October is almost here and the flying has been intense. August and September brought their challenges to our flight schedule. The Decathalon that I had hoped to complete my tail wheel training has been out of commission for weeks with a mysterious maintenance issue. Lucky for me that means the I was able to fly the Harley Cub. It was an absolute blast. If you want the chance to fly it. It will be on sale in Yakima next Monday for a mere 150 grand. What a bargin :)

Peachy Keen

As fall arrived and the airplanes where all down for the count, the going got tough so the tough went and picked peaches. Spokane has a wonderful collection of farmers that grow a wonderful variety of fruit and vegetables this time of year. Leslie and I have made a tradition of going and picking fruit, apples, and pumpkins around this time of year.

That is a long story. You can write and ask about that one. It did not help our schedule either.

What goes up must come down. Thing is, airplanes run well on gas but not well on just air. The poor airplane was blowing bubbles in the fuel and was having a real tough time keeping the big fan up front spinning. That made us nervous, especially over the mountains below. We finally towed it to the shop when it refused to run anymore.

Chimney Rock

The last flight of the Decathalon was a great one. My instructor and I flew a cross-country flight up into north Idaho to some small mountain airstrips. During the flight I noticed a very familiar rock down below us. It was the same place I had been in Explore in 2001 during our rock climbing specialization. It was fun to see it from the air.

Yellowstone

Leslie and I took a much needed vacation to Yellowstone. Thank you for the hospitality on the way Gary and Joyce. We had a wonderful time exploring the park. If you want to see more pictures and just where they were taken. Click on over to an album of some of the pictures we took. Yellowstone Album