What supports your flying habit?

[StanFoster]

Just curious what everyone does to support their flying habit and trips. :D

My tagline shows I build curved stairways. Here is an average one.

[StanFoster]

more views of the same stair

[StanFoster]

looking down the stairs

[StanFoster]

most of the railing upstairs was serpentine. Over 80 feet of curved railing

[StanFoster]

last picture looking down at the 17 treads that turned 170 degrees.

[birdy]

Very neat Stan,you obviosly take alot of pride in your work.

[birdy]

As for ,wot supports me fly'n addiction,I gess it's a two way deal, the cows support the fly'n and the fly'n definately help me cow grow'n :) .Ain't I the luckyest bastered. :D :D

[StanFoster]

Birdy: You are without a doubt in the best situation. I think that you actually working with your gyro is so cool. Way to go.

[Heron]

Beautyfull work Stan!
It is good to have a job where you have fun, and when its done you have pride . . .
Heron

[scottessex]

Nice work!! Looks time consuming.

I used to paint motorcycles and do custom airbrush work, but it took too much time.

[Aussie_Paul]

I am one hellova lucky bugger!!!!

My fun flying is supported by my instructional flying!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :cool: :D :cool:

[The Rock]

Beautiful workmanship, Stan. I wish you were near Colorado.

I work for the dark side -- FAA. Some of us truly love anything that flies -- even gyros. :D

[barnstorm2]

Stan, How do you get the trees to grow all twisty like that so you can make railings out of them??

I teach computer networking and security. (MCT, CNI, CTT+)

[LARRYEBOYER]

Stan, 31 years ago I started in the insurance business. I worked day and night to build my business. I lived, breathed, and slept insurance. Morning to night 5-6 days a week. It all paid off about 6 years ago when I felt the need to specialize and become self employed. I did both becoming a senior estate planner. I now have a thriving business that gives me the income and free time to enjoy all I want to do. I am truely blessed by the Lord! Along with that blessing goes the ability to fly when I want!!!. Ben and his son visited me over the weekend. His son Ben Jr was the biggest beneficiary of the trip. I had to use a crowbar to get him out of the RAF. I gave him his last ride the way I like to fly.( He had 2 earlier flights around the Lancaster area but no monkey business) I heard screams of delight in the headphone as I side slipped the ship form 400 ft to 50 feet in an instant as we did a 360 around a tall tree. He loved the high speed ground hugging over a Lancaster dutch farmers corn field. He screamed as we changed the high speed energy into 300 instant altitude. When I took him back to the airport, I said to him" What were you screaming about?" he said he didn't remember doing it!. he just looked at me and said" That was the best aviation experience I ever had!". Yes , I am truely blessed.
P.S.I didn't tell Ben Jr this but I was screaming with delight in my head too as we did those maneauvers.

[Russell]

I operate a Nuclear reactor For Progress Energy in Florida. The work is not bad just all the red tape and B.S is very aggravating. But it does keep me flying. Now lets see who can find the nuclear plant in this photo.
Russ :p

[Caribean_gyro]

no just kidding. I am a purchaasing agent for curtis inst. so when you drive your golf cart or wheel chair, my product is in it. beside tahat some teaching and demo rides pay for the beers.

Chuck :)

[Caribean_gyro]

just find the glowing gyro and you will find Rusell

[GraemeMonro]

I take pictures of speeding cars for the state police, not a very popular job. I get paid on an hourly rate not quantity. Also I have a small farm of meat goats and crops. I do the odd weekend with the dissabled group in town.
My lifestyle is very enjoyable having my own airstrip and a great wife that comes flying with me sometimes when I promise to behave myself.

[pwendell]

Russel,

And to think I was just practicing some 'turns around a point' using the containement buildings over at Palo Verde. It was kind of strange through, I kept seeing lots of F16s from over at Luke AFB flying really close to me... :eek:

[Chuck Irby]

Stan, pretty workmanship. Do you do any of the spindle work, or buy them?

Russ, I would say that it's the round concrete structure with the domed roof.

I trade commodities.

[StanFoster]

Chuck> Thanks..I buy the spindles. It takes very expensive mahcines to make what ends up to be the cheapest part of the stairway.

[asmuzsr]

My badge supports me flying. I watch people sleep all night.

Tony
N267A
N352P

[KenSandyEggo]

I'm between careers. Test results should be in my mailbox in a couple days. Supporting myself and my "habit" from proceeds of the sale of my sign shop a little over a year ago. Put the funds in some stocks that paid off pretty well.

[Heron]

It has to be closer to the big chimeneys . . .the square building?

[Flapjack]

Maybe the whole thing is the power plant. Is the containment area the domed cylindrical structure?

I run a carwash, among other things. :o

Tom

[Udi]

I am making drugs (the legal kind) for a living, but Citibank is supporting my flying at the moment...

Russsell - I can't see the cooling towers for your little nuke plant. Are you using seawater for cooling?

Udi

[rehler]

I'm changing my career in April 2007 to become a full time gyro pilot.

