Male or Female?

[BrianGMFS]

I gotta get a picture of one of the planes based at KBTV where I work. Shirley has a beautifully restored Champ that has, shall we say.... a unique paint job. It's red and white with hearts all over it. And even the hearts are made of hearts.. the upholstery has hearts... there are teddy bears behind the seat.... we call it the Flying Valentine. Shirley's Significant other, Hobie is my company's director of safety and he will not fly it..... he'll ride in the back seat but that's it. Hobie flies more "Manly" planes like our King Airs of Citations... Hobie's a retired 747 captain so the Champ is definitely Shirley's plane.

Brian

[TheSoccerMom]

Hmmmm....  male or female???

I can't believe this is even a question.

Of course, she is female!  She is reliable, strong, dependable, and uncomplaining.  She's happiest in the mountains, where others pale.  She is my trusty steed, protecting me from the frightening ice, the severe storms, the turblulence and down air.  She never flinches, or hesitates to go into the smoke. 

I've talked to her, hugged her, patted her, and kissed her on the nose.  She has always brought me home. 

Of course, she's a woman.  No question.  No doubt.

Case closed.

 
 

[fireflyr]

RIGHT ON SOCCER MOM
WHERE were you when I needed moral support----no matter, you're here now!!!!!

[Mike]

Hmmmm....  male or female???

I can't believe this is even a question.

Of course, she is female!  She is reliable, strong, dependable, and uncomplaining.  She's happiest in the mountains, where others pale.  She is my trusty steed, protecting me from the frightening ice, the severe storms, the turblulence and down air.  She never flinches, or hesitates to go into the smoke. 

I've talked to her, hugged her, patted her, and kissed her on the nose.  She has always brought me home. 

Of course, she's a woman.  No question.  No doubt.

Case closed.

 
 

Since you brought it up, SoccerMom...

I love my Panaca Jane but I would like to point out some very "UN-FEMALE CHARACTERISTICS" of her:

When you had your girl parked next to Jane I was totally checking her out!
....no peep from Jane.

Then I walked over AND TOUCHED your plane!
....Jane didn't mind.

I also talked about flying other ships in front of her and she was ok with it.
Still always there for me, always dependable.

And remember when it rained in WMC?
I went inside and let her out in the rain, not paying attention to her for three days.
And when I came back, she still was the same old dependable Panaca Jane taking care of me.

I have even looked at magazines with other helicopters in them (some even stripped down for maintenance!!!)
right in front of her..... she was ok with it. Performed as always....

AND she has never wanted to talk about her feelings since I've known her !!

 

So?   male or female? 

[switchtech]

Since you brought it up, SoccerMom...

I love my Panaca Jane but I would like to point out some very "UN-FEMALE CHARACTERISTICS" of her:

When you had your girl parked next to Jane I was totally checking her out!
....no peep from Jane.

<Shorter Version>

So?   male or female? 

Ah, you've just described a mother.  Though that bit with the magazine and pictures.... I thought you just read that for the articles!


jbs

[fireflyr]

ZOUNDS AND GADZOOKS-----I just realized who Soccer mom is---I think!
Were you the bag lady sleeping on the floor, wrapped in a parachute across from my desk at WMC last year?    If so, good to see ya in the coop!   Still dropping lawn darts on fires???

[Turbomallard]

ZOUNDS AND GADZOOKS-----I just realized who Soccer mom is---I think!
Were you the bag lady sleeping on the floor, wrapped in a parachute across from my desk at WMC last year?    If so, good to see ya in the coop!   Still dropping lawn darts on fires???

Dude... no matter who that was, you MUST tell us the story about that!!!!! 

TM

[fireflyr]

ZOUNDS AND GADZOOKS-----I just realized who Soccer mom is---I think!
Were you the bag lady sleeping on the floor, wrapped in a parachute across from my desk at WMC last year?    If so, good to see ya in the coop!   Still dropping lawn darts on fires???

Dude... no matter who that was, you MUST tell us the story about that!!!!! 

TM

I'll wait for her response duck, she's a good sport and might enjoy explaining that!

[TheSoccerMom]

Uh, oh...  am I in trouble here?  Man.  It's only been a couple of days, and already I need an alias!  Some things never change, I guess!!

First off, Mikey, you never know what The Minivan and Panaca Jane discuss once we leave at dusk, and they have the ramp to themselves.  Maybe Jane is just trying you out... to see how far you'll go with another airplane.  Hmmmm.  It does sound pretty un-female, though.  I'm going to have to think on this one.  Maybe there's another dimension here..... 

