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American Transience

Scott Chastain

Active Member
The Lord knows the days of the upright,
And their inheritance shall be forever.
They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,
And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
But the wicked shall perish;
And the enemies of the Lord,
Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish.
Into smoke, they shall vanish away.

Psalm 37:18-20
 
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I was literally just wishing yesterday that you would post another spectacular adventure on here!
 
Great

Oh great and I thought I was going to achieve something at work this week. Now I'm checking VansAirforce every 10 min.
 
Sounds like a wonderful trip Scott. Thank you for sharing with us.

Thanks again for your help in Merced.
 
Can't wait!!

Hi Scott,

I was telling my girlfriend about your amazing adventure last year. She is going to read it this weekend. I was mentioning that I doubt you would be doing another long adventure for a while.

I log on and here's another incredible adventure. Absolutely can't wait.
 
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I'm going to have to bug out on this thread. too much foreshadowing of gloom and despair to come. I feel like I'm back in Church.
 
Wow... powerful as always. What's sticking with me right now is the photos of the hotel. I once co-wrote a song called "Outlook In"... a wistful acoustic ballad. I think my lyrics might fit somehow with your transient tale:

Doesn’t always go the way you want it to
You don’t always get to do what you want to do
There are times it seems you’re chasing all of your dreams
And they’re getting away

It can’t always go your way
It won’t always be your day
But you wait it out, and the good times
They may return

Oh well, oh well
Oh well, oh well

(written by Dan Frost and Martin Filiatrault; from the Dan Frost Confluence album "Positive Identity"; copyright Elephant Trunk Music BMI and Clownbreath Productions 2005)
 
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I'm going to have to bug out on this thread. Too much foreshadowing of gloom and despair to come. I feel like I'm back in Church.

I'll follow along for most of the story and the cool pics, but, since I don't do religion or church, the god-stuff narrative is lost on me...

But, I dig these trip reports; makes me wish I had the time to do a long haul trip around the country like this.
 
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Scott, does your still camera yield the wide aspect ratio, or are you cropping the photos that way?
 
Squished

Scott, I saw that somebody ask about the format you were using for your pictures and I see that you changed it.
Now they are squished too narrow. They were perfect before :-(
Is that what everyone else is seeing?

>>Problem Fixed, thanks!
 
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Scott, I saw that somebody ask about the format you were using for your pictures and I see that you changed it.
Now they are squished too narrow. They were perfect before :-(
Is that what everyone else is seeing?

They started showing up squished at post 23. Perfect before that. At least on my end.
 
Scott, I'm loving the detailed narrative and quantity of pics. Thanks for taking the time to post about your adventure for those of us following along through our monitors. Inspiring stuff.

Side note: pics look fine to me. They aspect ratio is wider than the average 4:3 picture, but I imagine that is intentional.
 
Almost like writing a book.

Scott is probably going to be posting this trip write up over the next month or so. It takes me quite a while to even make a single post and I'm still having trouble posting a single photo. I can't imagine the time it's taking Scott to arrange all his photos and trip notes into a presentable flowing presentation. :)
 
Great Stuff

I'm in too Scott. Your comments make me chuckle and I love the photos and the journey you are on. God speed.
 
Keep it coming!!

I'm not religious at all, but am liking the exploration aspects of this trip. I can't wait to get my plane done and start exploring like this. Great pics of America so far!!
 
Nice trip log, thanks for bringing it to us, I lived in Mc Call for a few years in the 70s as a kid, I can still see main street has not changed much, but the rest of the town has exploded, reminds me of Tahoe a little, Nebraska looked like a ghost town, spooky looking.
 
Unfortunately the Perryville flying only got to #2 on my priority list that weekend as a bunch of my college friends descended on Chicago instead. Sorry to have missed you Scott!

I did make it to PCD for the eclipse fly-in. For such a small community, they did a great job taking care of the reported 139 airplanes that flew in. According to a local police officer welcoming incoming pilots we were #105. They also have the best fuel price around! I was fortunate that they got their fuel sales up and running shortly after my first flight, and I had included PCD in my Phase I test area.
 
I've often been surprised and occasionally amused at the randomness of dropping in at small town airports. Sometimes you are totally alone, not a soul in sight. Other times you just stumble into events like pancake fly-ins, local celebrations and a lot of other random stuff -- usually cool. You really just roll the dice and see what happens.
 
Glad to see you are enjoying the country side, looks like a lot of these airports are becoming ghosts towns, is the privet pilot becoming extinct? not much going on aviation wise? enjoying your posts.
 
Is it just me?

Is it just me? But are we starting to see a resurgence in general aviation due to all the airlines' missteps? Seems like a record crowd at Osh this year may be some forshadowing? Or maybe it is just wishful thinking on my part.

Thanks for highlighting the beauty of midle America.
 
Is it just me? But are we starting to see a resurgence in general aviation due to all the airlines' missteps? Seems like a record crowd at Osh this year may be some forshadowing? Or maybe it is just wishful thinking on my part.

Thanks for highlighting the beauty of midle America.

It seems to me that the airports/runways are doing OK (perhaps due to FAA money?) but the FBOs are slowly disappearing and only self-serve fuel is remaining...
 
The towns themselves seem to be looking a bit, shall we say, less than prosperous. Perhaps this is all a sign of the population shift to the larger urban areas.

Which isn't so good for GA, if that's the case, due to the crowded airspace environment and the lack of local facilities.

