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Back in California and Ready to Eat and Whatall
We started our day on Turkey day! After driving across the rest of Arizona, we found our hungry selves back in California (that’s usually what happens when you are driving west, I’ve found) in mid-afternoon. We had wanted to have a nice lunch in Beaumont at the “Farm House Restaurant”. That’s the awesome buffet where they have the huge rooster out front. It’s also the place where Ross Sanders and I had lunch while I was a Homer learning to drive a truck. But, they were incredibly proud of their less-than-alive turkey. Seems they wanted 25 bucks per person for their fancy fat fowl. We continued westward.
It really didn’t take all that long to scare up a “Home Town Buffet”. If I recall correctly we were seated and eating within about 30 min. of leaving the large rooster behind us. It was mid-afternoon and the place was still packed. I understood why as we braved the ravenous pack of revelers; the food was outstanding! After dodging a few furiously flinging forks, we sat down and began our sumptuous Thanksgiving repast. There was a lot to be thankful for, to be sure.
OK…that’s enough for one long day. We called it “quits” and shut the dog and pony show down for the day. We were tired but it was a good tired and decided to just rest and plan the next day.
OK…new day. A new day in southern California is not just another day (especially if you are a pilot and/or bona fide wing nut…… and I think I’ve been diagnosed with both afflictions). The closest “airport fix” to us was “Flabob” in Riverside. Thankfully, the night before, we got directions from a gent who owned a local stop-and-rob and who was a pilot. So, you can imagine how enthralled I was at finally “landing” at Flabob after being aware of this place since 1960! If I were significantly younger I would have been tempted to say such things as “Way cool, dude!”. We arrived in time for breakfast (breakfast is good). You can bet that I ordered biscuits and gravy and Connie had a normal breakfast involving cackle fruit and hashbrowns.
There are few airmen who don’t know that Flabob is where EAA Chapter 1 resides. It is basically “Mecca” for aircraft homebuilders. This place has seen more homebuilt aircraft, fly-ins, and innovations than you can toss a bag of nickels at. This is also the home of Ray Stits who basically defined the homebuilt aircraft movement.
Ray’s 1952 SA-3A Playboy design built in 1952 became the third of his fifteen airplane designs. He built the Playboy in just three months during the fall of that year. After testing and modifying, plans for the plane were made available to the public. This particular airplane is one of the aircraft responsible for getting homebuilt aircraft going to a significant degree in the United States.
I must confess that I had a hope that we would run smack into Ray Stits. I asked the waitress about him and she advised that he usually came in but later in the morning. Our schedule wasn’t all that tight but we simply couldn’t just sit and wait. So, we didn’t and decided to look around a bit.
In the absence of tour guides we just sort of made ourselves home and began our own tour. It didn’t take long to run into some most interesting stuff.
One was a gent who was working on a couple of Ercoupes. He also had a super cool small radial engine (for homebuilts) that he had built sitting on a stand in one corner. He obligingly answered my questions about the neat engine. We also put him in touch with a guy we had met at Tucumcari Regional Airport who had Ercoupe parts that he needed. Now, imagine our surprise when he asked us if we would like to take a tour of the nearby Douglas DC-3; the “Flabob Express”! What an extraordinary experience that was!
This exact aircraft had been Winston Churchhill’s personal transport during WW2! After surveying the luxurious interior and trappings we had no trouble believing it! For the plane-savvy folks, this wasn’t “Rose”, the other DC-3 that had been stationed at Flabob in the past. That aircraft had been sold and I think it is the one stationed at the Corona Airport and flown by “Dream Flight” (for charter, check rides, type ratings, et. al.). Another possibility is that the other DC-3 was named "Rosie" in which case the plane was sold and moved to somewhere in South America. I am seeking enlightenment on the matter.
After a great experience at Flabob, we were BOI (back on the Interstate).
Actually, we didn’t go all that far. Remember the part about being a pilot in southern California? In very little time we were in Chino. Now here this: the “Planes of Fame” aircraft museum there is one of the coolest places on earth!
Stay tuned and you can catch the next episode “Plane Crazy”.
We started our day on Turkey day! After driving across the rest of Arizona, we found our hungry selves back in California (that’s usually what happens when you are driving west, I’ve found) in mid-afternoon. We had wanted to have a nice lunch in Beaumont at the “Farm House Restaurant”. That’s the awesome buffet where they have the huge rooster out front. It’s also the place where Ross Sanders and I had lunch while I was a Homer learning to drive a truck. But, they were incredibly proud of their less-than-alive turkey. Seems they wanted 25 bucks per person for their fancy fat fowl. We continued westward.
It really didn’t take all that long to scare up a “Home Town Buffet”. If I recall correctly we were seated and eating within about 30 min. of leaving the large rooster behind us. It was mid-afternoon and the place was still packed. I understood why as we braved the ravenous pack of revelers; the food was outstanding! After dodging a few furiously flinging forks, we sat down and began our sumptuous Thanksgiving repast. There was a lot to be thankful for, to be sure.
OK…that’s enough for one long day. We called it “quits” and shut the dog and pony show down for the day. We were tired but it was a good tired and decided to just rest and plan the next day.
OK…new day. A new day in southern California is not just another day (especially if you are a pilot and/or bona fide wing nut…… and I think I’ve been diagnosed with both afflictions). The closest “airport fix” to us was “Flabob” in Riverside. Thankfully, the night before, we got directions from a gent who owned a local stop-and-rob and who was a pilot. So, you can imagine how enthralled I was at finally “landing” at Flabob after being aware of this place since 1960! If I were significantly younger I would have been tempted to say such things as “Way cool, dude!”. We arrived in time for breakfast (breakfast is good). You can bet that I ordered biscuits and gravy and Connie had a normal breakfast involving cackle fruit and hashbrowns.
There are few airmen who don’t know that Flabob is where EAA Chapter 1 resides. It is basically “Mecca” for aircraft homebuilders. This place has seen more homebuilt aircraft, fly-ins, and innovations than you can toss a bag of nickels at. This is also the home of Ray Stits who basically defined the homebuilt aircraft movement.
Ray’s 1952 SA-3A Playboy design built in 1952 became the third of his fifteen airplane designs. He built the Playboy in just three months during the fall of that year. After testing and modifying, plans for the plane were made available to the public. This particular airplane is one of the aircraft responsible for getting homebuilt aircraft going to a significant degree in the United States.
I must confess that I had a hope that we would run smack into Ray Stits. I asked the waitress about him and she advised that he usually came in but later in the morning. Our schedule wasn’t all that tight but we simply couldn’t just sit and wait. So, we didn’t and decided to look around a bit.
In the absence of tour guides we just sort of made ourselves home and began our own tour. It didn’t take long to run into some most interesting stuff.
One was a gent who was working on a couple of Ercoupes. He also had a super cool small radial engine (for homebuilts) that he had built sitting on a stand in one corner. He obligingly answered my questions about the neat engine. We also put him in touch with a guy we had met at Tucumcari Regional Airport who had Ercoupe parts that he needed. Now, imagine our surprise when he asked us if we would like to take a tour of the nearby Douglas DC-3; the “Flabob Express”! What an extraordinary experience that was!
This exact aircraft had been Winston Churchhill’s personal transport during WW2! After surveying the luxurious interior and trappings we had no trouble believing it! For the plane-savvy folks, this wasn’t “Rose”, the other DC-3 that had been stationed at Flabob in the past. That aircraft had been sold and I think it is the one stationed at the Corona Airport and flown by “Dream Flight” (for charter, check rides, type ratings, et. al.). Another possibility is that the other DC-3 was named "Rosie" in which case the plane was sold and moved to somewhere in South America. I am seeking enlightenment on the matter.
After a great experience at Flabob, we were BOI (back on the Interstate).
Actually, we didn’t go all that far. Remember the part about being a pilot in southern California? In very little time we were in Chino. Now here this: the “Planes of Fame” aircraft museum there is one of the coolest places on earth!
Stay tuned and you can catch the next episode “Plane Crazy”.
posted by Randy M @ 10:45 PM
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