Susan's Place Transgender Resources

There seem to be quite a few aviators and aviatrices (plural of aviatrix) on the forum.  So I thought it would be fun to have a thread where we can introduce ourselves and talk about flying stuff.  It is open to anyone involved in flying, whether professional or private, military or civilian, flight crew, cabin crew or ground crew.  "War stories" encouraged.

I'll start.  I joined the RCAF (At the time, it was technically Air Command of the Canadian Armed Forces) in 1973 while I was in university.  I graduated with my wings in 1977, trained as an instructor, and flew the Tutor jet as an instructor from 1978 to 1982.  I quit then due to an internal moral conflict about being a soldier. 

(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/945/41927108102_1fca6a0f78_z.jpg)

But, damn, it was fun flying!  I got to do every kind of flying you can imagine: VFR nav, low-level nav, IFR, cross-country, formation, aerobatics.  And I loved the teaching. 

One regret I have was that, when I got out, I didn't go into some kind of civilian teaching.  I tried to get a flying job when I got out, but there were unemployed pilots sweeping out hangar floors at the time.  So I went with plan B and got into IT.  I kept up a private license for a while, but it was expensive.  All I did was fly circuits enough that the flying club would rent me another plane three months later.  Bo-o-o-oring!  When I got checked out at the flying club, the instructor scolded me for doing my turns in the traffic pattern at 45 degrees of bank.  He thought that was "steep".  We used to do them at 60 degrees and 2Gs.

So I don't fly any more.  But I love to talk about it.

What about you all?

@Donica, @Steph2.0, @Jayne01, @Alaskan Danielle

It's about time this thread took off. From the looks of it, its a good place to get high. My mood is elevated already. I suspect there is plenty of plane talk ahead.  Don't mind me, I just flew in from New York and girl are my arms tired. (Can you tell that I didn't want to be left out but know nothing about planes?) So buckle your seat belts, its gonna be a bumpy ride. Oh well Kathy, I tried. It's time I folded up my flaps and went home.
Moni

Quote from: HappyMoni on August 08, 2018, 08:28:28 PM
It's about time this thread took off. From the looks of it, its a good place to get high. My mood is elevated already. I suspect there is plenty of plane talk ahead.  Don't mind me, I just flew in from New York and girl are my arms tired. (Can you tell that I didn't want to be left out but know nothing about planes?) So buckle your seat belts, its gonna be a bumpy ride. Oh well Kathy, I tried. It's time I folded up my flaps and went home.
Moni

Hey, Moni, this would be a great place for passenger tales, too!

Quote from: KathyLauren on August 08, 2018, 08:34:53 PM
Hey, Moni, this would be a great place for passenger tales, too!

@KathyLauren 
@Steph2.0
@HappyMoni
@Jayne01
@Donica
       ... and other aviation enthusiasts

I am definitely not an aviator/pilot but I will be checking in on this thread very often
as anything aviation has always piqued my interest.

Thank you so very much Kathy for starting this thread.

Hugs,
Danielle

Hi Kathy,

Thank you for starting this thread. It has prompted me to dig out my log book. Wow, my first flying lesson was April 22 1997. The last time I flew was November 17 2004. During that time I only managed to accumulate 84.3 hours, but I did get my single engine private pilot licence and a constant speed prop endorsement in that time. Life got in the way and it became too expensive to keep flying for any meaningful length of time. Like you, I would do some circuits just to keep up my currency. Boring indeed! I would love to start flying again, I really miss it.

I do get to keep myself close to planes with my job though. As many of you already know, I maintain aircraft for a large airline. After doing this job for over 25 years, I still look towards the runway in wonder as I watch fully laden A380s taking to the sky weighing in at around 600,000 kg. It's a pretty cool sight to see.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this thread evolves.

Hugs,
Jayne

Wooooo Hoooooo!!!

I have loved flying and therefore airplanes for longer than I have actual memories. I wanted to fly since about 5 minutes after I knew I was a girl, which is a VERY long time ago.

I ALWAYS wanted to fly my own airplane. When I was in college, I told myself, "When I get out of college I will learn how to fly." I got out of college and decided I couldn't afford it. I told myself, "If I ever make $20,000, I will learn to fly." $20,00 came and went. I told myself, "If I ever make $30,000, I will learn to fly." It didn't take me long to realize I would never learn to fly. So, in 1991, I started taking lessons. In 1992, with a whole 48 hours of experience, the FAA told me I was legal to fly myself and other people. THEY were out of their minds!

