THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

'Twas the night before Christmas all over the place,
When we were confronted by an old flying ace.
There was icing reported and turbulent air,
He said, "File me a flight plan, I gotta get there".

Outside sat his aircraft all ready to run,
And the old man walked out to that P-51.
"Bad weather's no problem," he silently mumbled,
The prop came to life...that big Merlin rumbled.

He eased in the throttle, the roar shook the ground,
He taxied on out and turned it around.
He went through the run-up and seemed satisfied,
Then he said to himself, "I'm in for a ride."

So he lined it up straight as he poured on the coal,
The tailwheel came up as he started to roll.
Up off the runway, he sucked up the gear,
And that mighty V-12 was all you could hear.

He screamed overhead with a deafening crack,
Blue flames flying from each little stack.
"He pulled up the nose and started to climb,
No ice on that airframe, it didn't have time.

On top of the weather with the levers all set,
He looked up above him and saw a Learjet.
"With jet fuel and turbines there just ain't no class,
Gimmee pistons, and props and lots of avgas!"

Now he was approaching where he wanted to go.
But the weather had covered the runway with ice and with snow.
How will he land it? We just have to guess,
Because the only way in was a full I-L-S.

Then over the outer marker, he started his run,
The ceiling was zero, visibility...none.
Still going three hundred and he felt the need,
For an overhead break to diminish his speed.

Over the numbers he zoomed, along like a flash,
Pulled into his break, we just knew he would crash.
Oh, why do they do it on these kind of nights??
Then over the threshold, we saw landing lights.

I'm on a short final with three in the green,
And I see enough runway to land this machine.".
Then he tied down that Mustang, and they all heard him say,..
"Next year, I'm stickin' with my reindeer and sleigh..".

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1980 300D - Veggie Burner !

WVO, not to immediately hijack your thread, but...

What all did you say you owned/flew again? Wasn't there talk of a Mustang? I think you stated your wife flew it (just couldn't dismount it if I recall...). If you could, perhaps you might refresh my memory...

MV

For ~15 years we operated an air charter service, 90% of which catered to celebrities ducking the paparazzi. We sold the company this year, after an offer was made that we just couldn’t refuse. We wanted more time here with the kids as well. So off went the 3 Citation CJ3’s, 2 of the three Cessna 208/675’s, 3 Bell 206 B3’s, 2 Bell 206 L4’s, and a slew of parts and service contracts. There were quite a few client contracts in the hat as well. (Hence the offer that was made.) All said and done - Fourteen of our original start-up employees were given 7 figure severance checks. We were rather happy/proud we could do that.

The P-51 mentioned is 1/2 ours. The other owner flies it far more than we do though. We were taking it in for some avionics upgrades when DJ caught her shoe lace on the cockpit step and splattered on the wing. She’s fine now, but prefers not to think about it. I only bring it up when I want to jack with her.

Per your request - Here’s what the “Toy Boxes” are down to now.

Rotor Wing:
Bell 407 (For Sale 2/08)
Bell 47 G2 (big MASH Fan)
MD530F (Zip-Fun !!)
Looking for a Civ. Bell UH-1H (2/08)

Fixed Wing:
Cessna Citation X (Part of the co. sale terms)
Piper PA31 Panther (Beater)
Cessna 675 Caravan (amphibian)
Cessna 150 Aerobat (Wife’s)
Piper J3 Cub (Never forget the roots)
North American T-28C (Wife’s)
North American P-51/TF-51H (1/2 owners. Fly it maybe 5 times a year.)
North American P-51D (100% Finances only, Do not fly it. UK based.)
Cessna T-41 (Civilian painted Piper eater)
Boeing PT-17 (Can’t sell, It was a Gift)
Cessna O-1 (L-19E)(Tow plane for the Grobs)
EA-300L (Wife’s “Vomit Master“)
Still looking for the right NA B-25.

Sail Planes:
Grob G103 Twin Astir (Free-Fun)
Grob G104 Speed Astir II (Wife races it.)

__________________
1980 300D - Veggie Burner !

Wasn't their some sort of flying boat as well?

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

We "shared" an HU-16 with another couple for a few years.
That interest was sold out to redo the interior in the -X.

It's still ours to use for the asking. Just no longer part of our fleet.

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1980 300D - Veggie Burner !

Thanks for the visual, what a great story.

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"It's normal for these things to empty your wallet and break your heart in the process."
2012 SLK 350
1987 420 SEL

Great poem...

Let me know when you'll have that Mustang out in the midwest. That's my all-time favorite airplane to watch/hear fly; a real thing of pure beauty.

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1992 300D 2.5T
1980 Euro 300D (sadly, sold)
1998 Jetta TDI, 132K "Rudy"
1974 Triumph TR6
1999 Saab 9-5 wagon (wife's)