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fishbuck
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A story
From "Volar, mi Bonita, volar" or Baja Moon
By Fishbuck
A full moon is a beautiful thing at night.
Even more beautiful in Baja...
at 7500 feet... alone... in a plane.
Ya, it was beautiful alright. Just like all the fullmoons in a plane... full of ... cargo.
How many times had I wondered how this hell had happened to me. For sure on every full moon.
And again force myself not to ask that question who's answer grow more complex each day... or night... with a full moon.
No, better to think of the good times... with... her.
Yes, those were some very good times... the best. The very best.
The old Piper was droning along nicely when I was jerked out of my "Baja State" by the slightest little engine noise. Well not a noise really more
like a "silence".
I could swear I heard the engine miss just once. One time. Only once.
I think my ears grew about ten inches long in a second.
They strained to detect the slightest noise... or miss.
The old Piper was a veteren of many trips up and back down the pennisula. Steady as a rock all those times.
One time I woke up at the resort from fishing and drinking to fly home. Plane all loaded. With "cargo".
Dead battery. Damn!
My only option was to call a taxi and make sure he had jumper cables.
I had to pull a piece of the cowl off and you should have seen taximan's face when I told him to hook up the cables.
When that big motor fired he was so surprised. I was afraid he would walk into the prop but he didn't.
I had him hold the brakes on while I screwed the panel back on with the engine running. His first flying lesson. Now he works for me. One of my best
pilots. Juan. A good man Juan.
There it is. Again! One engine missfire. One fraction of a second with no drone of a perfectly tuned engine.
I'm sure I heard it! That brief empty spot in time. That silence. When it seems as the earth stops spinning oh so briefly. One heartbeat.
... to be continued ...
[Edited on 7-1-2009 by fishbuck]
"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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Registered: 8-31-2006
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... Heaven or hell?... hell...hell... where the hell is my damn flashlight?
Okay, best glide is established.
Good!
Okay find that damn flashlight. It should be in my "flight bag" in the "copilot's seat" with my WAC chart and passport and... other stuff.
Man, those were the day's when I had "copilots".
It really is the "forward right hand passenger" seat. No copilot is required on light aircraft.
But if your my "copilot" you better hand me that damn flashlight if the engine quits at night.
I had lots of "copilots" before. Back when flying down the Baja pennisula was still fun. And only about fun.
Nice people who wanted a more personal flying experience loved to charter the piper. Fishermen, campers, divers and people who really loved Baja.
Or people who wanted to go to the remote runways.
True Baja lovers.
Rafael was one of those Baja lovers. Or so it seemed.
Okay, best glide... check! Mixture full rich.... check! Fuel pump on... check! Fuel tank selector to fullest tank... a... let's see here. It's on the
fullest? Okay no time to be techinical. Switch to the next fullest tank... any other tank!
Try all the tanks! Come on baby!!!
Damn it. No fire.
I have told Fernando at
least 100 times to let that Pemex gas settle for an hour and pour real slow. And leave some in the can.
Water in the gas again!
Okay forget about the water. It will be joining it's cousin in the ocean soon if I don't figure this out.
So looks like "sensimilla airways" will be landing a little ahead of schedule today folks.
The captain has turned on the seatbelt sign.
Man, I hope he strapped all that weed down good. I like some good weed now and then but I'd rather not have any right now.
Passing through 4000 feet. The ground is looking much closer thanks to the full moon.
I see beach! I'm near the beach!!!
The beautiful beach!
Gods natural runway for " sh!t outta luck" pilots.
Thank you lord!
A long stretch of moonlite beach.
Moonlite walks on the beach... with... her...on the beach...in the moonlite...with...her...
[Edited on 7-2-2009 by fishbuck]
"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
Banned
Posts: 5318
Registered: 8-31-2006
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... okay 2000 feet. The beach is looking extra beautiful this evening. The moon is giving her that... glow...
I can see the "wet patch" between dry sand and the water. The moon is shining right down the beach. Like a runway centerline.
I need to stay out of the dry sand and out of the water too.
The prop quit spinning right around 3000 feet. As the plane slows there isn't enough airflow to spin the prop with a dead engine.
