Another day another....

[Darby]

"Ahhhh Herbert just the man I want to see. How is that Beaver slight modification coming along? Finished? Good excellent. Whitewash, what whitewash ooohhh whitewall, you mean whitewall tyres?. No not necessary. So long as they spin around and around on take off and landing and most importantly do not collapse that will be sufficient".

KBFI-55S. Beaver (new modified wheel version). Supplies for Packwood Roadhouse plus 1 outofwork cook also for Packwood Roadhouse. 62nm @ $10 = 620 bucks. Fairweather for a change, well I can see the mountain. Very Strong argument rooollllll 3! "Roll her out Herb and lets take a look at her!".

[Darby]

PIREP

The Beaver trundled off to the active with no touble at all. The new wheels squeaked a little but they'll soon settle down. Take off was a breeze and altiude gained quickly. I turned toward south until I had the mountain ahead and pointed the nose to the right. My flightplan was to pass the mountain to my left and then home in on Packwood.

My passenger was dressed ready for work, unwashed, unshaven, filthy apron spattered in past haute quisine masterpeices. He happily explained to me where each greasy stain had come from. From within the boxes and stuff stored in the back I could hear the soft cluck of chickens over the engine noise.

Packwood is situated in a nice looking valley. From my approach it required a fairly dramatic descent but in this weather there were no problems with that. A rainy day with wind would be another story. Once landed and shut down the supplies and the cook were offloaded onto the back of the Packwood Roadhouse tow truck. I about to contact Herbert back at base to see what gives when the tow truck driver said "Can you fly up to Tieton and bring back a delivery of fish?"

[Darby]

ARGUMENT

55S-4S6. Beaver. Fly to Tieton State and return with a load of fish for the Packwood Roadhouse. 46nm @ $10.00 = 460.00 (no discount for the cash offered). Rain has set in but its ok for flying. Very strong, rollll 3! I better not forget to gain some altitude before I head off looking for Tieton.

[Darby]

Rain had set in again but it was still ok for flying. Leaving the cook, the mechanic and the towtruck behind I took off and headed into the hazy clouds. Tieton is set in a valley and yes the inevitable trees are all around. Its just at the head of a long lake and is a very pretty area. The fishing is probably ok too. I should check it out the next holiday I get from PGA :rofl:

At Tieton I was met by three smelly gentleman (professional fisherman I think although what those cases of gelignite were for was totally beyond my comprehension). They had a large amount of fresh fish fillets. perhaps the fishing in this lake is not so good after all especially if these three work here regular. Anyways we completed loading the fish and I readied the plane for return to Packwood.

[Darby]

.......Just as I was about to hop aboard and depart, a rusty battered old tow truck rolled up near the plane. I could just make out the sign on it through the dings, rust and spattered mud. 'Tieton Roadhouse Garage & Fishing lodge'. Apart from the driver there were 4 hungover looking characters who on seeing the Beaver scrambled off the towtruck with hope in their eyes.

The driver, who just happened to be the brother of the tow truck driver at Packwood explained how their chartered plane from 'Out of The Way Water Taxis' did'nt show yesterday. He had tried to call them but their phone was disconnected. Being in a tough spot, the roadhouse owner had pacified the fishing guests with a tonne of liquor last night therefore could I be so kind as to fly these guys to Ranger Creek, Lester State and Bandera State? You Betcha. "and as a special introductory offer I wont charge for the Packwood leg", (its already covered) "and I will accept cash". He cheerfully agreed.

55S-21W-15S-4WO. Beaver. Fish fillets for Packwood then fishermen for Ranger Creek, Lester State and Bandera. 49nm @ $10.00 = 490. Weather still rainy but ok. Rolll a 6! haven't had one of those for a while. "Climb aboard gentlemen, your rods and tackle boxes can go in there. Please don't burp in my face, its 8 hours bottle to throttle".

[Darby]

It was no surprise to see the tow truck from Packwood roadhouse still waiting at the airfield when we landed. The cook quickly checked a few of the fresh fish fillets, grunted his approval and with the help of my new passengers unloaded the lot onto the towtruck. We then taxiied and took off for Ranger Creek. The rain was still on but visibility was tolerable.

Ahhh Ranger Creek, angles, sharp descents and trees. I like the Beaver on full flaps. Slow as you go and very forgiving. Dumping off the Ranger Creek part of my cargo I immediately departed for Lester State. The rain and clouds were worsening and the landing there took two bounces. Not bad.

Once at Bandera State and unloaded, I opened up the plane to air it out and enjoyed a cup of real coffee at the cafe (I think we sold them this coffee some time ago). My plan is to call Herbert and if nothing is on then I'll deadhead back to base at Boeing Field.