Cabela's HOBBS 336.5 hrs

Because of my hectic schedule lately, its been awhile since I have been out to ol' hangar 2E at FTG to visit the boys. I ran into Scott at an IFR safety seminar wednesday night and he mentioned they were going flying saturday morning. And even though my personal schedule hasn't let up any, I decided to make a point to heading out to the airport today to join them. I just needed to get some airtime...its been about a month which is about a month too long! ;)

I'm sure glad I did. The destination for this trip was not our usual fare. Instead of the Greeley breakfast run, Gary mentioned, "why dont we go out to Sidney, NE?" What a great idea I thought. Sidney, for those who dont know this area is the home of the Cabela's flagship store. It is not the biggest or even the nicest Cabela's anymore but the friendly hospitality out there is second to none. It was one of my stops when I did my long cross country for my flight training so it has sentimental value to me. This was my first trip back since that memorable day back in 2007.

Its a popular destination for local pilots as Cabela's caters to the pilot's quite nicely. Witnessed by the fact, a nice gaggle of RV's greeted us on the ramp upon arrival. Obviously we weren't the only ones with this great idea. There is a complimentary courtesy van that shows up at the FBO to shuttle you to the store a couple minutes drive away. In fact, on this day, they took us to the local Perkin's restaraunt near Cabela's for breakfast. We then walked over to Cabela's after breakfast for shopping and browsing. We departed FTG in a flight of four...Scott and I in good ol' 339A, Gary flying solo in 99PZ, Jimmy B. in his RV6 out from Goodland, KS and a friend of his flying a Thorpe T-18. Let me tell you, 5 'red-neck' guys can kill some serious time shopping at Cabela's! I think we spent a good hour or more looking at guns, ammo and even exploding targets. haha! Good stuff.



Photo courtesy of http://www.itsallaboutusnow.com/

I logged an hour of PIC time on the way back as Scotty played with his new panel (see photo) and we shot an approach on the way back into FTG. The air was smooth as silk, the skies were blue, the sun was bright and life was good. The cares of everyday life fade into memory and nothing else matters while aloft except for the guys with you in the cockpit and flying formation off your wing. For guys/gals out there building or getting ready to build...try and hook up with local RV guys for some flying from time to time. It is invaluable if you can. I've said it many times before, but it bares repeating, it really stokes the fire to keep pounding those rivets! Its nice to see what the light at the end of the tunnel looks like...why we spend these long hours slaving away in our garage and countless dollars of our discretionary income. It will be worth it one day!

So I spent two hours flying...and about three hours 'hangar flying' having a few beers afterward. I had planned to spend some time in the shop today, which is not happening, but it was a good trade-off as I very much enjoyed the day. I also found out our next hangar movie night is in the planning stages by the women. I look forward to it.

First thing tomorrow morning...aircraft construction is on the agenda!