Re: Hangar Tales(scotch included)

[maverick8]

"Another Day at the Hangar"
or
"How to get your Heart Started in 30 seconds"

----------------snipped by the
editor...----------------------------------------
Mutt- didn't realize that "novelist" was one of your titles!, and btw, I don't
drive THAT fast........(grin)

Mav

[keithj]

"Another Day at the Hangar"
or
"How to get your Heart Started in 30 seconds"

Snipped, etc.........

Great story, Mutt. I even cracked open that twenty-year-old bottle of scotch I
told you about while reading. Made it even better!

Cheers,
Keith.

[christophert]

as I headed out saw them headed towards the hangar at a pretty good clip from

the tower,all wearin big grins. 'Ahh" I thought to myself ' this turned out to
be a damn good day after all" and headed towards the hangar in hopes of havin
at least one drink.

Now Curt you know I don't drink! Especially Scotch! (Tastes like wet
cardboard!) You must have meant coffee, cause that's the only thing
you can dunk a donut into! LOL!

And since when did "Author" fit into your job description? :-) Nice
piece of work, I might make you do more for The Old Hangar!

Christopher

[muttly]

"Another Day at the Hangar"
or
"How to get your Heart Started in 30 seconds"

----------------snipped by the
editor...----------------------------------------
Mutt- didn't realize that "novelist" was one of your titles!, and btw, I don't

drive THAT fast........(grin)

Mav

That ain't what I heard:-)

Mutt

[muttly]

"Another Day at the Hangar"
or
"How to get your Heart Started in 30 seconds"

Snipped, etc.........

Great story, Mutt. I even cracked open that twenty-year-old bottle of scotch I
told you about while reading. Made it even better!

Cheers,
Keith.

Stay tuned for more Hangar Takes,right here on this channel:-)

See...now ya got a reason to enjoy that old scotch;-)

Mutt

[muttly]

as I headed out saw them headed towards the hangar at a pretty good clip from

the tower,all wearin big grins. 'Ahh" I thought to myself ' this turned out to
be a damn good day after all" and headed towards the hangar in hopes of havin
at least one drink.

Now Curt you know I don't drink! Especially Scotch! (Tastes like wet
cardboard!) You must have meant coffee, cause that's the only thing
you can dunk a donut into! LOL!

The scotch i have here makes glass look rough and it is not a blend(hence
the cardboard taste) YOu'd try it,you'd like it;-)

As for the coffee,that JP4 grade stuff is out in the morning.

And since when did "Author" fit into your job description? :-) Nice
piece of work, I might make you do more for The Old Hangar!

Christopher

Always has....just wish I could sell them.

Mutt

[muttly]

"Another Day at the Hangar"
or
"How to get your Heart Started in 30 seconds"

Snipped, etc.........

Great story, Mutt. I even cracked open that twenty-year-old bottle of scotch I
told you about while reading. Made it even better!

Cheers,
Keith.

Stay tuned for more Hangar Tales,right here on this channel:-)

See...now ya got a reason to enjoy that old scotch;-)

Mutt

[jmaier21]

"Another Day at the Hangar"
or
"How to get your Heart Started in 30 seconds"


It was a cool summer morning,the mist hangin in the air and the sun just
startin to come up as I pulled up in front of the hangar. I caught a glimpse of

Snoop pullin up on the other side of the field over at the Old Hangar.,the home

of the Stick and Rudder Club. They fly all the old wood and cloth planes that
came way before the high powered piston and jet numbers I had sittin in a row
outside on the tarmac. I stood there for just a minute lookin at the impressive

line of aircraft,all of which had been built or repaired by me and the staff
here and just marveled at them. The dew was finally settling on the nose of the

Valkyrie and a couple of others parked there in a perfect row with the first
rays of the sun sparkling off of them. I shook my head in amazement and turned
to unlock the door,"another day,another 20 cents",I told myself as I turned the

key. I stepped in and proceeded to turn on the lights and make the first pot of

ultra-strong coffee that we were known for in anticipation of the crew arriving

as well as some of the days drop off for repairs and pick ups as well as the
usual motorcade of delivery trucks bringing needed parts and unwanted bills,the

later always takes the fun out of a good day,but,it's the way it is.

