Monday, April 18, 2011

"Little Focker"

I would like to introduce the future HPA cross country pilot extraordinaire. You all know him as AllanC from his posts. I had some serious zealous and jealous conversations with our President, and we wondered if a better name for this very new pilot wouldn't be "Little Focker". This name is given with admiration, respect and utter jealousy of the flights he has accomplished in such a short time.

This name is an offshoot of a name given to another extraordinary pilot on the mainland, just in case he reads this story. Allan is very lucky though, because this name has been changed slightly so it can be used in public.

"Little Focker" was a student of Scrappy, who we all know to be a very knowledgeable and way above average instructor pilot. Well, Scrappy got a winner with this new recruit. He has been flying for under 8 months I believe; he can chirp in on the comments and give us his exact air time. Little Focker is one of those natural pilots, who has flown just about every site on this island, including a few I have never heard of, and as hard as this is to say, has schooled his instructor and several old dogs on more than a few occasions.

The day at Dillingham was the icing on the cake for me, where I almost wanted to strangle him. It was a great day for many pilots, but I think I had to either hike down or got the only sledder I have ever gotten from this amazing venue. Allan landed after an epic downrange hour flight and said, "I have been waiting forever to fly this range." I think he is 26 or 28 and had been flying less than 6 months at the time when he blurted this out. He is a smart Little Focker, with two masters degrees, but apparently he has no concept of time.

His beginning flights were accomplished without any instrumentation. His natural ability and thirst for knowledge from every pilot he talks to is almost alarming. This kid is going places, and we all can either dream about it or try to ride his tail feathers.

This only slightly brings us to the Nanakuli flight about which you are all so eagerly badgering me for a story. If you had kept up with the chatter box, you would know about his love affair with Nanakuli and her bewitching ways. He has had some notable XC flights from this journey of a launch and this day was no different.

Four monkeys hiked up. Well three of us hiked up -- Little Focker walked past us and all the way to high launch. Jim and I made it to mid launch, where we checked our pulses and took our heart medications. Maui Doug decided to keep going and join Little Focker at high launch.

Little Focker launched and got an immediate thermal rise. He turned up towards the peak and was making a go of it. We watched him for quite some time and then he hit some big sink. "Oh, Sh*t!!" was shouted from his mouth. He made an amazing scratching session all the way until he hit the road on the dump side. With a little more knowledge and his innate desire to stay up, he will be unstoppable.

Maui Doug launched next from high launch, and scored a trip to the summit. Jim went next, but it took a while from mid launch to get that good cycle. When he did get off, he had a passenger, a damned stick in the trailing edge lines. He made a go of it for a bit and then made the decision to head for the road.

I was next to launch, Maui Doug had already been up for over an hour, but I was alone on this miserable sticky fickle launch. Then Little Focker appeared at my wing. "Can I help you launch?" At first I felt like an old lady getting street crossed by the good little Boy Scout, but I was all too happy for the assistance. "Thanks Allan!" You saved me and my attitude.

I caught up to Maui Doug, but not without incident. Apparently someone had called Fire Rescue, and they came charging down the dump road in search of a downed parachutist. I could not answer my phone when Fireman Dave was calling, since I was on a little rodeo ride and wasn't taking my hands off the brakes. Jim finally put that problem away for us, and then the clouds that kept us at 2K started spitting slightly. I decided to hit the beach. Maui Doug, who had been up for two hours, decided to follow me in. Little Focker was scratching his way up for flight number two.

Scrappy had gotten on the radio, finally, and stated that he was hiking up. We told him Little Focker was still climbing, but Maui and I were beach bound. Scrappy wasted no time catching up to his protege, but could not keep up with him when he disappeared past the antennas, the Little Focker.

Luckily for Scrappy, coming to the beach where we were sucking down some road sodas from Jim was a good move. There was a pod of 12 whales having what appeared to be an orgy just off shore, breaching and slapping like crazy. He got to fly right over it!Now for the bad news: the idiot has a bazillion dollar camera and he forgot it. The show from shore was amazing. After being here over 20 years, I can say it was the best whale show I had have ever seen. Scrappy had a birds eye view, and unfortunately none of us will see what he did, but it must have been awesome.

So, when you all ask for a story from me, it better be because you heard I had an amazing flight. Correction: a more amazing flight than someone in the day's gaggle, because every time we fly, no matter how short, it is amazing. Oh, Jim had to go pick up the Little Focker way down in Waianae on some road that he landed on.

I did say Little Focker has two masters degrees, didn't I? Well, apparently neither of them are in journalism. Not that my chicken scratchings are up to par. So, it was left to me to squelch the chirping of you hungry coffee readers, even though I have been providing more of the articles lately, since our most prolific writer has been on injured reserve. Thank God that sentence will end soon, and our coffee reads will return to the literary genius of the President's Log. But he just might be trailing a certain Little Focker in the sky.

I don't believe this story will explode this young pilot's head, since he is too humble, and so eager to grill even the most bumbling of pilots for what he can learn.

It's Time To Fly Get Your Gear and ............catch that Little Focker !!!

6 comments:

Alex said...

Thanks for the story, Thom! I appreciate the coffee read very much. Even if we are not having the best flights of the day, I know some of us find it rewarding to write up an account of the day's excitement. Once I'm airborne again, I look forward to seeing both you and Allan disappear into the distance, you little, well, bostards. I guess I'll have to write that one up!

Thom said...

Man, I know I wrote this story but i know it wasn't that good until I read it this morning. Thanks for the edits Alex.

And AllanC I don't know if this name will stick but it is said with the utmost respect and I hope no offense is taken. Even if it does not stick you may here occasionally on the radio as you blast off into the horizon...."That Little Focker, There he goes again".

Waianae Jim said...

Nice story Thom, you BIG Focker!!!

MauiDoug said...

What a focking awesome story BIG focker! :-)

Brazilian Ray said...

Man, I love this blog and all it's characters!!
you guys crack me up.... aren't we all Fockers who live in flying paradise??

Aloha
Ray

Duck said...

Fock Me!

Hilarious!