First REAL Day of Retirement

On March 30, 2026March 30, 2026 By The Flying DutchmanIn Aeronca Champ, retirement1 Comment

Flying is a big part of who I am. So what makes more sense than to go flying on my first REAL day of retirement? I mean, it’s Monday. I should be at work at my desk answering email, ignoring email, checking on the hospital computer network. But I wasn’t there, I was tying the airplane down at Los Banos Airport.

It suddenly hit me that I truly was retired. Last Monday, I was outstanding in the field of network engineering. This Monday, today, I was out standing in a field between the Los Banos Airport tie-down area, and Highway 152 as it runs through town. I wasn’t walking to the hospital coffee shop, I was walking to Jack-in-the-Box. On a Monday! The only way I can describe the feeling was weird. It was good. But it was weird.

I jaywalked across the highway, it’s a right of passage for pilots flying into Los Banos. One I long since partook in many years ago. But it was fun to relive that first flight to this airport to get my $100 hamburger. The McDonalds I remember being there was now replaced by Weinerschintzel. Nah, they don’t do breakfast. Walked a little farther past a Black Bear Diner. Nah, not looking to sit down. I just want something to go. Jack-In-The-Box was next. Got a breakfast burrito and a coffee to go. That’s more like it. I walked back up the highway with my coffee cup and to-go bag trying to time the traffic just right. Finally did and made it back to the airport.

Had to stop and pause and just take it all in. Monday. I’m at an airport. Yeah. I could get used to this. Found a picnic table just outside the airport and had breakfast. Nothing was going on at the airport. It’s Monday morning. No students, no weekenders coming out for their $100 hamburger. Just me and the cool humid wind that was being blown by whatever storm system is currently passing by.

I didn’t linger too long after breakfast. This picnic table wasn’t the point of this morning’s flight. The flight was the point of the flight. Literally, it was all about the journey. It’s only 40 minutes from Oakdale to Los Banos but I was up. Above the Monday traffic, above the emails, above the projects, above the budgets. They say you have to stay busy in retirement. Yeah, I think I can do that. Cruising along under a warm stable weather system at 1500 feet MSL at 80-ish MPH. Yeah, I definitely think I can do that.

It’s not all fun a games though. Next job is repacking my travel trailer’s wheel bearings. No wait, when there is no time table, that is fun! I like this job!

See you next time when I’m elbow deep (hope not) in bearing grease.

Red Hills Fly-In 2025

On May 31, 2025 By The Flying DutchmanIn Aviation1 Comment

This year’s Red Hills Fly-In saw a much lower turnout than in previous years. This was primarily due to 2 factors. The first is that last year Jack Moyle told me that it had to be the last year. It was just too tiring for he and his wife Myrna to host the fly-in. I sadly relayed the news to the other pilots. Less than a week later I got word from Tanner and Hannah, Jack’s grandchildren, that they wanted the fly-in to continue and would take over duties for hosting the fly-in. But I think the pilots all made other plans for the next year. The second factor was a lot of last-minute cancellations. We even had one that didn’t want to show up because Donald Trump won the Presidential election. True story. That being said we did have a bunch of drop-by’s and one other camper aside from Cristy and myself.

On Saturday, Charlie took his PPC flying in the early morning before it got too bumpy and windy.

Saturday evening we had a nice little pot-luck with Charlie’s paella as the center piece. Never knew Charlie was a retired chef! We know now!

Sunday morning Charlie took another flight and this time took Tanner flying with him. Then we had a home-cooked breakfast and home tour next door at Tanner and Hannah’s house. They built it next door to their grandparents. When I say they built it I mean THEY BUILT IT. All on their own. And now they are getting ready to add on an extra room… for the baby Hannah is expecting! They will be welcoming their little girl to the world in October.

**Our new hosts and expectant parents; Hannah and Tanner Moyle!**

All in all for me it was a very enjoyable weekend. It was nice seeing the few people who did stop in. It was really nice camping in a super peaceful setting. Looking forward to next year!

Here are a few of the drop-ins:

See you all next year!

10th Annual Red Hills Fly-in

On May 28, 2024 By The Flying DutchmanIn Aviation, Boondocking, Lance, RV Life2 Comments

Ten years ago my friend Joey Myers and I were sitting in the living room of our dear friends Jack and Myrna Moyle. They have a 110 acre ranch near Jamestown in the Red Hills Area of Environmental Concern which is managed by the BLM. Joey and I had flown in to say hello. After a bit I mentioned that his ranch would be a beautiful place to host a fly-in and campout. Without hesitation Jack said, “Well you should put something like that together.” So I did.

But before I tell that story, I need to tell the story of this ranch. Jack and his wife Myrna bouth the ranch over 50 years ago. There was one small shack on the property, no trees, no electricity, no utilities of any kind. Jack and Myrna were raising their family of 7 in a one room shack. When they weren’t working Jack and Myrna disassembled some chicken houses on another property they had purchased. Myrna pulled the nails out of the wood and straightened them while Jack was hammering those same nails back into those same boards to expand their small home. They added on three more rooms, a barn, some other makeshift outbuildings and planted a bunch of trees to keep their house cool in the summer. No utilities remember?

One day a mutual friend named Jim Hembree landed on a dirt road that ran through Jack’s property to stop for a visit. Jack was enthralled and wanted to learn to fly too. He firgured that dirt road would make a great runway to fly from. Being a heavy equipment operator by trade he expanded that dirt road and graded it and then had a runway! He bought a Piper Cub up at Columbia Airport and began getting flight training in it. He had the instructor fly him down to his runway on his ranch and teach him how to land there. After that Jack completed his pilot training by taking off from his runway, flying up to Columbia, taking his lessons, then flying back home to his runway.

Fast forward a few years and a few months and we had our first annual Red Hills Fly-in on Memorial Day weekend. This past weekend was our 10th annual and likely last fly-in. So much could be written about it but I like pictures so I will let the pictures tell the story.