State of the TTT

Jonathan Baron

Jonathan Baron

New member
Fellow devotees of Giuseppe Mario Bellanca's genius:

Promoting the Triple Tail Tour has involved numerous forum topics, a forum poll, postcards sent to all Club members, and promotional bits in the Newsletter. Although interest in the notion is there, reciprocal response beyond words has not. I've received few response emails, no emails from people who might want to be on a list of other Triple Tail owners planning to attend the same event, and no volunteers to serve as point men at specific events.

Much of the charm of Bellanca owners is their shared iconoclasm - their individualist nature. This also means that organizing TTT owners is like trying to round up stags during rutting season.

This does not mean that I think the idea should be abandoned. Rather it will need some informal nurturing. The TTT may yet happen, but for this year we'll simply make every effort just to gather at events, now that we know which events people plan on attending. For instance, we know that ten souls are planning to show up to Lee Bottom. When there we will be looking for other Triple Tails anyway but rather than leave your beloved bird alone when you leave it, leave a note with contact info so that other members of the TTT order (even if it's disorder) can reach you. Let's arrange to simply see one another...have dinner together or the like. We'll keep it spontaneous and let it happen organically.

I feel, with conviction, that once this begins to happen we can actually develop some semblance of organization necessary to accomplish our shared goal: to develop a group TTT presence at fly-ins beyond Bellanca-only events and create envy instead of bewilderment among those sad souls ignorant of our great fortune.

If you'd seen the faces of those pilots who'd never beheld a Triple Tail in their LIVES, as Russell taxied up in mine, you'd know this is more than just an idea...it's beyond any mere notion or rush of enthusiasm. The glory days of these airplanes are ahead and inevitable.

See you at Lee Bottom, Reklaw, and Blakesburg :!:

Jonathan
 
Jonathan, many things affect the participation of members at these events. One that kind of scared me, when I first read it in one of your older emails, was the request for people to sit in, set up, or manage some sort of club supplied booth. I am willing to answer questions and get information out about my bird and yours, but after living in the club booth at Columbia for three years, that idea is not on my list of things to do. And maybe other people feel the same??? I believe if we are able to arrive together, park together or congregate near our aircraft and attract attention, then we can accomplish a similiar end result.
Arriving together is even a more difficult task but could be attempted of explored thus making it easier to stay in comunication with the others. And leaving notes for others to contact us is great. I have been to many a flyin where I found an aircraft but never saw the owner and sunday AM it was gone. I am planning on Arlington Only this year and can move my arrival time around a little to try and gather a couple together. Brian leaving from nothern Ca
 
I can understand why you'd be averse to staffing a booth, Brian. In the best of circumstances folks often get stuck there and are not relieved on a proper, regular basis. As you said, you put in your time. No need to volunteer for this. I'm sorry that even the request for *someone* to do so gave you pause. You've always been a wonderful ambassador for our beloved airplanes, and a prominent one. Seeing your -2 at the Luscombe fly-in at Columbia influenced me to get one. And it was positively strange (in a good way) that when I was heading from Seattle to Texas in mine, making that usual fuel stop at Redding, you were in the pattern too with your son as a passenger. Isn't that the way of it...maybe one other Triple Tail within 500 miles and it will be in the pattern with you show up. It's eerie, but I've experienced this sort of thing with odd regularity in the past.

Back to the subject, the booth was no big deal really. It was that every key element of an air tour failed to come together. I couldn't get email lists for specific events assembled; nobody would write to me. As I noted, ten souls voted for Lee Bottom - ten folks that had to have Internet connections and email to do so - but nobody wanted to communicate with the other prospective attendees directly. Again, that alone was no big deal by itself. Elements were happening. Kevin offered his home base as a staging area for folks heading to OSH. Larry made it clear that he was going to Watsonville. Lynn made it more than obvious that he was hastening through recovering hell to make it out there this year. I did receive an email from a member who said he was going to Arlington, and I believe someone here said the same. Plus there are always at least two other guys who show up there in their TTs. Pieces...tantalizing pieces...but just not enough to make it an air tour, a true group event.

This may sound a tad simple, but every day I ask myself, "How do I win from here?" I concluded that winning, in this case, was to back-up and start slowly. Hunt down every guy who climbs out of a Bellanca with three tails on it, shake his hand, say "Meet me by yonder tree at [thus and such an hour]," and keep stalking....hunting...scanning for more :) Tour or no, 6-10 TTs WILL BE AT LEE BOTTOM. I will find every danged one of you, and WE WILL EAT A MEAL TOGETHER. Then my evil plan kicks into phase II....I collect addresses and phone numbers. At a fly-in people scramble to find so much as a scrap of paper to give their info to a kindred spirit. Next comes stalking Reklaw. Somebody (just a hint...no show of hands) might do that at Arlington, or Watsonville, or Broadhead, or who knows?

Forum topics, forum polls, postcards, email, newsletters: none of it produced a list of people. Thus this may simply be the wrong way to do it. We have to build it - old school.

I may have told you that we had to stick my TT into the FBO hangar when Russell showed up because we could not get both it and my Luscombe into mine (dang, it looked big enough when I rented the thing). Now the FBO doesn't want it to leave. I AM NOT KIDDING. People at the airport are emailing me - ME - photos of my own airplane that they've taken. The damned thing has only been there since Saturday, it really needs a bath, but nobody sees a spec of dust. Today the airport manager told me that people on the highway slow down when they open the hangar because the door faces the road. I'm not making this crap up.

This TTT ain't some wild assed, "wouldn't it be nice if...," idea. When we do this - and we will do this, by god - it will be amazing. If they can just SEE us, several of us, a line of proud airplane noses, then that Gundeson fellow won't have to advertise his 14-19 for three years at a fair price with no takers, and people will point and smile when we taxi by. But more important than that, we will see each other, not just people within flying distance of a played-out gold field in California. It'll just take more doing than I thought is all.

Jonathan
 
The weather looks good for Lee Bottom Sinfull Sunday tomorrw. I am going to try and get there 12:30 to 13:00 or so.

Kevin
 
I too wished to become a sinner today, Kevin. Unfortunately it's hell here, without sin...so damned hot, and the humidity fills the air with steam soaked cotton. Went up yesterday, though, just as the fog cleared. After two years away from my 'Master I had to do some pattern work, and test what I hope is the final piece of my hydraulics puzzle: the firewall pump tank had been spewing fluid until the system was sucking air. This is what ended my air work and pattern work last weekend. Now, with something reminiscent of a header tank (brilliantly crafted by my mechanic), that problem is gone. But I'm just short of totally comfortable with my triple tail, and yesterday's flying took every happy coupling of hydrogen and oxygen atoms out of me, alas.

Next one though...they have them just about every weekend I think.

Jonathan
 
They are the second Sunday in June, July and August this year. They cut down on the times they do them this year but they have added sandwiches. Hope to see you at the next one. Weather is looking good but a little breezy.

Kevin
 
This Saturday , June 21st is the annual Sills Aviation / Kittie Hill Airport BBQ-Fli in. Located 20 nm north of Austin , TX
San Antonio sectional Airport id (77T). Lunch at noon. Looks like good weather for this event this year.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top