I then decided I need to keep learning, and got my Instrument Rating, and later my Commercial license. (This was fun because I could then fly the "Dog fight" type flights for a local company.) There weren't many more training options, so I worked to get my CFI, which I have kept for the past 20 years, in spite of 9-11 putting a huge crimp in the flight instruction business.

I have owned several airplanes, the latest of which was a 1967 Beech V35-TC. It was an amazing plane. Towards the end of ownership of that plane, I realized I was not flying much, and the plane was rotting. I sold it for about half of the market value to a guy in TX who really, really wanted the plane but could not nearly afford it. He still owns it, according to the FAA.

I am currently a member of a local flying club, but even so, I travel for work so much that I almost never get to fly myself, in spite of it being pretty much a life-long passion.

I have noticed MANY people on this forum mentioning aviation. It seems to me there is a correlation between being Trans and being a pilot. VERY interesting!!

Anyway, thanks for starting this thread!!! The two most interesting things in my entire life, and they are both in the same thread. Just a bit of heaven...

Katie

Hi Kathy & Jayne & Danielle,
I don't tell many people this but I am a closet aerosexual! My day job is maintaining a fleet of Beech 200s & Beech 400s for an aeromedical outfit. I also maintained a private pilot's licence in the 80s & 90s flying mighty Cessna 150s&152s!  Nice to hear fellow aviators out there. I also love working alongside nurses, paramedics and doctors.
Nice posts by the way.
Kirsten X.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

Quote from: KatieP on August 08, 2018, 11:20:52 PM
I have noticed MANY people on this forum mentioning aviation. It seems to me there is a correlation between being Trans and being a pilot. VERY interesting!!

Another pilot here!

I think there are many more people interested in flying than are actually flying their own aircraft.
Flying is expensive and transition is expensive. Very few people can do both at the same time.

Quote from: KatieP on August 08, 2018, 11:20:52 PMcorrelation between being Trans and being a pilot. VERY interesting!!

         Been a while since flying SIM but see Squawkbox and VatSim are still operational! Combine them with MS Flight Simulator and it's about as real as it gets! "Enya" copyright trolls at Youtube musta missed this one -> 'youtu.be/3nClYU7ksvw' (PanAm VA is now history, off-line)  Father's best pilot friend in the late 60's was a transexual during a time when women weren't allowed to fly so "validation" for her came in the form of "your fired"!

         Those early stories were my first experience with "trans". Dad was an instructor too so as an early teen first (and only) real AC I learned to start, taxi and takeoff in was a PA707 @ JFK's cargo building in New York . . . now only a very sad memory indeed!

OMG you guys! We have to get together over coffee and hanger talk! I started flying back in the late 80's and flew into the late 90's. I started in a Cessna 152 and then checked out in a 172 and Piper Archer. Good old Piper 43056. I held a VFR rating and missed the chance for an IFR rating. I missed out on getting a high performance rating too. Just SEL with only 426 hours. I couldn't justify the expense of flying while raising two Kids. So I gave up my wings but, I still fly CR (Radio Control). You can never keep a pilot down. One way or another, we are going to find a way to keep flying.

Oh yes, they really don't like 45, 60 and especiallt not 90 degree bank turns in the traffic pattern ;).

Hugs!
Donica.

Well KathyLauren wins this one with the turbine qualification.  Those are neat jets.

Personally most of my stick time is in a Schweizer SGS 2-33 sailplane, with a bit in an L-23 Super Blanik, Grob G103, and my sole powered stick time is in a Rutan Long-EZ (that was a blast.)

Lately all of my flying has been as a passenger for work but I have plans to finally get my license in a few years.

Quote from: Colleen_definitely on August 09, 2018, 08:51:29 AMmy sole powered stick time is in a Rutan Long-EZ (that was a blast.)

I have lusted for a Long-EZ for years.  It would be so much fun to fly.  There are even jet conversions.  Gotta start buying lottery tickets, I guess.

Yes one with a turbine would be super cool, until it came to paying for maintenance  :o

It was extremely nimble and it's just a pretty plane on top of that.

My story is a bit different, I guess. Back in 1984 my friend asked me if I'd ever heard of something called an ultralight. I had no idea, but when he said they were little airplanes it rekindled a fire that will never go out.

My dad got his certificate when I was about 6 years old and bought a Stinson 108-1 Voyager. I loved that plane and flying, and more than once woke up with mohair imprints on my face from falling asleep against the upholstery in the back seat of that old classic. We couldn't really afford it, though, so it was gone in about two years and flying was put on the back burner. Then when I was about 16 he got the bug again and bought a C model Ercoupe. It was a neat little plane, but without rudder pedals of course. It had the third wheel on the wrong end and those steering wheel thingies, but I didn't know better then.

(https://www.dropbox.com/s/zducao3f19dta6v/IMG_7080.jpg?raw=1)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/2a2p6na8lxahn8n/IMG_7079.jpg?raw=1)

So in 1984 my friend and I bought matching Teratorn Tierra ultralights. I believe they were about $4,600 each, and I traded my sailboat for mine. They had Rotax 277 28hp single cylinder two-stroke engines. The instructor had a two seat version and agreed to train us, and I soloed in 6.5 hours in my own plane. That was on December 5th, 1984. I loved that little plane, but due to flying alone (my friend developed other interests and let his plane rot), open air flying in Michigan winters, and the slowness of the cruise (45mph, though stall was about 15), I only put 160 hours in it in 10 years.

Not my plane, but the same model.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/4yl8mawlhcwlw11/serveimage.jpg?raw=1)

After joining an active ultralight group and not being able to keep up with anyone, I built a Rans S-4 Coyote. It was a big jump. Enclosed, 52hp Rotax 503, cabin heat, and a real performer for an ultralight. I started flying it in 1993, and immediately started logging 150 hours a year. So many stories to tell from the three years I owned it...

(https://www.dropbox.com/s/lgnv0gusifoourw/serveimage%20%281%29.jpg?raw=1)

After a few years I got the bug to try water flying. Being a Parrothead, it had to be a flying boat. I also trained to be an ultralight Basic Flight Instructor, which gave me the right to fly a two-seater. In 1996 I built an Aventura 2 with a 65hp Rotax 582. If you haven't flown off of water, I highly recommend you try it. It's an obscene amount of fun. My build log is here:  http://lonepalmaero.com/aventura/ (http://lonepalmaero.com/aventura/)

(https://www.dropbox.com/s/978zwge51u0q7l1/BeachedL.jpg?raw=1)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/37j6h1imspaztsq/IMG_0203.jpg?raw=1)

Seaplanes are great fun, but again I was flying alone if I headed for the water, since none of my friends had float planes. We could all land on the water, but I was the only one who could take off again. Flying was as much about the social aspect as the fun and skill of piloting, so I went looking for something new. About this time I befriended the unique and eclectic owner of CGS Aviation. I decided my next plane would be one of his Hawks. I started building it in 2001. In the middle of the build I moved to Florida, so it didn't get finished until early 2003. It was my first build using "dope and fabric" instead of presewn Dacron sailcloth covers. I developed my covering skills with the Polyfiber process on this plane, and it ended up winning awards at Sun-N-Fun every year I took it, culminating in Grand Champion Light Plane in 2009. The build log is  here (http://lonepalmaero.com/hawkarrow/).

(https://www.dropbox.com/s/an3x5474ork16z5/CGSHawk0246.jpg?raw=1)

Back when I was flying the Coyote, our group got into inter-club competitions with others in the Michigan and Indiana area. It was incredible fun, and we developed a reputation for showing up and taking all the awards home. The tasks were just fun stuff, like beanbag drops, spot landings, lawn bowling, and some simple navigation tasks. Those watching from the ground had almost as much fun as we did. Then things started to heat up. We developed National Competitions, and the tasks started getting more serious. Deadstick landings, fuel economy tasks, and precision navigation based solely on pilotage - charts and a stopwatch. I helped develop a tracking system based on putting a sealed GPS on the plane with the tracking log activated. After landing, we uploaded the log to a computer and overlaid the track on a chart. Before then we'd have to have an observer on the ground at every checkpoint. This was a lot more accurate and only took one person on the computer.

