---short story, I guess, but a true one--
One afternoon I got on a Frontier Airlines flight in Rock Springs, Wyoming. I think the year was about 1975, and I was a whopping (12) years old. The airplane was a Convair 580 turboprop. I knew it well because even at 12, I was already learning to fly and my parent's friends owned one (yeah, they were rich fuckers, not my parents though). (more on my experience flying Convair 580's in a different post)
We took off to the west which is common in Wyoming due to the prevailing winds, and it was not a nice day. Shortly after wheels-up it was clear this was going to be a bumpy ride. By that time in my life, young as I was, I was very used to turbulence, so no problem. But this particular flight was extraordinarily rough. Our flight plan that day took us from Rock Springs (RKS), to Hayden, Colorado (HDN), and then onto Denver (at the time, Stapelton International, now DEN).
Up at about 16,000 to 18,000 feet we were getting slammed around really hard in the January winds. The pilots were changing altitudes frequently trying to find a smoother flight level to fly in. The flight was a full flight and I was sitting in the very back most seat, which on the 580 was a 4-wide seat, two of which were flight attendant seats. The girl (flight attendant) sitting next to me was the cutest girl I'd ever seen, and at twelve, I was immediately in love with her...plus, she was nice to my dumb ass.
The inflight crew got up a couple times to try to serve sodas and snacks, but every time they got up they got launched into the ceiling and back down again. It really was a rough flight. (They always were between RKS and HDN). So, the drink and snack service got suspended. This FA grabbed me a few times to hang on when we'd hit up and down drafts which only enamored me more to her (by the end of the flight, my 12 year old mind had me marrying this girl...but I was twelve! LOL!)
Anyway, this gal I was sitting next to (the flight attendant) asked me if I wanted some snack nuts. I said sure, and she was able to grab some for both of us. This was the first time I'd ever had Diamond Smoked Almonds. They weren't huge packages, but they were delicious, so...being the pig I am...I asked for more. Me and this girl sat back there eating these delicious nuts, pack after pack, until we "crash landed" in Hayden, Colorado.
Now, I said "crash landed", and I said this for a reason. Many years later I became a Convair 580 pilot, and so I learned what this meant. The Convair 580 was a fantastic airplane, but you had to "fly" it like you meant it. To land the Convair 580 in heavy weather meant you had to fly it right into the ground. There was very little flare, you just flew it right down to the pavement and slammed it into the runway...and that's just what happened that day. Yes, it was a hard landing, but everyone on the plane knew...you landed with "purpose".
For many years afterwards, long after Diamond Smoked Almonds became too expensive to hand out on flights, I flew on those Convair 580's into Hayden, Colorado, and never once was the landing this nice smooth landing. No, it was..."I'm gonna' put this bird on the ground and that's where it's going to STAY!" I flew them down in Florida where there were some equally convective winds, but never anything like Hayden.
I still love Diamond Smoked Almonds...almost as I love the venerable Convair 580's.
In fact, every time I pick up Diamond Smoked Almonds, I think about that girl. Man, she was a looker!
Sorry, I just had to share this.
edit - Sorry, just rambling.
One afternoon I got on a Frontier Airlines flight in Rock Springs, Wyoming. I think the year was about 1975, and I was a whopping (12) years old. The airplane was a Convair 580 turboprop. I knew it well because even at 12, I was already learning to fly and my parent's friends owned one (yeah, they were rich fuckers, not my parents though). (more on my experience flying Convair 580's in a different post)
We took off to the west which is common in Wyoming due to the prevailing winds, and it was not a nice day. Shortly after wheels-up it was clear this was going to be a bumpy ride. By that time in my life, young as I was, I was very used to turbulence, so no problem. But this particular flight was extraordinarily rough. Our flight plan that day took us from Rock Springs (RKS), to Hayden, Colorado (HDN), and then onto Denver (at the time, Stapelton International, now DEN).
Up at about 16,000 to 18,000 feet we were getting slammed around really hard in the January winds. The pilots were changing altitudes frequently trying to find a smoother flight level to fly in. The flight was a full flight and I was sitting in the very back most seat, which on the 580 was a 4-wide seat, two of which were flight attendant seats. The girl (flight attendant) sitting next to me was the cutest girl I'd ever seen, and at twelve, I was immediately in love with her...plus, she was nice to my dumb ass.
The inflight crew got up a couple times to try to serve sodas and snacks, but every time they got up they got launched into the ceiling and back down again. It really was a rough flight. (They always were between RKS and HDN). So, the drink and snack service got suspended. This FA grabbed me a few times to hang on when we'd hit up and down drafts which only enamored me more to her (by the end of the flight, my 12 year old mind had me marrying this girl...but I was twelve! LOL!)
Anyway, this gal I was sitting next to (the flight attendant) asked me if I wanted some snack nuts. I said sure, and she was able to grab some for both of us. This was the first time I'd ever had Diamond Smoked Almonds. They weren't huge packages, but they were delicious, so...being the pig I am...I asked for more. Me and this girl sat back there eating these delicious nuts, pack after pack, until we "crash landed" in Hayden, Colorado.
Now, I said "crash landed", and I said this for a reason. Many years later I became a Convair 580 pilot, and so I learned what this meant. The Convair 580 was a fantastic airplane, but you had to "fly" it like you meant it. To land the Convair 580 in heavy weather meant you had to fly it right into the ground. There was very little flare, you just flew it right down to the pavement and slammed it into the runway...and that's just what happened that day. Yes, it was a hard landing, but everyone on the plane knew...you landed with "purpose".
For many years afterwards, long after Diamond Smoked Almonds became too expensive to hand out on flights, I flew on those Convair 580's into Hayden, Colorado, and never once was the landing this nice smooth landing. No, it was..."I'm gonna' put this bird on the ground and that's where it's going to STAY!" I flew them down in Florida where there were some equally convective winds, but never anything like Hayden.
I still love Diamond Smoked Almonds...almost as I love the venerable Convair 580's.
In fact, every time I pick up Diamond Smoked Almonds, I think about that girl. Man, she was a looker!
Sorry, I just had to share this.
edit - Sorry, just rambling.
