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Petit Jean Update Live - From the Ramp!

BillSchlatterer

Well Known Member
Update 10/29/14 - More pictures coming out and here is the AERIAL TOUR LINK : http://youtu.be/r8giRE4NnXM for a more detailed description of the tour see post #41 in this thread.


10/24/14 Friday 2:30 PM 61 RVs on the ramp :) and more coming. Peerrrrfect Weather! High 70's and dry!


Update Sunday 10/26/14 -- It's all over and the first 200 Pictures are in --- good ones follow later this week!

98 RVs came and went and it was a great time on the Mountain :) Check Post #6 or click here --- http://kvisit.com/arpgf

We wanted to try and share the Petit Jean spirit with those that couldn't make it and this is our best attempt. If you click on the link below, it will take you to a live album where we are posting pictures taken at Petit Jean as it happens. Anything mailed to my email address by registered participants should end up here about 10 minutes later.

Hope you like it.... we're having a large time :D

Petit Jean (almost) LIVE http://kvisit.com/a_qEf


img_2014_10_24_211246_09-65814967.jpg


Still have room for some campers if you're close.
 
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Pictures from the point!

Show us some of those pictures from the point!
Wish I could have made it!
 
Point

Bobby, Dan got a lot of great pictures. He shots them in RAW format and then edits them. We should have some start showing up pretty soon.

The RV15+ :) made it's arrival this afternoon, what a beautiful airplane.

Weather is perfect and I just posted about 10 more pictures a few minutes ago. This was late afternoon and we had 63 on the ground and 74 had come through.

Check this link for pictures being posted frequently,,, http://kvisit.com/a_qEf


We had a nice 140 RV'ers for dinner tonight but I got so wrapped up in the RV Bingo and giveaways that I forgot to shoot any pictures while everyone was sitting down. I am pretty sure others did. It was a really nice evening, the food was great ... the RV fellowship even better!


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The RV15+ made it in on time. What an airplane !

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Forgot to shoot pictures while everyone was sitting but we served 140+

img_2014_10_24_194343_01-53456857.jpg


We had a great time tonight and everyone seems to be planning on hitting the trails or playing formations which is great for the rest of us "sit on the ground and watch folks". ;)

The campground is going to be full Saturday night and we are serving the usual knock out spread of BBQ pork and St Louis style ribs. It's going to be a great evening on the ramp! Watch stars, visit, and generally just enjoy!

It's a great night on the Mountain....!

Bill
 
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I may be able to attend next year. Quite a haul from Alaska but I understand that there may be other things to see in "America", too.
 
Update Saturday Night!

Don't have a current picture with the max count but around 2:00 PM today, we had RVs and other airplanes about halfway to the 1000 marker on both sides. :) I think the total RV attendance count is going to be significantly higher that last year. Awaiting photos for counts. Planes from 18 states in all directions. No idea who came the farther'er'est :rolleyes:

We had 140 for dinner last night at the Rockefeller Conference Center and expect about the same tonight for the Ramp Party at the Campground.

Check this link for pictures being posted frequently,,, http://kvisit.com/a_qEf

I don't have the picture but we really did get a low flyby from a C130 which was just completely awesome. :D There were eyes to see and ears to hear so many can attest that it was the real deal! It's good to have military friends. ;)

RVs were flying all day, lots of eye candy approaches :rolleyes:, smoking airplanes, formations, and some photo ops on the point as well. Lots of aviating today!

The vans made continuous laps to the trails, RCC Museums, and Mather Lodge. Lots of folks on the trails and lots of folks just hanging out and enjoying some easy style RV socializing.

The Raffle for the Reactor Valkryie Pilot Watch was a hoot with Mary and Steve Ingraham from Tuttle, OK taking the grand prize back with them. The party on the ramp is in full swing now with BBQ Pork and ST. Louis Style ribs going in all directions, campfires blazing, folks grazing, and a good time being had by all!

It's a great day on the Mountain! :) It's an RV Gathering!

Bill
 
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First Pictures

These are the first and worst :eek: pictures of this weekends Gathering at Petit Jean. All of the good pictures will come out later this week but here are some of the ones I took while walking around.

Look for links for the Photo Shoot Point Pictures later this week as well as a a LARGE group of arrival and flight pictures taken by the good photo guys and girls. These I promise you will like.

