Chapter 262

After our normal greetings and quick shoptalk, we made our way to the temporary office at the airport. Do to all the activity, on the tarmac, there was a lot noise.

Lorrie brought me up to speed on what was happening at the airport for the next few days.

"The Lear 45 is on its way back from Tucson. The C130s are not leaving until tomorrow morning at 8 our time. All six of the pilots we sent are getting recertified along with check rides and recertification in air refueling today and this evening, courtesy of the agency. They should be here around two tomorrow afternoon."

Why do they need recertification in air refueling?" Lorrie asked.

"The agency said they would need it on some of the contract flights," I replied.

"Tomorrow at 1, we are going to have an emergency response planning meeting for the airport. The Fire chiefs and officers from the four closest fire companies in the county, the Directors from the call board and most of the county commissioners will be here. They want to start the preliminary work for an emergency response plan but mostly they just want to see what we are doing, I think. Because they are volunteer fire companies, Sunday is the only day they could all be here."

"Lorrie, you need to make sure Tony can sit in on that meeting and has the latest set of plans," I replied.

"Office supply business must be bad," Marcy said. "I called Baltimore Office Supply this morning just to see if anyone was there on a Saturday to give an order to, hoping it would be delivered mid-week. They arrived at 11 and are putting the temporary office together and then are coming back tomorrow morning to finish up. It was a good thing Tony ran communication, internet and TV cable to every building; it has really come in handy"

"We have a small problem we forgot heat. The floor is not heated in the side hanger we are going to use. The propane company is coming Monday to install a couple of the ceiling heaters like in the gym," Marcy added. "Let me show you the layout we chose."

We walked through the temporary office with Lorrie pointing out the various selections she and Marcy had made.

"Looks good it should be functional for what we need to do," I said.

Lorrie shifted the conversation again, "The last truckload of equipment is on the way from Island Airport along with the jet fuel truck. Robbie pumped one tanker at the parking lot empty yesterday and we will empty the other one this week, then we will start using the fuel from the fuel farm. When they are both empty the supplier will pick them up," Lorrie replied.

"Dad said if someone would carry him to Dover on Tuesday, he would drive it back. He is off that day and will borrow a dealers tag to do it. Once we get it here we won't need it tagged and the small jet truck can be sent back when they pickup up the tankers," I replied.

We walked back out to the tarmac in front of our hanger in time to see the mechanics and pilot trying to put one of the Bombardiers into the hangar with our little antique aircraft tug that came with the equipment from Island Airport.

The tug was out matched; it would start the push up the little incline then the drive wheels would just start spinning and smoking.

I motioned to Marcy, Lorrie and Vicky to follow me. The four of us climbed onto the tug and sat on the fenders over the drive wheels, something that was unsafe as hell. I told Pete who was driving it to go very slow. The extra weight was enough to make it work - the little tug that could - as the plane rolled up the ramp and into the hangar.