Flying In Ohio

iPad as Electronic Flight Bag (revisited)

2011-03-07T21:25:00.001-05:00

Last year, Apple announced something that over the past year has taken mobile computing by storm, the iPad.

Shortly after I posted a blog post "The Apple iPad: Electronic Flight Bag?", which I considered the potential the device has for aviation. Namely, getting rid of the ridiculously overpriced and underpowered specialty "electronic flight bag" (or EFB) computers.

Now when I made that prediction, I had no clue how quickly the aviation industry would step up and embrace this device. Let's face it, sometimes with certain technology, aviation isn't always up to current times (I'm looking at you DUATs & NOTAMs).

So what's the secret to the iPad's success? Long battery life, great fit and finish, it's portable, beautiful screen, lots of power and memory, those are important, but what the iPad has that other EFBs don't is a diverse platform for developers to write excellent aviation apps. Apps such as Foreflight, Jeppesen Mobile TC, Skycharts Pro, and even the simple PDF reader app GoodReader.

Private pilots aren't the only ones noticing that the iPad is a great platform for managing a flight. The FAA has approved an EFB app from Jeppesen to be used for Executive Jet. Wonder what kind of tests the FAA has done on the device to certify it for cockpit use?

FAA authorisation came after an intensive three-month in-flight evaluation, which included a successful rapid decompression test on the iPad to 51,000ft (15,555m) and non-interference testing.

With the iPad2 coming out in a few short days, the future is looking pretty good for pilots who want a low-cost solution to having an EFB and getting rid of the paper charts. The new iPad will be lighter, thinner, and will include a built-in gyroscope. Coupled with the Bad ELF GPS, the iPad and the apps will just keep getting better.

Finally, as an aside, I really want Android to step into this space as well. Hopefully with the Motorola Xoom we'll start seeing some comparable aviation apps for Android as well.

By the Numbers

2011-02-24T19:35:00.001-05:00

Now that CircleToLand.com has been around for over a year, I felt now would be a great time to do a deep dive on the stats and determine how pilots are using CTL.

Currently we have 159 questions, 257 answers, and over 81 users. Fifteen of those users have collected over 100 reputation points, with two users having over 1000 points.

Over the past year, CTL has had 34,160 page views and 6,800 visits. The ten top visited questions on Circle To Land are:

Figuring out the best glide-speed/glide-ratio
Helpful aviation memory mnemonics
Logging flight time, PIC vs Solo
Trouble with Steep Turns
Difference between Vx & Vy

The top five questions with the most votes are:

Diabetic pilots
Difference between Vx/Vy
How long until YOU solo'd
Night logging question
Definition of Cl/Cd max speed

As you can see, we've come a long way in a year. When I started CTL I wasn't sure how many pilots would be interested in a community Q&A or if I could get the kind of answers/questions that would be engaging to an audience of pilots. It's been amazing the amount of great questions and great answers the site has generated. With practically nothing but word of mouth advertising and general outreach.

To all the pilots who have logged in CircleToLand and posted a question or answer, thank you, you're the ones who make this site a success. I can't wait to see what happens in 2011.

European Aviation Safety Agency Bill, or "Why I'm grateful I fly in the US"

2010-10-14T07:56:00.002-04:00

The European Parlament is expected today to sign a bill today that will cancel priveleges of pilots holding FAA certificates in European Union countries.

Once the bill is signed into law, FAA ticket holders must undergo the conversion process to a JAA/EASA equivalent. A process that could involve several medical exams and additional knowledge exams.

The situation is even grimmer for those who wish to fly IFR. Unlike the US, IFR requirements are stricter under JAA/EASA, which is closer to obtaining an ATP license in the US. The estimated amount of time to obtain an IFR rating in Europe for an average pilot with a family would be a year of groundschool and nearly cost nearly $30,000.

Don't think this won't impact the United States either. While there aren't hard numbers out there, it's been estimated that the FAA issues certificates to several hundred international students every year. After the bill is signed into effect, it would be pointless for international students to come to the US to train. This could have a severe financial impact on an already struggling flight training market.

For more information, check out the IAOPA October newsletter, and listen to this special podcast from AvWeb and Emmanuel Davidson, vice president of AOPA in France.

In my opinion, this bill has nothing to do with safety, and everything to do with political protectionism. The EU is trying to address why so few pilots have a JAA/EASA license and spend money training in Europe by brute force. What they'll find is that this measure (like user fees) will only shrink aviation in Europe more until it is only available to the very rich or to airlines.

I just hope some "brilliant" politician or lobby group doesn't get the same idea here.

Leave it to Weaver

2010-09-08T16:02:00.001-04:00

In between marathons of Airplane!, Top Gun, One-Six Right, and Hot Shots, you might want to check out another high-octane feature (shot and directed by a pilot).

This was a week long video project my girlfriend (Haley Weaver) put together for a video contest. The prize is a free trip to New Orleans for the National REALTORS Conference and Expo.

If you like it, please vote for Haley Weaver - Columbus, OH here.

5 Tips on getting fantastic aviation answers

2010-08-25T16:39:00.003-04:00

So you ask a great aviation question on a flying forum (AOPA, EAA, etc) but you haven't gotten any responses? Your question might not be as great as you think. Here are five tips that I put together for the users of CircleToLand.com on how to ask great aviation questions and get excellent answers from pilots.

FIFI the B29, flies again

2010-08-05T19:32:00.002-04:00

The Commemorative Air Force (CAF)'s B-29, with help from a number of sponsers and volunteers, took to the sky today for the first time since 2004. Its regained its status as the world's only flyable B-29 Superfortress.

The work that the CAF does is so important to aviation, its a link to aviation's past and the aircraft the organization restores and flies inspires future aviators of all ages around the country. Please go to their site and find a way to help volunteer, donate, or just spread the word about the great things this organization does.

CircleToLand : 0 SFREM

2010-07-12T08:52:00.004-04:00

CircleToLand.com, my website for pilot questions and answers, has just completed its major face-lift and software overhaul. For the software geeks, I'm now using a Q&A package called OSQA. Its still in a beta stage and there are some rough spots, but there are some advantages to using the new software package:

1. Its open source, meaning I can change and modify the code to meet the specific needs of CircleToLand.com

2. I can host it on my own servers, meaning that as CircleToLand.com grows I have control over expanding the server capacity without having to pay an exorbitant monthly fee.

3. Since StackExchange changed their model from an entrepreneur-based service to a community owned forum, switching to OSQA means that maintain a greater control over how I want the site to grow and expand.

4. User will see the benefits of aviation-specific tools and controls in CircleToLand.com, I'm planning on making it easier to include chart images in questions.

There are a few downsides to OSQA over StackExchange:

1. Its written in Python and Django, so while its open source, I'm not too familiar with the language and framework, so there's a learning curve as I poke around and try to fix issues.

2. Hosting the software myself means I have to make sure the software gets updated and maintained regularly, before StackExchange was covering the software upgrades and installs.

3. Bugs bugs bugs, there's a weird issue with Yahoo Open ID (I'm recommending all of my users to create a password backup if they use OpenID, so they can still login), also the Markdown control has some issues with images, and I'm sure more bugs will keep rolling in.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the new site and how simple it was to migrate the site over. The guys at OSQA have made a great product and their main contributor, Hernâni Cerqueira, is an excellent source for help and support. I think my users will be happy with the new changes and I can finally put my efforts to growing CircleToLand.com!

CircleToLand.com, changing homebases

2010-05-17T16:19:00.005-04:00

There will be some big changes in June for CircleToLand.com, my little site that allows pilots to ask and answer questions. I'll be switching the site to a new software package as my old provider is making some changes that just won't work for me or for my users.

The switch should come by mid-June and it should be a seemless transition, the goal is to make a 100% move to the new software package and preserve all of data from the old site.

Also, I'm looking at making a big change in my life in terms of getting my little software startup, Anecka off the ground. While I plan in the long run for Anecka to develop subscription based web and moible applications for pilots, I plan on earning money initially doing software consulting and contracting. If you or someone you know has a website or software project that you need fixed, shoot me an email at: ppohler@anecka.com

Make some goals

2010-05-06T11:39:00.004-04:00

This is a little off-topic for aviation, but on-topic if you're a person who regularly takes a step back and looks at your life. I follow a blog by local marketer / business person / teacher Artie Issac and he had this following post on what he asks his OSU creativity students every year. (I recommend reading the whole thing, and subscribing to his blog.)

What Am I Asking For?
I'm asking for goals in four areas: business, community, family and personal.

How big a goal? Big enough that it's not easy to reach. Big enough that you might not reach it.

Big enough that it answers Ohio State's call to action: Do Something Great.

So What Goals Am I Receiving?
Without betraying any confidences, here is a complete rephrasing of some of the goals I'm receiving:

* Business: generates enough profit that I can afford the life I want.
* Community: respects and seeks me as a leader.
* Family: loves me and each other.
* Personal: ...I want to be happy and play golf.

Happy, shmappy.
Being rich, fertile, loved, and happy is important. I don't want my students to give up on these ideals.

But these aren't the goals I want them to list.

I'm looking for goals that are worthy of a headline. In The Wall Street Journal or The New York Times? Fine. The Columbus Dispatch? Fine. Field & Stream? Fine. Local suburban newspaper? Fine.

Just imagine the headline. That's a good test for your goal. In fact, write your goals as if they are news headlines. (Think: obituary.)

It sounds like a good exercise, so here are my goals as newspaper headlines:

Business: Software firm, Anecka, gets its 1000th insanely passionate client, becomes model for software development in the Mid-West

Community: Mid-West non-profit that teaches over 500 kids a year how to fly airplanes celebrates its fifth year anniversary.

Family: Pohler elected to US Congress as Independent in 2038.

Personal: Adventurer retraces Beryl Markham's 1936 solo flight from Abington, England to Nova Scotia.

CircleToLand.com coming on like gangbusters!

2010-04-23T16:58:00.006-04:00

What a difference a few days makes! CircleToLand.com gets mentioned on a popular forum of programming geeks and suddenly I have three to four hardcore tech-savy pilots ripping through CircleToLand.com answering piloting questions left and right.

And these are great piloting questions and answers too! With freaking aerodynamic equations! Fine detailed understand of esoteric FAR rules and regulation interpretations, kick-ass piloting techniques, and whiz-bang technology!

Seriously, this is the most fun I've had in a while. Thanks guys!

Poland Crash Update - Pilots probably not pressured

2010-04-16T11:54:00.010-04:00

AvWeb's just reported that after listen to the cockpit voice recorder from the Polish government aircraft that crashed in Russian and killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski and 94 others, the investigating committee has determined:

“The flight recorder, whose tapes are being deciphered, did not register any pressure on crew members”

Sadly, it's starting to appear that the primary cause of the tragic accident was human error (lack of good judgment) on behalf of the pilot(s) of the aircraft.

Anatoly Muravyov, an air traffic controller on duty at the time, told the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda that the aircraft had not been cleared to land and all he and his colleagues could do was watch and wait. He said the "pilot's desire to land at any costs" was, in his opinion, a factor in the crash.

Ever since the story broke I've read a lot of news stories and heard a lot of theories floating around by the press and online comments on blogs around regarding the crash, that the fault was the age of the Russian Tupolev-154, or pressure from the VIP passengers.

As a pilot, I know whenever I hear of a crash of an aircraft, my defenses suddenly come up and I have an urge to "defend" the pilot in charge from wild, misinformed facts. However that urge to defend has to be kept in check as well, least it comes out that the pilot in question was responsible and I defended the actions of an irresponsible, reckless person.

The crash is still under-investigation, my opinion is that as a community of flyers, the best way to represent our art and profession is to hold off on supporting unproven theories or "what if" scenarios until all the facts of the case come out.

My hope is that there were other factors in the case that lead to the accident, however my experience in aviation and from what I've read in a vast amount of other accident reports is that pilot/human error is still a huge factor in a crash. To ignore that and rush to come up with other excuses does all pilots in the long-run a disservice.

UPDATE: The Moscow Times has more information regarding the investigation.

Flying and the power of Desire

2010-04-13T12:55:00.011-04:00

You have a superpower, an ability to conquer any challenge, an ability to shape the world around you to fit your wants and needs.

Don't believe me?

Think back on your life, back to the last time your really desired something. I'm talking about real DESIRE here, a single minded obsession about obtaining something that you wanted more than anything else in the world.

Your friends, your family, everyone in your life told you it was impossible, you'll never get it, it wasn't practical, you should just give up . . .

