Escaping the Patch

FAA: "Please correct our silly regulations".

2007-12-11T15:55:00.000-08:00

The FAA is asking pilots to submit complaints about regulations they feel the agency should "amend, remove, or simplify".

The FAA inviting pilots to complain. I hope they have a stable incoming email system.....

iPhone makes everyone a genius.

2007-11-19T14:05:00.000-08:00

Patrick Smith, airline pilot and writer, has a great regular column over at Salon.com. Here is an excerpt from his most recent, that I found amusing....

On one of the frequent-flier blogs, an airline pilot writes that only
moments after informing his passengers of a weather-related ground hold
affecting their flight to Memphis, Tenn., he and his captain received a call
from one of the flight attendants. Seems an iPhone-wielding customer in the back
had a challenge. "Some guy with an iPhone says the weather is good," the flight
attendant says, "and wants to know what the real reason is for the delay. Is
something wrong with the plane?"
I like that, "real reason." The
implication, as always, is that the carrier is lying or otherwise withholding
some critical information. There must be some dangerous malfunction they're not
telling us about. After all, "the weather is good," so obviously there's no
reason we can't depart immediately.
Reportedly, the captain responded with a
public address announcement that was sharp enough to elicit audible laughter
from the cabin.
"If the passenger with the iPhone would be kind enough," he
began, "to use it to check the weather at our alternate airport, then calculate
our revised fuel burn due to being rerouted, then call our dispatcher to arrange
our amended release, then make a call to the nearest traffic control center to
arrange a new slot time (among all the other aircraft carrying passengers with
iPhones), we'll then be more than happy to depart. Please ring your call button
to advise the flight attendant and your fellow passengers when you deem it ready
and responsible for this multimillion-dollar aircraft and its 84 passengers to
safely leave."

Equally funny, but for very differnet reasons: When I googled "Iphone pilot", I found this entry in a technology blog, written by a programmer....

At 22:40 EDT I saw the commercial for iPhone that involves a pilot of a plane whose flight was delayed due to weather, using iPhone to check the weather and communicate to control that weather had cleared. (on NBC 4 New York, at 22:40 EDT on 3 Nov 2007)It upsets me that pilots get to use their iPhone to connect to the Internet when a flight is delayed, while the rest of the passengers sit in the cabin not being able to use any electronic devices! I did not purchase iPhone to become a netizen with a first class communicator device with third class communication.I directed this feedback to Apple and the airlines that I have flown recently. This commercial feels like rubbing salt on a wound.

Doh!

The Best of the Av blogs.

2007-11-19T11:30:00.000-08:00

The aviation blogosphere has grown by leaps and bounds in the time that I have been a participant. There are tons of aviation blogs covering everything from students learning to fly, to senior Captains pushing the heavy iron. These are my personal favorites.....

Aviation Mentor (http://aviationmentor.blogspot.com/)

I started reading John's writing's back when he was a bay area freight dog. Tales from the line, hauling cargo in a Cessna Caravan always provided John with the opportunity to share a lesson or two for his reader. The Freight Dog blog was put to bed when John left his former employer, and switched gears to full time flight instruction. Now, Aviation Mentor is this CFI's space to share his knowledge, and his stories, sometimes going into a very high level of detail concerning instrument procedures, and adapting to the latest, greatest technology available to GA pilots.

Cockpit Conversation (http://airplanepilot.blogspot.com/)

Aviatrix has been keeping a diary of her flying career for about 3 years now, and manages to keep it fresh and interesting every time she writes. This blog is updated very frequently, and always provides me with some great lunch time reading. Recently, she has crossed the border from her native Canada to come work in American airspace. Keeping track of the subtle differences in verbiage and procedure between the two countries has been amusing and interesting reading as of late. I've read about her highs and lows in the industry, and as a pilot, and I'm glad she's still flying, and telling us all about it.

Aviatrix Logbook (http://www.aeronautrix.com/blog/)

A former computer research scientist turns CFI to build flight hours. Interesting accounts of various students, their progression in training, and the occasional story of somebody destroying a Duchess engine with a bicycle. I must share a sense of humor with the author, because this blog consistently makes me laugh. It's also obvious that she is always rooting for the student, and takes her performance as an instructor very seriously. Good to know! Keeps lots of interesting pictures linked to the blog, too.

Flight Level 390 (http://flightlevel390.blogspot.com/)

Going on 3.5 years now, FL390 is, to me, the master of all aviation blogs. Dave is a senior Captain and line pilot for one of the major's here in the U.S, and clearly loves his job. To boot, he is an exceptional writer. Accounts from the cockpit of the Airbus he lovingly calls "Fi-Fi", and of life on the line are always interesting, and written in such a manner that puts you right in the action, as if you were in the jump seat, along for the ride. After many years on the line, it seems the author has avoided becoming jaded by his job, and is still as impressed and excited by the amazing ability of these machines as those of us that have never been lucky enough to experience it from the left seat, and with the title of Captain.
It's rare that Dave makes an entry without someone commenting on his great writing, or suggesting he should write a book some day. I do hope he takes the suggestions seriously. This guy could write a hell of a good book.
Naturally, Lot's of Dave's curious readers have questions for him. He takes time to answer those questions in his comments area.
When I first found FL390, I found myself going back to the very first post and reading the entire year worth of post's I had missed out on. It's just that good.

Captain Dave, write the book, buddy!

METAR by Google

2007-11-19T11:20:00.000-08:00

Text "METAR ICAO" (as in METAR KLAS for example) to "Google" (466453) and get a text message reply of the current METAR in text message form, on your cell phone. Give it a try!

Update

2007-11-07T09:21:00.000-08:00

So, flying out here on the left coast got off to a much slower start than expected.

I'll be flying out of Boulder City Municipal, in a rental Piper Warrior II. This is good, because Iw as interested in stepping up to a larger plane than the Tommy, with more seating and a touch more airspeed. She also ha a full deck of Narco radios and a nice GPS, so that will be nothing short of luxury for me.

I managed to get back to Delaware a few weeks ago, and got some flying time in the Tommy. No great tales to tale, other than to say it was great to be back in the left seat and crusing out of N57. I can't begin to explain how much I missed it.

I return to Delaware over the Thanksgiving holiday, and I'm sure I'll get some more seat time then. For now, I'm spending a few hours every night reading the Warrior II POH. I have my instructor lined up to show me the ropes of desert flying, then it will be time to resume normal operations in escaping the patch, and making good use of this hard earned PPL.....

Volume

2007-06-07T12:01:00.000-07:00

Some intersting stats on major airport ops....

Top five U.S. airports, percent on-time arrival performance (2007)

1. Oakland (OAK) 79.9 percent
2. Houston (IAH) 78.1 percent
3. Baltimore (BWI) 77.9 percent
4. San Diego (SAN) 77.5 percent
5. Atlanta (ATL) 76.7 percent

Bottom five U.S. airports, percent on-time arrival performance (2007)

1. Newark (EWR) 55.0 percent
2. New York (LGA) 58.0 percent
3. Chicago (ORD) 58.5 percent
4. New York (JFK) 60.0 percent
5. Philadelphia (PHL) 64.9 percent

World's 10 busiest airports, annual takeoffs and landings

1. Chicago (ORD) 970,000
2. Atlanta (ATL) 958,000
3. Dallas (DFW) 711,000
4. Los Angeles (LAX) 650,000
5. Las Vegas (LAS) 605,000
6. Houston Intercontinental (IAH) 562,000
7. Denver (DEN) 559,000
8. Phoenix (PHX) 555,000
9. Philadelphia (PHL) 535,000
10. Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) 532,000

Alive and sweating.

