WHEN A CRISIS HITS

            For the past couple of months this column has been published sporadically. It wasn’t done so intentionally—if that’s an excuse—but rather because circumstances dictated our attention to something and someone more important.

            My Better Half.

            Last November she was scheduled for an annual physical, just a routine examination. She had been feeling fine and was a bit irritated that she had to take the time from her other activities but—being a creature of caution—she relented and scheduled an appointment.

            A couple of weeks later the doctor’s nurse called and said she wanted Kathleen to have another chest x-ray. She said the first was clouded and they wanted to take another picture. So dutifully she complied and had another x-ray taken. We didn’t think much of it but after another week, on a Friday, the doctor’s office called and both of us started to get a bit anxious. The doctor said she wanted Kathleen to submit to a biopsy.

            Now my Better Half isn’t one to get overly upset but she began wondering what was going on. A few days later the doctor’s nurse again called but was reluctant to give out any information over the telephone. She said that was why the doctor wanted her to come in. She had some information she needed to tell her she said. So, curious and a bit nervous she set up a time for the following Monday.

            To be honest it was a lousy weekend! All sorts of things were going through our minds but we figured if it was something really dreadful the doctor would want to see her immediately. So the time passed swiftly and we kept to as normal pattern as possible.

            The appointment was set for later morning. It had continued raining all weekend and that didn’t particularly add to any sense of joy! When we got to the doctor’s office I remained in the car with our little floppy eared ball of fur “Jake” while Kathleen went in. About 45 minutes later she came out, got into the car and in a calm but controlled voice said, “…this isn’t exactly the news I wanted to hear—I have breast cancer!”

            Things moved fast after that. An appointment was made with one of the most prominent breast surgeons in the nation—Dr. Cary Kaufman. According to other physicians Kaufman isn’t just “good,” he is “very, very good”! Having Kathleen under his care is like hitting a home run for the Yankees or winning the Irish Sweepstakes. She could not be in better hands they said.

            Last week while I again neglected writing my column, Dr. Kaufman set an appointment to meet with us at his office on Saturday. I don’t know any physicians who take their weekends to see patients but this gentleman does as a matter of routine. Arriving at his office there were three other people anxiously waiting and when our turn came he sat us down in his office and patiently explained what was happening.

            As it turned out we were first told by a nurse that there were two tumors that were cancerous. This information wasn’t correct. Showing us the x-rays the doctor explained that one of the tumors was benign but the other, about the size of a dime, was indeed cancerous.

            Looking at the x-ray this invasive demon looked like a small white moon. Examining the pictures Dr. Kaufman said that it appeared that it was slow growing and compared to last year’s pictures it had grown only about 2mm.

            He said that with the slow growth the tumor apparently hadn’t invaded any of the surrounding lymph nodes which proved good news. The doctor then explained that what he intended to do was remove both of the tumors even though the one was benign. “There is no sense in possibly having to go back in another three years or so to take it out so we’ll do it all now,” he said with a reassuring grin. Once that was done he continued, the surgery would be followed with radiation treatment and that would be that! Once the operation and radiation processes were completed then recovery would progress quickly.

            As for the operation: there will be no need to be hospitalized he said. The operation will be scheduled at an out-patient facility and last about two hours he reassured us. After about an hour in the recovery room I can then take my “bride” back home to recuperate.

            It was not too many years ago when breast cancer was an automatic death sentence. But with all the scientific research and techniques now available says the American Cancer Society, the prognosis for complete recovery to normal health is excellent. And for us we are grateful that this insidious enemy of the body was discovered in its most early stages.

            But we are not entirely out of the woods yet. This week we meet again with Dr. Kaufman (on a Sunday morning no less!) and discuss the surgery for the following Thursday. He will review all the latest tests from the MRI with us and following the excise of the tumors recovery will proceed normally. Consequently there will be no surprises and complete recovery is in the offering.

            We’ll keep you posted. And if you wish to share anything with us please keep us in your prayers. For that we will be most grateful.

           

RESCUE OF THE SS UNITED STATES LUXURY LINER

                                                       By DELL ARTHUR

            She was once the most elegant and fastest luxury liner ever to sail the Atlantic. But now, since the adoption of jet airline travel, the SS UNITED STATES rests quietly slowly rusting away moored at a dock at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

SS UNITED STATES
Photo by Dell Arthur

With the dawn of jet aircraft traveling to Europe is only a matter of hours rather than days aboard ship. By the 1980’s the need for elegant sea travel was traded for impersonal speed. For business people time is of the essence and the faster you can get somewhere the better. But there was another time when time wasn’t so important and the thrill of luxury liner travel was in vogue.

