It's Not Freezing Here

Well, today I flew the King Air 350 from Concord, NC to Palm Beach, FL. The temperature in Concord this morning was a very comfortable 30 degrees F, but tomorrow, a cold front is expected to cover the area with temperatures dipping down to 5 degrees F. As I am writing this entry, it is a freezing 60 degrees outside here in Palm Beach. Whew! Rats! I am missing out on all that sub-freezing weather. But at least there are sunny skies here!

My flight was very comfortable and the weather was absolutely perfect for the entire trip. This is the kind of weather we all dream of getting. The King Air 350 is a wonderful airplane to fly. The headwinds at FL300 were around 150 kts, so we dropped down to FL210 where we gained an additional 80 kts of speed, and just over 2 hours later we were touching down in Palm Beach.

Palm Beach is my home town, so I am able to meet up with a few of my old cronies and get together with family while I am here. It is really nice to see everyone again. Sunday, I will be loading it all up again...then kick the tires and light the fires! No matter how nice the weather is down here, it will be really good to be back in God's Country again, cold and all!

A Miracle on the Hudson

Pilots are constantly training for the time when engines fail, or catch fire. We go through recurrent training every six months or so and are put through the ringer. There are electrical failures, hydraulic failures, this system failure, that system failure. But very few of us have ever really experienced a total failure in the sky where a controlled landing off-runway would be necessary.

Today, however, was not one of those"same-as-usual" days for the crew of US Air 1549 out of LaGuardia. Apparently, the plane struck a flock of birds and both engines of the Airbus 320 became inop, necessitating a controlled water landing in the Hudson River. We usually read about this type of landing in the morning newspapers as being fatal because of icy water conditions, or maybe not enough time for the crew to position the aircraft properly to rest the plane on the water. The skill necessary to accomplish a successful water landing under emergency circumstances with an airplane that is crippled is tremendous. In addition to that, planes that make water landings are more times than not, broken apart on impact. Today, this was not the case.

Today, the pilot of the Airbus 320 was able to take his crippled jet and masterfully set it down in the Hudson River, keeping it completely intact, allowing all 155 passengers and crew members time to exit the plane in an orderly fashion. Today, all the training and procedures that this captain received over the course of his career, where put to the test. And a Hero emerged with flying colors!!

Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger III was the captain of that flight. His remarkable flying skill as well as his ability to remain professionally calm saved the lives of every passenger and crew on that jet. His quick thinking and ability to execute emergency procedures under duress, by the grace of God, was the sole reason that 155 people are seeing their loved ones tonight.

So Captain Sullenberger, here's to you, a job well done sir!! (salute) Go home, have a beer (or 2), and remember to thank God for keeping you in the safety of His loving hands.

I want to be the first to join the "Captain Sully Fan Club". If you read this article and want to join the "Captain Sully Fan Club", just leave a short comment posting your appreciation for him and your name...thanks!

Hidden Paradise Found

My wife and I decided to look for some airpark property where we could someday build a home and live within close proximity of our airplane. I owned a Turbo Arrow at the time, so we loaded it all up and decided to go airpark hunting.

Our travels took us all over north Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee. We visited many airparks including Massey Air Ranch, Cannon Creek, Aero Acres, Treasure Coast Airpark, Love Landing Airpark, Mount Royal Airpark, Lyons Landing, Chandelle Airpark, Lake Norman Airpark, Gold Hill Airpark, Miller Airpark, Hensley Airpark, and Deerfield Resort. Whew!! That was alot of flying and looking around. Most of the airparks that we visited were very nice, but just not what we were looking for.

Well, what were we looking for? We wanted an airpark that was very pretty, laid out well, and with good size properties. We were not interested in airparks that allowed trailers or mobile homes. We wanted a runway that was at least 3000 feet long, grass or paved, it did not matter. Lisa wanted to see big beautiful trees, not just an airpark cut into a cow pasture. I wanted to see some airport activity, people there. We were looking for the cost to not be astronomical. The home owners association fees needed to be fair and the association itself was not comprised of the senior citizens on patrol, if you know what I mean.

After, flying for 2 full days, we came across Deerfield Resort (TN44) , located 35 miles north of Knoxville, TN. This place was gorgeous! Did I say gorgeous, I meant GORGEOUS!! Trees everywhere, winding roads laced throughout the 1400 acre properties. Once out of the plane, we then saw even more of the splendor. The list of amenities was tremendous. There is an 18 hole golf course with club house, tennis courts, community smimming pool, kids play area, marina with a floating tiki bar where a boater can enjoy a sandwich and a drink. There are 2 restaurants inside the community as well. There are water view properties, with beautiful views of Norris Lake (one of the cleanest lakes in the country), golf view properties, and waterfront properties. The runway is 3100 feet long and can handle even jet traffic. This place was magnificent!

Lisa and I purchased 5 properties while we were there (we couldn't make up our minds). We have now decided to keep one of the properties and sell the remaining 4. All of our properties are water view with gorgeous views of Norris Lake. The prices for these properties will even more baffle your mind. Any other airpark that we went to that had even an inkling of what Deerfield has, had very hefty price tags on the properties. Our lots are priced at $55k each. Sounds incredible....it really is!! Here are some pics of the properties.