2007-06-07T12:00:00.001-07:00

Hello? Is this thing on?

So, I didn’t post for a few months. I swear, I have a good reason.

It’s fitting that my last post was about Las Vegas. One unintended consequence of that trip to Vegas is that I now live there.
Yup, while visiting here in January, I met with a friend who made a job offer I wasn’t able to turn down. 3 weeks later, I was driving cross country to my new home in the desert.

It’s been fun so far. Vegas is an airplane watchers dream. From my 12th floor office I watch the landing and departing traffic from KLAS all day, and I can also see the operations at Nellis AFB about 15 miles north. Everything from F-15’s to B-2’s show up here, even when the legendary Red Flag isn’t in play.

As for my own flying, with the exception of a tourist chopper ride down the strip recently, I haven’t been near any GA aircraft. I have some hours booked with an instructor at North Las Vegas Airport, so it’s a matter of time before I have something to write about again. I’ll be getting checked out in a 172, and learning the local Class B and a little about mountain flying in this turbulent desert air. Stay tuned!

Vegas.

2007-01-15T07:31:00.000-08:00

Took my first domestic commercial flight in quite some time this past week. Flew with US Airways to Las Vegas and back for a brief vacation with my older Brother.
While the flight out was jam packed, and I spent it in the middle seat, cursing under my breath at the 20 minute credit card advertisements on the in-flight TV's, the fold down lunch trays, $5 sandwiches and headphones, and the head wind that tacked on another 40 minutes to our flight, the flight home was an empty one, allowing us to sit alone in a cabin, in the emergency row, stretching our legs. The tailwind didn't hurt, either. Got back to the right coast with time to burn...

I kept my eyes out for Dave at KLAS, since it's a frequent stop for him, but no such luck....

NASA's vision lost on Web generation

2006-12-28T11:54:00.000-08:00

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

2006-12-22T08:14:00.000-08:00

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.

2006-12-21T18:49:00.000-08:00

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

2006-12-19T06:35:00.000-08:00

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.

2006-12-12T11:10:00.000-08:00

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...

2006-12-12T11:00:00.000-08:00

**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!

2006-12-06T12:21:00.000-08:00

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...

2006-12-06T12:14:00.000-08:00

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.

2006-12-05T12:52:00.000-08:00

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.

Found in Ebay's Attic....Some Delaware Aviation History

2006-11-21T09:53:00.000-08:00

It's amazing what you can find on Ebay. Anybody who has purchased a de-commisioned Kilo class Russain submarine or a Mig-17, or a peice of Britney Spears' chewing gum can tell you that. But it's the little stuff I enjoy...

I found these little peices of history recently while searching the words "Delaware" and "Aviation".

They are envelopes addressed to Elbert Nortrand Carvel, Delaware's 65th Govorner. Of course, what grabbed my interest were the transit stamps on the letters. They are dated in the year 1947, and as you can see they managed to get to New Castle airport via TWA and All American Aviation Air Mail. The latter, hailed as "Delawares only scheduled air service", was purchased and operated by the Dupont family, and was certified for regular passenger, mail and express service flying the DC-3 and the Convair 580. In 1949 they were renamed "All American Airways", until they became "Allegheny Airlines" in 1952. Ultimatly, this company became today's US Airways.

Another claims the town I live in as the "World's Chemical Capital". With the heavy presence of Dupont around here to this day, it's not hard to imagine why, although it seems that Delaware's PR folks may have since decided that isn't the best avenue of promotion for the state...

Thanksgiving.

2006-11-21T06:43:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd use the milestone of Thursday's holiday to kind of recap what has happened in the last 2 months since I started this little flying journal...

Flying hours, (including tailwheel instruction) = 21.5

Not bad. It's short of goal, but not bad at all. I've flown several hours in the Tommy, done some XC, had some $100 hamburgers, had my Bi-annual Flight Review, received a clean medical, received tail wheel instruction, flown a Citabria, made my first take-off and landings from grass, experienced spins and aerobatics in a Cub, flown from the right seat in an SR-22, and had a great time doing all of it. Looking forward to the next 20 hours, and more challenges and experiences.

As for this scratchpad of mine, it has some pretty impressive stats of it's own:

I have had 926 unique visitors, averaging 32 per day. They represent 10 different countries, although 87% of traffic was from here in the U.S.

Childs play compared with some online journal's, but not bad for being active only 2 months, and having not planned on having much more than a place to keep a mini log book. Tip o' the hat to John from Aviation Mentor, as it seems the vast majority of my hits came from his fine web sites. Pay him a visit. Learn something...

Was hoping to take advantage of the day off this week and go flying, but as of today the weather looks to not be cooperating. Wind, rain & cold all expected to make an appearance. Guess it will be football and beer instead. There are worse ways to spend a Thursday....

Hope everyone has a safe and fun Thanksgiving.

Hostages?

2006-11-17T07:33:00.000-08:00

I've wondered recently why I hadn't heard more about the 2 American pilots that are being held in Brazil following the Septemeber mid-air collision between a business jet and a B737 passenger jet, 37,000 feet above the Amazon. All aboard the 737 were killed, prompting the Brazilian officials to detain the surviving American pilots of the biz jet until the "investigation" was completed. They did not see fit, however, to detain any other professional involved in the incident, including the Air Traffic Controllers.

With so many questions left unanswerd, and 2 American pilots becoming all but hostages in Brazil, it was with great interest that I read a blog written by a man named Joe Sharkey, who happened to be on board the U.S biz jet involved in the incident. Here is a telling passage from the blog....

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

WHAT LIKELY HAPPENED
A preliminary report on the Sept. 29 mid-air collision that's due to be issued tomorrow in Brazil will be sketchy and imprecise, according to outside investigators who have seen it. It will also be cleverly crafted to not directly assign blame to Air Traffic Control in Brazil, which is run by the Air Force -- which in turn is conducting the investigation.So take the Air Force report for what it's worth. But remember, these are the guys, led by the Brazilian defense minister, the Wonderful Waldir Pires, who have regularly accused me of covering up for the private jet pilots who purportedly did "daredevil" stunts in the skies -- which purportedly caused the mid-air collision at 37,ooo feet that killed 154 over over the Amazon.OOPS! Tomorrow's preliminary report, you will see, will address none of that. Turns out, you will see, that was just not true. Instead, the report -- having simply ignored the loony loop-d-loops charge, supports Wonderful Walidr's contention that, as far as he could see, everybody but his Air Force and its splendid first-world air traffic control system was to blame.Independent U.S. and other world investigators have accees to the black boxes, radar data and other hard technolocal information in the crash. They are legally constrained from talking till the Brazilians get around to issuing final reports (months off, I am told). But many of them believe the Brazilian Air Force is dragging its heels for political reasons. Some ask: How could a purportedly first-world Brazil behave like such an evidently third-world Brazil in an air crash investigation? How are they getting away with this?Here is what I understand happened in this crash:

1. Neither the Legacy 600 private jet NOR the Gol Airlilnes 737 with which it collided at 37,000 feet over the Amazon between Brasilia and Manaus were following their flight plans. The 737's flight plan called for it to ascend to 38,000 feet just before spot where the collision occurred, while the Legacy's called for a descent to 36,000 feel. But both planes were told to maintain 37,000 feet by air traffic control -- in two different locations that were not in contact with one another. Under all international protocols, ATC instructions take precedence over a filed flight plan. The collision was mostly caused by a major breakdown in communications between ATC centers in Brazil.

