My travel schedule has continued to be pretty brutal...

I am currently on my 9th airline leg in the past 7 days. In the past week I have been to Chattanooga, TN and to Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

So, the last thing you would expect would be for me to voluntarily spend a couple of my precious hours at home away from Jeanie in an airplane.

Did I mention that I have the most wonderful wife in the world?

My night currency had lapsed a few weeks ago because I have been home so little, and most of the few hours I have had at home have been spent sleeping.

Given what little time I have been home, most wives would have pitched a fit were their spouse to suggest that they wanted to spend their one evening at home - having had spent the morning attending a CAP meeting and part of the afternoon asleep - away from home yet again, flying. But not my sweetie.

So, off I headed to the airport.

The night was beautiful - clear, smooth skies with little wind and a bright half moon. All five of my landings (two before night and three after) were acceptable or better.

Even the songs on the radio on the drive home were great.

There I was innocently sitting in our monthly squadron meeting...

When the commander announced that our squadron's assigned airplane would be gone next week, having been volunteered to sit at Sun 'n Fun as one of two CAP aircraft on static display.  The plan was that the squadron would wash and wax the plane tomorrow, and then someone from the squadron would fly it down to Lakeland on Monday.  Because another squadron would be providing a lift back to the pilot, and the "lift" aircraft would already have two occupants, the pilot flying our aircraft down would have to fly into Sun 'n Fun alone.  From what I had read about flying into Sun 'n Fun, this was not a mission for the faint of heart, nor one who hadn't flown in before.  So, I resigned myself to not flying for the next week or so - at least not in the CAP aircraft.

Well, for better or worse, I ended up hanging around for a few minutes after the meeting ended.  During this time, the commander got a call requesting that the aircraft be delivered to KLAL today.  Guess who got nominated to fly the mission?  Far be it from me to turn down some free flying...  I checked the weather, and while it wasn't CAVU, it was VFR, as long as I didn't tarry, and didn't wander too far west too soon after take-off.  The forecast called for broken clouds, so I figured I would be able to get on top.  As usual, I requested, and received, VFR traffic advisories (flight following) from ATC - thank goodness I did!

Long story short, the entire trip was flown at 2,200 feet, bumpity bump, with prodigious amounts of vectoring by ATC to keep me away from thunderstorms and heavy precipitation.  Even though Lakeland is in central Florida, I ended up flying almost to the west coast of Florida before being able to head back to the southeast to get to KLAL.

The flight included a number of firsts for me - the aforementioned vectoring around weather, my first glimpse of lightning while piloting an aircraft, my first flight through rain (very brief and in case you are wondering, it is legal for a VFR pilot to fly through rain - as long as visibility and cloud clearance minimums are maintained), transit through Class Bravo airspace, and seeing people under canopy while flying an airplane.  The controller was nice enough to point these out to me at my 9 o'clock - I don't think he realized what a kick it was for me.  Nor did he probably realize what a kick it was for me to see Zephyrhills again from the air - even if it was while sitting in an airplane rather than in freefall or under canopy.

My landing at Lakeland wasn't bad - especially considering the brisk crosswind.

Even though the airplane that was supposed to ferry me home was supposed to be waiting on me, it didn't arrive until almost 5:00 pm.  Unfortunately, by the time it arrived, a solid line of thunderstorms had formed between us and home.  We ended up only being able to make it as far as Ormond Beach - the home of the two other CAP members.  The aircraft was one of CAP's new G1000 Cessna 182's.  It was so cool to watch the XM WX Satellite Weatherâ„¢ high resolution weather in real time.

Since I wasn't keen on the idea of spending the night in a hotel, I ended up renting a car and driving the two and a half hours home.  One of the members was nice enough to drive me to Daytona to rent the car.  I must admit, given the brutal rain that I had to drive through for part of the trip home, I sure was glad that I was in a car rather than in a small aircraft.

I can't end the post without noting how great Flight Service and Air Traffic Control were today.  I know the FAA is taking a lot of heat lately, but I couldn't have asked for a more thorough weather briefing, nor better service from ATC.

Boy we did a lot of flying a couple of weeks ago...

The original plan was for Jeanie and I to fly the squadron airplane down to Daytona (KDAB) on March 25 and drop it off for its 100 hour, then rent a car and drive back home.  Our plan had been to explore Daytona Beach a bit, and then swing by St. Augustine on the way back.

The flight down was good.  The skies were clear and the ride was smooth - at least until we got close to Daytona.  We flew down at 5,500 feet.  As we neared Daytona, we encountered a few scattered clouds at around 4,500 feet that ended up not being a factor as just before I was about to request an altitude change to get below them, ATC directed me lower.  Once under the cloud layer, things got a bit bumpy.  Not horrible, but enough to be sometimes a bit uncomfortable.  I also had a few new experiences.  I got to play with the Squadron Commander's Garmin 296.  In many ways, it is nicer than the KLN 94 installed in the aircraft.  This was my first time flying into a Class Charlie airport without a seasoned pilot in the right seat.  It was also the first time that I had ATC vector me all the way to final, and the first time that I was asked to do a LAHSO (Land And Hold Short Operations) landing.  The LAHSO landing was no problem as I was landing on a 10,000 foot runway and the LAHSO length was 7,000 feet - 2,000 feet longer than the longest runway at 55J, and at least 5,000 feet longer than I needed.

Well, after I called in to close the mission with the flight release officer, he mentioned that there was a loaner aircraft that we could take back to 55J.  I didn't really want to, as I was looking forward to the drive with Jeanie, but, being the good squadron members that we are, we decided to yield to the greater good and fly the loaner back.

Before heading back, we walked over to the terminal to cancel the Hertz reservation, and also to get something to eat, as neither of us had eaten all day.  We split a Subway prime rib sub that was pretty good.

Once we got back to the maintenance facility, it took a while to actually leave, as I found a couple of issues with the floater during pre-flight that had to be addressed.  I also experienced a problem with the audio panel that turned out to be pilot error.  The problem was that I could receive and transmit on Com1, but could not switch to Com2, nor would the intercom work.  Apparently, as a safety factor, the radios are wired such that if the audio panel fails, the system automatically fails over to a direct connection between the pilot's headset and Com1.  In my case, the "failure" was that the audio panel had been turned off, and I didn't realize that I had to push the volume knob in to turn the panel on.  Fortunately, one of the mechanics was very nice when I asked him to take a look, and didn't call me a dumb-ass, but simply turned the panel on and wished us a good flight back.