But you didn't, you kept at it and couldn't let it go

Did you get it?

If there's a little plastic (or paper) card in your wallet from the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration then you know exactly what I'm talking about. There is no way you could have become a private pilot without that overriding DESIRE to fly.

That's the superpower we all have (no not the ability to fly), the ability to DESIRE something so much that we WILL IT into reality.

Still think I'm full of it? Talk to Jessica Cox (http://rightfooted.com/), she's a diver, Tae Kwon-Do black belt, and flies a stock, unmodified Ercoupe.

Oh and she doesn't have any arms.

That's right . . . no arms. Big deal, flying an airplane with your feet? Just another sunny day in the pattern for her (she also drives, types, and puts in her contacts).

Anyway this post isn't about her, its about YOU. If you've conquered the challenge of flight, what else can the raw power of DESIRE do for you? What else lies deep in your heart that you've always wanted to accomplish?

If you haven't starting flying (and want to), then why haven't you started? If you've started and given up, why haven't you gotten back in the saddle?

You've got a superpower, time to start using it.

Supplemental Reading Material:
Think and Grow Rich, Napolean Hill

Flying, perfection, and beating "the little hater"

2010-04-07T13:37:00.008-04:00

Recently I stumbled across a video by a guy named Jay Smooth who runs a successful hip-hop blog and the longest running hip-hop radio show in NYC. In the video he talked about his struggle with what he calls "the little hater." The little hater is that voice inside your head that tells you you're not good enough at something, especially when it's something creative. Watch the video before reading on, it's humorous and spot on, don't worry, I can wait:

What really clicked for me in this video is when Jay said that the little hater sets his first trap of "perfectionism." I tend to demand a lot from myself when I fly, if I screw up one radio call or land a little rougher than I want (which is all the time) that bastard start talking in my ear how much of a "wannabe pilot" I am.

It gets worse when I haven't flown in a few months, the little hater starts asking me questions. "If you flew today, how safe would you be?" "Could you handle a sudden gust of wind 20 ft off the ground?" "Do you even remember how to start the airplane?" Pretty soon my head is filled with ridiculous questions regarding my own skills and worth and ever time I look up at the sky to watch a small plane I almost get sick with guilt. I double down and start building a lot of expectations on myself that the NEXT TIME I fly I'm going to be strive to be PERFECT. Of course, I know that's a lie, so I stall and stall and stall and never make a reservation. Which makes me feel even more racked with guilt.

Now of course the logical thing to do is to just schedule a damn flight, and if you're really worried, book an instructor. Here's the thing, I get even more anxious with an instructor because then I'll have someone WATCHING ME. Even if the instructor is silent that little hater is going to start talking for him/her in my head "Dude, this guy sucks...how long has he been flying anyway?"

To beat the little hater, the only thing I think you can do is recognize when he's there, then actively and ruthlessly ignore him. Recall your experience, read a checklist, go over radio calls in your head, go over common tasks in an aircraft in your head and mime them out (when no one is looking of course) and just FLY DAMNIT!

I've asked a question on CircleToLand.com about beating the nerves after going a long time without flying.

If you have any suggestions to help me or anyone else beat the hater, post an answer at the link above! We can fight him together!

What I've learned from other pilots

2010-03-30T15:20:00.003-04:00

Its funny, the one thing I didn't expect when I started a website for pilots to ask and answer questions was that I'd be learning so much as well!

The steadily growing number of pilots providing excellent, well thought out answers to such various questions as: Resources for young pilots, Proper landing techniques in snow, Calculating the best glide speed in a new aircraft, Equipment on shooting in-flight video, Nailing the perfect steep turn, has really impressed and inspired me to keep CircleToLand.com going.

The reason why I started CTL was because I knew there was an untapped goldmine of sharp, friendly, helpful pilots online who would be more than happy to share their insights and experience with each other and with those just learning how to fly.

It feels good to be right ;)

Pilots are lovers

2010-03-12T10:25:00.006-05:00

If you haven't been reading Paul Bertorelli's blog on AvWeb, you have no idea what kind of steamy hot prose you're missing:

I have fallen in love with airplanes. Again. Specifically, a J-3C Cub, a quarter of which I bought a couple of weeks ago. I flew my first Cub in 1972 and over the weekend, when partner Greg Woods was checking me out, it all came flooding back—that skip of excitement when the engine catches on the first blade, the whiff of exhaust you get in a right taxi turn, the kinda-sorta throttle response, the spoon-in-oatmeal trim system, if you can call rope and a crank a system. After we got down and nudged the thing back into the hangar, I sat on a step stool looking at this stupid thing trying to figure out why such antiques are so intoxicating.

. . .

Slow, underpowered, cold, uncomfortable and all the utility of a broken claw hammer, yet still I love it. Maybe it's just…the romance.

Please, someone just shoot me.

I swear to god when I read that I could have sworn I heard Marvin Gaye's "Let's get it on" in the background.

Let's face it, every single one of us who flies these stupid machines didn't get into it because they thought it was going to be a great career, or it would save them some time on business trips, or some other perfectly rational reason. Those are the reasons we say to our family and friends, but let's not bullshit ourselves or each other here. We do it because we're in deeply in love, and anyone who is that far in love is an irrational moron.

I fell in love at the age of four, when I traded my most prized possession in the world, my blanket, for a big awesome Tycho airplane. I fell back in love again in 2003 gazing at stunning photo of a Waco YMF's cockpit. That one photo cost me six grand in two years, for a plastic card that gives me the privilege to one day climb into that cockpit and take the controls in my hands (as soon as I can find a Waco I can get checked out in).

As pilots, we're so deep in love that we don't realize that other people who aren't in love with aviation just don't see things the way we do. Our love is so deep we think other people regard aviation just like we do and we don't communicate with them effectively. We give the rational reasons for flying instead of speaking from the heart.

As pilots we need to follow Paul's lead and broadcast our love more openly to other people. Yeah, we'll sound like idiots, dreamers, and boobs. But there will be some young kid out there who will listen, probably between the ages of 4-94, who just might fall in love as well.

Help Fatboy Run (to fight cancer)

2010-03-08T10:48:00.004-05:00

Matt Friesner, my friend and instrument instructor (now an airline captain) is running in the Capital City Half Marathon (Columbus, OH) on May 1st to raise money and awareness about leukemia & lymphoma. He's in his second month of training (word on the street is he's training by running up and down the stairs of Columbus's courthouse and punching meat).

Help Matt set his goal of raising $1,500 by going to his fundraising page here.

Good luck Freeze!

The Bonanza is dead! Long live The Bonanza!

2010-03-04T10:55:00.008-05:00

I've noticed a trend in used aircraft pricing (to be sure, an anecdotal trend based on browsing Barnstormers and ASO when I should be working). In the past few months I've noticed that the prices of used large, high performance complex singles are becoming significantly less than lighter, slower singles.

This seems to suggest that owners of older high performance singles are having trouble selling their aircraft. It's not like these are bad airplanes either, I'm talking about seeing Mooney's, Turbo Lances, and Bonanza's with medium engine times (500-1000 hrs SMOH), NDH, complete logs selling for 60-80K.

Now it would be ridiculous of me to predict the future on one data point (not even a data point really, just me making an amateur observation). But it does feel like the GA landscape at large could be shifting towards lighter, slower singles. There are a few factors I believe that are affecting the GA market:

Rising fuel costs and rising pressure to do away with leaded avgas
Increased technology, easier to put into new airframes than retro-fit old aircraft
Increasing age of used aircraft, higher maintenance and upgrade costs
Despite problems with airlines, still cheaper / safer, and businesses would rather buy a plane ticket than reimburse a GA pilot to fly himself
Vast difference in price between NEW high performance singles vs. NEW or like new light sport

I don't think high performance singles (or even twins) will go away anytime soon (nor would I want it too...the day there isn't a Bonanza flying in the sky will be a very sad day), what I do think is that there will be a great divide in the GA fleet in the future. On one end you'll have a plethora of light-sport or light singles and on the other you'll see luxury turbine powered aircraft.

That's if I felt like making a ridiculous prediction of the future anyway. But if Kirk Hawkins is betting a company and billions of dollars on it . . . well maybe its not so ridiculous after all.

Mental spring cleaning (non-aviation)

2010-03-03T11:38:00.003-05:00

Its been a rough February. It's an odd feeling losing the last of your parents, it still doesn't seem real.

My mom and I were close, she was my friend. Its strange how that happens, at some point in your twenties your relationship with your parents changes. I think primarily because you change, from a child, an insecure adolescent, to an adult.

This feels like a watershed moment in my life, I'll be turning thirty in a month and a half and I've been giving serious thought to how I want to spend my next thirty years.

My mom was a chemical dependency counselor and psychiatric nurse, I had the pleasure during the visitation at the funeral home to meet her coworkers and more importantly the people who she helped treat and would call her "Miss Becky." I pray that I can have the same impact on others as my mom had.

My life has changed, a door has closed and it feels like a new one has opened. I've had an idea for a while to help a large number of people and aviation as a whole. Now it feels like a calling.

I apologize to anyone whose read this for the free-form rambling of this post. I haven't blogged in a while and I feel like I need to write something, anything to get rid of the cobwebs in my mind.

Thanks, and clear skies.

See you out west, mom

2010-02-16T20:25:00.001-05:00

Becky Pieper April 16, 1954 - Feb 14, 2010

Pimp your Piper Cub

2010-02-11T10:32:00.002-05:00

If you think still think LSA aircraft are nothing more than slick-looking toys that a REAL pilot would never fly for serious missions, then you need to check out CubCrafters Carbon Cub SS.

To call this airplane a Cub is a vast understatement. Unlike the Legend Cub, the goal of the Carbon Cub is not to replicate a classic, but to push the envelope and take the airframe to the next level. CubCrafters has created an aircraft that has 50% less parts than a Super Cub and is 250 lbs lighter.

If that wasn't enough, CubCrafters created their own custom engine that weights less than 250 lbs and is rated at 180 hp for takeoffs and climbs, and 88 hp for cruise.

This creates an Cub with amazing performance, climbs of 2100 fpm at sea level, and 1100 fpm at 10,000 ft and a 420lb useful load. Cruise can be done at the max LSA limit of 120 knots.

Don't take my word for it though:

Sweepstakes to professional captains don't promote GA

2010-02-08T09:40:00.007-05:00

Just found out via AvWeb that a FedEx captain was the winner of this year's AOPA sweepstakes plane, the "Let's Go Flying" Cirrus SR-22. Congrates to Mr. Graves (the winner) and his family!

That said, I think year's sweepstakes highlights a huge blind-spot in GA's thinking when it comes to getting the public more interested in flying. If you're not familiar with the AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) sweepstakes, if you enroll in the AOPA or renew your membership, you're automatically entered in a sweepstakes for an aircraft that AOPA selects each year. Usually AOPA takes a used aircraft and spends a year upgrading and renovating it to better-than-new condition. Last year AOPA took a different approach and accepted a donation of a relatively new Cirrus SR-22 from owner Lloyd Huck, who donated the Cirrus to the AOPA to promote awareness in aviation and increase the pilot population.

AOPA spent a year flying the Cirrus to aviation trade shows, and even to a couple of non-aviation shows as well as part of a tour titled "Let's Go Flying" in order to promote GA. I don't know how many new pilots or members the signed up, but I can be sure of one thing. I bet more than a few are disappointed that the brand new Cirrus they envisioned they would one day fly ended up in the hands of a FedEx captain who already owned a Cessna 180.

Now I know, the sweepstakes is open to any member and I trust the AOPA does a random, blind drawing to determine a fair winner. But if you have the sweepstakes in order to bring in new pilots into GA, you need to think about the message you're going to send when the winner turns out to be someone who is ALREADY a professional pilot and airplane owner.

I'm a loyal, long-time member of the AOPA. If you're a pilot and you don't belong to either the AOPA or the EAA, then you're missing out on some great benefits and opportunities for increased training. Plus, while user fees have been defeated this year, its a constant battle GA will have to continue to fight in the years to come as we have to justify the importance of public dollars to the non-flying public year after year. Organizations like AOPA, NBAA, and EAA are our most important defenders of our privilege to fly.

But if the AOPA is really serious about getting new pilots, they need to think really hard about these kinds of contests. The next sweepstakes plane is a REMOS, a really fun, capable light sport aircraft. Its a great aircraft to introduce someone to flying, or a great first-time aircraft for someone making the transition from renting to owning. It would be a shame next year to see it go to a Bonanza owner whose been flying for thirty years.