2. A malfunctioning transponder in the Legacy might have -- but this has not yet been proven -- contributed to the fact that air traffic controllers failed to notice that the Legacy and Gol 737 were on a collision course.

3. As I know as well as anyone, since I was on the Legacy, the charge that the two American Legacy pilots were doing aerial stunts or trick maneuvers in the sky is absurd, and will be discounted as such in the preliminary report. The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder prove that the Legacy was in straight and level flight when it collided with the Gol 737.

4. Cockpit voice recorder tapes -- which the Brazilian Air Force is resisting releasing -- will prove that the Legacy made repeated attempts to reach air traffic control before and after the collision that went unanswered.

5. As international pilots have been telling me for over a month (and even telling newspapers in Brazil), there continue to be gaps and dead zones in Brazilian radar and radio coverage, expecially over the Amazon, despite a recent $1.4 billion project under contract with an American defense contractor to fix the system. The Air Force insists this is not so. The Air Force is incorrect.

6. Pilots readily speak of having to communicate on Brazilian ATC radio through idle chatter by air traffic controllers speaking to each other in Portuguese. The official language of aviation the world over is English. Cockpit voice recorder tapes will show that Brazilian controllers -- many of whom are not fluent in English -- were speaking Portuguese to Brazilian aircraft and, in casual conversations, to each other.

7. The Brazilian Government is in violation of international treaties in detaining and holding as hostages two American pilots, without having charged them or even come up with evidence of a charge.

8. Given the linguistic, organizational and workforce mess in Air Traffic Control in Brazil, it is being argued in the aviation community that American passengers flying to Brazil may be at risk unless the pilots of U.S. airliners flying in Brazil speak Portuguese -- or Brazil cleans up its act in ATC. To the extent that the aviation community publicizes this, it is a direct threat to Brazil's $5 billion a year tourism economy. Already, I am told, travelers are asking travel agents and bookers whether it's safe to fly in Brazil.

You can see the entire blog here.

Familiar Flyers

2006-11-15T11:09:00.000-08:00

I just picked up the most recent copy of Plane & Pilot Magazine. I'm not a regular reader of this publication, but after thumbing through it and seeing a familiar airplane, I felt obligated to buy it...

Matt Chapman is another airshow pilot who hangars his plane, a CAP 321EX, at my local airport. I've had the pleasure of seeing his performance at several airshows, and he always puts on a breath taking display. Seeing his plane and his name in P&P was pretty cool, but given his bio from his website, http://www.MattChapman.com/, hardly suprising....

Matt started flying in 1979, and now has over 14,000 hours of flying time and a career flying for American Airlines.
He began aerobatics in 1984 and quickly worked his way up to the highest level of competition aerobatics – Unlimited. Recognized for his skills, he won one of only five slots on the U.S. Unlimited Men’s Aerobatic Team in 1996 and 1998.
At the Slovakian WAC in 1998, Matt was the highest ranking American pilot, finishing 3rd in the world with a bronze medal, and led the U.S. Men’s Team to a silver medal. Along with this impressive finish comes the coveted Hillard Trophy, awarded to the highest finishing U.S. pilot at the WAC.
Matt also won the prestigious IAC Championships in 1994 and the Fond du Lac Cup in 1995.
With over 20 years of air show experience, Matt knows how to thrill the crowd and work the media. He has appeared on ESPN, ESPN2, Fox Sports Network, Real TV, TLC’s Amazing America and SpeedVision. He was also one of six elite pilots in the Championship Air Show Pilots Association (CASPA).
This year, Matt joins ACAP, the Association of Competition Air Show Pilots (ACAP) and American, and can be seen competing for the top spot at ACAP venues all over the country.
Matt’s hobbies include building and flying radio-controlled model airplanes and helicopters.

The article was actually focused on Micheal Mancuso, another airshow pilot from New York. Matt was included as the two often perform together, as seen here. ->

Good to see another local flyer in the glossy pages of a National aviation mag. Way to go, Matt!

Pre-flight

2006-11-15T06:32:00.000-08:00

Not much to add recently. Had a nice, albeit short flight on Sunday, as Dad joined me in the Tommy for a hop and a skip to Chester County and a bite to eat. Here's a picture Dad snapped while I was busy with pre-flight...

Building a Vagabond: Part 1

2006-11-09T05:43:00.000-08:00

"The Piper PA-15 Vagabond was the first post-World War II Piper aircraft design, utilising the same production tooling that created the famous Piper Cub and Super Cub, as well as structural components, but used to make a new wing (generally similar to that on the Piper Cub, except shorter) and a new fuselage (with side-by-side seating for two instead of tandem seating for two). This allowed the aircraft to be built with minimal design and development costs, and is credited with saving the company from bankruptcy after the war. The Vagabond was later superseded by the Pacer, Tri-Pacer and Colt, which are all in fact variations of the Vagabond design." -Wikipedia

A project being built by Roger and Jim at my local airport. It's fun to see the progress made on every visit, and I look forward to seeing it fly when it's all said and done.

Control surfaces, doped and patched, hanging to dry.

A wing, cable assembly completed, awaits it's skin.

Fuselage

More to come as the project continues.....

Spins & Such, and 3 Planes in One Day.

2006-11-09T05:41:00.000-08:00

"Widely regarded as one of the finest Piper Cub pilots in the air today, Roger Lehnert's first was a 1930's vintage Taylor J-2 Cub which he restored. He soloed at age 16 and, like many, his love of flying has its roots in childhood plane-watching. Roger flys a J-3 Cub in his airshow routine, as well as a Pitts Special in International Aerobatic Club competitions. His aerobatic comedy and amazing use of a platform atop a pickup truck as a "Teenie Weenie Airport" are performances worth seeing again and again." (source)

Roger keeps the Cub and the "Teenie Weenie Airport" at my home field. This past Sunday I was lucky enough to go up with him in his cub for a spin. Being that I am currently working on my tail wheel rating, Roger had me fly from the back seat, and put me through a workout of stalls, slow flight, coordinated turns, and the like. I had mentioned to him that I wanted to do some spins, since I had never done one at all. What better guy to do spins with than an airshow pilot in his airshow machine?

We took off and immedietly formed up with a fellow pilot in a Taylorcraft Cub, and flew formation out to the practice area. After our wing man broke off and cleared the area, we got to work. I learned alot from Roger, as we yelled to each other in the cockpit without the usual benefit of headsets and intercom's I've grown used to. The cub really flys like a dream! If your not in a hurry to get to altitude, of course...