Then we found out about international competition. In 2003 the World Microlight Championships were held in Long Marston, England, and I won a spot on the US team. But... I didn't have a suitable plane. I got with the owner of CGS, and bought a single seat Hawk Sport kit. I had about 6 months to get it built and tested and learn the speeds and feeds, so it was a mad scramble. But what a fun plane! I wish I still had it today. Build pictures, in seemingly random order, are here (https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0a5yeZFhU5Qo9). I put it, along with two other planes, in a shipping container and sent it off to England on a boat. We followed a month later, and it was an incredible experience. We thought we were good, but the Europeans do this all the time, and left us in the dust. The tasks were incredibly intense, and they threw at least four of them at us a day, for 5 days straight. It didn't help that in the three weeks before the competition, when we were staying in a cottage in the Cotswolds, it was incredibly hot and dry, but the week of he competition the weather reverted to typical UK standards: cold, low ceilings, windy, and rainy. The best I can say was that in the class I was flying in, I was the best single-seat fixed-wing American pilot in the world. That means, out of 10 in our class, we Americans finished 8th, 9th, and 10th. I was 8th.

(https://www.dropbox.com/s/7315fmqu1bxvi2j/DSC03345.jpg?raw=1)

Back home, I started putting my skills to work and teamed up with CGS to build planes for them. I started up my  (own company (http://lonepalmaero.com)), and over the time I worked with them, I must have built or rebuilt about 12 of them. I got to be known as the expert on that particular plane. Even now, years after I moved on, I get calls with questions about them. Unfortunately, they ask for someone who no longer exists, if you know what I mean. If it's a simple question I just answer it and move on, but if it gets in-depth, I end up having to out myself. Surprisingly, I've never had any problem with it.

During this time I continued to do competitions with my beloved single seat Hawk. I took second place in the Nationals in 2004, then in 2006 I won National Champion. And that was the last Nationals held in the US. So I am still officially US National Ultralight Champion 12 years later. Of course, his name is on the certificate, but we know who they're talking about.

I worked with the new owner of CGS for a while after the old owner sold out, but it was an uncomfortable arrangement and we parted ways after a few years. With the new Light Sport category starting to supplant ultralights, I found a cool little plane being manufactured in Italy, and when they came looking for US dealers I signed up. The Groppo Trail is a great plane, but business is nearly non-existent for an imported kit that uses metric hardware. My website for it is  here (http://groppotrail.com). I have a kit of my own that I'm slowly building, and I take work where I can building, restoring, or rebuilding other experimental aircraft, but have pretty much gone into semi-retirement mode.

(https://www.dropbox.com/s/08xqzj5oy5txmf5/IMG_2294.jpg?raw=1)

I did build a plane with a friend recently. It's another Rans, this time their relatively new S-20 Raven. After we'd had it flying for a while he bought me out, but I do get temporary custody occasionally when he brings it back for work. Since I built it, I was eligible for the official FAA maintenance certificate, so I just did its first annual condition inspection. Build pictures, again in random order here (https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0a59UlCq9tuk2).

(https://www.dropbox.com/s/c5fniu5c0rx7a36/IMG_4433.jpg?raw=1)

With the S-20 gone and my kit still partially built, I fixed a neighbors plane with the understanding that I'd donate the labor in trade for flying time. It's an Aeroprakt A-20 Valor, and a sweet flyer but with a nose wheel and steering wheel thingies. I much prefer a Taildragger with sticks. The only advantage to yokes, as I told my neighbor, is you can fly it in a skirt. He said he'd keep that in mind.

(https://www.dropbox.com/s/l2ow9dqjp9d0xg0/IMG_1032.jpg?raw=1)

I have tons and tons of stories to tell about the almost 4000 hours of recreational flying I have. Maybe some other day...

Flying with @SassyCassie
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/2mukhi75yqj4l7d/IMG_6643.jpg?raw=1)


Stephanie

Quote from: HappyMoni on August 08, 2018, 08:28:28 PM
It's about time this thread took off. From the looks of it, its a good place to get high. My mood is elevated already. I suspect there is plenty of plane talk ahead.  Don't mind me, I just flew in from New York and girl are my arms tired. (Can you tell that I didn't want to be left out but know nothing about planes?) So buckle your seat belts, its gonna be a bumpy ride. Oh well Kathy, I tried. It's time I folded up my flaps and went home.
Moni

Not to be a spoiler, but watch your attitude.

Stephanie, that's an amazing number of aircraft!  You have way more hours than I have.

