Well I took the plunge and purchased Ariane

Hello John,Well, I like your style . . .and I'll stand with you on that one!This forum is for helping people . . . you do know what that is, don't you? Helping means giving others sound advice when they have a question. Now, what part of that doesn't anyone understand?Best,Clayton T. Dopke (Clay)Major, USAF (retired)"Drac"

Hello again John,You know, one of us might should be worried.. we seem to be agreeing alot lately..Best Clay

I can't recall many times we've actually come on opposite sides of the fence. But every time I see you here, I'm reminded of a friend who used to service B52's. As he tells it, he was on the top of the fuse doing something, and a tool slipped out of his hand. His mistake was reaching for it.He said you could see two long scratches where his fingernails dug into the side of the B52 on his "journey" to terra firma. The way he says it, it's simply too funny, although it's been a good twenty years since I heard him tell the story.My first time ever spent in the cockpit were courtesy the same friend. He was so enthusiastic about aviation, we often would drive together to the coffee shop at KAPC... His tales of airforce life got the interest of a great pilot named Bill Garnett. Bill was (and still is) famous world over for his pioneering work in artistic aerial photography. At home, I still have some National Geographic shots he did. Bill never took anyone up, but he made an exception in our case. In exchange for helping him polish his brushed aluminum Cessna, he'd take us up and give us a turn at the controls. The first time I ever had control of an aircraft, it was in an aircraft some 40 years old--pretty amazing to me.Bill made us promise we'd stick with it. Money, time, a growing family--all took me away from that. But with Sportpilot out, I plan on making good my promise.-John

Dear John,<<>>Yep, they are pretty large birds to say the least, and from the top of the fuse, I imagine he got a few good bruises and such from the old gal. Never had that happen to me, however I did fall out of the bomb bay once, (while it was on the ground . . . didn't do a Slim Pickins), but it was still a good fall and sprained the heck out of my ankle. My crew thought it was by far, the funniest thing they had ever seen with the exception of the time I just walked right into the aux wing tank as if it wasn't there . . .I swear, I must have been looking right past it, cause I bonked myself a good one on the tip of that damned tank, and beat hell out of a minute later with a few choice words..Liked your story, and always appreciate your knowledgable input.Best to you and yours,Clay