Away We go!

(Almost!)

“Ground Control, this is Winnebago Flight 101 requesting to push back.”

          “Roger, Winnebago 101, please hold for Garbage Truck, momentarily blocking your tarmac area, expect a short delay, they’re only doing a pick-up and will vacate the gate area momentarily.”

          “Roger, Ground Control, waiting your go-ahead.”

          Everything was loaded, including Bonnie the Parsley Plant who took her usual seat in First Class. We had fueled a few days ago and topped off our propane tank at the same time so that we would not have any additional delays come Departure Day.

          We’ve been sitting here at the Winnebago Airlines gate in the Yetter’s Terminal of Sussex International  since our arrival back in late May. It’s a good thing that the folks here at Yetter’s have waived both our landing fees and ground fees because staying here at the Terminal (instead of pushing us over to outlying areas where outfits such as Bill’s Airlines and Lower than Whale Doo-Doo Air Transport are located) would normally have been prohibitively expensive. Getting that clearance from the Port Authority of Augusta was a bit dicey as we were the only Flight here. Luckily we were able to trade these services for First Officer Paula’s work tenure as a Hostess and Cashier in the Terminal Lounge area.

          “Winnebago Flight 101, this is Ground Control, the Garbage Truck has cleared your area, permission to push back is granted, please proceed to Runway 206 South and switch to Tower Control for further instructions, have a good flight, Ground Control out.“

          “Roger Ground Control, Runway 206 South, and thanks for your hospitality, Winnebago 101 out.”

          “Tower this is Winnebago Flight 101 taxiing for take-off, Runway 206 South, request permission to perform final run-up before entering runway.”

          “Roger Winne 101, traffic is heavy, perform run-up then proceed with caution, you know how those bozo’s coming out of Pennsy are!”

          We performed our final check of all instruments and awaited our opportunity to enter the traffic flow in front of us. The Tower wasn’t kidding, it took several attempts to finally pull out onto the Runway and accelerate to our take-off speed. In the meantime, all of those small, single-engine pests coming out of Pennsy, were in fact, quite annoying, kind of like a swarm of gnats trying to pass an albatross.

          “Winnebago 101, this is Air Traffic Control, proceed due South, switch from 206 to 15, hold both course and speed through the Lafayette Congestion Area, then you may accelerate and climb out when you reach the Sparta Zone, watch out for those Sparta Control guys, they keep their Radars on, have a good flight, Air Traffic Control out. “

As we were preparing our final details, an urgent message was heard in our headphones, “Winnebago Flight 101 abort take-off! I repeat abort take-off!” We hastily retreated to the safety of our parking area at the Yetter’s Terminal to get an explanation. It seems that there are some new developments, family personal matters, that require Paula’s attention. So it looks like we are grounded until at least the end of September, which means that we are not leaving for Texas any time soon. You will have to put up with our presence for a bit longer!

          We would have settled in for a routine flight on the first leg of this trip to our first destination, that of Ortley Beach, just north of Seaside Heights down the Shore. We did this anyway, only we did not bring Miss Biggie, we just used the Lifeboat. When we finally get on the road for sure, the entire flight is definitely not a non-stop event. There are several end-of-day layovers planned as this aircraft has only a two-person crew and we are certified to fly for only about ten hours before we must land and get the mandatory eight hours of rest before climbing back into the cockpit and repeating the process. Our entire flight will be three to four days long, depending on the condition of said pilots. Our landing in Texas is definitely a “daylight” procedure as this is a back country airport with no landing lights and has many obstacles that line the runway, so extreme caution is advised.

          As I alluded to in my last post, I don’t like to start any adventure with a dirty vehicle. I am pleased to announce that I am very happy with the way that our house-on-wheels looks. I have discovered a new product that helps with anything vinyl, rubber, plastic, or otherwise. It is not anything like the Armor-All type products. This one actually bonds with the materials and keeps it looking good for a year. Plus, I got the one that has a black color to it so that it is something akin to using black shoe polish on black shoes. This solves my problem with the “protective” vinyl covering that is affixed to the front of the motorhome and was looking tired, dull, all washed out, and looking like, well, you know….

           No amount of anything made it look good, until…… now!

          I wish that I had a before and after photo for your perusal, but you’ll just have to trust me one this one!

          We do have a lot of car and automotive enthusiasts here in Sussex County. They are extremely knowledgeable about their vehicles and how they are kept. They are also quite critical about everyone else’s and make no bones about inspecting other folks’ vehicles and pointing out things that need attention.

          A few days ago, we inadvertently created quite the panic session at Yetter’s before we pulled out of the parking lot.

          As I said before, we left to get propane.

          That in itself was not the issue.

           The issue was that we needed to leave the parking lot and drive to Newton in order to procure it.

          So, why was that an issue Don?

          Well, it was an issue because the staff thought that we were pulling up stakes and hitting the road without having Miss Paula, Hostess Extraordinaire, finish out her shifts that she is responsible for.

          The wailing and gnashing of teeth was audible as we pulled out. Multiple staff members were seen exiting the building, using any and all of the doors in an attempt to hurl themselves in front of us as we exited out of the parking lot.

          It didn’t help that we had a banner affixed to the rear that read,

                              “See you next year!”

          But we came back a short while later, much to the delight of the previously devastated staff. Paula is using her new-found popularity and is holding out on signing next year’s contract in the hopes of getting additional packets of saltines when she has her soup for lunch.

          The government is investigating these coercive negotiating tactics.