Flying to Mexico City

Last week I flew the Australian Soccer team from Newark, NJ to Mexico City. The flight was almost five hours long. We got to eat some of the catering for the team. I had meat lasagna, veggies, and bread. Five minutes before landing one of our instruments went out so we had to stay in Mexico until it was fixed. They fixed the airplane the next day and after we received word to head towards the airport it took six hours just to get to the airplane. Customs paperwork, dealing with the Mexican Gov't, and not speaking Spanish caused the delay. Below is a picture of the airport and a view from my hotel room of lovely Mexico City. We stayed in a nice five star hotel that was connected to the airline terminal. We brought some of the catering with us off the airplane and every drink we could find. I even brushed my teeth with bottled water. The hotel had internet so I was able to Skype Rainer and the kiddos. 

After finally getting out of Mexico we flew to Tucson, Arizona to clear customs. Since it was two in the morning, we decided to stay there for the night. The next morning we flew from Tucson to Merced California, where the company hangar is. Merced is just outside of Sacramento. From Tucson we flew north over L.A. and then up the coast. Below is a picture of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in southern California. 

When we landed in Merced they let us walk around an airplane that is in "Heavy Check." This is where they basically tear the entire airplane apart and put it back together again, however, a little more complicated than Humpty Dumpty. They can have the whole process complete in 30 days, so I was told. See the pictures below. It was a good trip, they even had Starbucks in the Mexico City Airport. I got home a day later than planned but made it from Nashville to Newark to Mexico, up to California then back home. All in three days.