While he flew us through the spins, I sat there with a dumb smile on my face watching the ground spin in the windshield, while Roger counted them off as we completed the revolutions..."One!...Two!....Three!" Truly a great experience I wont soon forget...

I got to land the Cub, and it all went pretty well, but I flared to early and we touched down alot harder than I (and I'm sure Roger..) would have liked. I hope I get another shot at that sometime...

Some pictures of Roger's Cub, "Helayne"

After standing on Terra Firma for a few hours to get rid of the spin induced dizziness, I took a Tomahawk up, for just a half hour. We were down to one aircraft in the fleet on Sunday, and while I had a couple of hours booked, I conceded the aircraft to an Instructor who wanted to take his student up for his last flight before being signed off for a check-ride. A worthy cause.

Finally, I flew in the Citabria with my Dad in the late afternoon. We shot some good video together, and had a good time flying low and admiring the fall foliage. Dad greased 3 of the prettiest landings I've ever seen him do in the Citabria, and I managed to get them all on film. You know, for proof. ; )

Flying time for the day, (and towards goal): 1.5

Fedex loses patience with Airbus

2006-11-07T11:43:00.000-08:00

Surprise!

PARIS - FedEx Corp. Canceled its order for 10 Airbus A380 jets on Tuesday, the first customer to retract an order for the new jumbo double-decker plane that has been dogged by numerous delays.
The world's largest express transportation company cited Airbus production delays and said in a statement that its FedEx Express unit has ordered 15 Boeing Co. 777 freighters with a list price of $3.5 billion and taken options on an additional 15.

Emirates, which has ordered 45 of the A380s and is the programs largest customer, said last month it would send a team of technicians to France to assess the accuracy of promised delivery dates for the A380 superjumbo.
Virgin Atlantic Airways also said last month it would defer the delivery of the first of its six Airbus A380 superjumbo jets until 2013. (source)

I'm no economist or engineer, but In my humble opinion, the A380 was a financial disaster waiting to happen, and not just the aircraft. Talk of having to reinforce runways and ramps to hold her weight, and a 5-7 (!!) mile wake turbulance clearance requirement delaying any traffic following the A380 made it just seem like too much trouble, and not enough demand to justify it. Besides, the 747 is a beautiful, majestic aircraft, and the A380 looks like a clumsy tube sock stuffed with newspaper.

Apparently, Airbus' A350 project is also under scrutiny as whether it makes financial sense to continue building it, given the amount of capital invested in the A380. US Airways were to launch the A350, but perhaps are looking elsewhere.

While my initial thought was that it was a good thing to keep all of this money at home with a U.S builder, the obvious problem with one manufacturer building the world's fleet is that the prices will go up, orders for heavy iron will go down, and jobs in the industry will go down with it...

Time will tell.

A Renter's Dilemma

2006-11-03T06:30:00.000-08:00

I was enjoying some hangar flying and a couple of beers with a few other pilots last night. We got on to the topic of departure stalls. One pilot, a seasoned veteran and Airshow pilot with thousands of hours and a good name in aviation was commenting on the importance of "knowing your plane" in emergency situations. Basically, he said, it helps to know the airplane well enough so that you can read it's "feel". If you have the "feel" of your aircraft down, one can make better decisions about what you can or can't do with it. (Turn back for the airport? Would she make it? Was that little buffet the edge of the stall envelope?)
I mentioned to him that of the 3 Piper Tomahawks in our rental fleet, I always tried to book the same plane. I find it better looking, cleaner, and in general better shape than those it shares ramp space with. Besides that, I had made up my own mind some time ago that it was important for me to know my airplane. Since no 2 planes are alike, the 3 Tomahawks have very different personalities, and I never got to know them as well as i'd liked while bouncing between cockpits.
During the course of the same conversation, this fellow said I should fly as many different planes as I can. You can learn something from all of them, and It's good for your skills as a pilot to mix it up, try new things, etc. So, on one hand, im getting to know 92L very well because I always book that plane. On the other, I agree there is something to be said about cockpit hopping to keep your skills sharp and your experience broad.
So, what to do?
I have 92L booked this weekend, so it will be old familiar for that ride. However, maybe on Sunday I'll take up one of the other Tommy's and put myself through the motions.
I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on the topic of sticking with one plane, or constantly changing cockpits. Pro's, con's and the like.

Zero-One-Tango

2006-11-01T07:02:00.000-08:00

This photo is about a year old, but I didn't know it existed until recently when my Dad, who took the picture, sent it to me. This is me departing runway 24 in one of the 3 Tomahawk's in the fleet, 9801T....

I haven't flown this plane in a good while. I've developed a meaningful relationship with 92L, the freshest of the fleet, and a ship sharing the same birth year as me. The 3rd ship would be 66A, the plane I completed my first Solo with. Alas, she has been sitting on the ramp without a prop and looking sad for some months now....

So, is it still an Airplane?

2006-10-31T09:20:00.000-08:00

Old, dilapitated and neglected airplanes are not a rare thing. There are at least a few airplanes on the grounds of my local airport that I have never seen move at all, and are slowly being claimed by the grass that grows up around the bent struts, flat tires and rusty landing gear. While its sad to see a good airplane go to waste, it's just as well no one is dumb enough to fly them in the condition they are in. ...Or are they!?

I like to look up Cessna 150's and Tommy's that are up for sale on the internet. They are affordable, fun airplanes and I like to think I'll be able to afford one soon. This 150 really got my attention. $10,000!? Let's see whats wrong with this thing!

Aircraft For Sale: 1959-150 10,585.77TT 1,054SMOH The aircraft was sold to me as having a fresh annual when actually it was pencil wipped and after having it inspected I have decided to sell the aircraft and cut my losses. The former owner flew the plane and seemed to consider it safe as he flew it to Virginia for the annual and back as well as delivering it to a local airport for me. It has about 1.5 hours since the alleged annual. I flew it about 20 minutes to my mechanic and it has not been flown since December 05. Engine Total Time = 4851.62. Squawk list from my mechanic: N5778E GUARDIAN AVIATION SERVICES, LLC 12/11/05 Thomas Malechuk, inspector: Left and right brakes are inoperative and leaking at wheel cylinders. Brake hoses are dry rotted. Cyl #4 head appears to be separating from barrel, and has evidence of leakage between head and sleeve. Flap handle pivot bearing is worn. Flap cables are rusted and out of rig. Rudder hinge bearings are worn and rudder is rubbing lower hinge fitting. Vertical fin dorsal is cracked in many places. Elevator bell crank to elevators – screws rusted and fitting rusted. No FAA Form 337 for Auto Fuel in records. No FAA Form 337 for Bracket Air Filter in records. Old weight and balances are not superseded. No record of compliance of AD67-03-01, AD71-22-02R1, AD79-10-14R1, AD97-01-13, AD95-05-05R1 (compliance was due at cylinder removal) Throttle is extremely stiff to operate.Aft baggage canvas bulkhead is missing. Bracket Air Filter assembly is due replacement. Intake hoses are cracked and rotted. Carb fuel inlet hose is dry rotted and deteriorated. Alternator drive bushings are worn. No FAA Form 337 paperwork on alternator installation in records. Nose gear torque links have excessive play. Shimmy dampener attach points have excessive play and dampener needs servicing. Nose gear steering boots are torn. Battery vent is clogged. Unapproved automotive battery is installed. Fuselage bilge drains are clogged. Rudder cables are rusted. Rudder cable to rudder horn attach holes are worn and slotted. Left horizontal stabilizer has unapproved repair on lower skin at main spar. Elevator trim tab is rusty. Fuel quantity and grade is not placarded at fuel fillers. Fuel tank vent hoses are dry rotted. Left forward wing spar attach bolts are rusted. Numerous mud daubers nests in wings. Aileron cables are rusty. Flap tracks are worn. Flap roller shim washers are worn. Rudder pedal torque tube to rudder pedal attach holes are elongated. Left upper engine firewall mount fitting in fuselage is missing rivet. PLEASE NOTE: THE ABOVE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A COMPLETE INSPECTION OF THIS AIRCRAFT. THESE ARE ONLY ITEMS FOUND IN A GENERAL INSPECTION AND A COMPETE INSPECTION WAS NOT PERFORMED. I, ______________________acknowledge that this aircraft is unairworthy at this time.

