Ginger Ale Party

I was working a World Airways DC10 Freighter a little over a week ago and while handling this flight, I came across a concept that I'd never heard of before. The Flight Engineer, having nothing more to bitch about in life, spent 5 minutes on a pure venomous tirade about having too many Ginger Ale cans the cooler and not enough diet Coke cans. Personally, I too am a bigger fan of Diet Coke, however I can't say that I've gone into a rage regarding different cans of soft drinks in relation to their quantity within a cooler. He also bitched about the fact that catering put the bag of ice in a catering cart instead of dumping it into the cooler, but it seemed that the Ginger Ale was the larger source of frustration. During the rant about cans of spicy ale, he remarked about how it looked as though he was catered for a "Ginger Ale Party." Then, he took about 10 cans out and gave them too me and told me to "do something with these," maybe go "Have a Ginger Ale Party."

I have travelled the world countless times as a crew member and not once have I ever encountered a "Ginger Ale Party." Could this just be a World Airways thing? What does a "Ginger Ale Party" look like? Is it a wild event where cans are shaken, then popped open and sprayed at each other? Is it more sophisticated? Do you have a small group sitting around and discussing the variances in taste between Schweppes, Seagram's, Canada Dry, etc...? Does a "Ginger Ale Party" have people yelling Surprise!, or popping out of aluminum cans? Do you light candles at a "Ginger Ale Party?" Maybe a "Ginger Ale Party" is actually a political party? I vote NO on artificial flavors!!! Well, the rest of the universe may never know the secret to having a "Ginger Ale Party," but at least I've learned something new and for the record....I like Schweppes.

Sheri and I took a cross country flight from Smoketown Airport over to Bridgeport, Connecticut this week. We took N5331G...my new favorite airplane. God, I love flying that thing. We departed at about 1130L and arrived right on schedule at exactly 1300L. I love the fact that I can make it to CT in 1+30. Unfortunately, we got a late start because I worked until 3AM that morning. Thank you ATA for another fine example on how to operate with ZERO common sense. While en route, we flew up to the "Broadway VOR" and then I had my flight planned to pass by the busy New York airspace by going to "Sparta VOR, then CARMEL VOR" then down into Bridgeport. For the Non-Aviation readers....that would go North....East....then South down to my destination. While approaching "Broadway," New York approach asked if I wanted "Bridgeport Direct?" This would save about 6-10 mins of flying....and also take me right through the Final approach path for Newak and then past the Hudson where I would cross the departure area for LaGuardia. Being as though I am always up for a new challenge in aviation...I said, "31G will take Direct Bridgeport." What an adventure! I flew through Jumbo Jet Soup. It was incredible and I would love to be able to do that again sometime soon. Once we arrived, I picked up my grandfather for a short flight around Bridgeport and Milford....then we ate a quick bite with my mother and grandfather at the airport, followed by a flash dump and departure back to PA. Days are shorter this time of year and I don't have too much night flying under my belt, so I didn't feel like taking on that challenge with a passenger on board. I would have loved to get clearance into the New York airspace again, but there was also a thick haze...so I took the longer quieter route instead. Still busy...but not as bad. If it wasn't so damn expensive, I would be doing this all the time!

Now, I'm at BWI, working another 20+ hour day....and in my downtime....day dreaming about cross country flying and ginger ale parties.