flightblog

Cops Fighting Cancer

2010-12-18T16:19:00.000-07:00

Besides being a website and internet professional, one of the other things I do to pay the bills — and to support my flying jones — is I shoot photos and video.

A few weeks ago, er, ok well some months ago, I helped out filming and shooting stills of cancer patients and their families for the benefit of an incredible support organization in the Denver area, Cops Fighting Cancer.

It is hard to overstate how intense and emotional an experience it was for all present, including us on the film crew. I found it just incredible that the patients and families had the courage to sit in front of the camera and answer questions about their experiences. At times there was hardly a dry eye in the room.

I was totally impressed and amazed at both the sensitivity of the interviewer as well as the heartfelt, articulate, and at times very difficult and emotional responses by the patients and family members. Unless you have experienced a loved one suffering through cancer you simply cannot imagine all the ways it affects your life.

I had a personally poignant perspective because my mom died of cancer at the age of 47 when I was 23. At that time there were no such things as support groups, or even family therapy beyond whatever your religious congregation or friends provided. Which, sad to say, was minimal at best. But then again, nobody knew any better back then.

It is very heartwarming that groups such as CFC now exist to aid and assist cancer patients and their families through the incredible difficulties that they face. CFC in particular is doing some awesome things such as their recent Casino Night and Toy Drive. Check out their activities at Cops Fighting Cancer.

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/copsfightingcancer

Sun-n-Fun 2010: Flight to Florida

2010-04-23T08:33:00.013-06:00

So this was my first 'big' aviation tradeshow and fly-in.

I'm told it's not nearly as expansive as Oshkosh (the biggest) but it's the largest I've been to yet, and it was all I imagined — flying machines of all types, sizes, configurations, colors, you name it - from home-builts and kits, flying bathtubs, hang gliders with lawn mower engines, and fully-functional scale models of actual planes, to biplanes, WWII warbirds and transports, active duty fighter jets including the Air Force Thunderbirds, aerobatic wizards, and even a wing-walker.

It was an amazing spectacle of the love, or possibly insanity, that compels people to defy gravity, and there I was in the midst of it all... feeling right at home, like THIS is where I belong, among kindred spirits.

I was like a kid in a candy store, like a pig in slop, like a... well, ok enough.

My friend Jeff and I along with a third pilot and videographer, Keith, were on assignment for PilotMag again, shooting video and stills while interviewing various pilots and conducting general networking and glad-handing for the adventure-flying magazine.

I was slated to travel commercially but at the last minute a spot opened up in TailWind's Mooney M20 (a four-place single engine) and I jumped at the chance to fly a real cross-country.

What did I know.

I was safety pilot for Tiago, my flying partner who was working on simulated IFR using foggles which only let you see the instruments (unless you cheat, which defeats the purpose). The plane performed flawlessly in mostly clear but hazy weather, cruising at 140 knots while burning only 10.5 gallons/hr. Tiago flew the plane really well too.

That was the good part.

The not so good part? Unfortunately the typical westerly winds were absent and we faced 30-40 knot headwinds practically the entire 1500 miles. Which meant that our 140 knots through the air translated into only about 110 over the ground.

So instead of about 10 or 11 hours enroute (with no wind), it took almost 15 flight hours with fuel stops in Wichita (ICT), Little Rock (LIT), and a much-needed stop in Montgomery AL (MGM) for both avgas and mental fuel in the form of a few hours of shut-eye before flying the final leg.

After departing Denver's Centennial (APA) at 7am Tuesday we finally arrived in Lakeland FL (LAL) the next day about 11am local.

It was a long flight and we were just a bit fatigued. And in need of showers.

Negotiating the crowded traffic pattern for arrival at LAL was interesting too, and that's all I'll say about that.

I'll talk about the show itself in the next installment but for now, know that it was a TON of fun meeting and interviewing industry people and pilots, shooting video and stills of all the action, and just down-right enjoying the atmosphere of like-minded folks who are as passionate about aviation as I am.

Our return flight was way more fun than the outbound. Again, non-typical easterly winds were slightly in our favor but this time we had some weather to contend with.

Most of the trip between Madison MS (MBO) to Wichita was in the soup, and Tiago and I logged several hours of actual IFR flying (instrument conditions).

As they say, it was Good Training.

One of the great things about ATC (Air Traffic Control) is that they will try to help you however they can especially when you are on an IFR flight plan so that's definitely the way to go when you think you might run into some weather. Or any time, really.

Our controller informed us of weather about 60 miles ahead. When asked what 'level' of weather was showing, he responded 'moderate to extreme precipitation.'

I'll admit to being a bit... concerned.

But Bruce, our instructor who was in the back seat, said 'let's keep going and see how it is in a bit.'

Ooook.

Now Bruce only has about 50,000 flight hours and so I thought, well maybe he's right.

Actually, I implicitly trust him and had zero second thoughts.

After about 40 miles we were handed off to the next control center, who told us he was seeing only 'moderate.'

After a slight course deviation to the left (west) to avoid the strongest stuff, we penetrated the clouds.

It was awesome - nothing but white outside the windows.

Time to see how my instrument scan holds up in actual conditions as opposed to the simulator.

Probably because I have had very little actual instrument flying time and my scan needs more work, but it's still amazing how quickly our plane wants to bank in the turbulent conditions inside the clouds.

Bouncing up and down? Pretty much what I expected.

Holding altitude and heading? Flying by hand, more difficult than I thought it would be. It's hard work and I have a new appreciation for autopilots.

Even after some time in the clouds, excursions of pitch and bank sort of happen unexpectedly and you have to react quickly to make the correct control inputs. But not too much - overcontrolling can be as bad as undercontrolling the airplane.

Anyway I can say that Tiago and I got a generous helping of solid IFR experience in the clouds and rain that day. We even went through about 60 more miles of clouds in eastern Colorado.

When we emerged near Limon, we were treated to an awesome sunset through a layer of broken clouds that were just beginning to be tinged with pink on their way to magenta and scarlet.