This is just the general inspection! Someone flew this thing!!?

Darwin & I say "Better you than me......"

(Back)Pressure.

2006-10-26T07:34:00.000-07:00

I've had two sessions towards my tail wheel rating with my instructor to date. Both have been a hell of a lot of fun, and I've learned alot in that short time. Our first session was last week. I had a 5kt crosswind at the home base, and there was a very thick haze coating the area. Captain Ron put me through some basics, but there were some suprises. For example, we did a couple of stalls, and for some reason I was suprised when the wing dropped over instead of just mushing downwards as the Tommy would. It also took some serious effort and back pressure on the stick to get the Citabria to stall at all! I instinctivly applied opposite rudder and corrected the attitude, and after a few more, Ron seemed happy with the stall recovery.

I think I shot a total of six pattern landings. The first take off and landing were dreadful. I cut S-shapes all the way down the grass strip until I yanked the airplane skyward. But then I quickly got a hold on things. It took some getting used to pulling that stick back into my lap to make 3 pointers, but Ron made sure I would'nt forget by repeating those words over and over into my headset until we were firmly on the ground.

"Back pressure, Back pressure, Back pressure, Back pressure, Back pressure......"

The last 2 landings, I didn't hear Ron say a word, and that's always a good thing. Later he would tell our friends I had made some great landings. Not a bad thing to hear after your first day flying tail draggers!

I flew again yesterday, and we had a much stiffer cross wind. I'd like to say it went as well as the first day, but I was pretty frustrated with my landings. Just sloppy. Everything would look good right up until the mains touched down, then I would just lack the appropriate inputs to keep the airplane traveling and pointing in the same direction. I knew the wind was coming from my right, so I should apply right and back pressure with the stick, and left rudder with the tail in the air. I knew what I should have been doing, but somehow it just was'nt coming together how I would have liked. Ahh, well. I guess that means I'm going to have to fly the Citabria some more.

...Darn. : )

A career in Aviation?

2006-10-19T12:27:00.000-07:00

I am currently a Quality Analyst for a small financial firm. The basic role of my job is to..to....zzzzzzzzzz....

...huh? what?

Yeah. A career in finance, well, is boring.

I notice that almost everytime I tell someone I'm a pilot, or they discover my love for all things aviation, they always ask me why I dont fly for a living.
I've had one job in the aviation field to date. I worked for a year for a small company who sold a wide range of aircraft/aviation products to companies and military outfits around the world, from emergency oxygen equipment to missile components to light bulbs for the nav lights of a small Piper or Cessna. I enjoyed it a lot. Simply being around aviation related equipment and people made going to work fun. It's like I told a friend at the time: "If I had the exact same job I have now, but with, say, automobile parts instead of airplanes, I wouldn't like it. "

I've been thinking alot about trying to jump back into the aviation work force, and contemplating the various avenues I could take. Here's some thoughts. I'd love to hear any feedback anyone reading this might have who has some experience in the aviation industry...

Pro Pilot

I think most people who love to fly would like to make money at it. It seems like it wouldn't even be work. Of course, reading the blogs of pro pilots and talking to the ones I know personally has allowed me to see that its not all a bed of roses, but hey, what is these days? Obviously I'd have to step up my hours, get my IFR and Commercial, and Multi Engine ratings, and move on up the chain. This is obviously considerable time and money. My other hang up is that I know pilots who: A) cant find work, or B) get paid around $25,000 a year flying for a regional outfit. As much as I find finance a snooze, it has paid me well over the years, and I'd pretty much have to sell everything I own to be able to justify that type of pay cut. I'd love to say my desire to be a pro pilot over rides any desire to make a good paycheck, but it simply wouldn't be true. I've grown accustomed to the money I make, (not alot, by any means, but enough, for now) and am not entirely sure I'd like to take a drastic pay cut. The truth hurts. And makes me feel like a whiney wimp, afraid to pay his dues. I'm sure that would go over well with salty old Captains...

Avionics or A&P

I've looked into this field on many occasions. Especially Avionics. The radios and GPS systems, etc have always fascinated me, and the idea of installing, trouble shooting, or selling them is appealing. Also, with the influx of glass cockpit technology beginning to flood the market, it seems work wont be far away. So whats stopped me? Ironically, flying. And geography.
You see, I have a good deal here as a PPL holder building hours. I have access to 3 airplanes (My Dad's and my rental), a great instructor who is a family friend and a person I trust, and I fly a hell of a lot cheaper than most people due to these advantages. I also love where I live. Every school I ever came across offering certificates in these fields has been somewhere far off, Oklahoma, San Diego, Florida. Recently, however, I have discovered a school in Philadelphia that is offering such courses. This is exciting, and all of a sudden seems like a very viable option for me.

Other

This is the category that includes my previous job. Sales, dispatch, marketing, whatever. Something in the industry. These are few and far between, and my only experience in the field tells me that it can be unstable. (I was laid off after 1 year due to financial distress within the company.)
The only other avenue I strongly considered was ATC. In fact, I was ready to embark on that career. I was wiling to go to Colorado where my training would take place, and ready to sign on the dotted line. However, I was (am) 28, found out that the school had a one year waiting list, and would take at least a year to complete, at which time I would have been too old to become a rookie controller. It was the first time in my life I'd been too old for anything, and it was gutting, as I had truly made my mind up that that's what I wanted to do.

So, these are just some random thoughts on the situation. Again, I'd value any and all feedback. I smell a large life changing decision coming soon...

Tail Dragger 101

2006-10-18T12:15:00.000-07:00

Another hour of work and then I'm off to the airfield for my first official lesson in Tail Draggin'.
Emailed the old man to make sure he had no plans for the Citabria this afternoon. 20 minutes later, he replied with some last minute reminders....

75 on the approach, best glide is 80. Don't forget - dance on those pedals.

-Dad.

Alright, Neil. Focus on work for just another hour......

On the way to Cape May

2006-10-17T11:10:00.000-07:00

*-Disclaimer: I took my camera this time. Guess what. The bloody thing is broken. Until I get a new camera and get back down to Cape May for pictures, this will have to do...