Meanwhile I design buildings - www.rvk-architects.com

[Screw]

Screw-In

My customers support my flying. :D

Screw-Out

[ToddP]

My "career" is being a firefighter for the City of Spokane

http://www.spokanefire.org/station3.htm

Lots of fireman have day off jobs and I'm no exception. On my day off I work at the Spokane Firefighters Credit Union.

http://www.firecu.net/

A combination of flying and 4 daughters kind of force a guy into working all the time :).

[BUD ONEAL]

I am retired, Thanks to all of you for paying your social security taxes !
Also retired from county goverment in south fl.{building dept. inspector}

[Russell]

OK here is a doctored up pic of the power plants. The circle around the nuc plant is all there is to it. Notice how small it is compaired to the huge coal plants. We make more power than both units 1&2 combined. The "cooling towers" in the back ground belong to the coal plant a mile away. Most of the news, takes pictures of these towers when talking about the nuclear plant.And the round building is the reactor building. And yes you could fly a plane into it and NEVER make it to the core.
Caribean_gyro I use to have a bright green Dominator!!!
Udi if you look at the pic next to the words nuclear plant you will see water and a blue structure that is our intake for cooling water.
Russ AKA Homer

[quadrirotor]

What's the temperature of the water in the foreground?

[MikeBoyette]

"Can You Hear me Now?" I am a Verizon phone Repairman. I also am becoming a DSL guru.

[Screw]

Screw-In

What?

Screw-Out

[Russell]

quadrirotor The water temp at the intake is 89 deg. F .outfall appox 105 deg.F
We move at a minimum 600000 gpm of sea (gulf) water thru the plant.
Russ :D

[gyroblackwell]

I design Bone Implants. Knee implants are my specialty. I used to work for a sports med company in Largo FL. But gave that up to get back to knee designs. I also Lifeguard, coach swimming, and teach cumputer aided design/drafting. IN MY SPARE TIME .... I design and build gyros ! I have a very understanding wife, and two teen-age sons to help with the interesting stuff ! I love my job, and love my hobby!
Oh! .... and now I have a brand new baby girl! If you want to know what a knee implant looks like, go to www.biomet.com

[GyroRon]

I cut grass for a living. We got hammered with rain last night and I wasn't able to get started today till 1pm. I am so far behind I hired a friend to work with me today and tomorrow - we had 42 lawns still to cut this week :eek: - We were able to knock out 22 lawns today even starting at 1pm. We got caught at the next stop after I took these pics - a stop where I got 5 lawns all side by side - when it starting raining cats and dogs again. Got out of the rain and in the car to go home at 7pm.

I cut between 55 to 60 lawns a week plus one commercial job where I do all the common areas and entrances to a neighborhood and that job is equal to another 7-10 lawns. I work by myself unless I get rained out or got too much stuf going on. I think that is why I lost 15 pounds since spring.. A lot of walking with that weedeater! :D

[GyroRon]

I do three yards at this stop

[GyroRon]

It was a hot a humid day today, Makes you want to drink alot of water!

[GyroRon]

Of course having a 8000$ lawnmower that cuts grass faster than most people jog at and 61 inches wide helps out. I cut most lawns in less than 10 minutes from start to finish. It takes that much more to weedeat and then even more to blow off the clipping from the street and driveway, but either way I do my work in a fraction of the time it takes Johnny homeowner...

[GyroRon]

Last pic taken about 10 seconds after the last one I posted....

[KenSandyEggo]

I thought that South Carolinians just let loose a herd of goats in their yards when their grass got too long. ;)

[scottessex]

I am just a poor Comercial airline mechanic who lives in a barn.

By the way, Ron, is that a Scag? Turf tiger? Anyhow that is a real mans mower! I like to cut grass as fast as possible. I used to cut grass in the summer, and plow snow in the winter when I lived in Indiana. Guess you can't do too much snow plowing in the off season in South Carolina.

[Hognose]

I am kind of semiretired or underemployed.

I was in a very successful start-up firm. I did well out of that. I was their tech guru and went on to be a network architect, mostly for the newspaper industry. My firm died while I was away.

I am (was?) a part time soldier (National Guard) and am trying to fend off a disability retirement. But I really can't do the foot-soldier stuff any more. I had a long an interesting (to me, anyway) career on active duty and in the Reserves and Guard.

I also do some part time aviation writing. Both for Aero-News, and books. And I'm working on a novel about Afghanistan.

I still do a little net hosting and consulting.

Kind of a jack of too many marginal trades, or something.

cheers

-=K=-

[bartc150]

I support my armchair flying as a fireman, and my real flying as a mechanic, wood floor installer and I own a small irrigation company.

www.arcadiafiredept.com

[Jonvee]

This is the Master Control Room at WB33 TV in Dallas. I install and maintain equipment for the station. http://wb33.trb.com/

[Aussie_Paul]

Hey Ken, you are right!!!! Ron is a goat!!!!!!!!! OOOOOOOHHHHHH AAAAAAHHHHHHHH.