The flight back was nice as well.  Although I didn't get to linger, I did get a glimpse of the St. Augustine Light Station and the fort at St. Augustine.

My landings were decent both at KDAB and at 55J.

I did come to gain a much greater appreciation of both the squadron's assigned aircraft and the club plane.  While safe, the floater definitely felt like it had been rode hard and put up wet many times in its life.  Not only did it tend to drop a wing while in flight, but the controls just felt "sloppy."

I also, not that I needed it, came away with a greater appreciation of just how lucky I am to be married to Jeanie.

This is a way cool aircraft photo collection.  It includes my all-time favorite plane, the SR-71 Blackbird.  Here's the link: http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/index.html check it out!

I was catching up on my reading on my last trip to The Netherlands a couple of weeks ago, and came upon this story written by Ray Bradbury...

It was published in the December 2007 issue of Plane & Pilot, although it was originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, October 1988.

I can't imagine what it must be like to have gone to war, fought, and survived, but I have to imagine that this story captures the reality for many who have...

You can read this moving short story on the web here.

Last weekend was nice...

Saturday:

Jeanie spent a quiet day at home resting after a tiring week dealing with my mother.

I started the day by going to the monthly CAP squadron meeting.  Fortunately, there was no special training or events scheduled, so it was only an hour.

I Went home, changed, then went back on the island to donate blood.

In the evening, we watched the entire four hour presidential candidate debate which we both found very interesting and entertaining.

Sunday:

I Went to the Sunday coffee at the airport and spent a couple of hours chatting with the regulars. There was a relatively small crowd, but I found the time very enjoyable.

I came home and Jeanie fixed a yummy scrambled egg and cheese in a flat bread sandwich.

We took Cali and headed off to the beach for a forty minute walk.  We got to watch the para-motor pilots flying around which we always enjoy.  The weather was a bit brisk, but not too bad.  We then went to Center street and walked around for a while.  It was nice only having Cali, as unlike Diego, she is friendly with strangers and doesn't embarrass us.  We then went to the Dairy Queen, where Jeanie and I both ordered a double dipped cone.  Much to Cali's delight, the nice girls in the drive-in window gave her a small cup of DQ.  We drove onto the beach at the end of Sadler and ate our ice cream while we listened to the band playing at Sliders.  We then headed home, where Diego got to share some of Cali's DQ.

Since the weather was nice and my night currency was getting close to expiring, I decided to go do my three take-offs and landings.  I got to the airport a little after sunset, and by the time I had finished preflighting the aircraft, completing my CAP paperwork, getting my flight release, etc. I was good to go for my three trips around the circuit.  Technically, I had to only do two night landings, as I had just done a night landing less than a week ago, but I couldn't figure out how to do the three night take-offs but only do two night landings <grin>.  I was very pleased with my flying.  I performed one short field take-off and two normal take-offs.  Since the last time I had done night currency circuits, I had been high on all of my approaches, I decided to extend the downwind leg more than seemed "right."  This worked out well, as I was able to intercept the PAPI and fly the glideslope out at a much more comfortable distance and altitude, which allowed me to fly a much more stabilized approach.  For all three landings I used "normal" technique, but for the first two, I still ended up with reasonably short landing distances and reasonably smooth touch downs.  For the last landing, I allowed the roll-out to be relatively long so I could practice keeping the nose wheel off the ground as long as possible.  This worked out well, as it allowed me to get to a convenient turn-off point on the runway without having to do a lot of extra taxiing.

Jeanie and I started off the new year by taking a day trip to Cedar Key...

We headed off to the airport around 0930 and were wheels up at 1053.

I had planned our route to go from Fernandina Beach (55J) to Mayport (NRB) to NAS JAX (NIP) to Cecil (VQQ) then direct to the George T. Lewis Airport on Cedar Key (CDK).  I did this to avoid the JAX Class C airspace and the TFR over the Jacksonville Stadium and the restricted areas south of Cecil.  It turned out that the restricted areas were cold, so I could have gone direct from NIP to CDK, but I elected to stick with my VFR flight plan as filed.  The flight over was lovely.  The sky was clear and visibility was great at our cruising altitude of 4500 feet.  We did have a brisk headwind of approximately 20 knots which reduced our ground speed to about 85-90 knots.  The 129 knot trip took about 1:30 including pattern time.  I don't know why, but it seems every time we fly to an airport next to the ocean for one of these adventures, I am faced with a direct cross wind for landing.  This was no exception.  The combination of the slightly gusty 10 knot cross wind and 2,355 foot runway created some challenge for me, but we managed to land and get stopped (comfortably, without extreme braking) before the end of the runway on our first try, although it did take a small bounce or two to keep the wheels firmly planted on the runway.

I had read on Adventure Pilot.com  that if I made an inbound approach call on the CTAF (122.9), that more than likely Judy, of Judy's Cedar Key Airport Taxi, (Cell: 352-949-2127, Home: 352-543-5406, P.O. Box 326, Cedar Key, FL 32625) would respond back to ask if we would like a ride.  I did, she did, and I said we would.

By the time we landed, Judy was sitting on the ramp waiting for us.  The two mile or less ride from the airport to "town" was quick and reasonably priced at $10 total ($5 per person), and Judy was friendly and informative.

Judy drove us to Dock street, where Jeanie and I checked out the menus of the various restaurants.  We ended up selecting Frog's Landing Restaurant (420 Dock Street, Cedar Key, FL 32625, 352-543-9243).  We thoroughly enjoyed our selection.  The ambiance was nice, with a Florida Keys decor and Jimmy Buffet / Island type background music.  The food was wonderful.  Jeanie started with a cup of "Frog's Thick and Creamy Crab Bisque" which was delightful - true to its name, with loads of tender crab meat.  I had a cup of their soup of the day - a hearty gumbo which was also quite good.  For our entree, Jeanie and I split an order of Deviled Crab (2) and Fried Shrimp (6) with fries and slaw.  Ordering deviled crab can be a bit of a crap shoot since sometimes it is more devil than crab, but in this case, it was definitely more crab than devil.  The crab and shrimp were cooked just right, the fries were hot and crispy, and the coleslaw was light and creamy.

