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LancairDriver
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Thanks for an interesting story Cliffy. So you flew charters for Clay Lacy out of Van Nuys. You must have hauled some interesting people. I just saw
Clay at the service for Bob Hoover at Van Nuys a few weeks ago.He has put on a lot of weight since I last saw him. He used to fly a nice aerobatic
routine at air shows in the Lear. The last time I saw him fly was at the Reno air races a couple years ago.
Flying down in Baja about ten years ago I was talking on the radio to a Lear from an outfit in Orange County returning from Monterey with an
interesting story. Seems a smuggler got his twin Cessna confiscated in Monterrey and it was chained up at the airport. He made it back to the states
and chartered a Lear to get back to Monterrey. Unbeknownst to the charter outfit he boarded with some bolt cutters and when the two Lear pilots were
getting a hamburger he cut the chains on his airplane and split with it. The Mexicans were pleased to have traded a piston twin for a Lear and it took
many many pesos to get the pilots and the Lear back again.Be careful who you give a ride.
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Cliffy
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I got one more Baja story
Had a friend that got a contract to "recover" a Piper Navajo on a dirt airport in Baja , mid 70s. It had folded the nose gear, wiped out both props
and cleaned the pitot tubes off the nose bottom. I had just removed two two blade props from the Navajo I was flying for 3 bladers and he rented my
old 2 bladers to take down and put on that plane. He loaded them in a Cessna 210 along with a battery and tools and stuff.
He decided Cinco de Mayo would be the best time to go there so he and a friend flew down on the 4th. The next night they lifted the nose and bolted
the nose gear down, changed the props and installed the battery. It had enough gas to get back across the border.
OH, did I mention that the Federals had impounded the airplane and had guards on it? Ya, that's right. He had to do it right under their noses! That's
why Cinco de Mayo. They were all in town drinking!
Well, he jumps into the Navajo and starts it, points it down the runway and away he goes. Of course, no run up, no mag check AND NO AIRSPEED WORKING!
Now the Feds come running over to the other guy and the 210 standing there BUT the 210 has a flat main gear tire. They didn't notice that little issue
until now.
The Fed walks over and says to the guy, "Senior, you have a big problem!"
The guy looks at him and says, "how much is this big problem going to cost me?" The Fed says, "how much you got?" The guy pulls out all he has, a
little over $200 USDs.
The Fed says, "that is enough Senior" and hands him a tire pump. THEY had let the air out. Even though it was way after dark and a single engine
airplane (no night flying in Mexico in a single engine) he pumps up the tire and leaves, Next stop, USA and Customs.
The Navajo went directly to Van Nuys, was "found" there and was impounded the next day by Customs for not stopping. It sat there for weeks with the
Customs impound sticker on the door window. Don't know what it took to get it released but the pilot is still around (in a different city now) none
the worse for wear.
BTW, Lacy lost a Lear in South America decades ago due to a bogus drug smuggling charge. The crew sat in jail for a couple of days and were released
for having no part in the bogus charge (it was aimed at the client) but the airplane never got back to the USA. Some how it became a government
airplane never to see US airspace again.
You chose your position in life today by what YOU did yesterday
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Cliffy
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BTW, I was told on good authority many decades ago while riding with Clay and old man Lear in a Lear that they rolled real nice! :-) :-)
You chose your position in life today by what YOU did yesterday
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fishbuck
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Quote: Originally posted by Cliffy  | | BTW, I was told on good authority many decades ago while riding with Clay and old man Lear in a Lear that they rolled real nice! :-) :-)
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I would imagine a Lear would do an effortless aleron roll.
Infact, I saw Clay or atleast his jet do several very beautiful and graceful aileron rolls at Sea Fair a couple of years ago. A Lear 24 or 25 I think
with pure turbojet General Electric CJ610s.
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
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Cliffy
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Yup, I've seen it. Talked with him many decades ago but rode in a Lear with his Father driving.
Even the movie "16 Right" didn't cover all the history that I've seen at KVNY where I soloed in 1962.
I've got @ 700 hrs in CJ610 powered Lears. You want noise, I'll give you noise with 2 CJ610s out back.
You chose your position in life today by what YOU did yesterday
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fishbuck
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A marlin bill and a taxicab.
My second and last trip to Palmas de Cortez was interesting and fun.
I didn't have any problems with the authorities except the last night I was there drinking on the beach out in front of the hotel. Apparently getting
happy drunk on the beach is frowned upon by automatic rifle carrying soilders patrolling the beach.
After a stern warning ( in spanish ) and instrutions to clean up my bottles they continued on their patrol and we continued our celebratory beach
party. We were almost out of beer which was just as well... an O-dark-thirty launch was scheduled (by me) followed by a long flying day.
But as I had caught my 1st marlin that day it was hard to let go of that feeling. Earlier in the bar I was the rockstar of the resort as I was the
only one to catch a marlin that day. Cold beer was flowing as only it flows in a beachfront baja bar on a hot tropical day.
Most pilots know flying with a hangover is no fun so it was time to finish up the collection of leftover beers from the trip and stumble up the beach
back to the cosy suite of Palmas. A dreamy, beery, exhausted sleep was just a few footsteps in the sand away.
The takeoff from Palmas in a max gross weight Piper Lance is fairly easy but exciting and definately an " A-game " activity for a pilot. I had already
walked the runway and paced out how far down my takeoff roll should before I should be breaking the surely bonds... and how far too far was. The end
of the runway was the water. Plenty if all goes right.
Sunrise comes early in Baja...
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
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LancairDriver
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Yes, nothing like seeing an early Lear powered by CJ610's climbing out like a rocket and still hearing it after it is out of sight. Van Nuys has seen
some pretty accomplished aviators flying every thing from X15's to P51's over the years. Here is a link to John Lears talk to the Las Vegas QB's
summarizing his career that is interesting.
http://forums.ubi.com/showthread.php/105177-OT-A-PILOT-S-sto...
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fishbuck
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I actually have a few hours of Lear 25 stick time . Nothing logable but an incredible and mind expanding experience.
It looks like a rocket, it sounds like a rocket, it climbs like a rocket, it most definately feels like a rocket... it's a rocket.
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
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fishbuck
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"My" Lear 23.
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
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fishbuck
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I got your CJ610s right here!
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
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fishbuck
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"A picture speaks..."
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
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Cliffy
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What's the serial number? :-)
You chose your position in life today by what YOU did yesterday
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fishbuck
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"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
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LancairDriver
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Strange. That "N" number on the Lear looks like N407V. That number is registered with the FAA to an RV7, an experimental single engined piston
aircraft.
[Edited on 2-19-2017 by LancairDriver]
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Cliffy
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The Lear was probably deregistered a long time ago.
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fishbuck
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I don' t know the history of the jet. It belongs to a museum but not sure who. I will try to find out.
Lear 23s are very rare and I don't believe any are still flying.
But as you can tell it makes me feel good just being near it.
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
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Cliffy
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I flew serial number 12 for a couple of flights. It had the bent pipe control wheels (before the molded ones). A 23 with no reversers was a rocket
ship. Too bad the Williams reengine didn't really take off. I think the CJs kinda killed the Lear rehab market. CJ610s just sucked too much kerosene
and were hard to quiet.
They burned as much fuel at idle at sea level on the ground as they did at 410 doing Warp 6.
You chose your position in life today by what YOU did yesterday
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