Once glamorous movie stars, royalty including kings, princes and princesses, heads of state and millionaires walked the decks of the SS UNITED STATES enjoying the beauty of the sea and the amenity of good food and entertainment. Immigrants, not traveling first class nonetheless, also enjoyed hospitable accommodations. For everyone on board it wasn’t just a voyage but rather an adventure.

In 1952 on her maiden voyage she set a transatlantic crossing in record time—a record that still stands. But with the advent of jet planes the same trip is now made in just hours. It seems rush is more important than relaxing travel. As a consequence leisure has no place in today’s restless lifestyle.

Tied up on the Hudson River waterfront near Penn’s landing at Philadelphia you can’t miss her. As you drive along the causeway her huge faded red funnels stand out against the surrounding buildings. As you approach closer her magnificent and stylish hull begins to fill your view. Originally her paint scheme included a black hull with a red bottom, white cabins and bridge and her famous red funnels. She was the personification of beauty.

Constructed in 1949 the SS UNITES STATES is 990 feet long but seems much larger. She carried some 2,000 passengers and a crew of 1,000. Nothing was spared in either her construction or accomplishments. The ship was the pride of America liners and there was no other vessel floating like her.

But now this majestic vessel is only a shell of her former beauty. Fortunately the Hudson River is fresh water so there is no corrosion of salt to affect her. But you can see the paint is peeling away and disuse and rust has taken its toll.

Once taken out of service and put in mothball this historic ship continues to linger in limbo. At one time she was on the list for salvage but was rescued by a Philadelphia philanthropist and a conservancy group who later purchased the ship from NCL, a cruise company who was considering scrapping the liner. Any idea of returning the ship to service was only a dream. So as time went by the ship merely floated along a pier.

But then another industry surfaced—cruise ships. Today these mammoth liners ply the world around. Capable of taking aboard 3,000 passengers or more they visit nearly every country that has a sea port. There are even some vessels whose passengers live full time aboard and visit ports unknown to common name.

In New York the Queen Elizabeth II continues to sail taking passengers to elegant places. Unfortunately the Queen Mary has been converted to a hotel and is beached at San Diego, California never to sail again.

And the famed liner “France” was scrapped years ago and the only remembrance of this classic ship can only be seen in pictures.

But now it appears the SS UNITED STATES will avoid such humiliation. A new group, Crystal Cruises a luxury travel company associated with Genting Hong Kong, is now in the act. The Genting Corporation is also affiliated with the former ship’s owner NCL, and plans now call for converting the vessel for cruise liner use. Cost for renovation is estimated between $700-800 million and would require a complete remodeling.

Rather than just a transatlantic liner the vessel will be converted to an 800 passenger luxury liner befit of the most modern and luxuriant comforts. But resurrection of this massive ship won’t be easy. First of all it will be necessary to meet new environmental regulations. All of the interior will be gutted and remodeled with materials that meet with the appropriate standards. Since the ship was powered by steam engines the old ones will be replaced meeting EPA standards.

If and when the ship is returned to seaworthy service plans call for her to take passengers from the Atlantic to the Pacific through the Panama Canal. No doubt this historic vessel of bygone times will again thrill passengers, tourists and ports of call as she visits exotic havens.

In keeping with her traditional color scheme of red, white and black, she will again fly the flag of her construction that of the UNITED STATES for whom she is well named.

TO FLY OR NOT TO FLY--THAT IS THE QUESTION!

            In meteorological terms there is what is called “density altitude.” In simple terms it relates to temperature verses atmospheric pressure. For an airplane/helicopter pilot this difference has a definite effect on take offs and landings. A miscalculation can result in serious, if not fatal, consequences.

Regardless of the place of takeoff if the temperature is above normal the actual altitude is higher than the physical location of the field or airport as far as air is concerned. As a result the hotter and humid of the temperature the “density altitude” increases accordingly. The result is the air has less “lift” in it than if the temperature was cooler. Consequently an airplane needs more runway and speed to get off the ground.

Lift is generated by the airfoil of the wing and is drastically affected because of the “thin” air. Propellers are also considered “wings” in themselves because of their airfoil. The wing generates vertical lift and the propeller provides horizontal thrust. As a result of the thin air caused by the higher temperature and humidity, this causes less “bite” than a propeller provides at a normal temperature. To compensate for all of this the aircraft load has to be reduced or you sit on the ground and wait for evening time and cooler air.