We turned northbound over Castle Rock for the approach to Centennial and when we had the airport in sight, it was a very satisfying feeling to know that yes, we are capable of planning and executing such a thing as flying across the country and back.

It's a beautiful thing.

TailWind Aviation Sponsors Learn to Fly Day!

2010-03-29T09:58:00.005-06:00

The flight school where I do some simulator instructing is one of the sponsors of a VERY exciting event coming up in May:

LEARN TO FLY DAY!

WHEN: 15 May 2010, from 10:00am to 3:00pm

WHERE: TailWind Aviation

8001 Interport Blvd, Suite 270, Englewood, CO 80112

(south side of Centennial Airport, see map below)

We will be doing lots of fun stuff such as giving tours of our facility, the flight line and airplanes, as well as showing a short presentation that will provide many details about learning to fly.

You might be wondering, how much does it cost and how long does it take? Well, you will find the answers to all your questions at this fun event - creative ways to pay for training and how you can save money, where you can fly, mistakes to avoid, and how to go from fun flying to being a career pilot, if that's your interest.

Tickets are required but they're FREE! Register for your FREE Ticket here:
Learn To Fly Day!

Or call Rebecca Hargis at 303-799-8439

I am REALLY looking forward to this so c'mon out and have a fun day!

A Brand-Spankin' New Certificate

2009-12-07T09:11:00.009-07:00

So after months of studying I was ready to go and take two FAA written tests in order to earn the Ground Instrument Instructor rating. The two exams I was prepared to take were 'Instrument Instructor' and 'Ground Instructor.'

One of the challenges that pilots face is to make the most efficient use of any and all money (and time) spent in advancing a career in aviation.

Each time you take an exam it costs you some money, $100 each. So you better be certain that you're taking the right exam at the right time.

On the morning of the day I was to fork over my $200 and take the tests, I was sitting in our office at TailWind Aviation, looking through the Federal Aviation Regulations — aka the FARs — one last time to make sure I really needed to take these exams.

You might wonder, well why didn't I do that before? The answer is that I did. But, you have to understand something about the FARs. And that is that, being written in bureaurocratese, the language in the FARs is somewhat... challenging... and often requires multiple readings to gain clear understanding.

Add to that the fact that there is an awful lot of knowledge overlap in the library of possible exams, presumably to cover the myriad pilot rating situations that arise.

After I don't know how many readings and discussions of the FARs over several weeks, my instructor and I decided on this day that by virtue of the two exams I already passed, 'FOI' (Fundamentals Of Instructing) and 'Instrument Rating Airplane,' I had the necessary qualifications to obtain the rating.

A quick call to the local FSDO (Flight Standards District Office) confirmed that I did indeed have the right stuff.

So now I am officially an FAA-certified Instrument Ground Instructor.

What does it mean?

Well, it means that I can work with students in our AST-300 simulator at TailWind, teaching tasks and habits related to instrument flight and flying in general. The sim is currently configured as a Beechcraft 1900, a twin-engine aircraft often used by regional or commuter carriers.

Being certified, I can sign student logbooks for simulator time, making it all official-like. And that means I can get paid for MY time.

And that's the whole point — a small step toward making a living in aviation.

Now all I have to do is rustle up some students...

A Li'l Ole Film Clip by Harrison Ford

2009-12-01T19:08:00.011-07:00

In support of AOPA's ongoing efforts to promote flying and flight training, here are two links that I think are timely and appropriate:

This first one is a pretty cool clip featuring Harrison Ford done by Studio Wings, an awesome group of aerial production specialists.

Here is the AOPA Let's Go Flying! website: www.aopa.org/letsgoflying

In my last post I mentioned that I was traveling to the Indy 500 on assignment. Well now that the piece has been published I am able to freely talk about it. I'll just sum it up by saying it was one of the most incredibly fun and exciting experiences I have ever had!

It was a TOTAL GAS!

Oh, and the race was fun too.

I can now say that PilotMag was the publication for whom we traveled on assignment.

You can read the article Auto Pilots written by my friend Jeff Mattoon, with photos by yours truly and some by Jeff. Subscribe to PilotMag and you'll get a whole lot of adventure flying stories with every issue.

Be sure to also read Jeff's writeup of OUR story, Flying the Acclaim to Indy

I'll tell my side of the story here soon, promise. Things have been cruising along for me in my web and print business but I will make time to write.

I am still working on the Indy photos, which means shrinking them to use on the web. This is a bit more work than you might think: I took nearly 500 shots in the six day trip, so it's been a chore to go through and pick the ones I like best.

Ya'll come back now heah... soon!

Assignment: Indy 500!

2009-05-14T10:17:00.003-06:00

OK so I've been hinting and holding back on all my facebook friends what's been in the works just since last Saturday.

Well here's the scoop — I'm going to the Indy 500.

And not just going as a spectator, but flying there on assignment by a national aviation publication along with Jeff and Bruce, two associates from my flight school — TailWind Aviation.

Our assignment: interview several Indy car drivers who also happen to fly/own airplanes with the purpose of exploring the connection between flying and driving race cars. We'll be gathering video, still images, and material for written articles as well as website content.

The way it stands now, Jeff's the interviewer and I'm the camera guy. Media credentials are already in place and interviews are lined up with two drivers at this point, planning to add one or two more once we arrive.

A very cool personal aspect of this is that my cousin John has worked on numerous pit crews over the years, and he will be taking us around and introducing us to his favorite crews, drivers, and owners. He's a personable guy and very well-known on the racing circuit so I'm sure we'll be meeting plenty of folks.

In a most fortuitous convergence of interests, Mooney Aircraft will be providing the plane for the trip. Their national sales director will be accompanying us and of course he's a pilot so I'm eagerly looking forward to logging some valuable flight hours with him.

Bruce's brother owns a Mooney and prior to departing I'll get checked out in it so I can be PIC for at least some portion of the trip.

I am so thankful for such an exciting opportunity to experience an event of this magnitude . . . to meet and interact with some of those immersed in it . . . and get to fly too!

Just doesn't get much better!

Stay tuned for blog posts and facebook updates throughout the trip . . .

Getting To The Point

2009-04-22T11:34:00.003-06:00

Just a short little post today.

So I've been studying for two FAA written exams, the Instrument Instructor and Instrument Ground Instructor, and you know how sometimes you work and work to learn or prepare for something and at some point you think, well, I just gotta do this NOW.

I am just about at that point with these writtens

. . . and I won't repeat the crude expression that describes this state of affairs but it's something about . . . or get off the pot. You get the picture.

Passed the first exam in the series a few months back, and I'm sure I'll do just fine because these two cover the exact same material. Finances (or lack thereof) were the reason I chose to put them off, and now that that situation has improved it's time to continue moving forward.

Always moving forward when possible.

Passing these two writtens will give me the credentials to get the Instrument Ground Instructor rating and then I'll be able to start earning some income working with students in our simulator at TailWind Aviation.

Working in the sim is by far the way to go for instrument training because most of what you do in the airplane - instrument procedures - can be done very realistically in the sim, and there is an almost exact knowledge transfer to the airplane.

Sim time is much less costly than the airplane is, and the added advantage is that if there's ever a question or problem you can put the sim on "hold" and work through it.

Can't do that in the airplane.

Anyways, another day or so of review oughta do it.

Till next time . . .

Those Crazy Student Pilots . . .

2009-03-19T09:20:00.006-06:00

. . . you never know what they'll do!

Had a pretty decent flight with one of my students the other day . . . until the very end that is.

Practiced some steep turns and that's about all we had time for, since we spent the better part of our time talking during preflight about airport and radio procedures, airspaces, and such. Jim (not his real name . . . he'd kill me) had not flown in some time and we wanted to be on the same page as much as possible before winding up the rubber band in the airplane and defying gravity again.

See, one thing that's important to remember as a pilot is that gravity never ever quits or gets turned off. Very, very important to know.

[As an aside, one of the interesting things about instructing is that, at least at this point in my training as an instructor, I am learning just as much as the student is.

Only in a different way.

For example when I demonstrated a steep turn, I discovered that I really have not mastered them from the right seat yet. Sort of embarrassing that the instructor (me) had to take a couple tries to do a decent steep turn.]

Anyhow, back to my story. We were sort of (but not really) pressed for time since Jim had to return to his other life on the ground. So we headed back to the airport from the practice area.

Now Jim is a fairly advanced, competent, and careful student pilot with about 15 or so hours under his belt, and probably will solo soon.

But before he does, he's gonna need to get a better handle on landings.

Without going into extreme detail, landing is probably the most critical phase of flight. Not that the others are trivial because no phase of flight is trivial, but landing probably requires more focus, eye-hand coordination, and an understanding of the physics of what exactly is going on when the plane gets close to the ground and how you make it do what you want it to do.

Which, in this case, is make contact with terra firma as smoothly as possible. There's a good reason it's named terra FIRMA - it's pretty dang firm.

Part of this procedure involves pulling back on the control yoke to make the plane sort of level out, or flare as we call it, when the plane gets within about 20 or 15 feet or so of the ground. Depends on the type of plane, approach speed, and some other technical stuff like that.

During the flare the energy (speed) of the plane dissipates, the plane quits wanting to fly, and then it settles gently down to the ground on the main wheels, which are the wheels generally located under the wings or fuselage.

As opposed to the nosewheel, which, coincidentally, happens to be situated under the nose of the plane.

Ideally, the plane should be on the verge of entering a full stall just as the main wheels softly kiss the ground. Rarely happens that way, but you try.

Always trying for perfection.

Proper execution of the flare requires that the pilot sees where the plane is in relation to the runway as the plane descends toward the aiming point, and at just the right moment you pull back on the control to raise the nose of the plane.

We had done a couple touch-and-gos, and Jim did a great job on them. But on our last one, I think Jim was thinking about what he had to do at work or some such thing, but his mind was definitely not on the rapidly-approaching landing.

Because somehow he forgot to pull back.

When I realized that we were about to drill into the runway with our nose wheel - which is NOT a good thing - we were about 8-10 feet off the ground. So I not-so-gently took over, pulled back on the wheel and added a bit of power.

Now when I added that bit of power, it was just a bit too much of a bit and the plane did a little tiny balloon back into the air so I slowly pulled back on the power to bring us down.

We still landed just a bit harder than I like to, but not nearly as hard as we would have. Had I not pulled back on the wheel, we'd be filling out forms for the insurance companies and possibly the FAA too.

Or worse.

Anyways, all's well that ends well and as they say, any landing you walk away from is a good one. I don't necessarily buy that but . . . on this day I'll take it.

What I learned - very dramatically - was this: never assume that just because a student has done something right the first time, (s)he'll do it right again. And to go with that, until I'm convinced that the student's actions and focus are consistently the right ones, I will talk him or her through each and every procedure before we do them.

Amen to that.

One Step At a Time

2009-02-15T12:16:00.006-07:00

OK, so I have had some difficulties the past few months, primarily financial. Which of course leads to challenges in most other areas as well, in this case putting a severe crimp on my flying. I did take the opportunity to begin doing lots of time in our FTD or flight training device, otherwise known as a simulator, so I haven't been a total slug.

I won't belabor the point about my troubles because I am fully aware that there are a great many people besides myself who are being financially hurt and stressed out by the current state of the economy, and the reality is that I am better off than many of them.

For which I am most sincerely grateful.

And as they usually do, things have taken a turn for the better and I am once again my positive and optimistic self. It also means I'll be ratcheting up my aviation activities, the most immediate goal of which is to take the Instrument Instructor and Instrument Ground Instructor written exams. Passing those, in addition to the exams I've already passed, will permit me to obtain certification as an Instrument Ground Instructor, which will allow me to sign off on student logbooks for simulator time.

That means I can then start earning some income doing what I really want to be doing - aviation.

Woo-hoo!

It won't be much to begin with, but as they say, every journey begins with a single step. And then another, and another.

One foot in front of the other.

One step at a time.

Oops!

