In a long time.  I haven’t flown that much this year.  So today Ken and I flew down to Peter O Knight airport to see some family.  We went early to miss the afternoon showers.  I preflighted the airplane, while Ken was finishing up inside our house.  As soon as he was done, we jumped into the airplane and I got it started.  Then taxied to the grass strip and did the runup.  Due to the winds I ended up back taxing on runway 09.  As I lefted the airplane off the ground, it felt good to be flying again.

I headed the airplane south and program Peter O Knight in to the GPS.  We couldn’t go every high due to the clouds.  They were pretty low.  So on the way down to Tampa we didn’t go above 1500 ft.  But that was fine, I was enjoying the view .  As we got closer to Peter O Knight airport I listen to the radio to see what runway was being used at Peter O Knight.  They were using runway 17.  My approach to the runway wasn’t that great.  But I hadn’t flown in a few months,  but my landing was good.

We did our family thing then headed back to the airport.  I did the return flight on the way home.  It ended up being a nice and wonderful flight down and back.  We were able to fly higher this time.  It was nice being able to fly again and nice to know I can still fly .  I want to get more flying in before the end of this year;  at least that is my goal.  We will see how that goes.

Flying is something that I do want to keep on doing…

Well we had to go down to Lakeland for a family get together.  Ken and I decided we would fly down there.  I was going to fly both legs.  But ended up only taking the return leg.  We put the airplane on a battery charger to make sure it was charging over night.  Being it was getting down to the low 20’s.  This isn’t normal for Florida. We don’t have the hangar heated.  So just to make sure the plane would start we put it on a trickle charge.

We got up in the morning and I was looking at the weather.  It was a clear day but the winds would peak around noon and with the possibility for a hard start.  Ken and I decided he should fly down.  I preflighted the airplane and filled it up with gas. That was a cold fill up.  It was probably about 25 degrees then.  Ken then pulled the airplane out of the hangar.  We closed everything up in the house and got in the airplane.  It started just fine, but ran a little rough for a while.  But as the engine warmed up it started to smooth out.  We let it “cook” for 5 minutes before taking off.  We normally only wait 3 before taking off.  But wanted to give it a few more minutes because of the cold.

We took of and it was a bit bumpy on the trip down.  But not a bad ride.  It took us about 26 minutes to get to Lakeland.  It probably would have been a 2 hour drive down.  It’s funny when I fly in to Lakeland (LAL) I think of when Sun N Fun is going on.  That this airport has a BIG make over when Sun N Fun is going on.  It’s like night and day.

We landed and parked the airplane right by the FBO.  Not to many people where flying that day.  Probably because it was to cold….  Anyways we went to our family get together and stayed there until around 4pm and headed back to the airport.  I was the one going to be flying back.  It has been a while since I have started the airplane in cold weather.  It had only gotten up to around 40 by then, if that.   We got the airplane started and I called tower and got my taxi instructions and took off from 27.  For me taking off from 27 is a little more confusing.  Plus its been a while since I have flown in to or out of  LAL.  But now it has all come back to me.  I was cleared to take off on 27 with a north turn out.  So we headed home.

The ride home was much smoother then going down.  We stayed low due to higher winds.  We had a head wind coming from the north.  Its a quick flight only about 30 minutes of so.  We then saw our neighborhood in view.  I decided to do a strait in to 36.  No one else was in the pattern.  The lasted time I flew was Dec. 2.  So I wasn’t sure how my landing was going to be.  I didn’t need to be concern because it was a nice grass strep landing. I taxi off the runway to our house.  We then pulled the airplane in to the hangar.

It was a nice flight.  It felt good to fly again.  I need to start doing this more.  Which I think this year I will increase my flying….

Ken did a video of living in an airport community. He did a trip down to Clearwater so he put this video together of the trip. I also helped out in some of the flying and video taping. But Ken put the video together. I think its a well down movie….

Loves Landing Fly-In 2009

EAA Chapter 1236 had our annual fly-in.  The weather was beautiful the only problem was the wind.  Everyone managed to land safely.  It started around 9am.  When I got down to the Washburn’s hangar to start taking pictures there were already airplanes there.  It was the standard fly-in, but it’s always nice to see people out flying their planes.  There were all kinds of planes even one helicopter showed up for the fly-in.  We also had a lunch for everyone to have.  Everyone had a nice time. Below is the pictures that I took at the fly-in…

Now our next local fly-in as at Hurb’s place on Nov. 21th.  So I’ll be there taking pictures of that one also.

