July 6, 1998

This morning we had our first day of VFR (visual flight rules) weather.. Nikki was glad to get into the left seat this morning. I couldn't get her there the last two days. We spent the day at Falcon Air on the Lawrence Municipal Airport in North Andover, MA. They are installing our ferry tank in Mary Beth. Ed Carlson (Crossing the North Atlantic Safely) met us so that he could put us through his Crossing the Pond course. We were a sight to behold. Bright orange immersion suits for the crossing were laid out on the hangar floor and in our sock feet we "skootched" our bodies down into them and pulled them up to our waist. Then we waddled to the plane and practiced getting into the front seat and putting on our safety belts. This is an awkward achievement. Not very graceful or delicate.. Then Nikki had to practice wedging the door open with a piece of wood. After about 15 minutes in the suits, we were sweating like pigs and had to fall out of the plane and undress. Ed gave us the thumbs up for the crossing and left in an Aztec to cross the pond himself today.. We may run into him along the way. Tonight we are in our motel room downsizing our "stuff" for the tight quarters of the plane. There is little room left with the 60 gallon ferry tank in the back. They are also installing a HF radio and antenna. We are getting a pizza and kicking back for the night..

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