Page 24 - Volume 16 Number 6

22 • TWIN & TURBINE JUNE 2012
From the Flight Deck by Kevin R. Dingman
Author! Author!
Barbarino has come a long way since flying an Ercoupe.
We’re at the tip of the peninsula. Home of the Cabo Wabo Cantina opened in 1990 by Sammy Hagar of Van Halen; also the locale of Hotel California – as in Pink Champagne on Ice, but allegedly unrelated to the iconic Eagles song. San Jose Del Cabo and Cabos San Lucas are no longer sleepy little towns. Construction has been constant over the years and is now at a frantic pace, in final preparation for the G20 summit to be held there. Our layover began at 1100 this morning and tomorrow’s departure for DFW isn’t until 0800. Residing at the Barceló Premium Resort presents a golden opportunity to catch up on some reading and to get a.... golden tan. Writers & Poets joins the stack of reading material because, though not a Real Writer, I aspire to become one. Writing stories that recount why we fly are among my favorites. More than just fun, flying creates lifelong memories and gives us a rewarding sense of accomplishment – and it can take us to places like Cabo.
While GA returns to the air after a long winter’s nap, most of us cabin- class and turbine folks have been flying all along. Pre-heating our motors and cabins, battling snow, ice, low visibility and slippery runways, our planes are already sweating like a horse after a run. For us, spring is a good time to test the air-conditioning and give her a good vacuuming and wax job. With the early thunderstorms this year, perhaps you’ve noticed that your radar needs a tune-up too. A semi-annual spark plug cleaning, gaping and compression check are on my schedule; maybe even top off the prop grease and change the brake pads. And about that romance novel-like opening paragraph: now that summer is here, I wanted to get you thinking about a relaxing, romantic trip in your plane. Flying
The sound of pages ruffling in the ocean breeze wakes me. Only slowly can my stiff neck raise my head to investigate the annoyance. Using my elbows, I raise my chest from the towel covered lounge chair. One squinting eye recognizes the current issue of Writers & Poets magazine under the bright, mid-day sun as the offender – equally as worn, but incongruent among the aviation magazines hauled from the hotel suite to the beach. Arbitrary shapes of paper, torn from bothersome subscription cards, mark sections in each magazine to be read again. Inspirational ideas for future articles, distinctive combinations of words, exciting gadgets, and places to take the Duke, all merit a page marker; important things to add to a list somewhere before, along with the magazines themselves, the list is discarded as well.
A few months ago, the sun- baked reading material was a DC-9 study guide. Preparing for another session of recurrent training was
the aim. But then, as now, sleep was the conqueror. The rhythmic sounds of crashing waves, though each unique, are hypnotic in their sameness. Ultimately, falling asleep is a certainty... especially when contemplating the study guide. A few years remain in its frequently revised life before it too will be thrown out. But now, place an empty wine glass on Writers & Poets, slowly lower yourself to the towel and..... dream.
Cabo Wabo
Four hours and three-tenths after raising the fuel levers in Chicago, and 25,400 pounds of jet fuel later, we’ve descended across the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez) to the Baja peninsula of Mexico: “Where Land Ends.....and the Party Begins”. With our modern airliner parked on the ramp, the fuel levers are moved to off and me, my crew and 140 of our closest friends walk down the air-stairs into the 75-degree desert air, on our way to customs. Just across the ramp is a (not so modern but beautiful) 1964 B-707- – US registration N707JT. Vinnie