First weekend ‘packing’
Well, my holster came in Friday, and so I tried my first weekend of ‘packing’. As I’ve been told, it’s a little work to get used to, but I’m just barely starting to get to the point where I go for a while without noticing ‘it’ there. I decided to just go for it and didn’t tiptoe. First day out, I went to dinner, clothes shopping (trying out pants, no less), and electronics shopping. There wasn’t a single sign of anybody staring at me funny (well, any more than some people tend to anyway). I picked up a radio scanner to start listening to aviation traffic and just as I was walking in the Radio Shack I started to wonder if the shoplifting-prevention-scanner-things would go off based on a large chunk of metal. Not a peep.
Sunday turned out even better. I was a little more used to things, so I gave it another go. Went to the airport (didn’t pack in the airport, that’s what the car safe is for). I tried out the new scanner sitting out on their picnic table by the FBO. I also picked up a FAR/AIM and Memphis sectional to start studying up for getting my license current again next Spring. There was a decent bit of activity despite the cold. The helicopter guys apparently were teaching a student. That was kind of neat to watch. I think I even saw an auto-rotation. I’m not a 100% sure, because there was a Cessna 172 nearby that was taxing on out making enough noise I couldn’t tell if the helicopter’s engine was at idle. It did come down quick, and it struck me as more of an auto-rotation than a normal landing. It was a bit too much fun just sitting there than I should probably admit. No warbirds this time; several Cessna 172′s, a couple Piper Cherokee’s, a Super Decathlon, a Cessna 208, and that helicopter (Eurocopter maybe). I might do it again next weekend. The scanner worked really well.
