On The Move

For the third year in a row I am preparing to leave St. Augustine for California to fly OV-10’s for Cal Fire as an Air Attack Pilot. It’s interesting having…

For the third year in a row I am preparing to leave St. Augustine for California to fly OV-10's for Cal Fire as an Air Attack Pilot. It's interesting having a real "job" and I'm very proud of it! I do have to pack like I'm heading for a summer cottage in main, although I'm not. I have to pack things like Flight Suits and my flight bag, which I don't leave in California just in case I get called early to fly, and there is spring training which I completed a few weeks ago, so that stuff has to remain with me. I have a motorhome in California which is well stocked so I don't have a lot of supplies to bring. This year I'm going to fly the Bonanza and pick up my friend Debbie Gary - airshow pilot, writer, yoga friend! - in Houston and we're going to stop and visit a couple of friends in West Texas, Tucson, Santa Cruz, then go to Santa Rosa and visit and pick up the motorhome and start heading to Chico where I'll be based this summer. My biggest ever stress factor is my darling little dogs. The bases don't allow dogs anymore - woe is me - and if I stay in my motorhome I cannot leave them there all day, so am looking at options - whether to leave them home (I can't bear to think about it, even though I have a wonderful pet sitter) or find a nice home to live in where they love pets and have a fenced in yard. The second is the better option and I have the word out that I'm looking. Or, I could just rent something but still need someone to look after them during the day. Of course Buddha will go with me, as always! has travel cage, will travel.

Patty Wagstaff is a six time member of the U.S. Aerobatic team and a three-time U.S. National Aerobatic champion. She flies for the California Department of Forestry during the summer months. In Patty’s monthly column, Let It Roll, she shares observations and philosophical meanderings in and beyond the air show arena as a flight instructor, life adventurer and experience-seeker.

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