My brother had an Ercoupe just like the one in your photo.  I'll have to check with him if he still has it.  I did a crosswind landing in it one time.  What a hoot!  It's not like a crosswind landing in any other plane.  You just crab it down onto the runway until the wheels castor it straight.  It definitely felt wrong, but apparently that's what you do.  That is also the reason for the tricycle landing gear.  For the mains to caster properly in a crosswind landing, the centre of gravity needs to be forward of them, which doesn't work with a taildragger.

Wow Stephanie! You have truly been a very busy girl. Did you ever see the J3 Kitten ultralight by Hipp's Superbirds? If not, it's an almost identical looking ultralight version of the J3 Cub. I sooo wanted one. I believe the kit sold for somewhere around $8000. They claimed it was rated for 6 positive G's and 4 negative G's, making it aerobatic. Maybe some day, If they still make them?

I'm sure everyone remembers Jim Bede's Silver Bullet? My best friend is Jim's nephew. So, being a friend of the family, Jim Bede sent me a set of plans for both the BD-5J and the BD-10J. The BD-10J was a wicked F-15 looking jet. The cost was way over my head.

Maybe some day! I will get one of each when I win the lottery  ;D.

Quote from: Steph2.0 on August 09, 2018, 01:43:54 PM
Not to be a spoiler, but watch your attitude.

lol Wait a sec: thought "spoilers" decrease altitude (fast)? Wouldn't you'd want "flaps" for more attitude? Suppose the more correct term would be "speed brakes"?

HEY! A topic about aviation, cool. I flew one that I folded myself, does that count?

Quote from: Faith on August 11, 2018, 07:49:04 AM
HEY! A topic about aviation, cool. I flew one that I folded myself, does that count?

Sure! Tell us which fold style you did? Jet, Glider?

Quote from: Donica on August 11, 2018, 08:53:42 AM
Sure! Tell us which fold style you did? Jet, Glider?

quick and simple, prone to nose-dive.
(https://www.origamiway.com/images/planes/dart/dart.jpg)
(internet image, may disappear)

I've done more complex ones but, I'm lazy.

Quote from: Faith on August 11, 2018, 10:43:56 AM
quick and simple, prone to nose-dive.
(https://www.origamiway.com/images/planes/dart/dart.jpg)
(internet image, may disappear)

I've done more complex ones but, I'm lazy.

Oh yes! The old super sonic jet lawn dart. We used to put straight pins in the nose and play darts  ;D.

Quote from: Donica on August 11, 2018, 11:21:22 AM
Oh yes! The old super sonic jet lawn dart. We used to put straight pins in the nose and play darts  ;D.

scary, we threw them at each other .. that could hurt ...

When I saw the words "Aviation Thread," I just to turn downwind for a quick touch and go.

Steph, I was fascinated by your post and history. I've never flown an ultralight but they've always looked like they would be insanely fun to fly.

As for me, I let my SEL ticket expire a number of years ago and still regret it. My stepfather and mom had a Cessna 182 with constant speed prop that was a dream to fly when one finally got it trimmed out; other than fuel cost, I paid little to use it. After he and mom had a somewhat disappointing trip to MSY, he spent some heavy $$ and had a full IFR package installed and we all started training under the hood.
About the same time I changed careers and my flying budget became very meager, my stepfather started experiencing dementia and sold 77L without telling anyone; unfortunately, the buyer had less than 20 hours and no business wearing a hood when he drove it (thankfully solo) into the hill just below a local runway as he blithely ignored the tower's altitude warnings... I still wonder how he managed to survive.
And somehow along the way, I also managed to log half a dozen hours or so as PIC in a hot air balloon.

Now, where's my logbook...

Susan

@Susan, Just so you know,  you pilot's license never expires. Your currency may expire, but the license is good forever. It's easy to get back to the left seat. (Well, in a hot air balloon, I guess I don't know what they call the pilot position...) And with the relatively new "Basic Med" the medical part is MUCH simpler for non-commercial flying.

Check out AOPA (such as https://www.aopa.org/training-and-safety/lapsed-pilots ) for lots of great info to help get you flying again...

Kate

Stephanie!!! That is Aviation Hall of Fame level credentials! Wow.

You mention PolyFiber. For a long time I was based at Flabob airport, which is where EAA Chapter 1 is based, as is Ray Stitts of PolyFiber fame. He was a cantankerous old coot, but I guess he knew a lot about airplanes and covering them...