Dave
 
Thank you Scott for your VAF Novels posted, not only the inspiration to fly your RV like many dream too but also your talent in writing. Your honest ups and downs of small airports is all too real, I still can't help smiling about the latest natural emergency I've experienced several times just off the runway prior to the hold short line....
I've read a couple of the complaints in this thread, Perhaps some have quit looking forward to the next chapter and some have discontinued. As for me keep writing it as you see it because I'm looking forward to it!
 
I agree, with the prior poster. I thoroughly enjoy your travel reports (as well as all others such as Vlad's etc). Having made a month ago a cross country flight which started in N. CA and went via Oshkosh to Belfast ME and then back, I have some empathy for your experiences, though I don't camp. Keep the reports coming--I am a subscriber and look forward to each one!
 
There is an important lesson to be taken from Scott's experience. It's about time. We have so little of it and are willing to share even less of it. Yet it is only in sharing our time with others that we experience the truest generosity of spirit.

I'm building my aircraft at the airport and have lost countless hours of "productivity" as a result of folks walking into the hangar. I welcome them all. Some of them come with idle curiosity, some with a burning passion for flight, and yet others with stories which have enriched my life. All in exchange for a little bit of my time. It's a great tradeoff. Spend some time with a stranger - you never know just how that visit may change your life.
 
Having spent 9+ years building -4,always had garage doors open ,an welcomed all kinds of visitors,exchanged many stories,it's the people we share time with that makes aviation so great and wonderful !
 
These serial adventures from Scott (and of course Vlad) make the workday shorter and a whole lot more inspiring...keep them coming...
 
Nice write up about Immokalee, FL (KIMM) . Your statement "Once I crossed the first major intersection and began pedaling through downtown, I began to wonder if I was even in America anymore. It looked more to me like I was in Mexico." just goes to emphasize that "America" is so much more than the single ethnic nation some think it is. You really realize the grandeur of America when you fly to and experience places like this.

:cool:
 
note from a moderator

Let's not inject politics or current events into Scott's travelogue. He is documenting his amazing journey, extraneous posts are non-productive and could run afoul of VAF policy.
 
Air mattress?

Scott--

I was wondering about your air mattress. Do you have to blow that up by mouth every time you want to use it, or do you have a 12V compressor?
 
Enjoying the story and been logging in hoping to see an update, hope you didn't get stuck in the bed at the FBO. :eek:

Thanks for documenting your summer trip and sharing the details with us.
 
Great Journey

Always enjoy reading these posts. Sounds like I need to avoid Dodge City. How can people be so cold and not even attempt to enjoy life? Have fun, keep writing and fly safe in your journey.
 
Not to steal from the thread (enjoying the pics and trip) - but I had a totally different experience at Dodge City last month. Lost my electrics and landed there enroute to KAEJ, the line guy was great, the owner of the FBO and the mechanics were super friendly (they've built several RVs, and Mr Crotts has a flying Rocket); they helped me with some parts from their parts bin and put the -10 in a hangar for over a week while I drove the rest of the way to CO.
 
Always enjoy reading these posts. Sounds like I need to avoid Dodge City. How can people be so cold and not even attempt to enjoy life? Have fun, keep writing and fly safe in your journey.

You should read all the posts, there is a theme.
 
"I beheld the wide sweep of granite near America?s fallen warriors buried there, and I felt within me the quickening surge of God?s presence with a message to go---to go deeper and deeper into the heart of a nation that was itself being laid to rest."

"t was the campus of Rogers State University, once the site of the Oklahoma Military Academy---the ?West Point of the Southwest.? With that discovery, the day of exploration took a sudden turn, and I could feel the culmination of every war once fought building up around me on top of a hill.

Another war was coming, but I was in good company. So I stayed there for some time."

The apocalyptic references to a nation being laid to rest and a coming war, which are sprinkled throughout this narrative, are begging for elaboration. What message does the author have for the reader?
 
I find it fascinating that Scott lands at some airport and the staff are cold and standoffish -- completely unwelcoming -- followed by a short flight to another field where the people are awesome. It's not like we're flying 1000 miles and are seeing a radically different part of the US. I'd love a list of such accommodating airports, and would frequent them (and buy their gas, at whatever price) on my (anticipated, future) XC travels. Surprising the difference in reception.

Keep 'em flying, Scott!
 
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If anyone cares:

QUOTE: "When I got back to the airport, Eric was filling up a Commander. He told me that the aircraft was originally designed to fly the President of the United States on short hops around the country. I did not know if that were true or not, but it made for interesting conversation."

If I recall from memory, it was Eisenhower's short haul aircraft. The design team were some of the Engineers who worked on the Douglas A-20 Havoc. Some of the wing and fuselage resemble the A-20. For a safety demonstration they removed a prop, stowed it inside, and flew an entire test flight on one engine. I think the actual plane is in Dayton at the Air Force Museum.

QUOTE: "Carter encouraged me to climb up onto the Avenger for a close look at the interior. I was most impressed with the sheer bulk and size of the fighter, especially of its engine in propeller. When we got back to the FBO, Carter handed me a set of keys. He said there was a cop car parked in back that I could use as long as I wanted."

I believe that's a TBM Avenger. It is more of a torpedo bomber than a fighter. Most had a 3 man crew. It has a powered turret on the back dorsal, and a tunnel gunner who lay on his belly and fires from under the empennage.
 
It's very sad to see that beautiful house that Larry Knoll built and know that he isn't around to enjoy it. As one who has built things all my life - two houses and an airplane for starters - it's starting to dawn on me at age 70 that it's all transient. Slow learner, I guess...
 
I have to say that reading the latest postings from Scott after my wife and I have put our son to bed is one of the highlights of my day. When things are calm and quiet at the end of the day without all of the background noise will make just about anyone sit back and search their soul a time or two.

James
 
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