----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]---- Hey coupers, I want to thank all of you that attended and I hope you all had a good time. Things got a little 'hecktic' about mid-day and sort of put a damper on the activities I had planned but that's okay, it all came out much better than it could have. I was the first one to Mary's plane, I didn't know this old man could run that fast or that far without a breather. (especially carrying a fire extinquisher). When I got there they were still sitting in the plane but I saw that they had there heads up and they were talking so I knew they were okay. The engine was already stopped and there was no sign of fire or smoke so I went around the nose to the pilots side as Mary was opening the canopy. I knew they were okay but I still asked that old 'first question' "Are you both Okay?" I thought maybe they were just sitting in there having a little 'girl talk' but you know what was really happening..... """Now you see Georgia, this is the way you do a proper shut-down.""" I couldn't believe it, all the radios and switches were off and even the fuel was already shut off!. I know because after they were out of the plane and ' I ' started thinking again I asked Mary if everything was shut off and she said yes, but went back and double checked again , just to be sure. She was going pretty slow when "Merry Wings" broke her leg and decided to pull off to the side and take a rest in the tall grass. I already knew Mary was a good pilot, now I know that she is also a 'cool-head' while driving a coupe with a broken leg. (Not her leg, the coupe's leg) (Oops, I mean the "Mooney-Coupes" leg.) :-) NOTE: There were signs of metal fatigue and an old clack so it might be a good idea for everyone who has the 'spring gear' to have a really good look. It broke just a little below the bottom bolt that holds the gear to the airframe. Mary told me yesterday that while it's down she is going to remove the other main leg and have it x-rayed just as a precaution. (A pretty good idea I'd say.) Enough about that, Mary has already explained it on the web, I started out to talk about the Walker Fly-In so I'll get back to that subject. I had a sign-in roster on the food table and there were 54 names on the list. I'm sure there were several who didn't sign in so I don't have a more acurate count but I'd 'guess' it was close to 60 or 65 total. As best I could count, (I was a bit busy all day) I think there were about 12 or 13 coupes there, 3 Cessnas, 1 Luscomb and 1 Avid Amphibian. The people who keep their planes at Walker also attended the picnic but they drove in and some of them pulled their planes out of the hangars and some of them just opened their hangar doors so people could take a stroll of the flight line and see what all was there. We had people there from Washington, Oregon, California and Idaho. I was planning on giving out some prizes in four categories as a surprize but time ran out and people started leaving so I didn't get to do it. Maybe next year. I also had a couple of 'events' planned but it seems like eating and hangar flying occupied the most of the day. Someday I'd like to have one at someone else's field so they could do all the work and I could sit and chat. Any volunteers? Some where centrally located so we can draw all four states again. I had a friend bring some slides of a previous "Oregon Air Tour" that he had. It was about a 30 minute show and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Dick Weick, (Fred's son) and his wife Jean are members of the OEE (Oregon Ercoupe Erforce) so they were there most of the day and a lot of people were pleased to meet and chat with them. I'm glad Dick was there while we were raising "Merry Wings" and putting some blocks under the left spar to make her a little more comfortable for her overnight Camp-out in the grass. He was under the wing with me while I was positioning the blocks and he kept an eye on the fuel tank so there was no pressure on the tank itself caused by the blocking. Thanks again Dick! Just as we were closing the hangars doors a little to darken it for the slide show, the illusive "Stealth Racer" gave us a low, fast fly-by", he couldn't have timed it any better. Everyone came running out of the hangar to try and get a glimps of him but he did it again......no one saw a thing but we sure heard that big round engine roar by! The weather was perfect, just a slight breeze all day to keep it from getting to hot. There was lot's of food and soft drinks and with the exception of Mary's expensive (but minor as compared to what it could have been) mishap I think everyone had a very enjoyable day. One person stayed to help me clean up after it was all over and when it got to dark to see any longer we decided to call it a day and had a beer. Boy did that hit the spot!!!
I'm already looking forward to next year! "Y'all better be there
now, ya hear"?
I'd like to express a very special thank you to my friend "Georgia" who
'drove' all the way up from Eureka CA a day early to help me get
'somewhat' organized. And to Sue Paridee who 'pitched in' and took over
one of the food tables and kept an eye on the wieners so they got burned
to just the right degree to make delicious hotdogs. Thanks to both of
you for all your help.
Bob Saville
N3396H 415C
Eugene, OR
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