Flabbob was, and still is, a hive of subversive aviation activities...


Kate

Quote from: Jayne01 on August 08, 2018, 10:09:52 PM. . . as I watch fully laden A380s taking to the sky weighing in at around 600,000 kg. It's a pretty cool sight to see.

         Miss my original airline job Jayne, company has been out-of-business since 1991. My father started with them in 1955 so been a part of my life since Day One! Used to luv watching the Concord take off from JFK, especially with after-burners glowing at night! Just about every car alarm in employee parking would be set off BLARING!

Never flew a 747 simulator but found basic engine start procedures here (http://smithplanet.com/fs2004/pmdg/#pushback).
Looks like that "nose-diving glider" could use one!

Alternately gotta miss the "sexism" of the early sixties! Never really wanted to be a pilot trained and qualified as a "flight attendant" instead (alas sigh not as a "stewardess" (http://facebook.com/PanAmABC/videos/10150173261423204/)!) When the "cattle car" 747's arrived in the 70's In-Flight Service became an absolute NIGHTMARE!

If anyone is interested in flight simulators other than professional airline simulators, The older versions of Microsoft Flight Simulators are the best and most realistic that I've ever flown. A lot of flight schools actually use them in their training. My flight school used it too. Check on eBay. I wouldn't bother with the version on the Steam website as they just want too mush money.

Thanks for the aopa link, Kate.
While I may be a "Lapsed" pilot, looking at some of the latest digital cockpit displays almost make an old analog flyer feel like a "lapped" pilot.  ;) Is there a whole new ground school for them???
As for the balloon, all I had to do was stand in a corner near the altimeter and reach up. No yoke, no rudders - no problem. The peace and quiet serenity while aloft is awesome but maintaining lift can be a bit loud.

Donica, I still have a copy of the old MS Flight Simulator and hardware - but my newer computers all scoff at them.  :'(

Susan

Quote from: Susan Baum on August 13, 2018, 01:30:11 PM
Donica, I still have a copy of the old MS Flight Simulator and hardware - but my newer computers all scoff at them.  :'(

Windows 7 Professional will still run most old stuff. Have 32bit version plus a USB-to-9pin adaptor! Speaking of simulators anyone here ever play in Toolsmith's Sandbox?

Yeah, My Windows 10 machine isn't very user friendly with the older stuff. I still have my old XP machine. When I get the urge fly again, I plug it in and fly a 747 from LAX to JFK lol.

Quote from: KatieP on August 13, 2018, 01:53:04 AM
Stephanie!!! That is Aviation Hall of Fame level credentials! Wow.

You mention PolyFiber. For a long time I was based at Flabob airport, which is where EAA Chapter 1 is based, as is Ray Stitts of PolyFiber fame. He was a cantankerous old coot, but I guess he knew a lot about airplanes and covering them...


Flabbob was, and still is, a hive of subversive aviation activities...


Kate

Hi Kate,

Wow, living at Flabob must have been awesome. It's known around the world for "subversive aviation activities."

I've done (Stits) Polyfiber, Superflight, Randolph (Ceconite - nitrate/butyrate), and Stewart. I am so sick of smelling MEK! Stits is easy and relatively benign except for the MEK in the glue - unless you use the Aerothane topcoat. The isocyanates in urethanes can kill you slowly, so you have to use a breather. Same problem with Superflight, where the sealers and UV coats are all urethane. Randolph is pretty much obsolete, though I had a customer insist on it once. My favorite is now Stewart, all water based and so easy to work with.

I don't remember if I've posted this before,  but this is what I do:

http://lonepalmaero.com (http://lonepalmaero.com)
http://groppotrail.com (http://groppotrail.com)

Stephanie

I'm so happy to find this thread...  private pilot here since 2011, and have owned my own plane since 2012.  It's a '73 Piper Challenger (aka stretched Cherokee aka 'model A' Archer).  I've been so busy this year I haven't had time to fly much.  Right now it's due for an annual, so looking forward to getting back in the clouds towards the end of September.

Starting to think seriously about upgrading to a Cherokee 6, Lance, Saratoga, etc...  Love my plane but I'd like more load capacity and slightly more speed and range for my normal missions (approx. 400 nm one way).

Stay safe everyone!

