Getting there and getting set up
The Thibs annual fly-in, at long last…we can’t believe we are here for the fly-in, especially after seeing so many photos of the prior years and hearing all the stories.
Beth and James Thibodeaux are really awesome. Beth has her own painting business, specializing in unique faux painting, and she works as a flight attendant for a small private airline, doing regular runs and charter flights. James has just begun flying for the same airline, and he still manages the various business enterprises for a local doctor. They are both extremely busy, and yet they manage to keep the airfield maintained and to put on these fly-ins twice a year. In spite of all this, they demonstrate a really clear affection for each other that is wonderful to see.
Despite the fact that Beth had an unexpected charter flight this week and that James had been called on a flight to Mexico, not arriving home until later afternoon Friday (the first day of the event), they still created this whole event without a hitch. Beth had everything organized to the last detail, and knew who was coming to bring what. She loaded the truck herself and drove from Broussard to Abbeville, and got it all set up quickly. She had 3 meals to plan and had the whole setup to plan.
She then managed the cleanup afterward. We are really impressed with her abilities!
At the airfield (we caught a ride with Heuetta), we quickly got our tent set up and sleeping gear out so we could enjoy the rest of the day. Even by 4 in the afternoon, things were getting busy. Beth Thibodeaux showed up soon after we got there, with her truckload of things for the event. The hangar had been cleared out, tables were being set up, and preparation was made for cooking. Meanwhile more and more planes and people showed up. Outside the hangar in back was a huge pile of wood. I pointed it out to Chelsea and said, “Look, they really cleaned this place out!” She looked at it a minute and said, “No, that’s the marshmallow pit.” I just laughed, because the pile of wood was so huge.
James and Big Ed
Dave Myers, the owner/builder of the small Hummel ultralight we photographed back in June, set up his systems to make a big pot of vegetable soup in a huge pot over a propane stove just inside the hangar. Meanwhile, Big Ed, locally known for his crazy antics and fearless flying, was entertaining the crowd with his antics in his single seat ultralight. He was just amazing – chasing cars down the road in front of the airfield, flying under the power lines, buzzing the hangar constantly, and doing all manner of twists and rolls and climbs and descents and banking turns. I half expected him to do a full loop and a roll!
As the crowd grew slowly, people gathered around the soup pot in the hangar, glad to have something warm and filling, keeping away the cold of the night. Jay Tee (James Thibodaux) arrived with a big splash…I looked up to see him driving down Bienville Rd toward the entrance, with Big Ed in hot pursuit in the ultralight. James turned into the airfield, giving Ed time to turn as well. By the time we could see them again, James was ‘flying’ down the center of the airstrip in his pickup truck with Ed only a few feet ahead him, and only a few feet from the ground. What a sight! James sped up rapidly and he must have been doing 60 mph on the grass of the airstrip, chasing the ultralight, inches away. What a sight!
There’d been talk of night flying, but only one ultralight went up – Big Ed. He kept up his antics, although we couldn’t see him in the dark night sky. Ed had confided to us earlier that it was pretty spooky landing in the dark, as the ultralight didn’t have landing lights. It stays lighter up higher, so the pilot is thrown off a bit coming back down to earth, and there’s significantly less light on the landing strip, as in, zero visibility. Without lights it can seem pretty dicey. Ed only did perhaps 2 flights after dark fell.
Bonfire
As Chelsea and I greeted people we knew and chatted with people we didn’t know, a call went up that the bonfire was being lit. It turned out Chelsea was right – that huge pile of wood was old elevator crates brought over and stacked by Dave Myers. The guys went looking for gasoline and a lighter, and there went the bonfire. Talk about impressive! The flames shot 30 feet high, at least. Check out the photo gallery – Chelsea got a shot of an electric cart near the fire, and you can see the perspective of people to flame height. When she took the photo, the flames had already gone down a bit from their full height. She has another photo of some of us standing near the hangar doors, bathed in light, with only the flames providing the light. The fire was built on (short) grass, and the grass caught on fire, causing a steadily growing ring around the fire.
Meanwhile, James wasn’t sitting around idly. We heard a loud roar, and here came James, buzzing the hangar and flying through the flames! He must have buzzed the flames at least three or four times, till they finally started burning down. Chelsea got a great photo of the flames, and if you look to the left, you’ll see the plane silhouetted in the flames. I murmured out loud “He’s nuts!” I didn’t realize I was standing next to Ed, who replied “Yeah, you’ll notice he’s flying my plane, not his!”
Cycling conversation
There were two notable conversations of the night, one on cycling and the other on the election. While watching the flames, I stood next to a guy who looked about Chelsea’s age. He asked how I happened to be there (it’s a pretty tightly knit crowd and he hadn’t seen us there before), so I simply said that my daughter and I were on a long bike trip and James had put us up at the airfield for a week or so. His response was immediate “Oh, you’re the cyclists!” He introduced himself as Jonathan, and told me he and his two brothers are bike racers. We talked a long time about our trip and about bike racing. Chelsea and I talk about our trip much less than you’d think – and we talk about bicycling even less, so it was a special treat to get so much “shop talk” in. We gave him our card and hoped we’d see him again.
