#Blogformation: What I Want Under the Christmas Tree

Dec. 1: iFLYblog – Brent Owens

Dec. 2: Airplanista – Dan Pimentel

Dec. 3: Smart Flight Training – Andrew Hartley

Dec. 4: Flight to Success – Karlene Petitt

What I want under the Christmas Tree, hmm . . .

   You mean, besides Karlene Petitt’s new thriller,


   Flight For Safety? 


   (see karlenepetitt.blogspot.com —

   it’s due out very, very soon!)

I have to be honest: it took me a long time to come up with this post. “What I want under the tree” is, frankly, a tough question for “the guy who has everything.” I have a home, a loved one, a loving family. I love my kids. I love my job. I love my hobbies. I am secure (or as secure as a pilot could be, anyway!).

And my Cap’n Aux friends keep me entertained to no end! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and  Happy Holidays to Miss TWA, Swayne, Karim, Junior, Alex, Justin, Mark, Jason, Daniel, Hamza, Jordan, Alvin, Bill, Patrick, Rory, Leslie, Giulia, UK Dave, and all my other wonderful cyber-friends!

To wit, here is my Top Ten fantasy rides that I would love to see parked under my tree—i.e., I wish to either Fly for a Living (FL), Fly for Fun (FF), or own (O)!

 

10.) Boeing 747 (FL)
Who wouldn’t want to fly the “Queen of the sky?”

This is perhaps the all-time greatest airliner.
Once upon a time, I came within a hair’s breadth of flying this for my airline.
Alas, we only had them for a couple of years, and I was too dang junior at the time, even for a Flight Engineer position!

But I did get a few good jumpseats in ‘er, including a couple rides to Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines . . .

and a fun, quick hop from PHX to LAS—a whopping 45 minute flight.

Too bad GoPros weren’t around back then!

I’d settle for: A-380, B-727 (a classic)

9.)  Boeing 777 (FL)

Again, who wouldn’t want to drive, well, today’s “King of the sky?”

An instant classic, the 777 commands respect everywhere it goes.

A beauty through and through and a marvel of engineering, it is truly Boeing’s finest bird—for now.

I hated American’s new livery—
until I saw an AA 777 rocketing into the sky out of DFW, emblazoned in all its red, white and blue glory. . .

It gave me goosebumps.


I’d settle for: A340, A330.

777—space age technology. But that steering wheel is sooo 20th Century!

 

I’d settle for: Nothing less!

8.) DC-3 (FF)
To me, this beauty is aviation’s all-time greatest bird. Introduced in 1936, it revolutionized air travel as we know it, and is still doing serious work today.

I came close to my dream of flying these while based in the Caribbean, where they are still used as cargo haulers.

You can still snag a nostalgia flight in one if you look real hard. Worth blowing a paycheck on, I’d say!

7.) Curtis JN-4 “Jenny” (FF)


I think this was the first plastic model I ever built, around age 7.


Hence, it became my first love.


Sort of like a first kiss.

I’d settle for: Spad, Fokker, 

Hell, anything WWI !

6.) Pitts Special  (FF)



Sort of a Jenny x 100!

I don’t know much about aerobatic aircraft, but I do know this baby has been a force to reckon with since 1944, and remains so today.

Not sure if I’d keep my lunch down for an entire aerobatic routine . . . 


but I’d sure like to find out!


(Are you hearing me, Ron Rapp, over at http://www.rapp.org??)

Come in, over!

Ron Rapp, his beautiful bride, and their Pitts! http://www.rapp.org

 

5.) Wills Wing  (O)

Speaking of First Loves, the first craft I ever flew was a hang glider—at age 15.

It remains the single most thrilling moment of my life.


I have always longed to return to my—and aviation’s—roots.


That of man’s simplest attempt to emulate the birds.


I’d settle for: any hang glider or ultralight.

On the other end of the spectrum, all pilots feel the need for speed!

My personal Top Gun has always been the F-15. Again, I know nothing about fighters, it just looks, well . . .

BADA$$!

I durn near joined the Air Force for one reason: to fly the F-15! 

But I just didn’t trust the Recruiter when he said, “Sure! Just sign on the dotted line . . .”


