The RC-172 flies again.

Tire-kicking done, it's time to light the fire and go.


Let's go see what there is to see down in the two-dimensional world below. Click on the pics to make them larger.

Here's the gun club that I used to shoot at. (I still have the membership...I just don't go there much any more.)Looks like they're doing some building on the 50 yard smallbore ranges. (Eleven o'clock in the picture.)

Intelligence reports indicate that they're going to put a roof on these lanes and make them an indoor range.

And off to the southeast is...a corn maze!

Not so hard to navigate it now, is it? This is where C-172 reconnaissance photos come in handy. OK, so it's not like Cuban Missile Crisis handy, but it beats going in blind, eh?

Sorry, no panoramic views today. Hazy as all get-out. Look-down is fine, but horizontal vision? Sheesh!

Arrival over Front Royal airport in Warren County, Virginia. (The part of the state that didn't vote for Owe-bama.) Plan called for a touch-and go then back home.

However, that plan changed when I saw the object down by the road. Let's zoom in on that, shall we?

Holy Francis Gary Powers, Batman! That's an F-86! I am SO going to land and see that.

So I dropped in to the nice airport office and shut down.

Lots of really cool airplane history in here. I'd recommend it to anyone in the area if you like that sort of stuff and have a few minutes.

Brigid, I thought of you when I saw this:

And nice guys that they were there, they let me go out and drool over the F-86.

It's a 1952 "H" model, and it was originally based at Martinsburg, WV. It was only six years old when they retired it.

Got some nose art there, too. Original nose art, per the guys inside.

That'll date a few of us here.

All set to take off and fly over the mountains.

I feel ya, old girl. Wish I could restore you. It's tough to have F-86 desires on a used Cessna budget.

Then it was back home, with an impromptu touch-and-go at Winchester, VA, just for the practice. There were four of us in the pattern there, and one was a jet. That was interesting.

Now I'm back home, putting a steak on the grill to go with the baking potato. I have a beer and Murphy has his stuffed cat. All is good in the Lair tonight.