Ken Q
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Posts posted by Ken Q
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Because I like the ATC service of PilotEdge, I haven't flown the SIM in my home area for a few years. Rather I've been out on the West Coast, spending more time in Rodger's area than my own. So I'll do both.
For my virtual flying world, I'll say a flight to Catalina Island (KAVX) from either Santa Barbara (KSBA) or Palm Springs (KPSP). The first is mostly over water, and so not such interesting scenery. The second has to deal with overlapping Bravo (LAX) and Charlie (SNA) airspace, but at 6500 feet its below the shelf of the first, and above the second. Beautiful scenery, fairly relaxed, and approaching the Island is spectacular. (But I've still never seen the buffalo).
From where I live, near KFRG, I'd again choose a flight to an island. In this case there are a few good choices, Block Island (KBID), Martha's Vineyard (KMVY), or Nantucket (KACK). At this time of year these are all very sleepy destinations since all the tourists have gone home. I'll choose Nantucket. Indeed, I'm planning on a real world flight with my friend Bill in his Comanche in the next few weeks.
Ken
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6 hours ago, Rodger Pettichord said:
Like Iain and family, my wife and I no longer go to much fuss. We are alone, so it doesn't make much sense to put decorations up just to look at them and then take them down again. We put up a string of lights on the outdoors patio rail, and a string of lights on a bookshelf indoors, and call it enough. I will say we do enjoy the homes that do go all out, so if you are one of those, thanks!
5 hours ago, John Burgess said:Not much fuss in the Burgess household. A tree and a few other things - we do still get the Grandkids visiting at some point.
As to when - whenever Carol tells me we're going to do it
All the best,
John
We still do some Christmas decorations, but like Rodge and Trudy, it's just the two of us now. Some old favorite decorations, including the wife's Christmas stocking she's had since she was five, decorate the mantle. Back in the fifties my mother was into ceramics, and she did lovely angels and a beautiful Nativity Set. Those come out every year. We now get a small tree which goes on a table since we can't reach the bottom branches any more if it's on the floor. We have decorations, some dating back to even before WW2, that we love to use. We like a Victorian themed tree, and now use individual battery powered LED candles.
As for when, that depends on the work calendar. This year is especially bad, we work evenings from the Thursday before Christmas to the Thursday after, with only Christmas Eve and Day off. But with church obligations we don't even get those really off either. So this year it will probably be the Tuesday before Christmas. We keep them up through the 12th Day (Epiphany, Jan 6).
Early wishes for a Merry Christmas or a Happy whatever Holiday you celebrate!
Ken
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2 hours ago, gumbypickett said:
Iain isn't around 3am over there now?
I think your a man of all hours.🤔
cheers
Gumby
Speaking of all hours- I forgot about a job I had shortly after leaving active duty in the Navy (the first time) in 1973. For several months I worked the graveyard shift.(10:00 PM-6:00AM) tor Jay Printing in Warwick, Rhode Island. This was not your local print shop, but rather a large factory specializing in retail packaging. They printed the cards, vacuum molded the blisters, and inserted the product into the resulting package and heat sealed it all up. This type of packaging is ubiquitous, but I actually worked at doing it. I did a few different operations, but the most fun and rewarding was setting up the vacuum molding machines. It wasn't in my job description, but the boss taught me how to do it, and so I did. I also got to run a fork lift. Incidentally, the factory was on the east side of T.F.Greene Airport (KPVD) with runway 5 just a few yards away. Got to watch planes landing and taking off.
Incidentally, one Saturday morning, after having worked these hours all week, I had to take the GRE (Graduate Record Exam) for admission to Grad School. Off work at 6:00 AM, report to Providence College by 8:30 AM to sit for a three hour exam upon which hung my future. But I did alright, obviously.
Ken
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Paper route and odd jobs as a kid. First job after high school was as wood shop counsellor at a summer day camp. Then two years active duty in the US navy, followed by 19 years of Navy part time as a drilling reservist. This concluded with a seven month recall to active duty in support of Desert Shield/Storm (Naples, Italy and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia). During some of those years I was in graduate school, finally earning the Ph.D. in 1986. During grad school I also taught literature, composition and advanced writing courses.
In here I also attended four years of seminary.
My intention was to get a teaching job at a college or university, but that didn't happen, so I went for my second choice, a career as a museum educator. I started on that path by enrolling in a Museum Studies program, and soon landed a job at our regional Living History Museum. In 2011 I retired after 21 years. Then five years later I went back part time, this time with my wife working beside me (well, next door).
The beauty of museum work is it operates on different levels, and one can simultaneously have a profession and a trade. My profession is a Museum Educator, and currently my trade is a Hatter. But over the years I've been a farmer, a blacksmith, a cider maker. While it doesn't pay as well as my first choice, it pays well enough and has great fringe benefits. I've been happy, and have no regrets.
Ken
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Thanks very much, my northern friend.
