At Home and At Play for Spring Break

Yesterday there was a big air show at Nellis Airforce Base in Las Vegas. There were some planes flying that Kevin and Matthew really wanted to see and the show coincided with spring break, so months ago they planned a short trip south in order to go to the airshow. They had a great time, and Matthew took some amazing pictures that he is super excited about. I’m glad they were able to take this short boys’ trip before Matthew leaves on his mission. I think we have all been trying to fit in all kinds of things like this before he leaves in three months. 

Malia and I, knowing that we just don’t care about the planes and that we just don’t do well in the heat, opted to stay home and just have a slow, relaxing weekend. We watch chick flicks and made homemade mac and cheese which has kind of become a tradition for us when Matthew and Kevin are off for tours and other travels. We also listened to conference and ate far more muffins than was good for us.

I think that both Matthew and Malia enjoyed their spring break. They were both in need of a break from school and hopefully they will be able to dig back in and focus through the end now that they have had some down time.

Into the Wild Blue Yonder

Kevin’s dad was in the Air Force, so as he was growing up, things were all about the airplanes in his family. As such, it seemed perfectly appropriate that I should be initiated into the grand event that is an air show several months after Kev and I got married. Having no real idea what I was in for, I happily agreed to go. That evening, I returned home with one of the worst sunburns I’ve ever gotten and a massive headache from the heat. Needless to say, I have never attended another air show. I am glad that I experienced one though, so I have a frame of reference for the many that my boys have attended. I just don’t love planes enough to risk the misery that a long, hot day in the burning sun brings me.

With that bit of history noted, I once again introduce a guest blogger to report on an event I did not attend. This time Matthew has shared a few thoughts and just a few of the hundreds of amazing pictures he took today:

This airshow was my first experience with the Air Force Demonstration Team, the Thunderbirds. I've seen the Blue Angels numerous times, but never the Thunderbirds. It was a wonderful show of force from the aviation of this country, and it was quite the perspective seeing the shift from the Japanese A6M Zeros and the P-40, all the way to the F-16's, and the F-35's. I was able to bring my best friend Alex, and she had a wonderful time as well. It was a joy to be there with the people I enjoy being with. It ended up being hot and I got mildly sunburned, but overall it was totally worth it. At the end of the day my right eye was red right in the place where I squinted to look through the camera's viewfinder. It was quite the time, and I enjoyed it, and would go again with the same people.

The Grid System: Brother Brigham Knew What He Was Doing

As the mother of three boys, I’ve learned more about planes, trains and automobiles than I ever wanted to know. In the early years, it started with Thomas the Tank Engine, moved on to Bob the Builder and was rounded out by Lightning McQueen. Over the ensuing years, those passions have become more real world and less cartoon focused. Daniel’s interest has pretty much become laser focused on airplanes and spacecraft while Matthew loves planes and has a healthy interest in cars as well. It helps that Kevin is also very interested in these types of vehicles as it gives them a common interest and some built-in hobby buddies. Nathan is the only one who kind of broke the mold and finds airplanes interesting but not fascinating. 

Having said all that, I don’t think we could actually ever plan a vacation without some or most of my boys searching out any airplane or space related museums or tours that are within a reasonable distance of our vacation destination. This trip was no exception and today’s entertainment was a stop at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. As we started our second day of driving, the anticipation in the car was high. We had a few hours’ drive to get there, but unlike the highway driving we have done on many trips, the whole second half was through rural areas. And unlike our own lovely little valley, Oregon’s roads were clearly not planned in advance in a sensible and orderly manner. This would definitely be an area where roads were created out of a need to get from one place to another regardless of how short, long, curvy, or confusing they might be. I know the surrounding landscape is a large determining factor in the paths that develop, but seriously, I think some of these paths might have been simply the way the cows chose to wander as they moseyed around the farm. As we began today’s trek, Google maps and the incredibly convenient Apple CarPlay feature in our new vehicle became our navigators. I’ve navigated via paper map before (yes, I know that dates me, but it was a necessary skill for the directionally impaired), but newer technologies make things a whole lot easier. Honestly, without a map of some sort, there is no way we would have ever gotten from point A to point B. But we did make it there in good time and for our airplane enthusiasts, it was a great way to start our vacation.