Dan Valovich who shot all the Point Arrival Pictures will be posting links as soon as he has them all cropped and edited to wall hanger quality.

This is just a teaser :) cause I can do it quick! :rolleyes:

First 200 pictures from the RV Gathering at Petit Jean --- http://kvisit.com/arpgf
 
Landed at KSET from KMPJ about noon today.
Everything about the event was top notch. The food, the rooms, and especially the people who organized such a great gathering. If you missed this year be sure to put it on your calendar for next year. This was our first year, but will not be the last.
Thanks again to everyone who made our stay enjoyable.

Richard and Gloria Emery
RV7A N70RE
St Peters, MO

paid through 2014
 
Made it home safe and sound about an hour ago.

Thanks again for everyone who worked so hard to put on this years event and made it another successful fly-in :cool:
 
Great time. Couldn't be better. I appreciate all the work that went into making the event a great time for everyone.

If you haven't been to this fly in, you need to come. You wouldn't believe the scenery in Arkansas. It's reminiscent of Yosemite.
 
Petit Jean

Made it home at lunch time. Was a fun time. Thank you to all involved. Thanks Ron
 
Made it back to Evansville about 12:40. Thank you for a great weekend seeing old friends and making new ones.
 
Petit Jean 2014

What a fantastic event!! Start to finish, this was a first class function. All of the planning, and execution that resulted from true devotion, and hard work by this group of volunteers, deserves praise beyond words. We were all blessed with fantastic weather, wonderful fellowship, and terrific food. All of the activities that took place, from the early arrivals on Friday, to the last departures on Sunday, were filled with fun, and excitement, leaving us all breathless. Thank you all for a wonderful, and most memorable weekend.

Let's do it again!!!

Tom and Sandy Odehnal
 
Petit Jean

Bill and the gang outdid themselves again!!

This was the 3rd year in a row for Darlene and I, they just keep getting better. All the volunteers did an outstanding job. It was great getting together with friends both old and new!!

Already looking forward to next year.

Gary and Darlene Kremers (Michigan)
N715AB
 
Petit Jean

The Okie group made it home,
What a wonderful event, thank all of you that put this on, great job! Best of all is that my wife, who doesn't understand fly ins with all airplane talk, told me, as we flew home, that she enjoyed visiting with everyone and said she couldn't wait to go back!!! She won lots of prizes throwing the bean bags, had to do a weight & balance to get them all home!! What a bunch of enjoyable people. I'm truly glad she went and got a chance to visit with many other couples. Meeting new RV people and seeing others we know was great. RVers are the best to be around, and if you missed it don't ever let that happen again. Non stop entertainment, thanks Bill, and all that helped, including all of the volunteers, a big THANK YOU!!

Don & Phyllis short
 
5.2 hours to get back home. Headwinds and possible severe turbulence ( I did get any).

I stopped at Sundance Airpark to the northwest of Oklahoma City and that place is nice. I thought it would be a low-key place but it was very nice.

They had two fueling structures that would serve FOUR planes simultaneously.

I had planned on going to OJA but 45 minutes of fuel reserve is pushing it when winds are marginal so I pitted a bit sooner.

This year I camped and that was great. It could have been a bit cooler but folks from last year might disagree.

If you go next year and hike Seven Hollows, take the time (20 minutes) to see the Grotto.

Lots of great folks and the campers got a special treat Saturday night.
 
She won lots of prizes throwing the bean bags, had to do a weight & balance to get them all home.

Don & Phyllis short

I was impressed by one younger girl who was among the first to toss the bags and she got four in on her first try.

I should have done it to get a t-shirt.
 
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Petit Jean 2014

Ditto Tom and Sandy?s post....(with whom we had the pleasure of dining last night at the BBQ dinner).

Petit Jean Fly-in:

- It was a relaxing getaway with some really fine folks from all over ....pleasant, enjoyable dinner conversation and new friends at every meal!

- It was a couples/family oriented event w/ extremely worthwhile local museums and hiking for the outdoor types, nearby :)

- WONDERFUL food and plenty of it!

- We ran on ?ish? time....similar to Island Time. :)

But the most impressive were our ?hosts/hostesses?..... men and women who worked tirelessly to make you feel relaxed and welcomed by meeting your every need. They paid attention to details that mattered. And they genuinely loved doing so...they smiled, they laughed, and they sincerely want us all to come back even though it means hard work for them. Now that is real devotion to the aviation community. Thank you.

