Captain Buzz

The name Captain Buzz or Buzz Barnstormer carries the connotation of a pilot that is a hotdog or someone that buzzes the airfield, maybe, at every given opportunity. While the buzzing the field at every opportunity might be accurate, a hotdog pilot I definately am not. However, much to my dismay, the name did not originate from fabulous ground straffing maneuvers, but a name given to me from some cherished co-workers after my first flight as a Captain in the 1900.

You see, I sat right seat in the 1900 for 6 months, then upgraded to captain. And on a day that was supposed to be a really exciting day for me, turned out to be a dissaster.

My return flight from Andros Island to Palm Beach International (PBI) was to be my first flight behind the controls as captain. The day was perfect for my first flight, calm air, cool day, alittle rainy (which would help to make a really smooth landing). The flight was to take only 55 minutes. We were to land on 27R, exit the runway, and head to Customs, something I had done a million times before, it seemed. But at about 1 mile from the runway, a flock of buzzards flew up from below us and directly into our flight path. I never saw them because they blended into the scenery below. I thought, "Should I try to veer to the right"....more birds over there too...."veer to the left"....at only a few hundred feet or so off the ground, this is not the time to be making any abrupt maneuvers. So I stayed the course.

I thought that I had escaped scottfree, then, much to our surprise, there was one last bird in front of us. I knew we were going to be in trouble when the bird acted erratically, then tucted its wings to dive. It looked as if it was going to go right through the cockpit window, and at the last second, veered off to my left....WHEW! We missed it, I quickly thought....SMACK!!! Looking out the left window, I saw the buzzard wrapped around the left wing, just outside the left engine nacelle. Maintaining control of the airplane, a few seconds later, we landed with no more incident.

We called the tower and reported the bird strike, then taxxied over to Customs and shut down. I quickly exitted the cockpit, openned the door to the airstairs, and ran down to see what the damage was......and "STIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINK!!" Oh my Gosh, I don't know if many of you have ever hit a buzzard before, but they have more stink in them than a garbage dump heap.

I was really not cherishing meeting up with the Direction of Operations and the Aviation Manager. After clearing Customs, I walked to their offices, and entered the building to see the D.O. with a large smile on her face, "Well, how was it?" "Besides the football size hole in the left wing...GREAT!"

The total damage report for the repair of my first flight as captain exceeded $150,000. I am what you call a High Maintenance Captain :o). A first time passenger was snapping pictures of the flight and the landing and just so happened to take a picture just after the bird smacked our wing. What are the chances of that? The ground crew and maintenance crews all dubbed me "Captain Buzz" to commemorate and immortalize my memorable flight, one that I would like to forget!

Godspeed Jett

As many of you may have already heard, one of our aviator friends lost his son to a tragic accident yesterday. John Travolta was vacationing at his Bahamas home at Old Bahama Bay (OBB), in West End Grand Bahama Island with his family. Apparently Jett must have fallen after suffering a seizure and the resulting fall was fatal. OBB is where I flew with Ginn Aviation, and the Travolta's were very warm friends of the Development there. I can't even begin to immagine the pain and suffering that must be with the Travolta family right now. I know where John stands with his religion, but my prayer today is that may God find His way into that family's hearts and comfort them. "Jett, I never knew you, but Godspeed young man!"

747 Gets Struck by Lightning

Hey folks, this is the wildest lightning strike I have seen so far, and someone actually got it on film! I have heard of lightning hitting aircraft and doing some funky things, but I personally have stayed away from the Zap and as far from it as I can. One of our planes at AUTEC was struck and the mess that it made was fairly substantial. Lessons learned from that one, stay at least 20 miles away from the storm. If anyone out there has any other vids that are pretty cool, please email them to me. Check this one out:

lightning strike

Trent's Boeing 727 Landing

Hey Guys,

I just got an email from a very good friend of mine. I used to fly with him at AUTEC in the Beech 1900's. He was the Chief Pilot there and taught me some really good flying lessons that stayed with me for years after. I later went on to fly for a NASCAR team called Ginn Racing. He was flying as a freight dog in a 727. When that job went south, he joined me with the NASCAR gig, and we enjoyed flying together once again.

Anyways, now that you have all the boring history lesson, now the good stuff. He sent me this video of one of his approach and landings in the 72- landing at Port of Spain, Trinidad. Pretty stinking Cool!! Trent was always known for his smooth landings, so I know that the runway there at POS was really bumpy. You can even see the camera moving around rather abruptly even after the aircraft had landed and was on roll out. Hope you all enjoy!! Thanks Trent :0)

Trent's Boeing 727 Landing

Honey, Can I Borrow a Lawn Chair, Rope....and Some Glue!