The next morning one of the early risers was Jonathan’s younger brother Adam, who runs a wedding photography business with his wife. Their photos are just beautiful – it’s worth checking out their website www.adamanderinfalgoutphotography.com. When Adam and I introduced ourselves to each other, he said “I know you! You’re the cyclists! My brother gave a bunch of us cyclists your website last night and told us to log on! Those alligator pictures are disgusting!” It was a delight to know that Jonathan had liked meeting us and liked our story. Often we go a long time without hearing from anyone, and it can feel a bit lonely. Knowing people are watching and reading the website is heartwarming for us. I thoroughly enjoyed both brothers – they are both lively, highly articulate and full of a great energy.
Obama and the election
The other interesting conversation was one we overheard about the recent election and about Barack Obama’s win. Keep in mind that Louisiana is the heart of conservative Republican territory. Finding a Democratic liberal in this part of the country is pretty rare. I fully expected a lot of ranting about Obama’s win, as we had heard some pretty rough stuff in Fred’s in Mamou, and folks around here are pretty passionate.
There always seem to be those who are woefully uneducated (on either side of the political fence), and there was a young woman who is still puzzled about how Obama could even be elected because, “He’s not even American! He wasn’t even born here! And he’s Muslim, I’ve heard!”
But that aside, I was pretty amazed to hear the balanced outlook from most of the guys. There seems to be a general feeling that McCain didn’t really represent “our” views anyway, so it wasn’t as big a loss as it might have been. There’s also a certain respect for Obama for having pulled off such an upset, and there was a feeling that maybe he will improve the US standing internationally. There is clear and general disgust with Bush’s policy, and an agreement that even Obama might be better than Bush. I’d say that the feeling is that Obama shouldn’t be underestimated.
Of course, since Obama is black, there was talk of him being assassinated. A joke making the rounds is that of Obama being in heaven and standing at St Peter’s chair. St Peter says, “Well, I hear you were president of the United States. How long were you president?” Obama replies “About 20 minutes.” Despite the jokes, the guys seemed seriously concerned about an assassination, feeling that it would truly be a push into national anarchy. They weren’t happy about that outcome at all.
Tent sleeping
Because of couchsurfing, we’ve not been in the tent since Morgan City, lo these many months ago. It felt like coming home again to be in the tent. We did have access to the bathroom in the airfield Cajun cabin, but James and Beth were sleeping in there, so we had very limited access after dark. Despite the fact that the temperature dropped to 44 degrees, we were very cozy in our sleeping bags, and there certainly wasn’t a problem with stale air! The hard part was getting up in that kind of cold!
Getting into the day
Beth made it lot easier to be happier about getting up. As we staggered out sleepily, we discovered that she had made coffee, and was making pancakes, eggs and bacon for the few sleepyheads that were early risers. Before breakfast was even cleaned up, she was setting up for lunch, cooking brisket and chili. We pitched in to cut bread for sloppy Joes, and helped set up tables, chairs, and tablecloths; we did dishes; we even addressed invitations for her for James’s upcoming 50th birthday party. In addition to the brisket and chili, folks had brought cookies, doughnuts, rolls, and pies. We were ready by 10:30 in the morning and people were eating by then!
Remote control planes
As the day went on, more and more airplanes came flying in. Check out the photos for a good aerial view of the planes. We figure there must have been about 30 planes there at the peak times. The day was full of fun and full of sights and conversations. Planes were landing and taking off constantly, and there were frequently 3 to 5 planes in the air at a time. Two of the guys would take turns on a handheld radio, acting as air traffic controllers. In addition to the full size planes, there were awesome remote control planes, some looking like the real thing from a distance. The maneuvers these guys could perform were pretty impressive. Of all the times the remotes went up there was only one fatality – a wing fell off and the plane slammed into the ground from quite a height. Sparks flew and pieces bounced everywhere!
Studebaker and Spyder trike
One of the funniest experiences of the day was getting a ride in a convertible 1917 Studebaker. Four of us piled in the car’s luxurious seats – 3 in back and one in front with the driver. “Clear the runway!” the driver hollered to the ‘air traffic controller’. “I’m gonna show ya’ll how this baby can run! Clear the runway!” We rolled down the edge of the airstrip in our glorious old Studebaker, just like the planes do as they taxi into position for take-off. After hollering to “clear the runway” again, we took off down the dead center of the runway at full speed – 41.5 mph. The owner assured us “With the top down I can get this honey to do 50 mph!” As we rolled past the hangar, smiling and waving like royalty, the spectators broke into spontaneous applause.
