Notes from the field?

The Hurricane Hunters

On Tuesday May 19th I had the opportunity to fly with, what I consider to be, one of the United States Air Force Elite flying units: The Hurricane Hunters.  This flight was a part of an extensive Social Media initiative put together by the 403rd Wing Public Affairs Team.  It was the first of it's kind in the Air Force - what I mean by that is this was the first Media flight that was specifically targeting Bloggers.

The first point I think I need to emphasize here is that the men and women of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron are Reservists.  They come from 36 different states and at least one commutes from overseas to be a part of this group.

They operate 10 WC130-J Model aircraft.  The 403rd Wing is the 3rd largest operator of this aircraft behind two countries - that's right - they operate this aircraft more than most countries.  The only people who operate it more are England and Italy.  They have more than 40,000 hours in this airframe and are well on their way to 45,000.  In 2008 alone, they flew more than 1000 hours making 162 passes through the eye of a hurricane.  One of the lesser known mission of the Hurricane Hunters is their assistance with winter storms, last year they flew 55 winter storm missions along with their normal hurricane duties.

One thing I can tell you for sure is this plane is fast.  My favorite moment of the day was a quote from Maj Chad Gibson - Chief of Public Affairs for the 403rd: "This plane will fly like a homesick angel."  He's not kidding, on takeoff, we didn't simply float gently into the air - we ripped ourselves from the ground.  We bitch slapped gravity and won.

Once airborne we flew the same pattern they would fly if passing through the eye of a hurricane.  During these maneuvers they dropped small weather data collection devices called "dropsondes".  Our flight concluded with an aerial tour of New Orleans.

 While on board, I had the opportunity to talk to every crew member.  I can tell you that these men and women are dedicated to their mission.  The weather data they collect increases the overall accuracy of the forecasts by 30%.  One of the most amazing statistics from the trip was the cost of activating the warning system to initiate an evacuation - $86 Million Dollars.  As Major Gibson put it "Every time they hit the button, it's $86 Million dollars."  It costs about $1,000,000 per mile to evacuate coastline.  If you think about the cost savings alone by putting these airmen in the air, it's worth it - not to mention the lives they save.

As Hurricane Season is uppon us I just want to remind everyone to heed the warnings of forecasters and be prepared.  This trip gave me an opportunity to reflect on my time at Hurricane Katrina and the impact the Hurricane Hunters had in saving lives, even in a disaster of that scale.

I leave you with some photos:

 

 

 

 

All of the bloggers who flew on the flight.

Charles Wolk

At precisely 6:30pm on May 12th, Mr. Charles Wolk passed away.  To his friends he was Chuck - if you just met him he would tell you he was "Charlie on a good day".

He was one of the greatest men I have ever had the privilege to know.  I will always refer to him as my cousin, except for the fact that he's not actually related to me.  He's been with my third cousin Delphine for more than 40 years.  Which brings me to the first story - as I heard it, he asked her to marry him many many years ago.  She declined his request - at that time, he told her that if she ever wanted to get married, she would have to ask him.

One thing Chuck was always good for was a great story.  I'm going to share a few of my fondest memories of Chuck, because I know that's what he would want me to do.

One of the earliest memories I have is from a visit to Chicago with my Mom and Sister.  At this time Chuck was living on the 68th floor of the John Hancock building.  It was probably the coldest winter I have ever experienced - it had to be 50° below wind chill.  I remember a few things about this trip - this has to be the first time I ever went to Manny's Deli.  Of course, Chuck had been eating there for as long as it's been open.  He took us on a tour of his office - he owned a company that made parts for motion picture projectors.  All I remember thinking about the office was that the floors were going to collapse at any moment - he had more stuff than anyone I know.  He was a salesman. 

Chuck would always tell you that he started in Chicago in a basement apartment: "I didn't have a pot to piss in, or a window to throw it out of." (this is one of many Chuckisms that I will list off later). 

I decided to move to Chicago to go to Columbia College in September of 1999 - I don't think I would have made that move if it wasn't for Chuck and Del.  I knew that living here I would have a safety net - and I sure did.  I knew that if anything happened, or if I ever needed help with anything, they would be there - and they were.

