As I turned the page on the calendar on our fridge and welcomed the month of October, a view of my drawings I placed next to the first October weekend made me smile wide. It was Petit Jean RV Fly-In! One of our dearest Fly-Ins which Jimmy the Squirrel and I love attending.

With the KMPJ heading on the compass needle we took off early in the morning on Friday and off we went to spend a marvelous three days on the mountain again. And also, as I always add on the way there, "To enjoy the best catfish in the whole wide world."

Petit Jean Park Airport and the Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas are one of the most charming places we have ever visited. The views of the mountain and surrounding well-manicured emerald meadows on the ranches are breath-taking. Great job choosing this spot for the Petit Jean RV Fly-In. Once again, we felt blessed we got to enjoy all we were looking forward to so much. Catching up with our friends and fellow aviators, lots of flying, enjoying the countryside air, and munching on delicious food while having a great time was indeed our well-deserved and sweet getaway.

It was a bit chilly out there and while some were still sipping their hot coffee and enjoying delicious pancakes, others were running pre-flights and getting ready for the early morning flying. I was walking around looking for a perfect spot to capture the action and the sentiment of it all. All those busy bees and volunteers who were making sure we had food three times a day and hot coffee in the morning did a fantastic job. One appreciates their hard work especially during those early cold mornings. Shout out to Jerry and all y'all busy bees and volunteers from EAA Chapter 165. We see you and we do not take your efforts and hard work for granted! Outstanding job this year!

Every time I saw the members of Bulldog Formation Flight Team on the roll, I knew we were about to witness another neatly performed formation in the sky. This formation flying team is, according to my humble opinion, one of the best I have seen. What a beautiful morning that was. How blessed can one be? Hot coffee, delicious breakfast, and fine-looking airplanes as far as the eye could see. All that with the background of a beautiful forest and a lake.

The beautiful views of the formation flights were so hypnotizing I completely forgot to be on the top of my game. Instead of snapping one photo after another, I only managed to take only a very few pics because I was sitting down with my head tilted back, my eyes pinned to the skies, and kept woohooing in pure amazement.

I always love watching those sharp turns that release the ships from the formation. I remember going through one years ago, when Slats (Bill Schlatterer) took me up during the Pine Bluff formation clinic put on by the Bulldogs. It was the one where Jimmy the Squirrel attended to learn from the best of the best and I was hicking for dear life when Slats turned us to the left and I felt that ugly push of the mighty G-force. But I enjoyed it and would do it again especially today when I master the "hick" technique. I bet those guys do not even feel those low Gs.

After all RVs were back from their flights, the runway became a little bit sad and empty. No more action. I started packing my camera and was about to leave my safe spot when I saw Jimmy waving at me. Jimmy the Squirrel who had his hand-held radio tuned up knew exactly what was about to happen as he listened to the communication between the Air Boss and the birds. Me, on the other hand, I was only guessing based on what I was observing on the horizon and the engine roars in the sky. Jimmy was waving at me, how cute! Wave back to Jimmy! Little did I know Jimmy was trying to communicate to me what he found out and that I should get my camera ready. Well, to make the long story even longer, I managed to snap the photo even though I missed the heads-up from Jimmy.

After the aircraft landed and was parked at her position, immediately she started generating crowds of curious aviators. Steve (the pilot and proud owner) got very busy answering all kinds of questions, mine and Jimmy's included. Thank you, Steve, for introducing us to this gorgeous bird of yours.

While we were all drooling at this nimble little bird, Steve was explaining the basics. The SubSonex jet is a kit from Sonex Corp based in Oshkosh. It took Steve three years and 1,100 hours (to be precise) to build. She is a snappy performer, fully aerobatic with +6/-3 G limits; redline speed is 287 mph (WOW!!!!). Initial climb rate approaches 1,500 ft/min and cruise range is about 300 nautical miles. Not bad for a kit, huh?

Right before lunchtime, the event coordinator, Slats, took off to test the waters for the participation event that was about to take place in the afternoon. All of us who attended this Fly-In before, we all knew we were in for a real treat. I was hopping around like a happy bunny because I had two fully charged batteries for my camera and I could not wait to start capturing some amazing action!

To be continued ...