Fall at the Bee
OK, I can take a hint. I had to scrape off a layer of ice on the windshield of our boat this morning, so it is clearly time to go. We are within days of wrapping things up and calling it a season. We have taken our last boat rides and seen the leaves change from their summer green to their glorious fall oranges, reds and yellows. We have picked our apples, said our goodbyes to friends and are ready for the bi-yearly transition. We have celebrated the Canadian Thanksgiving with my sister’s family who joined us for the long week end.
I managed a serious project before our departure by grinding our 2,500 gallon septic ‘holding’ tank. It was showing its age and considering the contents, we hardly wanted it to spring a leak. So after prepping it, I covered it with an industrial marine epoxy. With any luck, we will be good for decades. The alternative was an expensive replacement and a battle with the local authorities over its current placement.
The airplane has been wrapped up and stored for the winter and we are about to pull one of our boats out of the water, winterizing and store it also. Every year we get a little better at closing the cabin for the next 7 months, making the process easier, faster and less dramatic.
Our nieces anxious for their first flight
As I mentioned last month, I did not finish my summer project. In fact, it looks like it may well take a chunk of next summer to get it done. I am committed to finishing and truly hope I am up in the wild blue yonder prior to my 3 X 20 birthday in August. (I am sorry but I just can’t bring myself to saying the “S” word) I will spend considerable time this winter studying all the assembly components I clearly need to learn a lot more about.
Still, I did manage to make another dent in the workload. Another 116 hours worth this month, actually. I have the wings, flaperons and tail section ready for paint (I primed them), built the doors and have spent considerable time getting my instruments together to be able to design the instrument panel. Like designing your kitchen, you have to choose all your appliances before you can decide where they will all go. To finish, I have to install the engine and wire up the electrical. It sounds straightforward but it’s still a lot of work. One of the last things I will do is cover the exterior fabric on the fuselage itself and paint.
The airplane should be lighter because I have some parts left over!
It is infinitely easier to install all the components that go inside if you can just reach in and work on them without the exterior skin. Meanwhile though, it looks more like a go cart than an airplane. In yet another “I know someone who crashed” story, I got the following from my friend Bob in California…
“My ex-wife started taking flying lessons about the time our divorce started and she got her license shortly before it was final, later that same year.
She narrowly escaped injury in the aircraft she was piloting when she was forced to make an emergency landing in Southern Tennessee because of bad weather. Thank God my daughter was with me at the Beach that weekend. The absence of a post-crash fire was likely due to insufficient fuel on board. No one on the ground was injured but the photograph below was taken at the scene and shows the extent of damage to her aircraft. She was very lucky.”
On a more serious note, the American Border Patrol has announced that they have begun to use this particular type of aircraft (mine, not hers!) for aerial surveillance and are now equipping it with sensors, head-mounted high definition video cameras including a thermal camera that can spot an individual at five miles. This will allow the pilot to do what it took two people in a Cessna, and to do it quietly.
They were particularly pleased to be able to make long power-off glides, making the aircraft stealthy, especially at night. That’s right, they turn the engine off on purpose, to be able to keep an eye on an area quietly, knowing this type of airplane has such a great glide ratio. Few general aviation pilots would ever dream of attempting such a stunt. I just hope the drug smugglers don’t mistake me as one of them (border patrol) and try to shoot me down!
This is a story I have shared with very few people, but enough time has gone by for it not to matter much anymore.
I was 21 and in college, applying to immigrate to the US. An international incident was unfolding in the province of Quebec at the time, with a local group of “terrorists” called the FLQ (Liberation Front of Quebec) who were demanding the separation of Quebec from the rest of Canada. These yahoo’s went around robbing banks to fund their activities and put bombs in the public mailboxes. Then, one day, they reached down into their man bag and kidnapped a British diplomat.
It was on!
The Canadian government overreacted and enacted the “War Measures Act”, a WWII measure designed to provide it with vast powers during a national emergency. With a stroke of the pen, they suspended civil liberties from coast to coast for 22 million Canadians (at the time), allowing them to arrest anyone without cause and jail them without a hearing, indefinitely.
Here though, they were only dealing with a half dozen bank robbers who got too big for their britches and decided to take it to the next level. The army surrounded the TV and radio towers and began patrolling the city in jeeps mounted with 50 caliber machine guns, ready for any attempted ‘coup d’état’.
I immediately seized on this opportunity as manna dropped from heaven, jumping on my motorcycle, and driving straight to the US border. There, I told the incredulous border guard that I wanted to defect. Being a smarty pants, I figured I could shrewdly circumvent all the immigration requirements.