This is a video Ken did of a experience we had out in Utah.  We decided to rent a plane to take up to see the Canyon Lands.  Well a flight instructor ended going with us.  We had a flight with him on board.  He knew the area and did things Ken and I wouldn’t have done.  We  went down in to the canyon!!  After the wonderful flight it even got better.

We found out he had a motor glider.  He took Ken up first and this is the video of the trip.

I went up also.  It was an nice experience.  If I get the chance again I will be up in that plane again..

This is article is about two people I know on Twitter. They are planning to fly across the U.S. to promote general aviation.  I design their logo for the website and T-shirt they are selling to help gain funds to do the trip…  This article was done about them and their trip.

Its nice to be involved in a cause like this that helps out general aviation….

http://www.airportairlinesblog.com

By Nick on July 26, 2009

General Aviation – An Uncertain Future

General Aviation is a segment of aviation that all aviation enthusiasts have at one time come in contact with.  General Aviation is the non-commercial segment of aviation but that term is inaccurate.  In reality General Aviation contributes over 150 billion dollars to our economy both locally and nationally.  It also provides 1.2 million jobs something that is very important in the current economic climate.

Actually the term non-commercial is a misnomer, what General Aviation really is anything other than scheduled commercial passenger service or military aviation.  Its your charter flight, business jet, medivac and air ambulance, flight training, recreational pilot,  experimental aircraft, and the list goes on and on.

General Aviation faces a lot of threats going forward.  Oil prices have skyrocketed making aviation on all levels extremely costly.  However, Congress is ignoring the current economic downturn and cost of oil and are attempting to pass costly user fee program and raise taxes for aviation.  The TSA is proposing regulating aircraft 12,500lbs and up under the Large Aircraft Security Program or LASP.  This would apply the same passenger airline rules to a private jet operator.  The PGA who flies their golfers on NetJets would have to find other modes of travel because golf clubs would be restricted as they would be considered a weapon.

Finally General Aviation airports are facing pressures from urban sprawl and community encroachment.  This is something that has always plagued airports but as population grows and cities expand they choke out airports.  They are forced to relocate or close and usually its the second option.

Campaigns to Save General Aviation

With that in mind there has been both a nation campaign to protect General Aviation along with grass roots efforts like the blog Flying Across America.  This is a site promoting a cross the country flight to help spread the message of General Aviation.  It was started by Jason Schappert and Vincent Lambercy and their goal is to pilot a Cessna 150 starting in Daytona Beach, Florida and cross the country.  They are flying using their own money until they run dry and then will use funds donated through the purchase of flight miles on their website as well as with help from locals at the airports where they will stop.

Jason is a 1500 hour Certified Flight Instructor and was awarded AOPA’s Top Flight Instructor Award at NIFA 2008.  Vincent is a Swiss private pilot, now living near Frankfurt (Germany).  I first found them through twitter and have been following them since.

I was intrigued by what drove Vincent and Jason to embark on this crusade and I wanted to know more about them and and their background.  I contacted Vincent and here is what he had to say:

Airport&AirlinesBlog: How long have you been a pilot?

Vincent: I started flying in 2001, and have now approximately 350 hours total time. I’m the happy holder of a JAR PPL(A) with SEP and MEP ratings, and of an Instrument rating. In FAA terms, this translates into a ASEL / AMEL / IR*, as far as I know.  Jason is a CFI and CFII with 1500+ hours of total experience.

*Note: ASEL means Single Engine Rating, AMEL means Mutli-engine rating, IR means Instrument Flight Rating

AAB: What airport did you train at mostly?

Vincent: My basic training took place in Geneva, Switzerland (LSGG). Flying on the other side of the pond gives me a different view of aviation, which I’m happy to share. Jason works as a freelance instructor from Ocala, FL (OCF).

AAB: What drew you into Aviation?