After lunch, we took a walking tour of the island.  The streets on the main portion of the island are laid out in a grid and logically named.  The east-west streets are numbered 1-8 starting at the south, and the north-south streets are lettered A-G starting at the east.  We ended up walking the length of Dock, 1st, 2nd (which appears to be the "main drag" and 3rd streets.  This gave us an opportunity to see many of the restaurants on the island, as well as to visit a number of shops, a grocery store and the city park with its tiny (we believe man-made) sand beach.  The island is small, and appears to be best suited either for a day trip such as ours, or if you're planning to stay a night or two, to those who want either a very laid back quiet vacation, or are avid fishermen or nature lovers.

As an experiment, we took Jeanie's new Garmin Nuvi 650 with us as we walked around Cedar Key.  I also played with the four different GPS/Mapping applications I have loaded on my Blackberry.  We were surprised and disappointed at the performance of the Garmin as a pedestrian GPS.  While it is wonderful in the car, we found it to be inadequate while walking around.  The main issues were that we couldn't find a zoom level that gave us enough of an overview while maintaining reasonable detail, and we couldn't scroll the map to display what we wanted to see.  On the other hand, the Blackberry worked surprising well.  Both the Garmin and the Blackberry had difficulty locating the GPS satellites.  I don't really understand why, as we were out in the open when we started trying to use them.  Both did eventually lock on (mostly).  The worst performer on the Blackberry was the Blackberry native mapping program.  It never did manage to get the GPS active.  Nav4All worked okay.  amAze GPS worked quite well, even noting some points of interest without having to go into POI search mode (which is good since its POI search is weak).  It did struggle a bit to maintain the lock on the GPS satellites and when it lost them, in terms of best overall functionality, I'd have to give the prize to Google Maps.  I believe that Google Maps supplements it's GPS guidance with guidance based on triangulation from cell phone towers.  It seemed to have the best control over map size and location, along with an uncanny ability to determine our location and direction of travel.  The one downside to using the Blackberry as a GPS device is that doing so gobbles up the battery.

Ended up back on Dock Street.  Jeanie was in the mood for a cup of coffee and something sweet.  We decided to try a different restaurant, just because.  We selected "Seabreeze On The Doc" (PO Box 520, Cedar Key, FL  32625).  Seabreeze is a two story establishment, with a bar on the ground floor and a restaurant on the second floor.  We elected to go up to the restaurant.  As with Frog's, the restaurant sits on pilings extending out into the bay.  Three sides of the dining area were floor to ceiling glass, which afforded just about everyone in the place a beautiful view.  We were seated next to the glass in the sunshine, which was fine with us as we were both a bit chilled.  We ended up splitting a scrumptious slice of Key Lime Pie.  The pie was just right, with that perfect blend of sweetness and tartness, complimented by the creaminess and sweetness of a fresh whipped cream topping.  The crust was a traditional graham cracker crumb crust, with just enough butter and sugar to hold it together, but not so much as to make it sticky or tough.

Even though from what I had read, the $10 taxi fare was "round trip," Jeanie and I decided to walk back to the airport so we could sight see a bit more.  I find that I notice so much more walking than I do riding.  I don't know if it is just an issue of the slower speed, or if I just pay more attention when walking.  As an aside, all told, we walked almost six miles during our visit.

Here are some photographs from the day: http://www.blogdom.org/gallery/view_album.php?page=2

For some more nice photos, check out Stuart Jewkes page here: http://www.pbase.com/stuwj/cedarkey

For our departure, we still had the direct cross wind, but the wind speed had increased.  Let's just say it was right at the limit of the demonstrated cross wind capability of the aircraft.  Even though the Cedar Key Visitor's Site (http://www.cedarkey.org) on its airport information section (http://www.cedarkey.org/island.html#airport) (gee, what a concept!) suggests departing on runway 5, I elected to use 23.  My logic was that given the strong cross wind, were I to drift away from the runway after lift-off, I'd rather drift over the open water than near houses, plus, the obstacles were lower and farther away using 23 than using 5.  I thought this was a better alternative, even if it meant taking off with the sun in my eyes and departing over open water.  I elected to perform a standard short field take-off.  As soon as I was airborne, I crabbed into the wind, and was able to maintain my heading on departure.  The sun was low on the horizon, and once we rotated and crabbed, it wasn't a factor.  We were fortunate in that right after we got into the plane, but before I started it, a Piper Cherokee came in for a landing.  I am not sure if the first approach was an intentional go-around, but I think it was.  I think the pilot chose to fly a low pass to get a feel for the conditions before committing to a landing.  His second approach was picture perfect, and he made an absolutely text book cross wind landing.  The fact that he was able to land with no apparent problems gave me more confidence that I would be able to take off without too much problem.

Although as best I could tell, my take-off was quite good (given the conditions if I do say so myself) I got a bit flustered.  The aircraft was always under control and I maintained proper airspeed, etc., but Jeanie said I was breathing pretty hard right after lift-off.  I definitely feel it was the most difficult take-off I have ever performed.  To top things off, shortly after take-off, Jeanie told me that my door wasn't closed.  It turned out that it was securely latched, but was not quite as tightly closed as normal - I guess I didn't slam it quite hard enough when I went to shut the door so there was a slight gap between the door and the seal.  Since it was secure, and given the conditions at Cedar Key, I elected to continue on.  Other than a very slight draft from the gap, there was no issue.

The old adage is "Aviate, Navigate, Communicate" and I guess I kept to the principle.  I managed to handle the airplane, and get myself pointed in the right direction.  My communication left a bit to be desired.  On three different occasions, I either entered the proper frequency into the stand-by frequency but then forgot to press the flip-flop button before transmitting, or I entered the frequency into one radio, but forgot that I had the other radio active.  In each case (once on CTAF, twice with ATC) the people on the frequency were very friendly and gently advised me of my error.  My communication wasn't all bad.  Once I got on the right frequency, I did manage to communicate properly and effectively.  I even filed our return VFR flight plan over the radio (a first for me), and switched from ATC to FSS to get a check on winds aloft (also a first).

