MTFCA Forum

Remember to be careful as the weather worsens and gets slippery, to be sure to “Keep the shiny side up”.

or you might find yourself up a tree.. Merry Christmas to all of you and your families and best wishes for a happy and great New Year!!!

Thank you Tom! Love all the old photos. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Dallas

I keep going back to these. I see something new every time.
Thanks so much.
Rich

My mother's family had raised peaches outside Modesto Califunny for a few decades. Because of this, my family got to know a few crop duster pilots fairly well, and kept in contact with a couple of them for many years after grandpa sold the orchards and retired. One of the pilots moved out of the central valley to the bay area near where we were, and remained good friends with my dad for years. One day, there was a picture similar to the last one above in the local major newspaper, and his name mentioned, having crashed into a tree! Follow-up news reports told how a sudden loss of engine power had resulted in the crash. Well, it was about two or three years later, my dad ran into his friend at a business function of some sort, and ribbed him about the crash. Dad said he knew that any sudden loss of power would not result in landing in a tree for such a great pilot used to flying low over fields and dodging trees. So, what happened? The friend hung his head and shook it a bit, looked up again, and told dad he had flown out really early to dust a field. He hadn't time for breakfast, so stuck a hardboiled egg in his jacket pocket. After the dusting was done, he headed slow and low back toward the airfield. He hit the one tree in the area tall enough while pealing a hardboiled egg. No, that isn't what he told the authorities. But I guess I can tell the story occasionally since it was so many years go and all the principals are gone. (I still won't say who).

Merry Christmas Tom R and all!

Things haven't changed much over the years! Just the methods we use to accomplish the same thing, such as texting while driving!