No Obstacles to Clear

[blueldr]

We are not going to be talking about clearing obstacles after take off any more, but I feel I should explain that my late wife was capable of keeping almost any size airplane in the air by the simple application of an uplifting force on the armrests of the passenger seats. I saw this phenomenon applied on our three legged flight from Travis AFB to Guam in 1961. A contract flight in a DC-7C. There is absolutely no question in my mind but that my whole family would have perished in the Pacific Ocean if it weren't for the dedication of my dear wife. I also saw this dedicated effort applied on various types of jet and reciprocating engined airplanes on trips between Guam and the Phillippines, between the Phillippines and Japan, and between Japan and Guam. This whole thing became so exhausting that when it came time to return to the states, she chose to travel by Military Sea Transportation Service for about two or three weeks rather than the few hours it would have taken by Jet Airplane. She did manage to get the ship all the way back to Fort Mason in San Francisco without having to displace any critical crew members, or call for Coast Guard rescue. I have been led to believe that the ships captain was considerably humbled.

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

Bl, that is funny.

I fondly remember my first airplane ride. It was arranged by my Aunt through a friend of her boyfriend in the mid sixties from Montgomeryville Airport, PA (now closed) to Sky Manor or Alexandria Airports in NJ, about a 30 minute flight. I was sitting in the left rear seat with my Aunt in the right rear. The pilot and my Aunts boyfriend (he did become my Uncle much later) in the front.

I don't remember much else except I had a death grip on the arm rest on my left. I don't know what I thought I could do with that arm rest should the rest of the airframe plummet out of the sky but I was doing my best to hold it up. It was so noticeable I remember my Aunt telling me to relax and look outside. Well when the pilot suddenly reduced power to land I darn near ripped the arm rest from the plane. To this day I always warn a new passenger before I reduce the throttle to land.