That's All Folks.

 So, my last trip was one of my best, except that I never did get the hang of landing the Airbus as well as I had all the Boeing Airplanes and the BAC.  If I managed to get a good one, it was just blind luck.  The last one was on Runway 13 at Dallas Fort Worth (DFW).

I documented many of the lasts of this trip.

 

This was the last drive on the Watterson Expressway for a rare daylight departure.

 Last time parking in the "secure" parking lot.

Last time going through security.

Last van ride to work.

Last time going in the NASC (the building where we reported and did our flight planning.  I never did learn what the acronym meant.  Didn't care either.)

Last checkin.

Last envelope of Jeppesen approach plate revisions.  I didn't put them in the manuals, just checked to see if any applied to the airports I would be flying to.

First flight plan and release of my last trip.

First Bus of last trip.

First preflight of last trip.

We really had the best job in the world.

Salt Lake City, the first destination of the last trip.

My rig.

One of the layover hotels on my last trip.

One of the competition's Airbus A-300s.

The following is what I wrote when I added this photo to an album on Google Photos.

We had several broken airplane issues with the Airbus (Eurojunk) during this trip.  The only other plane I had this much trouble with was the BAC 1-11 (another European plane), but I was an authenticated systems expert on that plane.  At least the Airbus's engines did not give me any trouble.  I can say that now that I won't be jinxing myself by saying it.  All of the guys I flew with on the Bus got to see it do something they had never seen before.  The Boeing 747-100 has the distinction of the most engine shutdowns (3) and the only fire warning in 42 years of flying.  The BAC was next, with 2 shutdowns.  I flew my last leg from Ontario CA to Dallas TX and I am about to board a UPS MD 11 to jumpseat home.  This is my last official duty with UPS.  By the way, while working in General Aviation, flying "those little airplanes" for 5 years and 5,000 hours I never experienced an engine failure.

Jumpseating home.  Trying not to feel too sad.

My pal Lou Berdoll, who was in my new hire class, happened to be at the NASC when I arrived.  He would be retiring soon after I did.  I always liked standing next to him, because I looked so much better by comparison.

Last van ride off the property.

 Last time passing through the guard shack on the way home.

 Finding the Denbomobile in the dark.  It is not easy to remember where it was parked a week ago.

go

Being greeted by the puppies when I got home.

Wow!  Lots of pictures.  At 1000 per, I save a lot of words.

Penultimate Trip And Ultimate Trip

 I was finally beginning to feel comfortable on the Bus.  It had been almost a year and I had adjusted to the differences from the Boeings I had flown.  As retirement drew nearer, I began to feel a little sad.  The airline pilot career I had been working to achieve since 1968 was about to end on my birthday in August of 2010.  

With 2 more trips and less than a month to go, I was informed I would be getting a line check ride on my next to last trip.  (That's what penultimate means, if you are from Pittsburgh.)  Of course, the question in my mind was WTF?  Why would this be necessary, if I would only have one more trip to go?  

The trip was to Burbank California and when I asked the management pilot why I was getting a check ride under these circumstances, it was revealed that one of his kids was doing something that day in Los Angeles and he was merely using my flight as a means of transportation.  If you have been following this blog from the beginning, you know I am not intimidated by check rides, whether from company check airmen or FAA inspectors.  That was not the problem.  It was just WTF, over?

My penultimate FO on the left and the guy who needed a ride to SoCal on the right.  No problemo.

For my last trip, I tried to get one of the first officers who had become a good friend to join me, but it didn't work out.  However, the guy who did join me was about as perfect as he could be.  

We both showed up for this trip with almost identical plans for the Portland weekend layover that began after an unusual daytime leg to Salt Lake City and then on to Portland Oregon.  We would arrive on a Friday afternoon and didn't have to fly again until Monday night.

 

Rare photo of the Flexible Flyer going to work in the daylight.  Nice arrangement on the tie.

Better.

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His name was Matt and he had brought a camera and backpack and reserved a rental car, planning to explore the area and take lots of photos.  Ditto for me. We canceled my reservation and picked up his car.  

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The next day, we ate breakfast and drove to the Columbia River Gorge.

First stop was Multnomah Falls.

Then we hiked to the top of the falls, via this trail system.

If you like to see and photograph water falls, this is your place.

That was in a visitor center.

Next day, we headed for Mount Saint Helens.

Mountains can create their own weather.

The destruction is incredible.

 

On Monday morning, we drove to the Evergreen Aviation Museum.

That is the home of the famous Howard Hughes airplane, The Spruce Goose.