Dear Capt Wild Bill and Co.

Been busy doing everything but flying, haven't even had time to think
about flying. Been watching the Army choppers fly by. Jets had a dog
fight for about an hour over Bangs Intl about a week ago. That was so
awesome. My head is still spinning from the aerobatics. Got all new
nuts, bolts, and flying wires for the Champ and they will probably go
on this weekend, so at at least the tail section will be done, unless
we're trailering the Pacer project to its new home. We got the
ailerons covered last weekend. Then just need lots of coats of dope on
the wings. Guess it would be nice the cowlings and door got painted to
match the wings and fuselage. Probably end up flying in the Champ
before the 182. Runway got muddy again, but it's probably almost dry
enough. Guess I'll just have to push the Beast from the East out and
go flying. I don't know about flying around at a couple of thousand
feet, maybe 2,000 AGL.. Pretty flat out here in this part of Texas,
San Ana VOR is the only hill, and that's probably
only a couple hundred feet. Usually stay North of it to avoid the
metropolis of Santa Ana.

Don't envy you folks in Phoenix. I work for a company out of Phoenix
and spent about a month and a half commuting from Paulden AZ to the Big
Lights. Grew up just outside NYC and had road rage back in the 1970s
way before they decided it was a disorder. Went to the stix of Maine
for 20 years just to get away from traffic. Two moose (or is it meese)
crossing the road were the only thing you'd have to worry about holding
up traffic. I could see me waiting at Sky Harbor International for an
hour or two, or being caught in a pattern, or waiting for a parking
spot at a gate. Must take a special kind of person, and I'm not that
special. I'm getting all nerval just thinking about it.

They just closed the little commuter line between Brownwood and Dallas.
Changes about every 2 or 3 years. Think it was Mesa this time, Big
Sky before that, and then something else and we've only been here 3 1/2
years. Maybe I ought to start a little commuter airline. BWD to
Dallas in a Champ. Dont' know if that would work, spent a whole day
just getting to Dallas and back to Brownwood in a Cub once. Was "real
close" to being dark when we landed in BWD. Flew with my flight
instructor. He was not impressed at all. Got spoiled by that 414 I
guess. The first three or four times he'd get in and look around for
the starter button. I asked him what are you looking for? Guess he
forgot it was a flop me/prop me. Guess there was a head-wind coming
back and he was getting real grumpy. Good thing he was in the front
seat and didn't have enough room to turn around and slap me. Cause I
kept asking, we there yet?? What's taking so long?? Ain't we passed
this landmark yet?? Hey lets fly over to Comanche and go a few touch
and gos?? And that was a 90-HP cub. They sure do fly nice and easy
though, feel so light and graceful. Too bad I can't fit in the front
seat very well. Knees hit the gas tank, can't move around, and I have
to dislocate at least one hip and a knee getting in and out, and
tempted to just dive out and land on my head to get the disembarking
process over with, other than that it's all fun. Good thing my husband
has short legs and can fit in the front.

Be really great if we could keep the Champ and start a taildragger
school here. But don't know if I could take the stress, and we'd have
to move the fence near where the runways used to intersent, because
it's barely a wing-span wide. Been meaning to do it for a couple
years, but my husband's such a great pilot he can land the 182 and use
less than 1/4 of the 2,000 foot runway, and even when I'm landing he's
right there to make sure I don't mess up. Don't think I'll ever be
able to widened it enough for a 757. Tom keeps trying to buy another
1,000 feet off a neighbor so we can extend the runway, but we don't
need it for our planes and there's enough maintenance and mowing and
the grass hasn't really started to grow yet. I've been letting some or
all of the 40+ goats and ? 30-year old mule escape and mow and whack
the weeds in the afternoons for an hour or so and they've been doing a
real good job at keeping it under control.

Well take care. Keep em flying. If you're in the neighborhood buzz on
by. Don't see many 757's real low so it would probably catch my
attention. There's a big new biege water tower with BSUD on it that
you can see from 40+ miles away. There are also several cell phone
towers in the area in case you're low, but I guess they are all over
now. Seems like every time we go flying there are new ones. Progess I
guess. God bless and fly safe, Carol, The Homesick Angel