I walked from the office into the hangar itself and turned on the lights and
in the middle of the floor was,in all its gleaming glory,our latest creation,or

repair or.......well whatever you want to call it. We had just finished a
complete re-build and re-engining of a 737-200 and the paint crew had just
finished the exterior in a way cool royal blue and white paint job and rolled
her into the middle of the hangar so the instrument techs could give her a
final go through this morning. The power we had installed and the
re-enforcement of all the structures was imense and complex and the instrument
panel was way past fully loaded and had to be checked to make sure everything
worked. I headed back to the office and my little cubby hole to have a cup of
our JP4 grade coffee and start writing out checks for previous part arrivals as

the first of the crew started to arrive. Jake,my lead A&P,poked his head in the

door and announced his arrival with a "mornin boss" and I replied"glad you
didn't say good" even though I knew it was.
Maverick,my lead test pilot came wheelin into the parkin lot hell bent for
election,lockin up the brakes just inches from the parkin block at the front of

his parkin spot,stoppin in a screechin cloud of dust. I looked out the window
just in time to see him emerge from the cloud with a big grin on his face as he

swaggered towards the hangar,the dust swirlin away from the nose of his red
Corvette.I thought to myself"one of these days he's gonna misjudge that
distance and that car is gonna be parts,I just hope he never loses the
judgement with an airplane". I was still sitting at my desk when he came
through the door in his normal test pilot swagger and started for his office
only to have his journey cut short by me reminding him about how to come into
the parkin lot from now on,which I know will only last about a couple of weeks
and we'll have this discussion again,that's the way it is around here with
him,but,he's a damn good test pilot and a good friend so I don't light him up
to bad,and besides,if they only knew how I leave at night...welll! I was just
about to sit back down to spendin money when Mav poked his head in the door and

asked"what'ta got for me to go play with?" I looked up and thought for a minute

about sending him and one of the others up in the freshly done 200......then
rethought my thoughts on that. "I suppose you could take up and finish wringin
out that Phantom or the Crusader......take'm over to the Air Forces speed range

and loosen'em up and see what they got". "Okay boss" was his reply as he turned

and headed for the dressin room to get his flyin duds on. Well,one gone and 20
more to go I thought to myself as I got back to payin the bills.
By this time the rest of the crew had arrived and were pourin over the 200
with a fine tooth comb. The interior guys had done up the interior as a private

long distance hauler with all the bells and whistles and the detail guys were
puttin the final touches on the outside. I was still in my office when Izzy ,my

head instument tech poked his head in the door and made the announcement that
all had checked out okay and she was ready to take for the sky,which was
perfect timing cause I had just wrote the last check as Izzy asked if any one
of them were for him,"You will see yours on Friday like everybody else",I
replied all the time knowing that if he really needed it I would give it to
him. I got up and followed him out to the hangar and up the stairs into the
200. The interior guys had done a magnificent job on the inside,so good I
actually wiped my feet before steppin into the plane. Izzy let me slip by and
slide into the left seat and he slid into the right and started explaining
where everything was and what everything did. Pretty much a standard 737 layout

with a few twist. No biggie. We finished with the cockpit rundown and he
asked"when ya gonna take her up"? "Dunno" I replied,"maybe this afternoon". He
looked at me and said"you realize this girl is really gonna haul ass don't ya"?

"Yup",I said in reply while trying to envision the takeoff roll in my mind as I

looked out the windscreen and mentally pushin the throttles forward on those
big Rolls-Royce motors. "Should be one hellava ride",I told him smiling. "Who
ya gonna take up with ya?",he asked. He was hoping that he would get the
nod,but,I told him I had thought about takin Snoop up. He got a dejected look
on his face and I told not to worry,he would get his crack at her also and he
smiled and said"cool".
We got off the plane and I gave everybody the next assignment and what was
needed and what to order and headed back to the office as the bustle in the
place took off with all kinds of orders issued and things being moved and I
figured that if I stayed there I would get moved about just like the tool boxes

and stuff and figured my office was the safest place for me as the leadmen got
the crew into gear. I got to my office and picked up the phone and gave ol
Snoop a call. One of his craftsmen picked up the phone askin who it was and I
told him and told him I wanted to talk to Snoop and he yelled out across the
hangar for him and I heard him ask who it was and he replied"Mutt". "What the
hell does he want?" Snoop asked. "He wants to ask you somethin",he replied.
Snoop pickin up the phone said"you really have a sense of timing Mutt,what's
up? "Troubles?",I asked. "Yeah,I think I got a bad batch of dope and some bad
glue as we're tryin to get a wing covered and the damn stuff just ain't
workin",he replied. "How'd ya like a break and let the troops deal with it
for a while?" ,I asked. "Sure,what's up?"he asked. "If ya feel like goin for a
ride come on over",I said and hung up the phone.About 5 minutes later he was
standin in my office doorway lookin like 20 miles of bad road. "I envy you guys

sometmes over here",he said,"no glues to screw with or cloth to stretch or dope

up or engines that you hafta turn the parts out to fix". "I dunno about that "I

replied. "Those Merlin and Griffon motors are hard to get parts for,and if the
prices keep goin up I may start to make'em myself too." I said with a grin. "So

