Either I’m getting pickier, or the number of good aviation articles has really fried up. There are still plenty of writers for the general and ‘breaking’ news, but I haven’t been running across many in the human interest category lately.
No flying this week, but I did manage to pass my third class medical, though. So I’m good for another two years. Next month I have two other projects to complete – a Flight Review and an annual inspection on the Swift. Guess I ought to go out to the airport and get something done…
The Stead Fire Base has closed down now, but last month there was a bit of activity at the base. A new fire bomber showed up for a few day that I had not seen before – a BAE 146 configured to fight fires.
Here are some articles that you may have missed this week:
Legends in Alaska Aviation: John Hajdukovich
Here is another one from the Alaska Aviation Legends series.
Veteran pilot receives Wright Brothers award from Federal Aviation Administration
This is from the Reading Eagle. Carl is from Maxatawny Township, near Reading, PA. Back when he was 17 years old (in 1947) he invited his girlfriend for an airplane ride. He paid a pilot to take the two of them up for their first rides. He was hooked on the first loop and has been flying ever since…
Comments
4 responses to “Flying Stories for October 12, 2012”
Hello Tracy! I’m delighted to see another new post from Around… ATP. In my view, you find them and we will read them. If they are few in number at times, I suggest that it is because you maintain such high standards. (I don’t think I’ve ever found a genuine ‘junk’ piece listed on your blog.)
Congratulations on the medical, always a subject of concern for pilots, no? I’d like to know more about the Flight Review process. Is it conductted in your own airplane? On one hand, for pilots of your experience many may consider it a waste of time and fuel. OTOH, most of us become stale with repetitive processes and it is too easy to forget an important step or two. I know I find those slips in some of my ground-based routines. Thinking back to your last Flight Review, or perhaps waiting until the oending review is completed, I can see a very worth post on the subject. I’d like to know how the review is conducted, what the examiner asks of you, what they expect and the all important – what kind of feed back do you recieve. Finding and selecting an appropriate pilot to conduct your review must be an interesting experience. I would guess that some of the designated reviewers are 20-somethings with far less than 10% of your career hours. A few others may be more seasoned pilots, but – just guessing here – very few have your extensive experience. Of course, the younger folks can often teach us a lot, but some senior pilots would be uncomfortable having a 15K hour pilot. How does this Flight Revivew process come together?
Best wishes, -C.
P.S. “We” are grounded for a while. My Captain had a minor medical event a few weeks ago and he won’t be flying for at least a few more months. If he’s grounded, I’m grounded as well. And don’t you know it… As soon as My Captain was out of the woods and back with the living, one of his first questions was about his Medical Certificate. I think his proudly-held First Class is toast. Time will tell whether he can qualify fir a third class. The odds are very good. At least he scheduled his ‘medical event’ at the right time of year , as flying by his high standards is quite rare during the late fall and winter months. By the time spring rolls around, rather late in this area, he should be able to qualify. -C.
Craig,
I’ll see what I can do about a Flight Review post. The last one I had was about 15-20 years ago – before I got my first airline First Officer position. Our annual check rides in the military counted as FRs, so I never got a civilian version. Since I initially was an airline Second Officer I finally had to get one. I talked my way out of some free time from the scheduler while sitting on Reserve while in Anchorage and flew a C-172 out of Anchorage International. Before that one ran out I was copilot qualified and the annual Part 121 check ride took the place of the FR after that.
My guess is that if I find someone who wants to conduct it in the Swift, they’ll be more focused on the flight characteristics of the Swift than much else. The Swift doesn’t have a nav radio, isn’t IFR certified and isn’t night capable, so I just fly day VFR.
-tr
Thanks, Tracy. Interesting. I’ll await your check and post. That too should be most informative.
Best, – C.
I love your blog – good stuff! I recently started a blog and I have a mix of human-interest stories on mine. Everything from war stories to recent flights I have done with my kids.
Anway, keep up the great work!
Brent