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Back home from my vacation. 9 days, 7 states, 2300 miles. The CT6 performed flawlessly and proved to be a great road trip car. Got a lot of rest and relaxation, a lot of beach time. Enjoyed Myrtle Beach and Charleston, SC, loved the Outer Banks of NC. First pic is in Rodanthe in the Outer Banks after driving through torrential rain (AWD and traction control helped a lot), second pic is this morning in Maryland. Saw a lot of interesting places, lots of good food.

I happened to see this video and thought I'd share. The answer? NOT MANY. Not at all .... see the video. That they made ~ 250 of these was decent. I thought they made about half of that number. I flew on 2 of these - one TWA and one Pan Am in the late '80s (to go to school ... and Miami for vacation, respectively). MD 10s and MD 11s are still around (FedEx and UPS, etc.) and the placement of the third engine on the MD 10-11 planes looks spindly. On the Lockheed Tri-Star 1011, that 3rd engine looks "very" engaged. The L-1011 was also known for the highest fuel consumption (per whatever metric they were using) among the wide-bodies, so it become unpopular with operators.

That is impressive work on the Yard, Dave... Great in car vintage Camer stuff from Goodwood...

Hello Everyone, You have probably NOTICED that I have not been posting much and especially this summer have not been posting any auto news. That will change as I move into the fall and get back to my hobby of my passion for the auto industry. What have I been doing you might be wondering. I had a major yard project that consumed every day all my spare time. I installed a 33,000 lb commercial grade retaining wall and a new heavy duty 6ft fence on my back yard. Last winter storms took down my fence that was part of the house when I bought it in 1999. The yard was also on an angle from 5ft height to the east to ground level on the west. Since my wife and I have decided to eventually in 20 plus years retire here, I decided to level the yard, install a retaining wall and replace the fence. We love to garden so 1/3rd of the yard is at the higher level and the rest is ground level with the base of the house. After my company Trade Show, I came home on Friday May 24th 2024 and took delivery of 33,000 lbs of retaining wall stones, toppers and corner stones. As one can see, I did make a mistake in that I had them left double stacked and as such had to lift all the stones multiple times to get them down and stagged in the back yard. Each stone weights 90lbs, corner stones are 110lbs and the toppers are 45lbs. I also had 6 tree stumps to remove as these trees which where my neighbors had grown across the property line and would if left, over time rot and cause the wall to possibly shift and sink. I also ran into this huge green granite boulder which was buried again once I had removed the tree stumps. Here is a picture of the west side corner looking back, the excavation I did for prepping for 5/8th crushed rock bed and installation of the wall. With the crushed rock bed in place and packed down, I could also install the draining line and start to install the stones. From filling in the stones with crushed rock to building the corner, things progressed nicely I felt. To keep dirt from clogging the drain field behind the wall, I used commercial grade fabric that lets the water flow but holds the dirt back. Toppers are glued on after I cut them to give me a presentable corner. The green sticks you see is where I will have the galvanized fence post base installed into the wall with cement. Here is the section with the tree stumps removed and the wall built, dirt packed and all secure. Now comes the coring part to create the holes that will allow me to install the fence post bases. The toppers where the post go is not glued on yet. To do this, it takes a strong 18V drill, 5" core bit, water and strength. I used OZ-Posts bases which are great. Here is the upper section with them cemented in. The best thing about these is that in my lifetime I will never have to worry about having to replace them. If a tree falls and damages a section of the fence, easy to unscrew the posts and replace the section. Best part is I never have to worry about rotting as you install them up 1 inch to allow all water to run off the post and onto the topper and go away. With the bases installed and cured, I was able to install all the fence posts and start building. View from the neighbor's side of the finished wall/fence Finished view from my deck. I still have an interior wall to finish that will support the raised area where our garden will be and build an easy walk ramp up from the lower section. So, this is why you have not seen much posting from me or heard much from me over the last 5 months or so. Still have much to do, but at least the biggest part of getting the yard secured with a new wall / fence is done. I will be working on the rest of it over the fall/winter/spring. If ya have any questions hit me up, always happy to share my experience with ya. Yes, I lost 35lbs doing this project, nothing like a ton of manual labor to get into shape. ?

Like all companies, greed at the executive level along with a careless attitude of if no one notices, no one is complaining loud enough, who cares as long as I get my big bonus. America is going to have a massive shock in regards to companies that used to be the best failing. It is a sad state of affairs and narcissistic CEOs are not helping the situation.

I am saddened by the state of affairs. They have always done better, as per the saying, "If it ain't Boeing, it ain't going."

The Airbus vs. Boeing debate goes on and on. Here, it's about the newer Airbus 350 versus the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Realistically, the A-350 could only compare to a B-787-10, the longest version of the Dreamliner. That said, they often pit the A-350, which could carry a lot of passengers in 2 class configuration, against the B-777. I have flown on 3 Boeing 787s in the last 5 years. Two were medium-haul and one was transatlantic - Rome to Philadelphia's AA hub. I just flew on the Airbus 350 for the first time about a week ago. It was by Finnair, picked up at Helsinki after transferring there for the flight to the U.S. I was truly expecting more from the Airbus 350. It does what it's supposed to do. It seems to be getting more sales than the Boeing. I prefer the Boeing 787 Dreamliner by a slight margin. The most important thing is that the humidification felt better in the 787. They say the A-350 is quieter, but it's negligible to the untrained ear. Even though some complain that the crew can lock and control the window dimming on the 787, they did not do this on my flights and I loved it, complete with the big taller windows. The A-350 metrics seem to benefit the operator. The A-350 can seat more people, it burns slightly less fuel, and can fly slightly more nautical miles, but it seemed crammed and I didn't like the feel of the cabin, right down to shades on the windows. In waiting on the delayed plane A-350 for an hour, the heat gain against my window - with the shade down - was too much. I got up and walked around the rear galley where the air conditioning better cooled me down. Both have 3-3-3 seating and they say that the A-350 cabin width puts a few more inches on the seat. That doesn't come into play for me. Not only that, Airbus puts in more thin Recaro-looking seats that seem hard whereas the Boeing puts in seats with a more conventional sculpted silhouette. It's subjective. I didn't find the A350 all that much quieter and like the "open sky" architecture of the 787 cabin, the seats, the dimming, and the humidification. The A-350 has a straighter looking wing angle with curled wingtips that look cool when they are maneuvering. However, the fully upward curved wing of the B-787 is stunning. The B-787 is a slightly better looking plane. I wish more carriers of 9 abreast aircraft would follow Japan Air Lines' move (in their B-787) to 2-4-2, which would make the Dreamliner more of a dream. If 9 across (3-3-3), I would go with the Boeing 787. However, I could skip this debate and step down in size to Airbus's latest A330-900 neo. It's got some up the upgrades, and keeps skinny harder seats; however, the 2-4-2 seating is the way to go for more comfort.