Off we go, into the wild blue yonder......

O.K., I'm only a week or so behind. Let's see what's next.... oh, yes, the airplane adventure. We went for-- let's back up. I asked Al Pipcorn--- back up further. In about 1982 or '83 I read an article in Mother Earth News about ultralight aircraft. It described the journey of two guys on a trip from Washington state to Oshkosh's EAA(experimental aircraft assoc.) show. They made the trip in a pair of Pteradactyl airplanes which basically was a hang glider type wing with a motor and a crude carriage under the wing with a seat. They described what it was like to make this trip in the small planes (probably about 150-200# for the plane), how they had to land so frequently for gas, crossing the Rocky mountains, etc. I must have read that article a hunnert times. Well, at least 25 times.
By the way, here is Peggy inspecting the plane before take-off.

So for the last 20+ years I've idly dreamed of ultralights and small planes in general. I've had a few flights in small craft, small turbo-props, and a couple trans-Atlantic rides on jumbo jets. For the last few years I've been seeing these "powered parachutes" flying around Phillips and other areas and thought they looked pretty cool.
I thought this peek into the nose was cool.....

Anyway, I finally tracked down the owner of one of the chutes, Jim Heizler. We talked quite alot about it and whenever Peg and I were out and about in Phillips and we saw Jim flying, we would head for the airport to watch him land, and then more talking about the chute. With my interest building, Peg suggested that I talk to Al Pipcorn about his plane. Al used to work at Marquip (where I work) and Peggy knows him well from Boy Scout world. Al inherited some money a few years ago and decided to persue his long time dream of flying. He purchased a 1962 model Cessna four seater, took instruction and now has his pilot license with instrument navigation endorsement (if that's what it's called.....). So I emailed him with a bunch of question about flying, types of planes, flight school, etc... He sent a long response and offered to take us up for a ride sometime.
So here we are, in the plane and taxiing down the runway!! I'm getting good at these over-the-shoulder photos, and check that short trimmed beard! We cruised around Price County, Al let me take the controls once we were off the ground. What a blast! We generally flew at about 4000' (2500 above the ground here). You get a veiw that just does not compare with anything else. Jets fly too high to get a detailed view (but the panoramic views from high jets are cool, too) and it is just great. Amazing how hard it is to determine just what is what down there when you're used to looking at things from ground level.
Here's a shot of Prentice from just North of the Travel Center looking Southeast. By the time I was done looking at Prentice and started looking for Ottertail Lodge, we were directly over the top and we had to go South farther, take a slow turn over Ogema, and head back North. This is what 'downtown Ogema' looks like if you are above the millpond looking North. Peggy was taking the photos from the back seat (I was busy flying the plane) so I didn't know what she had taken. Later we had a bit of a hard time telling where this one was! We headed back up to the Ottertail area, did a 'turn about a point' at the Lodge and took a few pix. Here is one from the North.
We headed North again and I tried a 'turn about a point' over Cranberry Lake. Quite a view of the old fishing spots!! Then we turned towards Phillips with plans of landing. Al took the controls at this point (hey, Al, if you're reading this, work with me on this, O.K.? Let's go with my description of events....) and we had an uneventful landing at Phillips International Airport. Not to say that bringing a plane to land on the ground is not an event worthy of wonder, just meant that we got back safely. Here is another view of the Lodge area from South-Southeast.


So the old flight fancy is alive and well, with the coals of interest once again fanned into life. Where will all of this lead? Will Carlo prove to be the "air head" that most assume him to be? And what about Natasha???

Don't forget to look at the "Origami Boulder" link in the sidebar. Have a happy day!!