Vincent: I’m basically a software engineer. By the end of 2000, I joined a company doing software for ATC. I discovered that many colleagues were pilots and this is how I got the aviation virus. I later discovered instrument flying and the engineer in me likes that.  For this flight, we’ll fly VFR.  Jason is CFII and the aircraft is IFR certified, but we see it as an option to get out of fog in the Bay area, but nothing more.

AAB: Is flying just a hobby of yours or are you involved commercially?

Vincent: For me, yes. I have a good job here in Frankfurt, still in software for ATC. I love my job and don’t want to mix hobby and work. Being a CFI / CFII, Jason makes a living out of his flying, but not for this flight. We’ll both be “on leave” and obviously Jason will not get paid for “teaching” me.

AAB: What Motivated you to begin this trek across the country?

Vincent: It started during a discussion via Twitter. Jason and I were discussing how the Cessna 150 makes possible to get a pilot certificate below $5.000. I asked how much it would cost to fly across the continent… A few messages later, the project was born. Both of us are bloggers and supporters of General Aviation, so the idea to make this a public event came naturally to us.

AAB: People have left comments saying you are just looking to fly across the US for free.  What would you like to say about that accusation?

Vincent: We were expecting this criticism from the beginning and have no problem with that.  That’s why we decided to leave the comment and answer it.  It would have been easy to delete it, but it’s not how we are.  In a perfect world, we should fund the flight ourselves and raise funds only for charity.  Unfortunately we can’t afford this.  We need financial support to make the flight possible, and local support to reduce the accommodation costs.  We’ve been very clear about it from the beginning, part of the donations will serve to cover the costs.

Does that means that we want to “fly for free” ?  Not really.   At first, we will fund the project ourselves as much as we can.  For example, I decided not to fly before this operation to save my flying budget.  This also means that I lost my Instrument privileges.  This saved the money corresponding to the checkride, but was not an easy decision to make. All revenues from my blog ( www.plasticpilot.net ) are also transferred directly to our budget, and I’m really looking forward to my yearly salary bonus…

Our ultimate goal is not the flight itself, but to promote General Aviation.  Before reading how below, please believe us that organizing all of it requires a lot of work. Most of our activities are not visible yet, but there’s a lot going on behind the scene to promote the project.  You’ll see more over the next weeks as the project continues to gain momentum.

I already have received more than 500 messages. Not to mention the efforts on Twitter, facebook, and the like. We invest a lot of our time to make this project possible.  Naturally, we invest all this time for free, and some of our core supporters do the same.

AAB: You state your purpose is promoting General Aviation.  Besides this website how else do you plan to do that on your trek?

Vincent: We’re not addressing politicians or lobbyist.  We could do that without flying.  We’re not collecting signatures or doing politics.  We want to talk to local people where we stop and pass our message, based on the four positive values carried by GA: friendship and solidarity – self-development – service to the community – fun.

This flight is the opportunity to meet other pilots and create some emulation amongst them, but not only.  We also want to reach people outside the aviation community, and this is the reason why we need the flight.  We need local supporters and local media to spread the word about us.  Media need events, and two guys flying across America in a light aircraft is one.  Don’t take me wrong, but would you talk about us if our goal was to promote general aviation online, without the flight to make it an event ?

We also use the attention we get to promote those helping us.  General Aviation is also made of many small businesses like http://www.krizphoto.com (which designed our logo) or http://www.destinjet.com (FBO hosting our first stop).  They create jobs, stimulate the local economy, and deserve attention and promotion. This is part of being a community.

Some of our stops are planned at airports where aviation museums are transmitting an important message. Some are less known, even by the locals, and if our visit can be a promotion opportunity, we’re happy to do it.

AAB: What do you think is the biggest threat to General Aviation?

Vincent: Not sure I can decide between three: possibly coming user fees, new airport security rules and the way the public sometimes sees GA as a threat.

We had a wonderful EAA meeting this time.  We had several members receive the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award and Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Awards.  These awards are given to people how have had 50 years of safe flying and mechanic safety for airplanes.

We had a big turn out for this meeting.  The Washburn’s hangar was pretty full.  Plus we had a BQQ lunch after the meeting to celebrate what these people achieved.  50 years years is a long time to be involved with something. But if you love it what’s 50 years? Not much, these people still fly or work on planes everyday.