Oh, btw the full article on AOPA's website is here, it's a pretty funny story about how they surprised the winner.

Get your boots on

2010-02-04T10:11:00.005-05:00

My community Q&A site, CircleToLand.com is now in "bootstrap mode." This means all the usual safeguards and switches are turned off for new users, they can pretty much run wild and do crazy things like:

1) Ask more than one question every twenty minutes
2) Vote on answers & questions
3) Create new tags

Normally new users are restricted in a sandbox until they earn reputation points (given out usually by other site members voting up the user's answers and questions). This is a good thing because it keeps the trolls and crazies to a minimum. However, when EVERYBODY is a new user the sandbox rule gets in the way.

In short, the jailhouse is now run by the inmates. Got a question about flying that's always been nagging you? Run wild and ask it on CircleToLand.com.

You may ask why I'm pushing this site so hard, its because I believe in the site's tools in regards to fostering a healthy, knowledgeable online community centered around pilots helping other pilots.

If you have any questions or feedback about the site, please don't hesitate to email me (my email address is on CircleToLand.com on every page) or just comment on my blog.

You want to check my what?

2010-02-03T13:27:00.004-05:00

Just taken my medical exam yesterday. I passed! Of course my AME said I was blind as a naked mole rat and that I really should carry a backup pair of glasses (which I mostly do, however there are times when they don't make it in the flight bag..heh)

Since my last exam was three years ago, one thing I had forgotten about was an interesting requirement the FAA wants the AME to ask.

AME : "Okay, would you like me to proceed with the rectal exam?"
Me : "(blank stare) Uh...are you serious?"
AME : "Yeah, the FAA wants me to ask, most people turn it down. Basically I just look at it to see if its healthy."
Me : "Uh..yeah that's okay, I'm going to turn it down as well."

Whew, dodged that bullet. But it's really begs the question, why the FAA would even have a provision like that anyway?

The only thing I can figure out is that since most pilots spend a lot of time on their butts, government-thinking follows that it should be medically fit.

Pilots got back!

65 days aloft

2010-02-02T09:47:00.009-05:00

If two men have their way, this year an aviation record that has stood since 1958 will fall. The goal? Spend sixty-five days aloft in a four-place single engine airplane without touching the ground.

For non aviation folks, imagine driving around in small sedan without stopping...for anything...for one thousand five hundred and sixty hours.

Holy crap!

Chet and Matt Pipkin, father and son will hopefully take off in October 2010 in Boise Idaho and fly for 65 days in a modified Cessna 172. They plan to refuel and resupply via truck; their Cessna will be modified to carry an extra fuel tank with a quick release that can be refueled in mid-air. The Skyhawk will also be modified for them to change the oil in mid-flight, and of course there will a lav.

I think its a crazy idea, crazy good! This is more than a simple aviation stunt, they're hoping to raise money for charity, increase awareness in aviation, and inspire others to do something daring in their lives. Their mission statement:

To ignite a flame in the hearts of individuals in our world, by means of a simple flight. To encourage others to recognize their intrinsic value and to empower and challenge them to pursue their passions, contribute to the world in their own unique ways, great or small, and pass the flame to those in their world.

Links:
Blog: 65 days
AvWeb article and podcast with Matt Pipkin

I can't wait to see what happens, both in the flight and who gets inspired to take up their greatest passion!

The Apple iPad : Electronic Flight Bag?

2010-01-28T10:27:00.002-05:00

In case you missed it yesterday, Apple just announced their long awaited tablet, the iPad.

At first, I was a bit underwhelmed, its just a big iPod touch right? Why pay $499 (at least) for features that are in the smaller, lighter cousins.

Then I stopped looking at it as a iPod, and more like an electronic flight bag.

What features does it have that make it excellent for an EFB?

Long battery life (10 hours...although realistically probably five)
Huge high resolution, back-lit screen (perfect for maps, IFR approach plates, etc)
Loads of quality aviation software (you have to pay per app, but you get to customize the device with only the software you want / need to use)
Doubles as an in-flight, or after flight entertainment device for yourself or your pax.
Its price range already qualifies it for aviation ;)

All joking aside, if you're trying to decide between a light "netbook" and the iPad, why not take a look at a device that you can take in the cockpit as well? Now since the iPad is brand new, I wouldn't expect to see many of these in cockpits yet, but after a couple of generations of improvement from Apple, I have a feeling that will change.

Aviation Forums, the good the bad the ugly

2010-01-25T15:45:00.003-05:00

When I started learning how to fly I realized something early on that really surprised me, finding decent relevant information online about flying is a virtual crapshoot (pun intended).

The problem isn't that there is a shortage of knowledgeable aviation professionals, and enthusiasts. On the contrary, there are hundreds of pilots, mechanics, licensed medical examiners, and aviation lawyers online right now asking and giving advice.

The problem is, unless you're cued into the right forums, the right groups (AOPA, EAA), and blogs, the people with the right answers to your questions can be quite difficult to find.

Furthermore, once you've found a forum, the proper netiquette is to search the forum or newsgroup to find out if the question has been asked before. With some of the forum software out there, that could be a slow, torturous prospect! Imagine searching for a needle in a haystack with only a refrigerator magnet!

So how can you fix this?

Step 1: Well, you can start by creating a site that's built with the sole purpose of having people ask questions and get relevant answers. You implement a voting system for best answers, you base the system off of wikis, allowing users to edit questions and answers to make them better, you give users the ability to self-moderate the posts to prevent trolls.

Step 2: Attract a community of helpful, resourceful pilots and other aviation folks to post their questions and answers.

I've got Step 1 down, all I need is to figure out Step 2.

Give Circle To Land (http://www.circletoland.com) a try, if you ask a question I'll be on there to give you an answer. If you give an answer I'll vote it up. In time, I hope to have Circle to Land be that place on the web you can go to get relevant answers about your aviation questions.

Circle to Land Groundhog's Day Contest!

2010-01-21T10:00:00.009-05:00

Circle to Land needs pilots to post their flying questions and give answers pronto! What better way to bribe encourage people into using a website than to launch a cheesy themed contest?

Announcing Circle to Land's Groundhog's Day Contest!

Here's the deal, for everyone who creates and account on Circle to Land, and posts at least 10 questions AND 10 answers (yes you can answer your own question) by Feb 3rd, 2010 12:00AM EST...I will give them a $10 gift card (user will choose out of a selection of gift cards).

For the person who asks AND answers the MOST questions by the deadline (Feb 3rd, 2010 12:00AM EST), they will get a $50 gift card of their choice.

This is only for accepted questions and answers, I reserve the right to moderate the site, and I will take off questions and answers that are offensive or don't have anything to do with flying.

Again, you'll get a $10 gift card if you post 10 questions AND 10 answers (yes you can answer your own question) by Feb 3rd 2010, 12:00AM EST

One winner will get a $50 gift card, for posting AND answering the most questions by Feb 3rd 2010, 12:00AM EST

Questions and answers have to be accepted by the moderators and visible on the site and they have to be related to flying or learning how to fly.

Obviously, you'll have to create an account with a valid email address so I can contact you and send you the gift card. Due to shipping costs, I will not accept non-US mailing addresses.

So head on over to http://www.circletoland.com and get posting!

Dumb Pilot Questions

2010-01-20T09:25:00.007-05:00

You know the saying that there's no such thing as a dumb question? I find that's especially true in aviation, although sadly there are some of those that disagree. Since pilots are held to a very high standard, I think there's a problem in the industry that after you reach a certain level, say a private pilot certificate, then you are expected to know anything and everything about flying an airplane (or helicopter, or balloon, or glider).

The truth is, despite what the media, general public, or the FAA would expect, pilots can't and don't know everything. We know a lot, but all of us still have questions that have been plaguing the dark corners of our minds that we have yet to share with the outside world for fear of ridicule (or a license suspension!).

Here are some of mine:
What's the technique for a short field AND soft field landing?

How will lasik eye surgery affect my medical?

Engine out in IMC?

So I invite any fellow pilot reading this. Go to http://www.circletoland.com, and post answers for my dumb questions. Better still, if you have any dumb questions of your own to post, please post them!

I promise I won't laugh.

Circle to Land - Questions for Pilots by Pilots

2010-01-18T23:23:00.003-05:00

Questions, every pilot has them. Whether it’s about proper stick and rudder technique on a short field, VFR airspace restriction requirements, how to properly “burp” a Rotax 912, or even the emergency engine restart procedures on the Airbus A320, chances are you might have some questions that your buddies hanging outside the FBO can’t answer.

Sure you can try the various aviation related forums online, but even after you find a forum that’s close to the topic you’re asking about (after an hour of searching), how can you tell you’re getting the best answer? And how many times have you asked a question on an aviation forum only to be shouted by annoyed regulars “this was already asked before, read before you post!”?

What if there was an aviation site designed for pilots to ask questions and get answers from other pilots? What if as soon as you started to type a question a list of possible matching questions came up for you? How about a site where other pilots could up vote / down vote answers, helping you figure out the best answer to your question? How about a site that rewards you for answering questions by giving you less advertising, editing privileges, even advance community moderation tools to help make the site better for all pilots?

Circle to Land is that site.

Circle to Land is meant to be the site for you, questions and answers from pilots, for pilots. As long as your question is reasonably objective and has something to do with piloting something that flies (whether it’s a hot air balloon, powered chute, Cessna 172, or Citation X), Circle to Land™ is your site.

If you like to answer questions rather than asking them, Circle to Land has something for you! You gain reputation with each answer, the more questions you answer the more benefits you get (even editing and moderating other people’s posts)!

No matter what kind of pilot you are, a student, freight dog, CFI, bush pilot, or captain flying the Big Iron, if you have something to offer your fellow pilots at Circle To Land (and something to receive in turn). If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask me.

Pilot Myths

2007-04-08T00:48:00.000-04:00

I just got May's issue of AOPA's Flight Training magazine which had an article titled Pilot Myths, citing some of the most common misconceptions non-aviation folks have regarding pilots and aviation. One of the myths highlighted was the "Jets are good, props are bad" myth:

In a Small Airplane Horror Story, the small airplane can be anything from a two-seat taildragger to a 70-seat turboprop commuter aircraft.

Speaking of propellers, to the public at large, the term "prop plane" bespeaks antiquity, technical inferiority, sloth, and decay. Never mind that a prop plane may be a cutting-edge turoprop design. Nor that the configuration may suit the mission better than any other propulsion system. In the layman's view, props are old, jets are new, and that's all anyone needs to know. Pilots are judged accordingly.

- Flight Training, May 2007 pg 45

Its a great article, one aviation myth they really didn't cover the was the unfortunately named "uncontrolled field." I get a lot of looks when I use this phrase in describing some of my flights to non-towered airports. I can literally see the astonished looks in non-aviation folks eyes as they imagine airplanes just arriving all willy-nilly from different directions at an airport in complete chaos without a higher authority guiding them in. How does everyone avoid crashing into each other? Well, same way millions of people each drive around highways and streets, by relying on system of widely understood rules and conventions designed to keep everyone safe.

After a few early mistakes I learned to use the phrase "non-towered", it doesn't sound scary as "uncontrolled."

Anyway its a great read, although the article was much better at highlighting the common myths and misconceptions, but it was a little light on providing advice on how to counter them. AOPA has a great website though on how to talk to the media, which every pilot should really pay attention too. The public already has some negative perceptions regarding aviation, its every pilot's responsibility to present aviation in a positive way.

Why I hate software development (warning: non-aviation topic)

2007-03-28T21:24:00.000-04:00

I hate software development. This is a weird thing for me to say because I love programming, I love creating software; I even enjoy solving bugs and fixing crappy code. However, more and more I’ve found myself getting increasingly depressed and frustrated with the business of software development.

My best friend is rapidly approaching burnout; he’s working in an extremely high stress environment, putting in long hours, striving to meet an impossible deadline, and gradually losing his health. Can you guess what industry the company he works for sells their software too? Must be pretty important right? I guess so, if you’re into eCommerce solutions for window and door manufacturers.

The company isn’t really doing well; the software they produced is usually so buggy and slow that a lot of their biggest customers have threatened to sue multiple times. This results in a heroic effort by the already overworked developers to fix the problems and save the company. I know because I used to work there to, and I left along with half of the development team because I kept seeing the same damn cyclical pattern.