The bright yellow sleek-looking Spyder trike was another interesting “toy”. Running about $15,000, it’s a 3-wheel motorcycle, with 2 of the wheels in front instead of back. The Spyder trikes are new, having come out only a year or two ago, and are a new twist on the motorcycle. We didn’t get a ride on it, but it was a popular attraction. Check out the link here: http://www.thecarconnection.com/article/1010538_new-spyder-blends-motorcycle-trike.
James again…
James was up to something all weekend long – he’s incorrigible. Friday night he was shooting flares while Ed did his night flying. Saturday afternoon, Ed was in his ultralight getting set to take off. At a crouch, James crab-walked over and grabbed the back of the ultralight just as Ed accelerated. Not seeing James and feeling the drag on the ultralight, Ed accelerated harder. Then he saw James, of course, and really accelerated. James hung on, getting dragged by Ed for at least 30 feet across the airstrip before he finally let go! I imagine James goes through jeans at a quick rate…
Helicopter ride
For maybe 25 years I have wanted to ride in a helicopter, and this was my lucky day. Two helicopters showed up for the fly-in, one a 4-seater and one a 2-seater. I kept checking back on the 4-seater, but I never connected with the pilot. Finally, as the day was slowing down, I tracked down Brodie, the pilot of the two-seater. He had virtually no time left on his maintenance log, just enough time to get home, but when he heard my request, he agreed to take me up for a few minutes. I was so excited I forgot to be scared. I figured, how much scarier could it be than an ultralight? I absolutely loved it. We only went for 6 minutes, and we didn’t go really high, but I got a feeling for what it’s like. Now I want to go again, for much longer! The only spooky part is that there’s nothing to hang onto, and the doors are right there, giving the realization that it’s only the seat belt keeping me from falling out through the doors.
Fred and the flights; Chelsea’s target practice
Fred was awesome as usual. There was no shortage of people wanting rides, but Fred took Chelsea and me first in the lineup (all he has to do is wiggle his fingers at us and we’re on a dead run to the plane!). The visibility was incredible, and we went up so high that my ears were popping for an hour afterward. Fred took me over so I could see Lake Peigneur at last (remember the story of Lake Peigneur disappearing…here’s the link again: http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=6). I saw the Gulf coastline clearly for the first time, and I was even able to see 2 oilrigs out in the Gulf. I also saw the outline of Vermilion Bay where the menhaden plants are, and saw the Cajun Dome in Lafayette clearly. I was savoring every moment, thinking this may be my last ride ever with Fred. Chelsea had a similar experience. There wasn’t anything spectacular about the ride; just a very special feeling of wanting to soak in the whole experience, thinking it may be the last one.
We had enough else to do during the day, but we were hoping that Fred would want to stay longer after everyone left and go up in the air again. We were right! At the end of the day, Fred called to Chelsea, and they headed out. Chelsea came back with such a huge grin that someone asked her if it was her first flight! Next was my turn, and I think it was the most fun flight I’ve ever had with Fred. We buzzed the Schexnaider house, flew over the Vermilion River, watched the fields where they were burning off the sugar cane cuttings, and checked out a field where they were cutting sugar cane. He climbed steeply, he did steeply banked turns and steep descents, we hedgehopped again and again, and we followed a trail through the fields for quite a ways, a few feet above the grass height. We played in the ultralight! I didn’t want it to ever end.
To our delight, Bubba, James and Beth’s son, came to the fly-in. We hadn’t seen Bubba since we arrived in Broussard in early June (he’s Chelsea’s age). Bubba has a Scion like Chelsea and Alex do, he works for the oil industry, and he loves tattoos. We got to see his latest tattoo, and as sundown approached, he asked if Chelsea would be interested in shooting. Chelsea and Bubba took off for the fields in back of the airstrip. Chelsea loved doing the shooting…she doesn’t remember any names of the guns, but she does remember the laser sight on the rifle, that the pistol had a kick, and says she was ‘decent’ in terms of her accuracy.
Meanwhile, Fred and I went up to do some night flying. Fred has fixed up his ultralight with lights on the wingtips, and a landing light on the front of his plane, so that he can land safely on the airstrip. He had also lined up two reflectors on the end of the airstrip, allowing him to line up properly for landing. It was even more peaceful being up at night. The lights in Vermilion Parish were beautiful…there are so many small communities that the lights stretched in all directions. We got to see the fires in the cane fields too; they looked eerie at night. What a glorious end to a glorious weekend!
When we landed, Bubba and Chelsea were back and everything was all closed up for the weekend. Beth had already left and James was doing a couple of last minute things. He and I talked a few minutes while Chelsea went up for her night flight with Fred. It was wonderful to have a minute to thank James for all the joy he’s brought into our life, just by the simple act of signing up for Couchsurfing and answering our request!
Fred gave us a ride back to Gueydan. We were all quiet on the ride home…I think we knew that this really was the last time we’d see each other for a very long time. We unloaded our gear, and said goodbye to one of the best people we’ve ever met.