Trials of Flying

Each one of us is touched by the progress of humanity. In some small way each of us contribute to this progress and each one of us is the recipient of this progress. Some progress is small and others are great and we like to think that the small part we play in the scheme of things is most likely bigger than perhaps what truly is.

My youngest son, Ryan, is a pilot with a local company that manages the care, maintenance and scheduling the renting of about ten planes from our city airport. The company caters to those that are well able to afford the five hundred to fifteen hundred dollars an hour fee. Some of the planes are rented for pleasure and others are rented for business commuting. Some are owned by private individuals and others are the property of businesses that least them out when they are not using them. It really is convenient and a much better write off to have the planes in the air as much as possible.

Some planes are two motor prop-jets that can carry up to ten people and others are smaller versions of the same thing. Some are what they call personal jets that are owned just for the use of the owners. Some are new and some are older but all are kept is tip-top shape stored in huge hangers.

The company Ryan works for is called Sky Trek and flies mostly on the west coast. However, one of the owner’s personal planes does fly overseas. The owner is a personal friend of President Bush and his father and often is gone flying them here and there. The president’s mother was here not long ago.

We got a call from my son one evening asking if we would like to see the President’s mom. Of course we were curious and set about to be where we would be able to at least see her. The jet she would be flying in was Sky Trek’s biggest personal jet that had its own stewardess on board.

Just the two of us happened to be waiting in the lobby when the President’s mother came to get on her plane.

The first to arrive was the advance man that saw to it that everything was in order. He asked about where the pilot’s office was and I was thrilled to be able to show him were it was.

My son cautioned us to be very discrete, which we were. We were just two people waiting in the small lobby for our plane.

We were disappointed when the black suburban with dark windows drove onto the tarmac and Mrs. Bush got out and entered the plane without ever coming through the lobby. We did get a good view of her through the plane windows as she got settled and ready for the jet to leave. It was exciting nevertheless.

The pilot positions on those flights are tightly held by Sky Trek owners and two other pilots. There is rarely an opening to get on that team; however my son is next in line when there is an opening.

Over the years Ryan has flown many rich and famous people, a lot of them he didn’t care for but many of them he declares are truly great people with a good code of conduct.

One such group he flew was the singing group called Chicago. (I think that is correct since I don’t know them either.) He flew the group to Los Angles where they were met with a large black limousine. They gave him a good size tip for a great trip and out the door they went, leaving him to fly home by himself wondering just who they really were. He found out later. He has since then flown them several times. He says they are regular guys each with their own personality.

I have gotten to meet some of the clients my son has flown and have even flown with them for the fun of it.

One day Ryan called me on the cell phone to ask where I was. I was with his wife just about to go into Costco. He asked if I would like to fly with him to LA. There is never any question that I would like to fly with him it is only a matter of how fast I need to get ready.

He said that he had just returned from a flight and was asked to fly an emergency flight for the company’s owner. It was a holiday and the maintenance people were gone and the nose wheel of his plane was flat. There was no one to fix it and could my son bring another nose wheel/tire to him. It is about an hour and a half flight from here to LA and it would be a free flight since there was no one scheduled to transport. The pilots may use their discretion as to taking people with them.

I said I could be there in fifteen minutes. He cautioned me to not take longer as he really needed to get “on the road” so to speak. We talked further and it was decided that the four of us could just as easily go along.

I called my wife and gave her warning to get ready we would pick her up in about seven minutes and we would all fly to LA and back again. We breezed home and she was waiting.

From the time I got the call until the time we arrived at the airport was seventeen minutes. It was a record to get ready and leave for LA without any warning for the three of us.

We delivered the nose wheel. Ryan arranged to take us all out for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. It was a fabulous time.

We left the Southern California area after dusk. The lights had come on and everything looked so peaceful. It was nice to be able to move about the plane, looking our different windows to see the unusual sights. There were even drinks and snacks for us. The planes are always stocked with these goodies no matter who flies. There is a special crew just to see that these things are provided for the passengers.

All up the Central Valley we could pick out the different cities and see the cars moving along the roads. Even though we were flying at thirty thousand feet we could still make out the comings and goings of a lot of those on the ground. It was a great serendipity for all of us and for me especially. My son is a great pilot appreciated by his boss and those he flies.

One of Ryan’s clients is a real estate man that has truly taken my son on as a son of his own. There isn’t anything he wouldn’t do for him. They have become good friends. John Russell has just purchased a sparkling new jet just off the production line. He has given instructions to Sky Trek that no other person is to fly him in his own jet other then Ryan. As the story came to me it was the wife that put the final foot down on the issue. The plane may be lease out to Sky Trek but when they fly John Russell it will be my son that will do the flying.

They were planning a two week trip to Alaska and of course my son would be flying them. When they go on such trips my son usually stays in the same accommodations that his “boss” does. They often take him with them to dinner or even on side trips with them. They treat him like family and not the usual employer employee relationship.

Unfortunately that trip has been canceled because of health issues of the planes owners. He has had a knee replacement and an infection has set in. I guess the replacement was taken out so that the knee could heal. When it was put back in it again became infected and was once more removed. He is in a great deal of discomfort but keeps on doing what he enjoys doing.

