Around The Pattern is an aviation-oriented blog.
My name is Tracy and I am the author of Around the Pattern. I am an active pilot with experience flying personal, commercial and military aircraft. In addition to holding an airline transport pilot certificate, I am a certificated flight instructor and a licensed aircraft mechanic. I have flown a wide range of aircraft, from the Aeronca Champ, Luscombe 8E and various Cessna models to the Boeing 747-400 and the Lockheed C-5A.
I write about my observations and experiences as a pilot and an aircraft mechanic. I also try to explain some of the things that you might hear in the media about aviation and flight operations which might not be correct or complete enough to be clear.
I am an enthusiastic supporter of all things that fly, though I do lean toward the powered, fixed-wing side of aviation and aircraft with the little wheel in the rear. I live in Reno, NV and spend time at the National Championship Air Races each year. I also try to attend as many other aviation events as my schedule permits. Unfortunately, the pilot scheduler for my current employer is not always cooperative in that regard.
My personal aircraft is a 1948 Temco Swift, polished aluminum with red trim. You will, from time to time, find articles here describing the maintenance and refurbishment of my Swift, archived in the Aircraft Maintenance section of Around the Pattern.
Thank you for visiting my blog. Please take your time and explore the site. At the top of this page is a link to the blog’s front page where you will find introductions to my 5 most recent posts. There are also links in the sidebar for recent post pages as well links to the categories of posts that I have archived. The aviation quote and the aircraft photos on the tops of the sidebars will change periodically. The majority of the photos are from my personal collection of aircraft and aviation photos. If you are curious about one of the aircraft place your cursor over the photo and the type will be displayed.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to drop me a line using the email link below.
Tracy