As for me being the bag lady, well, I just got called that yesterday as I walked across the ramp in Boise.  The parking guys had taken a vote, and all agreed that, indeed, I looked just like a bag lady.  Wow!  That sure makes a girl's day, I can tell you!!  Almost as much fun as being mistaken for the janitor (Ely '06), OR a student pilot (North Las Vegas '06), or the SEAT clerk (Winnemucca '06).  Gawwwd!!  And people wonder why I keep upping my medication every season.

So...  yeah, it's the Bag Lady / Soccer Mom / giant nylon pilot chrysalis.  Yup!!  Good to hear from you!

And, by the way, I took the loyal, true, trusty White Minivan back to her stable yesterday.  Always a bittersweet flight... the last one of the fire season.  She's back in the caring hands of all the great mechanics we have, soon to be doing some other job, full of PhDs and researchers, instead of smokejumpers.  I gave her a big hug on the nose and a kiss goodbye and then had to run quick before the mechancs called 9-1-1 for the funny farm wagon to come fetch me.

Okay..  back to reality here.  I'm in the SLC terminal headed home, and I can tell you, this airline stuff isn't what it used to be.  I never knew lip balm could be viewed as a lethal weapon.  Crazy!!

P.S.  Do you know what DELTA really stands for?  "Deliver Everybody's Luggage to Atlanta"................. 

[Baradium]

Uh, oh...  am I in trouble here?  Man.  It's only been a couple of days, and already I need an alias!  Some things never change, I guess!!

First off, Mikey, you never know what The Minivan and Panaca Jane discuss once we leave at dusk, and they have the ramp to themselves.  Maybe Jane is just trying you out... to see how far you'll go with another airplane.  Hmmmm.  It does sound pretty un-female, though.  I'm going to have to think on this one.  Maybe there's another dimension here..... 

As for me being the bag lady, well, I just got called that yesterday as I walked across the ramp in Boise.  The parking guys had taken a vote, and all agreed that, indeed, I looked just like a bag lady.  Wow!  That sure makes a girl's day, I can tell you!!  Almost as much fun as being mistaken for the janitor (Ely '06), OR a student pilot (North Las Vegas '06), or the SEAT clerk (Winnemucca '06).  Gawwwd!!  And people wonder why I keep upping my medication every season.

So...  yeah, it's the Bag Lady / Soccer Mom / giant nylon pilot chrysalis.  Yup!!  Good to hear from you!

And, by the way, I took the loyal, true, trusty White Minivan back to her stable yesterday.  Always a bittersweet flight... the last one of the fire season.  She's back in the caring hands of all the great mechanics we have, soon to be doing some other job, full of PhDs and researchers, instead of smokejumpers.  I gave her a big hug on the nose and a kiss goodbye and then had to run quick before the mechancs called 9-1-1 for the funny farm wagon to come fetch me.

Ironic since they are all over the news about this fire in California now. 

I always thought it'd be a cool job to fly smoke jumpers or fire bombers, but how do you get previous experience doing that?

Okay..  back to reality here.  I'm in the SLC terminal headed home, and I can tell you, this airline stuff isn't what it used to be.  I never knew lip balm could be viewed as a lethal weapon.  Crazy!!

That's the reason I decided that from now on I'm going in uniform when I jumpseat...  it's worth the constant "where do we get our bags?" and "is there food on my flight?" questions. 

P.S.  Do you know what DELTA really stands for?  "Deliver Everybody's Luggage to Atlanta"................. 

HAHAHA!   


There used to be a joke in the old days:
"You may go to heaven or you may go to hell, but you'll have to change planes in Atlanta."

Really though, I do think Delta has really good service.  Even if you do have to go from Dallas to Seattle through Atlanta... 

[fireflyr]

Uh, oh...  am I in trouble here?  Man.  It's only been a couple of days, and already I need an alias!  Some things never change, I guess!!

First off, Mikey, you never know what The Minivan and Panaca Jane discuss once we leave at dusk, and they have the ramp to themselves.  Maybe Jane is just trying you out... to see how far you'll go with another airplane.  Hmmmm.  It does sound pretty un-female, though.  I'm going to have to think on this one.  Maybe there's another dimension here..... 

As for me being the bag lady, well, I just got called that yesterday as I walked across the ramp in Boise.  The parking guys had taken a vote, and all agreed that, indeed, I looked just like a bag lady.  Wow!  That sure makes a girl's day, I can tell you!!  Almost as much fun as being mistaken for the janitor (Ely '06), OR a student pilot (North Las Vegas '06), or the SEAT clerk (Winnemucca '06).  Gawwwd!!  And people wonder why I keep upping my medication every season.

