Wanna-be Pilot

So most people might ask themselves, what can this image possibly be???

Well, while my wife who's "in charge" of this blog (among many other things) comes from a background of Waldorf schooling. I on the other hand, come from public school. A relative difference... "consumerism". Yep that's me- I gotta have the latest and greatest technology and toys. So what do I do for fun? Paint peg dolls? No!! Flying Radio Control airplanes? OK, now you're more along my lines. So above pictured is the sole remnants of my amazing park flyer, water plane, Icon A5.

To the right is a picture of it in its former and intact glory, smoothly landing on the water as if I knew what I was doing.

This plane must have been designed for the shoreline of Lake Almanor. One of the coolest things about it is it can take off and land in water, or you can install the supplied landing gear for land operations. I had successfully flown this plane over Lake Almanor many times. However this time things didn't go as planned. In a classic case of pilot error, I got disorientated when the plane was far in the distance and nose dived straight into the lake! While you might think that it just went into water and damage should be minimal, much to my dismay the entire front end was liberated from the plane. To all the camping childrens joy, the pilot pictured above survived the aviation disaster relatively unscathed. I borrowed a nearby campers kayak and retrieved what was left; surely not enough for flight as we know it. My kids were very upset and concerned that I get the plane back. But I saw this as an important lesson opportunity- you have to be willing to attempt risk to reap the rewards. Did I have a decent crowd watching me fail? Oh yes. Was I embarrassed? Yea! Am I now a better pilot? You bet! Would I ever get to my level (OK so its nothing to brag about) without a few sacrifices? No. End consequence- a little self esteem, and priceless lessons learned.

Grounds crew preparing the runway for flight operations:

Referenced kayaking "walk (or paddle) of shame":

We like to camp at the North shore campground. If you have a water plane like this, you can take of from your camps picnic table while smoking your favorite tri-tip (we will save this for a future blog).

OK so for the kids local history lesson - does anyone know where Lake Almanor got its name from? Well, completed in 1914, Guy C. Earl who was the VP of Great Western Power named it after his daughters Alice, Martha, and Eleanor - wouldn't that be so cool to be able to name something as monumental after your children?

My grounds crew securing the runway for a rain delay: