There's much ado in the media about air traffic controllers who fell asleep at their post.  Also, the jury is still out on the pilots who missed their destination and over flew it by a huge margin claiming flight deck disagreement about company policy took their attention away from their primary responsibility, which is to FTFA.  (Explanation of this acronym available to professionals)  Who are they kidding?  Could they have simply fallen asleep and didn't have the balls to own up to it?  They're human and human nature is to CYA if you've got any reasonable option, if you can get away with it.
  Now we are in the midst of a blame game with the FAA scrambling for solutions and causes even though no actual accidents have been recorded because of unscheduled "nappy time on duty."  Do you wonder why?  Could it be that experienced pilots know how to handle something like this when they don't get the answer back from any control authority?   They can figure it out for themselves by communicating with each other and other optional sources like another controlling authority.  I know.  I've been there several times in the few weeks I have flown around the world in heavy iron as Captain.  Personally. I wouldn't feel comfortable if I knew the flight crew was asleep up front and not tending to the store if I was a passenger, but we seem to have capable flight crews in the majority so I don't get stressed if someone yawns and stretches before closing the flight deck door.
  Getting back to the topic, I heard FOX talk show host Judge Napolitano comment about the bureaucracy in our air traffic control system and it made sense, good sense.  He simply said, "take the  air traffic controller responsibility away from any government control."  He claimed that in Canada it is a private business run by businessmen.  There is competition for these jobs and certainly for the contracts to obtain them.  The result of operating outside government bureaucracy, if someone is asleep on the job...FIRE THEM!  Only in government positions is this not a ratiional solution.  Look how it works for Congress, and the Presidency.
  Beyond that logical solution let's consider a possible cause for sleeping on the job. Do not jump to one conclusion, because it may not just be for lack of sleep.  It could be that many controllers have other issues that are affected by night time jobs and shift changes and could be classed as, "medically impaired."  That is, they may be on one, or more, prescribed medications with side effects that cause drowziness.  I'm not necessarily referring to "no doze" or other non sleeping pills. I mean something as innocent as a prescription for a cold or allergy with side effects many are not aware of.  These side effects can cause drowziness.  Add to this the fact that controllers sit for long periods of time staring at a screen.  Circulation slows down, concentration is lost.  Now we have a prescription for danger beyond simply falling out of the chair, but falling off the screen where countless targets need constant attention.  Wow!  What's the solution?  Getting up and moving around will energize the blood flow and periodic dynamic muscle stress exercise ( which I have used for years on the flight deck during long flights) seems to work for me.
  Solution?  Examine thoroughly any medications a controller currently takes.  Have a routine hourly person to person check between a controller and another responsible authority either in person or by phone.  Encourage them to get up out of their seat and walk around or stretch, or have a buzzer sound at regular intervals that must be cancelled to indicate "no nappy going on."  A loud buzzer! The sound may be annoying but would be preferable to the sound of an aircraft crashing.
  Finally, get the government out of the system.  Privatize air traffic control and keep the positions competitive.  You can bet that no matter what Ray LaHood and the rest of the "experts" come up with as a solution to this growing problem of monitoring air traffric controllers, private contractors have the solution. You can bet your life...
Note: I "borrowed" some of these thoughts from my wife, the freelance writer, who also enjoys flying.

 

  Media is having a ball making a lot about nothing to give its talk show hosts material to chat about that's about as important to the public as a topic such as, "tits on a bull."   For example, the simple maneuver of having to make a "Go Around" because a trailing aircraft got too close to the one in front  while making a landing approach has been hyped by media dramatically out of proportion.  So what if a B-737 (smaller jet) get's too close behind a C-17 (larger jet) on approach.  Sure, we have recommended trailing distance between two aircraft on the same approach path because of wake turbulence that could cause the trailing aircraft to experience slight excursions requiring minor control adjustments.  The accepted rule is five miles to minimize air turbulence.  But, we don't have any yard sticks up there to accurately measure this distance.  We rely on air traffic control to properly put us in the congo line for approach.  But, nobody is perfect and the bottom line is the Captain's decision to either continue or abandon any approach and simply, "Go Around" and make another approach.  This maneuver is NOT DANGEROUS except when the media decides to make it news worthy because Michelle Obama was a passenger on the B-737 behind the C-17.  And, air traffic controllers are currently in the spot light for several other unrelated reasons.
   In my few weeks of flying I have made hundreds of "Go Arounds" because I didn't like the conditions surrounding the approach for a variety of reasons.  Maybe I was creeping up on the guy in front of me and couldn't slow down any more and stay in the air, or I didn't like the cross wind, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was practicing on the runway I had intended to use.  Pick any reason.  But, if I elected to abort my landing approach I just simply said, "Going Around" and went around to try it again. Dangerous?  No way!  Unless the media wants to make it sound that way because nothing else is news worthy and they have to fill time slots with something.  It's pure smoke. 

                                              
  What do the two have in common?  Plenty, in the dangerous world we’re facing at the hands of fanatic Islamic extremists, a new threat has been added.  Women n are being enlisted into the ranks of those suicidal volunteers intent on destroying western society, especially America, the prime target for Islamic extremists.

  Our brave servicemen and women around the world are familiar with the death and destruction rendered by roadside IED’s (booby traps).  Hundreds of other innocent civilians have also been killed by female suicide bombers mingling inconspicuously with the crowd before setting off their lethal device.  But, thus far, because there are no pre-boarding searches that are “failsafe”, a female terrorist primed to explode, at will, has a high probability of being the next challenge that Janet Napolitano and TSA will face.

  Airline security sucks.  Can I be any clearer in my opinion?  It targets the wrong objectives for the wrong reasons fooling the flying public into a false sense of  security with a bureaucratic placebo.

  Umar Farouk Abdulmudallad  could have killed at least 289 innocent passengers and crew on December 24, 2009.  The fact that the lethal contraband in his underwear slipped by any detection technique of TSA’s experts should be evidence that airline passengers have been living with a “snow job” for many years.

  The “shoe bomber” failed at his task.  How did TSA solve the problem?  Everybody takes off their shooes.  Abdulmullad failed at his task.  What’s next?  Will every passenger have to strip to their underwear?  Because there is absolutely no way pat downs, body scans, wands, or any other proposed technique can keep us ahead of the enemy.  Watch lists, profiling and questioning of passengers (if the expert doing it has an IQ above room temperature) won’t add to passenger security.  It’s a myth.

  In the drug world, “mules” are couriers of illegal contraband and have a history of success.  Jihad is a holy war waged by Muslims against  infidels, US!  The fanatics are nothing more than “mules” smuggling a different kind of contraband--- explosives. Mules have a wide variety of tricks to escape detection.  One has been to place the contraband inside a condom and insert it in the rectum (anus).  What new technique would TSA employ to combat this?  Would a finger be inserted in the rectum to probe or would every passenger get a free colonoscopy?  But wait, will Janet issue a procedure requiring every passenger to strip and be x-rayed head to toe?  Yea!  Because I remember her saying,

“the system worked” one day then, “we screwed up” the next. 

  We’re playing a chess game with the terrorists and it appears they have a “check mate” move to make with a female player using her…breast implants.  Recent reports have appeared that indicate Muslim female terrorists have volunteered to have PETN  inserted in silicon breasts implants that could be detonated with a cell phone.  So really, if a fanatic is willing to meet Allah by blowing off his legs or his ass to bring down a plane, what’s wrong with losing a couple of boobs with the rest of your body to accomplish the task?  That should do the trick.

  In this crazy world there is no fool proof escape from fanatic terrorism nor is there a “fail safe” way to travel by air no matter how much pre-boarding inconvenience is experienced.  I guess the only safe way to fly is to take a bus.  That is, until Jihad goes after Greyhound.  But, in the meantime, I don’t have to sit up front in my aircraft wondering if some nut is going to ruin my day.  I’m retired!        

 

                                               HOW ERRONEOUS "SPECIAL EFFECTS" AFFECT OUR THINKING

  Many , many years ago as a young kid enchanted with anything about aviation, I was excited to see the early movies about flying.  Even though I lacked the technical knowledge about how things actually worked something didn't add up in my juvenile mind when I saw Hollywood's portrayal of the sights and sounds associated with airplanes and the people flying them.  I couldn't understand that every time the airplane was supposed to descend to land the engine noise increased like it was preparing to set a speed record.  My little mind said, "Gee, if it's going to land the engine noise should get quiet, the roaring power should be reduced so it could slow down and then land."  But obviously Hollywood thought this wouldn't be exciting enough to its audience so it made a hell raising noise to keep the excitement factor at high pitch.  More than that observatiion, I couldn't understand that when the scene changed to the stress of the two pilots at the controls during an exciting moment, one was pushing and the other was pulling while they were yelling at each other.  I thought that the controls were hooked to the same cables and the control surfaces only reacted to a single input.  Even though my first exposure to this exciting error created by Hollywood's products we all had to see for entertainment began more than seventy years ago, nothing has changed.  It's still going on and the ignorant viewers today still don't know the difference.  They think ,"that's the way it really is."  And, this false visual and audio scam is still going strong except the consequences have much more effect on the public because the TV screen shoves it in our face every day.  Not knowing the difference between fact and fiction, impressions are seated in our thought process that leads to oppinion hard to correct, no matter how open minded people claim to be.  It is usually the first impression that ends up being a lasting impression regardless whether or not it proves to be fact or fiction.  Even though flying is an experience more common to hundreds of millions in the civilized world than childbirth, truth about the facts still skips by as if it doesn't exist.  So where would you look for the truth, a mother or a Hollywood producer?
  Just for kicks let's just explore a couple other Hollywood (TV) myths viewers think are true facts about how things work in the real world.  Anybody reading this blog ever witness a tire burnout after a Nascar win?  It's a lot of squealing and smoke.  But that's on a dry racetrack isn't it?  But Hollywood gives you tire squealing on wet roads.  Why?  Simply for effect just like the squealing of the brakes as the car comes to a stop whether it is a brand new model with disc brakes or an old Chevy truck with drums and brake shoes worn to the rivets.
  How about the dialogue going on between the driver and passenger in the front seat of the Hollywood automobile.  Check this one out.  The driver takes his eyes off the road for sometimes four, five or more seconds looking at his passenger while making his point.  And this is at high speed on a two lane country road.  Ever try taking your eyes off the road this long?  You'd become a statistic!
And that little observation leads to another topic that is becoming more deadly every day...the cell phone and texting while driving.  Unless this practice is outlawed the stats will become awesome.
  But back to aviation.  Contrary to common belief, one doesn't hold their nose and blow like hell to equalize the pressure due to change in cabin altitude that  "closes your ears," as the aircraft descends.  This can easily pop an ear drum in an effort to clear the problem.  Simply swallow several times and yawn.  You'd be amazed how effective this is.  I flew a couple of times in my life to offer this suggestion.  In closing this blog I would offer another Hollywood pile of crap that snuck into practice as a result of AIRPORT.  Clapping and cheering after a succesful landing doesn't do anything more than display a sign of relief on the part of the "white knuckle passengers."  The damn airplane is going to come down one way or the other.  It's a matter of physical law.  What you should clap for is the fact that it gets in the air in the first place.  The take-off is always the most critical and demanding part of any flight aside from running into something unexpected like the birds that Sulley ran into leaving LaGuardia.  After the plane settled into the Hudson and everybody got off safely, Captain Sulley deserved not only cheering and clapping, they should have elevated him to the rank of Savior.  Because that is what he really is.  He had the skill and ability to change a powerful jet ito nothing more than a glider.  Isn't experience a wonderful thing?  Happy flying.

Captain IKE

  I've waited more than a month to put in my two cents worth about something in aviation that has no room for any excuse.  It's simply that any crew can never, never, compromise the safety of the aircraft that innocent passengers are sitting in the back sipping sauce thinking their crew is looking out for them.  Case in point...Northwest flight #188 from San Diego to Minneapolis in an Airbus A-320 with 144 passengers and a crew of five 10-21-09 that over- flew its destination by 150 miles.  I won't try to hide the fact that I, personally, don't have much faith in the FAA today.  After having served as a designated examiner for twenty years (I didn't seek the designation, I was approached in the early seventies to fill a void needing qualified and experienced aviators to cover a lack of FAA employees on the payroll and accepted the assignment.)  But, my comments are not meant to criticize the entire FAA, just certain areas where I know from experience is staffed by unqualified and inexperienced bureaucrats just waiting for retirement benefits.  As far as the air traffic controllers (whom I have the greatest respect for because they continue to do their best with too few in number using an antiquated system), they were not in any way responsible for what happened to NW #188.  It was a flight crew who obviously did not tell the truth about the circumstances causing this inexcusable event that could have become a disaster.     
  I have researched all the information regarding this event and have come up with my guestimate of what most likely happened.  It wasn't being preoccupied with any lap tops or lenghthy discussion about company schedules or policies during flight, THEY WERE NOT AWAKE!  I know how something like this can happen because I have been there.  But, in my case, with a flight deck crew of at least three at all times, we rotated our nappy time so that at least two qualified flight deck crew were on duty at all times.  However, that was when we had a Captain, First Officer and Flight Engineer.  The good old days before economics dictated eliminating the third crew member to save a buck.  I knew that eventually getting rid of the third pair of eyes could cause what happened to #188.  It was in the cards.   Now what?  I hope that the FAA has the balls to say, "sorry Charlie, you ain't going to keep your ticket, you blew it.  Find another job you can sleep on."  I have no brotherhood comraderie for these guys.  With all their claimed experience they should have known better.  Further, I'm not impressed with the rest of the flight crew in the back.  Certainly they knew the flight time from San Diego to MSP and could have opened the door to the flight deck and asked, "Are we having a delay?"  Especially when the air time was so far past normal.  So I'm going to fault the entire flight crew, not just the two guys up front snoring.
  How's that for this old Captain sticking his neck out?  Replies and comments welcome. 

"MY SON ALSO RISES" IS A CHAPTER IN MY NEW---SOON TO BE PUBLISHED BOOK.  THE CHAPTER IS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU TEACH A  "KID" TO FLY.  CATCH HIS SHOW ON 866 MUSTFLY.COM.

          ONE WORLD and it ain't a pretty one!  But, any of you aviation brothers and sisters who have ventured into my BLOG in the last several months certainly know that this ol' Captain doesn't stray too far from the pasture unless something on the other side of the fence gets his atention.   Then he either jumps over the fence or knocks its down to get to the good stuff..  This is good stuff so hang in with me.  It's scary and should make you  really think even though it isn't my usual aviation related blog but indirectly affects all of us in aviation. 
    Recently I completed my duties as a volunteer at the annual Sun 'n Fun airshow in Lakeland, florida.  My house guest during the week long gathering of the aviation brotherhood was an old FAA friend of mine whom I respect.  He gave me a DVD that not only brought back memories of my youth, but scared the hell out of me when I saw it.
    My father was a brilliant man who served in "The Great War" as an Army artillery officer and in the second one but not in combat, said to me more than fifty years ago, "It's starting all over again, the bastards are getting together in BILDERBERG.  It won't affect me but you and your grand kids will suffer from it because it's history and history repeats itself because we just don't learn.  Damn Hitler, Damn Napoleon, Damn the Rothchilds."  This infrequent get together was in 1954 after I served forty-one months sea duty as a navy pilot and had just completed my active duty assignment.  This was almost a year after the end of the Korean War and I was a civilian pilot looking for employment.  My dad was very aware of world situations.
     I wasn't smart enough to understand exactly what he was trying to tell me about the future at that time.  You know, parents tell kids things that just don't sink in because we know everything, we've got all the answers.  We don't get hung up on long range things because we really haven't lived long enough to understand.  Now I understand because I think I may have been a part of it by hauling some of the actors to their stage so they could conspire to control our destiny.
    I know there are many crazy theories about the ELITE taking over our world.  Just like the 9/11 theories I have to see more about to believe.  Now I'm inclined to believe!  The concept of Bilderberg, which has been repeated and repeated throughout history, caused me to take notice and to become concerned (frightened) for my grandchildren.  Maybe pop was right afterall.  He was a hell of a lot smarter than I was.
    I'm not suggesting that you simply believe me, just take time to do your own investigation on your computer rather than send silly messages and clog the E mail.  Ignore the crazies out there on the fringe wanting to blame political parties.  This conspiracy is much bigger than that.  It is bigger than the mouth of radical house speaker Nancy Pelosi or the smooth talking orator President Obama and the dishonest members of Congress stealing much more then our money, our individual freedom and the right to keep our sovereignty as an independent nation.  Take a hard look at a Congress that doesn't respect the Constitution or the Bill of rights and wants to change the basis of our very foundation for a, "ONE WORLD."  The world of the Bilderberg Group!
    As a pilot, I know several times in my flying, past reviewing my log books about where I went, and when I went with certain "important passengers who weren't on that particular flight", (although MY log book reads differently), I wonder if I could have unwittingly been a part of the Bilderberg Group gathering without any idea of what was happening at the time? WOW!  Imagine names like Henry Kissinger, Hilary clinton, Ben Bernaki, George Bush Sr., Gen. colon Powell, Prince Bernard of the Netherlands, several Queens of Europe, the Rothchild financial clan, King Juan Carlos of Spain and .....Robert Lee Vesco, the rogue international financier and personal friend of Richard M. Nixon.  I was Vesco's personal pilot for five years taking hundreds of important people all over the world for reasons that were really none of my business.  Looking back to that time I don't like what I see because of where this country is heading.  Our rights are being stolen little by little.
    Here is what I have learned.  Our shaky world currency for starters, unit world management and total control by government taking away whatever liberty we now have for the benefit of the have-nots.  It began in Europe with the Euro- dollar and national health care.  Here in  America nationalization of our private industries and many of our personal liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are quietly being stolen by a move toward Socialism.  On this side of the ocean we have NAFTA and other treaty agreements seriously changing customs fees and altering the sovereignty of the country.  Border security?  We ain't got any!
    Do not believe the problem is limited to our country.  There are members of the Bilderberg Group from the Arab world, China, Asia, the Far East and most of the civilized world who have conspired for the past fifty years (in fact, for hundreds of years)to manipulate governments with the most powerful tool in history....financial wealth.  Can you take the time to understand that we are controlled by China and Saudi Arabia financially?  That much of this great country is actually owned by foreign powers?  Human rights is a joke to these elite.  Total power for the Elite, no matter how it is gained, is their goal.  China, fo example, thrives on a history of de-humanization limiting the number of children any family can have under penalty of imprisonment for those breaking the limit.  Yet what country stands high on the ladder of international success because of its financial strength?  China!  It has the power to stop us in our tracks.  It can and will!
    Aside from financial power the citizens must be controlled, kept in their place, neutralized.  In America, by chipping away at our civil rights once guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of rights, taking away something as basic as our Second Amendment Right, originally created by future thinking men to protect citizens from runaway government out of control, is being accomplished little by little.  It seems we are about to lose our right to protect ourselves against tyranny.  Study your history and you will see tyrants always make sure that they never suffered from opposition capable of saying, "I've had enough, you aren't going to go any further."  Do you feel the separation of power and status?  The middle class has all but vanished, government is striving to make us a welfare state grateful for a lousy $250 handout to keep us quiet and ignore the widespread corruption and dishonesty of government.
    It truly does not matter if you agree with me or not.  Do your own research and investigate the Bilderberg Group by simply typing in: http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilderberg Group or just plain Bildergerg and make you own conclusion.  By the time you know what hit the fan I won't be here.  Maybe you won't either.  I will be flying high in another sky but our kids and grand kids will be here.  In what kind of world?  Will it be the United States of America, for which many fought and died in order  to remain the most admired and respected sovereign Christian nation in history, or one-third of a North American alliance (Mexico, the U.S., and Canada) subservient to the United Nations of BILDERBERG ruled by the ELITE? 

                                                   
                                                                            SIDE EFFECTS

     There is a form of disease running rampant throughout our country and the world.  The good news is that it is curable, even preventable if we are wise enough to heed all the warnings.
     First of all let me declare that I am neither a physician nor a pharmacist.  I am a minister and therefore concerned about the health of our nation.  I also have the pleasure and the responsibility of assisting people from all walks of life.  At times I am the last person they talk to in this life.  So, I do not take this reponsibility lightly.  Praying with families, counseling with folks of all ages, and just "being there" are all part of my daily life.  Therefore I am in th unique position of hearing about their ailments, symptoms and health problems too.  What I have observed is that most people suffer from dizziness, lack of energy,  sleeplessness, and appetite problems.  (Some folks are always hungry, some have no appetite at all.)  If they don't have a problem taking food in; there is a problem eliminating their food!
     If you research the medicines that most of these folk are consuming as a daily ( sometimes twice a day) dosage you will find the same printed disclaimers on the bottle that you can hear on the TV promotions for the product many, (too many), times a day.  You know the line that starts, "side effects may be........."  It is somewhat like the person whose finger hurt until they cut it off!
     We, as a nation, are suffering from SIDE EFFECTS.  I read flyers that arrive almost daily in the mail (unwanted junk mail I just can't seem to get rid of) promoting in bold letters, "ARE YOU TIRED?  DO YOU HAVE DIFFICULTY HEARING?  DO YOU HAVE TROUBLE GOING TO SLEEP?  ARE YOU DIZZY?  DO YOU HAVE LOSS OF APPETITE?  DO YOU GET UP TEN TIMES AT NIGHT TO GO TO THE BATHROOM?  etc.  OUR MIRACLE HERB, PILL OR LIQUID  WILL CURE YOU!"  It is offered, along with your credit card, absolutely FREE for the first seven or ten days...then you are automatically signed up for months of payments unless you jump through hoops to cancel within a very narrow time frame of escape from this ploy.
     Guess what?  If you are over fifty or sixty you can probably relate to any one of the many symptoms the media shoves in your face every day.  It is a natural result of aging, particularly if you have not taken care of your wonderful human machine we call our body for much of that time.  It isn't too late!  There are still forms of exercise and diet that will preserve your life span and health.  If you have trouble sleeping you might look into your work or exercise habits, maybe even drinking too much coffee or watching the wrong late-night movie on TV.  Then again, you just might check your medicine cabinet and find out just which of your medications could be fighting each other inside your body.
     Medicine has made wondrous progress in the past fifty years.  There is a PILL for almost everything.  My advice in most cases is to talk with your doctor about the new disease, "SIDE EFFECTS."  Check into the hundreds of preservatives and additives in the foods we buy and eat without the slightest idea of their effect on our body and use common sense to be aware of what an excess of anything put into your body can do if you just plain don't know.
     I wish you health in the coming years (we sure might not have wealth) and happiness beyond belief.

                                                                                                 Rev. Patricia Eisenhauer D.D.

                                                                            “Romance on the Lake”

         I do not remember where we first heard about this enticing idea for a mini vacation.  Certainly during the three years I lived in Orlando with all of its activity, I never once was invited aboard a Rivership and I was invited “many places.” 
Now my husband and I reside in Lakeland and we are often at a loss as to what to plan for a diversion.  We thoroughly enjoy visits to Mt. Dora.  All of Florida’s many beaches are fantastic when the “snowbirds’ depart.  We visit Cedar Key often too.  By far our most enjoyable moments are spent aboard the Rivership Romance. On each visit we have been delighted by the friendly professional service, the excellent cuisine and the amazing sight of Florida’s many colored fowl, (Egret, Heron, Osprey , gulls and  pelicans to name a few),  flowers and fruit and fish. You might also see a lazy, (we hope) alligator or beaver or sunning snake. “Nice to know that you are two decks high at those sightings.” 
        The Rivership, which seats 200, makes many trips up the St. John’s to the entertainment of all passengers. They offer luncheon cruises, themed dinner shows, special group occasions or our favorite the moonlight dinner & dancing cruise.
         Lake Monroe is one of Seminole County’s larger bodies of water.  It is 17.1 square miles and feeds into or out of the St. John’s River. Shortly after boarding the Purser is quick to announce that Lake Monroe is shallow.  That is to say that you cannot walk back to shore however if the occasion presented itself you need only visit the top deck bar to keep your feet dry.
Let’s take a voyage together.  First you must realize that this delightful adventure begins in the town/city of Sanford, Florida.  Sanford has been recreated to reflect a historic town with brick streets and antique shops.  Along the water front you will notice modern townhomes and apartments across from the yacht club. Only ½ hour from Orlando, on a good day.  Sanford is almost two hours from Lakeland and Tampa and worth every minute of your time.  Arrive early for the evening cruise or take advantage of the scenic motel directly on the Lake.  My husband, Ike, and I make the extra time for a Bloody Mary at the dockside bar.  It is “wind down time” from a busy day or a traffic filled journey. Soon you will hear “All aboard” and cheerfully join the crowd at the dock. (I have never figured why we crowd to step upon the gangplank when we have reservations?)
The uniformed Purser welcomes us and soon we are seated in the dining area awaiting instructions and cocktails, (or not.)  As the ship leaves the dock our server brings the menu and we commence the ‘serious’ part of our journey, ordering our dinner.  The selection is limited but gracious and we have never been disappointed.  Soon it is time to head toward the upper deck to enjoy meandering up the St. Johns, it doesn’t hurt to have your cocktail in hand as you visit with other passengers and share the awesome experience of a true Florida attraction. You see there are no artificial water rides or cartoon characters to entertain you or finely manicured golf courses to distract your attention.  This is the land that the Timacuans inhabited so many years ago.
         Speaking of long ago, the history of this magnificent vessel dates back to 1942.  She worked for fifty years in the icy water of the Great Lakes.   During World War II she carried American and Canadian troops and armaments guarding the vulnerable area of the locks. She hauled workers and supplies in 1952 during the building of the Macinaw Bridge.  To add to her mystic she was involved with the search for the Edmond Fitzgerald of the famous Gordon Lightfoot haunting song.  Like Black Beauty the present owners found the ship, now named the M/V Chicago in sad condition needing maintenance in Chicago. However, this soon- to- be grand lady was built of the steel of the 1940s and had spent her entire life in the cold clear fresh water. There was no rust inside or out. 
And so the present owners rescued her. Commencing in Chicago in 1995 they proceeded south on the Calumet River to the Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee Rivers entering the Tombigbee Waterway to mobile Alabama.  From there they moved eastward to Pensacola, south across the Gulf of Mexico to Ft. Myers, east across the Lake Okeechobee waterway to St. Lucie canal to Stuart then north to Mayport and finally the St. Johns River. The entire journey of 2,700 miles lasted 30 days. The next six months were spent in refurbishing, replacing, adding a 40 ton air conditioner and peeling away layers of paint.  Finally the interior lighting, carpeting and decorating was completed.  She became the elegant lady she was always meant to be.   
         All too soon the dinner bell is sounded and we return below deck to our table.  We are still able to watch the river roll by, though our table side picture window. Or are we rolling by the river?  At any rate, by the time dessert is announced we have almost traversed the river and we have yet to dance.  We return to the upper deck and work off our dinner with real danceable music provided by local entertainers, mostly.  We two step and rumba and enjoy an occasional swing number, (sound archaic (?) well maybe, but just perfect for the evening.) When the music ends we are aware that we are back on Lake Monroe and nearing the dock.  
         I have never been with a more congenial group.  As we disembark our serving team is there to bid us adieu and the Purser, who has made the entire voyage memorable, will offer his hand and a smile, a big smile. 
         I have seen newlyweds enjoy this trip, but then newlyweds enjoy almost any entertainment.  Birthday parties are celebrated on board ship and then you have the oldsters, like Ike and I, completely enchanted although we have made several trips.  So if you decide to come aboard and you happen to see a couple in their seventies having a wonderful time, wave and say “hi” unless we are smooching in some dark corner.