2008-10-27T09:43:00.019-06:00

Oops is probably not a word you like to hear anywhere near an airplane.

Not quite as bad as "Uh Oh" and not nearly as alarming as "Oh Sh*t!"

Still, oops does tend to be an attention-getter. Fortunately, this oops occurred on the ground and not in the air.

Got clearance to cross a runway and contact ground. So the normal procedure is to cross the line, hold (meaning STOP), and call up the tower for taxi instructions.

So I motored across and as I did so, was explaining something to my left-seat student-passenger, can't remember what any more.

Now usually, I can talk and taxi an airplane at the same time. Perhaps a bit more difficult than walking and chewing gum but generally doable.

Somehow this time was different.

I crossed the runway and cruised right on past the hold line and automatically turned left onto the taxiway.

And faced right into an oncoming jet taxiing toward me.

OOPS!

One millisecond later, the controller on the radio not-so-gently reminded me that I was to hold and contact ground.

Mortified and stunned that I could have done such a thing, I sheepishly acknowledged and apologized. Stomped on the right brake and thankfully had enough room to do a 180 on the taxiway and get clear to the ramp.

Now would be a good time to point out that the oncoming jet was still quite a ways down the taxiway from where we were, at least 200 yards.

And I saw the jet stop moving so I knew that at least that driver was paying attention. And very likely muttering niceties in my direction while I flailed my arms and gnashed my teeth.

Anyways there was very little imminent danger of bending aluminum.

Still . . . it was a mistake. Probably my most serious mistake so far.

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

A couple of lessons are now burned onto my synapses:

First, I allowed myself to get distracted during taxi. Distraction is a famous cause of accidents on the ground and I was guilty as hell. So in the future I resolve to pay a lot more attention during this phase of operating an airplane.

Second, I've always considered myself to be a very safe and attentive pilot but I now realize, sadly, that I am no different than any other pilot who gets distracted while taxiing.

In other words, I am not a perfect pilot.

Dang.

And that is perhaps the more important lesson.

Having an attitude of invincibility is one of the leading reasons pilots get into trouble, and I don't mean with the FAA.

Recognizing one's fallibility is a good step in the right direction of being a safe, confident, and competent pilot.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Another Step in the Journey

2008-10-20T08:10:00.004-06:00

A career in aviation as a pilot is a seemingly endless series of study, training, exams, certifications, and ratings. Indeed, earning one's Private Pilot Certificate (or Sport or Recreational Pilot) is really just a license to learn, because aviation is one of those endeavors that, regardless of one's goal, is truly a lifetime of continual learning. Or it should be.

A few days ago I passed the written exam required for the Instrument Rating.

Yep, got a 90% which is my personal minimum.

I'd been reading, assimilating, and preparing for this exam for several months, and over the past ten days I had a lull in my work schedule — I am a freelance internet professional — so I used the time to focus on this exam by going through a DVD training course and then doing a few practice exams.

In typical fashion, the actual exam proved to be less stressful and difficult than I had imagined it would be.

For some unknown reason, often at the outset of a project, or in this case a new level of flight training, the goal seems so distant, and to overcome the inertia required to begin is difficult. Something about Newton and his First Law of Motion, but in a mental sense. One has to inject mental energy into the project to get it moving.

Then of course, real action needs to be applied for things to start happening. Such as reading, studying, practicing, and so on.

So too with this written exam. Earning an Instrument Rating is one of the more difficult tasks in aviation. Not that each little bit is difficult, but that there are just a TON of little bits that one needs to know. And remember.

When I first dove into the material it seemed overwhelming, and the mental energy needed to concentrate had to be summoned from some deep recess of my brain. Especially because a lot of this reading was done at night before falling sleep. And yes, I did dream of instruments, approaches, and clouds.

Lots of clouds. And flying in clouds. Several times I awoke in the middle of the night, dizzy from disorientation. How the heck could that happen in a dream, I wondered.

Gradually the more I read the more of it got behind me and the less there remained ahead. Until one day I realized I had been through the entire training manual. Then I read it again. And certain parts of it yet again.

Something seemed missing — I was getting all the little pieces/parts but . . . I needed the parts to coalesce into a complete picture. So then I thought I'd try the DVD course and that helped to put it all together. It was the actual USE of the material from the manual that I had been missing, and the videos made it all make sense.

So now, all I have to do is learn how to put the pieces into action. In a real airplane. In real weather.

Might have to move back east, we don't get a whole lot of "real weather" here in Colorado.

I remember growing up in PA, we'd have cloud cover it seemed like from November till May. But that's another story.

Evil Wind or . . . A Tale of Two Streets?

2008-09-23T10:45:00.012-06:00

This is a story about wind. Not just any wind, mind you. And, it is a story of bike rides. Many bike rides.

Before you get your eyes ready to glaze over, this is not about the physics of wind, nor is it about how wind affects airplanes, as you may have thought.

Nope, this is about bicycling. And irritation. And perseverance.

I cycle for exercise — 10 miles a minimum three times per week. I have also begun throwing in a 15-miler on (some) Sundays. Keeps me out of trouble. And keeps my resting heart rate down in the 50s. I like that.

My usual 10-mile route takes me through City Park, north on York and then east on 26th avenue past City Park Golf Course, and I pedal til I get to Central Park Drive, which is in Stapleton. I make way south and then head west on Montview back to City Park and home.

You're probably wondering, What does any of this have to do with anything? Well, on many occasions, too many to count now, I have observed the most peculiar thing: heading east on 26th, the wind is in my face, and then westbound on Montview the wind is also in my face! So, I have often wondered in amazement (and sometimes irritation) — how the heck can the wind be flowing in opposite directions just 6 blocks apart?? And no, it is NOT due to my speed along the ground. We are talking about actual wind. I have been riding long enough to tell the difference. Plus I can see tree branches waving and litter being blown along the ground.

For example, just yesterday the wind was about 15-18 miles per hour. And it was out of the southeast because I observed that the spray from the Electric Fountain in City Park was being blown toward the northwest. Thus I was not too surprised when I pedaled east on 26th and the wind was slightly in my face. And it was even stronger on my southbound leg to Montview — very difficult pedaling almost directly into the wind.

Heading west on Montview was a complete surprise: the wind was really ripping into my face! "How can this be??" thought I, as I struggled to maintain speed.

Thinking of mechanisms of wind shear or in this case, more likely simple thermal heating and lifting, I guess it doesn't seem impossible. And yet, the number of times I have observed this on my rides leads me to wonder if some greater force is conspiring to make my life difficult. Well, that's just plain silly I tell myself, as I focus on turning my irritation into more forceful pedaling. There MUST be some explanation involving updrafts (it was a sunny, warm day), terrain features, and so on.

I won't relate all the thoughts that zip through my neurons during these curious moments, but I will tell you how I translate them to other areas of my life: when there arise such struggles as this one against the wind, I say to myself "Mike, you MUST keep going. You CANNOT QUIT. No matter how hard it gets, you MUST KEEP GOING."

It's not about making my time or even keeping up speed, but about simply NOT giving up.

And so it also goes with many aspects of life: one must keep at it, keep up the fight, never give in to the forces that seemingly conspire against you, and above all — NEVER QUIT.

And so, just as I turn a struggle on the bike into a dogged determination to keep pedaling, so too do I transform adversity and misfortune into a fierce motivation to see my personal and business goals achieved.

No matter what anybody tells me.

So there.

Shrieking With Delight!

2008-09-12T14:35:00.016-06:00

Way back in the early spring sometime, my favorite watering hole sponsored a fund-raising golf tournament and silent auction for some cause or other, I don't remember to be honest. Being the totally magnanimous and benificent soul that I am, I donated a sightseeing flight to the auction. Because I will use just about any excuse to haul my butt into the air, I have donated a number of flights like this. Also, it is great fun taking people into the air for their first flight!

Well, last week the winner of the aforementioned flight came a-calling and up we went.

Said winner was a great guy, and the flight was actually a treat for his teenage daughter so she sat up front in the right seat while dad took up the back seat.

We did my usual tour over Denver - the downtown skyline, Elitch's, Coors Field, Invesco Field, Pepsi Center, and much of east Denver where the above-mentioned establishment is located. Incidentally, dad in the rear seat is a cousin of the owner of this establishment so I thought it appropriate that we circle over it. Can never spread too much good karma around now, can we?

So we did that and then headed west to take in the sight of Red Rocks from the air. For those of you who don't know it, Red Rocks Amphitheatre is a natural rock amphitheatre located in the foothills west of Denver. It is part of the Fountain Formation which is comprised of very prominent sandstone layers that are highly tilted and protrude in many spots along this valley, all the way down to Colorado Springs. For any first-time visitor to this area, a trip to Red Rocks is a must.

The geology of the Denver area is extremely interesting and the foothills and Dinosaur Ridge are awesome to observe from the air but I'll save that for another installment.

Anyways, Red Rocks has been developed into a world-class venue for mainly music but also other types of acts as well as movies. We flew up and down the valley and it is just sooo cool to see this amphitheatre from the air. I have been to many concerts there and it just never ceases to be one of the the most awesome spots on the planet.

We then motored further south to Chatfield Reservoir and observed the myriad boats on the water this bright, clear morning. Along the way I couldn't help but notice that my right seat passenger seemed to be enjoying herself very much. Very very much. Snapping photos, smiling, laughing, she was thoroughly having way too much fun.

So having a sixth sense about this I asked if she wanted to take the controls. I surely can't do justice to her reaction - her eyes about popped out of her head and she asked incredulously "Really??" So as cool and casually as I could while taking my hand off the yoke I said "Sure, there you go - IT'S YOUR AIRPLANE!"

Well, I think I surprised her so much that for a few seconds the airplane had no hand on either yoke, so I commented that many airplanes, especially small piston singles such as the one we were in, are really very stable machines and will pretty much fly themselves. Once you get them off the ground. When she got over her surprise, she took the controls.

You may recall that I am training to be a flight instructor and at this point I have had about 15 hours of dual time with a student in the left seat (certificated instructor in the back). So I am starting to get the hang of telling students how to perform various maneuvers. I am also getting to the point where instructing is becoming a heckuva lot of fun.

Mainly because I get to watch the student as she or he tries to follow my commands and is so intent on getting it right. It is very satisfying to see someone perform well on your instructions.

After a quick run-through of the heading and airspeed indicators, I had Nicole do some turns to headings, climbs and descents, and one steep turn which I kept from getting any steeper with a surreptitious hand on my yoke. All the while she wore a smile from ear to ear and was shrieking with delight . . . I can't describe how much pleasure I got from seeing her have so much fun. It is truly one of the coolest reasons I do this flying thing.

Dad was also beaming in the back seat - he was so proud of his little girl, and I can totally relate because, as I told you about in an earlier post, I had my own teenage daughter fly the airplane a while back.

I kept glancing over at her to watch her face and it was the pure embodiment of joy - she was just having so much fun I'm sure it will remain one of her favorite memories.

Too soon, we were back on the ground so I asked if she wanted to take lessons and of course she emphatically said "YES!!" but apparently dad's checkbook is currently busy subsidizing lacrosse so flying has been added to the to-do list.

But I'm optimistic that she will — another prospect for TailWind Aviation!

And another person bitten by the words of Leonardo: "When once you have tasted flight you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will always long to return."

Training the Trainer

2008-08-26T10:01:00.011-06:00

Well it has been a while and I've been studying and training and studying some more and training some more.

What I've been working on is the Instrument Ground Instructor written exam and I'm just about there. One more week or so and I will take that exam and then go get my IGI certificate since I've already passed the other two required writtens - the FOI (Fundamentals Of Instructing) and the FIA (Flight Instructor Airplane). If you've been reading this blog with any regularity, in aviation a lot, and I mean a LOT of acronyms are used.

I've also been flying with students a fair amount and I'm getting more and more comfortable with being in the right seat and teaching different manuevers.