FUZZY REQUIREMENTS + SCOPE CREEP + UNFLEXIBLE DEADLINES = CRUNCH TIME = BAD SOFTWARE

BAD SOFTWARE + ANGRY CUSTOMER = EVEN MORE CRUNCH TIME

HEROIC EFFORT = BARELY SATISFIYING THE CUSTOMER TO GET THEM TO AGREE TO A NEW VERSION

REPEAT

I left that company thinking that surely this was the exception, not the rule. How could you be smart enough to start a company, bring in brilliant people, and then just totally mismanage it to the point where your customers sue you, and you lose your brightest staff? Not only that, but keep repeating the same goddamn mistakes year after year?

Fast forward a year and I’m working for one of the largest banks in the world. This employer is one of the top three largest employers in Columbus, my team works with the Auto Finance division and this was our goal as described by our team lead.

Fix a failed offshore project (bad software) so we can limp it into production, so we can immediately start on a total rewrite/upgraded version (since the original only delivered a tenth of what was needed) of the software in house.

The internal team (us) made our goal; we got the project into production and totally exceeded everyone’s expectations. A handful of developers fixed a failed project that took sixty offshore developers to make. Considering our success you’d think the business we’re supporting would be jumping up and down to proceed to a new version.

You’d be wrong.

Over the past four months we’ve been mostly sitting on our hands, our team has tried and tried again stressing the case for getting a new version up and running quickly, only to be faced with collective silence and stone-walling from our business.

Today things changed; there were some new people in the office today, people in suits, meeting with our team lead and his boss. A VP for Auto Finance flew in from NY, something was up. I joked to a team member that they’re going to offshore PDS again for version 2; we had a pretty good laugh about that.

Until another team member came by and told us that’s exactly what the business is considering doing. The meetings are with another offshore company, the business wants them to look over the code for our project and come up with an evaluation of how long it would take them to come out with a rewrite.

See the pattern? Yup, despite the fact the internal team completely turned around the project, despite the fact they tried to offshore and failed, the business is hell bent on making the same mistake again.

Its all about cost, the original offshore company quoted a price $3 million below the competition, and they delivered a product that met a tenth of the requested functionality. The business wants to throw the dice again and hope that this time another low-bid offshore company will do better.

It’s this kind of insane thinking that has made me sick of software development. This isn’t atypical, what’s atypical in the field are companies like 37signals, Fog Creek, Source Gear, Microsoft, and Google. Everyday I read online at how awesome these places are for developers to work in, and how successful their products are, it makes me physically ill to think how rare those companies are in this field. It’s not like there are any secrets to creating a successful software company, Joel Splosky and Eric Sink's blog basically spell it out to everyone for free!

I’ve been feeling this way for a while, everyplace I’ve worked at as a developer so far has been met with huge disappointment. I hate this industry and my hatred of the stupidity the companies I work for grows with every passing day.

I’m desperate to escape; NOTAMAce.com is an attempt, at least with my own website I’m in control. I can craft my own ads on Google AdWords, I can come up with the design and the copy of the home page. I can decide on the hosting provider and I can control what features go into the site, and which features are cut.

Of course, I’ve thought about giving up software development all together, just change career paths completely. A friend of mine recently suggested building airplanes (laying down carbon fiber for composites), I was pretty surprised how tempting that sounded. Another option is to get my commercial and CFI, start taking up students, maybe ferry some airplanes for the flying club.

I apologize if this post deviates a little; I try to keep this blog aviation oriented, but this was something I had to get off my chest. Almost like last weeks “Designing for the Passenger” post/rant, by the way I was playing around with a new writing style, I don’t usually run around screaming at the top of my lungs about corporate jet jockeys.

Til next time, clear skies!

Designing for the Passenger (Not the Pilot)

2007-03-17T22:38:00.000-04:00

In the eighty-plus years of general aviation, there is one simple fact that I believe GA has ignored (or at least paid little attention too). That most people are terrified of small airplanes.

Scariest thing in the world to a passenger

“BUT PATRICK,” you feverishly type in the comments of this blog, “STATISTICS FOR OVER HALF A CENTURY HAVE PROVEN THAT GA IS SAFER THAN ANY OTHER FORM OF PERSONAL TRAVEL!”

Its not about the actual safety record of general aviation aircraft, its the PERCEPTION of safety. Why do we assume that people can override thousands of years of honed evolutionary traits that have developed the practical fear of falling just like that?

“SEE THE STATS PROVE THAT IF YOU FLY WITH ME YOU PROBABLY WON’T DIE! LET’S GO FLYING!”

Commerical air travel has evolved to the level of use today because it focused on making the passengers FEEL SAFER. This involved practical safety measures (need examples), but a lot I believe had to do with the perception of safety. Jets were installed so airplanes could fly above turbulence, Flight attendants were registered nurses (to alleviate the passenger’s fear of being trapped in a tube in the sky while having a heart attack and no one to offer medical aid), aircraft seats double as floatation devices.

All of these innovations were messages to passengers saying “We care about how safe you feel, don’t be afraid, come fly with us!” They didn’t just tell passengers it was safer, they worked hard to demonstrate to passengers that it was. It still took a couple of decades, but eventually passengers finally relented and BOOM! Commercial aviation exploded and killed off its main competitor in long distance travel, the passenger train.

BIG JET = SAFE

This strategy has worked so well most people have it hardwired into their brains BIG JET = SAFE. This has worked so well it’s sort of come round to bite the airlines in the ass regarding regional carriers and turboprops. Ask a non-pilot relative or friend who has done some moderate air travel in the last few years, they will undoubtedly tell you how much they loath getting on a Dash 10.

Not a "real" airplane

WHY IN THE HELL DO I HAVE TO RID IN THIS LITTLE PUDDLE-JUMPER INSTEAD OF A REAL PLANE? WHAT ARE THOSE SPINNING THINGS UNDER THE WINGS? WHAT IS THIS, 1930? MAN IT’D BE REALLY EMBARRASING TO DIE IN THIS PIECE OF CRAP!

So what can GA as an industry, specifically aircraft manufacturers do to make passengers feel safer?...

Oh wait, were you expecting an answer? HA! Honestly I don’t know, if you’re expecting specific technological, marketing, or sales solution that’ll get your hot wife in the air instead with you instead of staying behind at the FBO lounge (WHERE YOU JUST KNOW THAT SOME MID-TWENTY NETJETS CITATION JOCKEY IS FLIRTING WITH HER RIGHT THIS MINUTE DAMNIT!), I don’t have it.

But a smart company would find out, because a smart aircraft company would realize that in GA we’ve just about reached an upper limit on what matters to the person in the left seat (avionics, performance, cost of ownership) and while we’ve got a person sitting on the right that we’ve completely ignored. A smart company will start take a Right Seat Design approach to building aircraft (and the company), because in the future that’s what will sell new airplanes.

I plan to start such a company.

IFR Refresher

2007-03-10T22:53:00.000-05:00

A while back I went into the simulator with Matt to just do some IFR stuff. To be honest I was a little nervous, I hadn't flown in nearly three months since I got my IFR ticket. So I was a little unsure how well the skills I've developed in the six months it took to get my IFR rating had held up.

To make a long story short, it was awesome!!

Seriously, it was like I had just taken the checkride. In the sim I did the VOR 28 at DLZ (hold at APE), GPS 27 at MRT, and finally the ILS 9R into OSU. Of course it was in the simulator, but the my tracking, procedures, and radio skills all came back to me and everything felt natural. The weather is getting a lot better, and there's starting to be more daylight in the evenings, so pretty soon I plan on doing some real life IFR in marginal VFR weather. Just to make sure.

I have some plans actually for the summer, an idea that I hope will help me fly to some interesting places and meet some interesting people. I'll update this blog when I actually get details worked out. But I'm pretty excited about it!

Clear Skies (or if Cloudy Skies for the IFR folks)!

Dropped from Google

2007-03-10T22:09:00.000-05:00

One of the biggest challenges I've had to face in starting my own website hasn't been the actual code. Nope, I can write the software just fine, after all, that's what I do everyday (usually). My biggest challenge so far has been advertising, informing people that my site exists and what it can do for them. For public websites, there has to be some kind of strategy in getting a high rank on the search engines, Google being the #1 search engine to target.

There's some controversy about Search Engine Optimization (SEO), whether is it actually a legitimate practice or not. Unfortunately SEO usually gets a bad rap, there are a lot of people who consider SEO nothing more than "spamming" search engines in order to get a top rank (at the expense of actual meaningful content). In actuality, legitimate SEO practices stress an importance on creating meaningful content, and good website design practices.

Neverless, search engines, especially Google will take a firm hand when they suspect that a site has used unfair practices to gain a higher ranking in their listings. I experienced this first had on Friday when I realized my Google Page Rank for NOTAMAce.com dropped to zero. What this means is that it is practically impossible for NOTAMAce.com to show up on any search listings for "notam" or "notams" in Google (fortunately, my ads for those keywords are still up).

At first I was furious, I wasn't participating in any "link farming", "hidden text", or other dubious practices to gain a high rank. I found the reinclusion request page for Google, however I resented the fact I had to confess that I did anything wrong in what I felt (at the time) was Google's error.

Well, after I calmed down I rechecked the guidelines, and I realized I had inadvertently violated them. You see, it took me a while to come up with the name "NOTAM Ace", a year ago I first launched the site as "Preflight Pro" and placed it on the domains "preflightpro.com" and "notduats.com". Well it turns out Google frowns on the same page under different domains (can't blame them, spammers do that too), so when they found three domains that had the same content, they flagged me.

I had decided to keep the domains active, simply because there were links to some directories and in archives of newsgroups that still had a link to "notduats.com". But I'd rather have NOTAMAce.com reactivated, so I called my ISP and requested the domain pointers be removed, and filled a reinclusion request to Google, explaining my situation and informing them I had taken steps to correct the problem. The time it takes to be reincluded ranges anywhere from two to eight weeks. I hope I get reincluded soon! At the very least I still have my Adwords to help with the traffic.

In the end I don't really blame Google, they have to make sure the listings are legit. I do blame the spammers (not legit SEO guys), who've really poisoned the wells for the rest of us.

Till next time, clear skies!

Port Columbus Tower Tour

2007-01-28T16:01:00.000-05:00

Last Friday my flying club, Capital City Aviation set up a tour of Port Columbus's tower (KCMH). This was my first time seeing the operations inside the tower at an airport and it's something I definitely recommend to any pilot. The staff were very friendly, and they took extra time for the pilots, explaining everything and answering all of our questions.

The big hit for me was the radar room, Port Columbus has about ten radar terminals, each with a large screen showing the radar returns, and smaller monitors on top displaying information such as IFR enroute charts, weather, PIREPs, and NTOAMs. The radar screen itself is amazing, packing a lot of information in a very concise and surprisingly easy to read manner (once you have someone explain what some of the numbers and symbols mean).

Up top, the "tower" portion is for the ground and on airport operations. The visibility is excellent of course, I could stand in the middle of the tower and have a 360 view of both ends of CMH's runways (there are rolling lifter stands for shorter folks). In the tower, there are monitors set up also showing radar returns from aircraft around the airport. At the time we toured the airport, there were three people in the tower, one guy handled the takeoffs and landings ("tower"), another the ground operations, and finally a very nice woman was handling the departure clearances and flow control.

All in all it was a very education and interesting experience, it was great placing faces to the voices. It gave me a greater sense of appreciation that these hard-working men and women are there to help the pilot and to prevent people from losing their lives. I'd like to go back solo and spend more time just sitting around and talking more with the people who work there!

If you're a pilot, take some time to visit your local airport and tour their tower. If they're like Port Columbus, they'll be very accommodating and pilot-friendly. Port Columbus preferred we visited during the weekday, simply because they could handle a large group better when they weren't busy, and midday during the week is fairly slow.

'Til next time, clear skies!

Setting the hook

2007-01-28T15:47:00.000-05:00

I'd like to congratulate my friend, Mark for taking his first intro flight yesterday. I still remember my first intro flight (also the first flight I've ever had in a small airplane), it was the first step in a long journey (which I'm still on), and it's a step not everyone makes. Mark wrote the following in an email to me soon after he solo'd:

"Ground school cast out the line."
"When you took me up I bit the hook....Matt just set it!"

Clear Skies Mark! Once the hook's set, you're not getting free!

What in the NOTAM - CARF

2007-01-24T19:53:00.000-05:00

CARF stands for Central Altitude Reservation Function is the organization responsible for processing altitude reservations (ALTRVs) for military operations. These types of NOTAMs are designed to keep private air traffic clear of military operations, and to give authorization for military aircraft to conduct operations not normally allowed under standard ATC rules and regulations. Here is an example of a CARF NOTAM:

!CARF 01/109 (KZBW A0009/07) ZBW CARF NR. 111 ON CORONET EAST 019 LEG-3 MILITARY ACTIVITY ALONG THE ROUTE BETWEEN DOVEY ACK 15000-FL210 WEF 0701251609-0701251841

Not all altitude and airspace reservations start off with CARF, off-shore reservations or reservations where there is inadequate radar coverage may be issued as an international NOTAM like the one below:

M0493/06 - AIRSPACE RESERVATION ACTIVATED AREA OAK ALPHA 3907N 7153W 3841N 7155W 3820N 6957W 3830N 69W 37N 69W 37N 7240W 3715N 7240W 3757N 73W 3820N 7248W 3846N 7230W SFC- FL055 08 NOV 23:59 UNTIL 07 FEB 23:59 2007

These types of NOTAMs should be treated like Special Use Airspaces (SUA), you should avoid flying in the area described in the NOTAM while the area is active. Speaking of SUAs, the FAA has a great site for checking the coverage and status of SUAs at http://sua.faa.gov/. A careful check of both the CARF NOTAMs and SUA should help you stay clear of the fast-movers!

Clear Skies!

Tower LGTS OTS

2007-01-20T23:20:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty happy to announce that I've just rolled out a new feature for NOTAM Ace, unlit towers.

How many times have you called the flight briefer or checked DUATS to be told there's an unlit tower near the airport. How many times have you just ignored it, simply because the information in the NOTAM is so vague as to be completely useless? ("8 miles East - North East of the airport", yeah okay that's really specific)

Well no longer, when you do a search in NOTAM Ace if there's an unlit tower in the NOTAM, you will know exactly where its located.

I'm really pumped by this feature, simply because it illustrates the benefit of NOTAM Ace's mapping technique, and it offers something DUATS and even the FSS briefer can't match (although as always call 1800-WX-Brief to get an approved FSS flight briefing before you fly...seriously I mean it!).

Till next time, watch out for those towers! Clear Skies!

What in the NOTAM - USD & UAR

2007-01-15T17:31:00.000-05:00

While developing NOTAM Ace, I've run across a lot of different Notices to Airmen. Understanding NOTAMs is important for conducting a safe and legal flight, however a lot of pilots have only a vague understanding of what they're actually reading. Most pilots (and I'm including myself) just do a brief skim, looking for only a few things like "Temporary Flight Restriction" or "LGTS OTS", and missing other NOTAMs that could have a critical impact on the safety of their flight. I built NOTAM Ace to help make understanding NOTAMs easier, but software can only do so much.

That's why I'm starting a segment called "What in the NOTAM?" Weekly I'll research something that is often found in NOTAMs and try to cover what it is, how its written up, and why a pilot should pay attention to it.

This week, I'm going to start off with two NOTAM contractions important to every IFR pilot (especially if they operate in and out of busy Class C or B airspaces), USD and UAR.

USD depicts changes to the published Departure Procedures (DP) for the airport, here's an example:

!USD 07/020 (KPHX A0290/05) PHX ST. JOHNS THREE DEPARTURE...DEP CTL 119.2/281.45

This example shows a change in the departure clearance frequencies for the ST. JOHNS THREE departure at PHX. If you were used to the old frequency, checking this NOTAM could prevent a couple of seconds confusion when the tower gives you 119.2.

UAR is the NOTAM code for changes to the published Standard Terminal Procedures (STAR) for the airport. Here's what one of these may look like:

!UAR 06/042 (KJFK A1485/06) JFK LENDY FIVE ARRIVAL LENDY INT THEN VIA LGA R-315 TO LGA VOR/DME MEA 3000. RADAR REQUIRED. WEF 0606281600

This UAR shows that for the LENDY FIVE arrival at JFK, there are some changes to the published route of the arrival. Knowing this in advance is essential if ATC happens to assign you this arrival.

Remember ATC can assign you a DP or STAR if available while you're on an IFR flight plan. Knowing in advance any changes to the published DPs or STARs is essential if you are planning an IFR flight.

That's it for this week in What in the NOTAM, if I've made any errors or omissions please feel free to leave a comment, I'll correct it ASAP.

Till next time, clear skies!

The past year in review

2007-01-13T15:27:00.000-05:00

Wow, its been nearly a year since I last posted! A lot has happened to me aviation-related in the past year. Here's a brief summary:

1. IFR Certification - I went for and received my IFR rating, passing my checkride on 11/22. Its been a challenging and rewarding experience, even more so than the private pilot certification. I own my thanks to my flight instructor Matt F at Capital City, who showed infinite patience and guidance during my training, especially when I "gave bad radio."

2. Preflight Pro - I did some work on my visual NOTAMs tool, Preflight Pro and relaunched it as NOTAM Ace. Its more polished and offers a better UI experience. You can see the new version at http://www.notamace.com/.

3. Mentoring - People who know me quickly realize its hard for me NOT to talk about flying. One of those people Mark, who I worked with during the first half of the year, figured since I talk about it so much there must be something to this whole flying business. He's now pursuing his private pilot certificate as well! He'll be training at Capital City (http://www.capitalcityaviation.com/) and I look forward to seeing him around OSU!

This year - 2007

What's a blog post for the new year without a list of goals? Well here are several of my goals for the new year as a pilot.

1. Keep IFR currency - a requirement and responsibility that comes with having the rating, still it'll be pretty challenging as a "casual" pilot

2. More training - I've been bitten by the aerobatic bug, ever since I the flying club outing to Red Stewart field. I recently found out that Marysville (MRT) has a flight school for aerobatics, I want to check it out and see about getting some aerobatic training. Maybe even compete as an amateur in a few competitions.

3. Getting non-pilots involved - I love sharing my passion for flight with others, it was great taking Mark up in the air and just cruising around. Another friend, Will is pretty interested in flying too, so during a nice weekend (a rarity in Ohio this time of year) I'd like to take him up in the Warrior as well. I believe strongly in aviation being a shared experience, and I want to show as many people as possible what I experience in a small airplane 3000 feet up.

Preflight Pro released to rec.aviation.piloting!

2006-02-13T23:15:00.000-05:00

Wow, what a great weekend! On Thursday night I officially introduced Preflight Pro to the aviation community, or at least a major part of the aviation community with the following post on the Usenet group rec.aviation.piloting.

The response and positive feedback from the group was overwhelming. I think I was on pins and needles all Thursday night and through Friday morning. Its one thing to THINK you've created something useful and cool, its a completely different story to have those thoughts confirmed by your actual target audience. I felt like a theatre producer/playwright on opening night.

Here are some of the things that came up during the initial release:

1) There was a bug early on in the searches for Sacramento that was caught and reported by a user (thanks Todd). The automatic error logging worked perfectly and sent me an email that pretty much spelled out what exactly went wrong.

2) A number of people noted that all they got was the city of Columbus, OH. Reading between the lines, I realized that the program didn't really do a good job of letting people know that a search was in progress. Therefore a lot of folks assumed (rightfully so) that the was stuck or hung. I plan on fixing that as soon as possible by putting in a animated "please wait" graphic.

3) There was a huge buzz over filtering the NOTAMs. It was a feature I considered before, but I wasn't sure if it was something people really cared about. While only one person initially called for filtering, a lot of other people jumped on the bandwagon in a small legal debate, offering alternatives to simply hiding the filtered NOTAMs etc. Based on the feedback, I plan on incorporating filtering in the next big release of the program.

4) I was worried about server load and performance, but the fact that the application performed 5000 requests over three days (75% of the requests served on Friday) without crashing or any noticeable slow-down, has put my mind at ease. My daily bandwidth consumption was also well below my calculated daily max, so I now know traffic can grow quite a bit without any more financial cost on my part.

All in all, I don't think I could have asked for better. Traffic after the weekend has dropped off, as expected. But I feel like I accomplished the goals I set out to do. My next plans are to continue to develop the features and just keep getting the word out to other pilots.

Finally, I'd like to thank all the posters of rec.aviation.piloting, I couldn't have asked for a better group of users for my little infant program. I will continue to seek your collective input as I work on making Preflight Pro the best NOTAM tool on the Internet!

Preflight Pro is the visual alternative to DUATs for NOTAMs and TFRs on the Internet. See the difference at www.notduats.com.

Clear Skies!

Preflight Pro: The alternative to DUATs for NOTAMs and TFRs

2006-02-01T12:23:00.001-05:00

Flying has been slow recently, with it being winter and all in the mid-west. Mostly my time has been occupied with a personal software project I've called Preflight Pro.

This project came from a need to address a major headache in preflight planning, Notices to Airmen (or NOTAMs for short). Currently there are three ways to retrieve NOTAMs so far:

1) Obtain a preflight briefing by calling 1800-wxbrief
2) Through DUATs
3) Or through the FAA's PilotWeb

Number 1 is hands down the best and most accurate way to get up-to-date NOTAM information before you fly. I'd like to repeat that, getting a preflight briefing from an approved FSS briefer is the best and most accurate way to get up-to-date NOTAM information before you fly.

But what if you're just checking out NOTAMs just to stay informed about the area you currently fly in? Or what if you're planning that dream flight to the Super Bowl this Sunday? You don't want to call up a flight briefer and harrass them if you're not actually going to fly in the next two hours are you?

So the only alternatives to access NOTAMs online are either through DUATs or PilotWeb. Let's be honest here, DUATs is an out-dated system that was designed to present text information on 300x150 monochrome terminal screens, and PilotWeb is nothing more than a screen scrape of that same text dumped out on a webpage.

I'm not denying that DUATs and PilotWeb are not informative; in fact they are excellent resources for information. But this is 2006, if you're going to present information on the web you're going to have to go a step beyond in HOW that information is presented.

That's where I hope Preflight Pro will fill the niche. I'm not going to say anymore except provide you a link to my site, I want you guys to see for yourself and make the call if I'm on the right track.

Preflight Pro: The alternative to DUATs for NOTAMs and TFRs.

Frozen body of WWII era pilot found in the Sierra's

2005-10-20T13:48:00.000-04:00

"Ice climbers have discovered what investigators believe are the remains of a World War II airman who crashed in Kings Canyon National Park and whose body -- still wearing an unopened parachute -- has been preserved in glacial ice for more than 60 years."

Click here for the article

Sporty's and the $200 cockpit poster

2005-10-16T15:09:00.000-04:00

Well I finally made my cross-country down to Sporty's at Clermont County (I69) and it was pretty awesome! Flying down to Sporty's was a plan of mine ever since I learned they were based in Ohio. The pilot shop was great; it was pretty cool seeing things you'd normally find in the catalog. I really enjoyed the aviation posters and I picked up a free cockpit poster of the new Cessna 182T with the flat panel displays (okay, it was free if you didn't count the $200 bucks spent just getting there).

I also bought this recreation of the Phillips 66 "Airplane pilot on Duty" sign (I’ve always wanted one). Now my question is, do I hang it up in my cubicle at work, or keep it at home? I'm leaning towards work.

The flight itself was pretty good too; it was extremely clear out, unfortunately there was a lot of turbulence. It was pretty bumpy up there at times, one jolt knocked me an inch up out of my seat (thank god for seat belts). I did get an opportunity when it was smoother to practice flying hands-off (keeping a heading and altitude with just the rudder and trim), which is a great technique when you have to swap radios and manage maps. It’s also something you need for IFR flying if you don’t have an autopilot.

The Ryan International TAS is excellent! This was the first opportunity to really use it and appreciate what it was capable of. The traffic enroute was very light, but I was able to keep an eye on the few planes that were around, as I got closer to Clermont I was able to see the traffic in the pattern and spot the traffic leaving the airport. It only gave me the voice warning alert once, and that was for a plane I had not previously spotted that intersected my path about 500 feet below me.

The only problem I had that put a damper on the flight was at the end, landing back at OSU. I was assigned runway 32, which isn't a runway they often use and I don’t think I’ve ever landed on before. Needless to say I wasn't thinking straight (I was in a rush to get home since I was almost overdue to have the plane back) and I got confused at where the runway was (I didn't have an airport diagram print out of OSU either). I could have worked it out though if I had been thinking and if I had asked for help from the controller. Well I didn't and I lined up for the wrong runway (5), the tower caught it (and so did I when I saw the big white 5 on the concrete). I tried to get back to 32, however I was still unsure where it was and I overshot it. Finally the tower took me out West and had me turn a 180 back to 27L.