Now as a "Yankee" (not the baseball team) I don't consider ourselves "Southern" but all things are relative. My wife's paternal grandmother objected to my wife's father's choice of a bride because she was a "Southerner." The bride, my wife's mother, was from the "deep south state" of Illinois! But Grandmother was from north central Minnesota, so as I say, all things are relative.
For our chums elsewhere on this globe, by no stretch of the imagination is Illinois a Southern State. But apparently Grandmother disliked Easterners just as much, and (Oh the horror!) her granddaughter married one! But nevertheless Grandmother adored JFK. Go figure! I never met Grandma Stennes. My bride didn't want me to, and besides, she passed on just a couple of months after we were married.
Ken
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6 hours ago, wain71 said:
I don't do biplanes, I'm lazy and like Autopilots...
Like Wayne, I don't do biplanes either. I don't think I'm lazy, but I do like the autopilot.
While our flight simulators do a fine job with most aircraft, I've never been happy with tail draggers in the sim. Just to hard to get the visuals right, even in my cockpit which is pretty good at that. I find this unfortunate, because there are a couple I'd like to fly, especially the J3 Cub and the DC 3. And most biplanes, of course, are tail draggers.
Ken
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I would love to see this for P3D v5+ also. Please. Prepar3d is not dead, and there are many of us who would buy products for this platform if they were offered.
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1 hour ago, Ken Q said:
So many fine memories here, brings back a flood of my own.
John Newton's memory of Blackpool brings back one: Coney Island. (Google that too). Grandpa loved Coney Island for its famous Boardwalk and amusement parks (there were several, most long gone). The favorite though was Steeplechase. Grandpa took advantage of the grandkids birthdays as an excuse, so the bunch of us would pile into the 1950 Mercury and have a wonderful time.
The other notable one was "Freedom Land USA.". This was a history themed park that only lasted five years in the early sixties, but it had stern wheel steamboats," a steam train, and attractions like the "Chicago Fire" which we "helped" put out. Somewhat educational, but great fun, and we went several times each summer while it lasted. (Google Freedom Land or look it up on YouTube).
Ken
Sorry John, HEATON, the spell checker strikes again!!!
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5 hours ago, BradB said:
Our family plus my mother's parents would camp here every Summer for 10 days when I was growing up . Boy was that water cold .........😁😁
https://www.campsitephotos.com/campground/wa/early-winters/
Cheers
John
Sounds nice, John.
I did a little camping with Dad while in the Boy Scouts, and once on a family trip to Taconic State Park. Was fun, but never caught on as a regular thing.
Ken
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So many fine memories here, brings back a flood of my own.
John Newton's memory of Blackpool brings back one: Coney Island. (Google that too). Grandpa loved Coney Island for its famous Boardwalk and amusement parks (there were several, most long gone). The favorite though was Steeplechase. Grandpa took advantage of the grandkids birthdays as an excuse, so the bunch of us would pile into the 1950 Mercury and have a wonderful time.
The other notable one was "Freedom Land USA.". This was a history themed park that only lasted five years in the early sixties, but it had stern wheel steamboats," a steam train, and attractions like the "Chicago Fire" which we "helped" put out. Somewhat educational, but great fun, and we went several times each summer while it lasted. (Google Freedom Land or look it up on YouTube).
Ken
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Our most sincere sympathy, Wayne. We've had cats all our lives (wife and I). Sadly they just don't live as long as we do, and the loss of our beloved fur babies is absolutely devastating. We've been through it, so we feel for your loss. Grieve as long as you need to, then if you can, go to the shelter and give another poor homeless kitty a forever home. Share the love!
Ken & Karen
P.S. Our Chessie is.also 15 now. Still an energetic cat, doesn't act like a "senior" at all. I say he's in midlife mode, if he were a human he'd be tooling around in a sports car ( a purrari?). But we watch him carefully, well aware that at his age this can change suddenly.
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2 hours ago, Bluebear said:
A few years ago, I surprisingly had the opportunity to fly in a FUJI/FA-200 AERO SUBARU.
When I jumped into the cockpit, the pilot asked me if I had any flying experience and I told him that I only knew flying from the simulator.
Shortly after we left the ground, he said to me, well, then you can fly yourself and let go of the yoke and said,fly an airfield circuit and try to find the runway.
We had a very intense conversation about flying and after thirty minutes,as I started to land, he said maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to do the landing himself, the scaredy cat.
Ulrich
I related this earlier, but in the present context it bears repeating. Back in February I had the opportunity to fly with a friend Bill. I expected to sit in the right seat, and maybe take the controls for a bit once airborne. Bill started by offering me a choice of aircraft; he owns a C172 and a PA 24 Comanche. Since I fly a Mooney Bravo, I chose the Comanche since it is very similar to the M20M. "OK, get in the left seat." "Does your SIM have rudder pedals?" "OK, taxi to the runway." "There's Thu push-to-talk button - call Tower." From then on it was "my airplane." I took off from KISP, flew to KPOU, flew the pattern and landed on RWY 24. We had a nice snack at Paula's Airport Cafe. For the flight back it was my other friend, Tony's turn, but he passed, preferring to ride in the back, so I flew back too. Two hours of flight time, two takeoff and landings. Bill (a CFII) of course gave me instruction and direction, but we were both pleased at how much the simulator had prepared me to fly a real, complex airplane.
