Fly High and Fast – Vol. II Chapter 4: New Orleans, LA

JJ Meehan
mfmeehan@live.com
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The Meehan Family

N3028W, an A-36 Bonanza is the Cadillac of all single engine aircraft.   It has seats for six and with a 285 hp engine it can cruise at 160 KTs.  The Company not only leased me a car but also N3028W to fly on Company Business.  This was Christmas, Birthday and everything else rolled into what I considered the best present anyone could have given me.  Over the next 10 years, I would accumulate over 3,000 hours in this aircraft or other Bonanza  type aircraft.

Shortly after I started flying N3028W in 1976, an opportunity developed that involved me flying the President of our company and two other gentlemen to New Orleans to negotiate a contract with Well’s Fargo Courier Corp.  What a trip and what an experience.

The trip down was very smooth and we landed around 9:00 pm at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport.   This flight took place in October.  We refueled at Lambert Airport in St. Louis.  When we arrived in New Orleans and I opened the door of N3028W the air was extremely hot, humid.  I felt like I had been hit in the face with a hot wet towel.   I don’t believe I have ever experienced the heat or humidity as high as I did when we landed in New Orleans.  Total Flight time was 4.2 hours.

Representatives from Well’s Fargo Courier met us at the airport and we headed to the French Quarter in New Orleans where they had a private apartment for our use.  This apartment and the whole trip was right out of a story book.  Our beautiful apartment was within one block of Bourbon Street, two blocks of some of the hottest Jazz Bars in New Orleans and  Four blocks from Jackson Square.

New Orleans French Quarter	Our apartment in the French Quarter
Bourbon St in New Orleans French Quarter	Bourbon St in New Orleans French Quarter
New Orleans French Quarter	New Orleans French Quarter
Our apartment in the New Orleans French Quarter	Our apartment in the New Orleans French Quarter

Basilica of St. Louis in Jackson Square, New Orleans.

New Orleans French Quarter – Members of our group.

 

The inside of our apartment in the French Quarter was exquisite

 

Two of our hosts in the kitchen	Living Room stairs to the bedrooms
Living Room Fireplace	Bathroom

 

On the 2nd Day in New Orleans we went fishing on Lake Pontchartrain.  What a wonderful time we had.

 

Getting ready to head out on Lake Pontchartrain.	On Lake Pontchartrain.  We had two boats.
On Lake Pontchartrain.  We had two boats.	Lake Pontchartrain.
Lake Pontchartrain.	Lake Pontchartrain.

 

It was a fantastic trip.  The weather was good until the afternoon of our departure.  A cold front was moving down through Iowa, Missouri and Illinois.  Based on the forecast, I was sure we would be able to reach St. Louis without a problem.  Once in St. Louis, I had the Fixed Base Operator (FBO), Mid-Coast put the plane in the hanger and we headed over to the Marriot for dinner.  When we came back the weather was going down hill fast.  Winds were up to 50 mph and there were severe storms just north of St. Louis.  I told the group we would wait until it passed through the area in about an hour and we should be able to head home.  I was right on the money and we headed out around 10:30 pm from St. Louis for Cedar Rapids.  The flight time was normally 1 1/2 hours in N3028W, but this night it took us 2 1/2 hours.  The winds were still gusting when we landed (30 mph).  The temperature had dropped at Cedar Rapids over 40 degrees in 1 hour.  Yet, the flight had gone as planned and my planning had been accurate.  I lived to fly another day.

Please enjoy more stories on flying at “FLY HIGH AND FAST”.

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