June 10 Fly-Out to Tacoma Narrows

I woke up to a sunny morning sky, perfect for our June flyout to Tacoma Narrows with a 12:15 lunch at The Hub restaurant. Seven people had advised they would participate but the day was so gorgeous I advised the restaurant we would likely have ten or so arriving about 12:15. I sent out the e-mail confirming the flyout was on, and then another noting the airport’s Vintage Air Museum would be a great stop after lunch. Then I found that the museum was open on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Oh well. The flight was smooth and people in our group began arriving about 11:30. The Hub is located next to the tower and I had advised plenty of parking would be available right there. The first four aircraft parked without difficulty but more followed and the next row brought out personnel from the adjacent facility which apparently did not want people parking there; they had reserved that area for aircraft that might visit their business. I found out later that the tower told our guys trying to park there that such parking was not permitted. And even more of our guys were arriving. Oh well. We shoved airplanes in places that required sequencing for taxiing after lunch. In total twelve airplanes with 18 people attended this flyout. So much for my asking the restaurant to plan on seating for ten… They had set us a table. So we arrived and took photos and headed for food. ScoN Alair saw tables outside the restaurant and a quick change was made. The temperature was perfect, food was great and the service was excellent. The social aspect of these gatherings is a lot of fun and this day was exceptional. We had members from EAA Chapter 430, two pilots from other areas who regularly join us, and neighbors and guests, too. Attending were Pat BarreN (from Bremerton), Ken Brown with his neighbor Clif, Dave Gardner with his wife Karen, Jeff Smith (who gave a ride to Sid Vandiver), Richard Howell with his friend Rob, ScoN Alair (who had offered to bring someone needing a ride but other rides had accommodated), Rick Stoffel, Harry Cook, Ray Ballantyne (with his son Dan). Tim Alentiev came from the Norman Grier airport across the Sound brought a friend (Vinnie) who spends time working for Van’s Aircraft in Oregon and the Philippines. And me. I came with an empty seat which I offered but others had accommodated. Bud Davies arrived late having come from work.

With lunch over three of us taxied down the field to the Avionics Shop (yup, that’s its name) for some transponder certs and other issues. As usual they provided excellent service and soon we were all on our way.