WAMM Fly-In, October 2012

The McCarley - Plo hangar was our base at LPC. We were hosted by Ed Mandibles and a group of friends (aviation enthusiasts all), including his wife, Mina. The 80' x 60' hangar, which the gang built themselves about five years ago, was chock-full of comfy stuff that hangar-flyers find so dear. As well as a couple of airplanes, there was a well stocked fridge and cupboards, tables, lounge chairs, pool table, and a PC with wifi and digital projector. Tucked away in every nook, set on every shelf, or even hanging from above, was an astonishing collection of stuff -- everything from airline captain's hats to airplane models to assorted airplane parts. It was an amazing place in which to hang out, especially for aviation enthusiasts and people who like to eat good home cookin'.

Weather conditions: The weather was perfect, with cool morning temperatures rising to the mid 70's in the afternoon under cloudless skies and pleasant breezes.

Attendance: We have seven signatures on the sign-in sheet, with one missing due to oversight. Four Mites (three visiting) looked really nice on the grassy parking area in front of The Hangar.

** Special thanks to Ed Mandibles and his friends for providing wonderful food, refreshments, and entertainment. Also, to Buddy Plo and Land McCarley, co-owners of the hangar, for the use of their facility. We had such a good time that we dropped any ideas of spending time touring the Lompoc area.

We have Mina Mandilbles to thank for the handmade WAMM flag. Sure looks good there, doesn't it.

David Favrholdt, Dave Rutherford, Dave Mazzola, Scott Lewis, Mike Magnani, Michael Harms, Ed Mandibles.

In front of the hangar, we made good use of the lush, Mite-sized lawn.

Plans are being made for the day's activities.

Pilot Mike Magnani and N301MM get a thorough inspection.

Here is Mike in a traditional Mite Site pose with N201MM, serial number 357 (the last). Hopefully, Mike will soon be pictured in front of his own Mite, N4094, a major rebuild project which we understand is nearing completion.

Saturday breakfast at the American Host Restaurant.
(L to R) David Favrholdt, Michael Harms, Dave Rutherford, Scott Lewis, Ed Mandibles.

Honorary WAMM members in Lompoc (L to R) Brian Stevens (C-172 owner), Bill Garrotte (rib and bean cooker, who also did all the electrical work on the hangar), John Schmidt (building a Vans RV7, owns a Pitts S1 and a C150, also the bread cooker and ground crew on building the hangar), Buddy Plo (tri-tip cooker, one of the owners of the hangar, flies the cream C-150 and building the Pitts). Missing: Land McCarley, hangar co-owner and chef of the homemade lima beans.

Dave R. asks questions about the tri-tip roasting method by the local expert, Buddy Plo.

Buddy slices a tri-tip roast in preparation for serving, assisted by Bill Garrotte, who has already prepared the beans.

Ed Mandible's wife, Mina, was one of the hard working crew of cooks. She digs into the pot of beans, while on her left is her mother, Val.

Randy Freeman shares a table with Liz Schmidt (John's wife).
You can see the large collection of items in the hangar, each of which has a story attached.

One of the things that makes the hangar useful is its computer station, projector, and wifi network. The computer is a handy place to download everyone's camera contents for viewing.
Here Ed prepares a slide show of the weekend's events while John looks on.

Obliging to the very end, Ed pulls the prop to start N4096 for Scott's departure.

This photo was taken by Ed during a flight over the locality. Mike Magnani in N301MM is leading the way, as he was doing formation flying for the first time.

These two photos were taken by Mike Madrid with his big Canon camera.

We should have called this gathering the WAMM Airshow, rather than the WAMM Fly-In. All of us, including the ones on the ground taking photos, were obviously having a ball.

Dave Mazzola arriving in N380A on a fine, sunny day. The sun was hot, but we had a cooling breeze.
The Pacific Ocean is only 7 miles away, upwind.

Scott Lewis in N4096.

Departure-day breakfast (Sunday) at the Cajun Kitchen on H Street. (L to R) Mike Madrid, Ed Mandibles, Dave Mazzola, Dave Rutherford and Michael Harms.