You’re going to need a hell of a lot of kitty litter to clean up all the JP-7 those will leak on the hangar floor.
2. Hurricane. The plane that really won the Battle of Britain (purely based on numbers)
As early as in 1925, the same year he became Chief designer at the Hawker company, Sydney Camm designed his first monoplane fighter. The latter was not built, but Camm already knew the time of the biplane has a reached its zenith and the monoplane era knocking on the door. His second try started eight years later with this private venture “Monoplane Fury” design. Basically a monoplane adaptation of the company’s successful Fury biplane powered by the troublesome 660hp RR Goshawk steam-cooled engine. A proposal was made to the Air Ministry in 1935, but by then the potential of the RR PV 12 (Merlin‘s forerunner) engine meant a brand new design approach was needed. Enter Camm’s third try.
Ok, I'll play!
1) Gulfstream G650: because I'll need the range to get from KGTU to Biggin Hill to see <insert band name here> at Hammersmith Odeon/O2/Wembley without stopping for fuel in Reykjavík. Downside: I will need to add multi and type ratings, and need a copilot, and London does not have quality barbecue.
2) Cessna 172: the tiny little Swiss army knife of airplanes. Equip it with the fancy Garmin deck and we're all set for Texas barbecue runs. Also, I've got a bunch of hours in 172s, and even did my Commercial checkride in one. I love the little boogers.
3) P-51D. Specifically, one made in Texas, because Texas. Get off my runway, I'm going to get barbecue
4) Bell 505 Jet Ranger X: I've always wanted to add on a Helicopter rating. Might as well do it in a sexy yet economical tool. Also useful for barbecue runs to locations without airports.
5) Cessna Caravan: tremendously useful for a wide range of short range transport, such as taking a larger group of friends on a barbecue run. Will require a type rating, though.
What else would you use an airplane for in Texas?So, I...uh....take it you like barbecue?
Where I did my undergrad the cross country trips for the pilot majors were based on which restaurants were near the airportsWhat else would you use an airplane for in Texas?
Just about every small airport in the US has what is known as a "courtesy car," essentially a clunker that pilots can borrow. Most of them are retired cop cars. You simply fly in, buy some gas, and let the folks at the counter know that you need to run into town for lunch. They pitch you the keys, you run your errands, and bring the car back with more gas than it left with.
There's a small town called Llano* here that boasts one of the finest BBQ spots in the world, Cooper's BBQ. The lunch run activity at the airport here is so great that they have a small fleet of courtesy cars.
So, yeah, there is a symbiotic relationship between general aviation and brisket here. <G>
James
* Llano County is the setting for the book and movie "Old Yeller," which features neither airplanes nor barbecue. It did make you cry, though.
The "$100 Hamburger" is a very real phenomenon. Inflation has pushed it closer to $300, although fries are still included.Where I did my undergrad the cross country trips for the pilot majors were based on which restaurants were near the airports
BWAAAAAHAHA...If you've got the Falcon AND a Firefly, you've got way too many smuggling areas. You're getting pulled over by the cops *a lot*.
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