I was ready for it. But still...
Did you know that the propeller is really there to keep the pilot cool?
Ya, well you ain't seen a pilot sweat until that prop quits spinning!
It's an old aviation joke... but so damn true!
I wish I could sweat now... or swallow... or even breath.
So, time to try one last start before I turn off the master switch and radios. Ha, the radios, they have been off for hours. There is no one here to
talk to.
No navigation aids... nada!
Throttle closed... check, Fuel pump on... check, mixture rich... check, Magnitos to both...check, engage starter... come on baby! Come on...! Thottle
open... please God...please...
"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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Posts: 5318
Registered: 8-31-2006
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God... God is my copilot.
Well God, unless you are in the mood for the "Miracules Ignition" I suggest you tighten your seat belt!
10 angonizingly slow spins of the prop and nada. Not a pop.
No use. Okay.
Master swithch off... ... ... check.
"Folks this is you captain speaking. We are on short final for Unknown Beach Airport. Please keep your seltbelt fastened until the seatbelt sign is
extinguished"
Passing thourgh 1000 feet.
Best glide... check, flaps 10... check... Door unlocked and unlatched... check.
This incase you land in the water or bend the airplane... you want that door to open!
So I think I will fly it best glide right onto the sand. No flare. A flair might mean a stall with no power... and that would suck.
So just like some of the short runways I use. No flare.
Just hope the sand soaks up the hit.
The Piper can take it... I hope!
500 feet...
[Edited on 7-2-2009 by fishbuck]
"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
Banned
Posts: 5318
Registered: 8-31-2006
Member Is Offline
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I deleted the second "chapter" by accident when I was moving it. Does anyone know if there is a way to get back a deleted post? A trash bin?
"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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airmech
Nomad
Posts: 184
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Murrieta Ca
Member Is Offline
Mood: Expeditionary
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JEEZ. How long am I gonna have to hang at 500 feet????
Both optimists and pessimists contribute to the society. The optimist invents the aeroplane, the pessimist the parachute.
— George Bernard Shaw
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fishbuck
Banned
Posts: 5318
Registered: 8-31-2006
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| Quote: | Originally posted by fishbuck
From "Volar, mi Bonita, volar" or Baja Moon
By Fishbuck
A full moon is a beautiful thing at night.
Even more beautiful in Baja...
at 7500 feet... alone... in a plane.
Ya, it was beautiful alright. Just like all the fullmoons in a plane... full of dope!
How many times had I wondered how this hell had happened to me. For sure on every full moon.
And again force myself not to ask that question who's answer grow more complex each day... or night... with a full moon.
No, better to think of the good times... with... her.
Yes, those were some very good times... the best. The very best.
The old Piper was droning along nicely when I was jerked out of my "Baja State" by the slightest little engine noise. Well not a noise really more
like a "silence".
I could swear I heard the engine miss just once. One time. Only once.
I think my ears grew about ten inches long in a second.
They strained to detect the slightest noise... or miss.
The old Piper was a veteren of many trips up and back down the pennisula. Steady as a rock all those times.
One time I woke up at the resort from fishing and drinking to fly home. Plane all loaded. With "cargo".
Dead battery. poop!
My only option was to call a taxi and make sure he had jumper cables.
I had to pull a piece of the cowl off and you should have seen taximan's face when I told him to hook up the cables.
When that big motor fired he was so surprised. I was afraid he would walk into the prop but he didn't.
I had him hold the brakes on while I screwed the panel back on with the engine running. His first flying lesson. Now he works for me. One of my best
pilots. Juan. A good man Juan.
There it is. Again! One engine missfire. One fraction of a second with no drone of a perfectly tuned engine.
I'm sure I heard it! That brief empty spot in time. That silence. When it seems as the earth stops spinning oh so briefly. One heartbeat.
... to be continued ... |
Heartbeating... check, breathing deeply... check, nerves to stanby... check.
Okay, maybe I'm a little edgy tonight. A little over sensitive. Hearing things. Pliots get that way. Every little pop or crack or silence.
The Piper was singin her happy song and cutting through the air nicely.