I always learn stuff when we make these stops and while it doesn’t make me giddy with excitement, at times I do actually find it interesting. The big ticket item at today’s stop was a viewing of the Spruce Goose, the biggest wooden airplane ever built. I had never even heard of it before planning for this adventure began, but now I can tell you quite a bit about its history. And while it was fairly interesting, if you really want to learn about it, ask one of my menfolk. They can give you all the details. In fact, there was an opportunity for the four of them to take a tour of the cockpit and they jumped at the chance. It was an additional charge and Malia and I really didn’t care, so we opted to wait while they took the tour. And that actually ended up being a good choice because the lighting in the museum was wacky, the kind of wacky that triggers migraines for me. It’s not something I can describe, but when I walk into a building with troublesome lighting, I can actually see it. It's not really a flicker and it’s not always a discernable color, but I can always tell. I slipped on my sunglasses right away, but by the time I’d been in the museum for thirty or forty minutes, I was definitely in migraine mode and had to step outside. Strong smells can trigger my migraines as well, and I suspect the smell of old airplane fuel and oil contributed to my descent into headache. Malia came with me because she was thoroughly bored, and we wandered around the parking lot while the boys did their thing. 

When the boys finally made their way back to us, they were all terribly happy with their time spent. They saw lots of cool stuff and honestly, I think they could have spent a great deal more time there. They just cruised through the entire space exhibit due to timing, but I think they would have lingered more if we had not needed to make our way to our vacation rental and dinner. So for the boys, the museum lived up to all their expectations. My meds helped ease my headache and Malia and I are looking forward to the activities the next few days hold.

When I Grow Up

Last year’s unexpected flight in a small historic airplane has had a lasting impact on Matthew. For nearly a year now, he has been talking about becoming a pilot. He is exploring options and doing research on how to gain the skills he desires, and it is a serious life plan, not just a passing fancy. As such, this evening’s young men activity was a super fun one for him. One of the brothers in our ward is in the National Guard and he arranged for them to make a visit to the base that is right next to the airport. They got to go inside one of the Air Force planes and Matthew thought that was great! 

Matthew knows the Air Force is not an option for him due to his food allergies and asthma, but if it were, I suspect he would be very seriously considering enlisting as it is a practical and affordable avenue to becoming a pilot. 

The Sky’s the Limit

As I’ve mentioned before, our experience gifts for the kids have been a bit on the fly the past couple of years. As things have really started to normalize post-COVID shut down, there have been more and more opportunities presenting themselves and there are things we have been able to arrange for the kids that we didn’t know about until close to the actual date. In fact, today ended up being an amazing experience gift for both Daniel and Matthew, one that Kev didn’t know was going to happen until they arrived at what they expected to be simply a viewing of a fantastic historic airplane. They had planned to drive to Wendover to see a visiting B-29 but didn’t know there would be two smaller historic planes in attendance as well. When the opportunity presented itself for the boys to actually fly one of those planes, Kev made a spur of the moment decision and gave both boys an unforgettable day. I would have done the same thing.

I wasn’t there and all I can tell you is that they came home giddy with excitement, so I’ve invited Daniel and Matthew to be my guest bloggers to tell us about their experiences. 

DANIEL: We have been watching for years to see when one of two remaining B-29 Superfortresses would be coming to someplace reasonably close to us so we could go see it fly. Because there are only two left in the world that are airworthy, it was a huge deal to discover that the B-29 named Doc would be coming to Wendover, Utah. Matthew, Dad, and I were all ecstatic to find it was coming to someplace within reasonable driving range, so we made the arrangements we needed to make so that we could drive to Wendover Wednesday. After waking up at O-Dark-Thirty (for me, at least) we drove two hours to see it.

When we arrived in Wendover around 8:15, we drove down to the hangar where the B-29 was stored overnight and saw that it had been pulled out of the hanger and was being prepared for taxiing over to the flightline where it would pick up the people who had paid for flights. We got to see and hear them start the engines. We were standing behind the aircraft at this point. As they started each engine, the air around us went from still to very turbulent as the propwash from the four massive engines washed over us. It wasn’t a little prop wash, either. It felt like a hard wind was gusting steadily towards us! And the sound was glorious. Nothing sounds like four high powered radial engines working in unison. After getting too cold to keep standing in the prop wash, we went over to the main gate of the airfield to watch it taxi up to the flight line. We watched and heard it taxi up and shut down for a while. The flight crew began preparing and briefing the passengers on the 9:00 flight. At this point, we had 5 cameras between the 3 of us all taking pictures and video of the B-29. Afterall, it was big, shiny, exciting, and unbelievably cool! Once the passengers were situated, they started the plane again. Hearing each engine start never gets old! Once it was started and the pre-flight checks were done, we watched it taxi to the runway and take off. The sight of a flying B-29 is the epitome of “they don’t make them like they used to.” We watched the take off and the flyover with rapture. Throughout the whole takeoff sequence, we were taking pictures. 

