My wife Anita and I went back home for the Holidays to see my parents in Winter Haven FL. We stopped on the way down to spend some time with Steve (LandCruiserSteve) & Pam in GA. Steve met us at our hotel then we followed him to a little restaurant in town. Steve bought us breakfast which was very nice and we talked about the fun times that we had in Ouray, CO when we were there last year. Steve then had us follow him over to the parking lot where Steve parked his FJ and I turned over the keys to the
RAPTOR to Steve where he gave us a tour of the Largest Police Academy in the World. It’s called FLETC in Glynco, GA.
Steve made numerous comments about how “STIFF” I was compared to him; I guess it’s an age thing. But in all fairness he stated he had two inches on me.
On the way to FLETC we noticed the two School buses.
At the stop light, Anita and I noticed a group of small children try to get on Steve's Yellow Bus.
This is the U.S. Homeland Security Training Center. They train all Federal LE agencies in the country including ICE, Secret Service, Boarder Patrol along with Federal Marshals. etc. Too many to include here, but you get the picture. I think Steve said that there are over Eighty Five different Federal Departments that come here for training. We were given a tour of the Firearm Facility by Paul Shaffer which included a tour of their indoor ranges that you can bring a vehicle inside and shoot from. These are some of the biggest I have ever seen, bigger than any Civilian or Military ranges I have ever seen.
We also had the pleasure of having Steve who is an Instructor in PIT, Evasive Driving and a few other areas of expertise take us for a driving demonstration; He introduced us to many wonderful people there, I'm sorry I forgot most of their names of the fine people we meet. Steve had us stop by the equipment cage and check out some helmets. We then proceeded to the driving range vehicle staging area; we loaded up in an SUV where Steve drove us around explaining all the different driving ranges at the facility. We then drove in to the off-road driving area where he took us through the trails that were setup for novices to learn the capabilities of a Four Wheel Drive vehicle. They are required to successful complete the designated obstacles with a basic understanding of four-wheel drive.
We then returned back to the vehicle staging area where we jumped inside a Police Cruiser. Steve had us don our helmets and away we went. He showed us a closed track that we were entering and he very calmly explained how to conduct entering and exiting the apex of curves while accelerating up to over 100+mph then quickly back down negotiating the next curve, then at the apex of the curve accelerating quickly again up to the exit curve. We were having a BLAST!, STEVE has the BEST JOB IN THE WORLD and he gets paid for it! I’m in the wrong business. We then calmly entered into the skid area (Without my wife knowing what was going on in the back seat) we were doing about 40mph and Steve spun the wheel and we started spinning like on a sheet of ice, whipping around in circles like crazy, what a blast.
I think that was all that Anita could handle after the SKID course, I can’t say I blame her, it’s a lot different sitting in the rear going through something like that. We stopped and took a small break then loaded back up so we could do some PIT maneuvers.
We stopped at another driving track were some other LE students were out on the track practicing. We meet some of the other instructors and Steve found his protégé Tommy Carr who is another driving Instructor that is certified in PIT. He meet us over at the PIT track were Steve and myself donned our helmets and entered a reinforced Police Cruiser that is outfitted with steel reinforced rear sides for PITting. Steve then explained to me the PIT technique as we were approaching the other vehicle with another Instructor behind the wheel. We then PIT his vehicle a few times, then we proceeded to get PITted ourselves a few times. I have to say it was amazing being in a vehicle that is being PITted, talk about getting whipped around with very little effort from the PIT vehicle. I have to say it is the most amazing facility I have ever been too. I would have to say it’s the Disney World of Law Enforcement. What a cool place. I think its time to change professions; I think I’ll put my application in to become an Instructor.
Us PITting the other vehicle
The other vehicle PITting us.
At the end of the day Steve presented myself and the
RAPTOR an Official FLETC sticker for the FJ.
After a fun filled morning and afternoon, we headed back to Steve’s house were I was able to see First hand and up close and personal the most beautiful FJ’s around. I know a lot of you have seen the pics he has posted of them, but in person the amount detail that Steve has paid to in the restoration of his 1959 ('58 1/2) FJ25 Land Cruiser is truly amazing. Here are a few pics that we took at the house.
A little later we loaded up and we followed Steve to where Pam’s business is located in town. We took a little tour of her new office and we then loaded back up and followed them over to the coast on to St. Simon Island. Steve, Pam Anita and I walked along the small shops along the shore, making a few purchases then headed back to the parking lot area where Steve reminded everyone about the fading sunlight. He stated that we “Had” to take the applicable poser shots of the vehicles sitting there together. We even had the ladies pose with them too.
I did notice how much the RAPTOR has lost in height compared to Steve’s when the vehicles were side by side since I have added the new front bumper, winch & Skid plates. I had to dial the
RAPTOR back up another 2.5” were it is supposed to be once I got down to Winter Haven, FL. I then took it by the local Toyota dealer and had the front end realigned. Steve, you’ll be glad to hear that I’m now Erect & Stiff, plus I’ve gained another two inches, who needs Viagra.
(For those just tuning in, I’m talking about our suspensions)
Steve & Pam treated us with a wonderful dinner at a local seafood restaurant on the Island. We talked about the upcoming FJ Summit in Ouray this coming year and how we all looked forward to another great time hitting the trails together.
Tour of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) With LandCruiserSteve
SMC Outlaws!!
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