Monday 27 September 2010

Happy Birthday Edit!

Today is my wife´s 35th birthday. Selina and Cherry hung balloons on our hotel door and we sang for her down at the reception this morning. She got a traditional Chinese plate for breakfast. On it was 20 lollypops that were supposed to represent how many children she will have...hmmm...and a bowl of noodles that represented a long life and two fruits which meant a healthy life. We decided yesterday to give her a bracelet each for her birthday. She was very happy!
Jenny is better today. That's good.
Today we filled up on smoke fluid and prepared the planes for flying again. First about 70 military men
swept the strip 2300 x 40 m+ flattened the apron and the fire department practiced driving back and forth while shouting in the megaphones attached to the fire engine. The buffalo were gone and there wasn't a civilian in sight. It was looking good. Then, at 10:30 we were called to a quick meeting where we found out that the authorization had arrived but that it wasn't good until tomorrow. So, we had to roll the planes back to the hanger and we went to buy a new fuel hose for the tank truck instead. The tank truck was new but the nozzle was made for pressure or top fueling passenger airplanes which means that it doesn't fit our planes so we've bought a extension hose with a diameter of 40 mm.
At 4 pm there was another meeting with the military, the organizer and two air traffic controllers at the hotel. We have made a point to be friendly with the air traffic controllers so that they would know who we were and what airplanes we fly. The military really only wanted to get one thing straight, that we are to follow their orders if they give any. We promised the air traffic controllers not to land on any other airfield. We have no idea if there are any other air fields in the area. You should have it straight that there isn't any general aviation in China and that the air traffic controllers only know the IFR rules.
By the looks of it I will fly the Python first tomorrow. It'll be the first time in ten years that a airplane starts and lands on this military air field and the Python will be the first!

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