Folks,

OG:

Thanks muches. I will work on that 109 and Hurri. Start again from scratch, I mean. New technique for me. My grandson just returned from Wisconsin where he saw Elk. Now he wants one's rack on the wall. I'd have to settle these days for a closeup photo. He got 4 deer total last year first two times out.

Elk have been reintroduced in NC. The herd is growing I'm told. I do not think you can hunt them. Magnificent animals. I'll be looking up, who knows if RWI is flooded or might be then? Wave and waggle as you go over.You should find us at 35° 44' 53.85" N 78° 05' 46.64" W. We'll wave back possibly from a boat. 😜

Gents,

Happy to know that you are safely through Florence. Uhmm. You know what I mean!

Fabulous pieces of art Roger, I wouldn't mind hanging those on my wall. The pc monitor however is needed for other purposes at the moment, so I won't be nailing that to the wall just yet.

We've had a wonderful sunny and warm day here. While some days are starting to be slightly chilly and grey, today was a late visitation from the just departed summer.

Folks,
As if we weren't already overflowing with gifts from Florence, thunderstorms threaten us today. The day started with lovely sunshine now clouds have once more invaded our skies. It's not so bad for me but I'm thinking of our friends and neighbors in areas around us without roofs fro tornados and houses sloshing with water. 24 deaths now announced on TV attributed to Florence. I swear if I come across anyone who names their kid Florence after this monster I may smack 'em right in the mouth.

MG:

Thanks for the sentiment my friend. We are OK right down to the last cat. Thank you also for your compliment. I fear the 109 was not up to par. Embarrassing is what it was. So I am compelled to post an older plane I thought was OK. The buck ios better. I should have posted this rather than the 109. It ain't DURER but it IS better than the 109. And saying so would not necessarily elevate it all that much.

Y'all,

The art is very good!

Hope everyone is still OK. Water and death count is still rising in some areas. Pictures are hard to watch.
Thankfully no rain here and water still meets health minimums; or so they say.

Edit: JRT just checked in as OK with the sun shining in his patch.

Folks,

Yup. We're OK but so very many are still suffering or about to be as the rivers have not all crested yet. Deadlier storm than was Hazel back in 1954 which claimed 18. And yet we think of the death toll and destruction with Florida's Andrew and what Louisiana went through and Texas too with their storms.They came back, we will too.

Thanks Fittop for keeping in touch. 🌞

Folks,
No changes for us today weatherwise. Waters in many areas receding. Others still rising. Flood warnings extended for some counties. Sunny day where I look out my windows with some clouds. Unwelcome rain may arrive by Sunday. Do an Un-Rain dance for us OG, if you have one in your weather toolkit.

MG:

In view of your well known interest in motorsport, I post the watercolor of an Offenhauser or "Oppy" car from the 50's. They say the .. er .. ground-breaking...Offenhauser engines made an amazing and unique sound as they rounded the track. Andy Granatelli mentioned that in his autobiography. Perhaps you will like it?

Fittop:

WE are able to get around without too much difficulty. The stores have not been replenished yet especially with milk, water and bread. I'm running out of oatmeal, and honey. Otherwise I have all I need. Soon, if not already, I will be able to order from Amazon. Not sure if Amazon, UPS, and Fed-X are making deliveries out here yet. Mail is being delivered on time. I'll check with UPS by phone to find out. Some parts of I-95 south of us are still closed. The worst areas are near and on the coast. Unlike with Fran and Floyd we were lucky with less flooding. At least so far.

Gents,

We've had the pleasure of storm "Knut" for the past 24 hours. Somehow I've managed to cycle trough, in between winds and showers. Today with only a few minutes to spare before the heavens opened.

Roger, A fine painting of a fine vehicle, from quite a different era of racing. When those pesky Brits and Aussies turned up at Indy, with their tiny, weak rear-engined cars, status quo of front engined, fairly rugged and straight forward engineering was casually cast aside and the revolution had begun. "Damn few died in bed" is a memoir by a mechanic, an engine specialist, name of Andrew G. Robinson who tells his story of chasing "the unfair advantage" in engine optimisation, even before Roger Penske was there to coin the phrase.

Folks,

MG:

I am going to look that book by Robinson up. It sounds very interesting. I had Granatelli's book in paperback but that is in storage with 100's of others.

Thanks for those words of encouragement. Coming from a knowledgeable enthusiast like yourself that is a wonderful compliment indeed. One I will treasure.

I think there are or were recordings of "Offys" to be found online. At least I remember listening to one. Of course, at my age, much of what I remember doing never happened and the rest "probably" never happened either.

Folks,

MG:

I'm in luck. The book Is $44+ on Amazon with the Audible version free to Prime members.

Gents,

Well, if you're willing to read it on a Kindle, laptop, tablet or phone, the ebook version, it is a short read btw, of Dunlop's book is only $1.24 I was lucky and got mine during a sale where it was free!

The engine sounds of Offys was something special. They remind me of fighter planes with good old piston engines and propellers.

Folks,

Cloudy this morning. scatter TS today, with rain expected tomorrow. More tornado activity this weekend. 🌪️ Some rivers still overflowing south and east of us. 🤤🌧️⚡

NG:

Got it fo $.99 on Amazon Prime. I don't have a Kindle or tablet so I downloaded the Kindle app to my laptop.Almost done reading it. A good representation of what American racing was like early on.

Thank you for the clip. Love it, love it, love it. I suppose my illustration is more like a Midget racer of the time than the full size Offy cars. The original photo model I used clearly showed it was powered by an Offy engine. So it WAS an Offy car. I will try again to find a full sized Offy car to illustrate. I liked the lines of the little guy and I remembered that a wealthy neighbor kid had a car he rode around his yard that looked much like it. The sound of that little engine was nothing like the real thing, more like a gocart sound, but I remember envying that happy child.

