Que dire ? Umberto Eco, avec Saint-Ex, était l’un de mes écrivains fondateurs, et a eu une influence considérable sur ma manière de voir le monde et son étrange population, de le sentir, de le décrire. Un géant d’érudition qui restait accessible, qui donnait libre cours au langage, qui taillait sa route au milieu des mots là où d’autres peinait à s’ouvrir ne serait-ce qu’un sentier. Une perte immense, un autre jardin secret dont la clé est à jamais perdue. Adieu, maestro, merci de nous avoir éclairé aussi brillament, aussi fugace qu’ait été le moment. Je vous dois tellement. J’aurais aimé vous rencontrer et vous le dire. Trop tard désormais. Sic transit gloria mundi. Mais je n’oublierai pas.
Ciao Umberto
2016.02.21New website!
2015.09.25Check out the new looks! Freylia Studios has been completely redesigned to account for recent changes and updates, with new photos and designs sections filled with recent material. I also bit the bullet and decided to create Freylia Studios’s official Facebook page as well.
Don’t hesitate to let me know what you think!
the Cat Pack — N85U
2015.08.20This series of posts will retrace a few of the surviving airworthy (or close) PBYs around the world, and their history.
N85U is no more.
The last active Catalina waterbomber has been destroyed. The Cyclone-powered PBY-6A, which spent the last few decades based in Washington state, fighting forest fires, had been hired to appear in the upcoming Nicolas Cage war movie “Indianapolis”, when it was beached two days after its arrival there due to a leak. A misfortune for sure after spending months refurbishing and repainting the plane for its movie appearance. But the worst was still to come…
The plane was completely salvageable, although all the electronics were probably totalled, however the recovery turned to a complete disaster when the misuse of a crane destroyed the fuselage, leaving N85U a three-part wreck.
It is especially infuriating and frustrating to see such criminal incompetence as PBYs do have a hoisting point on top of the wing for precisely the kind of lift that was required. Wrong tools and unfamiliar crews can make a dangerous combination… A very sad, completely avoidable accident, and the end of one of the most iconic planes in the USA.
2015
2015.01.04Happy New Year everyone!
So yeah, guess what, I’m working on clearing the daunting 2014 backlog both in writing and photos, so that I can focus on proper 2015 planning and events. I haven’t even taken last August’s US rolls to the shop yet (Ouch). Regarding the site itself, I’m thinking that it might be a good idea to have a wholly dedicated travels section now, actually, what with 4 travel blogs either published or in the works, and more to come… so I’ll probably do that.
So, stay tuned for news and check the site every now and then, not all changes might be announced 🙂
Cheers and fly safe!
some news
2014.03.03Back from two magical weeks in India, and if all goes according to plan, with new Cat stories to tell very soon. 2014 is shaping up to a glorious start!