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Eyes On The Skies: Red's Mornings Air Aficionados Share Love of Flying and Doughnuts

Posted on: Sunday, 19 February 2006, 12:00 CST

By Karen Ravn, The Monterey County Herald, Calif.

Feb. 19--They're 8 o'clock meetings.

On Friday mornings.

And you don't have to attend.

So, really, why on Earth would you?

Well, if you're a pilot, or you'd like to be, or you just have a thing about flying, "Red's Mornings" might be right down your runway.

For Keith Standiford of Carmel, they definitely are. He comes to socialize and keep up with the latest trends in aviation.

"I wouldn't want to admit that I come for the free doughnut, right?" he said.

John Jacoby of Carmel also comes for the presentations and the chance to talk to people he wouldn't run into otherwise.

"After all," he said, "now that I'm on a diet, I can't really go for the doughnuts."

John Capuano, formerly of Carmel, described the meetings as "putting bees and honey together."

"You've got airplanes, pilots, coffee and doughnuts."

Hmmmm. Or should that be mmmmm?

What's the deal with the doughnuts?

"They don't generally have many left over," Jacoby said.

For several years, aviation buffs from all over Monterey County turned out for monthly meetings at Monterey Bay Aviation.

They saw movies and videos, heard interesting speakers, flocked together with birds of a feather, so to speak, and maybe, just maybe, ate a goody or two from Red's Donuts -- the popular Seaside shop that gave Red's Mornings their name.

But then Monterey Bay Aviation moved, and the meetings were grounded for a year.

They were very much missed.

So when they took off again last month at the new site on Airport Way, plenty of regulars were glad to get back aboard.

One of those was Jacoby, a retired firefighter who rents a plane a couple of times a week and believes that Red's Mornings have a lot of educational value.

"It's nice to have someone teach you things before you learn them on your own," he said.

That is, before you get into trouble up in the air and have to learn on the fly. Sure, on-the-ground training might be less exciting, but he would choose it every time.

Sounding a similar better-skilled-than-thrilled theme, Standiford said, "Most of aviation is about risk management. If you don't take risks you don't have to take, you'll be better off."

And it's risky for pilots not to keep their techniques and knowledge fresh, he added.

"Red's Mornings help us do that," he said.

The presentations are valuable, he said, and so is the social interaction.

"Put two pilots in one spot, and they'll be talking about flying," he said.

Standiford, a consultant in the semi-conductor industry, owns a "relatively slow" 1966 Cessna that he likes to use for fun trips and outings, such as whale watching.

"It's a totally different experience from a plane," he said. "You can fly at a pretty reasonable height above the water and see the whole pod moving up the coast."

Mileage-wise, he said, his Cessna does almost as well as his Ford Explorer.

"But it can't compete with my old Saturn," he said.

Price-wise it's not a bad deal either, in his opinion.

"I see luxury cars driving around my neighborhood, and for less money than they cost, I own an airplane. It's a myth that only rich people can afford to fly."

Of course, for whatever reason, most people don't take to the skies. And Laurie McGinnis, formerly of Monterey, is sort of happy about that.

"Flying gives me a sense of accomplishment," she said. "It's something the majority of the population doesn't do."

McGinnis is a first-grade teacher who started coming to Red's Mornings a year or so ago, when she was just a beginner pilot.

"I could discuss topics, ask questions, in a real nonthreatening environment," she said. "I was inspired to become a better pilot just by sitting through a number of their sessions."

And while women at Red's Mornings may be outnumbered almost 10 to one, she said, "The guys there were very accepting." They didn't just talk about their experiences. They listened to hers, too.

The crowd at Red's Mornings is very accepting of Jim Babcock, too, even though he is not a pilot himself.

"They've offered to teach me," he said, "but it's not a passion of mine."

So why does he come?

Babcock is the air traffic manager at the Monterey Peninsula Airport tower, and he comes to discuss how air traffic works.

"There's a million things pilots have to keep up on," he said, "so they don't lose their license after they get it."

Mike Meddles of Royal Oaks doesn't have his pilot license. Neither do his three children. Not yet. But maybe someday.

So they all come to Red's Mornings whenever they can -- which pretty much means whenever the kids have a Red's Friday off from school.

"We come to be around the environment," Meddles said, "to talk with the folks there... and to dream."

And if they can treat themselves to a doughnut, so much the better.

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If you go -- What:Red's Mornings aviation meetings -- When:Feb. 25 and the last Friday of every month -- Where:Monterey Bay Aviation, 514 Airport Way, Monterey -- Information:Call 375-2359 or 224-5654, or e-mail Donna@montereybayaviation.com Red's Mornings aviation meetings Meets Feb. 25 and the last Friday of every month (except November) at Monterey Bay Aviation, 514 Airport Way, Monterey For more information, call 375-2359 or 224-5654; or e-mail Donna@montereybayaviation.com

Karen Ravn can be reached at 646-4358 or kravn@montereyherald.com.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Monterey County Herald, Calif.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: The Monterey County Herald (Monterey, Calif.)

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