Maine2

Dave did not have the time to fly when we arrived, but he did come by to sit in his new aircraft. Our luggage is sitting on the tarmac in front of the plane. We had just arrived when he stopped by!

The following is an aerial image (Paula took all the pictures) of Dave's work. He is the owner and pilot of a piloting and docking operation. His facility can accommodate ships of 65,000 tons.

This is me with Alfred "Sandy" Reynolds of Maine Scenic Airways. Sandy is a CFI, DPE, and really nice fellow. Dave's insurance required that he train with a flight instructor in his new aircraft. I flew with Sandy to familiarize him with the aircraft. While practicing we landed at Islesboro Airport (57B) on Islesboro, an island 9 miles southest of KBST. John Travolta has a summer home on this island! Pretty neat, huh?

This was the first time Paula and I have been to Maine, but we will definitely return! The eastern coast of Maine is incredibly beautiful. We found the people to generally be helpful, courteous, and genuinely friendly. The following images are not necessarily flying pictures, but some of the places we visited while we were there.

Paula took the photo above as we were descending along the Maine coast into Belfast. We glided the final 20 miles into Belfast and enjoyed the incredible view. The Eurofox is an excellent sight-seeing aircraft with transparent doors and a glide ratio of 14:1.

The suspension bridges over the Penobscot River leading into Bucksport. The old bridge is the Waldo-Hancock Bridge built in 1929. The newer bridge replaces the original one which is scheduled for demolition.

Fort Knox, Maine

The Fort was was designed by Chief Engineer Joseph Totten with a number of other engineers serving as superintendents of construction from 1844 - 1869, among them Isaac Ingalls Stevens and Thomas L. Casey. The Fort was named for Major General Henry Knox, America's first Secretary of War, who was born in Boston but retired to Thomaston, Maine in 1796. The Fort garrisoned it's first troops from 1863 to 1866. These troops were mostly volunteers undergoing training before being sent to their active posts and included members of the celebrated 20th Maine. Troops were also briefly stationed at the Fort during the Spanish American war in 1898, but never saw military action.