Taking Grandma for a ride shortly before defecting
Defect, he stammered? After all, I didn’t look like I was from Uzbekistan. “Sure”, I explained. “Canada has just suspended all civil liberties and has turned into a banana republic. The army is running amok” I added for dramatic effect. A long discussion ensued with the shift supervisor but in the end, I did not prevail and was sent back to the city surrounded with concertina wire. You will understand the irony of all of this when you read about my...
I know, I know. I have made a number of tongue–in-cheek wise cracks about our friends to the North. Our family and friends there have taken the good-natured ribbing well but this time they hit back below the belt.
I woke up from a terrible nightmare a few weeks ago only to realize I wasn't sleeping. Daughter Mandy had just informed me of a new law that could impact my Canadian citizenship.
Excuse me? My Canadian citizenship? What Canadian citizenship? I gave up my Canadian citizenship 36 years ago when I moved to California and enlisted in the US Army. Heck, I had even tried to defect! What more did they want? It was Canadian law at the time that if you became a US citizen, you automatically lost your Canadian citizenship, so I didn’t even need to renounce my old status.
Mandy though, discovered that on April 17 2009, Canada amended its citizenship act. It seems that shortly prior and shortly after my move, Canadians could retain dual citizenship. It was determined that this was inconsistent, and the change was made to 'harmonize' the policy.
The long and the short of it was that without my consent, access to legal representation, due process or being granted so much as a hearing, their government has reinstated my Canadian citizenship. It was like an old girlfriend who would not take no for an answer and kept stalking you.The utter nerve!
Now don’t get you panty hose caught in a bunch; this has no effect whatsoever on my US citizenship. It only means that as far as Canada is concerned, I have “dual” citizenship. It is irrelevant to the US what any other government grants. If you are a US citizen, you are a US citizen. Period.
The change also affects my biological children, granting them Canadian Citizenship automatically even though they were not born there and do not live there.
Never one to miss an opportunity to make lemonade out of lemons, I began to wonder if I would be eligible for some kind of repatriation fund for the decades of potentially missed opportunities? How about some kind of social security? Will I be reimbursed for the extortionist fees for non-citizens I was charged for sending our younger daughter to school in Canada for two years? Gee, I wonder when the next election is, so I can vote? Might I be able to help get rid of Democrats in two countries?
This link is to a one minute long really funny YouTube video showing what the Canadian government fantasized would be my reaction.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDeDQpIQFD0
I managed a serious project before our departure by grinding our 2,500 gallon septic ‘holding’ tank. It was showing its age and considering the contents, we hardly wanted it to spring a leak. So after prepping it, I covered it with an industrial marine epoxy. With any luck, we will be good for decades. The alternative was an expensive replacement and a battle with the local authorities over its current placement.
The airplane has been wrapped up and stored for the winter and we are about to pull one of our boats out of the water, winterizing and store it also. Every year we get a little better at closing the cabin for the next 7 months, making the process easier, faster and less dramatic.
Our nieces anxious for their first flightAs I mentioned last month, I did not finish my summer project. In fact, it looks like it may well take a chunk of next summer to get it done. I am committed to finishing and truly hope I am up in the wild blue yonder prior to my 3 X 20 birthday in August. (I am sorry but I just can’t bring myself to saying the “S” word) I will spend considerable time this winter studying all the assembly components I clearly need to learn a lot more about.
Still, I did manage to make another dent in the workload. Another 116 hours worth this month, actually. I have the wings, flaperons and tail section ready for paint (I primed them), built the doors and have spent considerable time getting my instruments together to be able to design the instrument panel. Like designing your kitchen, you have to choose all your appliances before you can decide where they will all go. To finish, I have to install the engine and wire up the electrical. It sounds straightforward but it’s still a lot of work. One of the last things I will do is cover the exterior fabric on the fuselage itself and paint.
The airplane should be lighter because I have some parts left over!It is infinitely easier to install all the components that go inside if you can just reach in and work on them without the exterior skin. Meanwhile though, it looks more like a go cart than an airplane. In yet another “I know someone who crashed” story, I got the following from my friend Bob in California…
“My ex-wife started taking flying lessons about the time our divorce started and she got her license shortly before it was final, later that same year.
She narrowly escaped injury in the aircraft she was piloting when she was forced to make an emergency landing in Southern Tennessee because of bad weather. Thank God my daughter was with me at the Beach that weekend. The absence of a post-crash fire was likely due to insufficient fuel on board. No one on the ground was injured but the photograph below was taken at the scene and shows the extent of damage to her aircraft. She was very lucky.”
On a more serious note, the American Border Patrol has announced that they have begun to use this particular type of aircraft (mine, not hers!) for aerial surveillance and are now equipping it with sensors, head-mounted high definition video cameras including a thermal camera that can spot an individual at five miles. This will allow the pilot to do what it took two people in a Cessna, and to do it quietly.
They were particularly pleased to be able to make long power-off glides, making the aircraft stealthy, especially at night. That’s right, they turn the engine off on purpose, to be able to keep an eye on an area quietly, knowing this type of airplane has such a great glide ratio. Few general aviation pilots would ever dream of attempting such a stunt. I just hope the drug smugglers don’t mistake me as one of them (border patrol) and try to shoot me down!
Taking a stroll down memory lane:
The Defection
The Defection
This is a story I have shared with very few people, but enough time has gone by for it not to matter much anymore.
I was 21 and in college, applying to immigrate to the US. An international incident was unfolding in the province of Quebec at the time, with a local group of “terrorists” called the FLQ (Liberation Front of Quebec) who were demanding the separation of Quebec from the rest of Canada. These yahoo’s went around robbing banks to fund their activities and put bombs in the public mailboxes. Then, one day, they reached down into their man bag and kidnapped a British diplomat.
It was on!
The Canadian government overreacted and enacted the “War Measures Act”, a WWII measure designed to provide it with vast powers during a national emergency. With a stroke of the pen, they suspended civil liberties from coast to coast for 22 million Canadians (at the time), allowing them to arrest anyone without cause and jail them without a hearing, indefinitely.
Here though, they were only dealing with a half dozen bank robbers who got too big for their britches and decided to take it to the next level. The army surrounded the TV and radio towers and began patrolling the city in jeeps mounted with 50 caliber machine guns, ready for any attempted ‘coup d’état’.
I immediately seized on this opportunity as manna dropped from heaven, jumping on my motorcycle, and driving straight to the US border. There, I told the incredulous border guard that I wanted to defect. Being a smarty pants, I figured I could shrewdly circumvent all the immigration requirements.
Taking Grandma for a ride shortly before defectingDefect, he stammered? After all, I didn’t look like I was from Uzbekistan. “Sure”, I explained. “Canada has just suspended all civil liberties and has turned into a banana republic. The army is running amok” I added for dramatic effect. A long discussion ensued with the shift supervisor but in the end, I did not prevail and was sent back to the city surrounded with concertina wire. You will understand the irony of all of this when you read about my...
Waking up Canadian
I know, I know. I have made a number of tongue–in-cheek wise cracks about our friends to the North. Our family and friends there have taken the good-natured ribbing well but this time they hit back below the belt.
I woke up from a terrible nightmare a few weeks ago only to realize I wasn't sleeping. Daughter Mandy had just informed me of a new law that could impact my Canadian citizenship.
Excuse me? My Canadian citizenship? What Canadian citizenship? I gave up my Canadian citizenship 36 years ago when I moved to California and enlisted in the US Army. Heck, I had even tried to defect! What more did they want? It was Canadian law at the time that if you became a US citizen, you automatically lost your Canadian citizenship, so I didn’t even need to renounce my old status.
Mandy though, discovered that on April 17 2009, Canada amended its citizenship act. It seems that shortly prior and shortly after my move, Canadians could retain dual citizenship. It was determined that this was inconsistent, and the change was made to 'harmonize' the policy.
The long and the short of it was that without my consent, access to legal representation, due process or being granted so much as a hearing, their government has reinstated my Canadian citizenship. It was like an old girlfriend who would not take no for an answer and kept stalking you.The utter nerve!
Now don’t get you panty hose caught in a bunch; this has no effect whatsoever on my US citizenship. It only means that as far as Canada is concerned, I have “dual” citizenship. It is irrelevant to the US what any other government grants. If you are a US citizen, you are a US citizen. Period.
The change also affects my biological children, granting them Canadian Citizenship automatically even though they were not born there and do not live there.
Never one to miss an opportunity to make lemonade out of lemons, I began to wonder if I would be eligible for some kind of repatriation fund for the decades of potentially missed opportunities? How about some kind of social security? Will I be reimbursed for the extortionist fees for non-citizens I was charged for sending our younger daughter to school in Canada for two years? Gee, I wonder when the next election is, so I can vote? Might I be able to help get rid of Democrats in two countries?
This link is to a one minute long really funny YouTube video showing what the Canadian government fantasized would be my reaction.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDeDQpIQFD0