If you are interested in knowing more about these properties, please visit www.deerfieldresort.org or feel free to email me, and I will be happy to talk to you more.

Safe flying!

Captain Buzz

RV4 Takes on a Pitts in a Dogfight

As you might know by now, I owned an RV4 for several years. I rebuilt the plane from almost the ground up. I have pictures on this site of the finished product. I very much enjoyed the occasional loop or roll, and often had alot of fun flying formation with my father's RV6, also pictured here on this site. In fact, my father and I flew formation from San Diego, CA to Palm Beach, FL. For those that are wondering how long that took, 15 hours of formation flight. And it was fun all the way!

Here is a nice treat that I found of an RV4 in formation and dogfighting with a Pitts. Hope you enjoy! (click here)

Hey Earl, Watch This!!

If you ever have been to St. Maarten in the caribbean, then you have invaribly seen the landings that take place just above the onlookers heads. It is always a treat to stand there as a 747 lands just 10 feet over your head. Makes you feel like a real daredevil, living life on the edge. Take a look at these daredevils as they watch a 747 take off from behind. (Click Here) Maybe they will think twice about standing behind a 747 with 4 engines putting out 72,000 pounds of thrust each. Or, maybe not.

Now This is Seat-of-the-Pants Flying

For those of you who think they are the real Barnstormers, the daredevil type, or a real cowboy in the air, you have to see this video. This is real seat-of-the-pants flying. Better bring some large kahunas with you tho, because this isn't for the weak of heart. Check it out!

Awesome Flying!

Leave a Comment, tell me who is going first! :o)

Invitation to a Party

If you don't like the weather in florida, wait 5 minutes and it will change. I have found it is like this in many parts of the country as well. I should have been told this advice early on in my flying career. So for all you newbie pilots out there, YOU HAVE BEEN TOLD!

This is what I mean. When I had about 80 hours or so flying, my father and I decided to purchase an airplane so that we could further our flying experiences and we could share the cost of doing so. It was a Beech Sundowner, aka Beech SLOOOOW-downer. This turned out to be a really good idea because the annuals were cheap, the airplane was really robust, and when it was time to sell the plane, it had gone up in value, and we got all our money back. Pretty sweet!

Well, one day I had decided to take it up for a spin and do some touch and go's. I lived at an airpark in south florida, so it was easy for me to just jump in the plane and go. I flew for about 2 and 1/2 hours at a nearby airport, then got a courtesy car to go to a local BBQ joint that I really liked, then decided to head back home.

The weather looked like it was going to turn sour (Noooo, not during the summer at 4pm in Florida!!) so I made my way back as quickly as I could...remember...I am flying a SLOW-downer...... it may be ugly, but it sure is slow!

When I got to Tailwinds Airpark (where I lived), the storm was very close, and was like a wall of black thunderstorm going from the ground to as high as I could see. It was very close, but Tailwinds was in the clear. The winds, as you all know, just before a very large storm, change directions rapidly, sometimes as much as 180 degrees. I zoomed in for a downwind on runway 27 and made a very short approach. But while I was on final to land, the wind sock turned 180 degrees the other way, now favoring 9. The sock was standing straight out and the storm was getting frightfully close. I gave it full power, went straight into a downwind for 9. Turned final, and watched the sock turn straight out back to favoring 27.

At 100 hours flying, the cheeks are beginning to pinch seat foam right about now. The easy thing to do...go to another airport further away from the storm, mistake #1. But noooooo, I gave it full power to enter another downwind for 27, this time determined to land, mistake #2. I came in on final and as I was approaching the numbers, the sock swung to the other direction again. I made the choice to land anyway, mistake #3.

The plane stayed in ground effect for almost 3/4 of the 2700 ft runway. Then finally it touched down. I slammed on the breaks as fast as I could. I hit the end of the runway at almost 50 kts and went skidding off into the grass runway overrun area. By the way, runway 9 did not have a runway overrun area like 27 did....very lucky!! I used up all 300 feet of the overrun area and came to a stop just before I was to dive into a drainage ditch. Houses were located on both sides of the runway overrun area.

With my heart pumping 100 miles an hour, I turned the plane around and started to taxi back to my hangar at my house. I looked at the house to my right, hoping not to see anyone, and noticed about 40 people standing at the windows, doorways, and some outside..... staring. Embarrassed beyond words, I quickly went home, parked it, and went into the house and to my room where I just laid there motionless, hoping nobody would come over or call. No sooner than those ideas crossed my mind, the phone rang! It was the neighbor with the 40 people at his house! I got ready for the riot act, and answered the phone. "That's a Hell of a way to get invited to a party!!" he laughed. "Come on over, everybody's here". Oh great! That's just what I wanted, everyone to laugh at my stupid mistakes.

I went to the party anyway, and Mark, the owner of the home, said as I came into the house, "Don't be embarrassed, it isn't anything we all haven't done before. Why do you think I built my house at the end of the overrun area?", then he laughed again. "John over there landed gear-up last year, Tony flipped his taildragger the year before that, and Ed landing his gear-up a few weeks ago, for the second time!" he said. All of a sudden, I felt better to be surrounded by a bunch of guys who at one point in there flying career where as stupid as I had been.

I never did that one again. I am really glad that I lived...to write about it.

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!