NASA's vision lost on Web generation

From CNN.com

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) -- Young Americans have high levels of apathy about NASA's new vision of sending astronauts back to the moon by 2017 and eventually on to Mars, recent surveys show.
Concerned about this lack of interest, NASA's image-makers are taking a hard look at how to win over the young generation -- media-saturated teens and 20-somethings growing up on YouTube and Google and largely indifferent to manned space flight.
"If you're going to do a space exploration program that lasts 40 years, if you just do the math, those are the guys that are going to carry the tax burden," said Mary Lynne Dittmar, president of a Houston company that surveyed young people about the space program.
The 2004 and 2006 surveys by Dittmar Associates Inc. revealed high levels of indifference among 18- to 25-year-olds toward manned trips to the moon and Mars.

I'm gonna have to agree, as one of these "20-somethings".

The night Discovery launched and I saw it pass through the sky, I ended up at a bonfire hosted by a friend, with 25-30 people around my age. since I thought seeing the Shuttle was the coolest thing I'd seen in a while, I naturally told everyone about it. The vast majority of them looked at me as if I was crazy. I had never noticed it before, but by and large, it's true. Most people in my age bracket really could care less.
Damn kids.....tsk!

I must, however, disagree with George Whitesides, executive director of the National Space Society, a space advocacy group, who feels Hollywood could be the answer.

"The American public engages with issues through people, personalities, celebrities, whatever. When you don't have that kind of personality, or face, or faces associated with your issue, it's a little bit harder for the public to connect."

Less Hollywood in everything would be better in my book. The last thing I want to see is Paris Hilton telling me "We're, like, totally going back to the moon."

Merry Christmas

I plan to not go near a PC until Tuesday at earliest. So, everyone have a good holiday. Here's hoping Santa doesn't bust the ADIZ on his way up the East coast this year....

Cheers!

-Neil

Twas the night before Christmas,
and out on the ramp,
Not an airplane was stirring,
not even a Champ.
The aircraft were fastened
to tiedowns with care,
In hopes that come morning,
they all would be there.
The fuel trucks were nestled,
all snug in their spots,
With gusts from two-forty
at 39 knots.
I slumped at the fuel desk,
now finally caught up,
And settled down comfortably,
resting my butt.
When the radio lit up with noise and with chatter,
I turned up the scanner to see what was the matter.
A voice clearly heard over static and snow,
Called for clearance to land at the airport below.
He barked his transmission so lively and quick,
I'd have sworn that the call sign he used was "St. Nick".
I ran to the panel to turn up the lights,
The better to welcome this magical flight.
He called his position, no room for denial,
"St. Nicholas One, turnin' left onto final."
And what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a Rutan-built sleigh, with eight Rotax Reindeer!
With vectors to final, down the glideslope he came,
As he passed all fixes, he called them by name:"
Now Ringo! Now Tolga! Now Trini and Bacun!On Comet! On Cupid!"
What pills was he takin'?
While controllers were sittin', and scratchin' their head,
They phoned to my office, and I heard it with dread,
The message they left was both urgent and dour:
"When Santa pulls in, have him please call the tower.
"He landed like silk, with the sled runners sparking,
Then I heard "Left at Charlie," and "Taxi to parking."
He slowed to a taxi, turned off of three-oh
And stopped on the ramp with a "Ho, ho-ho-ho..."
He stepped out of the sleigh, but before he could talk,
I ran out to meet him with my best set of chocks.
His red helmet and goggles were covered with frost
And his beard was all blackened from Reindeer exhaust.
His breath smelled like peppermint, gone slightly stale,
And he puffed on a pipe, but he didn't inhale.
His cheeks were all rosy and jiggled like jelly,
His boots were as black as a cropduster's belly.
He was chubby and plump, in his suit of bright red,
And he asked me to "fill it, with hundred low-lead."
He came dashing in from the snow-covered pump,
I knew he was anxious for drainin' the sump.
I spoke not a word, but went straight to my work,
And I filled up the sleigh, but I spilled like a jerk.
He came out of the restroom, and sighed in relief,
Then he picked up a phone for a Flight Service brief.
And I thought as he silently scribed in his log,
These reindeer could land in an eighth-mile fog.
He completed his pre-flight, from the front to the rear,
Then he put on his headset, and I heard him yell, "Clear!"
And laying a finger on his push-to-talk,
He called up the tower for clearance and squawk.
"Take taxiway Charlie, the southbound direction,
Turn right three-two-zero at pilot's discretion"
He sped down the runway, the best of the best,
"Your traffic's a Grumman, inbound from the west."
Then I heard him proclaim, as he climbed through the night,

"Merry Christmas to all! I have traffic in sight!"

