GOING GREEN

Continental was been selected to be one of the "guinea pigs" for testing "green fuel" or "bio fuel". This particular aircraft was flown using the oil from the jatropha bean. Apparently this will save us a lot of money, and burns much more efficiently than the jet fuel we currently use. However, since this type of plant and the testing of it's abilities is still in its infancy, we may be waiting for jet fuel from this plant for a long, long, time. At least it's a start.............and the green wingtips sure are an attention getter too!

HENNA TATTOO ANYONE???

South Beach in Miami, Florida (MIA), is loaded with "regulars" selling their wares. Here's another one that I see each time I go to the beach. His voice is a little, high-pitched "squeak", that catches your attention. So far I've never seen anyone buy any of his products, but he must sell something since he's still around. Henna tattoo from the man in purple? Not me.....LOL

CLOUD FLYBY

Last week during our flight to Las Vegas (LAS), we flew around several thunderstorms. Here's a shot I took at 40,000 feet of a jet passing in front of a 41,000 foot thunderstorm. It's hard to believe how small a large jet is when passing by one of these monster cells. I wish I'd have been a bit closer, but the shot is still pretty cool. Now that my camera is in the shop to have a "tuneup", I'll have to use a few of my older shots for this blog. Off to Newark (EWR) tomorrow for five days of work.......ugh!!! ;-)

AHHHH........THE MEMORIES

Yesterday while relaxing at South Beach, I heard a couple of small helicopters approaching the beach. It turns out they were Hughes 300's. When I went to military helicopter pilot training for the Air Force back in 1981, this was the little guy we learned how to fly in. They called it the "Mattel Messerschmidt" since the bubble canopy was made by Mattel. It was powered by a Volkswagen engine and five washing machine belts!!! Learning how to hover this helicopter was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done. If you wanted to see a 40 acre field in three seconds or less, learning to hover the Hughes 300 was a good way to do it.......LOL I would equate it to trying to keep a pat of butter in the center of a red hot skillet. You could literally fly an entire traffic pattern and never move the cyclic (the control stick in front of you which is used for pitch), more than the diameter of a nickel. I guess that's where all my smoothness in flying comes from......... ;-) Thanks for the memories little guy!

BEAUTIFUL CHERRY TREES

The time of the year has finally arrived for the cherry trees in the northeast to bloom . Here's some shots I took of a tree a block away from my crash pad. These trees are absolutely gorgeous. Of course, these beautiful trees make a big mess when they blossoms die and fall off. Oh well, it's nice while it lasts!!!

EUGENE AT THE BEACH

Here's a picture of a guy who's living the life..........well, sort of. "Eugene", has been a resident of the Miami area for over 25 years. Quite a while back (or so I'm told by the head lifeguard on South Beach), Eugene was living in a nice condo in Miami. Apparently 20 years or so ago, the cost of his condo rose too high for Eugene to afford, so he packed up his rather meager belongings and headed for the beach..........South Beach to be precise. And for the last 20 years, he's lived ON the beach! He gets a social security check for around $600 a month and uses that for food. You have to feel sorry for this guy, but he seems to be happy and content walking around and talking to everyone. Here's to you Eugene...........and living ON the beach!

UMMMMMM......Okay......... ;-)

Finally home for ONE day, and then back to work for a couple more days. Here's a "funny shot" I took at the beach about a week and a half ago that I thought everyone might enjoy. I gotta admit, this "swimsuit" ( if you can call it that), was certainly generating a LOT of stares, photos, and chuckles. Now maybe it's just me, but why on earth would someone wear something like this to the beach for EVERYONE to see? And, how on earth could he put his "goodies" in something this small, because he certainly had to have pretty big ones to wear this on the beach. And what makes this even worse, is that he was parading around in a BLACK swimsuit just like this one a couple of hours earlier (fortunately I missed that one.... :-) ). My "South Beach Faux Pas" calendar is almost complete!!!!! Yeehaa! Click on the photo to get the "big picture"....LOL

THE WORST THING ABOUT OUR BEACHES

Every year about this time, you can find kids screaming at the top of their lungs as all the adults wonder in amazement at what is transpiring. Having seen this same thing happening year after year, I KNOW what the problem is.............Man of War jellyfish stings. Here's a shot of a young man's leg who got nailed rather hard. He was making sure everyone knew he was hurting with all the screaming he was doing. Unfortunately, about the only thing the lifeguards can do is pour vinegar or cold water on the sting. Sooooooo........if you come to our beaches and see the purple flag on the lifeguard towers flying, BEWARE!!!!! And my girlfriend can't figure out why I don't go in the water.....LOL

SUPERPILOT

Okay, I really love my job and what I do, but I have to be honest here........I don't go around with an oversize ego or "broadcasting" to the world who I am or what I do. The other day while in the pilots bag room in Newark (EWR), I noticed a pilot who apparently needs people to know just what he is........a SUPERPILOT. While I'll admit that my job is pretty neat, .....this guy sincerely believes he is one step above "Maverick" in the movie "Top Gun. Please shoot me if I ever get this vain.......LOL

SKIING IN TORONTO

Just finished flying and home for two more days before I head out AGAIN. I find it hard to believe that we've literally seen our base cut in half. We used to have 548 captains and now we're down to 333, and we still have another 33 yet to be cut. Where has all the flying gone????? Interesting to say the least. On another note, here's a "funny shot" I took while flying into Toronto (YYZ) last week. Yep, this is a ski run in the middle of Toronto! I don't think the run can be much longer than 3-400 feet. Guess it beats driving for a couple of hours to find a ski resort though.