When I first moved here, we essentially had a supper club.  He would pick up his usual crew of adopted family and take us all out to Wildfire.  This group consisted of Lisa (his sons wife who was living in Chicago), Aunt Ruth (who was about 99 years old and sharp as a tack), Mi Jung (a very beautiful Korean woman who was in Chicago going to school), Chuck, Del, and me.  He was known by name at Wildfire, in fact, last year - he was so well know - they put up a brass plaque in his honor.  He would always say that he'd schedule these dinner toward the end of the month because I would "run out of money" before I "ran out of month".

I've spent every single Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah and Passover with Chuck and Del.  I would tag along - sometimes reluctantly - to services with them.  The holiday I cherished most and the one that will always hold a special place in my heart - one that will never be the same - is Yom Kippur.  I'm sure you'r wondering why?  Well, Chuck and I had a ritual - it went a little bit like this.  We would go to services (which he would undoubtedly sleep though), drive back to the Hancock, Drop off Del and begin our annual journey around Chicago for all of the break the fast fixings.  We had three stops to make, The Bagel Shop in Lincolnwood, the Fish Market in Chicago and Costco.  Without fail, we would eat at every stop.  The bagel shop was a hot bagel, the fish marlet was a half pound of fried shrimp each and Costco was the infamous $1.50 hot dog and pop.  Yes, we were bad Jews - the guilt was killing us.

Costco was Mecca for Chuck.  He would do anything for a bargain - the highlight of his week was the $1.50 Polish and Coke.  He would put so much onion on that Polish, I think he got far more than his $1.50 worth.

I could literally go on telling stories like this all night.  The few things I want to drive home about Chuck are his amazing and boundless generosity, his ability to make friends with everyone and his undying love for Chicago - which on many occasions he called the greatest city in the world.  He should know, he's been around the world at least a dozen times.

As promised I thought I would list a few phrases which I've come to call "Chuckisms".  These are things that he would say - without fail - the first time you met him:

• "Hi, I'm Charlie on a good day."
• "What do you do?  What can you get me wholesale?"
• On your way out the door he would say: "Do good work, I need the money."
• "In 100 years it isn't going to make a bit of difference."
• Answering the phone: "It's your nickle!!" or "Hellooooooooooooo!!"
• After you were stuffed with food from dinner at his apartment: "More in Kitchen!" and "It costs the same no matter how much you eat."
• After you compliment his restaurant selection: "I wouldn't take you somewhere bad - I've gotta eat too!"
• Ask him how he's doing? "I'm just like sex, even when I'm bad, I'm good."
• If I hadn't talked to him in a while: "You didn't go and get married or do any dumb thing like that did you?"
• Chucks Rules:
  • Don't get married
  • Don't get her pregnant
  • Don't get a tattoo
  • Don't enlist

There are hundreds more that I can't remember - but you get the idea.

What do I regret about my relationship with Charlie?  I didn't tell him enough how much I loved him and how much he really meant to me.

As I sit here crying, all I can think about is how much I wish my grandchildren could have met him...

and

...how much I'm going to miss him.

Here are a few pictures of Chuck from over the years:

 

Him and I at his 80th Birthday Party

 

Blowing out the candles on his 80th Birthday cake.

 

Chuck and Del at her Birthday Party.

 

In his apartment with friends.

 

Out for dinner sometime.




Charlie,
I loved you more than you know.  You are an inspiration to me everyday.  You never gave me a bad piece of advice and I am going to miss the hell out of you.

I love you.

Scott

His obituary.

The Power of Referrals...

I have to admit, one of the things I relish most in life is good customer service.

It's pretty rare these days to find a place that understands the needs of their consumer, and works hard to meet those needs.  I'm the first to admit, that in general I'm a tough customer - I'm not willing to put up with substandard service.  In most cases I'm willing to pay a premium for a better customer experience.

Because of this, when I find a place that does a kick ass job, I tend to refer all of my friends there.  The top three places I refer people to a lot are:

Four Sided Framing

2939 N Broadway St, Chicago

I frame a lot of stuff.  I like art, so I tend to get it framed nicely so it will last.  I probably have at least 15 things in my house framed by these guys.  I am totally clueless when it comes to color schemes and matching things - well design in general, in fact - I have never come away from here with anything less than a masterpiece.  The prices? A little bit higher than your average framing shop.  Why am I willing to pay more? Attention to detail - everything I've ever framed there has been nothing less than perfect, down to the hook to hang it with.