A summary of our weekend: It was about spending time with good aviation folks.

This was our first Petit Jean Fly-in, and probably not our last. :)

Marietta and Wallace Goodloe
 
wow, PJ was spectacular.

got back to south texas after spending the weekend at Petit Jean. had been to the park before but flying in and spending the weekend with a great group of people made it a completely different experience. the volunteers who put it together must have bent over backwards, and it showed. thanks to all of them from wife and I. the formation clinic and demos deserve special mention: thanks Bill! this RVer us even more interested now. also, this was the first weekend my wife Mirza spent in a tent in many years, and she was very skeptical at first, but when it was over she was still glad she came. we had a great time and now know a bunch more wonderful RVers. if you haven't been to PJ, you've missed one of the best ones.
 
The Last Act

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Nancy and I were among the last to leave Petit Jean. We were happy and surprised to encounter Nancy's old teacher friend, Jo Lynn, and her son and husband at the fly in on Sat. Son, Colby, wants to be a pilot. I had promised him a ride years ago, but they moved to Arkansas before I got around to it. This was my chance to keep that promise. We waited until almost everyone had departed on Sunday and took Colby and Jo Lynn up for some local sight seeing.

Back at MPJ I was rolling out on 21 after the second hop and my left main tire went flat. The picture is of Colby and formation fliers Randal Warren, Mark Burns, Andy Kitchens and the airport manager (Glenn, I think) fixing my flat. David Bray and Team Conners (Bob and Linda) were also in mix. It looked like a swarm of bees. No sooner had I dragged 50JP off the runway than they were on me! Randal pulled a new tube out of his hat, Glenn had a mechanic shop in his truck (Including talc!) and there was plenty of muscle to lift the wing and block the axle. Mark had the tube changed in 15 minutes or less and Nancy and I were back in Baton Rouge by 4pm.

Can't thank you enough guys! Sleeping in our own bed tonight thanks to you.

John and Nancy Powell
 
Nancy's a trooper

Hope Nancy enjoyed the formation ride! Your chance meeting with JoLynn is even stranger than you know! She emailed me Thursday about coming and I was about to tell her sorry, closed to the public ....but when she explained about her son being so interested in aviation, I told her to come on and call Vic when she got to the gate and two signs saying "NO PUBLIC ACCESS".

She called and I gave her directions around the signs and down to the south end. I met the whole family and talked airplanes and careers and then told them to go have a good time but don't touch. Then they ran into you .... It was ment to be.

I hope we can find him a good local instructor. Meeting new friends and catching up with old friends... That's what RV Gathering is all about!

See ya next year !

Bill
 
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Thanks Bill

Bill,

You guys have a peach of a Fly-in. Nancy was thrilled with her intro to formation flying. And, I had to pry the stick out of Colby's hand or we'd still be flying over your beautiful state. I encouraged him to join the website. His plane of interest is the RV12.

John
 
This year’s Petit Jean event hosted by EAA chapter 165 was perfect. The weather was mild and the company was stellar. We flew in on Friday afternoon where we made our first contact on the radio with Air Boss and Bossette. They did a great job directing the air traffic at the event. We parked our airplane and headed to check in, where we were pleasantly surprised to see our friend Mark at the check in desk. We had some pleasant conversation and proceeded to have lunch. On our way to lunch, we saw numerous others that we knew and had a pleasant time catching up. We headed to Rockefeller Center for check in. The ladies at the desk make check a breeze. We dropped off our luggage and immediately headed back to the airport, EAA chapter 165 has transportation running like clockwork. We got back to the airport for some more meeting and greeting.

At dinner, the food was excellent and the company was even better. We had Italian food, played tail number bingo, tossed beanbags for prizes (yes, we did win prizes), and listened to music before turning in. The next morning we headed back to the airport as Walt had five prop jobs lined up. We donated $25.00 from each of the prop jobs to EAA chapter 165 to help with expenses. While waiting to start the prop jobs I was interviewed by someone at the Arkansas Democratic Gazette about the RVing life style complete with pictures. I met the reporter’s son and that turned into an offer for an RV ride the following day. We had great BBQ for dinner and spent the evening by the campfire talking with friends. Wow, is all I can say about being able to view the stars in the sky for the evening. More bean bag tossing for prizes and a watch raffle to participate in this evening. We headed back to the room for the evening.

