Two sure ways to make yourself sick at Brodak

[frank carlisle]

This was my third visit to the Brodak Fly-In and the first that I didn't take Linda with me. I came home very tired and very sick. Here is how I did it..................

First I was totally unprepared. I'd sent my registration in months in advance but time and money were short so I decided not to go. Then at the last minute I changed my mind and jumped in the truck with a couple of planes and made the 7 hour drive to Carmicheals. I got there Thursday afternoon and right away got involved in wandering around finding old friends and meeting new. Gary Tultz got ahold of my Pathfinder and started adjusting the engine which involved adding a head shim and a new prop. John Paris and I took turns flying it and Gary added a trim tab. After a couple hours the plane was flying pretty darn good.
Everything was going great until it stated getting dark out. It was about this time that it dawned on me that I didn't have a hotel room and hence no place to stay. I'm sure this thought had crossed my mind somewhere but I had managed to ignore it. I had a blanket and a pillow so I dropped the tailgate on my truck and slept on the ground under it. Now this wasn't the first time I ever slept out in the open but I had forgotten how hard the ground can be. My 61 year old bones didn't like it at all. Fortunately no one was there to see me stagger to my feet in the morning and wabble around on stiff limbs for an hour before the circulation got up to speed. So..............if you want to get sick at a fly-in sleep on the ground for a couple nights.

The second thing I did to get myself good and sick was to live on coffee and donuts for a few days. This really throws the system way out of whack. Throw in the occasional hot dog mixed with a little ice cream and you have the perfect recipe for a complete system failure.........I'm happy to say that the excitement of all the flying and all the fun stuff held the health collapse off until I got home.

I have a bunch of good experiences and stories to tell that more than compensate for a couple nights on the ground and a few days of eating junk food. I must say that it seemed like a real good idea at the time, and I don't think you should be surprised if I do it again.

I didn't spend too much time taking pictures but I did manage to get some when the planes were all gathered together for appearance judging.

Here are some of them.

[frank carlisle]

Another thing I did to run my system down was -- spend every minute in the sun walking around gawking at airplanes and talking to people. So I put in 14 hour days with no shade and no rest. You'd think I'd know better at my age.

At one point I walked all the way over to the beginners circle to find Rootbeard and Propbuster and shake their hands and meet them in person. I felt I already knew them both well after all these months exchanging posts. When I got there I found out that they'd gone into town or somewhere, so I hung out and watched a couple flights before I headed back to my circle. It is a long walk. On the way back I stopped in at the porta johns then after washing my hands I stopped at the chuck wagon to get a donut and a coke.

[frank carlisle]

PLEASE NOTE--------I came back and deleted this section of my post because it was in very poor taste. I apologize.

[frank carlisle]

One thing I noticed at Brodak was that there aren't a lot of ARFs entered in the stunt events. The preponderance of models had been built by the pilot. There have been many threads that predict that eventually ARFs will dissolve the BOM.
While it may happen some day I am happy to report that it isn't happening now.

[frank carlisle]

Bob Brookins is the former District 7 PAMPA rep and one of the friendliest, most fun guys you could ever hope to meet. I met him last year at Sig and again this year at Brodak. We're good friends and on a first name basis. He is a fun guy to hang out with.

Well..........we got his goat on Friday afternoon.........Marvin Denny, John Paris and I were flying our Bi-Slobs on one of the circles. Marv and John decided to fly their slobs at the same time and we all got a serious case of tunnel vision getting the Slobs running and in the air. We were so focused on the task at hand that we hogged the circle and got airborne before Bob could get his plane on the circle. Boy was he upset!!................I'd just launched John's Slob and was stepping off the circle when Bob came over and in no uncertain terms related to me his displeasure at our behavior. He didn't use a single cuss word but when he was finished with me I felt pretty low. But I had a complete lesson in circle etiquette which I won't soon forget. I nodded and smiled and apologized. When the Slobs landed Bob got after Marvin pretty good but he'd pretty much winded himself with me. As it turned out I was a hero for taking a bullet for my buddies.
Needless to say that once Bob got his flight in he calmed way down and started feeling bad for giving us a talking to. He must have apologized a dozen times. Heck his tirade didn't upset me at all because I've had the circle hogged myself, so I knew how he was feeling. It's pretty hard to hold your tongue at times like that. Needless to say our friendship stands even more solid than it did before. I love ya Bob.

