[dean_3326]

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We have several members in the Galveston, Houston area, I hope all the members in theTexas, and West LousianaGulf Coast area are able to get their wings to higher ground very soon, Rita looks bad. Head for higher ground you guys.

 

[wingdawg101]

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Now they're telling "Corpus Christi" to start leaving too! I use to live on "Padre Island" !

A beautiful area!

 

[GLester]

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Yes they are streaming north. My wing will be in under our carport with mama's car blocking the entrance to protect her, she will also be very well covered. The weather service say even where I live, we could have winds up to 90 MPH, so I'm batting down the hatches. Wish me luck.

Gene:waving::11red::11red::11red::cooler:

 

[stretrod48]

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Good Luck, We will be praying for all of you!!

 

[Hawker22]

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The last hour on CNN has been riviting. The tornado in Minneapolis, Rita coming, and Jet Blue landing in LAX. What a superb job that pilot did with that Airbus. It happened exactly as I predicted, with the tires melting and acting as a skid. That nose strut is STRONG.

Good luck Texas. My neighbour has a winter home near South Padre Island and he is very nervous.

 

[GLester]

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Hawker22 wrote:

The last hour on CNN has been riviting. The tornado in Minneapolis, Rita coming, and Jet Blue landing in LAX. What a superb job that pilot did with that Airbus. It happened exactly as I predicted, with the tires melting and acting as a skid. That nose strut is STRONG.

Good luck Texas. My neighbour has a winter home near South Padre Island and he is very nervous.

Watched the LAX Airbus landing, great job by the pilot, I agree. If Rita stays a cat 5, your friend isn't going to have a winter home I'm afraid.

Gene:waving::11red::11red::11red::cooler:

 

[Patch]

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Rita: They just came out with the new update: Rita is now up to 175 MPH winds. Hopefully she will weaken before hitting land. All fellow members down there, we wish you the best of luck. You all will be in our thoughts and prayers over the next few days.

JetBlue: My neighbor is a pilot and when I saw this on CNN, I called him and he turned it on and watched it. What a super job by that plot. His back will be sore tomorrow from all the pats he'll be getting

Tornados: My wife's family is all in the Minneapolis area. CNN reported tornados in Maple Grove and that is just a few miles from her folks home. One of her sisters livesin one of the suburbs on the south side of Minneapolis. She called up there a little bit ago and all are ok.

 

[wannabe]

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Take great care out there, you are all precious

 

[exavid]

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1984GL1200A wrote:

What a super job by that pilot. His back will be sore tomorrow from all the pats he'll be getting

I hate to sound like a ball buster, but I can't see what he did special, all he could do was hold the nose wheel off as long as possible and keep her straight. Not a particularly difficult thing to do. The fact that the nose strut didn't collapse was due to the fact that the rearward load didn't exceed it's strength, not anything a pilot could control. Too bad the damn fin/rudder design on that plane isn't as good as the nose gear.

 

[wingdawg101]

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I'd still fly on any plane that he pilots!!

He was cool, calm and smooth!

 

[Patch]

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exavid wrote:

I hate to sound like a ball buster

Ball Buster!

 

[Hawker22]

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exavid wrote:

1984GL1200A wrote:

What a super job by that pilot. His back will be sore tomorrow from all the pats he'll be getting

I hate to sound like a ball buster, but I can't see what he did special, all he could do was hold the nose wheel off as long as possible and keep her straight. Not a particularly difficult thing to do. The fact that the nose strut didn't collapse was due to the fact that the rearward load didn't exceed it's strength, not anything a pilot could control. Too bad the damn fin/rudder design on that plane isn't as good as the nose gear.

From your vast experience at flying long bodied aircraft????? Excuse me Paul, but I have been there and done that, and getting the wheel down gently when you are well low on elevator control is quite a knack. But you are correct, it is nothing more than anywell trained and experiencedpilot should be able to do.

