Rubbing Elbows with El Presidente

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Ryan Smith
Posts: 1210
Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2008 4:26 am

Rubbing Elbows with El Presidente

Post by Ryan Smith »

Literally. I went flying with the guy. He even picked me up in his spiffy taildragger Cessna. Unfortunately, it was the wrong airplane, but since it was a first-class upgrade, I was all too happy to oblige.

Now I don't want to go making everyone feel inferior because of my new-found status, being a ballast for his 195 and all, but I'm pretty proud of myself.

In all seriousness, Richard comes up to Dallas on a regular basis, and I happened to luck out in that he has not yet headed north for the summer. After exchanging information last weekend, I called Richard up on Monday to hash out some basic details, and eventually all the pieces fell into place and I've had a terrific ending to my first month down here in Texas. Richard was kind enough to offer to pick me up in his 195 at Hicks and take me flying for a bit, before putting her to bed at his hangar at Grand Prairie Municipal and having dinner.

I have read a lot of his posts on here over the years, but until one gets to meet someone in person and exchange stories, it's a different kind of "knowing" someone. I'm sure everyone on here that's an active community member understands, but Richard was a fantastic host and gave me a lot of history of the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and a great aerial tour of the south part of the city, as well as a good education on 195s and some awesome stories from his days working oil fields in Alaska.

He was kind enough to let me fly the RNAV Rwy 35 approach down to minimums, which is particularly helpful as I am going home on my 10-day break to finish my instrument rating for work. We had an awesome dinner at BBQ restaurant (more like institution) in Ft. Worth called Angelo's, where I had a BBQ salami sandwich, on Richard's recommendation, and it was quite satisfying. Before dropping me off back at my place, we stopped at Northwest Regional to see the goings on out there and watched a clipped-wing Cub do some touch and goes.

All in all, my first (work) trip to Texas has been a blast. I've had an opportunity to connect with five local 170 owners, (Rusty Morris; Steve Jacobson; Richard Pulley; Bruce Conner; and Gene Hattaway, who is an American captain and recently purchased a beautiful 52). My next time out here, I have have meeting Paul Wood on my list as we've exchanged a few messages. If there are any 170 owners in central Texas that want an excuse to go fly, I'll be happy to buy fuel and lunch on a Saturday/Sunday for any willing victims. My only caveat for being here is that I cannot venture too far away for too long (so going to Houston for the day or anything like that is ill-advised) because of the nature of my job and being on call for any potential service interruptions, but I am free to tool around the area and exchange lies.

As always, I have pictures of Richard's airplane, but I feel a bit like a stalker for taking a picture of my company. Plus, everyone knows what he looks like anyway. :P

Thank you for your hospitality, Richard. I can't wait to be back down in the area again in a few weeks.
hilltop170
Posts: 3481
Joined: Sat May 06, 2006 6:05 pm

Re: Rubbing Elbows with El Presidente

Post by hilltop170 »

Thanks for the kind words Ryan, it was a pleasure meeting you. I'm glad we finally connected and I was able to show you my old stomping grounds around the DFW area. Good luck with your instrument rating in the next couple of weeks. Feel free to post any pictures you want. Too bad you won't still be in Texas tomorrow, more BBQ at the monthly Texas Fly-in at Stephenville.
Richard Pulley
2014-2016 TIC170A Past President
1951 170A, N1715D, s/n 20158, O-300D
Owned from 1973 to 1984.
Bought again in 2006 after 22 years.
It's not for sale!
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Ryan Smith
Posts: 1210
Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2008 4:26 am

Re: Rubbing Elbows with El Presidente

Post by Ryan Smith »

Aryana wrote:Sounds like a great day with Richard!

190/195's are awesome aren't they Ryan? They are a bucket list airplane for me...hopefully with the "Shakey Jake". I'd be in heaven with one.

- No struts, cantelivered wing
- step pops out of fuselage with the door
- forward visibility that gives you the REAL vintage taildragger experience
- round engine, round tail
- Giant Y for the control wheels
- I could go on and on...

A friend here has the very last LC-126 that was ever made. Makes me so jealous of it every time I see her in it!
They are amazing airplanes. One of these days when I am proficient driving taildraggers and have sufficient disposable income, I will have one. Is Jan Causey the LC-126 owner in question?
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Kyle Wolfe
Posts: 707
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2003 12:30 am

Re: Rubbing Elbows with El Presidente

Post by Kyle Wolfe »

Was in the back of a 195 once at Petit Jean. Can't recall who's it was but it was sweet!

Ryan your a lucky guy rubbing elbows with the grand pooh bah. :) I'm envious of your trip!
Kyle
54 B N1932C
57 BMW Isetta
Best original 170B - Dearborn, MI 2005
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