It was embarrassing, and unsafe (thankfully there wasn't any traffic at the time) and it really was a poor ending to an overall great flight. Fortunately I wasn't asked to call the tower and I didn't get an earful (even though I know I deserved one).

Flying is a learning process, so here are some things that I learned:
A) ALWAYS carry an airport diagram, even if it's your home base, one look at a diagram or even a drawing of the airport would have prevented the whole mess.
B) If you're unsure at what the controller wants you to do, ASK ASK ASK! I could have told the tower "I'm unfamiliar with 32, I don't have it in sight, can you tell me when to turn onto final?" Or I could have simply requested 27L (a runway I was far more comfortable with).
C) Finally, don't let the rush to get to the ground cloud your judgment. I was running late and I was letting that extra pressure keeping me from thinking clearly.

That's all for now, if you find yourself in Ohio, definitely check out Sporty's (I69).

Clear skies!

Keep on Flyin'

2005-09-30T12:23:00.000-04:00

Hey everybody, so in case anyone out there was wondering, yes I'm still flying. I've joined Capital City Aviation like I mentioned in my previous post and I love the club! It was a great experience climbing into Joe's Warrior again, it was like being reunited with an old friend.

An old friend with a new traffic advisory system from Ryan International! Have I mentioned what an awesome guy Joe is? He bought two systems, one for the Warrior and the other for his Arrow right before I took my first checkout ride with the new club in August. Ryan International even came in (they're based right here in Columbus) to give a two hour presentation on the system.

So I'm curious, how many 172's and Cherokees with traffic advisory systems are out there available for rent? I would have bet good money a month ago that I'd never rent a TAS equipped Cherokee.

I also attended Airventure for the first time this year, and I camped out at Scholler and got promptly rained out during the severe thunderstorm that hit on Monday (that's for a separate post though). I'll get photos up when I can pull them off flash cards.

Finally I'm going to build up some cross-country time, I've been meaning to check out Sporty's. It should be a good 45 minute flight both ways and it should be a great way to kill a Sat. afternoon.

Clear Skies!

It's IFR, do you know if your transponder is working?

2005-06-05T21:00:00.000-04:00

Well I didn't go down to the AOPA fly-in on Saturday after all. We got into the air and proceeded as far as Zanesville before having to turn back due to mechanical issues. Here's the story.

My flying partner for the trip was a CFI (certified flight instructor) based at the NFA in Bolton. Let's call him X. Having a CFI along as a safety pilot is an excellent idea, they can fly in instrument conditions and they can give you decent advice during the flight. We met twice last week and went over the flight and despite some communication problems early on I made sure we were on the same page as far as the trip and the special procedures of the fly-in (in VFR conditions). We agreed that if there were any IFR conditions along the route then X could take over the flight.

Saturday morning I checked the weather with the briefer, and it was IFR conditions east of Zanesville, marginal VFR over Columbus. I gathered the information and met X at OSU at our designated time of departure. I met my partner at OSU and we pre-flighted the plane (the club’s Cherokee 180), planning on stopping at Marysville for fuel then heading on our trip, possibly filing IFR in mid-air. We taxied to the active runway at OSU and completed the run-up when suddenly the tower refused to allow us to takeoff. The conditions at the field changed from MVFR to IFR, and we had not filed an IFR flight plan. With some initial confusion between us and the tower we taxied back to the ramp to get fuel from OSU's FBO.

After getting the fuel, X wanted me to call the tower for some pretty strange requests (I was handling the radio communications, talking on behalf of X):

A) Call OSU tower for weather in Frederick Maryland
B) File an IFR flight plan (on the ground)

Okay, here's what's wrong with those two things. Both of those functions are usually performed by Flight Service Stations (FSS) not control towers. Control towers are just there to provide traffic separation, and weather at the airport under their control. A control tower can and will open an IFR flight plan, but they won't file one for you unless you're in the air.

I'm not IFR certified, but even I could tell that these were off the wall requests, or at least something the tower was unlikely to give us (especially the weather in Maryland). But I went along with X's request; I mean maybe there's a loophole I don't know about. Well there isn't and I received a pretty icy response from the tower:

"52 Tango call Dayton FSS for those requests"

Written down it doesn't sound bad, but with ATC its all about HOW they say things. Factoring the tone of voice you get something closer to this:

"Are you some kind of idiot 52 Tango? Call Dayton FSS like you're supposed to and stop wasting my time!"

So we walked back to the NFA office and I called Dayton FSS to file the IFR flight plan. Right now I'm still handling the communications, and I figure X's just preparing me a little bit for the IFR world (which I understand). After the call to the tower though I can't help thinking this guy doesn't exactly know what he's doing, I had a hard time imagining my two previous CFI's (Bob and Matt) asking for the same thing.

So I talked to the briefer, scribbled down any weather information I could catch, and filed the IFR flight plan. It’s not too different from filing VFR, although the cruising altitudes for IFR don't have the extra 500 ft (in VFR, cruising altitudes going East are odd thousands, plus 500 ft. ex. 5500).

After filing we got back into the plane, I called OSU tower again (making sure to tell them I filed IFR) and copied down their instructions. I had to ask them to repeat a few things, multiple times and finally I got the clearance. As I was taxing they asked me if I was IFR certified (gee how'd they guess I wasn't ? :P). I replied I had a CFI with me (self conscious of the fact I never really verified X's word by looking at his license).

So we took off, X took care of the controls and started navigating the route and talking to ATC. I relaxed because it seemed like once in the air he did know his stuff; he controlled the airplane well and got us on course in short order. I helped by jotting down ATC instructions and helping keep an eye on the instruments (engine, fuel, oil pressure). We climbed and leveled off at 5000 on a direct route to FDK.

A half hour into the flight, about at Zanesville, ATC called informing us that they were having problems picking up our transponder. At their request we recycled the device (switching it off and then on). This repeated a few more times; ATC would pick us up for a few minutes then loose us again. Finally ATC asked us if we could safely continue. I gestured to X that I agreed (with some disappointment) we should scrub the flight and turn back.

We turned around back to OSU, and it was at this point our number one radio, Comm1 started to fail. Whenever X tried to transmit, ATC and I could not hear him. We switched to the second radio, which seemed to work better. At this time though ATC was concerned and suggesting our alternator might be failing. ATC told us to stay on course while they worked out a closer airport with better conditions we could land, and came back with Port Columbus (KCMH).

ATC gave us the ILS approach for 28R, I flipped through the approach plates for X while he was busy controlling the aircraft. We descended to 3000, and at this time we noticed the door was ajar in the plane.

Now a loose door in a small airplane is not really a big deal. Most light GA are not pressurized so when a door opens you don't get explosive decompression with gas masks and stuff flying around like in the movies. A door open in a light plane is like driving really fast in your car with all the windows rolled down. It’s distracting and very loud, but not dangerous. Plus the door doesn't get to open all the way, because the outside air is keeping it firmly shut.

That said the distraction was pretty unwelcome with all the current drama happening around us, I reached over and held the door shut just to keep X from getting too distracted while he was flying (he was right next to the door and I could tell it was having some kind of effect on him). The drama with the door caused us to overshoot the ILS approach (X didn't have the right frequency dialed in on the Nav equipment). He got it straighten out a bit and ATC informed us we were right on course again.

This next part is a little confusing, I'm not sure how it happened but we went from maintaining 2500 feet to descending below to 2000/1800. I think X misheard the instructions, I believe ATC told us to start descending when we had the airport in-sight. Instead we started descending way too soon, still in the soup. ATC immediately called us up urgently with a ground proximity alert (did you know they also sound an audible alarm through the radio when they give you the warning?).

It was at this point, in the soup, door ajar, ATC with the proximity alert, X having some problems with controlling the aircraft (I think he was just trying to do too much) that I thought to myself:

"I could die today, right now, in this airplane"

I've been in some tight situations before, like when I got disoriented coming up from the Louisville trip at night. I never had the clear thought "I could die" before, mainly because those times I had some options in front of me and I was in control of the plane. This time I could really only watch it unfold and do my best to help X as much as possible.

I focused on the fact that while I wasn't in control of the plane, there were things I could still do. I alerted X when we deviated off course and when the altitude dropped, I put myself behind the stick even though I was not the one actually flying. I paid closer attention to ATC and above all I prepared myself to spot the airport when we broke out of the clouds.

Breaking out of the clouds and seeing the airport in front of us was a relief. X had done well and put us on final for 28R, 10 miles out. As soon as I saw it, I called "I have the field," snapped my fingers and pointed it out.

Things got a lot better once we had the airport; I had the landing checklist out and pointed out our target approach airspeed. We landed and got progressive taxi instructions to Lane Aviation (the FBO for the general aviation traffic), since Port Columbus is a large international airport and neither of us had been there before.

At Lane we parked, went inside and chilled out for an hour and a half relaxing, talking about the flight, and waiting for the weather to get better so we can make the short hop back to OSU in VFR conditions.

We made it back to OSU at 11am without incident, after leaving at 7 and only putting on 1.9 hours on the aircraft. I wrote up the mechanical issues of the flight and placed it in the aircraft's book and photocopied it to place in the NFA's drop box.
The president of the club called me the next day today we talked about the mechanical issues with the plane we had during the flight. Unfortunately he wasn't able to reproduce the transponder problem, but did admit that the Com1 problem was an intermittent problem they've had before but have not been able to solve.

X had suggested we shouldn't have to pay for the flight time because of the mechanical problems and we never actually completed our trip. I agreed with him at the time (mainly because I was tired and just wanted to get home), to bring it up with the president. After talking it over with him though I realized that wasn't going to happen, mainly because the planes are privately owned aircraft so the club doesn't have a say when it comes for comped time. Plus since the transponder issue couldn't be duplicated its a hard case to argue to the owner. I can see where the flying club is coming from, and I'm not going to press the issue, if X still wants to get his money back then he is welcome to try.

The president and I also talked about X, he confirmed my suspicion that X didn't have a lot of experience as a CFI. Also he's based at different, smaller airport and pretty unfamiliar with the operations at OSU and CMH.

Here is what I've learned from the misadventure Saturday:

A) Check out the experience of my flying partner beforehand
B) If I'm uncomfortable before the flight, express my concerns ahead of time, or cancel and not "hope things work out in the air"

This experience has convinced me to also checkout Capital City Aviation, the other club on the field. I know the owner of the Warrior and the Arrow in that club, and my first CFI here (Matt) also works there on the weekends. They have better quality aircraft (abet at a greater price) but I really think I would have had photos and stories of the AOPA fly-in for this post instead of a scary life and death experience if we had used one of those airplanes instead.

Short term I'm not renting the Cherokee 180 again, and I'm not flying with X again either. I’m grateful because at the end of the day he saved both our asses, and he’s a nice person and everything, but I don’t trust him enough to put my life in his hands like that again.

So I learned some things, got some unintentional first hand experience in an actual emergency situation that I was able to walk away from. At the end of the day this doesn’t change my love for flying, because like anything else the failures are just as important as the successes.

Until next time, Clear Skies!

AOPA Fly-In June 4th

2005-05-28T22:57:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I posted anything on here (I've been flying, just boring touch and go stuff). Currently I'm attending IFR ground school at the NFA every Thursday night. I don't think I'll actually do any flight training for my IFR rating for a while though, probably after I take the written exam (which the ground school stuff is preparing me for).

Hopefully this Saturday I'll be attending AOPA's open house/fly-in in Frederick Maryland. Since its a three-hour flight I'm going to split the flight time/cost with another pilot (he's a CFI too, so if I get into any trouble I've got an experienced pilot along). I'm looking forward to it, and hopefully I'll have a bunch of photos I can post.

Oshkosh 2005 is coming up, and I really want to go to it as well. I actually think I'll drive up and camp out for that trip. If I find a couple people to fly up with me though I might change my plans.

That's it for now, Clear Skies!

Snowed In

2005-04-02T13:00:00.000-05:00

Well I was supposed to go flying today but the weather had other ideas.