Once when Ryan was contracted to fly the same fellow to Mexico for a dove hunting expedition, an argument ensued over who was going to pay for my son to go with them on the safari. The two head men decided to split the twenty-five hundred dollar cost and take my son with them.

The following year that the group of seven again went to Mexico, Mr. Russell said at the beginning that there would be no argument, he was paying for my son to go on the safari, which he did. When they returned I asked Ryan what kind of a tip he got for taking such good care of the fellows on the trip. His reply was a cautious smile when he said they had paid the twenty-five hundred dollars for him to go on the safari also.

This last week my son called to ask if I would like to go for a trip in the new jet. I suppose you could by now guess my response. We were to fly to Northern California and pick up John Russell at his ranch. I had been invited to join them and see the ranch and explore its territory. I have painted a couple pictures that Ryan has given them of their ranch. Their appreciation of those pictures is quite evident. The pictures hang in their home in Concord, CA, where they say they enjoy looking at them and can feel an attachment to the ranch.

We left here about two thirty in the afternoon. The new jet was not as spacious as some of the others I had been in but it was brand new and even had that new smell of leather and carpet.

The plane can seat six people but only had five seats in it. The beige/white leather interior squeaked of expensive appointments. Details of burled walnut trim, makes one feel like an executive. The cream-colored leather seats had a slightly darker mid section spoke of good taste and value.

The plane is flown with a joy stick about eight inches long and quite similar to those I have seen on video games. There was one on each side of the cockpit for either pilot. The display panel was one vast computer screen that displayed everything necessary for the planes flying ability. Actually there were three of them that took up the whole dashboard of the plane. There was one main screen with two side screens exactly the same, one for each pilot. It even showed were the fuel source was and how much it was using. The fuel consumption was about five hundred dollars an hour and we spent about three and a half hours in the air total.

We arrived at the remote airport without incident. It was nestled among the mountains. In order go loose altitude fast enough to approach the airport, we had to do some fancy zigzags to get down. It was an exciting adventure in itself just getting zigzags done. I thought to my self if anyone was observing us they would be wondering what we were doing.

It was a clear day and all along the way we observed the smoke hanging over the whole area. In places we could see where there were forest fires still burning. Not as many a month ago but still some that were putting up enough smoke to show us they were there.

We buzzed the ranch and flew on to the airport where there was someone waiting to take us the half hour drive to the ranch. The drive was a pleasant one and I enjoyed the big pine trees. Somehow the red dirt and green trees seemed to go together.

We arrived to the joyous welcome of four exuberant dogs. John set us up to use the ATVs to go exploring the ranch and come back when we wanted. There apparently was no hurry in getting back on any schedule so we were given the time to enjoy the sights and activities of the area.

About five thirty the “company” began to stir around indicating that the time had come to get ready to leave. Actually we didn’t leave for another hour. It took two vehicles to get us all to the airport. Since John has to maneuver himself with the knee brace etc. His wheel chair, walker and canes all have to fit into the plane along with whatever else they are taking along with them.

They live at the ranch part time and live in the city part time. Flying between the two is just part of their life‘s process.

Getting into the plane is an exercise in agility and planning. Each and every thing is put into its own place. The plane is a wonderful piece of equipment, small and agile with lots of power for its small size.

John’s wife, Barbara, was the first in taking one of the two dogs with her. I got into the second pilot’s seat with the joy stick to my right. Next came John, struggling into the middle seat moving himself along using arms to pull himself along and getting settled with the adult beagle beside him. The dogs were both great travelers, obviously having done this many times before.

Ryan was the last in, after checking the entire check list and doing a walk around visual check. I am always impressed with his detailed and precise checking. There is no chance to check things once you are airborne.

We took off, laboring down the runway and off the ground. The plane did well. I was a bit worried that perhaps we were a bit over loaded. I shouldn’t have worried. Ryan showed me how the onboard computer calculates distance, weight, altitude, air pressure and temperature all on the screen in front of me. I cannot help but be amazed.

Our flight was just at sunset. Ryan set the plane down with precision I am sure his clients have come to expect. A perfect landing, I would say but then I am a bit biased, don’t you know.

The car was waiting and we transferred everything from the plane into the vehicle. We said our good byes and they left. We also left, down the runway up into the evening sky, by now quite dark.

The flight was a wonderful experience.

The day following the flight I began to notice red welts under my arms and on the inside thighs of my legs. I scratched and stewed, finally realizing what I had were flea bites. I had become quite friendly with one of the resident indoor dogs and had become infected with fleas. I am now doctoring a multitude very itchy flea bites that almost a week later are still inflamed and very itchy.

Beverly used to always say, if there was a flea anywhere around they would find her. Well, they found me instead this time. I have been inducted into the royal realms of those”flea bitten” sufferers, that itch and scratch without relief. Yes, I would be willing to forgo the pleasure of that honored selection.

I think next time I will stay away form family pets and limit my contact with those of the two legged variety, thank you very much!