As an example; a few years ago at Arizona, the Phoenix International Airport was shut down when the temperature rose over 120 F. Since the temperature exceeded the takeoff charts the jets sat on the ground awaiting a cooling evening. A miscalculation could have very unhappy results!

For an “ag pilot” considering density altitude is a must. Unfortunately pilots flying agriculture airplanes don’t have charts to compute takeoff distances. They rely only on their experience.

I recall flying a Thrush Commander in Central California a few years back. The Thrush is a wonderful airplane equipped with a 650, 800 or even a 1200 horsepower radial engine, a 44-foot wingspan and a 400-500 gallon hopper. It is capable of carrying a full load weighing a ton of material or more depending on the engine installed. Where I was flying it was all night spraying and it was nothing to takeoff with a full load of chemical off a half mile dirt strip. I have frequently been asked “why fly at night?” The answer is simple. At night there is less wind and also the temperature is much cooler than daytime. Density altitude.

There was another time I was flying out of Casa Grande, Arizona during the hot summer. Even at night the temperature reached over 90 degrees. Flying the same model of Thrush as I did in California I had to reduce the load down to 150 gallons. The airplane couldn’t take out any more and fly. Even cutting back on the load the air was so dead the plane flew like a lead sled and making turns I was virtually at a near stall. This could prove to be a chancy way to make a buck as one pilot remarked. And this was flying at near sea level.

Sometime later I had the opportunity to fly out of American Falls, Idaho. Again it was summer and we were hampered by high temperature and altitude. American Falls, I recall, was at almost 5,000 feet elevation above sea level. Consequently at this higher physical altitude the density altitude was much higher—much as Phoenix. The result was I had to cut back on the load and allow for more takeoff distance. Since there was no way we could fly out of our home field we elected to fly off a nearby paved airport with over a mile long runway. It was miserable flying!

I was back flying a Thrush and the other pilot was flying a Grumman “B” model Ag Cat. The “Cat” is also a wonderful agricultural by-wing airplane that had a smaller hopper for chemical. The pilot, who went by the initials “TD,” was building experience. He didn’t have a lot of “ag” flying time and had just started flying the “Cat.”

Loading the airplane I told my son Dave who was filling the hopper to cut back on the load. Talking with TD we agreed to meet at the field we were supposed to spray and I would take off first. After Dave was finished I also checked the fuel tanks to make sure I carried just enough gas. There is no sense in filling the gas tanks with un-needed gas since that would amount to more weight. Finally I climbed into the cockpit, put on my crash helmet (which resulted in immediate sweating causing sweat to run down into my eyes!), fired up the engine and taxied out to the runway. Checking all the engine gauges and running the prop through to make sure it changed pitch correctly I lined up for takeoff.

The engine responded smoothly and the airplane sluggishly started to move down the pavement. It seemed like a lifetime to get up to speed and the controls felt limp. Finally the tail came up but I was already almost half way down the strip. The engine was screaming and I was quickly running out of sufficient runway when all at once there was firmness in the stick and I was able to nurse the airplane into the air. As I passed the end of the runway there were houses ahead and I didn’t dare pull back any power. I screamed across the roofs at about 50 feet and then there was an open field in front of me and I was able to get everything under control.

When I got to the field where TD and I were to rendezvous he was nowhere to be seen. I circled the field a few times burning off fuel. With less fuel the plane started handling better and finally I said to myself “to heck with it,” and went ahead and sprayed the field.

Returning to the airport I landed and taxied to our loading area. Dave came over and I asked him where was TD? He responded that he didn’t know and that he had taken off just behind me. Getting out of the airplane and taking off my crash helmet I wiped the sweat from my eyes and got a drink of water. Just then a taxi cab arrived and getting out of the car was TD with helmet in hand. He looked a mess. His overalls were filthy and torn and he was covered with dirt.

“What happened?” I asked. “I crashed; what the hell did you think I did,” he said in disgust. Then the story came out. He neglected to take into account the temperature and had Dave fill his hopper to full. He saw me take off and head over the houses to the field and figured If I could do it so could he!

As the plane ran down the runway trying to get into the air he barely was able to pull the plane off the ground when he immediately found himself in trouble. To compound things he made another mistake—he started to pull the power off to cruise setting and immediately stalled and crashed into a pig pen! The next thing he knew he was sitting in the wreckage inside the pen surrounded by a bunch of curious pigs.

But that wasn’t enough. That evening Paul Harvey, a renowned national radio broadcaster and pilot himself, put poor TD’s unfortunate incident of landing into a pig pen on his newscast. This newscast, which was heard in all 50 states, was known as “…and now you know the rest of the story.”

And all of this because of density altitude.