It’s something any pilot hopes to do, is still being doing what they love to do and that is fly.

Mark L. Laughridge, FAA

To qualify for the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award and Charles Taylor Master Master Mechanic Award.

• 50 years + consecutive years as CAA/FAA mechanic/pilot – up to 20 years can be military.
• US citizen
• “Clean” mechanic/pilot record
• 3 letters of recommendation from FAA certified mechanics/pilot

The people that received these awards are all from our neighborhood. So I have gotten to know these people. They are really great people.  They are all great pilots and mechanics.  Here are the ones that received these awards on Saturday.

Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award

• David J. Karl
• Clinton Rule
• Elymus Lamar (Al) Nase
• Oliver Henry Washburn
• Rex M. Wyatt
• Harris Bowen

Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award

• Eylmus Lamar (Al) Nase
• Oliver Henry Bowen
• Rex. M Wyatt
• Harris Bowen

Harris Bowen pass away before he was able to get his awards so his wife Ann received the awards.  I have photos of all them.

I will be 73 years old before I can get mine. That’s a long time to wait. But its something to look forward to.

Ann Bowen receives for her late husband Harris Bowen- Charles Taylor Master Mechanic & Wright Brothers Master Pilot Awards

David J. Karl, Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award

Clint Rule - Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award

Oliver Henry Washburn- Wright Brothers Master Pilot Awards

Rex M. Wyatt - Charles Taylor Master Mechanic & Wright Brothers Master Pilot Awards

Group Photo

]]> http://www.kudos2fly.com/2009/07/12/awards/feed/ 2 http://www.kudos2fly.com/2009/06/30/flying-across-america-to-tout-benefits-of-ga/ http://www.kudos2fly.com/2009/06/30/flying-across-america-to-tout-benefits-of-ga/#comments Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:50:19 +0000 admin http://www.kudos2fly.com/?p=157

Article done by wwww.aviationweek.com. Written by Benet Wilson on June 30, 2009

I’m sure that everyone in business/general aviation can agree that the industry has been taking a beating in the past seven months.  Several efforts – including No Plane, No Gain and GA Serves America – have been created to counteract some of the negative images created by the media.

I learned about another effort via my followers on Twitter (@avweekbenet).  Two GA pilots – and active aviation bloggers – have come up with Flying Across America.  The mission of pilots Jason Schappert and Vincent Lambercy is to fly a Cessna 150 from Daytona Beach, Fla., to Catalina Island, Calif., with plans to hold rallies on behalf of General Aviation.

Schappert is a 1,500-hour Certified Flight Instructor and was awarded AOPA’s Top Flight Instructor Award at NIFA 2008. He currently works as a flight instructor in the central Florida area and operates Schapp Aviation. He also blogs at www.m0a.com and is on Twitter at @mzeroa.

Lambercy is a Swiss private pilot living near Frankfurt, Germany with an IFR rating and more than 360 hours total flight time.  He blogs at www.plasticpilot.net and is on Twitter as @plasticpilot.

Lambercy “met” Schappert after they traded comments on each others’ blogs and started doing cross posting.  “One good series was about what a student pilot and an instructor expect from each other at different stages of training,” he said.

The pair came up with the idea for Flying Across America via Twitter, said Lambercy.  “We were exchanging tweets about the price of flying. Jason chose to own and operate a Cessna 150 because it makes possible for his students to earn their certificates for less than $5.000,” he said.  “I stupidly asked him what it would cost to fly across America in his plane. A few tweets later, the project was born.”

The number of pilots are decreasing each year, and some thinks aviation is only a luxury, or even worse, a threat, said Lambercy.  “What is the last positive GA event that you can recall without searching for too long?” he asked.  “The recent cross-border flight of a stolen Cessna, for example, got a lot of media attention. Do you really think it was such a threat ?”

Although the flight isn’t schedule to happen for about a year, the pair thought it was important to start creating positive buzz before, during and after the flight.  “We also need time to build a community of supporters, find partners and raise funds,” he said.
“The example of krizphoto.com (who designed our logo) and destinjet.com (the FBO hosting our first stop) are perfect examples of that.”