Squadron VB-86 Preparing To Depart NASW

Hangar No. 1 is a two-and-a-half story, two-bay, wood building constructed during World War II at the Naval Air Station Wildwood, New Jersey; now the Cape May County Airport and Industrial Park. Construction of Hangar No. 1 began in October 1942, as part of a project to support the initial group of 108 officers, 1,200 men and 72 airplanes. Hangar No. 1 is the only remaining intact structure from the original World War II construction campaign. Activity peaked in October of 1944, with 16,994 takeoffs and landings, at a time when the station accommodated as many as 200 airplanes. Air crews were trained in combat tactics in naval aircraft such as the "Dauntless," "Helldiver" and "Corsair." With the field lighting system at an affiliated outlying field in Delaware, dive-bomber squadrons stationed at Wildwood had the opportunity for night flying practice, particularly night field carrier landing practice which simulated their future duties in the Pacific.

Source

Sure, I should have been at work. But my entire weekend's worth of flying plans had been blown away by an ambush of 17-25kt winds across the area. I spent Saturday at the Delaware Air National Guard's open house and airshow, watching instead of flying. (Pictures and full report to come...)

Monday looked perfect on paper. Checking all of the available weather resources via AOPA, I determined it was too nice for work, and just right for flying. I made three phone calls. One to my Boss, another to my airport to schedule the Tomahawk, and one to Mr. WX Briefer.
Flight Service sent me on my way, saying "You picked a fine day to fly...."

Cape May (KWWD) had been a stop on my cross country flight while earning my PPL. It's kind of a blur now. I had already taken on fuel at Easton, my first leg, and simply made the landing, turned around and took off again, headed home. Having little to no information about the airport itself, I ran a quick Google search on "Cape May Airport", and found a link to the Naval Air Station Wildwood Museum. I had no idea there was a museum on the airport, much less one that listed an F-14 and an F-5 among it's exhibits. That was enough for me, I was going to see this for myself.

I made my initial climb to 2000 and turned SE towards KILG's Class D. It doesn't hurt to have Tower keep an eye on you while you breeze through his sometimes busy airspace made up of shiny corporate jets and National Guard C-130's. The ride across southern Jersey was smooth as silk, with much of my time spent with my hands in my lap, enjoying the view with the plane trimmed and behaving as if on autopilot. The only other aircraft I saw was a C5, way south of me and flying its big orbit of a pattern around DAFB.
With variable winds on the Cape May ATIS providing two viable runways to choose from for landing, I monitored the Unicom to see if I could pick up the active before I arrived. Having not heard a single pilot coming in or going out, I decided runway 10 was my best bet.

Cape May sits on a wide peninsula bordered by the Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Its southern tip points down towards the Delaware beaches and Cape Henlopen, the bay separating the 2 states. Going direct to KWWD would mean about 10 minutes over the open bay, about 5 miles off the Jersey shore. Given my low altitude of 3500 agl, I opted to keep within a couple of miles of the coastline and track it as it turned south to avoid being over the water and out of reach of dry land, should I need it. I broke off from the shoreline and headed direct to the airport once safely over land, and set up for a 45 entry for the downwind. At pattern altitude I picked up quite a push in the form of a stronger than expected tail wind, that left me way too high when I turned final. Instead of dive bombing for the runway as im sure the old military fly-boys who used to train here did, I threw the power back in, and executed my go-around. 2nd time was a charm, and I made a landing that even I was impressed with, my own biggest critic when it comes to my landings.

I found a tie down among the few airplanes out on the ramp, and settled in next to a beautiful Bonanza. Before I could even get the engine stopped, I noticed a golf cart speeding across the ramp towards me, being driven by a teenager with bleach blonde hair and all of the official clothing that marks one as a local kid who grew up at the shore. He chocked the Tommy and offered me some fuel. I declined, but asked him where I could find the museum I'd heard of. He pointed to the other end of the ramp where a huge hangar stood, looking somewhat dilapidated from all the years sitting in the salty air, and obviously a remaining structure from the days when the ramp would be buzzing with young Navy pilots and SB2C's Helldiver's. I got a ride over to the hangar in the beach bum's golf cart. On the ride I asked him about the museum. He said it had some planes in it "from, like, World War II". He was no aviation historian today, but a nice guy for giving me a ride and taking care of my plane. I shook his hand and told him I'd stop by the FBO before leaving.

Entrance to the museum was $5, but no one was there to make you pay before wandering in. A clear plastic box held the $15 for the only other people in the building. I had a $20 bill and no one around to make change, so I figured I'd go on in, and pay on my way out.
The museum was even more than advertised. The collection of aircraft was completely unobstructed, allowing you to walk under, around and sometimes in the planes. Portable staircases and ladders led up to the cockpits of the planes too tall to see into, and a couple of kids were making the most of it, banging away at the controls of an old Army observation helicopter. As I made my way past the Tomcat towards an Avenger sitting with its wings folded, and oil dripping into a pan from its radial engine, I noticed an airplane sitting quietly in the corner, dwarfed by these big hulking war machines. Amongst all of these classic and historic aircraft sat a Piper Tomahawk. I had to laugh. It was the Museum's example of a "General Aviation" aircraft, and it just looked so out of place in there. None the less, I felt an odd sense of pride that it would be included amongst this fleet of legends.

I found a picture of it here, along with more good shots of the museum.

After taking in all of the airplanes, engines, ordinance and memorabilia that made up the main hanger, I sat in the "Ready Room". It wasn't clear if this had been the actual briefing room when the airport was a naval air base, but it did have those bulky 1940's high back chairs that are joined in rows that you see all the Navy flyers sitting in in the movies. I sat in the front row and watched the short introductory video to the airport and its history.
I was very impressed with the museum, and couldn't understand why I hadn't heard of it, given the fantastic collection on hand. Surely many other pilots in the area didn't know it was there either. Instead of looking for change to pay my entrance fee, I just dropped my $20 in the box. The first of what I know will be many donations to this tribute to the 41 men who died here during their training to become Navy Pilots, and a retirement home for old war birds.

Hours later after an uneventful but very pleasant flight home, I recounted my day to my Instructor, Captain Ron, and our friend Roger who was busy cleaning the wing ribs of a Piper Vagabond he is building. Neither knew there was a museum at Cape May, and these guys have been airport hopping around here for years. Ron seemed pleased that his former student pilot had executed a go around instead of trying to "make it stick". We discussed a plan for getting together to start my tail wheel rating, and finished off a perfect day with a couple of beers in an old hangar, beneath the wings of Rogers Piper Cub.
I'll get back to Cape May soon, as I know some people that will really get a kick out of the museum. I promise to have a new Camera next time. I my own picture of that Tommy sitting amongst all it's distant, well armed cousins....

Solo: 2.6

Time towards goal: 8

Cleared for the weekend.....

2006-10-13T11:27:00.000-07:00

Weather for my neck of the woods looks promising for the weekend. Clear skies, lots of sun and light winds are forecast for both days. I have a 4 hour block in the Tommy scheduled for Saturday, and if the schedule allows I'll lock up another block for Sunday. I Havent quite decided what to do with my time yet. I may go West to Lancaster (KLNS) to visit the pilot shop and load up on goodies, and grab a sandwich at the restaurant. Or, Maybe I'll head East to Ocean City, grab a sandwich and have a walk on the beach. Maybe stop at Millville on the way back and check out the museum. Oh, choices.....