Jenn

Quote from: Jade88 on August 15, 2018, 01:20:26 PM
slightly more speed and range for my normal missions (approx. 400 nm one way).

Hi Jenn, I am quite impressed that you have a, "normal mission." That makes it worth having a plane. When I used to work more locally, that is, within about 500 miles from home, I often flew to work locations, and it was fabulous. As work expanded to 1000 - 3000 miles from home, the airlines were better/faster. The last year I owned an airplane, I flew it something like 8 hours, which is an evil thing to do to an airplane.

If you are going to upgrade your plane, you might consider one with a turbocharger. My last plane had a factory turbo, and that greatly expanded the missions that were possible with the plane. And, in the summer, it was almost always cool at 17.5K. (Although the plane was certificated to 29,000, little airplanes in the flight levels always scared me...)

Kate

Quote from: Steph2.0 on August 15, 2018, 12:52:53 PM

I've done (Stits) Polyfiber, Superflight, Randolph (Ceconite - nitrate/butyrate), and Stewart.

...

I don't remember if I've posted this before,  but this is what I do:

http://lonepalmaero.com (http://lonepalmaero.com)
http://groppotrail.com (http://groppotrail.com)

Stephanie

Ummm, did I mention what a Studette I think you are???  ;D

Kate

Quote from: KatieP on August 16, 2018, 12:03:18 PM
Ummm, did I mention what a Studette I think you are???  ;D

[emoji15][emoji44][emoji4]

Katie

"Normal mission" is flying to see the grandkids...  so it's worth anything I have to make it happen...  lol

Jenn

Quote from: Jade88 on August 15, 2018, 01:20:26 PM
I'm so happy to find this thread...  private pilot here since 2011, and have owned my own plane since 2012.  It's a '73 Piper Challenger (aka stretched Cherokee aka 'model A' Archer).  I've been so busy this year I haven't had time to fly much.  Right now it's due for an annual, so looking forward to getting back in the clouds towards the end of September.

Starting to think seriously about upgrading to a Cherokee 6, Lance, Saratoga, etc...  Love my plane but I'd like more load capacity and slightly more speed and range for my normal missions (approx. 400 nm one way).

Stay safe everyone!

Jenn

I love the Piper Cherokees. I almost got my HP rating in a Piper Arrow. Those were to good days.

Here's a scary event. I went through a forced landing before I started flight school. Just a bit of background. My friends dad built a homebuilt aircraft called the Cygnet by Viking aircraft. It was a two seater side by side, powered by a VW engine. The builder opted for a two speed pitch control prop system with a switch in to cockpit for climb pitch and cruse pitch. The blades were VERY thin. One Saturday morning as we were dropping into the down wind for 26 at CMA, there was a loud bang and the plane started vibrating so bad that it set off the ELT. The pilot immediately called a mayday, shut down the engine and headed for mid runway for a dead stick. The prop kept windmilling until we got down over the runway at about 100 ft. Plenty of time for a safe dead stick. When we climbed out and took a look at what had happened, we found that 1 half of 1 blade had broken off do to a fault inside the blade material. The vibration was so violent that it broke 3 of the 4 motor mounts, with the fourth mount cracked most all of the way through. It was a good thing that it happened so close to the airport.

For reasons beyond my comprehension, the builder replaced the prop with the same type blade??? Well, As you may of guessed, during a test run on the ground still in his hanger, the blade broke in the same place, sending the broken piece through the hanger roof ???.

It was an experience that taught me not to panic in an emergency, and to fly the plane first. I did go through a few other non-emergency electrical issues with my ex. She liked how I had to rock the wings to get the towers attention and give us the lights to land. I started carrying a handheld after that lol.

Hugs,
Donica.

Donica, I would think the weight and balance could be thrown off enough to make a plane quite difficult to land, even at an airport. VERY lucky!

I had a friend who built a "VolksPlane" with a VW engine. He had engine failures TWICE, and each time he replaced the engine with another used/rebuilt VW engine. I told him he should have learned from the first failure. Apparently the third engine lasted well enough, and he eventually sold the plane.

His story has always made me think that even though Continental/Lycoming technology was designed in the '30s, it has stood the test of time. Were I to build an airplane, a small Lycoming would probably be a preference, even though Rotax seems to have the Very Light and Sport plane markets sewn up. But Rotax sort of bothers me because of the gear boxes required, and having to add oil to the fuel like a motorcycle. Sometimes new-fangled technology is not as reliable as the old-fangled stuff...