 

[Redwing]

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My neighbour is a very experienced pilot :clapper:and he says the pilot did a great job with that airbus :clapper: He said he would like to have seen him keeping the front wheel up a little longer but thats not always possible. :shakehead:He says the worst part of this was flying around for the three hours to get rid of the fuel. :crying:

He did a great job. :clapper:

:leprechaun::18red::leprechaun:

 

[exavid]

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Hawker22 wrote:

From your vast experience at flying long bodied aircraft????? Excuse me Paul, but I have been there and done that, and getting the wheel down gently when you are well low on elevator control is quite a knack. But you are correct, it is nothing more than anywell trained and experiencedpilot should be able to do.

Nope I don't, all small stuff and only around 4700hrs at that. But it doesn't take a lot of thought to realize that what you have to do is get the CG as far aft with as much movable stuff as you can find, flying the approach profile is pretty much computer controlled in those things, so the only thing different is keeping the noseup as long as possible. It's only what you would expect from a competent pilot, I'm glad to see it worked out well. My point is that nowadays there is a lot of hype about heroism and such when it's merely someone doing what they are supposed to do. No slam at that flight crew, what they earned is a 'well done', not front page claims of super performance.

 

[Hawker22]

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I agree Paul,and the remark I initially made was fromthe hip and not called for. They did a great job, but that is what is expected of them. I flew for 35 years and more than 18,000 hours,11,000 of it military. I saw it all.

And the write-ups about the passengers being able to watch on CNN, the "life and death drama unfold" Give us a break--life and death!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Patch]

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Those poor folks in N.O. can't seem to get a break. (pardon the pun) The levees are breaking again and reports are that water is rising in some parts at the rate of almost 1 foot per minute. When will this ever end...:baffled:

 

[Brojees]

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I hope all will understand. My son is celebrating that Rita is veering to the east away from him. It will still be bad, but he is a lot safer now than he was. His evacuation stalled when he had to "Rescue" a friend trapped at Hobby Airport, so my boy will have to sit Rita out at home. Now it looks to past east of him and the west side of any hurricane is always better. Any way, he and I have been up and talking non stop on the cell and watching the forecasts online...He sent me this satellite picture this morning when he realized it is going east of Houston. Rest assured, I am still praying for those in it's path and just as strongly as I prayed for it to veer away from my son.

 

[GLester]

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Well, it looks like at the present time it is veering east now and looks like we might not get anything out of it, not that it hurts my feelings any. I still will pray for those who are in it's path.:angel2:

Gene

 

[Ruaidh]

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I've spent the past week working with the evacuees that were sent to Utah. Lots and lots of paperwork. Lots of hurry up and wait. Lots of changes for these people. (Most frequent comment was "Just look at those mountains! I've only seen mountains like that in the movies!")

Most of the people I dealt with are relocating here. They don't want to go back, or at least not any time soon. Maybe a year or two down the road. Sadly, it was the people with the least that lost everything. One gentleman I spoke with was trapped on his, then his neighbor's roof. At one point he and the lady he was rescuing were sitting at the apex of the roof with about out feet of space on either side of them. They were sitting on the roof of a two-story house. The water was black from all the waste and sewage that was floating around.

Another note is that every person I have talked to blames the Mayor Nagin and the Governor of Louisiana for their lack of preparation and failure at all levels to help those that needed help most. 30,000 buses (school, commuter, etc.) sitting around locked up and nobody thought to use these to transport these people to safety. President Bush declared, and signed off, thestate as a natural disaster two days prior to the storm's landfall. The mayor failed to make repairs to the levees following three separate studies advising this. The governor initially refused to let FEMA and National Guard units into the state for fear of "losing control" and turning things over to out-of-towners.

These people have been through so much and are surprisingly upbeat and cheerful. One family of four lived inside the back of a box-van and under a small overturned skiff supported on buckets for days. Another family of three moved into a brand new house 3 days before the storm hit. It's gone. Not damaged - gone.

I wish I were in a position to do more, but for now God will have to accept these small efforts that I was able to make and listen to our prayers for the victims of Rita. My mother is in Georgetown Texas, just up the road from Austin. She's not going to be hurt by the storm (wind and rain, but not the full force) but at the same time she's 77 years old and I'm 1500 miles away. More than just a little frustration.

Ruaidh

 

[Silicon Sam]

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I am just South of Georgretown, and we barely got any wind at all. 20-30 mph gusts maybe. And NO rain. We coulda used the rain of course.

Raymond