The partners plan on 70 hours of flight June 18-July 10, 2010.  “The goal is not to set a speed record but make friendly, fun and positive trip,” said Lambercy.  “For performance and safety reasons, we plan to stay south of the Rockies in both the Florida-California and California-Florida directions. The exact route will depend on where we’ll find supporters.”

“For the time being, the two first stops will be Destin, Fla., on the invitation of destinjet.com) and Baton Rouge, La., where an early fan of us invited us,” said Lambercy.  “By having us sleeping at home, we’ll save on the hotel costs on this stop.”

The trip has been budgeted at $15,000, said Lambercy.  It is being financed partly with the partners’ own funds and partly with donations and sponsorship, he said.  “Obviously Jason will not charge for his time. We are selling miles on our web site, with patronage starting at $3.75,” he added.  “An important secondary goal of ours is to make a donation to an aviation charity in the end, so each mile helps, but they are primarily funding the flying and accommodations.”

The effort already has almost 300 Twitter followers, almost 50 members in its Facebook group and a handful of sponsors, said Lambercy.  “We’re examining any offera and are happy to work with anyone having an aviation product or service to promote. We also help our partners where possible,” he said.  “For example, both friendsofaviation.net (non-profit trying to make all aviation fans talk together) and mytransponder.com (social network for pilots) help us spreading the word about our project and we’re happy to return the favor.”

The most important at this time is to help spread the word, said Lambercy.  “The more people will receive our message the better,” he added.

]]> http://www.kudos2fly.com/2009/06/30/flying-across-america-to-tout-benefits-of-ga/feed/ 0 http://www.kudos2fly.com/2009/05/11/sun-n-fun-2009/ http://www.kudos2fly.com/2009/05/11/sun-n-fun-2009/#comments Tue, 12 May 2009 01:37:23 +0000 admin http://www.kudos2fly.com/?p=152

I made it to Sun N Fun 2009 on the last day.  I drove from Clearwater Fl. to Lakeland. It took me  1 hour 11 minutes. Not bad for Tampa traffic, but it was on a Sunday. There weren’t a lot of people at the airshow and many of the planes had already flown out the day before.

One of the first things I did was walk up to the Sun N Fun radio station which airs during that whole show and gives interviews.  I wanted to meet Dave Allen from Twitter.  I had met him through Twitter. He was volunteering there so I had a chance to meet him.  We ended up heading out to the flight line, which I wanted to do before anymore of the planes left.  I did get some shots of planes taking off and taxiing.  Afterwards, we headed back to the display area where we parted ways.  I plan to see him again next year.  I also met Max Trescott; another Twitter friend.  They both were very nice people. I’m sure they will be at Sun N Fun next year.

I then wanted to get a good look at the “Flyingcar”.  What an idea that someone has finally been able to do.  Not a bad price either considering that a Piper Arrow is $300,000 plus.  The Terrafuga is going to cost  $190,00.   It takes 90 seconds  to go from flying to driving; not bad.  Hopefully they will get some takers; only time will tell.  It will be neat to see it in action.

Of course when you are at Sun N Fun you have to walk through the four big blue hangars.  There you can find every thing under the sun for pilots.  I wasn’t in the market to buy anything so I just walked through and stopped at a few booths and of course stopped at the Loves Landing booth.  Our neighborhood has a booth there like some of the other “fly-in” neighborhoods.  If you ever are at Sun N Fun stop by and say hi.

I stayed a while to watch the airshow.  It was impressive, as usual.  Beautiful weather, but a little hot. But hey, it’s Florida.  It was a nice airshow, although a bit on the light side for people coming to it.  But I did come on the last day.  Next year will be better, since my husband will be able to come and we will be going in the middle of the show.   I have been going since 1996 to Sun N Fun. I probably will keep going even though it cost more money to go every year and it’s pretty much the same set up every year. I don’t even need a map anymore to know where I’m going.

But its about the celebration of flight and pilots.  It also keeps aviation in the public eye; which is important these days.  I think without airshows like this, aviation would even be more of a non reality to a lot of folks.  As long as I can fly and walk I’ll be going to Sun N Fun and other airshows to show my support to the aviation community at large.

I’m already planning to attend next year April 13-19, 2010.

Blue Skies and Tail Winds.