B: RE: A Funny Story

[Dan Barclay]

Now *that's* the kind of America I grew up in.



> -----Original Message-----
> From: beech-owners-bounces at beechcraft.org [mailto:beech-owners-
> bounces at beechcraft.org] On Behalf Of SCOTT NEWPOWER
> Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2009 10:16 AM
> To: beech-owners at beechcraft.org
> Subject: B: A Funny Story
>
>
> OK, enough doom and gloom with the TSA for awhile.  I mentioned to you
> guys a
> story about a B-1 that got put up for sale here locally a while back.
> Here's
> the story.  About 14 years ago a B-1 was in here doing practice approaches
> and
> touch and goes.  On on of the landings he sets his brakes on fire.  He
> taxis
> in and the airport parks him on a taxiway and then puts cones around him
> until
> parts and mechanics can be brought in from Ellsworth the next day.  That
> next
> day is a Saturday, which doesn't have much going on, so we get to laughing
> in
> the tower that maybe somebody should hang a for sale sign on the plane.
>    We talk one of our guys who's well known for doing things like this
> that it
> would be a good idea.  So he takes off for the hardware store to buy a for
> sale sign.  On the way back he stops at a car dealer and gets one of them
> as
> is/no warranty signs hanging in all used cars.  On that sign was written
> something like low miles, new engines, needs brakes and tires.  Those
> signs
> were taped together and off goes our hero.
>    He climbs over the fence, leaving some skin on the barbed wire, and
> makes
> his way the 1000 feet or so to the aircraft.  As he's doing that we see a
> couple airport vehicles starting to gather with the recently arrived
> mechanics
> as well as the planes crew.  Not looking good for our intrepid airplane
> salesman.  He gets to the nosewheel and tapes the sign to the nose strut.
>  Then he starts to make his way back from the plane as the vehicles start
> to
> head out from the shop on the way to the bomber.
>    Somehow he makes it without being seen.  The vehicles arrive at the
> plane
> and of course notice the sign right away.  The Air Force guys are in
> stitches,
> funniest thing they've seen in a long time.  Airport guys are not sure
> what to
> think.  Airport management is livid as they've been tasked with security.
>  Pretty soon a camera appears and all the Air Force guys are taking
> pictures
> of each other by the sign.  Our hero is back in the tower now and notices
> the
> bombers commander is talking on a cell phone.  Our guy gets on the radio
> to
> the airport truck and asks for that guys phone number.  As soon as he
> finishes
> that call our guy calls the aircraft commander.  When he answers our guy
> says
> "I'm calling about the plane you have for sale."  Aircraft commander about
> falls over from the laughter.
>    It just so happened that the chief photographer for our local newspaper
> is
> a pilot and he may have been called prior to the sign being placed.  He
> was
> told to get up here with a big lens.  Here's one of the pics he got.
>
> http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3415/3315809933_35fa96d641_o.jpg
>
> I'm in Naples, FL; right now.  When I get back I'll post the link to the
> article that showed on the front page of the Sunday paper.  When that came
> out
> the Colonel running Ellsworth called the airport director and read him the
> riot act, wondering what kind of dog and pony show he was running up
> there.
>  We were later informed by the crew that the sign was framed and is now
> permanently mounted inside the aircraft.  Hard to have that kind of fun
> anymore.
>
>
> Scott
>
>
>