I want to thank the EAA for what I like to think of as a “successful failure” (stealing that from Apollo 13) in our B-17 tour stop at Lawrenceville, Georgia (Chapter 690). Many challenges were overcome, even though they could not be overcome in time to finish the tour.
First, on Thursday of the stop, there was an oil pressure problem that caused the media flight to be cancelled. Bummer.
On Friday, there were a couple problems. First, there was a presidential TFR, and it was to move about through the day, culminating with a plan for Marine One and Marine Two to both land on our airport, putting us smack in the center of the inner ring. Authorization was obtained to fly while we were in the outer ring, but not during the TFR that put the inner ring over us. That plan changed several times before we got started, though, and we never ended up in the center ring. If I remember right, there were a few flights that flew that day (I was not there that day), but then winds caused the rest of the day to be cancelled.
On Saturday, everything was going great. We got four flights in, and during the fourth flight, I was talking to a guy with a USS Sunfish hat on. I was on the Sturgeon, and the Sunfish was a Sturgeon-class U.S. Navy fast attack submarine. When the plane landed, though, I had to tell that guy that his flight (the next one) would not happen. During that flight, the plane hit a pretty large bird (the bird did not stick around to identify himself). The remaining flights of our tour were cancelled. This was very disappointing, as this had been our most successful tour ever — every flight sold out, and they added two flights to each day, and they sold out.
Saturday evening was a more positive note. We had our annual chili cook-off that night, with the B-17 crew as our guests of honor. B-17 pilot Ken Morris ended up being our speaker for the evening, and he was very willing, highly informative, and quite entertaining and educational. While the daytime activities didn’t work out, the evening was a smashing success.
When EAA shipped more people down to assess the damage to the starboard wing between the two engines, several members of our chapter came out to help. Since we have a thriving youth build program (ultralight Pietenpol, full-size Pietenpol, BD-6, an engine, and model aircraft all in construction), we have a hangar full of tools and supplies, and space to work. In typical EAA fashion, members and staff came together to get the repairs done in order to get the plane to its next stop in Lake City, Florida. The repairs were completed, and on Friday, a few days late, Aluminum Overcast was flown down to Florida. I am thankful to have been a part of that trip.
We arrived in Florida, and walked across the street to The Landing, a buffet restaurant. They closed at 2:30, and we arrived at 2:20, but they were very welcoming, and didn’t pressure us at all to hurry. Their hospitality was quite appreciated. The airport was very welcoming, and we met a few of the members of the Lake City chapter as well, and talked with them as we waited for our ride to take us back to Georgia. It was quite a memorable trip.
So just like in the events of Apollo 13, we had our failures, but we all came together to overcome them, and the mission was able to continue. Thank you, EAA.