whatta we gonna go for a ride in"? he asked. I told him to follow me and lead
the way to the hangar. As we stepped through the door he looked up and his
face headed for the floor. "Holy s_ _ _!" was the first word outta his face as
he looked at the 200 sittin in the middle of the hangar with the lights
reflecting off its highly polished surface.
"What a beauty" he said with a big grin as he walked towards her,eyes the
size of saucers. "I think you got enough motor on her,don't you?" he asked. " I

dunno,thought you might like to go up with me and find out" I replied. "We
ain't left yet" he said. I got a couple of the ramp rats to tow her outside and

handle the stairs. We got settled into the seats after the nickle tour of the
interior and he was amazed that even the pilot and co-pilot seats were
Corinthian leather. "The guys figured that if they are gonna do all the chairs
on board in it,why not these seats as well",I told him. We started through the
checklist prior to spoolin up those big motors,as we are both type rated in
this bird. He couldn't believe the work Izzy and the boys did on the panel and
the controls."He always this thorough?"he asked. "Naa",I said"sometimes he's
better,this is his everyday work,you oughta see'em when he's hot"I said with a
grin. I contacted the tower and got the okay to light the fires and as the
noise from those big Rolls Royces got louder,ol Snoop's eyes got bigger. "Just
a quick question,what size are those things",he asked. "Little ones",I replied.

"How little"? "Oh,about 57,000lbs. each",I told him. I caught the look on his
face as I finished lightin up number 2 and gettin it runnin smooth. We sat
there for a few minutes pourin over the gauges makin sure all was in the
green,and seeing so,I asked for taxi clearance,which we were granted. We let go

the brakes and she started to roll almost right away,very slowly,but movin non
the less. Snoop couldn't believe it and had the look of 'what have I got myself

into' on his kisser as he was lookin all over the panel and out the windows so
fast he was all but a blur. "Relax" I told him"we're just goin up for a
cruise,we not goin to the moon or anything,just around the block". "I remember
the last time you told me this line",he said,in regards to the first flight of
the Valkyrie and ending up at 100,000ft at Mach 3 in a real big hurry. We
taxiied out to the runway and held short as a Spad was just commin over the
fence headed for the numbers.
"We have an audience" I pointed out as the crew was out on the tarmac to watch

the takeoff.
Snoop looked over and said,"at least I have witnesses to what you put me
through". "Remember,all I did was ask,you put your butt in the seat,not me" I
said with a laugh. The Spad finally cleared the runway and the tower gave us
the go ahead and I asked the tower for a high performance take off and
clearance to FL600. "Phoenix Air,you are cleared for high performance takeoff
to FL600. Pattern is right to left and nearest traffic is 254 at 18 miles,wind
is 300 and calm,have a good flight". "Phoenix Air" I replied in acknowledgment.

"Let's see what she's got",I told Snoop as I grabbed the throttles. I had the
brakes set as I pushed the throttles forward and hit the 100% mark. The nose
was all but pointed at the ground when I released the brakes,which resulted in
a 'wheelee' and Snoop gettin shoved into the seat."You might wanna sit back"I
told him. "Thanks for the notice" he replied as his eyes grew bigger watching
the speed come up as well as the afterburner indicators light up. "Airspeed
active"he called out in a high pitch voice. "V1....s_ _ _...rotate" he said
with just a slight touch of excitement in his voice as we went over the fence
at 240knots and accelerating like a ballistic missle headed up. "Holy S_ _ _
we're goin up at 8500fpm",he shouted into the mic. "Yeah,ain't it a rush" I
replied. We blew through 10,000ft at about 400kias in about 30 seconds and I
looked over at Snoop and he was lookin out the window backwards watchin the
ground fall away from us. "We ain't headed for the moon,this damn thing has
enough power to get us to Mars",he shouted out as we blew through 25,000ft
still headed up at 8500fpm. "Yup,she ain't one of your wooden crates",I told
him,"she's got it where it counts". We headed upstairs and leveled off at FL600

