The Spirit of Adventure - Michael McCafferty

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my voice completely, and this condition has continued throughout today. For the first time in my life, I am mute. I'm a mime! If there is any consolation in all this it is that I cannot speak the language anyway, so why bother. Another consolation is that the biplane is locked up in the display area, so I couldn't fly it even if I could speak. So my biplane and I are both suffering from some minor ailments, and we will work on getting fixed up over the next few days. While I was out today, dealing with some of the red tape involved with the air show, I tried to get a little sleep in the back of the rental car while Carl waited in line to get exhibitor badges. My rest was rudely interrupted with the sound of some of the most powerful jet engines produced by man, flying just a few feet over the roof of the car. Then I noticed that we were parked at the approach end of the main runway at Le Bourget. Can anyone identify this fighter jet? I hope your Friday the Thirteenth is going better than mine. Thanks for being there. It helps to have someone to talk to, especially when you have lost your voice! 34
Day 11: Who Is This Guy? What Makes Him Tick? Paris, France It’s a gloomy, rainy day in Paris, a perfect day to catch up on my correspondence, do some writing, and reflection. One of my new e-mail friends has asked me a question which echoes a request made by other readers who have just joined into this journal, namely: "Who is this guy whose exploits we are reading?" My long time friends will find some new tidbits among the following, so they will not be so bored, and all will find the seed of motivation that has lead to this adventure. It is not meant to be all-inclusive, just a few highlights which are pertinent to the question. I was conceived on the “Day of Infamy,” the attack at Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. Precisely nine months later, I arrived as the second of six children (three boys, three girls). We were not an overly large family for Irish Catholics, but sizable enough for me to develop an instinct for self-preservation, especially at mealtime. I was a beautiful child, my mother's favorite, as she told me many times in private. However, multiple siblings make the same claim, which, if true, indicates my mother's wonderful sense of humor, that she would kid them that way. Early on, I was well behaved, capable of entertaining myself as a result of my extraordinary curiosity. As a teen, however, I was a delinquent, always testing the rules, confident that my intelligence exceeded that of the rule makers. I was jailed twice during this period, only for overnight stays, and for silly things (once for stealing a flag from a seaside resort because it had my high school's colors, and once for siphoning gas from a car). There was a lot more I didn't get caught doing, but it was all the same minor caliber. Well, I did like to blow things up, but it was always small explosions, like mailboxes and urns and toilets. When I approached the age of 18, was legally considered an adult, and my record of future misdeeds would become public, and more severely punishable, I had the good sense to leave my life of crime and focus on more important things. Girls. I attended a boys-only Catholic high school, and a private boys-only Catholic college, so girls were always verboten, and therefore, highly desirable. My ace in the hole, so to speak, was that I had wheels. It seems that it is impossible for a guy to date if he has no wheels, and I had the good sense to choose to be born into the brood of Charles F. McCafferty, Philadelphia's largest Ford dealer, and therefore my access to cheap transportation was assured. I never got free cars, but I could buy them wholesale, and get them repaired at a discount. I could also “borrow” my father's car-of-the-moment without it being a criminal offense, so I had a youth filled with late night adventures in such incredible automobiles as his 1959 Jaguar XK-150/S roadster, which I raced to speeds in excess of 120 mph at 3 am with the top down, in a mad dash to escape the police. I remember turning my lights off 35
Page 1 and 2: The Spirit of Adventure The true st
Page 3 and 4: Table of Contents Preface .........
Page 5 and 6: Day 51: McCafferty's First Law of M
Page 7 and 8: Preface Photography: Photos are not
Page 9 and 10: A solo license, or even a private p
Page 11 and 12: Waiting for the Slow Boat to Paris
Page 13 and 14: Day 1: Silent fears Mikie’s Fun H
Page 15 and 16: Since I wasn't going on to Bordeaux
Page 17 and 18: Carl Dye, world’s greatest biplan
Page 19 and 20: Day 4: An Excursion into the Street
Page 21 and 22: kilometers (2.4 miles). The sidewal
Page 23 and 24: of it all. I was content to be on t
Page 25 and 26: There was still quite a bit to do.
Page 27 and 28: personally for being so retarded. F
Page 29 and 30: Day 8: A Very Short Story Paris, Fr
Page 31 and 32: element of imperfection that just m
Page 33: Day 10: Friday the Thirteenth Paris
Page 37 and 38: Immediately upon seeing the ad for
Page 39 and 40: For several days after the accident
Page 41 and 42: Day 12: The Paris Air Show Paris, F
Page 43 and 44: At 1 pm the air displays start with
Page 45 and 46: The largest of the buildings showed
Page 47 and 48: Day 14: Another Rainy Day in Paris
Page 49 and 50: Day 15: An Old Irish Prescription P
Page 51 and 52: The HSI (Horizontal Situation Indic
Page 53 and 54: And they do love their baguettes! I
Page 55 and 56: deck. I descend to the enclosed lev
Page 57 and 58: Day 17: The Loose End of a Long Red
Page 59 and 60: agent will have to pay 1,000,000 fr
Page 61 and 62: Day 19: A Street Party of Epic Prop
Page 63 and 64: We sat under cover in a local cafe,
Page 65 and 66: we crawled past the big jet stuck t
Page 67 and 68: deal with their customs when I land
Page 69 and 70: Day 22: To Fly Is To Be Nangis, Fra
Page 71 and 72: I'm reminded of an old saying: "It
Page 73 and 74: Soon after we returned to the airpo
Page 75 and 76: The mosquitoes were everywhere, eve
Page 77 and 78: Sean went for a run to work off som
Page 79 and 80: We drove north, along the west coas
Page 81 and 82: Day 26: The Global Perspective Ajac
Page 83 and 84: This afternoon, in a walk through t
Page 85 and 86:
find appropriate for his private co
Page 87 and 88:
To me, this is what an adventure is
Page 89 and 90:
in two different languages, neither
Page 91 and 92:
Day 29: The Animal and The English
Page 93 and 94:
Day 30: Sensory Overload Paris, Fra
Page 95 and 96:
I worked through this process while
Page 97 and 98:
inside the office, no one would hav
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Day 32: Testostérone Alley La Fert
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and the father of the current owner
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Day 33: Just Playing Nangis, France
Page 105 and 106:
Day 34: The Blue Wizzard Bourg en B
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Karim tried to get us hangar space,
Page 109 and 110:
and clouds so that it was impossibl
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Day 36: And We Didn't Get Arrested!