[frank carlisle]

I got to meet a lot of the guys I know from the forums in person this week at Brodak. It's nice to put a face to a person you know from the internet.

Every evening after official flights had been completed there was an impromptu side show on the circle. Dan Banjok and Mike Palco put on a heck of a show with a couple Ringmasters. At one point one was right side up and one was inverted they kept getting lower and lower with the inverted plane passing beneath the other they got with 18 inches of the ground. Very interesting stuff.
Bob Zambelli (I think) had a plane set up with blinking lights that they flew well after dark. There was a jet. The story goes on but I am tired now.

[minnesotamodeler]

Excellent, excellent post, Frank, thank you...sure wish they'd hold one of those things in this part of the country. 

The time it takes you to recover is directly proportional to how much fun you had.

But, no LA Heat?

--Ray

[Sam Laughery]

Hi Frank,

It was great to meet you.  I didn't get to do much wandering until the last day since I was working the pits all 5 days.  Here's a pic I bet you don't have.

See you next year.

Sam

[frank carlisle]

Excellent, excellent post, Frank, thank you...sure wish they'd hold one of those things in this part of the country. 

The time it takes you to recover is directly proportional to how much fun you had.

But, no LA Heat?

--Ray

Still no Heat Ray...........I used one of the HEAT engines on my Pathfinder as the original engine took a turn for the worse just prior to leaving for Brodak's. Turns out the bearing on the con rod to wrist pin connection wore itself out. I don't know why I only had a few thousand runs on it. Shoot I thought it was just getting broken in.

[frank carlisle]

Hi Frank,

It was great to meet you.  I didn't get to do much wandering until the last day since I was working the pits all 5 days.  Here's a pic I bet you don't have.

See you next year.

Sam

Thanks for the picture Sam.....it's one of the best of me and the Pathfinder I've seen yet.
It was a true pleasure to meet you also. And you can bet we'll see each other next year. This was my 3rd trip to Brodak and now I'm hooked.

[Mike Palko]

Hi Frank,
   It was nice to finally meet you! I had a ton of fun in junkyard wars (thanks for covering for Dennis). Maybe next year you can bring the Heat? Sorry to hear about your getting sick and poor diet all week, but it's your own fault!!!  haha I am glad you enjoyed the ringmaster show. Dan and I have plans for an even better show with different airplanes if we could just find the time. Maybe next year....... Hope to see you again next year.

Mike 

[frank carlisle]

Thanks for having me on the team Mike....It was a true pleasure to build a piece of junk om purpose for a change.
Thanks for sharing the pictures of your Mustang. I now have to add you to my list of guys I'd like to build as well as.

[Jerry Olson]

Frank:

I hope your wife doesn't read your post on this forum.  Just because you made yourself sick on the trip to Brodak's doesn't mean you have to tell her about it when you get home.  If she reads your post, you may find that she won't let you go anymore.  I'm typing this tongue in cheek so I hope not offending you.

Later,

[frank carlisle]

Very good advice guys..............................

It's sad to say but I am seriously contemplating making the trek to Sig. 1100 miles round trip, totally unprepared, gotta use house  money, no hotel thus more ground time. sigh.

Is there a shrink in the house?

[minnesotamodeler]

Buy yourself an air mattress, Frank...

[john e. holliday]

Frank, I bet if the word had gotten out, that you may have wound up with a motel bed somewhere.  Also I hope this lesson will sink in by next year.  Have fun,  DOC Holliday

[James Lee]

Frank
Hope to see your smiling face at Sig!!!   Not near as much walking and a really good meal at the field Saturday evening!!!  So you will at least get one meal!!!      And I will try to find room for the old Bi Slob 
Later
Jim

[Tom Cappadona]

Frank,
Really enjoyed meeting you, your commentary and the beautiful pictures.  I'd also like to remind you the next time you launch Lampione, or anyone else, to move away from the launch area as quickly as possible.  Look forward to meeting again!
Tom Cappadona