In hindsight, when we decided to visit Kentucky for our 2013 convention, we could have attached more significance to that state's reputation for rich, thick grass. Such grass usually means rain, a theory which was proven during our visit. However, there was just enough of a pause in the rains of October for us to have a truly wonderful time in the the Bluegrass state.
It all started with an invitation from member Bob Pitchford, who is well connected at his airport and knew all the great places to visit. The Corvette museum and factory in town was a particular attraction, especially with the new model year coming out.
Plans were made, people came and a great time was had by all. Let's run through the pictures and watch it all unfold.
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| Arrival |
Here's the whole gang! Read on to see how Debbie got this picture. |
Our host FBO has one of the more entertaining and welcoming ramps, especially on a rainy day. We were treated well and felt pretty classy as we drove up under the jetport. |
And here's Bob Pitchford, our host CFO member, who helped us put it all together and provided a substantial measure of southern hospitality throughout our entire time in Bowling Green. |
| We are especially appreciative of Rob Barnett, (airport manager) and Bob McDaniel (manager at the FBO Co-Mar) for their tireless work and flexibility in helping us give everyone a great experience. If you're flying by Bowling Green we can highly recommend this operation as an excellent stopover choice. |
| Welcome |
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We started with dinner at a local restaurant. Great food and plenty of fun Cardinal owners to catch up with. |
We took over an entire section of the restaurant and had a great evening. |
| Corvette Museum |
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Bob Pitchford worked out transportation with these two modern buses driven by two very pleasant and engaging drivers. They gave us great service throughout our visit. |
And here we are, home of the Corvette. Quite the place! |
Sort of the holy land for Chevy lovers. Bob tells me there's at least one new 2014 Corvette owner because of our visit. |
A good crowd wandered through the museum, including a room full of rare and exotic motorcycles at the end. Even a couple like I used to own! |
This exhibit is set up to show how the newer frames are light but strong. Or it could be that Bob has been lifting a lot of weights. |
We're seeing a lot of Bob, here telling us about the '82 Corvette he purchased in Germany while in the service, a car just like the one on display. |
The really special cars were all in this circular room at the museum. Remember this location. |
A few of our group really got into the spirit of things. I'm not quite sure how they were able to do this... |
This picture is from the news a few months after we were there. We learned about the Karst geography, which leads to caves and sink holes, including a number of sink holes at the airport. Little did we know how close we were to one when the pictures above were taken. |
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| Train Museum |
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Our next stop was the Bowling Green train museum. |
A number of interesting exhibits showed the history of the area from a railroad point of view. |
We learned how the post office did their mail sorting while enroute, increasing the speed of their service. It was interesting to hear about the process they used. |
The dining car was also interesting. One could imagine watching the world slip by as you enjoyed a meal. |
Our guide shared details of the service in the higher class areas. This train had a presidential suite, very top drawer. |
| Special Guest |
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We were honored to have Dan Cherry as an afternoon speaker, a retired Air Force Brigadier General who had a fascinating story to tell. The man to the right was a Vietnamese pilot named Nguyen Hong My who was shot down by General Cherry during the war. General Cherry tracked him down later and they have since become fast friends. This photo is from their web site, where you can read more about their story and the book. |
Here is the book General Cherry wrote about his adventures, the search and the results of his finding his past enemy. |
We had a large group for this presentation and they hung on every word. |
Here's General Cherry sharing his story. |
Somewhere along the line we enjoyed a pleasant meal in the hotel lobby, the perfect place on a rainy day. |
| Aviation Heritage Park |
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A group of pilots and businesspeople in Bowling Green have come together to build an aviation park to honor and remember the people who served and the aircraft they flew. Each of these airplanes was located, procured, restored and trailered to this location, where a beautiful facility was created to show the airplanes and tell their story. |
The most recent addition was this F-4D Phantom II, the very aircraft which Dan Cherry flew in the incident shared in his book. |
There was also a T-33 with connections to a local pilot, General Russ Dougherty. |
The group stopped at each aircraft to hear the story of the airplane and the local people who flew them. |
The most recent addition was this F-111 Aardvark, one of the aircraft flown in the attack on Libya during Reagon's presidency. Giving the presentation was Col. Arnie Franklin, the pilot who led that raid, known as Operation Eldorado Canyon. |
Gerald Roark, the head of AHP's Restoration Department, shared the story of the T-33 and how it was often used as a shuttle by General Russ Dougherty, Commander of the Strategic Air Command in the early 70s |
General Cherry talked about operating and flying his F-4D Phantom II, #550. |
| Lost River Cave |
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Our next stop was the cave at Lost River Cave, a unique location with a great depth of history. |
