hold, and the water level recedes.
>
> Latest aerial photos from Iowa City:http://tinyurl.com/5awhnt
>
> Latest photos from the Alexis Park Inn & Suites, our hotel:http://www.alexisparkinn.com/great_flood_of_2008.htm
>
> Things are looking better here.
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"

Your about to be flooded and so you went to Dairy Queen?
Lou

[Jay Honeck[_2_]]

> Your about to be flooded and so you went to Dairy Queen?

Strange, no? None of us believed it was going to be so bad, and I knew that
both our home and hotel were above the 500 year flood plain. So, we were
checking out the river and stumbled upon a round of peanut buster
parfaits...

As it turned out, we have sand-bagged the hotel for nothing -- thank
goodness. (Dairy Queen wasn't so lucky -- they're under several feet of
water, just two years after being wiped out by the Tornado of '06.)

The river is expected to crest later today. We're essentially an island at
the hotel, now, with access from the north and south cut by the river -- and
both freeways into Iowa City (I-80 and I-380) are closed -- so we're
basically out of business -- but at least we're safe.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"
"Lou" > wrote in message
...
> On Jun 14, 10:51 pm, "Jay Honeck" > wrote:
>> > I certainly hope that your sandbags hold, and the water level recedes.
>>
>> Latest aerial photos from Iowa City:http://tinyurl.com/5awhnt
>>
>> Latest photos from the Alexis Park Inn & Suites, our
>> hotel:http://www.alexisparkinn.com/great_flood_of_2008.htm
>>
>> Things are looking better here.
>> --
>> Jay Honeck
>> Iowa City, IA
>> Pathfinder N56993www.AlexisParkInn.com
>> "Your Aviation Destination"
>
> Your about to be flooded and so you went to Dairy Queen?
> Lou

[Jay Honeck[_2_]]

> Anyway - looks like the waters are receding finally.
> Relieved for you.

Thanks, but that's in Cedar Rapids -- different river.

Here in Iowa City the Iowa River is still rising. I got a tour of the dam
last night, courtesy of a Corps of Engineers buddy (the dam area is closed
to the public right now) and the water is still coming over the spillway at
record levels. Worse, water is coming into the reservoir at 10,000 cubic
feet per second FASTER than they can release it -- so this is going to be an
all-summer mess, I fear.

The only solution, really, is going to be a protracted dry spell.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"
"Airbus" > wrote in message
...
> If you're still able to operate safely out of the airfield, why don't the
> two of you go up and do some aerial photography of your own?
>
> Anyway - looks like the waters are receding finally.
> Relieved for you.
>
>

[B A R R Y]

On Sun, 15 Jun 2008 13:29:30 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
> wrote:

>As it turned out, we have sand-bagged the hotel for nothing

Great to hear!

[kontiki[_2_]]

Jay Honeck wrote:
>> Anyway - looks like the waters are receding finally.
>> Relieved for you.
>
> Thanks, but that's in Cedar Rapids -- different river.
>
> Here in Iowa City the Iowa River is still rising. I got a tour of the
> dam last night, courtesy of a Corps of Engineers buddy (the dam area is
> closed to the public right now) and the water is still coming over the
> spillway at record levels. Worse, water is coming into the reservoir
> at 10,000 cubic feet per second FASTER than they can release it -- so
> this is going to be an all-summer mess, I fear.
>
> The only solution, really, is going to be a protracted dry spell.

We'd love to take some of the rain burden off of you and place it here
in South Carolina.

[Airbus[_4_]]

If you're still able to operate safely out of the airfield, why don't the
two of you go up and do some aerial photography of your own?

Anyway - looks like the waters are receding finally.
Relieved for you.

[Rick[_2_]]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:_O85k.209551$yE1.196800@attbi_s21...
> The river is expected to crest later today.

It actually crested last night according to the Press Citizen. I'm just in a
state of shock looking at all the pictures.

- Rick, ex-pat Iowa Citian

[Jay Honeck[_2_]]

> How deep did the water get in the T-hangars?
> Until I looked at Google Earth, I didn't realize they were the closest
> structures to the river.

Nothing at the airport has flooded. The hangars (and the hotel) are at 652'
MSL. Everything below 648' MSL is under water.

Latest updates, and aerial pix from our flight today, here:
http://www.alexisparkinn.com/great_flood_of_2008.htm
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck[_2_]]

> It actually crested last night according to the Press Citizen. I'm just in
> a
> state of shock looking at all the pictures.

Check out the latest update, including aerial photos from our flight today:
http://www.alexisparkinn.com/great_flood_of_2008.htm
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[rotor&wing]

On Jun 13, 8:10 pm, "Jay Honeck" wrote:
....

Incredible, worst in 500 years the news says, comparable
to Katrina/New Orleans in damage, and from what I can
tell, worse yet to come...hot summer heat, mosquitos,
fungus after the water receeds.
[color=blue][i]
Still, we've been very lucky. Hundreds of businesses and home are under
water right now... See:http://tinyurl.com/5o823a



Gee, notice the difference between this and Katrina? So far I haven't seen Midwesterners on the news screaming and crying for government assistance.