Singing... she was singing to me last time I saw hear. So beautiful. She's on the beach in the sunshine... singing... like a beautiful mermaid. I'm
under her spell.
But then I can't hear her. Her lips are moving but no song...
No song!
The Piper quit running. She's not singing to me.
Ah, okay there's a checklist for this. There's a checklist for everything when you're a pilot.
Keeps you calm in an emergency...
Okay start timming for best glide speed. Trade your airspeed for attitude. Look for someplace to land.
At night the Piper can climb pretty high even loaded down with... cargo.
So 8500 feet should give me about 7-10 minutes. I know about where I am but even with the full moon I can't see much yet.
I hope there is a smooth patch of beach or something.
Where will I be in 10 minutes? A nice smooth sandy heaven or a cold rocky hell?
Heaven or hell?
[Edited on 7-2-2009 by fishbuck]
"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
Banned
Posts: 5318
Registered: 8-31-2006
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by airmech
JEEZ. How long am I gonna have to hang at 500 feet???? |
Ya, sorry. I had to fly back up an rewrite the part I deleted.
"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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Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by fishbuck
I deleted the second "chapter" by accident when I was moving it. Does anyone know if there is a way to get back a deleted post? A trash bin?
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If you right-click in the message box you can click "undo" for mistakes but mind you, once you have typed something else the undo feature will
reflect that last change. In other words, if you accidentally delete something you only have one chance to get it back this way.
DON\'T SQUINT! Give yer eyes a break!
Try holding down [control] key and toggle the [+ and -] keys
Viva Mulege!
Nomads\' Sunsets
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capt. mike
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8085
Registered: 11-26-2002
Location: Bat Cave
Member Is Offline
Mood: Sling time!
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Bucky - simple, compose in word files and cut paste on to nomads.
and save your work frequently as you write in word.
do you actually free write this stuff on nomads as a post?? not the best way, no way to save.
formerly Ordained in Rev. Ewing\'s Church by Mail - busted on tax fraud.......
Now joined L. Ron Hoover\'s church of Appliantology
\"Remember there is a big difference between kneeling down and bending over....\"
www.facebook.com/michael.l.goering |
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Martyman
Super Nomad
Posts: 1904
Registered: 9-10-2004
Member Is Offline
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Go Fishbuck;
I just twisted up a fatty for the rest of the story.
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shari
Select Nomad
Posts: 13049
Registered: 3-10-2006
Location: bahia asuncion, baja sur
Member Is Offline
Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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is this the birth of new fishbuck? a waxing poet? sensitive writer? or maybe a troll took over his avatar?
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N2Baja
Nomad
Posts: 147
Registered: 2-12-2004
Location: San Diego
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Great story!! Can't wait to read what happens next......
Forget about the danger and think of the fun.
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MikeLikeBaja
Nomad
Posts: 122
Registered: 2-25-2009
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Just want to let you guys know what happened. He landed safely and then was eaten alive by cannibals
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Iflyfish
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3747
Registered: 10-17-2006
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"eaten alive by cannibals "
Or was sucked under the surf by his cannon balls?
Or smoked alive with cannibust cargo?
Or saved in the nick of time by someone who sees a sputtering seed filled roach arching down to the surf?
Or imortalized in a NarcoTrafficante Tajino ballad dedicated to him by an adoring teen age garage band?
Or getting so high he floats out of the plane at the last minute and lands safely on a bale of "hay" and floats blissfully to shore.
I guess we will all have to wait, some of us with baited breath, some with out baited breath, you know who you are.
Iflyfishandsometimescannotresistagoodbitofpun-ishment
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fishbuck
Banned
Posts: 5318
Registered: 8-31-2006
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| Quote: | Originally posted by MikeLikeBaja
Just want to let you guys know what happened. He landed safely and then was eaten alive by cannibals |
No it was chupacabras. Remember this is 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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fishbuck
Banned
Posts: 5318
Registered: 8-31-2006
Member Is Offline
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Passing through 500 feet. About 30 seconds until the moment of truth.
Best glide... oh ya... got her trimmed for perfect hands off 90 knots. I can't remember what the book says but 90 should work.