Page 113 and 114:
Day 37: Riding The Edge Of The Stor
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I followed Matthias in the pattern,
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17-month- old son, Hendrik, for a c
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that the way was clear. We had just
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Day 39: Wingovers for Nici Liechten
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almost motionless in the air, and t
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It was right about this point that
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where he is! In fact, I haven't the
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around August 11. After Nici return
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We were at about 7,500 feet and cru
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making arrangements for hangar spac
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Day 43: A Bit of a Dip in the Strip
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Day 44: Wake Turbulence Monster Don
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And here's another one Nici took of
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The only problem is that I'd have t
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would only have a day to play befor
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145
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German. I'm wondering when the day
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149
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There's a lot more to this great st
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Taking a walk around the city, I wa
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Day 49: The North Sea Oostende, Bel
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coast the traffic is almost always
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along the extended centerline of th
Page 161 and 162:
After checking in, we headed for th
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During one of the several periods o
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And looking to the right is the Chi
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Day 53: Party Capital of the North
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When we arrived at the beach at aro
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Day 54: A Walk On The Beach With Je
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Day 55: Leap of Faith Copenhagen, D
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illowy cumulus rain clouds in the s
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Sweden, and the beautiful little gr
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Day 57: Future Aviators Gromitz, Ge
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We did a lot of over-water flying t
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Day 58: The GPS Of The Future Hambu
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Day 59: Unplanned Landing in (Forme
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Today was a big occasion for one of
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Day 60: Runway Snake! Zurich, Switz
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Donaueschingen, Germany is where Ma
Page 193 and 194:
Once in a great while, there are th
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Day 63: Tribute To Lowell Williams
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ground, but it hasn't cured the pro
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The area surrounding Rheims is Cham
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Navigate between two tall radio tow
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As I was taxiing out to runway 24,
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I parked on the ramp next to anothe
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Day 67: Great Hotels, Great Memorie
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And while we are on the subject of
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Have you ever played Snooker? Well,
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Day 69: Down and Out, and Just Arou
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Day 70: Back at the Beach Again New
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Day 71: Hangar Flying New Romney, E
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This place has a Concorde on displa
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Day 73: The American Air Museum Dux
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Unfortunately, it allows only one p
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I should say right off that Keith,
Page 227 and 228:
Day 75: A Most Incredible Day Duxfo
Page 229 and 230:
I should stop here for a minute to
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I watch the takeoff and then disapp
Page 233 and 234:
Day 76: Today Well Lived... Duxford
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Then up walks another fellow, Ray,
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Day 77: They Saved the World East A
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At the end of the road that leads i
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We drove back into town and had lun
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Day 79: Great Planes Duxford, Engla
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Day 80: Playing On the Grass and in
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I did about five circuits of the pa
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Day 81: Anticipation Duxford, Engla
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I'm not looking forward to waking u
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She continues: "However, if we only
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We were cruising around the neighbo
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Day 83: Nice People, Nice Day Duxfo
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Later in the day, I returned to the
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Day 84: Floats For My Biplane! Camb
Page 263 and 264:
Day 85: Ghosts of Greatness Cambrid
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I was constantly changing my altitu
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My tour of Hadrian's Wall was inter
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Day 88: Roots County Donegal, Irela
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By the time I was over land again,
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Day 89: Mourning the Princess Count
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Day 90: Miracles and Monarchs Doon
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into the distance. It was a fine pi
Page 279 and 280:
279
Page 281 and 282:
Day 93: Meeting the Relatives Termo
Page 283 and 284:
Day 94: Flight of Fancy County Done
Page 285 and 286:
Day 96: The End County Donegal, Ire
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Epilogue: The Duck (Three Years Lat
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It occurred to me that in some cult
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Appendix A: Acknowledgements Mom an
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The Spirit of Adventure I February
Page 295 and 296:
Certified for flying instruments-on
Page 297 and 298:
Appendix D: Checklists Preflight In
Page 299 and 300:
Run-up Oil pressure Green Oil temp
Page 301 and 302:
Appendix E: Emergency Procedures En
Page 303 and 304:
Power Off Landing Landing field Loc
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The Spirit of Adventure - Michael McCafferty

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