Coming Home.

From NASA:

About 3:35 p.m. EST Thursday, flight controllers at the Mission Control Center in Houston told Commander Mark Polansky that the Mission Management Team had cleared Space Shuttle Discovery for re-entry. The decision came after analysis of data collected during Wednesday’s inspection of Discovery’s heat shield. Discovery’s first landing opportunity is scheduled at 3:56 p.m. EST Friday at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. If weather does not cooperate, six more opportunities at three landing sites are available. The Friday weather forecast currently calls for a chance of rain and low clouds at Kennedy, potential strong crosswinds at Edwards Air Force Base in California and acceptable landing conditions at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. The last opportunity at Kennedy is at 5:32 p.m. Three exist at Edwards – 5:27 p.m., 7 p.m. and 8:36 p.m. Two are available at White Sands – 5:27 p.m. and 7:02 p.m. All three sites will be activated. Landing opportunities also are available Saturday at all three sites.

I've been watching NASA TV and following along with this mission since the day of the launch. I forgot to mention here, but a friend and I were lucky enough to catch sight of Discovery on the night it launched. (From Delaware!)
There in the Eastern sky, at exactly the time and position NASA said she would be, we saw the orange glow streaking across the sky. By the time I made the 10 minute drive home from our viewing point and checked on the shuttles location on NASA TV, she was over Africa. Incredible!

I vow to go see a launch before the current Shuttle is mothballed for good.

Having watched so much NASA TV, I've come to be able to recognize the various crew members voices, as well as whoever happens to be running the CAPCOM at the current time. It's been such a pleasure to watch, and I learned more about the mission and the space program in the past 2 weeks than I have any time before it.

Here's to happy landings and blue skies, Discovery!

Lazy Sunday & Broken Birds

My only flying of the weekend took place on Sunday morning. My Dad had suggested to a few friends that we get together and fly out for breakfast since the weather would be unusually good for the time of year. We easily fit 4 folks in the SR-22, and our friend flew another in his beautiful Cessna 170. Destination: KGED, Sussex County airport.
the only note to an uneventful flight down state was the occasional flocks of Snow Geese we could see from the air. They swirl around and move together as one above the fields in lower DE, and the whole thing looks alien when viewed from an airplane. Quite a sight.

KGED seemed a little quiet given the good weather, but the breakfast buffet was in full swing, and the few folks that had made the trip were enjoying pancakes, sausages and bacon. I'll definetly be going back for breakfast. A nice, clean restaurant with pleasant staff, good food, and fair prices, and that ever impotant view of the runway.



As we made our way back north towards home, we passed over Dover Air Force Base. You may recall that this summer, DAFB made national headlines when one of it's monster C-5's came up short of a runway and broke into 3 seperate pieces. Well, that C-5 is still sitting there at the end of the runway, looking alot like it does in this picture. I assume it was left during the investigation, but even after, moving such a behemoth aircraft will be a chore.

An animation was released showing cockpit intrumentation and animation of the C-5 before it found the dirt.


**- As The IFR Pilot pointed out, the YouTube link was yanked. So, ignore that one and see the C-5 animation, here.

Busting TFR's.

Avweb reports....


According to data obtained from the FAA by AOPA, there have been 6,658 Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) violations between Sept. 11, 2001, and the end of last month. Broken down even further, 1,632 of these infringements are presidential TFR busts and another 3,254 are due to "Washington, D.C. security-related" breaches, AOPA said. Some 2,672 of the Washington violations are related to pilots straying into the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) surrounding the nation's capital. The good news is that Washington ADIZ busts are trending downward, an AOPA spokesman told AVweb. Late last year, the FAA introduced a D.C. ADIZ training course, which might account for the decline in these violations.

Thats a staggering figure. I'm glad it's on the decline...

As one wise pilot told me, "I'm glad I'm not one of them".

Beating the Proverbial Dead Horse...

**Update**
It seems the aircraft was a Cessna 182-RG, with a landing gear problem. Pilot landed and walked away. The folks in the AOPA forum told me so. My point still stands.

I know that discussing the disgraceful and uneducated way in which the media covers and portrays aviation is akin to preaching to the choir when it comes to those who read this blog, but sometimes it annoys me so much, I have to pipe up.

A good example from today.

I'm at work, and I click on CNN.com before I go off on my lunch break. There is a headline, top of the main page, that reads:

"Aircraft Making Emergency Landing".