and I left the throttles open and watched the Mach numbers climb."You tryin to
stress test the wings"? "Nope" I told him as we got just a little buffet as we
went to Mach 1. "You do realize that this bus ain't got ejection seats,don't
you?"he said. "Relax,we won't need'em and besides,you know I got great
insurance". "Yeah,but your great insurance don't do me a hill a beans if I
ain't around to collect on it "he replied. "How do you think I keep the
premiums down,"I said with a laugh.
His eyes were the size of hubcaps,the 15 inch variety as he stared intently
at the Mach meter,"that thing right?" he asked. "Just double checked this
mornin,Izzy did it himself",I replied.
"Boy are we haulin ass",he said with the sound of awe in his voice as I
looked over to see we were at a steady Mach 3. "You just gotta like those big
motors"I said into the mic. "No s_ _ _!" were his only words in reply. We
continued on our heading of 090 for about 250nm and asked for clearance for a
right turn. "Phoenix Air you are cleared for right turn to 180,maintain
altitude and speed,traffic below at FL400 heading 085 at .84 " was the reply.
"This you Alastair" I asked. "Yes sir it is"came the reply in the ever
confident British accent. "How's Snoop holdin up to the ride?" he asked.
"Well,so far the only problem is the size of his eyes,but,I got a couple of
bags here with me just in case and there's a box of Kleenex's right behind
him",I said into the mic with visions of all in the tower in stitches due to
the fact that Snoop normally flys no higher than 100ft above the ground and no
faster than about 80 knots. "Enjoy the ride"he said and signed off. We
continued on for about a couple of hundred miles before making another right
turn,this time a u-turn to head back. "Ya wanna hand fly her?" I asked,lookin
over at him.He had a ghost white look of terror on his face as he
replied"Sure...why not". I reached over and disengaged the autopilot and told
him"She's all yours". He was just sittin there lookin at the panel and out the
window and he didn't move. "Relax,there's no traffic up here that we can run
into and you ain't gonna cause a crash." I told him. "How do you know that?" he

asked."Simple" I said, " we are not wearin speed jeans so if you start to turn
to much the G load will stop ya". "Good point"he said. He couldn't believe how
smooth she was,for that matter either could I. It was almost sureal in the way
she went through the air,and having long since left sound way behind,it was
almost eerie. We swung left and right in huge turns and all were super smooth
and silky. "Ya know we're gonna hafta start slowing down and goin down pretty
quick",he said."Yeah ,I know,it's one of those things about flyin,it don't last

forever,one of those fuel things" I said with a grin. We got ahold of Alastair
in the tower and he got us lined up for the approach. "Whattya think about
her?"I asked. "One helluva bird" he replied. "Think you'll ever give up those
old crates?" Are you kidden"!he said,"that's real flyin,the wind in yer face
and all".
"You ever gonna give up these hot rods"? "Surely you jest"I replied "I may
every once in a while come over and take up one of yer crates,but,I ain't gonna

make a habit of it"I said as we started commin over the fence with the runway
in front of us. "Damn nice bird" he said as we touched down at 170knts and
deployed the spoilers and the brakes. "Take the first high speed exit and your
cleared back to the hangar" said Alastair,and you could hear the others in the
tower havin a good laugh at the adventures of Snoop in another one of my
hotrods. "You realize that those guys in the tower ain't gonna let up for a
while"I said with a grin. "Yeah,I know,but all I gotta do is remind'em of the
time you took one of my crates for ride and had to take your portable GPS to
keep from gettin lost and that shuts'em right up and shifts the laughter".
We taxiied up to the hangar enterance and shut down the engines and turned
off the electronics and as we started to get up Izzy was standin in the
doorway"Well I see that no messes were made this time". "Yeah,I didn't eat
anything before commin over" replied Snoop with a grin "And no nose bleeds
either" he said with a laugh. "Feel like a Scotch?" I asked. "Sure". "What
about the rest of us?"chimed in Izzy. I took a look at my watch and saw that it

was quarter to 3 and said"Why not,go tell the guys I said to call it a day and
that the bar is now open". Izzy headed out the door in a flash with a huge
canary eatin grin on his face yellin at thr ramp rats to knock it off and the
bar was openin. "Thanks for the ride". "No problem,thought you might enjoy it"
"I did" "Yeah,and ya didn't get sick or have a nose bleed,there might be hope
for you yet ya know"I said."Don't hold your breath on that" he said as he was
headed out the door and down the stairs towards the hangar and a good scotch. I

picked up the headset and gave Alastair and the boys in the tower an invite and

as I headed out saw them headed towards the hangar at a pretty good clip from
the tower,all wearin big grins. 'Ahh" I thought to myself ' this turned out to
be a damn good day after all" and headed towards the hangar in hopes of havin
at least one drink.

So what is a Douglas World TRaveler? jerry

[christophert]

be a damn good day after all" and headed towards the hangar in hopes of havin
at least one drink.

So what is a Douglas World TRaveler?

jerry

Go to www.flightsimmers.net/tommy/dennis.htm and take a look, Jerry. The
panel is on the site too. Most amazing aircraft!

Christopher Tarana
The Old Hangar
www.flightsimmers.net/tommy

[alastairmonk]

picked up the headset and gave Alastair and the boys in the tower an invite and

as I headed out saw them headed towards the hangar at a pretty good clip from
the tower,all wearin big grins. 'Ahh" I thought to myself ' this turned out to
be a damn good day after all" and headed towards the hangar in hopes of havin
at least one drink.

WHOA - WHAT A RUSH !

Great stuff. You've definitely earned that scotch old bean, so if you're ever
in this neck of the woods, give me a call !

Alastair