Thanks,again, for the tip on that interesting book.

Folks,

Fitop:

Here's a poor rendering of your old ride. Maybe you'll see some resemblance?

Folks,
I may have erred. Perhaps Fittop would rather not be reminded if his time in a Buff? He might even be offended by my poor representation of a Buff? So here is a much older work of a sailboat. I know he likes sailboats. Yes, LeRoy, that is so a sailboat. It does so look a little like one, anyway. You can't do your best in a 5x7 format like I usually use and this is slightly wider. May I add that was unkind of you to compare it to a vaguely artistic pile of flotsam and jetsam.

You know what, I think we need to have a little pow wow regarding your continuing employment progress report.

Those not suffering from a weak stomach should remember to click on the thumbnail for a larger version.

Hello y'all:

Still get a thrill from the race car engines. Wanted to reach for earplugs.

Enjoyed the nice pictures JRT.
The sailboat I'm most familiar with is the Catalina 22, not quite as tall as the one pictured, and really a broader beam, but that works to a more pleasurable sailing advantage compared to a slimmer racer.

The Buff looks good, with the taller tail being the one mostly used in SE Asia -after some modifications. We got to see it after initial training only on the three-month tours there.

It was a good airplane, training wheels and all and most fun in low-level and refueling modes.
It is still awesome to think of it and a C-135 (modified B-707) dancing in a twilight sky.

We are recovering from our smaller version of flooding caused by 8-15 inches of rain. The closest flooding was a couple of exits away on the interstate which was shut down for a few hours.
Thankfully no holding waste pens were breached, the known animal life around here being humans, cattle, horses and a few llamas.
OK, that's aside from other mostly domesticated smaller animals.
Hmm, should the humans be included in this last category?

Folks,

Fittop:

I was somehow unaware of the reason or the flooding in Texas. It seems to me it might have been mentioned with no details but I am not sure. There is a lot of flooding here in our state and the cleanup in other areas is beginning. Recovery will take a very long time.

I did not see Texas flooding on the Internet which is the only news source. My TV is ROKU only. So pleased your experience was as good as ours apparently. Glad you liked the sailboat pix. You probably have no desire to see any more water right now. UPS is delivering here now. I contacted their headquarters and they actually sent me an e-mail after checking my zip. I will have my oatmeal and honey in a few days. Honey ran out first. The only complaint I have with this Texas honey is that, like all pure honey, it tends to start crystalizing about half-way through the container. So I have to put the container in boiling water for a bit to melt the crystals every morning. I can put up with that. So today, I ordered more honey and oatmeal.

Then I discovered my grandson's girlfriend reasonably expects a gift from him on her birthday next Saturday. Unfortunately, my grandson is monetarily embarrassed at the moment. I remember being that way myself. So I also ordered a nice bit of jewelry for the boy to give her at her party. Yes,that was a nice thing to do. However I really had no choice. I do not care to have a frog for a grandson. You see, someone has told us the girlfriend's widowed Aunt is a witch. I do hope the first letter in that should have been a "B".

BTW, Fittop, I'll be sending you an e-mail soon asking a question you should be able to answer......I hope.

Gentlemenses,

Fittop, can you give us a condensed explanation of pilot/B-52 during refueling. Do you hand fly it to the boom operator or do you have some autopilot system ?

Y'all,

Hope your honey will be arriving soon, JRT. That should help put a smile on your face.

Oldgrognard: It's been short of fifty years since I handled the Buff, and a few airplanes after that, but there is a couple of things that stick in your mind.
There was an assist to help you fly it when refueling, in a sense of maneuverability of controls, that was called an autopilot mode, but had nothing to do with the autopilot itself. No magic tracking beam.

You hand-flew it to the tanker and the boom, then was guided by the lights to stay in position.
Otherwise, it was formation flying, it seemed easier to me when closer. Of course, grin, no wing overlapping.
Think we practiced refueling every mission.

Greetings gentlemen...

My brothers are down here this week to familiarise themselves with the area of South Pembrokeshire although I think they will remain split over the possibility of moving down here. You can lead a horse to water etc., but I am doing my best to make it a pleasant stay.

Today I intend to take them to see 'Babs' ( originally 'Chitty 4') at Pendine Sands. This was a speed record job which was exhumed from the sands and is on display at the Pendine Speed Museum. Complete info on the web.

K should be back in LA now for a 5 week rehearsal schedule before the Makela performance at The Globe in LA. We wish her every success.

Folks,

Quite a bit of unwanted rain on the way the next 2 days.Mercifully, the weekend looks dry. This will slow recovery efforts.

Dux:
I was not aware you had 2 brothers. Obviously you were and that is far more important. I'm sure they have a grand time. We will scan the entertainment news for reports of "K" inevitable triumph in LA. I would cross my fingers... but she won't need it. No matter what Napoleon said about choosing men, real talent trumps mere luck every time.

Just finished a moment ago, here is a very little something (my best thought) for OG.

Gentlemenses,

Fittop, people don’t realize theskill required. Even pilots with a few hundred hours don’t fly near each other. A couple friends I fly with regularly are still very leery about how close we get. We work it out prior, but still there is some discomfort at a hundred yards.

I’ve been aboard C-141’s when they have done refueling. Being a troop commander I was allowed on the flight deck. The light show at night was marvelous. I wasn’t a pilot then so I didn’t pay attention enough to what the pilots were actually doing. I was just in awe of being that close to another big airplane in the air. My deepest respects.


JRT, that is really good. I would buy that from you. I am serious about it.

Just did final prep for my flight to Virginia. I didn’t like the age related splitting/cracking on my main vacuum hose, so I replaced it. I wasn’t getting any leak, but sometimes you just avoid problems. Other than that I am “go”.