The alarm went off at 2:15am but I couldn’t drag my ass out of bed until 3:00. That’s ok… I was rolling before 3:30 and powered to Lake Havasue with only 15 minutes of non moving time in 13 hours of driving... I didn’t realize that I was going thru Havasue, but when I saw the sign I impulsively called John Fetz. He asked if I would like to spend the night and I sheepishly accepted his hospitality. The GPS made a circuitous route to their home but once there I had no doubt it was the Fetz place. John’s shop isn’t big but it has enough scrap material lying around to build a space shuttle. There were motors and frames and trikes scattered all
over the back of the property! John and his wife Jill have a wonderful place with a very open architecture and the perfect Mother in Law apt. for me to crash in. Gawd I love desert living, the homes have such clean and simple lines that can best be described as light and airy.
After chatting a bit we went out for dinner at a local rib place that was adorned with a Pitts hanging from the ceiling and aeronautical memorabilia all over the place. John and Jill are quiet the pair… Ex Horse people, lifetime aviators, certified aircraft mechanics and real folk. It’s a pleasure to share some time with a happy couple living a normal happy life. We swapped stories and Jill gave me some good advice about my current situation.
When we returned from dinner John and I watched Salty Dogs from the 2007 Paratoys Show and by 9 p.m. I was ready for bed.
Day #2 Wednesday
Woke at 6, John was up and playing on the computer. He and I drank coffee and chatted for an hour. We tried to figure out the problem with the radios and ended up with one for transmitting and the other for receiving.
John has a Greyhound type bus that he has rigged as a camper. They are not doing as much traveling and he is thinking about selling it for a very good price. … who knows?I set off about 9am and was at the sea at noon. Once there I spent the day taxiing around the field. The idle was way too high and I could hardly slow it down until I backed down the idle. The paratoys guys had a very nice Bob Peloquin simulator attached to their RV that they were letting us use for hang testing. So... I took advantage and was happy to see that I didn't really need to move a thing. I did play with a couple of different hang points but ended up prety close to where Terry had guesstimated it to be.
It was too windy to fly so I rode the Big Wheel around the RV Park and the LZ to chat with all the usual suspects. Good group ! Jim King and I went to the rib house for dinner. Shower and Bed.
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