Sunday morning we checked out and headed to base camp for breakfast. EAA chapter 165 did a great job providing breakfast for so many. We lingered a bit longer in the morning to give the young teen that we met yesterday a ride in our RV. Without fail, he came back from his ride with an RV grin (thanks Mark for loaning us your seat cushion for our tall teen rider). The whole family came out to see him take his airplane ride. We said our goodbyes to friends and we headed back to 52F already missing Petit Jean.

Thanks Bill and EAA 165 for putting on such a fun event!

Joann (the better half)
 
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Back in Tulsa

Great fly-in again this year, Kudos to the entire team for the organization of the event from beginning to end.

Lots of good people, good food, good planes, good soft drinks ;) and good BS :)

Due to global warming I will be bringing shorts and a tank top next year :)
 
Lost & Found-- light gray colored RV canopy cover

Found hanging on the fence to dry we would guess. Send me a PM or email if it's yours.
 
cover

Bill, I had mine hanging on the fence but just put it away after finish drying it over night. I am sure someone will remember. Thanks for a fine weekend. Ron
 
Wow, what a weekend!

Cindy and I had another great time at the Petit Jean Fly-in !!

This is one flying event we do together that I think she gets even more excited about than I do. Which is a lot. We really look forward to it.

Having a "real" Air Boss on the field was great! Thanks to "CapConn" (Bob and Linda)

It's always great to see old friends and make new ones!

Friday afternoon just as everyone was loading up in the vans to go to the Lodge for dinner two more RV's land. So, I run out and show them the best place to park. The last plane is Ron Moring in his RV-8 from the IL/Wis border. He was running late due to fog up that way. His paint scheme is unusual and he took some ribbing about it when he won a prize at the dinner. But, I had seen the paint up close and it is awesome. I just did a little checking on the net and YEP he won an "Outstanding Workmanship - Plaque" at Oshkosh this year!!

But the most important part was what Ron was hauling in from Wisconsin.
A case of New Glarus Spotted Cow Beer !! And a bunch of cheese! He even had some Spotted Cow cheese!

I got the Spotted Cow into the coolers quickly, hiding 3 beers in my personal cooler down by my tent :D Thanks Ron!

All the volunteers from the two EAA chapters did a great job as usual!

Here's a link to some of the photos Cindy and I took.


https://plus.google.com/photos/106922045423900030008/albums/6075001547806826001?authkey=CMTF8omYktXawQE




.
 
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Petit Jean Formation Flying

Mark...thanks for the pictures. Very nice!

I do want to acknowledge Bill and Bulldog Flight for their demonstration(s) of the precision of formation flying.

I (a non-pilot spouse) had fully intended to listen in on the talks about formation flying under the tent, but found myself otherwise occupied at those times. Maybe next time. I find what you all do, and how you do it, quite fascinating.

Wallace was flying at the time of your Sat. afternoon demonstration, but I watched....Simply beautiful...yet full of incredible hard work and skill. Thank you all for sharing.

Marietta Goodloe
 
Great pics, Mark

Thanks for the pics, Mark. We didn't get to make it this year. Maybe one day.
 
Photo One @ Petit Jean Photo Run

Here are some photos from the east end of Petit Jean Photo Run.
Maybe I can coax everyone closer to the cliffs next year. The wife won't beat you until you land unless you taught her to fly.Adrenalin is good for the circulation.
[ed. Non-advertiser offer removed. Great pics though! dr] Thank You for letting me do this, I had a great time

https://www.flickr.com/photos/123406878@N02/sets/72157649021657085/
 
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Welcome to VAF!

Daniel, welcome aboard the good ship VAF:D

Nice photos, and good of you to offer them to the folks who were flying. VAF family values at its best.

Please contact me for photos if you made the photo run. Everyone has at least one good photo, some many more.Thank You for letting me do this, I had a great time
 
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What a sunrise departure .....

John Burgin sent me this one they shot as the sun was coming up Sunday morning as he departed. The clouds(low fog) form over the river and follow it around the mountain. It really is beautiful to be standing on Overlook Point and watching as it happens..... having said that, it might even be better from the air? Wonder which John would prefer ?

If you look hard, you can see the Rockefeller Conference Center in the cleared area in the foreground and then remember that the lake in the middle is at the south end of the runway!

Just another cool Petit Jean thing you won't see anywhere else .....


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Thanks to everyone for coming! Next year, we'll have the picture thing humming... !:)

BTW, the wingtip in the picture is Kelly Green ..... don't mistake it for Lime or even John Deere Green ;)
 
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Wow, check out the dawn pictures from the point.

I've been driving one of the shuttle vans on Saturday morning, and normally get up before dawn anyway. Assuming I make it to PJ next year (yep, Patti and I are planning on it), let's organize a before-dawn departure and take a bus load down to the point to see the sunrise.

I'd get up early for that, Dan. Especially if we can get the formation guys to perform a flight for us just at the right time as we are standing on the ridge.

Oh yeah, Carey said I better post something on here about how much fun both of us had, but you guys have already beat me to it. I don't know who ordered the weather and the great company but thanks for allowing us to join in!

Just to top off an already great event, as we were flying home I looked down and saw KGOK off the left wing about 6 miles away. I wondered aloud what our eldest daughter was doing on a Sunday afternoon. Believe it or not, Carey had a cell signal and a quick call had us a free ride to lunch at "Pops" east of Edmond and a great impromptu visit. http://www.route66.com/

Fly safe my friends!

Joe
 
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Photo Opportunities

Here are some photos from the east end of Petit Jean Photo Run.
Maybe I can coax everyone closer to the cliffs next year. The wife won't beat you until you land unless you taught her to fly.Adrenalin is good for the circulation.

Thank You for letting me do this, I had a great time

https://www.flickr.com/photos/123406878@N02/sets/72157649021657085/

Dan stood on the mountain for 6 hours Friday and 4 hours Saturday and shot a lot of great pictures! He can do some really cool stuff as many of you know and can tell from the pictures in his link. Some of the shots didn't come out as well as we would have liked because of distances and timing but some were really good. We'll do better next year for sure :eek:

We also shot a gazillion runway shots that will be coming out later this week as well. Give us just a little time to get it together... we're still unpacking blue totes :)

All registered pilots :) can expect a more complete email later this week with all the photo opportunity details. It's all good !!
 
Petit Jean Aerial Video Tour

Here is a real interesting flight video taken at Petit Jean this past weekend at the Gathering. (no sound) Randall Warren is an engineer by trade and had the 360 degree rotating camera set up on his cowl. For some that might not know, Petit Jean State Park is really on a large plateau on top of Petit Jean Mountain. The Rockefeller Conference Center was built by Winthrop Rockefeller and the airport was built for his personal fleet of jets. He subsequently left the foundation and the airport to the state. So now for the tour of the Petit Jean plateau .. :)

Randall starts out with a taxi tour of the full ramp, and then takeoff to the north. He flys out over the river valley with the camera panning across his left wing while he circles to the south around the outside perimeter. He makes a pass down Cedar Falls valley but all you can see is the valley. Take our word for it, there are some cool rock formations and falls under all those trees.

He eventually gets to the Overlook Point on the East Side of Mount Petit Jean and makes a circle back much like the Photo 1 Arrival. Like many, he is too far out on the way north and almost close enough on the pass back south. The upper road below the point is the optimum range. Most of us were flying the lower road... and should have been closer...bad instructions on our part but we wanted to error on the safe side. We'll do better next year!

Next he climbs back up on top the mountain (RVs really do climb well) and circles the Campground and ramp area. For those that don't know, the campground is in the trees on the west side of the ramp, immediately behind the shade tents in the registration area.

After that, a practice approach with Air Boss approval ;) flaps down and 100 knots,... that was the story I heard :) Followed by a nice landing on the mains only,..... even though he does fly an A model (Advanced Military Gear).

Turn up your favorite tunes on Pandora and then start the video... remember no sound :) You can turn the UTube resolution up to 720k or 1080K if you computer can handle it. All in all an enjoyable tour. Thanks Randall

Here is the aerial tour link: http://youtu.be/r8giRE4NnXM



Saw ya on the Mountain ;)

BTW ... Next up for you viewing pleasure .... and yes.... we did have an RV130 flyby to go along with the RV15+. Coming soon .... :cool:
 
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