On Wednesday, November 18, 2020 at 7:48:01 PM UTC-5, Mark Mocho wrote:
Did that JS-1 have the jet sustainer? If so, did it fail to start, blow
up, or just run out of kerosene? Oops, wrong thread, nevermind!
No jet in that particular JS-1. The (visiting) pilot had flown at Moriarty for many years and apparently missed the "briefing" repeated over all of that time that the "dry" lakes only had a crust over some really oozy, smelly mud. The tale of the retrieve was worth many laughs, but only if you weren't helping. Stinky mud, sand fleas, broken beer bottles, sunken barbed wire and hundred degree heat. The only things missing were salt water crocodiles, but they would have been somewhat welcome, as they might have provided some traction. The mud was sucking the retrieve crews' shoes off their feet. A joyous time was had by all. The JS-1 was worth retrieving, though. One of the retrieve crew said if it had been anything worth less than a Libelle, he would have just filed a claim. Rumor has it that there is at least one airplane that is lost in the depths, and I know there are some sunken pickups and at least one bulldozer that was lost trying to pull out one of the trucks. Basically, the "Lagunas de Perro" (Dog Lakes) are the sump of the entire Estancia Valley.

I snapped a picture of the these salt flats and when people ask me, how flying was at Moriarty, I show them that picture and tell them that one day, I caught a thermal that got me into a low orbit around the Moon! ;-)

Uli
'AS'