Where's Waldo?

No doubt, you remember the series of books filled with intricate drawings of a multitude of tiny people asking "Where's Waldo?"  Well, today we found Waldo.

Rena and I drove to Michigan today on a personal and business trip and made a brief stop in Waldo.

So, now we know where Waldo is.  Do you?

Birthday and the Fair

Bill and Mae

 This past weekend we enjoyed a family visit with my (Rena's) parents in Wyomissing, PA. My brother, Bill, and sister-in-law, Deborah, also made the trip from Vancouver, BC Canada as we helped Dad celebrate his 87th Birthday. My parent's small group from church that meets together regularly, also helped him celebrate the day before, with cake and cards and loads of love. 


Back row: Bill and Deborah Tarter, Rena and Dwight Jarboe
Front row: Mae and Bill Tarter

This will be the last time that the six of us will be together for a while. Bill and Deborah are leaving for India in November to be on the staff of a missionary kid's school.  You can follow their journey by checking out their blog at http://www.billanddeborah.blogspot.com/ 
Meanwhile, back in Coshocton, the County Fair has been in full swing.  We left PA very early on Wednesday, and got back just in time to see our granddaughter sing with her school choir at the fair. Grandpa also got in some mini-golf time with our grandson.



Chanelle, front row, blue shirt/pink boots

 

Dwight and Javin



Fork Lift

The other day MMS Aviation's Facility Maintenance Manager, Dave Shelly, and I were in Hangar C.  MMS recently purchased a good used forklift and Dave was showing me the seat upholstery that was just replaced.  He moved the forklift outside so I could take some pictures of it.

This forklift replaces an old MoToLift from the early fifties that had become very difficult to maintain because many repair parts are unavailable.  Our "new" one is a 2000 Daewoo forklift rated at 4,000 pounds lifting capacity which will serve MMS very well for many years.  A grant from the Tyndale House Foundation provided the funds for this machine which is critical to the maintenance of our facility and our service to the mission aviation community.

Standing by to unload airplanes and parts arriving at MMS by truck or trailer.

Jarboe Reunion

Saturday we left the house at 6:15 AM in order to go eat lunch - in Kentucky.  It was time for the Annual Jarboe Reunion in Wilmore KY. We had a great noon potluck and plenty of time to visit with Jarboe cousins and their families.  Some of us stayed the night in the area and traveled two more hours east, to Jackson, KY to attend church where Dwight's cousin, Sam, is pastor. We returned home Sunday evening - glad to sleep in our own beds!



It was also Mom's birthday. Here she and Dad are enjoying her giant musical (chicken dance) Birthday card.

                                                   Dwight and some of the cousins


Marvin (Dwight's brother) and Paula



Cousins Esther and Carolyn





 



For additional pictures click here

My Short Air Force Career

Saturday, September 18th, there was an airshow at the Coshocton County Airport.  There were four excellent aerobatic acts with normal stunt planes, however the final act was a flight demonstration of a U.S. Air Force Thunderbolt II.  The Thunderbolt II is more commonly known as the A-10 Warthog.

Two Warthogs came, one for the demonstration and a backup plane.

When it was time for the A-10s to head to their next show, it was discovered that one of them had a leaking hydraulic line in the left main landing gear system.  The plane was put in MMS Aviation's hangar "C" which had been cleared to house the other show planes.  The crew repaired the plane there.

Monday morning we all had to take a look.

The A-10s are based in Tucson, Arizona and two mechanics from their squadron are on hand at the demonstrations.  They were responsible for the repair, but they called in hydraulic specialists from an Air Force base in Springfield, Ohio to help.  The Springfield base is about 135 miles west of Coshocton and are an F-16 fighter training operation.

The blue jumpsuited guys are from Tucson, the others are from Springfield.

Tuesday afternoon, the hydraulic repair was complete and the system was checked.  The airplane was raised on jacks so the landing gear could be retractred and the hydraulic system could be purged of any air that remained due to the line repair.  All the equipment (jacks, power supplies, tow bar, etc.) was trucked from Springfield.

All the wheels are off the ground.

Once all was ready for the gear retraction test, aka "gear swing", one of the Tucson crew told me, "Sir, I need you in the cockpit.  Empty all your pockets first."  He didn't have to repeat himself.  (Empty pockets mean there will be nothing to fall into the cockpit to get lost and jam controls at some inopportune time.)

Honorary crewman on the job.

Briefing by the real crew.

Landing gear retracted normally and no leaks--that's what we want!

I better keep my day job.  They don't think I served long enough to qualify for a pension, even if I am old enough.

My appreciation for and admiration of the professional military men and women who serve our Country was reinforced this week.  Getting acquainted with Mark, Dino, Jeff, Tim, was a true privilege.  (There were three other fellows from Springfield here, but I don't remember their names.) 

There you have it!  My whole military career consists of raising and lowering the landing gear on an A-10 Warthog two times.

Jen

We were happy to celebrate our daughter's Birthday last week.  We are pround of the lovely wife and mother she has become.  Both Jen and Jason had busy work weekends, so we were happy to have the kids for the night. A wonderful opportunity to "spoil" the grandkids!

Jen with Javin



The Robinsons