|
Copy of the poster
I put on the prop at stops
Folks:
I've been
attempting to transcribe the journal I kept on my trip around the US
this summer, but the going has been very slow. I think I'll wait till
I complete the other ten states before I tackle that task again. The
following is an interim outline of the first 38 states.
I left Buckingham
Field in Ft. Myers, FL on July 6, 2005 and returned on September 16,
2005. The trip included 28 days that I flew and 3 of those days only
involved local flying. I accomplished takeoffs and landings in 38
states and covered a total of 9494 statute miles. Along the way I
visited the Western North Carolina air Museum in Hendersonville, NC,
the Air and Space Museum at Langley, VA, The Pietenpol Fly-in at
Brodhead, WI, the EAA Oshkosh Fly-in, and he National Antique
Association Fly-in at Antique Airfield in Blakesburg, IA. I had a
chance to visit with Paul Poberezny at Oshkosh and swap recollections
of Sam Burgess, our mutual friend and the man who was my inspiration
to make this trip. I also had a chance to visit with Les Benson at
Oshkosh. He served as mission control by cell phone for the trip. On
July 30th I celebrated my 40th anniversary as a licensed pilot. I
stopped to visit with many long-time friends along the way. I found a
cousin I hadn't seen for 25 years in Traverse City, MI. I also had a
chance to meet Paul Bretanus, and see his beautiful PT-22 at the
National AAA Fly-in at Blakesburg, IA.
Coffee and donut
group at Flippin, AR
I had to stop to
recuperate from a bad head cold and wait for my ears to open up in
Torrington, WY. After several days I had to make the call that
neither my 0-235 Lycoming engine or my ears were really up to the
task of making the high altitude part of the journey through the
Pacific Northwest to California and on around to Texas. It was a big
disappointment but it was the right call. I think Sam would have agreed.
When I finished
the 38 states I ended up in Foley, AL on September 9th right after
Hurricane Katrina had hit Mobile and New Orleans. My brother-in-law,
Eddie Woerner, from Elberta, AL had taken two other volunteers, a
bunch of gas grills, ice chests, meat and other food supplies and was
feeding the New Orleans police officers who had stayed. They were
holed up in the Casino across the street from the World Trade Center
on the waterfront in downtown New Orleans. Conditions were so bad
that three police officers committed suicide the day before he
arrived. He called me on his cell phone right after I got to Foley,
AL and asked if I would drive a refrigerated truck full of meat from
Foley to where he was set up in downtown New Orleans. By this time he
was feeding about 6000 first responders a day, including the 82nd
Airborne, the New Orleans police, the Federal Marshals, a group of
volunteer doctors who had set up operation in a building not far from
us, and a very interesting group of fellows from an organization
called "Blackwater". Look up their web site on the internet
at www.blackwaterusa.com. The second day I was there the aircraft
carrier Iwo Jima docked at the World Trade Center and the Captain
sent some of his crew to help with the cooking, serving, and clean
up. I had the opportunity to meet Lt. General Honore and he is a very
impressive individual. If the people who run the government were as
capable as him, this country would be in a lot better shape. If it
hadn't been for the military, the few NO policemen who stayed, and
the volunteers that showed up from all over the country, things would
have been much worse. FEMA and the Red Cross were nowhere to be
found. I left during the daytime on the return trip to AL, and the
only thing I can ssay is it was even worse than it looked on TV. It
was quite an experience
Jim Paine's place
in Hendersonville, NC
Since returning to
Florida I have been considering the options for upping the HP of my
Duce. I always seem to end up back at the proposition that there is
no substitute for cubic inches. I have an 0-320 and an 0-360 Lycoming
engine setting in my hanger, but they both have dynafocal mounts.
This means I would have to build new engine mounts to use either of
them. Modifying the cowling would also probably be necessary. I
finally solved the power problem by making a deal to buy John
Bickel's 150 HP Duce, and I'll sell N51324. It's a great airplane and
it didn't cause any problems or miss a beat during the 9500 miles and
97 hours of flying on the trip. However, I'm not comfortable doing
the mountain passes that are necessary without more power.
The Kimball castle
where I stayed in Johnstown, PA
I had a checkup
this week with the doctor who did my recent rotator cuff surgery, and
he returned me to flying status. I've had two physical therapy
sessions and I have almost complete range of motion now with not too
much pain. I plan on leaving around the first of June to complete the
states of SD, ND, MT, ID, WA, OR, CA, NV, UT, and AZ. I'd appreciate
an RON anyplace along the way.