At TailWind Aviation as part of our training, which is more intense and focused than many other flight training programs, we like to give our first-flight students the option of playing "fighter pilot" or "roller coaster." In reality they aren't much different - steep climbs, descents, and turns, stuff like that. Generally, the fighter pilot will tend to do more turns while the roller coaster will do more climbs and descents. At least, that's how I figure it. In any case it's really a lot of fun and very quickly builds a student's confidence that yes, I really can control an airplane!

You might think it's kind of scary letting a new student do these manuevers on their first flight but the interesting thing is that the student won't go beyond his or her comfort zone, which normally is well within anything the instructor has experienced. So in general there's not much to worry about because the new student doesn't know enough to do anything really dangerous.

Not to mention that the instructor (me) is in the other seat and is always alert to any possible developing situations. And more importantly, I have a low tolerance for pain.

When we think the student is having enough fun we put them back to work on turns to headings and holding altitudes and such. Can't let them have TOO much fun now can we?

Another unusual feature of our training program is that we require the new student to take the written exam either before or shortly after their first flight. Whether he/she is training for Recreational, Sport, or Private Pilot certificate, the written exam is passed very early in the program. The reason for this is that we want to be certain that the student has the focus and motivation to complete the entire program within our short timelines. That is one of the hallmarks of our accelerated training - we get students finished well before many other programs and our goal is to get their certificates right at the FAA minimum number of hours.

There are additional techniques that we use to assure that students are indeed getting superior training to become confident and competent pilots, and as we go along I'll tell you about them.

Can't let all the goodies out at once, you know?

Engine Out!

2008-01-27T08:54:00.006-07:00

Well there's a first time for everything and this was my first engine failure experience.

Except I wasn't PIC, I was in the right seat of the Seminole. And thankfully it turned out not to be all that scary either.

We were basically moving a Seminole from Centennial (APA) to Front Range (FTG), where our pilot was scheduled to have his Commercial Multi-engine checkride the next day, in the very Seminole in which we were riding. The other three of us aboard were going to do a training flight in another airplane upon arrival at Front Range.

It's only about a 10 minute flight between the two airports, and we planned a practice instrument approach to FTG. We set up for the ILS approach to runway 35, descended, then went missed and requested 26 as that was the runway we really wanted.

We circled around the field and entered the downwind for 26. As we turned to the base leg, I happened to notice something different out of the corner of my eye, but it didn't quite register in my brain. The pilot was concentrating on getting us into position for the final so I didn't bother to ask him.

As we turned to final and got lined up I looked more intently to my left and saw it - a little "blip" in the blur of the spinning left prop.

Now that I had seen it for sure, I stared at the left prop and saw it again, just a slight variation in the spin rate.

By this time we were almost in the flare so I sure didn't want to distract our pilot now. Just after we touched down and began the rollout, the prop suddenly blipped twice more and then stopped completely.

Since by this time we were on the ground and decelerating, I asked the pilot if he had seen anything unusual and he said that he too, had seen the variations in the prop spin but didn't think anything of it at the time.

The entire sequence, from the time I noticed the first blip to touchdown, lasted no more than about a minute and a half. All in all, not too scary.

This time.

But - what if instead of Front Range, we had been heading to Jeffco (Rocky Mountain Metro, BJC)?

Jeffco, as most people still refer to it unless you're talking to a controller, is about a 20 minute flight from Centennial. Assuming the same timing of the engine failure, we would have been about 10 minutes out from Jeffco, and most likely right over downtown Denver.

Now, an engine failure in a twin is not necessarily catastrophic, but it sure would have made things interesting.

And would have given our pilot a real-life experience.

We're still not sure what happened to the Seminole. As we taxied to the ramp, repeated attempts to restart the engine were futile. Replacing the starter did not fix the problem. The mechanic said something about an intake valve being the possible culprit.

The checkride was postponed for another day and another airplane.

Teaching My Daughter To Fly

2008-01-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was truly one of the highlights of my life — I began my career as a flight instructor by teaching my daughter Mary some of the basics of flying an airplane.

We started by having her taxi the plane around on the ground for a while, getting used to adjusting the throttle and the counterintuitive nature of steering by feet rather than by hands on the yoke.

Seeing as how she talks on the phone with the best of them, I wasn't at all surprised when Mary talked to the controller on the radio like it was second nature . . .

After takeoff, we played roller-coaster and wow did she ever enjoy that — no problem pointing the nose at the ground for her! Then she laughed with delight as we turned, climbed, went over the top and our stomachs sort of floated for a bit.

After a number of fun ups and downs, we did some actual work, and it was just such a blast to see her concentrate so intently on making her turns and trying to maintain altitude!

How very different from the somewhat absent-minded 14-year-old that usually calls me daddy! I am so proud of how well she did — I think she'll make an excellent pilot.

That is, if she isn't distracted by school, soccer, or boys . . . and probably not in that order!

Instructor Training II

2007-12-23T11:03:00.000-07:00

Well I passed the CFI Knowledge Test (formerly known as the written exam) yesterday - got a grade of 90% which was better than I felt going in, as I have been crazy busy lately between trying to make a buck and getting ready for the holidays.

So that means I now can begin in earnest to learn how to instruct others in the fun of flying and using an airplane.

Who's gonna be first??

Let me know!

Instructor Training

2007-11-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

Recently I began training as a flight instructor. On the 17th of November I passed the first written test known as the FOI, or Fundamentals of Instruction. This is the first next step in my flying adventure, and I can hardly wait till I actually get to train someone.

Wanna be the first? Let me know!

As I mentioned previously, I am working with a new flight school, TailWind Aviation. We are located at Centennial Airport (KAPA) and also fly out of Front Range (KFTG) and Erie Municipal (KEIK). I will detail more of our operation in this space in the future.

For the present I will be flying mainly the light sport airplanes, or LSAs. Last weekend I got to fly the Gobosh G700 out of Erie Municipal. What a kick! Weighing in at only 800 lbs with max takeoff weight of 1300 lbs, its 100hp Rotax engine makes it fairly jump off the runway. It's got plenty of power and performance, even here at 5,000 ft MSL.