We waited a little bit while it flew around, and we watched it land. By this point we were allowed to walk much further onto the flight line, and so we got into a spot where we would be able to see the landing and taxiing back to the start. We watched as the B-29 landed, and then taxied towards us. We definitely took pictures of this as it moved towards us and turned around in front of us. It was quite the sight! At this point, we watched them brief the 11:00 flight. Matthew and I climbed to the top of the 60 ft historic control tower to watch the second take off, which was much the same in procedure, although the different perspective of being 60 ft above the flightline made it a separate experience once again! We watched the take off, and I had the chance to talk to a really nice old man briefly about how it is important to keep these historic machines in full operation so that we can learn about history from them. These historic airplanes are reminders of a bygone era shaped by a global war that we need to remember and keeping the warbirds flying is a fantastic hands-on way to teach history. Funny enough, while we were taking about this, we saw an elementary school arrive to look at and learn about the B-29. If I had a field trip like that when I was in elementary school, it would have been extremely memorable.

After the B-29 landed the second time, they had it pointing towards the meager crowd, and they opened it up for cockpit tours. We purchased the pass for that and got in line. We entered via ducking into the forward bomb bay, where we were told more about the specifications and design requirements for the B-29 and the instrumental role it had in ending WWII. After that we were let into the cockpit cabin proper. We were able to stand upright, which was shocking as most aircraft of early 40s vintage we can’t actually stand up all the way. One of the mechanics was in the cockpit telling us a little bit about the specific airplane. Most of the stuff inside was original hardware, with exception the radio and flight gear that helped make it meet current flight regulations. Me wanting reference photos for when I build a model of the B-29 proceeded to take a number of pictures of the panels and the equipment. After experiencing the interior, we stepped out and began to prepare for the next part of our adventure.

The Commemorative Air Force wing out of Heber City had brought two WWII trainer aircraft out to the same event, a Stearman bi-plane and an AT-6 Texan trainer. Matthew and I had the chance to fly in one of them, and we both chose the AT-6. The Stearman was the beginning trainer of WWII where all pilots started, but the AT-6 was the trainer that pilots flew when they were training to fly single engine fighters. I figured that the AT-6 was about as close to some of my favorite single seat aircraft as I was going to get. And I think I was right! Matthew and I got a 30-minute flight in it each, and I will say that those 30 minutes were something that I will never forget! Matthew went up first and looked like he had a grand old time! I got into the back seat of the AT-6 behind our pilot, Skip. After getting all strapped in and had the headset ready to go, Skip started the engine and we started taxiing. The way that this worked was that it was our flight, in that we could decide what we wanted. I said that I wanted to try some aerobatics out along with his standard control showing. We took off, and after he got the plane all trimmed out and flying steady, we climbed to about 8,000 ft. He then proceeded to talk me through what the controls did and demonstrate some slow lazy turns. He then said that I could do some of those nice lazy turns and gave me control of the aircraft. That was when I knew I would never forget this! Not only was I in a plane from 1943, but I was in control. I looked past Skip’s head at the horizon and was in complete control to keep it level and then do slow left and right turns. Let me just say this; An actual airplane is much easier to control than any flight simulator I have ever played. It was surprisingly easy to keep it flying in a gently turn. I realized why the AT-6 was such a good trainer. It was an incredibly forgiving and stable airplane! After some slow lazy turns, he started into his aerobatic portion. We started by doing wing-overs, which is when you put the wings vertical and let the plane swing back to level like a forward moving pendulum. After that, we started pulling some Gs (the force of gravity on Earth is 1 G). We started with a 2 G turn, and then did a 3 G turn. I think we were between 3 and 3.5 Gs at one point, and that is a wild feeling! After the G turns, Skip did a few barrel rolls to the left and right. Not all at once, but we did probably 3 barrel rolls. Seeing the world spin but not really feeling a huge difference in my stomach was a crazy moment! After the barrel rolls, we did one more lazy turn in my control. After that, Skip landed the plane. I had a smile on my face the whole time because there is no feeling like flying a vintage aircraft like that. The simple joy of being separated from the world by 7,000 to 9,000 ft of air in a little airplane that is easy to control on your own was easily the best thing I have done for a long time! After I was unstrapped, Skip told us and Dad that we were some of the easier people he has taken flying in the AT-6. We knew to keep our movement smooth and controlled, whereas the guy who flew before both of us was really choppy and Skip had to fight the controls a bit to keep the plane steady. Long story short, Skip enjoyed flying with us as much we did him!

It made for a long day, as we didn’t leave Wendover until 4:00 pm, but it was a day well spent. Seeing and hearing a rare bomber fly and flying a vintage aircraft over the Salt Flats created a day I will long remember with fondness and joy!