My father has always been an aviation enthusiast. I guess this nut didn't fall too far from the tree here at all huh? Mom, always tolerated his shinnanigans about how they would fly all over the country together and see this and that, and of course... fly into the sunset....together! How romantic. Every aviator dreams of this. Even in the movie Pearl Harbour, boy meets girl, boy then slips past the armed guards and takes girl for a ride in highly suffisticated and expensive military plane, and into the sunset! Hmmm, that could happen!

Many years ago I was building a Van's Aircraft RV6. It was coming together fine. It would have come together faster had I not had to continuously change shirts from all the drool that was landing on my shoulder as my father was looking on. So, we started to build it together. I enjoyed this because it gave me alot of father/son time.

One day, Dad came into the garage and announced that he had purchased a Homebuilt Glasair II kit and that he much rather preferred to work with fiberglass than with metal. Shortly there after, the kit arrived, and he commenced meticulously working putting it together. I know that I had read somewhere that if the temperature wasn't right or if the stars weren't lined up properly, or something to that effect, that the fiberglass might not cure correctly. Hmmm, not a very comfortable feeling.

Enter Mom into the picture. She walked into the garage, looked at the mess of plane spewed all over the garage, and said, "What are you going to do with that thing?" Doesn't that kinda sound like, "I can't wait to go flying into the sunset with you honey, just like in the romantic movie Pearl Harbour ?? ?? ?"

Let's jump back a few years. Dad was an extremely talented ocean diver. In fact rumor has it that he was offered a job off the coast of Africa to dive, and turned it down to get married and have a family. He had purchased this.....thing....it kinda looked like a dragonfly that you tow behind the boat with paddles on it that you can dive down underwater. Well....he almost drowned using it.

Jump forward a few more years. We had always had a boat in the family. My father was still in the diving stage of his life and he and his friends would take trips to Jack Tar Village, which was located on West End of Grand Bahama Island. There they would enjoy the sun, the sand, go diving, eat lobsters.......into the moonlight!!

"Common honey, go with me in the boat, across the ocean to Jack Tar. There's going to be lots of boats crossing. It will be tons of fun." She agreed and halfway across, the waves started to get very large, one of which crashed over the bow and smashed the windshield of our boat. Mom flew home.

Fast forward a few more years. The problem with the boat that had the broken windshield was that it was obviously too small! So he got a bigger one, and he thought that he would surprise Mom with it. He drove the boat to the marina down the street from our house, tied it up and drove home with a friend, got Mom, held her eyes as they got to the pier, and said, "Ta-Daaaaa, What do ya think?" Mom looked at the boat that was now resting nicely at the bottom of the intercoastal, and said, "That's nice honey"...and went back to the car. The plug had somehow come loose from the back and the boat had sunk.

Which brings us back to the airplane. Boats are all gone...they are obviously really bad luck. Dad and I are in the garage looking at the tail section that he had built. I asked, "How do you know that the fiberglass has set properly, and won't come loose?" To which he responded, "Son, fiberglass is really really strong, take a look at this." He pulled the blocks that were holding the tail section down to the table, and the whole top of the tail section sprung loose. Well, you should have seen the surprise in his eyes. "Don't tell your mother".

I was happy that he sold that thing, and we started working again on metal planes. He later bought a very nice, flying, RV6 that a mutual friend of ours owned. He learned to fly it quite nicely, and now flies, with Mom, all over the southeast....and into the sunsets....together!

Got Gas, Will Fly

I was thinking about the gas crunch that we had this past summer, and in North Carolina I saw prices over $5.45 per gallon for JetA. I know in other parts of the country the prices were even worse. But as I was thinking about this gas crisis, it brought to my mind a very funny flying story that I think ya'll might enjoy.

I made several flights with my Director of Operations, Betsy, when I worked at AUTEC, flying a Beech 1900D. Before I knew her very well, she was very difficult to read. She has piercing blue eyes, that when she looks at you, she looks like she's seeing right through you. She's one heck of a stick too I might add, so having an ego in the cockpit is not only going to go nowhere, but will be delt with a piercing blue-eyed stare and one mean right hook!

It took me quite a while not to be intimidated by Betsy. She could fly circles around most people that I knew. She asked me one day during a check ride, "Do I intimidate you, Scott?" Ummmm, nooooo.

After about 7-8 months, we became good friends and the intimidation factor went away. I had learned to fly the airplane much better and she was very comfortable with my decision making and handling of the aircraft.