KOSU 021753Z 35015G24KT 1/2SM SN FG BKN007 OVC010 01/01 A2948 RMK AO2 SLP987 P0001 60015 T00060006 10022 20006 53006

Here's a brief translation of the above METAR:

KOSU - The airport I fly out of, Ohio State University (K is a designator for all US airports), and the place where the METAR report was generated for.
021753Z - The date and time, 02 is the second day of the month, 1753Z is 12:53 PM EST when the METAR was issued.
35015G24KT - The current winds, 350 is the magnetic heading where the winds are coming from (360 - N, 90 - E, 180 - S, 270 W). 15G24KT means that the wind speed is 15 knots, with gusts up to 24 knots.
1/2SM - Visibility, which is currently half a mile (SM is statue miles, which is the US standard mile). To fly legally VFR the visibility has to be greater than 3 miles (which still isn't alot).
SN - Snow
FG - Fog
BKN007 OVC010 - Clouds/Sky conditions, currently the clouds are broken at 700 ft AGL (above ground level), with an overcast layer at 1000 ft. Since to fly legally VFR I have to stay 500 ft below clouds, that means I have to fly 200 ft - 500 ft above the ground. Far too low for safe flying (rule of thumb for pattern altitude at an airport is 1000 ft AGL).
01/01 - Temperature and dew point in Celcius, the temp is just above freezing. The higher you go of course the colder it gets (SIGMETS show icing conditions at 3000 ft).

That's a short translation of the most critical pieces of information in a METAR, which is just one of the pieces of weather information available to pilots. It's usually the first thing I check when I make a go/no-go decision for flying.

Clear Skies (eventually)!

Flight Review

2005-01-15T23:14:00.000-05:00

So I completed my club's flight review today. Basically me and a CFI (another Matt) just poked some holes in the sky. Okay we did a little more than that, a couple landings at Marysville and some slow flight. I hadn't been in a cockpit for nearly two months but everything worked out (on one landing the CFI exclaimed "oh my God that's a great landing"). The weather was pretty good too, since December the weather in central Ohio has been a mix of snow and rain and even though it was pretty cold the sky was clear and a lot of airplanes were up.

I also got to use a couple of Christmas presents, the Noral flight bag and ASA's tri-fold kneeboard. They worked out great, I didn't loose any pens, I didn't have to fumble around with the map, and I felt more organized and professional.

Until next time, clear skies!

Twas the night before Christmas

2004-12-20T13:02:00.000-05:00

'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 thru the night,
"Merry Christmas to all! I have traffic in sight."

Anonymous

High Flight

2004-12-12T11:30:00.000-05:00

A posting to rec.aviation.piloting noted the following.

"On September 3rd, 1940, Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee, Jr., wrote his now famous poem "High Flight" while training with the RCAF. A scant 3 months later, on December 11th, 1940, he was killed while flying a Spitfire in the war-torn skies of England. He was 19 years old."

This was the first time I've heard of John Gillespie Magee, Jr. or of the poem "High Flight", fortunately it was also a part of the post.

High Flight
by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
and danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
you have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
hung in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
my eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
where never lark, or even eagle flew.
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
the high untrespassed sanctity of space,
put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

Abandoned & little known airfields

2004-12-04T14:19:00.000-05:00

Interesting site of closed or little know airfeilds, alot have very interesting histories.

http://members.tripod.com/airfields_freeman/index.htm

Santa's Sleigh on ASO

2004-12-04T10:32:00.000-05:00

It's a pretty sweet ride, especially with the upgraded Claus II Nav package.

http://www.aso.com/i.aso3/aircraft_view.jsp?aircraft_id=86820

2004-11-20T21:52:00.000-05:00

View when Keyhole first starts, scroll down to see a virtual flight between OSU & DLZ.

2004-11-20T21:50:00.000-05:00

OSU's east ramp and the old hangers ("old T's" for short). The hanger in the middle, right where the little red place holder is NFA headquarters.

2004-11-20T21:49:00.000-05:00

Short final for 27L, you can see an airplane doing a runup.

2004-11-20T21:48:00.000-05:00

Final for 27L

2004-11-20T21:47:00.000-05:00

This is the "outer loop" where the controllers like to check in when you're inbound for 27L & 27R. The big intersection is highway 315 and I270. OSU is on the upper right.

2004-11-20T21:44:00.000-05:00

This is a view you'll usually see when flying from Delaware DLZ back to OSU. The man-made square lakes are a natural checkpoint to call OSU tower since they are 7nm north of the airport. However they don't appear on the sectional charts at all.

2004-11-20T21:42:00.000-05:00

Closeup shot of DLZ's tiedowns, you can make out the yellow tiedown lines. Also note the compass rose in the photo matches the little rose on the lower left bottom from the program. Keynote also gives you lat/long and terrain elevation in the black status bar underneath the photo view.

2004-11-20T21:39:00.000-05:00

If you prefer a more bird's (or hawk's) eye view you've got that too, why settle for an airport diagram when you can get the real thing?

2004-11-20T21:37:00.000-05:00

Short approach 28, you can see the runway markings and available taxiways off the runway.

2004-11-20T21:34:00.000-05:00

Final approach for 28, the little pond on the lower right is a great indicator of wind direction, there's even a US flag in one of the little islands.

2004-11-20T21:32:00.001-05:00

On left downwind for 28.

2004-11-20T21:32:00.000-05:00

Delaware (DLZ), this is what a 45 degree entry to left downwind for 28 looks like. Note the giant rock quary on the left (right in the takeoff path for 28), this kinda detail is important if you've never been to DLZ before.

Flight planning and navigation with Keyhole

2004-11-20T15:11:00.000-05:00

Other than flying airplanes, I'm your basic mid-twenties computer junkie. I've always been a fan of Google, not only for their search engine technology but as a company not only sees the future of the Internet, but actually does something to make that happen.

Recently they acquisitioned a software product called Keyhole, which they announced this week in their typical manner with a low-key link at the bottom of their main page. To describe Keyhole, it's a streaming source for high resolution satellite images from all over the planet. In cities where they're highest resolution is available (such as Columbus OH) you can zoom in down to street level with an amazing level of detail.

That sounds pretty neat, but what does it have to do with aviation? Well, choosing checkpoints on a sectional chart is one thing, but finding the checkpoint up in the air is a whole different manner, especially if it's the first time you're actually flying in the area. Keyhole enables you to actually see what the lake or town you'll fly near will look like. Using the tilt and rotation controls you can even position the view to show you what it'll look like from the direction you'll be flying from.

This type of visualization is critical. Finding the checkpoint is important, but as I learned recently from my last trip to Louisville, the relationship between your plane and the checkpoint you reach is vital in determining whether or not you're blowing off course.

Keyhole also plays and important role in finding an airport. Airport and taxiway diagrams (assuming one is available for your destination, for many small fields there are not) can help you in figuring out runway lengths and orientation, available taxiways and such, but they cannot prepare you for what the airport will visually look like from your direction of flight. My first instructor told me that the second biggest lie in aviation is "I have the field." Well, using Keyhole you can prepare yourself by identifying visual cues that will help you quickly identify the field when you're in the sky.

Finally, to take it to the next step you can also virtually fly your entire flight plan from Keyhole. Pick your homefield and your destination and record the trip like a movie for later playback and study.

There are some limitations though, the highest "right-down to the street" resolution imagery is only available in certain cities, although they seem to be expanding the list like crazy, and there are a lot of areas that are "green zones" which only have terrain, road and river details, which is more like a visual rep of a sectional chart. In addition, the images aren't real time (of course) and there's a question of how recent the images are. For instance, a shot of Delaware's field (DLZ) showed where they recently repaved a taxiway, however when I looked up my friend Chris' house it just showed me an empty lot before they began construction.

These improvements are coming though, and it's going to happen soon. The applications for this technology are huge, although I think aviation has the most to gain from this, especially GA. Combine this with the GPS units and MFDs already being added to new GA aircraft, the availability of cheap and high quality flight planning (with real-time weather) software and the continued expansion of high-speed internet access, the information divide that separated the private pilot and the airline pilot previously is going to be a thing of the past.

A free trial of Keyhole is available for download at their website (http://www.keyhole.com). The free trial for the personal edition is 7-days, with a year subscription running $29. They also have a version for nVidia enabled graphic cards.

Clear skies!

2004-11-06T15:47:00.000-05:00

NFA's Warrior 6758 Foxtrot

2004-11-06T15:46:00.000-05:00

Joe's Warrior

2004-11-06T15:45:00.001-05:00

Diamond Star's cockpit

2004-11-06T15:45:00.000-05:00

Capital City Aviation's Diamond Star

2004-11-06T15:44:00.001-05:00

Matt R at the Grand Teton (Matt R)

2004-11-06T15:44:00.000-05:00

Taylorcraft floatplane on the dock (Matt R)

2004-11-06T15:43:00.000-05:00

Matt R and his little red Taylorcraft floatplane (Matt R)

2004-11-06T15:42:00.001-05:00

Spruce Goose & SR71 (Matt R)

2004-11-06T15:42:00.000-05:00

Spruce Goose & SR71 (Matt R)

2004-11-06T15:41:00.001-05:00

Mt St Helens from Convair (Matt R)

2004-11-06T15:41:00.000-05:00

Mt. Saint Helens (Matt's photos)

2004-11-06T15:40:00.000-05:00

Mt. Hood in the Clouds (Matt's photos)

2004-11-06T15:39:00.001-05:00

Grand Teton (Matt's photos)

2004-11-06T15:39:00.000-05:00

Grand Teton from Cessna 172 (Matt's photos)

2004-11-06T15:37:00.000-05:00

Elks at Jackson WY (Matt's photos)

Current state of affairs

2004-11-06T14:58:00.000-05:00

Probably the best thing to come after the election is the dramatic decrease in TFRs in Ohio. No matter what your political views are, I haven't met one general aviation pilot who actually supports VIP Temporary Flight Restrictions.

I haven't flown since the trip to Louisville, but there have been some interesting things that have happened recently with the flying club NFA. The warrior's owner Joe has left the club recently and moved his two planes to another brand new club on OSU called Capital City Aviation. I've traded emails with Joe and talked to the head CFI at the new club and I'm thinking about leaving NFA to join up with them (or maybe be a member of both). I've said before Joe is a great owner, and this new club wants to distinguish itself by attracting owners like Joe who really invest into their planes. As such the club is a pricier, the rules are a little more a little tighter, but the aircraft are much better. What really surprised me is they have a 2002 Diamond Star ($125 per hour), for those not in the know, the Diamonds are all composite next generation GA aircraft, and I've NEVER seen one for rent before. Usually to get an opportunity to fly one of those you either have to be in a flight training program at a university, or actually own one of the things (at nearly 200K).

Anyway the new club only has three planes so far, the Diamond, and Joe's Warrior and his Arrow. I've wanted to use the Arrow next year when I try to get my IFR rating, because then I can also a complex aircraft rating as well. A complex rating will allow me to operate aircraft with constant speed props, landing gear, and flaps (I always found the flaps part funny, since I've never flown a GA aircraft that DIDN'T have flaps :P).

NFA seems to be swinging back though; they just bought another Warrior to replace Joe's. The owner upgraded to a Garmin 430 GPS, which is the same as Joe's has (btw, all of Capital's aircraft have the 430, which means you don't have to relearn the radios when you switch planes). NFA's also upgraded a Cessna Cardinal with a new engine and a Garmin GNS 430, I guess they also needed to offer a replacement for Joe's Arrow, which was going to be the premier complex IFR aircraft.

I'm going flying tomorrow to check out NFA's new Warrior, the upside is that the rate is going to be cheaper $83 versus $89. I'll see if the money's going to be worth it. I'm also planning on taking up Capital's offer to check out their club. NFA's sent me their yearly annual records review form which I have to fill out; also I might have to arrange an annual check ride with a CFI. But I'm going to call and see if I still have to do it considering I just got my license in August.

Matt R who left Ohio to learn to fly and instruct in seaplanes in Canada emailed a bunch of us a couple of weeks ago and sent pictures. It looks like he's having a lot of fun up North here's a quote: "There's a new Commercial ASEL and ASES in town.. Me! Believe it or not, it gives me the right to teach in the seaplanes as well....scary isn't it?"

Well that's it for now, if I like what I see of the new Warrior tomorrow I'll probably post it here and what I think of Capital. Man I can't wait to go flying again, work's been a pressure cooker lately and I think a few touch and go's and steep turns are going to be just the thing to blow off some steam.

Clear skies!

Awesome

2004-10-23T16:01:00.000-04:00

http://media.hugi.is/hahradi/fyndnar/skycutter40.wmv

2004-10-23T15:41:00.001-04:00

Better view of the night horizon.

2004-10-23T15:41:00.000-04:00

More twilight, I believe that's Springfield lake.

2004-10-23T15:39:00.001-04:00

Twilight horizon.

2004-10-23T15:39:00.000-04:00

I spotted a fire off my right wing early in the trip, I'm not sure what the source was (probably a factory).