The evening started with a boat ride back into the cave where the river disappears back underground. |
We set sail into a lowering roof and dripping ceiling, not quite sure what to expect. |
It was difficult to get good photos inside the cave, but it was a great ride with a lot of information about how the cave had been used through the years. |
Dinner was served under a roof which kept the drips from our heads. |
With live music and great Kentucky barbeque, it was an excellent meal in a truly unique setting. |
| Airport Walkaround |
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Time to see the Cardinals! The next morning dawned bright and sunny, a great day to spend at the airport. |
As usual each member had a chance to tell about their airplane. |
Remember wondering how Debbie got that picture? She has a habit of showing up in strange places to get the perfect shot. |
There was plenty to look at with many outstanding aircraft in attendance. |
We even stopped to visit Bob Pitchford's hangar. |
A whole hillside of Cardinals. |
| Hangar Lunch |
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After years of our kids collecting the tickets we had a new helper for this meal. |
Lunch between the Cardinals, who could ask for more? |
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| Technical Sessions |
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We had two different technical sessions, this one in the hotel meeting room. |
Keith and Paul shared photos of interesting things we've seen through the years and everyone discussed what to do about each item. |
The airport session included a very close look at both an RG and a FG, a chance to look at a member's airplane and learn what we could from whatever came to hand. |
There are usually a significant number of things to talk about on any airplane which is volunteer for the visual inspection... something to think about if you plan to volunteer. |
Folks take turns rotating in to look close at the items as Paul and Keith point them out. |
We spent a few extra minutes with another FG when the owner asked about a fuel smell in the cabin. We found the Cat tubing had worn a hole in the vent lines, resulting in fuel dripping into the headliner. The local mechanic was kind enough to repair this on Sunday morning so our member could fly home that day. |
| Awards Banquet |
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Just getting the party started at the historic Kentucky Room at Western Kentucky University. We even had the opportunity to walk around the museum before the meal started. |
We enjoyed a very southern meal with all the fixin's along with southern hospitality. |
We were honored to have three generations of the Brown family in attendance: Winn and Phil, their son Davis and his wife Lee and their kids Winn IV and Frank. |
There were also three generations of this family: Courtney and Clarence Copping and Robert Mitchell, the Grandpa. Courtney shared a little bit of her story and accomplishments in aviation, including several awards, and her continuing work toward a career in aviation. It was inspiring for all! |
There were a number of door prizes. Here ?? wins a bottle of Kentucky Gold... as I recall it was Sorghum syrup. |
Tom Saxon won a model of of a Phantom. |
Robert Oetjen won a copy of General Dan Cherry's book, signed by both General Cherry and Nguyen Hong My. |
Wilco sent a few packages of StickIt, a product which says it is designed for holding things together. Roger's Faden won the first one. |
One of Winn's grandkids also won a StickIt, it will be interesting to hear what got stuck together in that household. |
And another went to Don Soleta. |
The last StickIt was won by Christophe Masiero, who seemed very pleased with this new capabilities. He had to put down his camera to accept it... I think we're laughing at whoever took over photo duty. |
Jimmy Honeycutt received a battery minder, thanks to our sponsor Wilco. |
A Powerflow gift certificate was won by Bruce Post. |
and Terri Webb won another Powerflow certificate. |
A gift certificate for cash off on an Avidyne product was won by Rogers Faden, here congratulated by Matt Wiley from Avidyne. Avidyne was an active sponsor in this event. |
Now on to the awards. The Fledgling Award for the most recent pilot's license was awarded to Don Gandy. |
Ken Madland was the award for having flown his Cardinal the furthest to the event. |
Lou Leet won the Wet Wings award, for having gotten his instrument rating more recently than anyone else at the event. |
Karl Thomas won the Broader Wings award for having the most recent rating upgrade. |
Bruce Post won the award for Most Cardinal Time, with a few prior winners in the group welcoming him to the club. |
Our 'Hard Luck' award led to a little storytelling. |
And sure enough, no one could top his story! |
The big prize, People's Choice Best Cardinal of Show, goes to Tom Saxon for his Turbo RG. This is the second airplane he has built up, he clearly has the knack! |
Here is our award winner in front of his airplane. He says he's just getting started, so we'll be interested to watch where this aircraft ends up! |
| Sideshow |
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We were dancing all week with a series of cargo jets who were hauling in Corvette parts in support of their launch of the new model change. |
One has to wonder, though, why this one was sitting out on a taxiway? If I had not watched it happen I might not have fully understood the significance. |
In fact, this jet had fallen off the taxiway. As mentioned earlier it had been raining a lot and the grass could not support the weight of a fully loaded cargo jet.
As it turns out, there were 3 or 4 such events over the weekend while we were there. This was the second time that this particular jet got off the tarmac and got stuck... it just wasn't their weekend. |
After a while another jet arrived with mechanics, ramps, jacks and a team of people with shovels. At least it didn't shut down the runway! |
| Aircraft in Attendance |
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