Helicopter / horse and buggy

[StanFoster]

I had the honor of being invited to an Amish hog roast Friday the 23rd. They are putting the pig in the ground for a day of slow cooking. I buy a lot of my stair materials from these fine people. But get this....they actually want me to fly my helicopter down to the hog roast! Its about 70 miles and I can't wait. What a contrast that will be "if" I am allowed to take pictures of the Amish standing next to my chopper. Does anyone here think they will allow me to take pictures of them? I know 30 years ago I had the amish make some cannon carriage wheels for me, and when I got my camera out, the Amish kids scattered as fast as if I was shooting a .357 Magnum at them. I at least will ask them if they could pull a horse and buggy up alongside my Helicycle. I think that picture would be a good cover shot for some aviation magazines. I never will forget the Amish people ast Mentone climbing in and around that Medevac helicopter. I posted some pictures of that. Stay tuned, but I will respect their wishes if no photos are desired. Stan

 

[choppergabor]

It is very considerate of you.They do not like to be photographed for sure! I agree though it would make a good cover shot!

 

[choppergabor]

Awesome! I am sure you'll have a good turnout and a good story to tell

 

[Brian]

you may be able to get a horse and buggy in the pic, around here they just don't want to be in the picture. I wish I could be there the interaction of the two cultures would be interesting good luck, don't exceed your limits but they could give you a ride home.

 

[Master Roda]

I've had buried pig (slow cooked) a couple of times. It was the best pig meat I've ever had.
The Amish are very interesting people. There is a community of them not far from here.
Can't wait to see the pics.
Jon

 

[kolibri282]

That's the advantage of building hardware, Stan, nobody would invite me for dinner to see my math model...;-(
(And no girl would accept an invitation like: uhm, wouldn't you like to see my dynamic heli sim...)

Looking forward to some great pictures (and/or a story), have fun!

 

[Brian]

very good stan and you right they do live up to their word. We need more integrity in our world. Have fun you earned it.

 

[Timchick]

Sounds like a great time. Looking forward to the horse and helicycle photo. How much horsepower does your turbine have?

 

[okikuma]

Hey Stan, I can't wait to see the pictures and read about your experience.

Last year at Mentone, I enjoyed a great conversation with the Amish group that was selling the ice cream. When they found out I came "all the way from California," they wanted to know all about where I live and what I did for a living. They also asked if there were any Amish in California. I told them that to my knowledge, I don't think so. They wanted to know about my wife and I showed them her picture and they were surprised that she wasn't caucasian, but a Filipina.

In my camera, I still had photos of our trip to the Philippines a few months prior, so I showed them and they were quite impressed. The really enjoyed seeing a photo of a Filipino riding on his wagon that was being pulled by a Carabao (water buffalo)! The photos of the 100 year old foot powered Singer sewing machine that my wife's aunt still uses also caught there attention!

I too totally respect the Amish way of life and they teased me that I could change and become Amish if I so desired! LOL

Stan, I bet they would enjoy a gift of a photo of their farm from the air. Ask if that is a gift they would enjoy.

Wayne

 

[Lee Scatt]

There is a dilemma rearing it's head..... there are only two racks of ribs on a hog...

 

[okikuma]

Stan,

Make sure you take photos of the roasted pigs!!

Here in SoCal, there's plenty of places to purchase a roasted pig. No Filipino gathering is without one or two!

Below are two fine examples of "Lechon de leche" that we ate in Beverly Hills - Cebu City, Philippines. Now, I know what I wrote in Spanish is technically incorrect, however that is how the Filipinos who speak the Visayan Dialect say it.



"Lechon" in Castilian Spanish means "suckling pig." The word Lechon was derived from the Spanish word for milk which is "leche." Filipinos use the word "Lechon" meaning a "full sized roasted pig." To specify a roasted suckling pig, then they say, "Lechon de Leche."

Wayne

 

[Arnie Madsen]

Stan , the (little bit) I know is they dont allow a picture of their face (front) . I understand some groups will allow an occasional photo from the rear. Each group has different rules (values).

About 15 years ago I saw an excellent documentary done by a reporter. The elder of the Colony allowed himself to be filmed for TV. He made some thought provoking comments.

The reporter was discussing the inconvenience of not having electricity , running water , water heaters etc. The Amish replied that he felt it would be far more invonvenient to wake up to beeping alarm clocks , fight tragic jams , sit all day in a high pressured office , all in order to earn money to have a home with warm running water.

The Amish then demonstrated that all he had to do was walk over to his hand pump, fill a 5 gallon kettle with water on a wood stove , and sit down for a relaxing cup of tea. By the time the tea was consumed , the Amish had all the warm wash water he needed.

I have never tested the humor of an Amish , but some of their idiosyncrasies make me smile. One Colony had a state of the art expensive brand new John Deere lawn mower ...... with steel wheels.

One Colony (years ago) had a big disagreement and split. All over a button. The Amish shirt had 5 buttons and one of the men complained that in cold winds the air blew through the gaps and he decided to add a sixth button.

Half the group (the 5 button ones) felt a 6th button was too worldly and it might lead them to hell or something. The more secure (the 6 button ones) felt it would be OK , so they split .

They are great people. If the world technology crashes , they will still have food and will share the surplus. Great neighbors if you don't mind the horse poop on your BMW wheels.

 

[Penguin]

Hi, Stan!
It appears that you have established excellent business relations and a personal rapport with some of the Amish. That's wonderful from both perspectives. Your visit provides them with an outstanding learning opportunity, particularly for the younger members of their community.
Please consider carefully taking ANY pictures without first expressly requesting their permission. Even aerial photos which you and I would consider to be quite benign. They may consider it to be less than forthright and possibly as sneaky.
You and your friends have opened a door between very different societies. It's important that you mind-your-manners to keep the door open for yourself and possibly select others in the futures.
And have a blast - I wish it were me!
Hmmm - would a horse drawn gyro glider work for them ...

 

[Arnie Madsen]

The way I understand it , the Amish , the Hutterites , the Old Order Mennonites etc. object to being photographed because of the commandment "thou shat not make a graven image" and they interpret it as possibly a picture of themselves. In other words , folks (like us) might adore the photograph of a beautiful woman , whereas they prefer not to. Something like that.

The origins of the Amish are firmly Christian , and they have chosen to duplicate the early Apostles who "had all things in common and shared with each other" .... thus the concept of the commune (colony) life.

I also find it interesting (and agree) with the way they allow the youth and young adult freedom to chose the Amish life style or go independent and live in "the world" . That freedom of choice assures no one is forced to be religious according to someone else's code.

Christianity has always been free for the asking for those who want it , it is a personal decision , and an excellent model. It is when mankind screws it up the problems begin. The Amish tend to get it right most of the time , and for the right reasons.

Our Canadian province of Ontario has long standing colony of Old Order Mennonites who have run out of land (city growth) and over 200 recently moved here to Manitoba. They are about 20 miles from me , and have been a welcomed addition to our community. We were all worried how they would survive our cold winter but they just cut extra firewood and are fine.

I look forward to your Amish Hog Roast report Stan , If we dont hear back from you for a while we know darn well you will be in the rib section. It will be interesting to hear their take on your helicopter as well. They are not against technology , just chose not to use it.

By the way Stan , when it comes to the subject of ribs , .... I am not Amish , .... just a plain old Christian , ..... not a very good one at that , ..... but I guarantee you someday I will show you how real men eat ribs.

Love you my friend Stan and everything you strive to do. Your constant bright outlook rubs off on guys like me . thanks. Thanks again for your help and input last fall . Amazing things continue up here.

Talk later
Arnie

 

[okikuma]

Stan,

How did the Amish hog roast go?

Wayne

wAYNE

 

[All_In]

OK let me get this straight?

The Amish asked you to bring a high tech turbine powered helicopter to there pick-nick?

That just seem so out of character for the Amish?

You mush be the best promoter in history to change there faith like that!

Way to go and have fun Stan!!!

PS:
Do they know how much you eat?

 

[RayPierce]

OK let me get this straight?

The Amish asked you to bring a high tech turbine powered helicopter to there pick-nick?

That just seem so out of character for the Amish?

You mush be the best promoter in history to change there faith like that!

Way to go and have fun Stan!!!

PS:
Do they know how much you eat?

The limited understanding I have of how they think is they don't have any use for anything not mentioned in the Bible. SO maybe they read about where the Prophet Eziekiel mentioned a "living creature with wings and whirling wheels.
"When the "creature" was not in motion, the wings would rest downward, but when the wings "moved with a mighty sound" the creature would rise from the ground. Inside the creature was what looked like the face of a man. Some sort of helicopter?"

 

[StanFoster]

Ray- Very interesting what you quoted. Well, today is the day for my cross country into the Amish community for the hogroast. The weather forecast is good, the chopper is topped off and I have my reserve tank full. I can easily make this 140 mile round trip flight with the fuel aboard. It is an honor to be actually invited to fly my helicopter down by these fine people. My camera will respect their wishes as they will allow me to take a picture of a horse and buggy next to my Helicycle. Roy Beisswenger is excited and I am going to be sending him some pictures and a story to his Powered Sport Flying magazine . I promised Williard Miller a few magazines for letting me take the pictures they allow. They are all very excited about this also. Let me say that their cabinet shop is more high tech than mine. I need to capture these differences in words somehow. Here I am traveling in my own turbine powered helicopter compared to their horse and buggy, yet their shop with modern pneumatic powered setup, CNC routers, hi-tech lacquer spray booth blows my primitive shop away. This has the earmarks for a big story in a magazine if I have ever seen one. I am just going to play it by ear , not be pushing any buttons, no pun, and see what happens. There will be a sense of excitement when I go light off my turbine for the return flight home. I will be leaving with just enough time to get home before dark. My turbine has never failed to light off, but it would be an interesting experience being stranded in the Amish country with no vehicles around. Unfortunately Barbara is not going to be able to make it down like she had planned. So, when I push the igniter button, I want to hear that song in my head "The Heat is On...........tell me can you feel it, tell me you can feel itn tell me you can feel it..................behind those doors, it's a wild ride!! ". Stan

 

[All_In]

@Ray, very interesting.
@Stan
Have a great flight and thanks for being such a good ambassador!
Post pictures, please.

 

[hillberg]

Have a great time & watch out for the pork juices in the fingers & shirt.