Now you can let me have it Ron!!!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:


Aussie Paul. :D

[PW_Plack]

Ken, I lived in South Carolina for a time. You show an obvious ignorance of the culture. The accepted method of lawn control is to use care and planning when arranging the junk cars and old appliances, and placing the cinder-block supports on the lawn after a rain. Done correctly, the blocks partially sink, reducing the ground clearance, and causing the grass to compact against the bottoms of the art objects, blocking its own sun exposure.

To stray back to the topic briefly, I'm a career radio broadcaster, do mornings at a local AM talk station here in the Portland, OR area, and co-host a fledgling syndicated weekend radio show dealing with economics and hard money assets. The irony is that until my divorce becomes final, probably this August, I'm neither flying nor investing.

If I'm not living under a bridge by then, I'll be hurrying to get current, get flying, and get building!

[gyroplanes]

Aviation supports my aviation !
I started out as an instrument technician (sorry, no powerstation pictures)

I am now the director of maintenance for two charter companies.

Northeast aviation, fixed wing freight hauler (custom critical, not bulk). At our peak we had an MU-2, 4 Beech Barons, Piper Navajo, Piper Aztec

[gyroplanes]

Some more of our aircraft

[gyroplanes]

I'm their director of Maintenance too. Our helicopter fleet consists of 4 R-22s and a Bell 206 Jet Ranger. They are about to buy a Bell Long Ranger and are beginning construction of a Robinson service center. (I may have to choose career paths soon)

[Aussie_Paul]

Great stuff guys. It is nice to know what people do in the not so real life!!!!! Flying is the REAL part!!!!!

Aussie Paul.

[Gary_in_Orygun]

I write user manuals for an industrial-strength computer software company. Companies like Intel and Texas Instruments buys our software. Technical writer is my title.

[gyroman]

I'm a Network Engineer for a computer company. I currently work on an account supporting Shell and some others. I have a wife and 3 kids, 2 boys age 7 and 4 and a baby girl age 2. Don't have much time to work on the gyro but I hope to complete my gyro and fly someday...

[GyroRon]

sorry I lost track of this tread.... Ken they use Goats to trim grass in Kentucky, Not South Carolina. Scott yes it is a Scag turf tiger, 25 horsepower Kawasaki twin, 61 inch cutting deck. Paul Bruty, AT LEAST WE GOT GRASS! I couldn't live in such a brown dry place as OZ. Paul Plack, your very much right, but for me I live a mile from N.C. and therefore my area isn't as bad as other areas, but we do got old cars in front of trailerhomes in SC.

[Hognose]

This is the Master Control Room

Jon, that is totally cool... "Master Control Room..." but... where is "Mini-Me"?

cheers

-=K=-

[Aussie_Paul]

Ron, my idea of lawn is concrete/cement painted green!!!!!!!!!!

Aussie Paul.

[Brent_Brown]

My wife and I love her for it. ,,,,,,,,

[GyroRon]

Look what I found on the way to the airport today - Note the Airport is in NORTH Carolina!!! -

[GyroRon]

A close up

[StanFoster]

Ron: So thats how you get your 60 accounts done and then go fly... :D


Stan

[Dewie]

Alright you lot, I?ve got the best job of all. :D
School bus driver! I start work from home, drive kids to school, spend the day supervising cleaning of the fleet (142 buses) then take them (the kids) home again.
Paid from my back door to my back door again. Only 40 weeks a year and no weekend work :cool:
________
SugarSophie (http://www.girlcamfriend.com/cam/SugarSophie/)

[david holmes]

My gyro budget equals my $540/ mo social security check so I guess you working guys are paying for my gyros.

[Chuck Irby]

Hello David, it's about time you posted here. Welcome aboard.

[GraemeMonro]

David, it is good to see you here. I hope all is well in your part of the world. I was just thinking about you the other day and wondering how puff was flying. Fancy putting a mans flying machine in a barbie pink hanger.. ;)

[cgmg]

I'm a Paint Shop staff engineer in the Mitsubishi Auto plant in Normal, Illinois. One of my areas of responsibility is the rustproofing system for the body, so our cars can go so long without rusting.

That's what pays for our current machine, and I hoped it would pay for the two-seater we'd like to buy. Unfortunately, not enough people are buying our cars right now. We've just gone through our second staff cutback in 5 years.

If all you guys went out and bought a Mitsubishi tomorrow, it might help a fellow flyer save his job! How about helping a poor staff engineer out?

[GyroRon]

It hate to break it too ya Mark, but whoever is designing the newer cars and trucks at your company is killing you guys!!! the ONLY vehicle I would buy from your company is the Lancer EVO because of it's performance. If I wanted a mid sized sedan I would never buy a Gallant over a Accord or Camry, same thing with the SUV's I would much rather have a honda pilot over whatever that thing is you guys are selling!

I know Mitsubishi can make a good vehicle and they are good. but why have they made them so darn ugly???????????

[Heron]

Mitsu sucks! Plain and simple . . .
Hello counselor Holmes, I missed you alot, welcome back!!!:D
Heron

[rgraffeo]

Stan,
This is where I work. We make nitrogen fertilizer products.