Sappori Trattoria

2701 N Halsted St, Chicago

If I could take one restaurant with me to a desert island, this would be it.  I've been coming here for about 5 years - I take everyone I know here.  I've taken parties of 20 here.  When I walk in, they know me, everyone says hi.  It's a great place.  Everything is fresh - Anthony, the owner and executive chef makes all of the dishes.  The wine list is HUGE - literally - it's a giant book.  The wait staff are knowledgeable, they have outdoor seating and the desserts are made fresh each day in the restaurant.  Everything at this place is done with care and the customer in mind.



Tuffy Auto Service Center

1400 W Diversey Pkwy, Chicago

This one started out because it was convenient.  It was walking distance to my house and when I needed work to be done on the Civil Air Patrol van, I would take it here.  Well, the more time I spent taking vehicles here, the more I realized that these guys kick ass at customer service.  On a couple of occasions, they went out of their way to make things easier for me, including (after finding out they couldn't do the work needed) driving the vehicle to a dealer on the far north side of Chicago, arranging for the repair and payment and driving it back to their shop on Diversey.  Needless to say, when I finally bought a car, I take it to them for anything - including oil changes.  I've probably referred at least 5 different people to them in the last 2 months - all of those people becoming dedicated customers.  I give high praise to Chris Zelasko (the manager) and his team for putting the customers needs first.


What's in it for me?  Why do I refer people to these places?  Mostly because I know that I'm not the only person who enjoys a good customer experience.  It makes me happy knowing that my friends are having a good experience and that I'm supporting a local Chicago business.

Sometimes it get's you a free oil change - like today.

Flight Training: My First Experience outside of Chicago Airspace...

Well, I'm on vacation visiting my parents and I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to fly in some different airspace.  I call the airport office at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport to find a flight school.  They were very happy to help.  They emailed me a list of schools before I even hung up the phone.  I went down the list - most of the schools were full time schools.  I found one that I liked called Airborne Systems.  I spoke to Vinny who set me up in their Piper Warrior II circa 1982.

To say that this was a new experience would be an understatement.  First time flying in Florida, first time flying in a steam gauge and first time with a different instructor.

It was a great flight!  I had a pretty serious crosswind on takeoff - the instructor said I handled it really well.  We flew straight east towards the ocean - the entire flight was filled with the most amazing views of the water.  Once we reached the coastline, we turned south and flew the entire southern coast until we reached Key Biscane.  Once we got to Key Biscane we practiced a few standard rate turns and headed back.  On the return trip we stayed over land, in fact I flew the FLL VOR and crossed right over the airport (Mom thought it was cool to see the planes taking off and landing around us).  We proceeded to land on runway 8 - the landing was good - I continue to have an issue with letting the nose drop on it's own.  I have a tendency to force it down once the mains are down.  I have to keep that in mind so I can practice more.

The difference between steam gauges and the glass wasn't that bad - the thing I found most interesting was the level of situational awareness you have when you're flying the glass.  Between the weather and the TIS you really have a much more complete picture of what's going on in the air.  The other thing I noticed was the positioning of the engine instruments - in this Warrior II the tachometer was literally behind the yolk, making it tough to see unless you leaned to one side.

Overall, I really enjoyed all of the new experiences associated with this flight - most of all the chance to take my Mom on a nice air tour.

Palwaukee Composite Squadron Fundraiser

You may or may not know this but Civil Air Patrol Units are self funded.  In other words all of our operating expenses are funded by local fund raising programs.  Each year my unit hosts a fundraising event.  This year we've decided to do it in the form of a dinner.  Details on the event can be found here.  If you can't make it to the dinner itself, we welcome your stand alone donations.  The feature of the dinner will be a silent auction with all kinds of exciting items like:

• CUBS vs PIRATES May 26 3 tickets
• CUBS vs.BRAVES July 6th 3 tickets
• WINE TASTING for 12 people 8-bottles over 2 hr event
• 22" Toshiba flatscreen HDTV w/ built in DVD player
• 1hr Flight Instruction Gift Certificate
• $25 PIZANO's Pizza & Pasta Gift Certificate
• 2hr Flight Instruction Gift certificate
• $200 Gift Certificate to 200 East Chestnut Restaurant 

I know this is a tough time for all of us - myself included - but any support you can lend would go a long way!