Hello Everyone,

  It was a nice gathering of our small group of aviators and planes for a

friendly brunch Fly-In at Gen Fox Field (WJF) on Sun, Jan 19th.

  From four airports, eight planes (an RV3, Piper Arrow, a 172RG, a Cherokee

180, a Comanche, and three Skymasters) with fifteen people made this Fly-In.

  Flying out of  Brown Airport in an RV3 was Dennis Cullum who slipped in

ahead of everyone in his slick looking plane.

  Flying out of North Las Vegas Airport in a Skymaster was Jim Newport who

made it to the Fly-In en route to San Diego.

  Flying out of Gillespie Airport were three planes with eight people: 1) in

a Piper Arrow were Gary Ghio and Gary Kauffman; 2) in a Skymaster were Bob

Werve, Dan Guerroro and Don MacManus, and 3) another Skymaster with Doc

Kennedy and George & Pat Pearson.

  Flying from Montgomery Airport were three planes and five people: 1) in a

Comanche was Andy Silver and Mike Gretton, 2) in a 172RG was Chris Claborne,

and 3) in a Cherokee 180 was Bret Strain and me.

  The WX was terrific. Visibility was severe-clear with smooth air. Heading

north from San Diego we loaded up our "Fly-In frequency" (123.45) with

"important" chatter like, "Where ya at", or, "No! I'm at your other 3

o'clock", and, "Smile! I'm taking your picture".

   Forty to fifty miles north of San Diego, some planes climbed up over the

top of LA's Bravo airspace, while others went through or around it and

worked with SoCal approach. Whatever felt good and comfortable for each

pilot. That's what it's all about. En route fun flying and meet at the

destination.

  After passing over the rocks north of LA, some pilots switched to Palmdale

(PMD) tower while others worked with Joshua Approach to descend into PMD's

Delta Airspace  into WJF. Again, we all did our own flying thing during the

en route descent and met at WJF within an half hour or so of each other.

  At WJF, the restaurant is conveniently located next to the ramp with

tiedown spots. And the food was pretty good. With three tables pulled

together, we all got to sit together. However, with fifteen people, we did

overwhelm the waitress. Fortunately, for her, or maybe us, we didn't ask for

individual checks. For the next Fly-In, I may call the restaurant with the

number of people coming (if that's possible) and avoid shaking up the

waitresses.

  As usual, we did lots of hangar flying over  brunch for an hour or so,

solved the planet's problems, and most importantly, decided when and where

the next Fly-In will be. We departed like we arrived... scattered into the

skies like a gaggle of geese. Some flew straight home while others went to

Kern Valley for touch & goes, or Big Bear for cheap gas.

  On the return flight it was the same... severe-clear with smooth air. It

turned out that it was one of those rare occasions I played with the NDB and

actually found it useful. We listened to part of the NFL playoffs. But who

really cared while flying above those poor earth-bound souls. It was a good,

fun Fly-In day with fellow aviators on a beautiful weekend.

  Brett Strain took pictures of people and planes at this Fly-In and is

sending them to Chris Claborne who'll post them on our website in a few

days.

  Our next Fly-In will be on Feb 16th to Santa Paula (SZP). The alternate

will be Chiriaco Summit (L77).  Info on these will be on the website in a

few days.

  If you're using a rental plane, stay ahead of the last minute scheduling

hassle. Schedule a plane NOW for Feb 16th.

  Our Fly-In website: http://www.cyberthought.com/tonytex/

  Best of clear skies and tailwinds,

Tony Tex