So we're looking good, almost routine.
Except this is the classic "Dead Stick' landing. Pull back and you're dead, push forward... yep... dead. 0 margin for error.
At this point I'm a passenger. Everything that I can do is done. Just ride her down now.
Man, I wish I could feather just a bit of power to smooth out the landing.
Passing 200 feet... not much longer...almost there...
Ah, the rate of decent feels a little high maybe I better flair just a little...
BAM!... OUCH!... whoa baby... on no... she bounced...she's nose high...ah stick back easy... stall it... don't let the nose fall through...dump the
flaps...
Bam... a another bounce...smaller...keep flying her... don't quit now...hold that stick back...keep it stalled...
Bam...bam...bam...ha, ha she's rolling...we're rolling!
Okay keep her out of the water. Up the beach a little but don't get stuck in the loose sand. Work it, work it!
Silence. Except for my heart beating through my chest, silence. I'm not breathing. Okay breath. Did I hold my breath? No I think the wind got knocked
out of me when we... landed. The first breath doesn't come easy.
Ha,ha... I'm alive! And the plane looks okay. But where?
I want to get out and look around but my legs are shaking. Maybe I better sit for a minute. Hey, I think a drink is in order!
I always bring a bottle of tequilla. It makes sleeping on the ground a little easier when I'm at the remote pickup locations.
I'm going to crack that baby and take a big gulp. No salt or lime needed.
Not after a dead stick landing boy!
I pulled a big swig that was probably 3 shots before my throat called foul. Pure fire water man. But who cares, you're alive! Ha,ha!
Another swig, smaller and I feel okay now. My legs aren't shaking... as much. I think I can walk. But to where?
The door latched itself back shut during the... landing. So it's true. They say you should put your shoe or something in the door jamb to keep it from
slamming shut. But I was thinking I might need to kick my way out so I left my shoes on. Make a note of it. New checklist item. One I hope I'll never
need... again.
Outside the plane it's a nice warm night. Waves are crashing and the moon... so full and big. It would be romantic... if she was here. My vision blurs
and tears well a little.
Hey man, snap out of it. No time for feeling... sorry for yourself.
Ya, that's right. You heard me!
You better straighten up and fly right boy!
My dad use to say that to me... alot! Rest his hard a$$ redneck soul!
Ya, and he meant it too! Unless you wanted a size 12 Wellington boot up your a$$ you better straighten up and fly right in a hurry!
That was a man! And one of the best pilots on God's green earth too!
Okay, assess the situation.
Nothing obviously bent on the plane. I'll take a closer look in the morning.
I''ve got water, some food, another bottle of takillya... and plenty of weed... maybe later...
Near as I can tell I'm on the back side of Magdelena Island. Never been here before.
Don't guess I can walk out of here tonight. Better gather up some wood and make a fire. And settle in until daylight.
I've got my sleepingbag but doubt sleep is going to come. It will probably take this whole bottle to knock my adrenaline down. Maybe both bottles!
[Edited on 7-1-2009 by fishbuck]
"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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dtbushpilot
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3294
Registered: 1-11-2007
Location: Buena Vista BCS
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Mood: Tranquilo
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Hey fish, love your story, cant wait to hear what happens. You have awakened my creative spirit, maybe I will try a story of my own.
If you're going to run drugs you need an appropriate aircraft. I can teach you how to drive one.....
I hope we can go flying some time.....dt
"Life is tough".....It's even tougher if you're stupid.....
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fishbuck
Banned
Posts: 5318
Registered: 8-31-2006
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Yep, that's a real plane!
"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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capt. mike
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8085
Registered: 11-26-2002
Location: Bat Cave
Member Is Offline
Mood: Sling time!
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what - ??
| Quote: | Originally posted by Martyman
Go Fishbuck;
I just twisted up a fatty for the rest of the story. |
you have sixx with overweight contortionists?
formerly Ordained in Rev. Ewing\'s Church by Mail - busted on tax fraud.......
Now joined L. Ron Hoover\'s church of Appliantology
\"Remember there is a big difference between kneeling down and bending over....\"
www.facebook.com/michael.l.goering |
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