Food guy, motorcycle guy and airplane guy, Alton Brown.
If I was smarter, better looking and more talented, we could be twins.
Those fun lovin’ Maule Brothers are at it again. Posting Not One, Not Two, But Three recent flights taken in their yellow Maule.
The scenery is fantastic, and the photos they took prove it. It made me thirsty just looking at ‘em. Particularly that last trip.
Sigh…If I sell my house…
I Took some photos of airplanes.
Will the maddness ever end?
Put them up in the new gallery.
Here is a taste:
With a lot of straight stretches.
Me and my buddy Scott took the bikes out yesterday. Around 180 miles out and back. Great weather and some good roads, what more could a guy ask for? We got a late start due to scheduling issues, but that worked out fine, as there were less folks pulling boats on the road to get in our way.
Naturally, since he is on a fine example of British Engineering, our first stop was to pick up some oil for his gear box.
Once we got on the road, we made good time up Hwy 9. I’ll spare you photos of long stretches full of endless lines of automobiles and just give you this one of me trying to get Scott in the rearview. As you can see, I missed horribly.
Undaunted by failure, I let Scott take the lead and managed to take a couple of good shots of the road just as it started to get interesting north of Arlington.
Naturally this is when Scott had to stop and check his fuel petcock, as it had somehow stopped allowing fuel to get to the engine.
Back on the road, we made it to Concrete Wa, ( They used to make concrete) and gassed up.
Alas, the drive-in was closed and for sale.
Feeling the need for my own re-fueling, we stopped at The Slowest Pizza Ever. Really, it took them 30 minutes to get my 8” pizza to me. I shoulda called Dominos.
Then back on the road at a nice leisurely pace where I once again failed to get Scott in the rearview.
I finally had to settle for a self portrait
It was a very nice ride with Great scenery and a fun road that wasn’t too taxing.
Here is the only shot I took that I actually like:
Actually, it’s up right now. It’s still in testing but you can have a gander here.
Boeing had a problem. How do you get large pieces of the 787 from Japan and Europe to Paine field in Everett and get them there on time?
The solution? Take a big arsed airplane and make it bigger.
Thus, the Dreamlifter was born. (Get it? The 787 is the “dreamliner” and this thing lifts parts for it so it’s the Dreamlifter…Clever)
Anyway, thanks to the kind folks at FlightAware, I was able to keep tabs on the coming and goings of the Dreamlifter fleet and recently found a flight that coincided with my busy schedule. So I carved out 15 minutes and took some shots of the Dreamlifter landing at KPAE.
Ordinarily, I’m not much of a fan of the heavies, but I could not pass up this opportunity to shoot this rather unique aircraft.
Seattle’s Museum of Flight has a lot of really beautiful airplanes on display. From a piper cub to the Lockheed M-21 Blackbird, and the BAC Concorde, the Museum of Flight facility at King County / Boeing field is a major destination for aircraft enthusiasts and tourism. What a lot of people do not realize is that the Museum has another facility at the Snohomish County airport. The Museum of Flight Restoration Center is open to the public and provides a great lesson on the work it takes to bring some broken down aircraft back from the scrap yard.
Staffed almost totally with volunteers, the Restoration Center is currently working on several unique or rare aircraft, like the only de Havilland Comet in the United States, and the XF8U-1 Crusader, the prototype to the F-8 Crusader that served with the US Navy and Marines from 1957 to 1976.
Currently, the floor of the restoration center is dominated by the Crusader and a Vought F-7U Cutlass, a Navy aircraft that flew for less than ten years and replaced by the Crusader.
Also on the floor is a Grumman FM-2 Wildcat, a World War II fighter that flew with the US Navy and Marines.
Along with an impressive amount of parts and pieces of airplanes, some new woodwork is also on display, as the staff restore the wooden wings of a glider on the upper deck.
Outside the restoration center there are some more finds, particularly the first Boeing 727 and the Piasecki H-21 twin rotor helicopter.
A trip to the Restoration center is a must for all aircraft enthusiasts, if only to witness the skill and dedication it takes to bring these wonderful aircraft back to life.
The Restoration Center is open Tuesday through Thursday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Restoration Center is closed on Fridays, Sundays and Mondays. Please call 425-745-5150 for more information.
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