Either way I pledge to take a camera with me this time. I have already stowed it in my flight bag because I keep forgetting to take it with me. Hopefully I'll have some good pictures to share come Monday.

Blue Skies to those of you also looking forward to a weekend in the cockpit!

Tail Draggin'

2006-10-12T12:07:00.000-07:00

My instructor left me a voicemail yesterday with good news. He will be returning from his trip this weekend, and weather permitting, He and I will start working towards my tail wheel rating in the Citabria next week.

I admit to being just a little nervous about flying a tail wheel plane, what with all the stories of ground loop's and nose over's I've heard in my time as a pilot, but having flown in the Ciatbaria with the Old Man on many occasions, I feel comfortable with the airplane, and even more so with my instructor. Any nerves I may feel pale in comparison to the excitement that is building. I simply cant wait!

"Write about what you know."

2006-10-12T11:49:00.000-07:00

I don't have much to add concerning yesterdays crash of an SR-20 in Manhattan. It's a tragic event anytime a life is cut short in an accident of any description, regardless of the occupation of the pilot. My hope is that when the NTSB concludes it's investigation, us pilots will have something to learn from it.

The media at large managed to completely disappoint me in their coverage of the event, as usual. One day I'll learn not to let it bother me so much, but having seen so much erroneous reporting, speculation, and outright damnation of GA aircraft and the accident in the last 24 hours, it's hard to keep one's stomach from churning in disgust. The AOPA appears to be working every hard to educate the general public about GA, and about this incident itself, but obviously that audience is a lot slimmer than the CNN's and FOX's of the world. Whenever there is an aviation incident running in the daily news, I always think of those two Newsmen who appear in the movie OneSixRight, and how I hope that these 2 guys get to cover such things from now on. At least they are pilots, and may be able to offer some constructive reporting instead of wild speculation. No such luck, I imagine.

As for the incident itself, it's obviously way too early to discuss with any level of detail, and we may never know what happened up there. Either way, it's a sad and tragic event.

John of Aviation Mentor has a good post about it, and summarizes things better than I could. Pay him a visit.

Eye on the Sky.

2006-10-10T13:26:00.000-07:00

Sunday's plans for taking the Citabria over to check out a few camping-ready airports didn't quite materialize. The Old Man and I had conflicting schedules, and I had to meet some friends at a local watering hole by 1p.m for Sunday festivities of Football, food, and drink. My New York Giants beat the Washington 'Skins in a snoozer, and then I just had to stick around to watch all the local Eagles fans yell at Terrell Owens through the plasma screens for 4 hours. How could one resist? Eagles fans are known for being such lovely people, after all.....

The weather is about perfect for flying today, too, but by the time I get out from under this pile of paperwork beside me, the Sun will be long gone, and I'll be left to hope for more weather like this before the week is over.

Weather.com suggests I shouldn't hold my breath...

Better late than never.

2006-10-06T13:20:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I talked about trying to find an airfield that would allow me to camp on site. Now, I may be flogging a product everyone already knows and loves, but I just discovered this today. An AOPA memeber pointed me towards http://www.aopa.org/members/airports/. From here, all I had to do was select a state, check the box marked "camping", and AOPA delivers me a list of no less than 39 options in Pennsylvania alone!

Problem solved. Looking outside, however, I may have to get the cold weather camping gear ready. Is it Spring yet??

Thanks Bob!

Fly-in Camping....

2006-10-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

One of the things that I've desperately wanted to do since becoming a pilot is to sleep under my wings. Or near them. Whatever. The idea of flying in, tying down, and setting up camp is simply appealing to me. I love hiking and camping, and make a few trips every year to the Blue Ridge Mountains to get my fix, so the idea of combining flying with camping was a no brainier. The question is, where??

After failing to find any such locations via Google, I made an inquiry on the AOPA message boards to see if anybody knew of an airport in Pennsylvania that either doubled as a campground, was accessible to camping areas by foot, or simply allowed camping. I’m sure most small airports wouldn’t mind a bit if some pilot wanted to pitch his tent next to his plane for a night, but if there was an airport designed for such a need, that would be even better.

A fellow AOPA member was nice enough to suggest I check out Grimes Airport (8N1), and a look at the sectional revealed that this grass strip is just north of Lancaster, about 15 miles. An easy flight from the home base. As an added bonus, there is also a museum on the field, named the "Golden Age Air Museum". Looks like an interesting fleet!

I called the old man to see if he had visited this field. He hadn’t, but was equally enthusiastic about checking it out. (Just give the man an excuse to fly...). So, he and I will set out this Sunday for a little recon. The 2720 ft grass strip should be more than accommodating for our Citabria, and I can get a good look and decide if it’s somewhere I’d like to take the Tommy, and of course, ask if they will let me sleep under my wings. I hope they do....

Pictures to come after the trip!

Airport Hoppin'

2006-10-03T17:04:00.000-07:00

I snuck out of work early today. I had some some things to handle at the school I will be attending in the Spring, and then I was heading to the airport.

Winds: Clam
Vis: Greater than 10 miles
Sky condition: Clear

Yup, I was going flying.

Today was a ton of fun. I found the Tommy being tied down near the shop by the airport mechanic. "Is everything ok with it?" I asked. He looked over his shoulder and saw me standing there with my flight bag and my headset, nodded, and began to untie the ropes he had just tied. He had topped up the air in the tires, checked the fluids, cleaned the windshield, and fixed a broken hand grip on the co-pilot side. All I needed to do was add fuel.

After preflight and a top up of the tanks, I went down to the run-up area and turned on my new toy. This would be my first time flying solo and using a GPS. Of course, I've tuned the GPS hundreds of times flying with my Dad, and on the Simulator at home. I knew how to use it, and could make it do everything I wanted it to do. All my previous navigation experience had been all out the window and in the map. Pilotage, dead reckoning, etc. I insisted on waiting until I was comfortable navigating in this way before I ever got a GPS, but I knew it would come in handy on days like today. I flew North to Pottstown, and descended into the valley there to make an uneventful landing. No $2.00 soda today, I launched back off into the sky heading for Chester County. 40N has a 5400ft runway, and an ILS, and is home to a couple of charter operations using private jets. I love these airplanes and wanted stop by and take a look from the long taxiway. Also, this is where I used to come and practice landings when I first got my PPL. I had'nt been back in a while.

As I called on the unicom that I was approaching the crosswind for 29, A Learjet 60 called departing 29, and would look for me. I answered that I had him in sight, and that he had plenty of room, as I was making left traffic, and he had called a left turnout. I watched in awe as this baeutiful machine launched off the ground after using maybe half of the runway, and rocketed past my altitude and thousands of feet beyond in what seemed like no time at all. By the time I was crossing the end of 29 and ready to turn downwind, he was ahead of me and now facing the opposite direction, after a fast, climbing 180. Awesome! I wondered where they were going, and then I remembered that Flightaware would tell me. They made it to JFK in 33 minutes!

