Gentlemen, it doesn?t get much better than having your wife wake you at the crack of dawn on a Sunday morning because both airplanes need fuel, and the weather is calm and clear. A quick preflight, a few kind words to the dogs so that they will wait for their morning walk, and a launch out of the back yard for a neighboring field that bought their last tanker of 100LL when the prices were low. Airplanes topped up, Louise asks ?so, are you up to some formation practice this morning??
A standard brief and I took off first, with her rolling just behind and joining up before we reached a thousand feet. The high thin debris of the previous evening?s thundershower anvils shades the intense rising sun which will make the afternoon tropical, creating a beautiful, smooth air mass out over the large bay. We take turns leading, brushing off rusty skills - we don?t fly in tight very often, and I consider a week off from this type of flying to be a long time - winding our way across the coastal plains to our normal practice areas. I love looking at another airplane up close, and when it?s your wife flying along side you - let me tell you guys, it doesn?t get much better!
After 30 minutes or so welded together , I call a break and we pull hard away from each other, headed to our respective sides of the little creek we use to divide the airspace when flying aerobatics. Ten minutes of upside-down-time serves to put me in a good frame of mind for the day to come, and it?s time to head home for breakfast. Louise hears me on the radio, and spends a few more minutes enjoying the calm air so that we don?t show up on the runway at the same time.
The neighbors at our airpark are used to hearing two RV?s landing a few minutes apart by now. Most normal people haven?t even gotten out of bed yet, and we have already experienced more freedom than many will in a month. We debrief as we walk into the house, Louise saying ?I kept thinking how much fun it will be to fly the -3 in formation with the -8?..?
Paul
A standard brief and I took off first, with her rolling just behind and joining up before we reached a thousand feet. The high thin debris of the previous evening?s thundershower anvils shades the intense rising sun which will make the afternoon tropical, creating a beautiful, smooth air mass out over the large bay. We take turns leading, brushing off rusty skills - we don?t fly in tight very often, and I consider a week off from this type of flying to be a long time - winding our way across the coastal plains to our normal practice areas. I love looking at another airplane up close, and when it?s your wife flying along side you - let me tell you guys, it doesn?t get much better!
After 30 minutes or so welded together , I call a break and we pull hard away from each other, headed to our respective sides of the little creek we use to divide the airspace when flying aerobatics. Ten minutes of upside-down-time serves to put me in a good frame of mind for the day to come, and it?s time to head home for breakfast. Louise hears me on the radio, and spends a few more minutes enjoying the calm air so that we don?t show up on the runway at the same time.
The neighbors at our airpark are used to hearing two RV?s landing a few minutes apart by now. Most normal people haven?t even gotten out of bed yet, and we have already experienced more freedom than many will in a month. We debrief as we walk into the house, Louise saying ?I kept thinking how much fun it will be to fly the -3 in formation with the -8?..?
Paul
