Of course … After my proclamation about our new “Blog Plan” yesterday, I have already had a change in plans. Isn’t that how planning goes sometimes? Oh well. Glenn is really busy with the DHL Funny Car right now, so I am gonna jump back in to blog mode and share with you the aforementioned story about my recent trip with “the Bounty Hunter.” I will send along Glenn’s blog in the very near future.
Last Friday began like most others for me. I got up and looked outside to a typical grey day in Michigan (we average about 70 days of sunshine per year). I then made the routine 10-minute drive west on I-94 to the race shop in booming and beautiful Ypsilanti. As soon as I walked in the door, my typical Friday took a completely atypical turn. As I was pouring my morning dose of jitter juice, our illustrious general manager Jim “O” said, “Hey, Todd. You wanna fly up to Oscoda with Jon 'O' and the 'Old Man'?” My eyes kinda got big with bewilderment and I said, “Uh, sure. I guess.” For those of you that are unaware, Connie’s air freight business, Kalitta Air, has a base of operations in Oscoda, Mich. Now, when I say “base,” I mean base as it was a military base in its former life. It now serves as the maintenance epicenter of Kalitta Air’s fleet of 747s. With its long runways and vast amount of buildings and hangars, it’s an almost perfect position for Connie’s operation that employs the bulk of the population in the mid-Michigan town on the shores of Lake Huron.
Connie makes the 45-minute flight up to Oscoda once or twice per week. Last Friday, Jon “O” wanted to tag along to use Kalitta Air’s X-Ray and ultrasound equipment to inspect a rear wing off of the Mac Tools dragster just as an extra measure of safety. Jim “O” thought, wisely, that this would be a good chance for me to see more of the depth of Connie’s empire and to possibly write … gasp … a blog about it. So, I talked to Jon and told him I wanted go. About that time, a fair-haired Aussie dragster driver made his way to the race shop for his annual winter visit and he, too, immediately changed his Friday plans and away we all went with Connie at the helm to the great unknown, well, at least to me and Grubby, as we had never set foot in Oscoda before.
When we got there, we were quite lucky to see a bulk of Kalitta Air’s fleet at the facility. Since January is typically a slow month for them after the Christmas rush, it’s a good time for the aircraft to get their oil changed and their tires kicked and, well, a lot more complex maintenance and minor repairs. In the main hangar, sat one of Kalitta Air’s 747s getting what is known as a “C Check”. It is a very detailed and time-consuming examination process that the FAA requires after an aircraft has made a certain number of flights. It’s an awesome sight just to see a 747 that close, but the cool-o-meter spiked by getting to see a plane of that size being, basically, pulled apart, examined, and then put back together. While we were waiting for the wing to get x-rayed, we were kindly given a tour of the “naked” plane by our host Ron Stadler, Manager of Inspection. He took us in, around, and through the plane. We even got to walk out on the wing. That was a surreal experience that I will not soon forget. It is truly amazing the amount of space a plane that big occupies. It’s no wonder they are so great for hauling freight. A fully loaded plane with cargo and fuel weighs approximately 820,000 pounds! In drag racing terms, that’s approximately 356 Top Fuel dragsters.
After we checked out the plane, we also got a tour of the engine shop. It is mind boggling the amount of pieces that make up one 747 jet turbine. And, please believe me when I tell you, each one of those pieces is incredibly expensive. It would be vulgar of me to discuss those figures here, so you’ll just have to trust me. Connie joined us for the tour of the engine shop and then for a tour of the parts department. The whole place resembles a small city. It was nothing like what I expected. Grubby was his ultra-inquisitive self throughout and posed question upon question upon question. He’s such a smart guy. I don’t think race fans know just how intelligent he is. Now, he was also his normally goofball self too, so it balanced out his nerdness on that day.
After a while the X-Rays came back on the wing (see future blog) and we headed back to Ypsilanti. Jon and I took our spots in the back of the plane, while Grubby, being the pampered Top Fuel driver that he is (just kidding, Grub), got to ride up front with our esteemed pilot. It was a really neat day. “Neat”…Yes, probably corny, but still the best word that pops into my mind.
Oh, and don’t worry…the coffee cup on the dash was empty when we landed…
Todd has left the building.