I’d settle for: F-16, F-14 . . . crikey, anything “F!”

A related fantasy: buy a T-38 for retirement!

3.) Millenium Falcon (FL)–(FF)–(O)


Hey, this is a fantasy list, right?

What better than that bucket o’ bolts that outmaneuvers the entire Imperial Fleet—even through an asteroid field!

She may not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts!

A close second: that other smuggler’s bucket o’ bolts that’s got it where it counts, Firefly Serenity

 —as long as Wash is my Copilot . . . er, Pilot!

I think I’d make a Goram Shiny Cap’n Reynolds . . . 

I’d settle for: Starship Enterprise (esp. the newest one), X-Wing, Y-Wing, Colonial Viper, space shuttle Orion, scout ship Dark Star . . . hell, even a TIE Fighter! 

Photo: Danny King, Airliners.net

2.) DHC-2 Beaver (FL)–(FF)–(O)

But, seriously, folks—let’s get back to the serious fantasies!


If you’ve read my novel, The Last Bush Pilots, this one comes as no surprise.

The workhorse of Alaska, the DeHavilland Beaver, is a classic that rivals the DC-3 as the all-time greatest airplane.

While I’ve had my hands on the controls of a DHC-2, I never flew it commercially.


But I did fly its “Twin Cousin,” the DHC-6 Twin Otter. In fact, it was my first “Captainship!”

(Trivia: Cap’n Aux also flew its quad cousin, the 4-engine DHC-7, for Rocky Mountain Airways, out of Denver!)

A close second: the gorgeous Grumman Mallard. I fell in love with this stunning waterbird while flying Twin Otters for the Virgin Islands Seaplane Shuttle.


Oh, to have a Multi-engine Sea rating!

I’d settle for: Anything on floats

 

All I can do is . . . drool . . .



For grade school model building, doodling, or just plane fantasizing, this is my go-to bird.

The lines, the design,
the bubble canopy . . .

the perfect airplane.

It’s—it’s just—JUST—

MAGICAL!

I’d settle for: Nothing less!

But I sure as heckfire wouldn’t turn down a ride in a Spitfire or Corsair . . .


(or any WWII bird!)

 

Life isn’t about material things. It’s not about cool planes, hot cars, watches that cost 6 months’ salary . . .

If you believe it is, you will be miserable.

Now, would I turn down a ride in a P-51 Mustang? HELL NO!

But there is one thing that I would really, truly love to see this Christmas. Something that families around this great country are praying for every day.

For Christmas isn’t about getting. It never was. To tell you the truth, it isn’t even about giving.

• Captain Grace Baloyo, Philippine Medal of Honor Heroine: http://capnaux.com/2013/11/blogformation-aviation-history.html
• The Pilot’s Dysfunctional Love Affair: http://capnaux.com/2012/02/loon-is-harsh-mistress-pilots.html
• Vlog—The Cap’n Meets the Sergeant: http://youtu.be/rM1-IuSUNPg
• The Cap’n & the Controller, Part II: http://capnaux.com/2013/09/the-capn-controllerpart-ii.html
• Flying a Fallen Hero: http://capnaux.com/2013/05/memorial-day-special.html
• Cap’n Aux’s Ultimate Aviation Dream: http://capnaux.com/2012/01/capn-auxs-ultimateand-ultimately.html
• Vlog—Torrey Pines: http://capnaux.com/2013/02/valentines-vlog-torrey-pines.html
• How I was Brought to Flying: http://capnaux.com/2013/05/blogging-in-formation.html
• Future of U.S. Aviation: http://capnaux.com/2013/07/happy-4th-future-of-us-aviation.html
• The Poker Game that Launched My Career: http://capnaux.com/2012/01/poker-game-that-launched-my-career-its.html
• My Most Memorable Flight—The Sky Fell: http://capnaux.com/2013/06/blogformation-my-most-memorable-flight.html
• Gone With the Hurricane! Part 1—http://capnaux.com/2012/11/there-i-wuz-gone-with-hurricane.html

GoPro Vlog (Video Blog): Cap’n Aux Gets High!

. . . in the Altitude Chamber, that is!

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