So...  yeah, it's the Bag Lady / Soccer Mom / giant nylon pilot chrysalis.  Yup!!  Good to hear from you!

And, by the way, I took the loyal, true, trusty White Minivan back to her stable yesterday.  Always a bittersweet flight... the last one of the fire season.  She's back in the caring hands of all the great mechanics we have, soon to be doing some other job, full of PhDs and researchers, instead of smokejumpers.  I gave her a big hug on the nose and a kiss goodbye and then had to run quick before the mechancs called 9-1-1 for the funny farm wagon to come fetch me.

Okay..  back to reality here.  I'm in the SLC terminal headed home, and I can tell you, this airline stuff isn't what it used to be.  I never knew lip balm could be viewed as a lethal weapon.  Crazy!!

P.S.  Do you know what DELTA really stands for?  "Deliver Everybody's Luggage to Atlanta"................. 

BWAAAHAHAAA!
Good to hear it's you and you're doing well!
Really, the only reason you got the "bag lady" label was because of the grocery sacks of food you had to carry around with you (Ah the jumper-plane drivers life--no car to get to town)     and of course, sleeping in a cardboard box, wrapped in a parachute is something we all do but usually most folks do that after a jug of really cheap wine and a day of panhandling!

[Frank N. O.]

Wow you guys/gals really seem like you have a good time, darn me for being born on the wrong side of the pond

Just to clarify, Soccermom is a female pilot flying with smoke-jumpers? And is it that plane in the avatar, a Twin Otter?

In any case welcome from me to the new member of the coop

Frank

[TheSoccerMom]

Wow, this is fun.  More fun than trying to get untangled from that darned parachute when they yell "Fire Call!"   HA.

This is a great forum here.  Nice people and so funny!  That's awesome. 

Yes, there's nothing quite as glamorous as 5 months of eating stale food off your lap with a plastic fork, in a 110-degree hangar, with 15 other sweaty people.  It's so... CHIC.  I overheard one of the jumpers telling another co-worker, when he was about to get laid off this week, that he and his wife "are going to make sure we eat dinner out in the back yard every night, on the ground, with a headlamp, and maybe I can put some dirt in her food just to make it more real."  I guess he's trying to SHARE.  How sweet.

Yes, I am (at least I think I am) a female pilot flying a smokejumper contract in the western U.S.  I have the fine fortune of flying a Twin Otter, and I'm sure you figured out by now, I love the old girl.  Mike named her "The White Minivan" this year, and me "The Soccer Mom", because we each cruise around the mountains and drop off our respective children (crewmembers) at "day camp" (the fires).  The jumpers loved the moniker so much that every time we were being picked up by a white government truck, they'd yell "Hey, look!  Another Twin Otter!!"

I told Mike he has NO idea what he started!!!

Thanks to all of you for welcoming me here..... that's so sweet.  Thank you!!!!!!!!!

The Soccer Mom********

[TheSoccerMom]

Sorry Fank, I didn't answer your question.  The plane in the little photo is a Twin Otter (deHavilland DHC-6), though it isn't MY airplane.  It's the only photo I could find that was small enough to squeeze in here.

As for being on the "wrong" side of the pond, I'd say we're all living large if our chicken coop here even COMES with a pond!  WOW.  I KNEW aviation would pay off some day. 

Maybe now I can move up to a bigger cardboard box.

I KNEW it would pay... I KNEW it! 

[Mike]

First off, Mikey, you never know what The Minivan and Panaca Jane discuss once we leave at dusk, and they have the ramp to themselves.  Maybe Jane is just trying you out... to see how far you'll go with another airplane.  Hmmmm.  It does sound pretty un-female, though.  I'm going to have to think on this one.  Maybe there's another dimension here..... 

uh-oh! creeepy!  
That would make a vicious beeeyatch. I don't think of her that way.
I am sure however that those aircraft talk to eachother when they sit out there all night. We always have our aircraft come up with the same squawks at the same time almost like they came up with it together.....

Also:
Let me point out that I called your ship "THE COOLEST MINIVAN EVER"!
not just another minivan....
waaaaaaaaay more horsepower than a standard van (although not much faster . . . hehe hehe   )
Which makes you the coolest soccermom ever!!!

 

and ofcourse you and fireflyer just HAD to know eachother..... aviation is a small world, huh?!