I flew the same route (except reversed) home.  Other than a very brief period of mild turbulence on the way home, the ride was smooth.  Now traveling north east, and given the increase in wind velocity, we now were helped by an almost thirty knot tail wind.  For a good portion of the return flight, we had a ground speed of 134 knots at 7,500 feet.  Wheels up for the return portion was around 1730, so we got to enjoy a beautiful sunset (1745) out of the rear window as well as some lovely night flying.  Night landings always make me tense.  I just don't fly them as well as I think I should.  As a reminder, Jeanie isn't too keen on landings - day or night.  It has something to do with the fact that she's had lots of take-offs in small airplanes, but relatively few landings (since she tended to get out along the way).  Given that I had my sweetie as a passenger, I attempted to exude confidence in my approach and landing so as to not increase her apprehension.  Fortunately, the wind was right down runway 31 (which, strangely enough, given that it is the instrument runway, does not have VASI or PAPI).  I don't know if it was my exuding, or just dumb luck, but I made the best night landing I have ever made.  It would have even qualified as a real nice day landing.  Total time back was about an hour and a quarter.

All in all, it was an absolutely wonderful way to start the new year.

And boy did I spent a lot of time in the air...

The weather for the last few days has just been glorious - crystal clear skies, comfortable temperatures on the ground and gentle breezes.

On Saturday, I rode as safety pilot for one of the CAP members doing instrument approaches.  We went up to Brunswick GA (SSI) and shot a couple of approaches, then returned home.  It was a little bumpy, but not bad, and the sky was clear and beautiful.

On Sunday, I flew the CAP 172 for a little over an hour.  It had been a while since I had spent an hour just focusing on proficiency, so I spent the time doing touch and goes, slow flight, steep turns, turns around a point, etc.  When I am doing that kind of flying I don't get to enjoy the scenery much, but I think it is important to regularly focus on the basics, and even if I don't get to look around much, I do enjoy the skills work.

After I landed, I noticed a couple of the flying club members pushing their airplane back into the hanger, so after I got the CAP plane back in the hangar, I walked over to chat.  As I was chatting with them, another flying club member who happens to have a hangar facing theirs walked up and mentioned that he was going to take his Citabria up for a spin, and asked if I wanted to go with.  Gee, twist my arm...  Turns out, he was literal in his offer to go up for a spin.  And a loop, and some rolls, and a half-Cuban, and some snap rolls, and...  To say I had a blast would be a massive understatement.  It had been years since I had ridden in an airplane doing aerobatics - back then it was also in a two person tandem airplane with a stick rather than a yoke; the main difference between that plane (a Super Decathlon) and this was that the Decathlon had a fully inverted fuel and oil system, a larger engine and a constant speed prop so it could do more "stuff" .  It was just as much fun as I had remembered.  For years, I have had a dream to one day own an aerobatic airplane and learn how to perform aerobatics - maybe some day...

As I was walking back to the truck, I happened upon our CAP squadron commander who was just getting ready to go up to do some proficiency flying in the CAP airplane.  He asked if I would like to go with.  "Sure," I said.  I quickly changed back into my CAP golf shirt, and off we went.  I hadn't gotten to do that much "sightseeing" on either of the day's earlier excursions, so I took the opportunity to fully enjoy the view while flying with Nick.

I guess this weekend was a good demonstration of that old definition of luck: when opportunity meets preparedness.  I definitely felt lucky this weekend.

I found the coolest site this afternoon: http://www.guiweather.com/

Among the many way cool features are a number of KML files for Google Earth.  My favorite is the Level II Radar that can display the latest static radar map or a loop automatically updated every five minutes.  To install it, with Google Earth open, all you have to do is click on this link.

Another source of weather data including Nexrad Radar and Airport Weather Observations (METARS) is http://earthnc.com/  They also offer all sorts of boating related overlays if your interests sway more to the nautical.  In order to access the features you need to register, but registration is quick, easy and free.

Another site with some interesting KMLs is http://www.weatherstationmaps.info/weather/radar/googleEarth.jsp, which is also a cool weather site in its own right.

Finally, one more site with interesting KMLs is http://wdssii.nssl.noaa.gov/geotiff_new/index.html.  I particularly like their regional loops, which seem to have better resolution than some of the other sites'.

I could burn lots more time playing with this as Google returned 288,000 hits from a search string of:

Google Earth Weather with online RADAR overlay

but I should go do something more productive.

As with most weeks, last week had its ups and downs.

My mother is not doing too well.  She is back in the hospital and is being handled by the hospital as an incompetent person.  Even though part of me rebels against the thought, since there really is no one else to do it, Jeanie and I have started the process of seeking guardianship.  Jeanie did a lot of work researching attorneys in the extended area, made lots of calls, and ended up finding what we believe will be a good attorney, skilled in these sorts of matters, right here in town.  We met with her early last week and had expected the papers to be filed this week.  Unfortunately, a recent (three weeks ago) Florida supreme court ruling now requires that even for emergency temporary guardianship, the alleged incompetent person must have an attorney to represent them and must have the guardianship petition personally read to them by the attorney prior to being accepted by the court for consideration.  It would have been nice had we known that before we got all dressed up and drove to Jacksonville to appear before the judge in his chambers.  At least, the judge was nice and since we had made the effort to appear, he "swore" us in his chambers and made sure that there were no disqualifying items (prior felony convictions or bankruptcy) that would prevent us from being able to act as guardians in the state of Florida.  This will hopefully save us from having to go back to Jacksonville - our attorney should be able to file/appear on our behalf.

Depending on how well the hospital can stabilize her, she may be able to go back to the assisted living facility where she is currently residing, or she may have to go to a nursing home.  Even if she can stay in an ALF, we may choose to move her back closer to here, as it just adds to the challenge of caring for her having her over an hour away.

The weekend was nice for the most part.

On Saturday, we went to breakfast at Miss Caroline's.  It was crowded, somewhat slow, and the food was fine, but relatively expensive given the total lack of presentation or inclusion of any side dishes.  I ordered eggs benedict and that's what I got - two English muffin halves, each topped with a piece of Canadian bacon and a poached egg, topped with Hollandaise sauce plopped on a plain white plate - nothing else.  Jeanie ordered pancakes and that's what she got, three pancakes plopped on a plain white plate.

After breakfast, we went downtown to the Amelia Cruizer's 11th Annual 8-Flags Car Show.  Before walking around the show, so we would still get a good selection, we stopped in at the Fernandina Farmer's Market where we picked up some fresh veggies and a small Myer's Lemon tree.  The car show was quite enjoyable.  The weather was lovely, and there were lots of interesting cars.  Jeanie and I both thought Bob Murphy would have enjoyed the show - it is sad that Wendy and Bob live so far away.

After spending an hour or two downtown, we headed home.  We spent the afternoon relaxing in the house.

Around five, I headed out to the airport for a CAP Search and Rescue Exercise (SAREX).  It was interesting because rather than the normal ELT search, we did a visual search.  I acted as Observer on our sortie.  It was more challenging than I had anticipated both because every time I had to turn my attention in to the cockpit to jot down a note or talk on the radio, I had to break off my visual search, and just because spending an extended period of time really looking for something in a systematic manner is tougher than you might expect.  The exercise really made me appreciate (at least in a small way) just what the folks looking for Steve Fossett went through.

After the SAREX, a number of us stayed around to do night proficiency flying.  I was very disappointed in my flying.  The night was absolutely beautiful - clear skies and no wind, so the experience should have been picture perfect - unfortunately, it was far from it.  Each of my approaches were quite high turning onto final.  On my second approach, everything seemed fine right up to touchdown, but at the last minute, the aircraft got squirrelly and I bounced and elected to go around.  I was slow retracting the first notch of flaps and let my airspeed get lower than I should have.  There was no major issue and the stall warning never sounded, but I think I made my copilot nervous which really upset me.  The three landings I made weren't horrible - I didn't pound the aircraft into the ground or land way long - but they weren't great either.  By now, I expect that especially in ideal conditions, every landing should be perfect.  I really need to focus - especially at night - on attitude flying.

On Sunday, I did my normal Sunday morning ritual of going to the airport to hang out.  There was a good crowd and I ended up staying for a couple of hours.   The time was pleasant, but I was still aggravated over my flying from the previous night.

Jeanie and I had planned to do some chores around the house - like planting the lemon tree, but Jeanie had a migraine, so we just spent a quiet afternoon and evening at home.

I had another "first" yesterday: I acted as Safety Pilot for an IFR rated pilot (one of the other CAP members) practicing IFR procedures.

Riding as safety pilot has to be one of the best deals going.  Basically, my job was to sit in the right seat and look out for other aircraft while the guy doing the flying (and all the real work) was under the hood.  So, in effect, I got to sightsee, learn about IFR procedures and observe a proficient IFR pilot actually performing IFR procedures - all for free!  Oh, and I even got to log the time!

Turns out, per FAA rules, in this particular situation, the safety pilot is considered a required crew member, and as such, is eligible to log the time.  In our circumstance, we decided that the guy doing the flying would be acting as Pilot In Command, so I was only able to log the time as Second In Command.  This was fine by me, as I had never flown with this person before, so I wouldn't have been comfortable taking the responsibility of being the PIC anyway, given that had we agreed that I would act as PIC, then I would have been liable for anything the guy flying did wrong - even something like busting airspace or an assigned altitude or course.

In the future, I may choose to accept the responsibility of acting as PIC, as this would be a good way to build PIC time, which I need to be able to become a CAP Mission Pilot or Cadet Orientation Pilot.  I believe I would feel comfortable doing this with the guy I flew with yesterday, as well as with a number of the other pilots I have flown with in the squadron.  Even if I don't act as PIC, it will still allow me to build my time in general, which can be helpful for other things I might want to do.  I guess I'd better get the word out that I am available...

Jeanie and I spent the better part of the day in Deland today...

I have wanted to fly to Deland for a while.  Now that Jeanie is also a CAP member, we took the opportunity to take a cross country proficiency trip to DeLand Municipal Airport-Sidney H Taylor Field. 

Even though I had looked up the airport on AirNav, I didn't know where to park and didn't want to waste a bunch of time taxiing around the airport.  I tried to call Unicom to get some directions, but got not answer.  So, I just ended up guessing about where to park.  We ended up parking part way between Skydive Deland, which was a big part of the draw for this particular destination airport (and close to where we exited the runway) and the FBO, which was at the far end of the taxi way.  I had a feeling that we had not parked in a public spot, so we started walking over towards the FBO to ask.  As we were walking, we noticed a flight instructor from what turned out to be Regional Airline Academy Inc, and decided to she if she could provide some information.  She was very nice and explained that the FBO indeed was at the end of the field, and that they no longer monitored Unicom.  She also mentioned that it would be fine to leave "our" airplane right where it was for a few hours (I got the impression that it was part of the flight school parking area).

So, after thanking her for the information, we walked back over to Skydive Deland.  Being back at a DZ was bittersweet for me.  I guess there is still a part of me that misses the days when I ate, slept and drank skydiving at the Franklin County Sport Parachute Center - now known as Carolina Sky Sports.  Jeanie wasn't plagued by any such melancholy.   The facilities at Skydive Deland were definitely a step up from what we were accustomed to (although in fairness, my guess is that so too is Carolina Sky Sports).  While we were happy to cram into a Cessna 182 or as a treat, a Beach D-18, the jumpers in Deland got to jump out of a Skyvan.  While most of the jumpers were kids who probably didn't have  a clue, there were a few gray hairs who probably appreciated the luxury of jumping a Skyvan.  Deland also sported a nice gear shop, a restaurant, large indoor packing areas, a nice spectator area and even a playground for the kids!  On the other hand, when we jumped, there were acres of open fields to land in, and other than the jump plane, no other aircraft for miles.  I can't imagine jumping at an airport with such a high volume of traffic - having to land next to or between active runways.  After watching a few loads land, we headed off for some lunch.

We had lunch at the "Airport Restaurant and Gin Mill."  Our other option was "The Perfect Spot" at Skydive Deland, but based on a few reviews on AirNav, we decided to go to the Gin Mill.  The Gin Mill had been voted the “Best Cheeseburgers in Central Florida.â€�  I wasn't that hungry, so Jeanie and I decided to share, which meant a hamburger cooked medium well (rather than a cheesburger cooked medium rare) and some onion rings.  Jeanie and I were both really pleasantly surprised.  The burger was hot, juicy, and delicious, as were the onion rings.  The service was excellent.  The server went above and beyond normal good service - she overheard Jeanie mention in conversation that after flying I typically was more thirsty than hungry, so she brought over a pitcher of diet coke so we wouldn't be left with empty glasses.

As an aside, as I was writing this entry, I stumbled across a cool new (to me) aviation oriented web site - one that has lots of reviews of airport restaurants - http://www.flyingflorida.com/index.html.  Their review of the Gin Mill is not consistent with our experience today, but their two reviews of the Fly-By Cafe in St. Augustine are consistent with my two experiences there.

After lunch, we headed back over to the DZ.  We had hoped to see some jumpers exit and watch some RW, but the only jumpers we could ever spot in freefall were tandem jumpers - due to being able to see the relatively large drogue chutes that they deploy to help stabilize the freefall.  We sat at the door of the packing room for a while reminiscing about all the parachutes we had packed so long ago, then decided it was time to head home.

As we walked around the airport, I was once again struck at how different the feel is at 55J compared to other municipal airports in this area.  Deland had a number of business on the airport property, lots of "T" hangars, and the few open hangars we walked by just felt "friendly."

The flights to and from were very nice.  Visibility was quite good, and the ride was smooth.  Time enroute was  about an hour each way.  Landings were good on both ends.  Beautiful weather, flying a nice airplane, a visit to a new airport, a good lunch and time spent with my best friend - what a great day.

On Thursday, I flew my first solo CAP Transport mission...

Three of us (the unit commander Nick, the unit operations officer Mickey, and I) drove to Craig Municipal in Jacksonville where we picked up the Craig squadron's new Cessna 182 G1000 glass cockpit aircraft.  The glass cockpit is absolutely amazing.  The amount of information available is incredible.  Having real time weather and traffic is a huge plus.  I rode in the back seat so Nick and Mickey could hone their G1000 skills, both having been recently qualified in the aircraft.

The flight down to Daytona (KDAB) was smooth and uneventful.

After making sure that our aircraft was ready, Mickey and Nick headed off back to Craig, leaving me to fly our aircraft back to Fernandina by myself.  The reason we didn't take a fourth person is that due to weight and balance issues, CAP C172's and C182's can typically only carry three adults.

This was my first time ever acting as PIC departing from a class C airport.  Fortunately, I had flown into Daytona a month ago, and had flown right seat out of Daytona earlier this year, so I was at least familiar with the airport.  Still, I was a bit apprehensive - not from a safety concern, but from a concern that I would stumble on a procedural element.

Although I tried really hard to do everything right, I did make one stumble.  I started off properly, first listening to ATIS and writing down the information, then contacting Clearance Delivery to receive my initial instructions.  My stumble occurred when I went to contact Ground.  Rather than using the proper ground frequency, which I had previously written down, I used the Departure Control frequency which I had just written down from my communication with Clearance.  Departure was nice and gently corrected me.  The rest of my procedures - contacting Ground, taxiing, contacting Tower and departure were smooth.  I did learn two good lessons:

1. It is a good idea to slow down a bit,  double check what frequency I will be using, who I will be talking to, what I am going to say and what I expect to be told prior to each step.  That, and to take a breath...
2. The world doesn't end and there aren't hordes of people pointing and laughing at you if you make a minor mistake.

One of the nice things about departing from a class C airport is that there is no extra step needed to request flight following - at least there wasn't for me as Clearance Delivery offered this at initial contact.  The down side of this was that being in constant communication with ATC makes it difficult to contact Flight Service to activate your flight plan - if you remember, which I didn't until 1/2 way through the flight.  Once I realized I hadn't activated my flight plan, I requested a frequency change from Approach so could could contact FSS.

Other than the items above, the trip was really nice.  There were some scattered puffy clouds near Daytona, but they diminished as I traveled north.  The air was smooth and the temperature was lovely.

I made a well planned approach into Fernandina and capped it off with a nice smooth landing.

What more can you ask for?

Yes fans, that's right!  I am now an official Civil Air Patrol Transport Mission Pilot.

One of the things I found interesting when I started jumpmastering and instructing skydiving was how many people dropped out of the sport once they got off of student status.

I think the reason was that while they were students, they had a series of goals that were perceived as attainable and were incremental enough that they could be achieved reasonably quickly.  But, once they reached the major milestone of getting off of student status, either they dropped out because they had been hanging in just to reach the major goal, or because the next major goal - an "A" license, was too nebulous and too big a leap.

What, you may ask, does any of this have to do with me being a CAP TMP?

I think CAP is very smart in that they offer a large number of areas in which you can achieve qualifications.  Each qualification also has incremental steps and a methodology for tracking your progress to help keep you motivated.

So, even though it will probably be another couple of years before I can qualify as a Mission Pilot or Cadet Orientation Pilot, there are still other areas that I am working on, and, I already have a few "tick marks" on my Mission Pilot SQTR, with more to come I'm sure.

After having had a private pilot's license for twenty-five years, I finally flew in Class C airspace...

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to fly the CAP airplane down to Daytona Beach to drop it off for its 100 hour inspection.

Daytona is Class C airspace.  Back when I first got my license, such a concept didn't exist.  Of course, there were airports with control towers, but the airspace classification system as we currently know it didn't exist.  I did make a couple of landings / take-offs into Charleston, which was a reasonably large airport, but for the most part, I flew out of small airports with no tower / approach / etc.

Even when I resumed flying a few years ago, I did my flying out of pilot controlled airfields.

I did finally fly into a Class D airport a few months ago (St. Augustine), but I still hadn't flown into an airport with regularly scheduled major airline traffic.

On the one hand it wasn't that big a deal, on the other, it was quite interesting.

The bulk of the trip down was very routine.  I had filed my VFR flight plan on DUAT, and shortly after take-off, I had activated it and had contacted JAX approach for VFR flight following.

For the majority of the trip, the sky was clear, visibility was good, and the ride was smooth.

We started seeing a little build-up right around our altitude (3500 feet) as we neared Daytona, but nothing we couldn't easily navigate around.  As we got closer to DAB, the clouds got closer to each other.  Not so close that we couldn't get through, but close enough to have to dodge...

Things didn't get really interesting until we got close to Daytona.  When I had checked the weather, the reported conditions around DAB were 3 miles visibility with smoke, improving to 6 by the time of our anticipated arrival.  Well, let's just say that there was more smoke than anticipated and even though I was quite close to the airport, and it's a pretty big airport, I couldn't see it.

Fortunately, I had a very experienced pilot as a co-pilot.  He flew for the Air Force for twenty-seven years and then for an airline for another fifteen.

Even though we were flying VFR, he had dialed in the frequency of the ILS approach on the NAV.

Between his coaching and the GPS, when I rolled out onto final, it turned out I was right on track, at least according to the ILS - it took me at least fifteen seconds before I could actually see the runway.

