The Stelvio

Here is the infamous Stelvio. They call it an SUV but there is little U in it as the rear is little more than a hatchback. 

You need a degree in computer science to operate these new cars. I had my grandson handle the GPS programming and the radio. It is kinda pretty, though. As we were creeping through holiday traffic at Lake Garda, my wife heard a man sigh and comment, "It's an Alfa."

New Tricks

It's good to have a savvy grandson. During our visit with him in Bologna, Italy we returned to the apartment late at night and too tired to go out to eat. He pulled up "Deliveroo" on his phone and we'd order a meal to be delivered by a guy on a bike. We could track his progress so we knew when to meet him at the front door. Evidently, it is the saviour of college students wanting late night pasta.

I rented a couple of different cars while here. The first was the Volvo S90. We took it to Florence and then down the Chianti Road to Siena. it was very comfortable and smooth to drive. The next day I got an Alfa Romeo Stelvio and we took it north to Lake Garda. It was not as comfortable, the instruments and controls (shifting) were a little confusing and the steering was twitchy. The shifter is electronic and operates like a floppy paddle shifter but its a stick on the console. Getting reverse required pushing a button with your foot on the brake and a couple of nudges. And when I stopped for diesel, the eco system shut it down, I got out to pump and when I got back in, it would not re-start. I had to press the stop engine button to make it think I shut it down.

Chianti Road (Strada Regionale 222) would be a blast in an open top sports car. Even better if you knew there was nobody coming the other way on blind curves. Just don't get distracted by the  scenery and the vineyards.

Oscar Mike

Heading across the pond today to visit oldest grandson who is doing a semester abroad. The school is closing the dorm over Easter so we will provide refuge. Then we go to the City of Light for a few weeks. Expect to see short blogs and pictures of stuff.

We went though the process to get Global Entry which includes the TSA Precheck. I'll let you know how that works out.

Head Count

I had a Senior Moment earlier this month and forgot to check the executions in Saudi Arabia, Well, although it's a little late, The KSA beheaded 15 people last month - 13 druggies and 2 murderers. The year to date total is 30.

Memorable People

A recent post by Old NFO got me thinking about people I knew when I was growing up. This man was the sponsor of our Explorer post rifle team on the Sub Base at Pearl Harbor. This was in 1966 to 1967. I can't tell you any specific thing that he did but the fact that I remember him after all these years speaks volumes.

David F. Purinton

BRUNSWICK, Maine - David F. Purinton, 85, a retired U.S. Navy captain, died Thursday, March 31, 2005, in Key West, Fla.

He was born in Brunswick on March 5, 1920, a son of Charles I. and Flora M. Silva Purinton. He graduated from Brunswick High School in 1938. He was a member of the National Guard before enlisting in the Navy in 1939.

As an enlisted man, he worked his way through the ranks to chief petty officer. He was commissioned as an ensign in 1944. He retired as a captain in 1975.

During World War II, he served on the submarine Hoe (SS-258), making seven war patrols, entitling him to wear the Submarine Combat Pin with stars. He also took part in missions that were instrumental in holding off Japanese attacks on the Philippines. He was subsequently decorated with four commendations, including the Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation with gold frame.

He commanded the submarine Tirante (SS-420), earning him the Command at Sea insignia. In Key West, he was commanding officer of Submarine Division 121.

He was executive officer of the Submarine Base Pearl Harbor, and then returned to Key West as commanding officer of the submarine tender Bushnell (AS-15).

On his initiative, he secured permission to keep the Bushnell in Pilottown, Miss., following the devastation of Hurricane Camille to provide fresh water, medical assistance and emergency services. He and his crew volunteered to rebuild the pier for the pilot boats. The event was recorded in the Congressional Record.

His last two tours were assistant Navy inspector general in Washington, D.C., and administrative officer at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Over the course of his Navy career, he attended the Armed Forces Staff College, the University of South Carolina and the University of Hawaii. In 1972, he received his B.S. in business administration from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

In Brunswick, he was best known as the proprietor of the Brunswick Gun Shop. Aside from gun repair, he was active in antique gun collecting, repair and appraisal.

After the gun shop closed in 2003, he was busy writing two books, appraising antique guns and working on the restoration of one of his three antique autos.

He was chaplain of the Submarine Veterans of World War II, Squalus Chapter; a founding member and retired trustee of the Kittery Historical and Naval Museum; a member of the Military Officers Association of America; and an active member of St. Charles Borromeo Church.

Big Brother is Watching

British Air recently started direct flights from New Orleans to London. My wife and I booked it to visit our Grandson who is in Italy and also decided to apply for Global Entry to ease our passage through the TSA and Immigration. On the way to our interview with the Border Patrol, I noticed a billboard near the airport advertising direct flights to Frankfurt. I didn't catch the airline so I did a Google search to find out which airline it was. Turned out it was Condor Airlines, a German airline that flies to vacation spots. When I open the Book of Face the next day, up popped an ad for Condor Airlines. They are watching!

Helicopters and Autorotation

The recent helicopter accident in NY got me asking "Why didn't he auto rotate down?" I know it works because I experienced it first hand.

I was returning from offshore one afternoon. I was the only passenger. In order to pass the time, I started talking to pilot about my growing apprehension about flying in helicopters. He went on with the many reasons that helicopter pilots will tell you why they are safer than fixed wing aircraft. One of these was the ability to auto rotate and land safely. "Let me show you.", he said. He then twisted the throttle back to idle and dropped the collective to the deck. We started falling like a rock and my stomach was left somewhere 100 feet above me. He then began pulling pitch and slowed us down to a more reasonable fall rate. To my relief, he then brought the power back on and we flew back to base without further demonstrations. He claimed that he could land the helicopter under auto rotation and then go into a low hover and rotate it 180 degrees before setting it down again. Furthermore, he had to practice auto rotation on a regular basis.

So, auto rotation is real and the pilot should have been able to land softly on the water. I will await the NTSB report with interest.

Of course, when I was flying offshore, our pilots were all Viet Nam veterans and those guys could do some very delicate things with a Bell 212 or a Bell 206 Long Ranger.

Next time, I'll tell you about translational lift and it's application departing an offshore platform on a hot day in a fully loaded helicopter.