There was no attached article, only a link to a live video feed. Being that I am unable to access the streaming video at work, I went off to lunch knowing nothing of who, what, where, etc.

Returning from lunch, I go back to CNN.com for an update. Only to find,....nothing.
No article, no video, no mention that it ever happened. This means that (assuming it was a commercial airline) a large number of people did not die in flaming wreckage. Just that some Captain safely landed his ship, *perhaps* saving the lives of his passengers. No news there, according to CNN.

Of course, I'm sure it was a fairly mundane "emergency" that was no big deal for the crew, who are probably sitting around filling out paperwork without having broken into any description of a sweat. I'm glad they didn't make the news, because it means they are ok.

Off my soap box, rant over. Have a nice day.

Discovery!

I love a shuttle launch.

STS-116 is scheduled to launch tomorrow night, but as of right now the weather doesnt appear to be cooperating. I believe NASA has a 6 day window in which to launch, so I hope they can get the boosters fired in that time frame.

This launch is especially exciting to me, because with a bit of luck, those of us on the east coast will get a look at Discovery as it makes its way towards the ISS. I think I'd have to be very lucky to see anything, but I'll be on my roof with a Thermos and a pair of Binoculars anyway.

From Space.com

People in the eastern United States will get a great opportunity, weather permitting, to see the Space Shuttle Discovery launched into orbit Thursday evening.
The shuttle flight (STS-116) will be the 20th to rendezvous and dock with the International Space Station (ISS) and the glow of its engines will be visible along much of the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. To reach the ISS, Discovery must be launched when Earth's rotation carries the launch pad into the plane of the ISS's orbit. For mission STS-116, on Dec. 7 that will happen at 9:35:47 p.m. EST, resulting in NASA's first planned night launch since Nov. 23, 2002. This launch will bring the Shuttle's path nearly parallel to the U.S. East Coast.

Should the Dec. 7 launch be postponed, it could be rescheduled to one of the following dates and times:
Dec. 8, 9:13 p.m. EST
Dec. 10, 8:25 p.m. EST
Dec. 11, 7:59 p.m. EST
Dec. 13, 7:11 p.m. EST
Dec. 15, 6:23 p.m. EST
Dec. 17, 5:35 p.m. EST

If Thursday's launch is and moved to any of these times, this viewing guide remains, though you'll need to adjust for the differing times.

Hat tip to my friend at Hanger View for the heads up...

U.S. pilots held in Rio de Janeiro allowed to go home...

Good to hear.

Since I posted about this situation before, I though it proper to post now that they have been allowed to return home. The article below is from Avweb.
(Mid air collisions make the front page of CNN, but this story appears to be of less importance..)

The two U.S. pilots who have been held in Rio de Janeiro since a fatal midair collision in September will be allowed to go home, a Brazilian court said on Tuesday. The pilots -- Joseph Lepore and Jan Paladino, both of New York -- will have their passports returned to them and can leave the country in 72 hours, after being further debriefed by police, the court said. The two must agree to return to Brazil for any further inquiry and judicial action. "Restricting the freedom of movement for foreigners is not backed by the domestic legal system," the court's statement said, according to Reuters. Brazil is still investigating the crash, which was the worst in the country's history. The pilots were flying an Embraer Legacy jet above the Amazon on Sept. 29 when it collided with a Gol Airlines Boeing 737-800. All 154 people on board the 737 were killed. The Legacy made a safe emergency landing with all seven people aboard unharmed. Public opinion in Brazil seems to be shifting away from blaming the pilots to focus on concerns with air traffic control, Reuters said.

Solo.

Flying has been light recently. I was sick as a dog over the Thanksgiving break, and didnt feel well enough to get out to the airport at all. With the exception of a quick 15 mile hop over to Chester County for lunch last Sunday, not much to report.



Instead, I stole something from a previous blog I had. This is my 2nd attempt at keeping a flying journal, the 1st crahsed and burned. I did, however, write up an account of my first solo about a year or so ago, on the previous blog, and thought i'd like to have it here too. I was inspired on Sunday when I watched from a distance as my instructor hopped out of his students Tomahawk, and sent him off on his solo. It was cool to watch someone else take the big step, one we all remember so well from our own flying experience. The student made 3 good landings. Congrats to him!

...And here's my story.