We're planning to do it again in a couple of weeks, this time from KISP to Nantucket, KACK.
Ken
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Of course it depends on whom I am talking to. Many are fascinated by it, others are "ho hum." In most (but not all) cases they get excited when I show pictures of my cockpit setup. They realize it's not "just another computer game." Those who get to "ride along" get especially interested.
Ken
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Great video! Thanks, Wolfgang.
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Great! A "blast from the past!"
I'm definitely Older than Dirt. Easier to mention the few that I didn't actually experience.
#7. We didn't have party lines where I grew up. But I remember when we got a dial telephone.
#10. Saw ads for Butch Wax, but never actually encountered it. Brylcreme was another matter.
#20. No Packards around in my area (that i know of) when I grew up. Did briefly serve on a ship (MSO) that had Packard engines.
On the other hand there was little as annoying as #22, cork pop guns! Our museum support organization sold them every year at our tri county fair. By the end of it we wanted to murder them. That was in the early 2000s.
Ken
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Best wishes Doug Ang Greg!
Ken
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10 minutes ago, gumbypickett said:
I haven't really done any bush flying I'm more
of a tube flyer, but I do like the shots that people put up.
cheers
Gumby
I too like seeing pictures and videos of bush flying, both in the sim(s) and real word. But like Gumby, I don't do it myself. I'll fly my Mooney almost anywhere where there is a paved runway, including Mountain top air strips like Blue Canyon and Sedona, but that's about as close as I get.
Ken
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I love the "Polaris Submarine." I actually built my own "submarine," it was a WW2 submarine but only in the imagination of a couple of young boys. It started out with two 4x8 homasote boards, and a selection of cardboard boxes for torpedo room and conning tower. No missiles, but a few paper towel rolls made the torpedo tubes. A suitable toy gun sufficed for a deck gun. With this my pal Artie and I could relive our favorite episodes from the TV show of the time "Silent Service.". It was set up in the basement, and much more durable than the one advertised. The " deck gun" cost about $2.00; I don't know what the fiber board cost, but the boxes were free. Of course when we tired of being "submariners" the whole thing could be taken apart and recycled into something else.
Ken
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4 minutes ago, Rodger Pettichord said:
Thanks, pilot100. Now if I can just get the year right...
That's easy. Where I work it's always 1829. Has been for the last 30+ years.
Ken
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A "Jet Fighter." It looked impressive in the ad. When I got it, it turned out to be the typical balsa glider of the time: a stamped out fuselage printed in red, with wings, tail and stabilizer the same. Under the center of the fuselage was clamped a "Jet Engine." It was more accurately a tiny solid fuel rocket. To operate, pull off the nozzle and insert the fuel, a little cylindrical pellet. Thread a fuse through the nozzle opening, coil the inner end, and reassemble ensuring that the fuse coil sits on the fuel pellet. Then light the fuse with a match. When (if) the fuel catches launch the plane by hand. The first couple of tries the fuel didn't catch. Take the "engine" apart, insert a new fuse, try again. Finally the fuel did catch, but by now the nozzle opening was clogged with bits of fuse, so it blew a hole in the side of the "engine." So much for that!
This was marketed to kids, perhaps about age 10. Solid fuel, fuses and matches. No suggestion of "adult supervision!". I'm surprised I never heard of incinerated fingers, (including mine) and wildfires started by these. But hey, this was the '50s.
The plastic "rockets " half filled with water, pumped up with air were much safer, and as much fun, especially when Grandpa got soaked!
Ken
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Happy birthday, and many happy returns, Gerold!
Ken
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As mentioned above, I had Erector Sets. But I remember fondly playing with the Girder and Panel Set. I didn't have one, but a friend did. Fun way to learn about modern building techniques.
Ken
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These types of "toys" were very important in my childhood. I had a couple of Erector Sets over the years, parts of which were used in my early "flight sim." I also had a large set of Lincoln Logs. Earlier on I had a set of white plastic "bricks" with red windows and doors to build miniature house. Along the same general line was a toy tow truck which came with a set of miniature tools so it could be taken apart and reassembled. And there were always cardboard boxes which provided the raw material for so many things. Anything to encourage imagination and technical skills.
Ken
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P3D 5, for me, for this reason. Maybe 6 down the road. Not really tempted by MSFS. Now if developers would realize that MSFS is not the only show in town and produce add-ons for P3D I'd be very happy, and part with quite a bit of money.
Ken
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When do you put your Christmas decorations up?
in The Neil Hill Memorial Lounge
Posted
It is my pleasure to invite you to join us for Christmas, Gumby. But it is a bit of a trip!
Ken