After a fun landing with a mild crosswind, I let the aircraft roll all the way to the end of the runway. I began to taxi back to the active at a crawl, admiring all those prestine jets sitting on bleach bright clean hanger floors in gleaming, well lit hangers. I like the feeling of an old worn small airport hanger with a lawn chair and a fridge in it, but you cant help but be impressed with the effort these guys make in presentation.

Before heading home, I wanted to stop in and talk to Wilmington Tower. KILG is Class D airspace, and I had'nt spoken with a controller in too long. I admit to feeling those jitters I used to get when I was a student talking to a controller, but it only made me feel good about taking the time to do it anyway. All jitters were unwarranted however, as it was all smooth sailing. I was cleared for the option on runway 27 with a right base entry, and it seemed like the the usual busy airspace of private jets, National guard helo's and C-130's, was all left to me, and a fella in a Cessna, somwhere at my 5' O'clock. One uneventful landing and some mild chatter with the friendly tower controller, and I was on my way back north, to the home base, to call it a day.
I enjoyed the flying today, and it was fun to go from a 2000 ft strip to a 5000+ and then a 7000+ at KILG, and feel so at home all along.

Solo 1.7
Time towards goal 5.4

A little "Catch up"....

2006-10-03T16:28:00.000-07:00

I had got a couple of flights in towards my 100 hours before I started this log. So, to recap....

9.8.2006
BFR With Captain Ron/ Touch n' go's

By the time I got back in the cockpit, I was in need of my Biannual Flight Review. Captain Ron, my instructor who had taken me from nervous kid with a stupid grin to full blown Private Pilot was fueling his Cub at the pumps when I arrived at the field. After taking a qucik lap around the patch to test out some work he had been doing on his throttle tension, He and I headed out into the practice are to put me through the motions. It felt good to have Ron back in the right seat. He had'nt been there since I got my PPL, and he always has a great tip or a peice of advice to take with you at the end of the day.
Ron put me through a battery of climbs, turns, steep turns, unusual attitudes under the foggles, engine outs, etc, etc. After about an hour, he had my dial up Modena VOR and fly to it. then we flew the radial off to our home field, and took care of the paper work. Legal, ready, and willing, with a fresh BFR sign off in my log book, I spent the next hour alone doing touch n' go's and getting back my feel for the Tommy. I was very happy with my performance in both the landings and the BFR, but knew I could still improve on landings. I found myself flaring a little high. Making some adjustments to my approach, they got better with every attempt.

Solo time 1.0
Hours towards goal: 1.0

9.12.2006
Local

Not much to say about this one. It was pretty routing, I was losing the light, and did a half hour of T 'n G's. Escaping the patch, eh? All in good time...

Solo .5
Hours towards goal: 1.5

9.18.2006
N57-N47

A recent landing at Pottstown (N47) during an introduction flight aboard a Cirrus SR-22 had me wanting to go back. It was the 1st airport I put on my list as places to fly over this 100 hour adventure. It has that great small airport feel, with a friendly old man sitting behind the counter, an airport pet or two, and a cup that says "Donations" next to the stocked fridge, instead of a cash register. It's funny how paying a dollar for a can of soda in a store annoys me to death, but stuffing $2.00 in the donation jar makes you feel good about it! We only stayed long enough on our trip to fuel up, as N47 is only 20 or so miles from my home field. so, Ion my first trip out of th pattern since getting back in the cockpit, I made a short, uneventful trip over to Pottstown, made a few landings, and got myself a $2.00 soda. I flew the same VOR approach back into my home field to wrap up a good day.

Solo 1.2
Hours towards goal 2.7

9.26.2006
Sunset Cruise!

Getting to the field after work was no problem a month ago. The sun would be shining until 8:00 p.m or so! As little as a month later, it's getting dark earlier. I had an hour of flight time, and used the first half to shoot landings, because we had an uncommon crosswind at the home field, and I needed the practice. As the sun began to set, the Western sky turned an amazing mix of blues, pinks, oranges and reds. It was so beautiful I just wanted to watch it for a while. So, I did. I tracked along PA Route 1 at about 1500, and just sat back and took it in. I had a smile plastered across my face for the rest of the night. Truly a memorable flying experience!
When I got back to the home field, the runway lights were on, but there was still some lingering light. A UH-60 Blackhawk from our local National Guard operation showed up and began doing the Helo version of Touch n' Go's. After a landing, I was holding short of the runway for one last circuit before calling it a day. I had a great view of the Blackhawk, callsign "Guard Copter" making his final approach to runway 24. As he got directly infront of me and flared the chopper to put the tail wheel on the ground, I looked up and noticed the occupant of the right seat. In full military flight suit, with the big black visor and helmet that obscures almost the entire face, the man in the right seat was smiling big and waving at me. I laughed and waved back. The freshly cut grass alongside the runway was being whipped up by the rotor blades as the Blackhawk touched down, and left a nice coat of fresh cut grass on the Tommy.
After watching guard Copter lift back off into the darkening sky, I made my call for closed pattern departure on 24, adding..."We dont see that here often..Thanks Guard Copter."

Solo 1.0
Hours towards goal 3.7

Escaping the Patch

2006-10-03T08:40:00.003-07:00

Hi, and thanks for stopping in. My name is Neil. I earned my PPL in 2003, and now that the flying is picking up, I needed more space to keep a journal than my Jepp logbook provides. So, here we are....

I fly out of south-east Pennsylvania, and live right across the state line in Delaware. I'm 28 years old. I fly a Piper Tomahwak, and within the next 6 months will be receiving instruction towards a tail wheel sign off in a Citabria. This blog will also follow my progress as I make the transition from my modest Piper Tommy, to a cutting edge Cirrus SR-22!!

Why the name "Escaping the Patch"? Easy. That's the mission!
After I got my PPL, I didn't fly much. Time, money, circumstances all conspired to keep me away from flying, and when I did fly, it was in hour blocks of rental time. This usually led to me flying the pattern for an hour. After that, I wouldn't fly for a month or so. Then, I would return to the field and, you guessed, it, fly the pattern to get the rust off of my landings. This year began in difficult standing. My girlfriend of 3 years and I parted ways, and I found myself without a job as a result of cut backs. (I was working in Aviation.) I stopped flying for the longest 8 months of my short flying life. Once employed again and having shaken off the cobwebs, I recently went back to the airport to pick up where I left off, and then some. I insisted to myself that I had earned my PPL, and now I intended to use it. No more puttering around the pattern. No more "hour here, hour there" approach to flying. I was going to "Escape the Patch." I see alot of pilots that do the same thing. Earn the PPL, and then never stray far from ther local airport, as if all they wanted to do was take off, land, and taxi back. Maybe they do. I, on the other hand, have a long list of airports to visit, sights to see, and things to learn, and I cant wait to get started.... again!
My goal is a modest one, but everyone needs a goal. I set out to fly a minimum of 100 hours in the next 6 months. Conservative by some standards, but for me, renting an aircraft, and with the harsh North East Winter approaching, I felt it an attainable goal, but one which would require time and dedication. I have lots of fun learning and flying ahead, from more adventures in the Tommy, to getting my Tail Dragger signoff, to getting checked out in my family's new Cirrus SR-22. It should make for some fun tales, and I plan to log time here. I hope you will visit and check on my progress.
Thanks for reading...