FEMA isn't there handing out $2000 visa debit cards. And why hasn't someone blamed the President for this?

[Ken S. Tucker]

On Jun 16, 9:12 am, rotor&amp;wing <rotorampwing.
> wrote:
> Ken S. Tucker;639930 Wrote:
>
> > On Jun 13, 8:10 pm, "Jay Honeck" wrote:
> > ....-
>
> > Incredible, worst in 500 years the news says, comparable
> > to Katrina/New Orleans in damage, and from what I can
> > tell, worse yet to come...hot summer heat, mosquitos,
> > fungus after the water receeds.
> > [color=blue][i]
> > Still, we've been very lucky. Hundreds of businesses and home are
> > under
> > water right now... See:http://tinyurl.com/5o823a-
>
> Gee, notice the difference between this and Katrina? So far I haven't
> seen Midwesterners on the news screaming and crying for government
> assistance.
>
> FEMA isn't there handing out $2000 visa debit cards. And why hasn't
> someone blamed the President for this?

Country people in the Midwest states have (IMHO)
a tradition of self-reliance and team work.
I look about my own house and try to imagine 6' of
water in it...that's a lot of work/time/money to clean
up. I see the Fed as a big insurance company, that
Iowa has paid into for years, but now is the time for
the benefit of those premiums to show-up.
Ken

[Blueskies]

"rotor&amp"; "wing" > wrote in message
...
>
> Ken S. Tucker;639930 Wrote:
>> On Jun 13, 8:10 pm, "Jay Honeck" wrote:
>> ....-
>>
>> Incredible, worst in 500 years the news says, comparable
>> to Katrina/New Orleans in damage, and from what I can
>> tell, worse yet to come...hot summer heat, mosquitos,
>> fungus after the water receeds.
>> [color=blue][i]
>> Still, we've been very lucky. Hundreds of businesses and home are
>> under
>> water right now... See:http://tinyurl.com/5o823a-
>>
>>
>
> Gee, notice the difference between this and Katrina? So far I haven't
> seen Midwesterners on the news screaming and crying for government
> assistance.
>
> FEMA isn't there handing out $2000 visa debit cards. And why hasn't
> someone blamed the President for this?
>
>
>
>

Did you see the news tonight? Hands are out!

[Larry Dighera]

On Sat, 14 Jun 2008 03:10:18 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
> wrote in
<uEG4k.153170$TT4.85970@attbi_s22>:

>The American Barnstormers Tour, an event we worked on for six months (and
>for which we provided primary sponsorship) has been cancelled.

Ummm.... Not entirely:

The schedule for the American
Barnstormers Tour for June is as follows:

June 15-18 Ames, IA (AMW)
June 19-20 Council Bluffs, IA (CBF)
June 21-22 Hastings, NE (HSI)
June 23-24 Great Bend, KE (GBD)
June 25-26 Wichita, KS (AAO)
June 27 Emporia, KS (EMP) morning only-refueling
June 27-28 Lee's Summit, MO (LXT)
June 29-30 Jefferson City, MO (JEF)

Tour aircraft will be on display from approximately 11:00 am to
6:00 pm at each location, weather permitting. Biplane rides are
available for $50.00 per passenger.
FMI: www.americanbarnstormerstour.com

[Jay Honeck[_2_]]

>>The American Barnstormers Tour, an event we worked on for six months (and
>>for which we provided primary sponsorship) has been cancelled.
>
> Ummm.... Not entirely:

Right. I should have said the "Iowa City appearance" has been cancelled.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck[_2_]]

> FEMA isn't there handing out $2000 visa debit cards. And why hasn't
> someone blamed the President for this?

Well, in fairness, few people have lost everything -- yet. Once the flood
waters recede, we'll see what's left.

Also, Iowa is a string of family-oriented, tight-knit communities. I didn't
ask for help, but -- between my kids' friends and their parents -- I had an
army of volunteer sand-baggers at the hotel within hours of the flood. I
never even had to call *our* friends -- we had more than enough strong backs
willing to slog sand-bags all day long.

This really is an amazing place to live. After a lifetime spent living in or
near big cities, I sometimes have to remind myself that this isn't a clichéd
movie set that we're living in -- the people here really DO live lives of
honest integrity, and they really DON'T see every person's hardships as an
opportunity to make money. And they really are willing to help their
fellow man, simply because it's the right thing to do.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"
"rotor&amp"; "wing" > wrote in
message ...
>
> Ken S. Tucker;639930 Wrote:
>> On Jun 13, 8:10 pm, "Jay Honeck" wrote:
>> ....-
>>
>> Incredible, worst in 500 years the news says, comparable
>> to Katrina/New Orleans in damage, and from what I can
>> tell, worse yet to come...hot summer heat, mosquitos,
>> fungus after the water receeds.
>> [color=blue][i]
>> Still, we've been very lucky. Hundreds of businesses and home are
>> under
>> water right now... See:http://tinyurl.com/5o823a-
>>
>>
>
> Gee, notice the difference between this and Katrina? So far I haven't
> seen Midwesterners on the news screaming and crying for government
> assistance.
>
> FEMA isn't there handing out $2000 visa debit cards. And why hasn't
> someone blamed the President for this?
>
>
>
>
> --
> rotor&amp;wing

[[email protected]]

On Jun 14, 1:30*am, Airbus > wrote:
> Got floats on that single?
> Floats on the hotel?

Photos of the flooding in Cedar Rapids (including aerial shots)
http://www.andrealynnphoto.com/CRflood2008/

[Viperdoc]

Jay:

It's interesting seeing what's going on in Iowa from the EU perspective-
people in the streets here in southern France ask about the flooding, which
is the only domestic news from the US in the area, via CNN international.
Most of their interest is, or at least was in the Euro Cup, until France
lost.

People in the stores and restaurants ask if we live near the flooded areas.
Most of the rest of the US news has been about the economy.

There are a lot of planes flying overhead, mostly the turboprops from nearby
Salon, the air academy for France. Soaring is big here, with a local club
that is quite famous. However, the mistral winds have been lacking, so the
lift over the mountains has been weak at best. We're waiting for the winds
to pick up, so my son can celebrate his birthday with a ride.

Most cars run on diesel, and 3/4 of a tank cost $150.00 yesterday! I'm
afraid to learn what avgas costs, particularly with the weak dollar.
Breakfast in a hotel restaurant can be as much as $60.00, just for some
bread, pastries, juice and coffee. Even an inexpensive dinner is around $100
for the three of us.

So, from the world wide perspective, we have a ways to go before we see the
end of climbing gas prices and other costs of living.

[Martin Hotze[_2_]]

Viperdoc schrieb:
> Most cars run on diesel, and 3/4 of a tank cost $150.00 yesterday! I'm

3/4 of what? a truck?
I just filled up @EUR 1.49 per liter for 100 octan unleaded.
ah, ok ... sorry, just checked that you noted USD. Well, with the
current exchange rate you have a bad time.

> afraid to learn what avgas costs, particularly with the weak dollar.
> Breakfast in a hotel restaurant can be as much as $60.00, just for some

for 3? that's ok for a restaurant. else go to mcdonalds or so.

> bread, pastries, juice and coffee. Even an inexpensive dinner is around $100
> for the three of us.

this is about EUR 65. This is expensive for _inexpensive_.

> So, from the world wide perspective, we have a ways to go before we see the
> end of climbing gas prices and other costs of living.

#m

[Viperdoc]

We have no McDonalds nearby, which is a good thing. also only around 8
channels on TV, most in FR, one in German, one in Italian, and then CNN
international. Most of the TV shows are American, and then dubbed in the
local language. Diesel is expensive, plus using a credit card incurs an
additional 3.4% surcharge. Luckily, I think we can get the 19.6% TVA (VAT)
back somehow, but haven't figured this out yet.

Haven't had a bad meal yet, from pizza to four star places- it's all good.
Wine and draft beers are also great. Hopefully will try some soaring
tomorrow. There is a tour company that flies 172's in the local area, but
this holds little interest for us. My son, whose birthday is tomorrow
doesn't want to fly in a sailplane- I don't think he grasps the concept of
flying without a running engine, and thinks it's dangerous.

The biggest difference we've noticed (my fifth trip to France) is that here,
if you go to a historical site like a castle tower and fall off, it's your
fault, while in the States, it's someone else's fault if you do something
stupid like go to the edge and go over the railing. In a way, it's kind of
refreshing to visit a society where people are expected to be responsible
for their own actions or stupidity, yet there is much more tolerance for
different points of view.

[Martin Hotze[_2_]]

Viperdoc schrieb:
> We have no McDonalds nearby, which is a good thing. also only around 8

true, but sometimes it is a quick choice and you always know what you get.

> channels on TV, most in FR, one in German, one in Italian, and then CNN
> international. Most of the TV shows are American, and then dubbed in the
> local language. Diesel is expensive, plus using a credit card incurs an
> additional 3.4% surcharge. Luckily, I think we can get the 19.6% TVA (VAT)
> back somehow, but haven't figured this out yet.


AFAIK, you need the proper tax refund forms and show them when leaving
France at the customs desk. but please double check with someone who
know more about that.

> I don't think he grasps the concept of
> flying without a running engine, and thinks it's dangerous.

:-)

> The biggest difference we've noticed (my fifth trip to France) is that here,
> if you go to a historical site like a castle tower and fall off, it's your
> fault, while in the States, it's someone else's fault if you do something
> stupid like go to the edge and go over the railing. In a way, it's kind of
> refreshing to visit a society where people are expected to be responsible
> for their own actions or stupidity, yet there is much more tolerance for
> different points of view.

:-)

#m