Tonight at Lowes

Rob Schaffer

Rob Schaffer

Cleared for Takeoff
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Nov 27, 2007
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Green Lane, PA
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CLR2TKF
I was at Lowes Home Improvement tonight ordering replacement windows for me to install in the baby's room for the winter. I had all the measurements ready and went over to the counter where a nice guy was finishing up a phone call. We talked through the options and my dimensions and then began placing the order in the computer.

As he logged into the computer, it didn't hide the user or password, and RV4Plane caught my eye. I said,.. "you have an RV or are you building?" He looked at me, and said he had a RV4 when he was in Arizona and he is currently building an RV6! "Nice!" I said. We started chatting a bit and he is approaching 1000 hrs TT, has his instrument rating, and just moved up from Arizona after the economy killed the construction industry out there. We talked about different local groups like the Wings Group, POA, Quakertown Pilos Association, etc. Great guy, and before I knew it about 30 minutes must have passed.

Always neat to bump into other pilots in odd places and hangar talk!
 
That's "Lowes Aircraft Supply and Home Improvement Center"

I was amazed to find the little washers to go on the back of pop rivets at Lowes. There I was digging through the hardware bins trying to find just the right size (#6 brass looked like they might work but #6 stainless didn't). Finally wandered down to the pop rivet section and there the correct washers hung right out in the open. Anyway, it made the baffle seal work go very nicely having the correct hardware.

Now if they'd just stock AN hardware...:D
 
Clark1961 said:
That's "Lowes Aircraft Supply and Home Improvement Center"

I was amazed to find the little washers to go on the back of pop rivets at Lowes. There I was digging through the hardware bins trying to find just the right size (#6 brass looked like they might work but #6 stainless didn't). Finally wandered down to the pop rivet section and there the correct washers hung right out in the open. Anyway, it made the baffle seal work go very nicely having the correct hardware.

Now if they'd just stock AN hardware...:D
Click to expand...

The ACE Hardware here (where my wife works) stocks a selection of AN fittings because of the large number of RV's being built nearby. It doesn't hurt that the store owner himself owns a Lance. :)
 
Rob Schaffer said:
[SNIP]
Always neat to bump into other pilots in odd places and hangar talk!
Click to expand...

Isn't that the truth! I was at Lowe's(Brunswick) a couple weeks ago, similarly observing another customer getting assistance. He was wearing an AOPA hat, so you know I waited it out. I could see that he was well past retirement age. When we got to talk I learned that he has over 1500 hours in the book, most of which were in North Carolina. So what was he doing "up here in the sticks."

"Oh, we live in Harpswell. My wife's father left his house to her and we moved up here. We'd been visiting during many summers."

When I asked her father's name he said it was McEwen.

"Do you mean Dr. McEwen, as in Currier McEwen, the world famous breeder of Siberian Iris flowers(other than being a nationally noted medical doctor and administrator)? He whose 101st birthday(and mailing address) I promoted on a couple aviation Internet forums and Doc got a bunch of birthday cards from around the country? I sold him all his slide films and photo processing for 20 odd years."

Yup; that was the one. Better yet, it looks as though I've found another right seater. Sure is a small world, eh?
If you Google Currier McEwen you'll get bunches of hits.

HR
 
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I work for a 7 member elected board, I was shocked when I found out 3 of the 7 are pilots, so guess what we talk about before and after the meetings.
 
I used to work at Lowes. This guy came through my line and was in a pilots uniform. Turned out he flew Saab 340's for American Eagle. He gave me his card and told me to give him a call sometime. I did. We spoke for a while then lost touch.

About 3 or 4 years ago I was at the Women in Aviation Convention and I met this lady and she told me about her friend who flew Citation X's out of RDU. She told me his name and I was like "I KNOW HIM!!!!! I met him when I worked at Lowes about 10 years ago.

She gave me his email address. I emailed him and he remembered me. We have spoke quite a bit and he helped me at the end when I was still working on my ticket. :D
 
:o) Doc had an awesome eye for color. His favorite film was Kodachrome 64 which was important for his many books. Many photographers knew about the trick of shooting Kodachrome 64 at ISO 80 for some delightful enhancements. So I told Doc about the trick. He was about 95 years old at the time. Well, he tried it. He came back after having picked up the resulting processing and viewing same. He was madder than hell. So acute was his color perception that the "trick" enhanced such that he had to reshoot the job because the Japanese and Siberian Iris photo specimens weren't accurate in rendition to reality. He got over it. Wonderful man!

HR

HR
 
I saw an old guy wearing an AOPA hat once at Meijer. I didn't say anything, and just kept shopping.
 
Seems like a good thread for this story...

Last summer I was flying into Elmira NY for the International Vintage Sailplane Meet. There had been several delays and I'd barely made the flight standby seconds before the door closed. Being last on board, I was standing at the front of the cabin right by the flight attendant and captain while we all waited for the tunnel to swing out and hook up for de-planing.

The captain looks at me while we're standing there and says, "are you a glider pilot?" gesturing to my little sailplane logo on my jacket.

"Yes", I say, "I'm here for the vintage sailplane meet"

"Where you from?" he asks.

"Iowa", I reply

"Where in Iowa?"

"Central, Ames area"

"Hey, do you know a guy named uh... Matt uh, cant think of his last name... Matt..."

By now I'm thinking there is NO WAY it can be me he's asking about. I'm just an obscure guy from Iowa. Matt Sawhill flys gliders, lives in Iowa, and jets around on airliners almost every week. I know ALL the glider pilots in Iowa and there isn't any other Matt currently active. So I say, "Sawhill?"

"No, no... I'll think of it... Matt uh..."

"Michael?" I say hesitantly.

"YES! that's it! Matt Michael. Do you know Matt Michael?"

With a look of total incredulity accentuated by severe sleep deprivation I reply, "I AM Matt Michael! Who are you?"

"MATT, It's Pat Murrey! How the heck are ya?"

"Pat! I didn't recognize you in that get up", referring to the hat and shoulder bars.

By now the passengers behind me and the flight attendant are looking at us like we're from Mars. I'm thinking that this is the proper way to arrive at the historic site of America's Soaring Museum and International Vintage Sailplane Meet, as a soaring celebrity and personal friend of the captain!

I'd met Pat only a couple times at the glider operation in Ames and it had been a couple years earlier but we'd traded email just a couple months ago.

We started carrying on about glider this and soaring that. Pretty soon we realize we are holding up the entire planeload of anxious passengers now that the tube is hooked up to the side of the plane. Pat follows me to baggage claim and we keep talking. 10 minutes later we're still talking gliders by the front door while I wait for my ride. Soon Adam Kite and Pet Von T are parked outside wondering why in hell I wont come out. Pete comes in to check and now we have 3 glider pilots talking. 5 minutes later Adam abandons the car (to heck with the TSA) and now we're having a 4 way hanger flying session.

Finally I ask Pat when his flight leaves and he looks at his watch. "OH, I better get going! Flight is scheduled in 5 minutes"

But, he just keeps on asking questions and listening to stories... I'm looking furtively out the window waiting for the swat team to tow the car away... Fortunately Elmira is a small sleepy terminal. We're just having such a good time. Glider people are the best!

Eventually, I make the observation that "I guess you are the only person in this entire place who doesn't have to worry about the plane leaving without you". We all laugh out loud, Pat especially.

Good times, small world, best of friends.
 
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