I learned a number of good lessons along the way:

1. Make use of HIWAS or TWEB enroute to check for weather.  You can tune to a nearby VOR on the NAV radio and still listen/talk to ATC. Availability is indicated by a dark circle with a light H (HIWAS) or T (TWEB) in it in the VOR information box.
2. Listen to EFAS (Flight Watch) on 122.0 enroute.
3. Don't fly right along the beach.  So does everyone else, which makes traffic avoidance more interesting.  Better to slide over a mile or so to either side...
4. When ATC informs you that there is traffic in the area, switch on your landing light.  Don't forget to turn it off after the traffic passes.
5. Turn on your landing light within ten miles of your destination - even if it is daytime.
6. Even if you are not IFR qualified, it is interesting and potentially helpful to know (and tune in) the frequencies for the ILS for the runways in use at your destination.  You can either get this information from an approach plate, or from your GPS.
7. When approach tells you to join the base leg for a runway, they mean to do it far out (~5 miles or more), not like you are flying the pattern at your local little airport.
8. Which means, take a look at the airport diagram as soon as you hear from ATIS what the active runway is, then look at the GPS to get an idea of where you are going to want to go when you get told how they want you to approach.
9. Make sure you know, before you take off, where on the airport you need to end up at.  Once you know which runway you are going to be landing on, figure out whether you need to exit the runway to the left or right (if there are taxiways on both sides) based on where you need to get to.  Once you are off the runway and switch to ground, you can figure out exactly how to get there, but if you are on the wrong side of the runway to start, it's a pain to get across.
10. While on the base leg, get configured for landing.  After turning final is not the time to realize you need to slow down, etc.  Of course, sometimes you don't have the luxury of loafing in, but at the same time, you need to get configured for whatever you need to make a stabilized approach.
11. If you really are having trouble figuring out where you are and/or where you need to go, ask ATC for vectors.

I was just reminded that I neglected to mention something in my Form 5 renewal post...

Part of the Form 5 renewal includes flying "under the hood."  "The hood" generally refers to a device worn by the pilot to limit his or her view so as to prevent being able to see outside of the aircraft.  The purpose of this is to simulate flying in IMC (Instrument Meteorological Conditions) i.e. in the clouds.  While not legal for non-instrument rated pilots, VFR pilots sometimes accidentally find themselves "in the soup" and without training, they typically lose control of the aircraft within minutes.   In the old days, this was accomplished by donning various visor type devices.  These were awkward and uncomfortable.  Some bright person came up with the idea of creating a pair of glasses which had all but a small area at the bottom frosted - thus accomplishing the goal of preventing the pilot from seeing outside, but in a much more comfortable fashion.

The only problem with this approach comes when the pilot in question's near vision isn't what it used to be, and he needs a little bit of optical assistance.

Last time, I tried wearing the foggles over my glasses.  It worked, but wasn't the best solution.

This year, I got a bright idea.  I ordered a pair of Optx 20/20 Stick On Reading Lenses For Glasses.  While you can buy them from your favorite pilot shop for $20 bucks or so, you can also get them from eBay for 1/2 that price.  I got mine from the eBay store of CC-Cards-N-Stuff for $12.99 delivered.  I had to guess a bit as to the proper strength to order, but after a little experimentation with a few pairs of retail reading glasses at the local drug store, I guessed that the +1.25 strength would be best for me, and fortunately, I was right.

While I plan to just leave my Optx stuck on to the foggles, they are pretty cool in that they just adhere with water, so you can move them from one pair of glasses to another simply by wetting them and then placing them on another pair.

The weather over the last few days has been so beautiful.  Monday and Tuesday were especially nice - the haze seeming to have gone elsewhere for a while.  Unfortunately, I had to work, so though I wished to break my earthly bonds, grounded I stayed.

Work has really sucked this week.  Actually, it has really sucked for a while, but it really sucked this week.

Today, I could stand no more.  Even though a bit of the haze has crept back, the skies are clearer than they have been of late.  Of course, mid-day is brutally hot, but the evenings are tolerable.

So, I decided I deserved a break.  Plus, depending on my work obligations and other factors, I may get to fly the CAP plane down to Daytona for its 100 hour inspection on Sunday night.  If so, I will have at least one rider, which meant that I needed to refresh my night currency.

As an aside, I think I will try not to let my currency lapse again.  I was a few weeks out of date, which meant that either I had to do the required three takeoffs and landings by myself or with an instructor.  It seems strange to me that the FAA considers it safer for me to go up by myself, than to go up with another pilot, one who might even be night current.  But, such are the rules, so, next time, I'll try to get back up at night prior to the ninety days so I can go up with someone in the right seat.

Anyway, so, off I went this evening for a nice flight up to Brunswick Georgia.

Flying at night, with the moon about half full, and the skies clear, is absolutely beautiful.

Other than doing circuits around the pattern for night currency, it has been a long time - like over twenty years - since I had actually flown somewhere at night.

I remembered how pretty it is, but honestly, I had forgotten how hard it is!

Everything seems harder.  It is harder to keep the wings level as - especially when flying along the coast line - there isn't really a horizon to sight along the wings with.  Landing is much harder.  I don't know exactly why - the runway is lighted and has all sorts of lighting cues along with specialized vertical guidance lighting (PAPI or VASI depending on the runway).  It is probably mostly a mental thing, but still... Taxiing around the airport - even one you are very familiar with, let alone one you've only been to one before - is on the verge of unnerving.  And navigating?  All I have to say is: thank God for GPS!

I had always had trouble keeping the definitions of cloud coverage (clear/few, scattered, broken, overcast) straight in my mind until I stumbled upon this wonderful little resource.

The site, http://www.planemath.com is a wonderful site for those who have an interest in aviation, whether they are young, or young at heart.

Flying, that is.  Night flying to be exact.

Yesterday, I finally got current for night operations.

I had been trying to find a time to schedule flying with an instructor at night, but I just never could seem to work it out.  So, since I can legally fly by myself at night, I decided to ease back into the darkness on my own.

Jeanie and I went out for a sight seeing flight in the late afternoon.  We had been interested in looking at some of the new local developments from the air.  Google Earth is great, but it can't keep up with a rapidly developing area like around here.  So, off we went too look around, being careful to stay under JAX's class C veil.

After we had finished our sight seeing.  I dropped Jeanie off so she could run some errands, and parked the plane on the ramp.  I guess all the flying I've been doing lately paid off - it was the smoothest landing I've ever made.

I waited until about a half hour after sunset to take back off.  At that point, it wasn't yet totally dark, but it wasn't day either.  That way, my first couple of landings allowed me to acclimate to the night time environment.  After making a couple of full darkness landings, I decided to take a tour of the island.  This was the first time that I had ever flown right at the ocean at night.  It was an interesting experience.  Although there are additional inherent dangers associated with night flying - especially near open water - it is wonderful.  Things are so different at night.  The lights are pretty, the stars are bright, and typically, the air is very smooth.  All in all, it makes for a very serene experience.

