Thursday's flight got off without any problems. Yes, the Super Cub was parked behind the BLM's helicopter in the hangar, so we had to take the C-180, but that is a good thing. More comfortable seats, less engine noise, better vents, you're not looking through scratched up plexi-glass windows, and , most important of all, no heavy aircraft fuel fumes.

Remember? Just the smell of aircraft fuel is enough to get me nauseous these days. Simple negative reinforcement, I'm sure.

Not that it was a queasiless flight. Listening and transcribing the tape this afternoon, and could hear the urps coming up in my voice.

While we were still on the taxiway.

Our conversation on the tarmack naturally revolved around last week's crash. (Kevin has had his face and jaw reconstructed and may be going home this week, by the way... reported already worrying about how his work will get done, even while he was still getting surgeries done. If you knew him, you would not be surprised.) Photos show the plane upside down on the ground, and I had originally assumed they made a hard landing, caught a wheel or prop and flipped over.

Nope. They hit the ground that way. Reportedly while in a banking turn (after a herd of antelope, I assume).

My pilot is guessing they made a turn into a hard tailwind. Winds were high that day (they even landed for a while because of wind, but then went back up when they thought it had settled). Planes fly by pushing air up over the top of their wings. Get too much wind from behind while your speed is slowed for a turn, and the lift goes away.

And you go down.

Important safety tip.

I noticed our turns were wide and slow. No spinning circles over critters like we have done before.

'Course that could be because we're in the 180, rather than the Cub. Or because the pilot prefers to be able to get through a flight without me losing my stomach contents.

We failed.

We were down low along Brown's Canyon Rim when it came time for our second 20-minute check-in. And couldn't hit a repeater to contact dispatch.

Now, normally we would just wait five minutes or so, when we clear the hills, to call in and give our location and direction of travel. But on this flight the pilot apologized for the delay, but he was going to climb above the rim to report in.

Yes, I imagine the dispatchers start to sweat when someone misses a check-in now.

Slowest the C-180 will go safely is 80mph. About 10 faster than the Cub. You can tell the difference, as we had to circle several groups to get a complete classification that we could have gotten on the first pass with the Cub. And had to let a couple groups go when they started mixing with others.

As with the ground classifications, antelope were thick by water, and sparse elsewhere. One of our six transects passes over the saltbush flats between Brown's Canyon and the Haystacks. A major wasteland, but needs to be covered just the same.

Asked the pilot to wake me if he saw anything.

And we actually spotted two lone bucks out there in the Gardner's.

Spotted a group of does and fawns near the end of that transect, right below the powerline (the ones with the steel braces on the bottoms of the poles... the ones that had notches chainsawed out of them back 15 years or so ago during a labor dispute with the power company, clear on the other side of the state... the ones that were set to fall like 30 miles of dominoes, and didn't).

Expected the pilot to bank right to circle the group, and also panicked about the powerline.

Well, he banked left, and chided me for thinking he wasn't watching for things like powerlines.

That did it. Sick sack out (actually just a sandwich bag full of paper towels... I bring my own, now). Horrible wretching. Then back for two more transects. Haven't listened to that part of the tape yet, but it will probably bring a twinge to my guts.

Should have mentioned the new golf course, our community's great waste of water and money, on the end of transect two.

The antelope love it. A half dozen out on one of the greens, enjoying the newly seeded and regularly irrigated vegetation. They will be regulars here.

The pilot treated me to breakfast after we landed, I suspect compensation for guilt in getting me sick. He's a regular at the downtown cafe, and traded barbs and wits with our waitress.

As she delivered the check, she amicably commented on his ornery mood, and how he was abusing her.

"You should have seen what he did to me this morning," was my response.

Which got quite a chuckle from across the table.

He advised he had considered stapling my toenails into my boots next time.

So that I won't be able to throw them up.

Yes, the heaves were that deep.

Unfortunately, the new camera did not arrive until after we flew (while I was sitting on the porch, recovering with the newspapers), so no great aerial shots. Not that that wouldn't get me sick, trying to look through a viewfinder.

So, for those of you hoping for a new pic, here's some freebies from yesterday: