I was a neighbor of John 'Ole' Olsen for about six months and a friend ever since. We lived in adjacent apartments in the lower level of a house owned by Gloria Stein, owner of the Christmas Tree restaurant, located on the side of Mount Rose, about 3 miles from the 3400 agl launch at Slide Mountain, in the vicinity of Lake Tahoe and Reno, Nevada. Obviously, we flew Slide mountain alot.
At the time, Ole worked part-time as a bartender at the restaurant in the evenings. I'll never forget his specialty drink: 'The Scurvy Dog'. It had a bunch of rum in it ...
I really enjoyed flying and hanging out with Ole. Back then, he drove a white flatbed propane-powered truck named 'The Ford from Hell'. Each winter, he would drive it down to Valle de Bravo, Mexico and host week-long vacations for visiting pilots - the early days of 'Fly Mexico'. I really regret never making it down there.
Nowadays, Oly spends much of his time flying and instructing on trikes. He has documented his many adventures at:
http://www.learntoflytrikes.com/stories.htm
Check it out.
