This discussion is Beehive CEO's - monthly column as found on the last page of Americas Network magazine. They have been printing his letters for nearly 20 years. This column will remain posted till he writes the next one.
The Last Word.. April 2001
National Park people are the Curators of a Giant Museum
There is (now) a 120 day window for processing applications for an antenna site on National Park turf. Taking the baby steps to go through the process (for which Administrative fees are charged), NPS invited us to a meeting to "scope" our latest (counter) proposal.
The Cessna voltage regulator failed prior to take-off. Scrubbed the meeting. Park folks in dicated they would have to charge me their administrative costs of not having the meeting. Would I like to forget about the process and refile? That re-sets the clock for another 120 day processing period. No way. Rescheduled for two days later.
In the meantime, a storm blew though. The regulator got replaced. The 230 nautical mile flight to northern Arizona was mostly over snow bound forest descending to the fresh waters of Lake Powell. Bummed a ride to the NPS Recreation Area offices a few miles from the airport. Nobody is against modern telephones at Dangling Rope. It's just none of the Park employees know how to give us the permit. We need their OK to set an invisible pair of antennas, solar panels, and some boxes to enable microwave signals to get from our existing facilities "uplake" to the Marina site in the middle of the lake.
This meeting was to "scope" the project. We explained. Again. At the conclusion, Suzie, the lady who does work at this stage, said two things. First, she never reads the proposals until after a "scooping" meeting. Second, having explained it, she thinks our (prior) filed document is sufficient. She doesn't need more. Yet.
Considerable debate ensued over who will do the environmental assessment? NPS has a contract company they favor because they think like the Park wants them to. Can we use companies on the approved list whom we use for BLM environmental reports? No. Why not? Well, the Park folks might not like their attitude. And the public health and safety is not important.
The National Park Service. Curator of a giant museum. Humankind is (grudgingly) allowed but (mostly) not welcome.
Battery technology
For those who charge batteries from solar panels on snow capped mountains or to crank a device after a night of cold soak - there is a new kid on the block. Name is IQ Power Technology
Typical telco storage batteries compensate for stratification by oversizing. IQ claims their design delivers the equal to present day cell performance with 40% less weight and 30% less lead. Cold weather performance and reliability is way better. I like the built in microprocessor that allows ongoing analysis of every cell. Right now, IQ is after the 42 volt electric car market. Then aircraft. I'm nagging them for 300 a/h 12 volts. Yeah Art - sure.
Lt. Col Bud Clay
Two Danish City/regions have joined with Sonderborg, Denmark to celebrate American defeat of the 6 year Nazi oppression of Denmark. Six of the crew capable of travel (2 are not up to the trip) will collect in Atlanta on May 18th. Then Delta to London. Two reside near Charlotte. One each from Houston and Dallas. Another from Kansas City. Chief pilot Bud Clay comes from Salt Lake. In England, they and ten escorts will go to Polebrook where many B-17 bomber flights originated in WW2. Tour the big military museum. Fly SAS to Denmark on the 23rd.
Congressman Cannon, R,Ut, tells me he has asked Secretary of State Colin Powell if he could say a few words on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of Americans who fought to preserve the life, liberty and freedom of Europe in War2. If he does - the ceremony will be in the same field where Bud crashed landed 8 km east of the Sonderborg airport on May 24th. It will be fifty seven years to the day when the roaring sound of a crippled airplane heard by hundreds of Danes followed by 8 Americans floating out of the clouds under their white parachutes. Later the populace whispered they were Americans; they plus two who rode the bomber to that farm field. The Danes want to say "thank you".
Pictures of the wedding dress made from one of the parachutes plus other items of interest including photos of the wrecked B-17 shot down on May 24th, 1944 - are here:
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Here is a letter from Denmark to Capt. Clay's son about the crash:
Subject: "Stormy Weather"
Dear Mr. Clay.I am happy to hear from You. For many years I have been trying to find out, what happened to these brave young men, who risked their lives for us. And best of all is, that Your father and his comrades will come here to visit the place where their flight ended.
May 24th 1944 was an overcast day when we heard the engines of a big plane. We could not see it because of low clouds, but suddenly came a row of parachutes and later we found out, that "Stormy Weather" had landed in a very hard crash in a field about 5-6 miles from us. When I saw the bomber it was laying in the direction it came from, against north. The tip of the right wing had broken and was on the other side of a high road. It was very saddening the following days to see the germans cut the plane in pieces and take it away.
Some of my friends was on the spot shortly after the landing and were lucky to go into the plane, before the germans came to guard it. As You see, it is very little I can tell You about that day. But I can assure You, that other people, who vere closer, can tell You a lot. I understand that You will visit Denmark in May and, please, tell Your father, that he and his crew was and forever will be heroes over here. Attached is a map over the island ALS. The small red dots is vhere the parachutes landed and the cross is the position of "Stormy Weather".
Best wishes
Christen Hansen.
When Art Brothers isn't impeding traffic flow in the desert, he operates Beehive Telephone Co. (Wendover, Utah)
Copyright 2001 by A. W. Brothers and Americas Network magazine. All rights reserved.
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