A Chilly But Beautiful Day in Florida...

MONSTER PLANES 2012

Lakeland, FL

Today we traveled about an hour south of here to Lakeland, to the Monster Planes show.  The smallest planes weigh no less than 35 pounds, and there is no top weight limit that I know of, so these are appropriately named monsters!  I've seen some in the past that were big enough for me to sit in, and they are RC (remote control).

The weather was a little chilly for my taste.....although 70 is normally nice, today I was about to freeze,   as the sun was nowhere to be found, and the wind gusts that are remnants of Hurricane Sandy, were cutting.

And I'm a little more than miffed at this hurricane making an appearance this weekend, as it kept several of my good friends away, who normally don't miss a show.  And although I love to watch the planes, and see the amazing abilities of the pilots and builders of these beauties, it's the friends that I've made from not only around our country, but from around the world, that I enjoy the most when I go to the shows.

I got to sport my F 111 Aardvark hat today...given to me by my friend Mike Selby, who built one for Top Gun a few years ago.  Unfortunately he and his beautiful wife Lek couldn't be at this show, as they live in Thailand! Wanted them to see this pic though, so they would know I was thinking of them...

This is my precious friend Ana....today I got to finally see her and  hubby Eduardo, whom I haven't seen in several years.  They live here in the states part of the year, and the rest of the year is spent in their native Brazil.  She's a hands on girl too....right there at Eduardo's side doing whatever it takes to get his planes ready to fly.  She's also his spotter/caller out on the field.
Today was Eduardo's birthday, so it was extra special getting to see them.

A new friend I made today....David, who drives all the way from Vancouver, British Columbia,  just to fly his big ole Waco bi-plane at Monster Planes.  His is 40% scale, which means it's 40% of the size of a full size airplane.  

Waco's are probably my favorite vintage airplane...and here's another flown by a friend Scott. His is also 40%.    Bill just told me that they have a 12 foot wingspan, so that gives you some idea of the size of these babies!  It's painted in a way I've never seen before, and my hubby was quick to tell me that it's painted military style.

This is a P 38 Lightning, owned by Brian O'Meara, from Denver.

All in all, it was a really good day.  The fellowship of friends and just getting outside to enjoy the world the Lord has made, made it beautiful.