Patricia Eisenhauer D.D

 

  I'm a NASCAR fan.  I just watched the Daytona 500.  One thing that impresssed me was that Jeff Gordon told his pit crew,  "I've got a vibration.  I think my right front tire is going away and I'm coming in."  He felt the vibration in his wheel and knew what was going wrong.  His race car was talking to him and he was smart enough to listen to it before he ended up in the wall. Why am I starting this article about a race car when the thrust of this is about an airplane?  Because there is a common denominator here.  Had the pilot of Continental #  3407 been hand flying his aircraft during the approach into Buffalo (the jury is still out on this because of the AFM recommendations for flying into ice with the auto-pilot controlling the aircraft isn't clear on the amount of ice that will dictate the proper procedure), HE would have felt the nibble of the stick shaker (HIS AIRPLANE TALKING TO HIM) telling him something was wrong and he could have gotten ahead of the problem.  Instead, nothing was done until the auto-pilot couldn't handle things and turned itself off at the same time the "stick pusher" tried to shove the nose down.  But, the nose didn't go down.  Instead it abruptly shot up  and instantly stalled the aircraft.  Why?  Most likely, (yet to be established by more FDR details from the NTS the auto-pilot ran out of authority and couldn't handle the situation.  The pilot got a handful of airplane out of trim and in a stalled conditiion.  He couldn't handle it.  Things went too far.  The aircraft suddendly pitched up thirty degrees, stalled, rolled 46 degrees to the left then 105 degrees to the right and dropped its nose totally out of control (losing 800 feet in five seconds).  The odds are from the ground impact evidence the aircraft was in a flat spin as it plumetted toward the ground and ended up pointing in the opposite direction it was originally heading because when it hit, it was spinning like a top.  Fortunately, or unfortunately, it only destroyed a single house instead of an entire block.
  Is this fact or simply speculation?  It's speculation based on my years of experience flying in icing conditions and knowing what can, and does, happen to aircraft when ice buildup affects the aerodynamics.  Not only does ice buildup on the wings cause loss of lift, but ice buildup on the horizontal stabilizer can cause problems with ability to control the pitch (nose up or down). 
  I' m not jumping to any conclusion.  Let's leave that to the experts making up the NTSB.  But, I do have an opinion based on over 41,000 hours of flying and years of doing accident investigatiion.  I think that the probable cause of this disaster will point to "crew error."   We won't go into the many possibilities where judgment and actiions played a roll.  I only hope that we learn from this so that it won't happen again.  Good luck NTSB.