2004-10-23T15:37:00.001-04:00

Clermont County airport, home of Sporty's.

2004-10-23T15:37:00.000-04:00

Closer shot of the Stearman, you can also see a Luscombe and a Lake Amphibian.

2004-10-23T15:36:00.000-04:00

Boeing Stearman waiting for takeoff.

2004-10-23T15:35:00.001-04:00

Boeing Stearman taking off Runway 6, LOU.

2004-10-23T15:35:00.000-04:00

A Waco parked near Central American, no doubt resting after a full day of biplane rides.

Trip to Louisville (part 2)

2004-10-23T14:44:00.000-04:00

The trip coming up was in some ways easier and harder. The big advantage flying up last Sunday was the weather, the sky was extremely clear and I had great visibility for the entire trip.

Getting to LOU I said my goodbyes to Daniel and my Mom and began to preflight the plane. Central American Airways already filled it up, all I had to do was to pay. Getting back to the airplanes I completed the preflight and went through the pre-start checklist. Keeping in mind my experiences starting the aircraft yesterday, I kept the fuel pump off which did the trick and started the Cherokee nicely.

I was third in line to takeoff, so I completed the runup and waited until it was my turn. Soon enough I was in the air and on my way back home.

Keeping my course was pretty easy, still I was battling a stiff headwind which keeping my groundspeed down to 90 knots. Soon enough though I got to my checkpoint to call up Cincy's Class B, I was anxious to redeem myself from yesterday however when I called approach I got back this response.

"November 52 Tango, remain clear Class Bravo, contact me again in fifteen minutes..."

Uh-oh, looking over the chart I could see it would be tough to hold for fifteen minutes and still stay close to my course. Thinking it over I figured that it would be better to just divert around the Class B. I picked an airport on the perimeter to divert to, and picked an altitude that would keep me below Ciny's outer "shelf." After I made that airport I could turn back towards OSU and climb to a higher cruising altitude.

I went through the diversion procedures, charted a new course, timed it, checked my fuel and even plugged in the diversion airport to my VFR GPS. Listening to Cincy's frequency, it was very apparent that they were extremely busy, and it was best for everyone that I wasn't flying through it. :P

Flying to my new diversion checkpoint, and then back on course went without a hitch, although I had to keep a large crab angle in since my straight-on headwind turned into a left quartering headwind. The new course though took me over Clermont County, home of Sporty's, which gave me an opportunity to snap a picture of the field.

Because of the diversion, I was also using the VFR GPS to help keep my course (and distance to OSU), cross-checking with checkpoints. After I passed Summerford however I noticed the GPS was displaying OSU much closer than I was expecting (6 miles). Now OSU is Class D, which means I need to call the tower and establish communication before entering, and my GPS was telling me I was almost inside of it, while my VFR checkpoints and pilotage were saying something else.

Now here's where it got interesting, it was getting dark, my GPS was telling me I was almost home, however visually I could not see the city (visibility was good, however there was a haze in the distance) and my last checkpoint was telling me I was much farther away.

I circled around pondering what to do, I had a lake nearby which I could identify on my chart and I considered repeating the same trick I used on Saturday, basically plot a course from the lake to OSU. Now, that made a lot of sense, however the other part of my brain was saying "look, just fly the course on your GPS" and unfortunately I listened to that part first and wasted precious time chasing down that heading which cultivated with an embarrassing call to OSU tower. I misstated my position and basically they came back with "we don't have you, call us when you're within 5 miles."

By this time it was definitely dark, I was still close to my lake and I came to a realization. Basically I was looking for someone or something to tell me what to do, the GPS and the tower to tell me where I was. The realization I came to was that I and I alone could figure this out. That helped me to start thinking correctly and I started to evaluate my options again. The lake idea made sense, I knew it would work, and I knew that's what I should have done from the beginning.

Plotting the course from the center of the lake to OSU I flew over the lake and started my timer, suddenly the city became more visible, a couple of minutes later I could make out OSU's runway lights and flashing runway ending indication lights (REIL's). I called the tower again and they cleared me for landing, also reminding me that I needed to close my flight plan with the FSS when I got down.

Landing was uneventful, and I taxied back to park and secured the airplane, immediately I called my Mom and beat a path to NFA's office to call Dayton FSS. They were expecting me and wished me a goodnight. If things had gone really wrong up there I was glad I had filed a flight plan, especially since how close I came to getting lost.

So all in all my first cross-country after getting my license was a real learning experience. Flying is a process of continual learning, and while I made some mistakes during the flight (and some good decisions as well) I thinking I've learned from them and I grown as a pilot.

2004-10-17T17:08:00.000-04:00

Ohio River, visibility on Saturday was pretty much like this all the way down to Louisville.

2004-10-17T17:06:00.001-04:00

Bowman Field's Tower (KLOU)

2004-10-17T17:06:00.000-04:00

Tailshots of a DC cargo plane and a Piper Warrior tied-down on the Central American Airways ramp.

Trip to Louisville (part 1)

2004-10-17T15:56:00.000-04:00

Well, last week I flew down to Louisville to see my mom and my brothers. I had a lot of reasons for flying down instead of driving. Mainly I wanted to take a cross-country since I got my license, fly through a Class B, go through the process of opening and using a flight plan, and getting more familar with the Cherokee 180 in our club.

There was some doubt about the weather due to a weak cold front moving in, so I called mom on Friday night, basically telling here I'll give her a call before I left letting her know if I would be driving or flying. Early Saturday morning I finished up my planning and checked the weather, it was still up in the air, the good news is that the time frame I was flying down was mostly VFR, the IFR stuff would move into Ohio close to noon. So I called the weather briefer, who cleared up some points, mainly that the forcasts were prediciting slightly worse weather than what was developing. So I filed a flight plan, called mom and set out towards the airport.

Doug was there and since it was the first time we saw each other since the fly out we talked a bit, he's done with the FAA requirments and just has to take the written and the practical/oral exams. Preflighting 2652T was pretty routine, however like last time starting was tricky. I finally got the engine to catch by leaning the mixture and keeping the throttle wide open. I figured maybe the spark plugs were fouled, so I kept the mixture lean while I finished up the engine start and pre-taxi checklist. Run-up went normally and the engine was doing great, I called the tower and got my takeoff clearance and was up in the air in no time.

Leaving OSU it came fairly apparent that the visibility would keep me from flying very high, I kept it at 3000, which seemed to give me about 7 miles of visibilty. Keeping in mind the lower visibilty I stayed vigilant with the checkpoints, however I still ended up drifting off course, the tell-tale being that I was on the wrong side of a lake that I was using as a checkpoint.

Thinking about how to get back on course, I just planned a diversion, using directly above the lake as my point of origin and my next checkpoint as the destination. That worked pretty well and I got back on course just in time to call Cincy approach.

Now the B in Class B stands for BUSY, and it would be my first time through Class B solo (I've flew through Class C solo). The radio procedures are the same, the big difference is that the controllers in Class B have to explicitly give you clearance. In Class C and D airspaces you just have to establish two-way communication (they read back your callsign). I made it through without too much trouble, the controllers were pretty paitent with me, considering a couple of times I missed some radio calls. I got thrown at first because they preceded my call number with "November," now that's my aircraft full registration number N-2652T, but I wasn't used to anybody actually using it, normally the N is implied and you hear something like "Cherkoee 2652 Tango" or even "52 Tango." Once I figured it out I was able to respond to their requests better.

Good thing about going through Class B or Class C is that they vector you through to where you want to go, unfortunately they also vector you off a direct path, so you may end up far off your orignal course which plays havoc with your neat checkpoints. I ended up in Indiana flying South towards Louisville. Fortunately I had alot of tools available to establish my new position, and to stay on course towards Louisville. I had the VFR GPS unit in the Cherokee, also Bowman field has a VOR right on the field. Basically I just had to dial the VOR frequency, set my CDI needle and fly keeping that needle centered up.

The visibility improved too, and so the rest of the flight was pretty relaxing and I was able to dig out the camera and take some pictures of the Ohio River. Unfortunately the visibility wasn't good enough to get a shot of Louisville's skyline (which I really wanted, Louisville has a very impressive skyline when you come from Indiana).

After I landed at Bowman, I called ground and got instructions on how to get to Central American Airways. I was planning to use Triangle Flying Service, but when I called down there before leaving they told me they had lost their ramp space :(. That sucks, because I started my flight training at Triangle with Southern Air Flying Club. I meant to ask around at what happened but I got sidetracked with a minor annoyance.

Okay, since I wasn't used to Central American, I taxied and parked to the closest tiedown I could find and hiked on foot to their front office. They bascially told me I could park overnight bascially anywhere there was an open spot (no reserved tie-downs for airplane owners on the field??) and I filled out a fuel card for Sunday. Well getting back to the plane to tie it down I noticed there were no chains. Well there where, but they chain spots didn't fit my plane and there was no tail tie-down. Uh oh, so I climbed back in and tried to start the plane.

It wouldn't start . . .

No problem, this is 2652T, the hardest plane in the flying club's fleet to start. I leaned the mixture, applied full throttle and tried again, still nothing. I checked the makeshift ammeter guage . . . which showed just above 2 volts.

The master switch was one and there was no power. Super. I got out and flagged a fuel truck, asking if I could get a tow to another tie-down. He radioed it in and I went back to the plane and waited, and waited, and waited.

My mom was on her way and from the way it was looking I wasn't going to get the plane secured anytime soon. While I was waited I decided to try at starting the plane again. Switching off the alternator side of the master switch reveled that on battery power I could get almost 12 volts.

Thinking through how I could get more power I switched off the electric fuel pump, cranking the mags it sounded like the engine was pretty close to catching. Trying again and really working the throttle the engine roared to life! Sweet! I throttled down to 1000 rpm, watching the ammeter and switched on the fuel pump, the volts stayed up. Checking the load with the alternator and the battery the volts stayed normal at 15. Relieved I taxied to a better tie-down and as soon as I did came a lineman with a tow.

All well, I apologized, got the plane secured and finally met my mom in the parking lot who was paitently waiting for me.

So how much time did I save flying down? Well I left my apartment at 8 and I got in my mom's car at 12. :P Four hours, exactly the same time I would have taken to just drive down. The only difference was my butt wasn't sour since I was in the seat less (about two hours). My time was eaten up by the fact that I had to preflight the plane, and getting prepared for taking off. I was about an hour before I could actually get up in the air, and the whole parking thing at Central ate up at least thirty minutes.

Still it was pretty fun, and I got to do alot of the things I wanted to do, and I was less bored during the trip. I was surprised how easy it was to file a flight plan, open and close one. The process was really simple, in fact any future long cross-country trips like that I plan to use VFR flight plans with the FSS often.

Part two will cover my trip back home to Ohio...

2004-10-01T20:00:00.000-04:00

Visual representation of the TFRs for October 2nd.

Ohio TFRs for October 2nd

2004-10-01T19:45:00.000-04:00

As election day draws nearer, the TFRs (Temporary Flight Restrictions) in Ohio have been getting more and more frequent. Fortunately AOPA is excellent at letting its members know when a TFR may affect their area, usually 24 hours beforehand. Here's the latest one concerning Pres. Bush's bus tour through northern and middle Ohio tomorrow. The cities affected are Columbus, Mansfield, and Cuyahoga Falls.

The offical TFR NOTAM can be found here. Also a convient list of Ohio airports affected by the TFR.

On a personal note, I think joining the AOPA has been one of the smartest things I've done aviation wise. The TFR notifications (and visual and plain langague interpretations) pays for the membership itself.

Not to mention I get a snazzy blue AOPA hat.

Videos of the B52 ("Big Buff")

2004-09-29T21:13:00.000-04:00

Video1: BB in flight, 9min 29mb
Turn up the sound because those little turbine jet engines really make some noise.
http://www.mcgirt.net/RC/VIDEOS/Giant_B52/B52_flight2.wmv

Video2: BB's final flight
BB takes off, turns to the downwind, tries to turn back upwind, does a split-S straight into the ground.
http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/duggy/b52.wmv

Its pretty sad what happened to this guy, it's a beautiful plane and you can tell he must have put a couple of years or more into it. Model aircraft flying is tricky, simply because you have to rely just on a ground perspective in order to judge something in flight (you're also physically disconnected from the aircraft, so you loss alot of tactile sensations that can help in maintaining control).

Judging whether or not you're in a properly coordinated turn must be difficult, and when you finally notice that something is going wrong, there might not be enough time to fix it. Fortunately the only causality in a model crash is the aircraft.