October 18th, 2002. I headed to the airfield not knowing what to expect. My instructor had made it clear that I was ready to solo soon, but I had missed my last 3 scheduled dates with him due to poor weather. Maybe, I thought, today will be more practice. Make sure I still have it all together before he sends me off....
After pre-flight, we strapped in and took off on runway 24. My instructor suggested closed pattern to shoot some landings. All of them went smoothly, as we had calm winds that evening, and I had made countless landings over the course of the Summer to the point where I felt like I could fly them with my eyes closed. (note to students. not recomended.) .
The sun was still a good hour from dropping behind the Western horizon. On my 4th landing, my instructor looked at his watch, then at me, and said "Ok, your going to drop me off on the ramp. You ready?"
Even though I had been expecting it, it was still kind of a shock. Ready? Ready for what!? Where do you think your going?!? But I was ready. I felt confident. I wasn't the least bit afraid. I had done this with my instructor over, and over again. Ready? yeah. Im ready.
As we pulled up and came to a stop near the fuel pumps, my CFI took his seat belts off."The plane is going to jump off the ground a bit more than usual on take off. I dont weigh much, but it makes a difference without me in here. Other than that, do what you have been doing. Most of all, have fun!!"
I watched as he closed the door and walked away without looking back.

"Shit. im alone in here."

I began to taxi back to 24. With no other traffic in the pattern, I positioned myself at the end of the runway and stopped. Looking over towards the FBO, my instructor was nowhere to be seen. I half expected him to be waiting close by keeping a stern eye on me. He was, of course, but he was inside the FBO, within ear shot of the radio, in case I needed anything.
Throwing in full power, I started down the runway. Then an odd thing happened. I started....singing to myself. Yup. I Dont recall what it was I was singing. I just remember singing. All the way through rotation and lift off. Singing. I was checking the panel, keeping an eye on airspeed, all the things id been taught to do, except I wasnt usually singing while doing them. Go figure.
Three landings later, my instructor came on the radio while I was downwind for 24. "Having fun?" he asked. I replied that I was having a ball, and could do this all day. having completed the mandatory 3 landings, I had officaly completed my 1st solo. "Well, you better make this landing your last for today. We're losing the light...".."Roger, full stop this time..."
I made my last landing and headed to the tie-down. I was suprised out how calm I was. I had thought many times about this day, and always pictured myself emerging from the cockpit like Maverick after that final battle scene in Top Gun. Instead, I was calm and cool, but sitting firmly on cloud nine. By now, the sun was setting on a perfect October day. I headed into the FBO and was suprised to find not only my instructor, but our friend Joe, who was a partner in a Cherokee 235 with my Father. They congratulated me, shook my hand and told me my landings had looked great. My instructor nodded towards the picnic table nearby. I turned to look, and saw 3 cans of beer stacked up on top of each other. The three of us opened our cans and took a drink, the first of many rewards for taking my flying lessons this far. Joe and Ron (my CFI) toasted my solo, and I couldnt have been more proud of myself. After half a can of beer, my CFI reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a pair of scissors. "You know what happens now!" they proceeded in the ritual of cutting the back out of my T-shirt. A tradition among student and CFI's after a first solo flight. Some say this tradition is rooted in the old days of flight instruction, before radios, and before a CFI and student would sit side by side. It is said that to get the students attention is the "in-line" configuration, a CFI would tug on the shirt tails of his student seated directly in front of him. Once you solo, you no longer need the shirt tug. Hence: the removal of your shirt tails.
I remeber Ron tossing the back of my shirt behind the counter in the office. I didnt think anything of it at the time. My mind was still at pattern altitude, where I had just flown an aircraft, all by myself. In the months and years to come, I would wonder what happened to my shirt. Other peoples shirts were hanging in the office decorated with hand drawn pictures of airplanes, and CFI signatures. I didnt know what had happened to mine.
3 years later, long after I had completed my check-ride and become a Private Pilot, I was celebrating my birthday with my parents. My Father came into the kitchen, where I was standing with my Mother, holding a nicely wrapped present for me. A big square shaped package decorated with bright blue paper. I had no idea what it was. My CFI, sneak that he is, had given my Dad the shirt long ago. My Dad had taken it to his friend, a framer, who had it framed on a black background behind glass, and secured it in a beautiful hard wood trim. There was the back of my shirt, curling up at the edges, frozen in time for me to keep forever. Underneath my CFI's drawing of our airplane and its tail number read:

"Neil: First Solo: 10/18/02"

It hangs in my living room today, my prize possesion. Like a moment frozen in time for me to remember again and again, it will hang on a wall in whatever corner of the world I find myself in. You never forget your first solo.