Texas... Here I Come

So my great adventure for the week was going down to Texas. it is the only time that i have set foot off post, while not attached to the helicopter... well, the helicopter did get me down there. the helicopters are getting shipped to iraq because it would be a really long flight and they would have to set up a ton of fuel stops along the way considering we can probably fly 3 hours max on a full bag of gas. they are now waiting for their ship to sail. they will be going by boat to kuwait where they will be meeting us and we will be flying them to balad.
the trip down to texas was a bit interesting for us. there were many factors for what would happen on the flight down, and most of them ALMOST happened but none of the did. first we had to do run-ups the day before so that we could leave right away the next morning. we do something called hit-checks that determine the condition of our engines. one of our engines was in the watch - but still good range. the morning checks went well and the take off went without a glitch. at the first fuel stop while shutting down we were attacked by gremlins. one of our generators unexpectedly shut off while we were shutting down. that would have caused us some major problems for the next start up. when we went to start it back up the generator worked just fine for the rest of the trip. at the second fuel stop we had to devert our course to avoid weather on our original flight path. and there was a chance that we weren't going to make it to corpus christi before the weather was in a position that we couldn't fly around. but we ended up making it down to corpus with out that bothering us. there was one fuel stop in between there and corpus, and after that fuel stop, the fifth and final aircraft and a momentary problem that it almost had to PL for. and we were the 4th bird so we would have had to go with them. they fixed their problem and we made it the rest of the way without incident. when we landed in corpus we met the guy who was in charge of getting our birds on the ship. he told us that we would be flying the birds right onto the pier that the boat was docked on. that was one of the coolest flights that i have been on. we flew down the shipping channel to the end and then circled back around to the pier, but in doing so we flew over the bridge that crossed the shipping channel and the over the retired aircraft carrier the USS Lexington. landing on the pier was an en experience in and upon itself. there was probably about 15 feet of cushion between a crane, where we set the aircraft and the ocean. i was watching the tail while the pilots were watching the rotorblades, to get it on the ground and not in the water or breaking a blade.
after we got everything situated for the ground crew that was going to be taking care of the birds we got to go grab a bite to eat, i have to say that this was probably the worst part of the whole trip. we ended up going to a sports bar for dinner and i was definately more of a bar than a restaurant and we weren't allowed to drink. now this would have been fine if under different circumstances, if we had gone someplace like mcdonalds we wouldn't have had a problem, but they took us to a bar and then they decided to stay there for 3 hours while we waited for the last two helicopters that were coming from somewhere else to come in. that is cruel and unusual punishment if you ask me. for 3 hours leaving 15 guys who haven't had a beer in almost 3 months in a bar and tell them that they can't drink.
when the second crew finally arrived we hopped on the bus for our 10 hour ride home. it was 1830 and we had a long ride ahead of us. i was totally expecting this to be pretty bad, being tall and stuck on a bus is not very fun. but i got really lucky, because of the lack of personnel on the flights there were ample seats, and i ended up with a seat in front of me that was turned around facing backwards. it as nice because my legs weren't cramped at all. it ahd to be one of the best bus rides that i have ever taken. we watched caddy shack, beerfest and tombstone which are all really good movies, then we turned off the dvd's and got some rest. it was nice because we worked for about 24 hours if you include the bus ride so we ended up getting the whole next day off too.
just a side note... i really miss my sunny... the tv is on as backround noise for a couple of the guys in here right now, and i just saw a commercial that made me thing of him. there was a big bulldog that was holding onto his favorite toy, and when his owner came home he excitedly dropped it on the floor. the owner bends over and sets down a puppy bulldog that looked exactly like him. they look at each other for a second and then the big bulldog pushes the toy at the little bulldog and the puppy grabs the toy and starts playing with it. the family ends up at the pet store buying another of the same toy. it was a really cute commercial and it makes me miss my doggy!
well i must be getting to sleep i have a class that i need to be at bright and early tomorrow.
i hope that everyone back home is doing well.
Signing Off