One day we were paired up together to fly, she was to fly the first leg. With about 15 minutes left in the flight I decided to put forth a challenge of precision and skill, which I knew she would be all over like flies on stink. I told her that I would challenge her to a precision landing dual. The challenge was this: The pilot who exercised the smoothest landing...wins...and you could not hold the plane off the runway for hours trying to squeak it on. The landing had to touch down on the first 1/3 of the runway. Of course, when I made the challenge, her response was, "You're on", accompanied by a very evil laugh.

By the time the rules of engagement had been discussed and agreed upon, we were turning final. Now everytime she would land the plane, she had a special routine that she would go through. It was like clockwork. She would bounce in her seat a few times, pushing herself up high in the seat, make a few passes with the trim wheel, and you could see the level of excitement starting to escalate. "Aaaaawe, I have this one nailed, you are going down, Irene!" She was obviously getting rather excited about the on-coming slaughter, as the name Irene might indicate, and with a sh*t eatin' grin, she reached up with her hand and brushed the 4 bars on her shoulder, as if to say, "Hey, Rookie, lemme show you how a pro does it".

She had the plane trimmed to perfection, speed dead on, and as we were coming across the numbers, I doubled over in my seat and moaned out, "AWWWWE, I'VE GOT GAS!!" "WHAT??", she said in a complete shock. She was so thrown for a loop on that one that she lost all concentration and we went "SLAM" into the runway. Well, at least the second hop wasn't quite as bad as the first, but as you all know, we log them all!

With my arm black and blue and sore from the followed right hook, I laughed until I couldn't stand it anymore.

So, the next time gas prices have you down, think about this story, and after a chuckle, maybe it won't hurt so bad.

Happy New Year Hangar Talk

Happy New Year Everybody!

I am having so much fun with this Blogging escapade, or should I call it Barn-Blogging. Well whatever you call it, it is very refreshing to know that there are actually people out there that are aviation buffs and enjoy hangar flying. I know, I know...it is really difficult to get a pilot to talk about airplanes....I know what you mean. But finally, instead of the vacant stares we get from the "obviously uneducated", we can pontificate about our heroic gravitational defeat and defying death at any and all possible opportunities.

That being all said, how many pilots out there still have flying jobs? My thoughts are that there are probably more of us without jobs than there are with. So the stories of when you had the aviators scarf tied tightly around your neck, and were battling...whatever...are probably at an all time high right now, since you are not actually out there living the dream or making the stories. I see that there are all kinds of websites out there that say they can help you find that perfect flying job, and almost all of them charge you to join there members section. I have found that a good many of them just copy jobs from other jobsites, and aren't really offering anything new.

So are there any suggestions out there amongst the vast masses for all of the good pilots that have been stepped on again and are looking for jobs all over again? Is there anything else out there that these people can find work to help feed their families? If you have any ideas, thoughts, or pontifications of your own, please feel free to leave a message. Please make it positive opinions or ideas. I personally feel that if we as pilots could pool our thoughts together, we could possibly find ways to generate jobs on our own. Just my opinion. There are many pilots out there that would like to bring in the new year on a more positive note.

A Pirate Looks at Fifty

Everybody who knows me knows that I really like Jimmy Buffett music. I own many of his CD's and listen to him quite frequently. The sounds of the carribean music mentally stretch me across a hammock laced between two lazy palm trees with ice blue water in the near distance as I suck down countless pina coladas. It's just pure heaven for me.

I flew Beech 1900D's to a Navy Submarine Base located on Andros Island in the Bahamas. Could possibly have been the best flying gig known to man-kind. Fly out to the island, 1 hour, land, change into swimming trunks and go lobster hunting for the next 3 to 4 hours, change back into my uniform, pre-flight, and 1 hour flight back to Palm Beach....now ladies and gentlemen, that is a flying gig!! And on top of all that, I GOT PAID TO DO THIS!!

Well, one afternoon, on the trip back to Palm Beach, the radios were unusually quiet. I had the speed pegged at the barber pole so as to get home a little early. "Palm Beach approach, AUTEC ONE, Ten thousand with Yankee!" Then I heard, "Palm Beach, N208JB, 7000 Yankee." I knew that voice!! It was like I heard the strumming of guitars in the background as he called in.

Now it just so happened that I had been reading one of Jimmy Buffett's books, "A Pirate Looks at Fifty" and had taken it to the island for some catch-up reading. I knew that he had to clear Customs just like I did, and I knew that I was going to get there first. So, I waited there a few minutes , just like any loyal Parrotthead would do.

When he finally came through Customs, I greeted him with a smile and a hand shake. He was extremely friendly and asked me all about my flying. I told him that I was reading his book, and would he mind signing it for me, which he did. I then told him that the stories he wrote were really interesting to me and that I was enjoying them alot. And with a smirk on his face as he was leaving the Customs Building, he threw one arm up in the air and proudly proclaimed, "They're all Lies!!"

Thoughts on Aviation and God

Folks, this next posting is an exerpt that I found on Vince Frazier's F-1H Rocket Webpage. The words are not my creation, but if you could climb into the cockpit of my soul and yell "Clear!", my deep founded beliefs would reflect them. I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

"Aviators as a group are a fiercely independent lot. We have to be, or else none of us would have the courage to leave the safety of the ground for the unknown of the sky. This independent streak often separates people from God. We tend to believe that we have all of the answers, which is hubris at its best. It would be next to impossible to persuade anyone at this stage of their life that God is real. I have been a believer for my entire life, and at times, I still question and doubt. This is because God gave us free will and choice. Albert Einstein once said: "The probability that there is no God is the same as a bomb exploding in a print shop resulting in Webster's Dictionary." Smart words from a smart man.

For those of us who are unbelievers, I hope that you find Him before it is too late.
Scenario A- You die and become worm chow...the end.
Scenario B- You die and go to heaven where you will be embraced by the warmth of His love. Sounds farfetched to unbelievers, no doubt. It sounds great to me.

"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour." Matthew 25:13

Don Alexander (God is my pilot- I need all the help I can get!)"

From Fear to Fascination

Hello Everyone,

This is my first posting to my Blog. I am really excited to post my thoughts as well as the stories and adventures of the many pilots that I know. I have been reading alot of aviator Blogs lately and some are really fantastic! I particularly enjoyed reading "Chopper Chick's Blog" as well as "Felix on a Mission's Blog". I only hope that mine holds a candle to theirs.

How I got Started Flying

Complete and utter Fear!! That about sums it all up. My father absolutely loved to fly, didn't have a pilot's license, but loved it anyway. He always was telling Mom about the plane that he was going to build in the garage and fly all over the country...together. Well....we all know how well that one turned out. More on that in a later Blog. But when I had aged into my thirties, and had matured enough to start my middle-aged crazies, I decided to take-on flying head on, Fear Will Not Conquer Me!.

A friend of mine owned a Luscombe 8A that was completely gorgeous....and small. So I started taking lessons. The first three lessons went really....well...ok. They lasted about 15 minutes each, and ended with me jumping out of the plane on the grass runway, as the plane was still rolling to a stop, and heaving all over the grass. Attractive right? Not exactly the stud pilot I always envisioned I'd be. Thank God my instructor had a sense of humor. He would say, "Well, that was nice, the grass needed alittle fertilizer anyway!" .

After about 2 weeks, I finally was over the initial fear and was now to the point in my flying where one must land. They always say, "Take-off's are voluntary, Landings are mandatory". Well, my instructor did his best to tell me that the brakes are on the heels, not on the toes of this plane. He kept telling my this over and over ad-nausium, till I finally asked him if he thought that I couldn't remember this simple fact requiring him to tell me six thousand times! The reason then became apparent. The brakes were only on my side, not his. And this plane was his Baby!

The First Landing

My instructor showed me about 15 times how to land the Luscombe. He made it look so easy, that even a small child could do it. We practiced keeping the plane straight on the ground as we taxiied down the runway. In fact, we practiced that more than we did the actual approach. I didn't really understand why all the fuss about keeping it straight on the runway, after all, it wasn't going to go any other direction...right?

My approach was perfect, speeds...right on. My instructor was completely amazed at how well I was doing. We touched down...well...we'll just call it like grease for lack of a better description. Then a small gust of wind slightly moved the down draping windsock, and the plane darted to the right. I mashed on the toe brakes.....WHERE ARE THE TOE BRAKES!!! All I heard was, "HEELS, HEELS, THE BRAKES ARE ON THE HEELS!!" We went veering off the runway, ran over the tire runway markers and came to a screeching halt just before we were to run through the cow fense. My heart was racing a billion miles an hour (Oh yeah, Knots per hour, as I would come to know later).

I looked at my instructor with a completely red blushed face..."heel brakes". He said, "Well, that was nice. Let's do it again, this time, try not to go through the fense".

Oh, those first few weeks of flying were memories that I will always remember. Don't get me wrong, I have often tried to forget them, but they are engraved in my mind like it was yesterday. But now that I am a taildragger pilot with about 1000 hours of tail time, I realize how important it is that those memories stay in the forefront of my mind. For a taildragger doesn't stop flying until it is tied down!