Honored visitors from our past
It's been thirty-odd years since Jean traveled to Sweden as a Rotary Exchange student. Elvy and Roland, her "Swedish parents," live in the small city of Hudiksvall, where Elvy taught high school and Roland was the principal.
Both Roland and Elvy speak excellent English, but neither revealed it for months after Jean arrived so she'd master the Swedish language. When I first met her, she was fluent. I remember picking up some young Norwegian hitchhikers shortly after her return. The languages are similar enough that Jean could eavesdrop on our passengers' supposedly private conversation. For maximum effect she chimed in only after they began gossiping about us. (If only I had a photo of their expressions.) To refresh her language skills for Elvy and Roland's visit, Jean dusted off her old grammar books and monitored Swedish radio stations on the Internet.
This would be only the Kjellanders' second visit to Arizona. "Let's fly them somewhere exciting!" bubbled Jean. One compelling destination came immediately to mind--the newly inaugurated "Big Room" tour at southern Arizona's Kartchner Caverns. Unlike our previous Kartchner visit that required a 30-mile drive from Sierra Vista, Benson Municipal Airport now offered landing facilities only 13 miles away. After phoning Elvy and Roland to confirm their comfort with flying, I made reservations.
The sky misted grey with rare desert rain the morning we steered our honored guests skyward. Although cloud ceilings were high I'd readied my instrument charts in case they were needed. I'd also phoned Benson to check weather conditions. "Just a high overcast," said the pilot who answered. "If it lowers, fly via Tucson around the Catalina Mountains." That would distance us from 9,225-foot Mount Lemon.
My one previous flight to Benson had been years earlier to celebrate a ribbon cutting at the newly opened airport; in fact the Flying Carpet was only the second airplane ever to land there. At the time there was just a spanking new runway and ramp--no buildings yet interrupted rangeland stretching to the horizon.
These days Benson Airport is a bustling general aviation facility boasting fuel, maintenance, and T-hangars. A DC-3 dominated the tiedown ramp when we landed with our Swedish visitors, and a modular terminal building offered not only bathrooms, but also two courtesy cars. Minutes after obtaining one, we arrived at the Kartchner Caverns Visitor Center.
What is now Kartchner Caverns was discovered in 1974 by two amateur cavers, who in a rather amazing conspiracy with property owners, state authorities, and lawmakers, managed to keep the gem secret until it opened as a state park 25 years later. Modern technology helps to preserve the "living cave" ecosystem by sustaining natural temperature and high humidity. Air locks, guided tours, and restricted visitor access keep the cave pristine, and portions are closed during the summer to allow indigenous Myotis velifer bats to mate and nurse their young.
Although smaller than its better-known limestone cousins Carlsbad Caverns and Mammoth Cave, Kartchner Caverns ranks among the top 10 caves in the world for its number and variety of speliothems (calcite formations). Of those 10, Kartchner is the only one open to the public. Sure enough, to our awe on the 90-minute tour, the cave dripped with stalactites, "soda straws," stalagmites, "fried eggs," "cave bacon draperies," and innumerable other formations spanning the colors of the rainbow.
Skies had cleared by the time we emerged into daylight, so after a brief hike we decided to fly the "back way" home around the east side of Mount Lemon. We had hardly turned on course when the low voltage light illuminated. "I thought that was fixed!" exclaimed Jean, referring to the maddening intermittent electrical fault that had plagued us for months (see "Flying Carpet: Going Nowhere Fast," May 2006 AOPA Flight Training).
"Apparently replacing the circuit breaker didn't cure the problem," I said, discouraged.
This time, however, the charging circuit mercifully failed for good. Jean retrieved the portable GPS and our newly acquired handheld back-up radio, and with the master switch off to preserve battery juice for our return to Phoenix, we proceeded homeward. I've never been happier to part with hard-earned money than when our mechanic phoned the next morning to say he'd finally solved our problem. "We replaced your alternator," he said. "Now everything should be fine." Hopefully he's right, but we'll keep the portable backups handy for some time to come.
To our relief, the electrical problem only added to the day's adventure for our Swedish visitors. Roland just shared a knowing look when the power went out, and Elvy continued reading. After landing, Roland delighted in troubleshooting electrical connections alongside our mechanic, and photographing the process. Later he complimented Jean on our teamwork in handling the malfunction. Judging by their beaming faces on the drive home, Elvy and Roland enjoyed our over-and-underground excursion as much as we did. May our delightful Swedish parents soon visit again.
Greg Brown was the 2000 National Flight Instructor of the Year. His books include Flying Carpet, The Savvy Flight Instructor, The Turbine Pilot's Flight Manual, Job Hunting for Pilots, and You Can Fly! Visit his Web site. See the Kartchner Caverns Web site to schedule your own tour.
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