Has a control stick rather than a yoke, and a plexi bubble canopy with a 360 degree view. It's so much fun I can hardly wait to fly it again.

Well, back to studying for the CFI written test.

Then looking for my first student pilot . . .

New Digs Soon

2007-09-16T12:49:00.000-06:00

I've recently gotten involved with a new flight school, which is my sorry excuse for not having written anything in a while. I know, I know . . . I said I'd be writing more and then I don't write for three months . . .

In the interim, I've flown about a half dozen times - now right at 100 hours total time. Did a sight-seeing trip I donated to my kids' school, and which was bid on and won by a gentleman who took a good friend up for the ride. We had a great time, as always for me anyways, and he and his buddy will have some good memories of that ride. We flew over Denver and took in some good views of the stadiums - Invesco and Coors fields where the Broncos and Rockies play - unoccupied of course! Then we did a couple circles over his house and so that was pretty cool for them.

Anyways, the new school is at Centennial Airport (APA) just south of Denver. I intend to continue training for instrument, multi, and then flight instructor. When I have spent some time spiffing up the website, I'll post it here.

The philosophy of this school is somewhat different than previous - we will be spending a lot more time in the sim for training, then apply the training in the airplane. It's an approach that seems to make training a bit more concentrated and intense and at the same time, less of a bite on the wallet. A further emphasis is on using the airplane - going somewhere rather than flying circles or rectangles. Not at all being critical of other schools, it just seems to make more sense to learn how to make flying a useful part of one's life.

Oh and I forgot to mention, the plan is that I will be staying on at the school as an instructor when I have completed all my training.

So, stay tuned for updates on the training and other happenings as I move forward.

More Stuff and Some History

2007-06-06T08:52:00.000-06:00

Not that I think my occasional stories don't amuse or induce reflection, but I've been thinking that you may be inclined to return more often if I provided an incentive for you to do so. Such as more cool stuff to check out.

So, while I intend to ratchet up the frequency of my writing, I also plan to add aviation-related features to make this site more interesting and useful. And more popular.

I've started the expansion by placing a few new items on the sidebar to the right: links to common and useful aviation sites as well as an awesome video clip, links to home-based business opportunities and, yikes, a Google ad (but it is for aviation-related products!). These resources will continue to grow and, I trust, become useful to you.

You really should check out the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum site - it's located in Reading PA where I'm originally from, and is based at the Reading Regional Airport, General Carl A Spaatz Field (RDG).

This is also the location of the annual World War II Weekend, which is held the first weekend in June and is the largest gathering of WWII re-enactor groups in the country. It's a really cool event with a large contingent of resident and fly-in WWII warbirds, period clothing and a Glenn Miller-style dinner and dance, a simulated WWII encampment and mock battle, and numerous flight demonstrations.

The MAAM is also in the process of restoring to airworthiness a P-61 Black Widow. This aircraft crashed in the New Guinea jungle in 1945 and remained there until its recovery in 1991, and it is one of only four still in existence. Very cool story here.

Not coincidentally, Spaatz Field remains near and dear to my heart, as this is the first airport I ever saw and visited but even more importantly, my Uncle Jules' house was directly under the glide path for runway 36. My family often visited him and Aunt Peg on Sundays and I was captivated the first time a plane passed over, and each and every time since.

Now that I am a pilot, I can tell you that those planes were on short final to land on 36 about 1/2 mile north of my uncle's place so they were pretty close to the ground at that point. Probably no more than about a couple hundred feet.

From about the mid-60s and into the 70s, the Reading Air Show was one of the country's premier shows and attracted (if my memory serves) hundreds of aircraft manufacturers and suppliers who set up exhibitor tents all over the ramps. There were also food tents and of course planes parked, open, and available to explore.

Being an actual kid at the time, I was like a kid in a candy store wandering around in a sugar daze, checking out the food, exhibits, and planes, too overwhelmed to actually talk to anyone.

Oh, I also took some pictures of the flight demonstrations. Like several thousand maybe.

I have a pretty decent library of images from that time, but most are on paper only, the film having long since disappeared into some black hole. Old paper at that, but they may scan OK. Well before the days of digital photography I'm afraid but we'll see . . .

The flight demonstrations were truly amazing (to me) and included guys like Bob Hoover, who did amazing things with his Aero Commander and his P-51 Mustang, which is my favorite warbird of that era. The Navy Blue Angels also performed every year, and I made it a point to get to the airport every year for about five or six years in a row to get flight-line photos of the pilots and planes.

My wonder and fascination with airplanes and flight were born in my uncle's back yard and nurtured by the air shows at Spaatz Field.

But I'll talk more about the air shows another time . . .

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

2007-05-23T08:25:00.000-06:00

To continually improve my landing technique, which the Good Pilot Handbook says is one of the more important skills to know, I was practicing some touch-and-gos the other day at Erie Municipal (EIK) which has a pretty short runway of 4700 ft.

No offense intended, but the concrete runway there is not in the greatest shape, having some shallow wear-ruts and expansion joints which can make landings and takeoffs, well, interesting at times. As a bone-fide pilot myself (and speaking only for myself) I can say with good authority that pilots like interesting. Keeps ya on yer toes, if ya know what I mean.

Anyways, did three really good soft-field landings, where you keep the nose wheel off the ground until it just eases down from lack of airspeed to keep it up. I applied full power to take off after the last one, and as the plane accelerated it began to vibrate, getting more and more intense until I was convinced I had somehow gotten a flat tire.

Hmmm . . . interesting. Do I take a chance that there really is a flat and take off knowing my subsequent landing would be . . . um . . . troublesome (at best)? Or do I abort and check things out?

Accelerating through 45, 50 knots, vibration intense and still increasing.

Decision time.

Actually - no decision, really. (I know, I know - anticlimactic)

If there's one thing that's been fully ingrained in me by flight training and my instructor, it is the sense that safety is the most important skill a pilot can ever master, and I chose to exercise that skill right then and there. Because as I've mentioned before, gravity is always turned on and landing with possibly just two out of three fully-inflated tires would not be pretty. Probably mess up my day.