MATTHEW: It was really cool. Starting the day standing in the prop wash of a WWII heavy bomber, then walking around and hearing its absolutely massive sound, was amazing. It was a wonderful way to start the day. We then booked it down to the other end of the air base to meet Doc as it moved. We got some wonderful pictures. It was amazing to hear it from forever away, progressively getting louder and not a bit less proud. We did see it fly twice, and I will say, it was very amazing to see how fast it got off the runway. When he came back and was taxiing down the tarmac, we also got more amazing pictures. After the second flight we got to walk through and see the cockpit. It was so amazing to see that such an intricate thing could be created in such an intense time and make it so that it worked so well. Afterwards we went through the museum on base as well. We then waited for a few hours to take our flight in a T-6 advanced fighter trainer. When it was our turn, we got a briefing as we prepared to fly. After we got in, taxied, and got ready to take off. As this was my first flight ever, I had no clue what to expect. But when we did, I realized how amazing it was. We went out over the Salt Flats, and we flew for a couple minutes as he (the pilot) taught me about the plane and how to fly it. And then he was off the controls and let me fly the plane. That was an amazing experience. Flying a WWII era plane was such an experience, and one that I will never forget. One of the first things I noticed as we got over the salt was how beautiful the salt is from 6000 ft above the ground. It was very pretty. As we were passing back over the airbase to come back for a landing, he let me have full control of the plane. Stick and rudder. He told me exactly what to do, and I waggled the wings as I passed over the base. (Waggle the wings was slightly right, slight left, slight right, etc. It was essentially waving at the ground). As we landed, I realized how amazing it is how they have the science and technology to do that.

Fan-tastic!

Of my three sons, Matthew is the only one who is into sports. Whether playing or watching, he is a sports fan through and through. He has been cheering for the Seattle Seahawks for last couple of years, so when it was decided that Seattle was our vacation destination, taking a tour of Centurylink Field was a must. We arrived early again (this is actually pretty normal for us) and Matthew was so excited that he was pretty much glued to the glass outside the team store which was the designated meeting place for the tour. In spite of the fact that most of us have no caring for football, it was actually pretty cool. And our tour guide was a chatty old guy that kept us entertained. Get ready for a bunch of pictures. Matthew tried to take a video of the entire tour but I won't make you sit through that. ;-)

 Let me in! Let me in!

 

 The visiting team locker room. We didn't get to see the one the Seahawks use.

 

After lunch, we went to the Museum of Flight. Kev and all the boys are airplane fans (as evidenced by the fact that this is the third airplane related location they’ve visited this trip) so they were all excited. As for me, World War II era planes are interesting, mostly due to the fact that I actually have a frame of reference for many of them based on movies and books based on that time period, so there were intriguing things for me to see as well. I have to say, since I got married and birthed three sons, I’ve learned more about airplanes that I ever wanted or needed to know.

See how many airplanes? And this is just one of numerous galleries.

The kids all got to sit in the cockpit of an SR-71.

Always the drama kid...

Matthew and Malia also sat in an F-18.

The outside hanger had the big ones-Boeing 747, Boeing 787, the Concorde, etc.

My dad suggested a place called Ivar’s for dinner and I have to say, we were all fans of the amazing food. Honestly, I could eat there every single day. Seriously. It was that good. They had a delicious assortment of seafood chowders as well as fish, crab, fish, some more fish…if you aren’t a fan of seafood, this is definitely not the place for you. But we loved it. Daniel ordered a dish that included Clams, mussels, prawns, snow crab, salmon, halibut and cod. What he didn’t realize is that all the shellfish and crustaceans would still be in the shells. Being from an extremely landlocked state, he was also completely surprised when his dinner came with a bib. Those of us who had more experience with such things assured him he really did want to wear the bib and my mom coached him in how to actually get to the crab meat. He was a good sport and took everything in stride. After the fact, his response was, "The crab was really good...the bib was awkward, but the crab was really good!" Yes, it was in fact, very good. Over the course of this trip, our two oldest children have become unabashed seafood fans.

After dinner we took a few minutes to wander through the nearby “Ye Olde Curiosity Shop.” I’m a fan of such random locations. It’s probably something I learned to enjoy as a kid. My parents took us on jaunts to a variety of locations around the country (and occasionally out of it) and we frequently stopped at random little spots like this one. Malia was fascinated by the vast and completely random assortment of things to buy. She even tried out a crazy pair of glasses. Creepy, right?

We were definitely all worn out by the end of the day. Malia had a couple of blisters and was one sleepy girl by the time we returned to the house. We’ll sleep and be back at it tomorrow.