As far as the actual flying is concerned,  I had remembered that the actual touch down is a little more challenging, due to the challenges with depth perception at night, but I had forgotten how much more challenging making the correct approach into the airport to enter the pattern is; especially at an airport with three intersecting lighted runways!

There was one other highlight to the evening.  Years ago, Jamie had given me this really cool, really small flashlight. 

For years I had kept it stuffed away in a drawer.  When I started flying again, I threw it in my flight bag.  Turns out, it is a perfect little flashlight for cockpit use while night flying.  It is not too bright, and a yellowish color, so it doesn't ruin night vision.  The little clip on the back allows it to clip conveniently to my shirt pocket, which it is just right for reading checklists.

I don't anticipate that we'll intentionally do much night flying, but it is nice to know that if we end up going someplace and leaving later than initially planned, that I can legally complete the flight under the cover of darkness - at least for the next 90 days.

I got to check off another item on my list of things I'd like to do list...

I always thought it would be so cool to pilot a Cessna 182. I've wanted to fly one since I regularly started jumping out of them in 1977.

Yesterday, only thirty years (give or take) later, I finally got to do it.

Our Civil Air Patrol squadron ended up with a loaner C-182 a few weeks ago. One of the nearby squadrons had just gotten a new glass cockpit aircraft, and we had been without our aircraft for quite a while due to an extended 100 hour, so our squadron commander arranged to allow us to borrow the other squadron's "other" airplane - a C-182.

I had been wanting to fly it since it arrived, but I just couldn't work out the scheduling.

Yesterday, the stars finally aligned.

I was out at the airport because the Collings Foundation bombers were due to arrive at the local airport. The bombers - a B17 and a B24 - are going to be here for the weekend. As part of the event, our CAP squadron set up our aircraft on static display and also set up a tent with some promotional materials so we could do some recruiting.

Luck - as defined by an old boss: When opportunity meets preparedness - was on my side. I had dressed in my CAP uniform, there happened to be a CAP instructor pilot at the airport, who also was in uniform and the aircraft was available. Unfortunately, it was already tied down in place for the static display. So, somewhat uncharacteristically, I asked if it would be too much trouble to move the aircraft off of the tie down and go fly for a bit. Fortunately, two other members had similar desires, so, the aircraft was moved back to the taxiway, and off we went, me in the lead. Sometimes, even luck needs a nudge. Or maybe as someone else once said - you make your own luck.

Anyway, flying the 182 - with its constant speed propeller, 200 HP engine, cowl flaps and heavier weight, was not nearly as difficult as I had imagined. Maybe the fact that I have flown quite a bit the last few weeks helped. Maybe the time I spent flying the Microsoft Flight Simulator complex aircraft lessons helped. Maybe the instructor was really good.

Whatever the reason, I had an absolute blast!

The last few days have had their share of ups and downs...

On the ups side...

I've been flying quite a bit.  Since the beginning of the year, I've already flown 3.6 hours, with 2.2 of those just in the last two days.  I don't imagine I'll maintain that pace throughout the year - I don't have the time or the money - but it's a nice start.  The CAP airplane is finally back from its 100 hour, so I took it up yesterday, then today I flew the club plane for an hour with Keoki Gray, and then another 1/2 hour sightseeing with Jeanie.  While I still wasn't happy with my flying while under the tutelage of Master Gray, I did feel a bit better when he told me that it wasn't as bad as I thought it was.  He did give me a few exercises to work on to improve my aileron / rudder coordination including rolling S's, Dutch Rolls, and tracing rectangles on the horizon with the nose of the aircraft.  We also did some stalls which were really cool.  Rather than doing the recovery at the onset of the stall, he just had me hold full back elevator through the stall - both straight and level power on and off, and while turning.  Contrary to what I expected, the plane never got wild, and I really got to experience what a fully stalled 172 feels like.

I won a T-shirt from Lost Squadron as a result of having been a winner in one of Plane&Pilot Magazine's recent WIN THIS contests.

We discovered a (new to us) restaurant on the Island - Baxter's.  The service and food were excellent, and the prices, while not cheap, weren't as outrageous as I had thought.

I received emails from two friends from whom I haven't heard in a while, letting me know how they're doing and what's new in their lives.

And, I haven't had to delete a single comment or trackback spam in days!

On the downs side...

My forearm continues to trouble me - both because of the discomfort, and because of how it has shaken my faith in our healthcare system.  I'm still angry at the hand surgeon, as I still feel he should have referred me to a peripheral nerve surgeon.  I am also troubled because I don't know whether I should try a peripheral nerve surgeon in Jacksonville, or if I should go to a big city practice.  Or, should I even go to another surgeon, or should I see a tumor specialist?  And, either way, how do I pick the actual doctor to see? 

We can't find anyone who video taped the first hour of 24.  I know I can go to the Fox site and read the synopsis, but, I'm still bummed that the $#@%@! DVR didn't work.

My weight is becoming a problem again.  I've gained about fifteen pounds in the last six months, and I can't seem to get back on the wagon with diet and exercise.

Finally, Jeanie has not been well for a while now, and that always makes me sad.

Today was much better than last time.

I had a CAP squadron meeting this morning, and afterwards I wandered over to the FBO to get some plexiglas cleaner for the club airplane.

While I was waiting for Sue to come back to the counter, Keoki Gray, co-founder of Amelia Island Aerobatics, happened to be standing at the counter.  I had heard that he was an excellent instructor, and I had been thinking about asking him if I could fly with him for an hour or so to work on my landings, and general smoothness, so I asked him if he was interested in flying with me.  He asked what I had in mind, and I told him I was most concerned with improving my landings.  He asked me a few questions, and gave me a few tips.

Well, I've always thought Keoki had some kind of Zen aura, but, yikes!

A few hours later, I went back to the airport to do a bit of flying in the club plane.  I did five touch and goes.  The first one was pretty darned good, and none of the landings were horrible.

If just talking to him for a few minutes provided that much improvement, I can't wait to see what happens when I actually fly with him.

I discovered a few more cool sites while reading various flying magazines...

We had a nice weekend...

Here is an updated compendium of interesting flying related sites, new ones listed first...