I pulled the throttle to idle, aborted the takeoff and as I taxied over to the ramp, realized that the vibration had stopped. Shut 'er down, got out, and my eagle-eye noticed no flat tires or any other obvious vibration-inducer. Such as a missing nose wheel or a broken gear strut. Even the shimmy-dampener on the nose wheel looked OK to me. Course I'm not an A&P mechanic but usually I can tell if something's broken or not . . .

Called over to McAir (my flight club/school) and spoke with our chief flight instructor. We decided to call the mechanic for a look-see, meanwhile he'd drive over from Jeffco, er, Metro Airport and we'd fly the plane back together, assuming nothing prevented it.

The mechanic on-site at Erie was an amiable sort as he hopped out of the golf cart he used to get from the hangar to where I was on the ramp. He examined the plane just as I had, but probably his trained eye knew more of what exactly to look for.

He found - nothing.

But he did explain that when landing or taking off on a less-than-perfect runway, airplanes can encounter a groove or rut and if you do it just right, you can set up a harmonic vibration (AKA mechanical resonance) in the wheel/airframe system.

He also mentioned that the Cessna Skyhawk 172 (which is what I fly at the moment) is particularly known for this fun feature.

And that it feels just like a flat tire. Huh. Interesting. Allrighty then.

Our CFI Justin arrived and sheepishly I related what the mechanic had said, feeling a little like the boy who cried wolf. "You definitely did the right thing" he said, reinforcing the safety mantra. He did offer that if that happens again, to add some back pressure (on the control wheel) to lift the nosewheel and see if that eliminates the vibration. But still better safe than sorry and no reason at all to feel embarrassed.

So then we took off without incident - no vibration, nothing - and landed back at our home base.

Still being a relatively new pilot with about 90 hours of total flight time, I am keenly aware of the important roles that safety and decision-making play in having a good outcome to a flight. As my time and experience build, I intend to keep those factors topmost in my mind.

One of the more sobering aviation 'zines I read is Aviation Safety. It contains incident and accident reports and it's incredible (to me) the way in which some pilots - even high-time pilots - make, shall we say, ill-advised decisions. Many of which stem from one of the factors that pilots are trained against - the "it-can't-happen-to-me" attitude.

Not that I will never make a bad decision but my goal (as is, I'm sure, the goal of most if not all pilots) is to minimize them and trust that my skill and experience don't get in the way of clear thinking.

And so far I have not made any bad decisions. Knock on wood. Forgot to untie the tail once, but that's another story . . .

Til next time . . .

Away for Three Weeks

2007-05-04T09:57:00.000-06:00

I had not flown in three weeks and I was just flat-out itching to get in the air.

Ol' Leo definitely had it right: "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return." [Leonardo Da Vinci]

Weather and other responsibilities had conspired against me for what seemed like forever, but today was a beauty morning and I pre-flighted my plane as quickly as I could, double-checking everything so as not to miss anything in my eagerness. By now, the preflight inspection is fairly routine but I must make myself focus - do not want to miss anything because gravity is ceaseless and unforgiving.

Especially of pilots eagerly seeking to escape her grasp.

Wind calm. Not a cloud to be seen. Add full power, roll down the runway, smoothly rotate and rise into the still morning air.

Indescribable, the feeling of watching the ground drop away beneath me as my craft lifts me into the fluid blue sky. The air flowing over and under the wing of my plane, carrying me above the smog blanketing the area.

I seem to breathe more easily up here. I belong here. Relaxed. Calm. Thrilled beyond words that I am able to do this.

Relaxed and calm, yet more focused and more alive than down there, because I know for sure that my actions determine my fate up here in a very tangible way.

Heading north to Longmont to practice landings and takeoffs, there is somewhat surprisingly little traffic this day. Except for a flock of ten large birds a little off to my right - pelicans. Gotta keep an eye out for them and others. Big birds like pelicans, herons, hawks, and eagles can put a serious hurt on the thin skin of my plane. Maybe even make it uncontrollable. Small ones can too but the big ones are especially dangerous.

Approaching Longmont (KLMO) from the south, wanting to practice my short-field and soft-field technique. Do a couple short-field landings, touching on the markers, still a bit long but reasonably acceptable.

Then I nail a soft-field landing to really write home about - kept the nosewheel off and the plane on the mains halfway down the runway before pushing full power and climbing out again. A thing of beauty I said to myself! Ryan - you'd be proud of me.

Jumpers (skydivers), more pelicans, and a few other planes to keep tabs on, then I'm out of the pattern and headed back to Jeffco, or rather, now it's "Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport" or Metro. I rather liked Jeffco but I suppose Metro will grow on me . . .

Couple more touch-and-gos at Metro, then a full-stop landing and taxi to McAir, my flight school/club. Fun and adventure over for now, but boy what a great start to the day!

I might even do some work.

First Flight

2007-04-09T11:46:00.000-06:00

OK . . . well, here goes nothing . . .

. . . is what I audibly said to myself as I leaned over and checked the right-side door lock and became aware that the cockpit had a strangely open feel . . . probably because my instructor, who until now had occupied the right seat, was waving to me from about thirty feet away on the ramp waiting for the right moment to snap a photo.

Of me in the airplane.

Alone.

I was about to fly my first solo.

And that’s how it is with this first installment of Flightblog - not knowing exactly what to expect but excited and confident that with my knowledge and training, all will be well.

And as it turns out, well, I’m still here to talk about it so . . . there ya have it. Not that I expected anything else, that is . . . first solo went great, just a couple times around the pattern at Vance Brand Field (KLMO) in Longmont, CO, and landed without breaking anything - just like in training, smooth as silk. Well, almost.

As I jump into the blogosphere to chronicle my adventures as a newly-minted aviator, I do so with a similar mix of anxiousness and exhilaration as when I first powered down the runway with an empty right seat – not knowing exactly what to expect but confident that at least some of you may enjoy my stories and observations, and perhaps contribute some of your own.

And just as I anticipated my first solo landing, I look forward to sharing my adventures and hearing about yours!