N51324 at Cotter,
AR Gary Green's place
Visit with my
husband-in law's aunt in Newark, OH (That's a southern term, I can
explain it)
Annual opening of
dove season SE Missouri, been doing it with this group since 1971
Pietenpol
Fly-in at Brodhead, WI (Much more fun than Oshkosh)
Serving first
responders 6000 meals a day
Lt. Gen. Honore
and my brother-in-law in downtown NO
Loading a Marine
helicopter with supplies for NO
Folks:
After I finished opening
dove season in S.E. Missouri on September 2nd, I took the Acro Sport to
Lees Summit, MO and left it in the shelter of Chapter 91's hangar.
Hurricanes made flying weather to Florida very uncertain for some time,
so I took the airline home for a visit with my wife Vicky. I went back
to Lees Summit to retrieve the Acro Sport, and on September 26th I
landed safely at Buckingham Airpark, Ft. Myers, FL. The Sam Burgess
Memorial Junket 2008 covered 8958 statute miles in 83.6 hours of flying
time at an average speed of 107 MPH and consumed 713 gallons of av gas.
I was able to claim the remaining ten states to complete the mission.
In the process I made 69 take-offs and landings and visited 33 EAA
Chapters and 2 IAC Chapters. I saw many old friends, made a lot of new
friends and got to meet nearly a dozen people who knew Sam Burgess
personally. I only spent one night on my own in completing the trip. I
only had to cancel one visit, the Waco, TX Thursday noon lunch bunch,
because of weather. The sole mechanical difficulty with the Acro Sport
was the loss of an inspection cover on the bottom of the top right
wing. The Gorilla duct tape repair made at Martin Field in College
Place, WA is still in place. I was able to fly every day I planned
until the hurricane season interfered in September. I attended the
Arlington, WA Fly In, the Pietenpol and Hatz Fly In at Brodhead, WI,
Air Venture 2008 in Oshkosh, WI, and the National Antique Airplane
Association Fly In at Antique Airfield in Blakesburg, IA.
All in all it was a great summer, I was able to fulfill the dream that
started nearly thirty years ago. Many of the people I met on the Junket
have told me they would really like to make a trip like this. I told
them all to be careful, that was how I got committed when Sam
challenged me to do it, after I had told him I thought his trip was a
great adventure. Sam challenged me to do something most people only
dream of doing, something I wasn't certain was within my capabilities.
On July 6, 2005 when I first started on the Junket, I remember going by
my first check point at Arcadia, FL about 38 miles from my starting
point, and being overwhelmed by the enormous length of the trip in
front of me. From that time on I only concentrated on what I had to
accomplish each day. After all, it was really just a whole lot of one
day cross country trips strung together.
Now after flying two different homebuilt rag and tube open cockpit
airplanes over 18500 miles in 180 hours to the lower 48 states the
commitment to Sam is fulfilled and the doubts are gone.
A question that kept coming up whenever I was interviewed was, ' What
was the most interesting or exciting thing that happened on the trip.'
That question was always impossible to answer. I flew over parts of the
country I had never seen before, parts that were beautiful to see but
treacherous to fly a small plane over. I met new and interesting people
at every RON, and they were all special in some way.
It is impossible to adequately thank all the people who helped to make
the Junket possible. I would have to start, with Sam Burgess, for
challenging me to do the trip, and being one of the few rare people you
meet in a lifetime who is worthy of being called a hero. Secondly, I
have to thank my wife, Vicky for understanding the importance of the
trip to me. Paul Poberezny and Robert Taylor were instrumental in
encouraging me to complete the trip this year, and in publicizing the
Junket in the EAA and AAA newsletters and magazines. Paul, Mary Jones,
and Steve Buss at EAA headquarters got the word out to the EAA chapters
and individual members, who were so generous in their response for
support of the Junket. They opened up their hangars, and their homes
and really made the completion of the Junket a memorable trip. There
was always someone to meet me at each stop, the Acro Sport was tended
to, and the RON hospitality was great. To all of you who hangared the
Acro Sport, shared your homes with me, fed and entertained me, and came
out to the meetings to let me share my recollections of the life and
times of Sam Burgess, THANK YOU !!!
J. W. French, PE, F.ASCE
SBMJ 2008
EAA #226844
AAA #16831
|