My very own Pilot – Part One of Two

One thing about living in an RV Park is that you meet up with some very interesting people. While most are retired, their backgrounds are diverse. Work histories vary from police detectives to fire captains to health care specialists to engineers to telecommunication contract experts to boat captains to US Navy vets to 911 dispatchers to HVAC company executives and sales managers to whatever else you can think of…

And while their work histories make for great war stories around the campfire, what makes so many so much fun are their continued life interests and hobbies. Some are surf fishers, some are antique hunters, some hunt with metal detectors, some are arts enthusiasts and, once in a long while, you run into a pilot. One such guy lived with his wife Reo and their Schnauzer Logan in their RV just behind us. His name is Greg and his hobby has been flying ever since he was a kid. Not only did he bring his RV to the South Padre area, he also brought his Grumman Cheetah aircraft!

And did I want to go for a ride? You bet! I was ready in minutes. And when Greg asked the second time a few weeks later, I was ready then too!

For the first flight in January, we left the island and drove for about 30 minutes to the Cameron County Airport. It’s a small airport with a few runways that seem to be in fairly good shape with grass growing wherever the Texas sun and concrete allows. There is a hangar filled with light aircraft, a pilot’s room, bathrooms and an aircraft mechanic working away on one of the aircraft motors. There’s an old DC3 (I think) parked some distance out on the tarmac with one engine missing. Across from the hangar doors, is Greg’s Grumman Cheetah - the only aircraft outside and tied down on the tarmac:


Just a few (of Greg’s) words about this aircraft… Grumman produced about 900 of them from late 1975-78. Each one has an emblem on the tail fin of a leaping Cheetah that designates this particular type of Grumman. It is an all-metal light aircraft with one propeller and was built to accommodate four persons – two adults and two children. Greg and Reo’s kids are all adults now so the only one who gets to ride in the back is Logan!


Except of course for the stuffed Cheetah along for every ride and resting inside at the back of the plane!














And here is an official photo from Grumman of the 'leaping Cheetah':














As to Cameron County Airport, a tower still exists but the windows are now gone and boarded up with plywood sheets – a hurricane or two probably took them out years ago. The property next door is the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility where they temporarily ‘accommodate’ recently arrested illegal immigrants. Get the picture? It felt abandoned. I felt better when Greg told me Texas keeps all its runways in good shape.

Greg gave me instructions on how to board and secure myself into the seat. He showed me his pilot manuals and the outline of the airport. He explained how the headphone and microphone worked, made sure I was buckled in, opened the roof about a foot and called in his coordinates and plans not sure if anybody was actually listening. I mean, other than knowing this guy Greg was an RV-er, I really didn’t even know if he really knew how to fly but there I was, in the co-pilot’s seat, ready for the chance of a lifetime! Here’s the view from inside the cockpit:


It was a gorgeous day – sunny and very little wind. Greg lifted us off in no time at all and proceeded past the ICE facility, swept over the town of Laguna Vista and pointed towards Port Isabel and South Padre Island. We followed the route of the Causeway and turned north over Laguna Madre, the inland waterway.


When we reached the Shores, the most northerly development on the island, we crossed over to the Gulf and then followed the beach all the way to the Brownsville Channel – beautiful or what?











Keep in mind Padre Island is the most southerly barrier island that stretches north to Corpus Christi – about 110 miles. However, the only part of the island that is developed is the most southerly 5 miles – the rest is bird sanctuary. So what you see here is a photo showing the very most southerly end:


You can see the County RV Park is in the forefront and the KOA is to the left just below the Causeway.

This photo should give you an idea of how wide the island is – in the foreground is the Laguna Madre (the inland waterway) and at the top of the pic is the Gulf of Mexico:


Greg then zoomed and circled over the KOA several times. This is a photo of the KOA entrance and you can see our rig dead centre with the Jeep parked at the starboard stern.


When I looked with my naked eye, I could actually see John and Reo on the campground road waving back to us.

We then turned back towards Port Isabel and toured Long Island Village where we play golf on their 18 hole Par 3. I knew we were heading back to Cameron County Airport. On the approach to Runway 13, Greg asked if I’d mind doing some ‘Touch ‘n Go’s’. I said, “Sure!” not really knowing what that was and then we practised touching down on the runway with the wheels and then taking off immediately thereafter three of four times. We could have done that all day as far as I was concerned.




Here is Runway 13 taken from my seat over the nose of the plane:












I felt sad knowing the thrill of a lifetime was coming to an end but, with my Canon Rebel in hand, I also knew I had about 200 pictures to remind me of this adventure. FAN-tastic is all I could say! And thankfully, the pictures turned out. When I mentioned earlier that Greg opened the roof about a foot, this allowed me to take clear pictures without any interference instead of photographing through the front or side windows.

It can be a dilemma:
a) to consume the time taking pictures hoping they turn out? or
b) just sit back and enjoy the scenery and experience.

I’m glad I took them though ‘cause I can share my experience through the photos + a number of people asked for copies of the pictures. It was totally worth it and, most of all, Greg and Reo were clearly pleased to have their own DVD!

But no, no - once was not enough! I should have Part Two ready to post tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed the first flight… m.