@Donica, that's a scary story.  I never had to do a true dead-stick landing.

One time, I was climbing out from a touch and go when a small bird came very close to the jet engine intake and I heard a simultaneous thump.  Thinking it might have gone into the engine, I decided to land ASAP, but there wasn't enough runway ahead to set it back down.  Since I could see that the engine hadn't yet quit, I did a climbing turn to downwind, watching the EGT all the way. 

From the downwind "low key" position, everything was by the book, I reduced power and extended the speed brakes to simulate an engine out (since by then I could tell that it was probably fine), put the gear down, and did a regular forced-landing pattern.

It turned out that the bird missed, and the thump I heard was the landing gear doors closing.  There was quite a pucker factor on the climbing turn, though, wondering if the engine was going to quit.  If it had, I would have had to make a gliding turn away from buildings and then eject.

Most definitely Katie. If that engine had of flown out of the plane, we would of just been along for the leaf falling ride.

Wow Kathy! Oh no!! Not on upwind. I think I would of had to change my shorts after that thump. I'm glad everything  worked out Ok.

Hugs,
Donica.

There is that old flying adage that engines make strange noises at the worst times. I have flown over the Rockies or the Sierra Nevada dozens of times, and I never heard as many engine anomalies in 1000 hours of flying that plane as when over the mountains.

One of those times, flying from Anaconda, MT to Renton, WA, somewhere in ID with only mountains around, the engine started sputtering like it was running out of gas. Oh boy. When my heart started back up, I immediately started a turn towards that flat area just behind me. Doing the quick scan of the panel, I then realized I had lost track of time in the peaceful flying and had forgotten to switch fuel tanks. Oooops.


I know this thread is not titled, "Stupid things we have done in an airplane" but I know if it were, it would be quite a long thread just with my own posts...  ;D

Quote from: KatieP on August 18, 2018, 04:20:57 PM
I know this thread is not titled, "Stupid things we have done in an airplane" but I know if it were, it would be quite a long thread just with my own posts...  ;D

Hey, the FAA or Transport Canada are not allowed to read this thread, so exciting stories are ok, with no judgement.

There was the time I flew through a thunderstorm.  We had nowhere else to go: the only available alternate was on the other side of the storm.  The turbulence was +3G and -1G.  We were in hail for about 10 seconds, and it damaged the speed brakes and the tail.  There was too much ice coating the nose for the hail to damage it!

Quote from: KatieP on August 18, 2018, 01:45:33 PM
Donica, I would think the weight and balance could be thrown off enough to make a plane quite difficult to land, even at an airport. VERY lucky!

I had a friend who built a "VolksPlane" with a VW engine. He had engine failures TWICE, and each time he replaced the engine with another used/rebuilt VW engine. I told him he should have learned from the first failure. Apparently the third engine lasted well enough, and he eventually sold the plane.

His story has always made me think that even though Continental/Lycoming technology was designed in the '30s, it has stood the test of time. Were I to build an airplane, a small Lycoming would probably be a preference, even though Rotax seems to have the Very Light and Sport plane markets sewn up. But Rotax sort of bothers me because of the gear boxes required, and having to add oil to the fuel like a motorcycle. Sometimes new-fangled technology is not as reliable as the old-fangled stuff...

I have mixed feelings about car engine conversions. The VW was the default engine for years, considering it's a flat four and looks like an airplane engine. Some of them can be made fairly reliable, but even though they were designed by Porsche, they were built for cheap cars. I have a friend whose business is VW conversions - even half VWs for very light stuff, and he has a good reputation. But since max RPM is 3300 in that configuration, and they're usually direct drive, you're limited in prop size so the tip speed doesn't go supersonic. Usually 68" is the largest you can go.

Other car conversions are really taking off, so to speak. Viking uses Honda Fit engines, and you can imagine how reliable those are. The least dependable part of it all is the PRU (Prop Reduction Unit), and they're getting that figured out pretty well. The only problem with those is Honda won't sell box engines, so they have to take them out of rear-ended cars and rebuild them.

Another company is Aeromomentum, which adds a reduction to Suzuki 4-cylinder box engines. I don't know what a Viking engine costs, but an Aeromomentum is $8600. Both are modern electronic ignition and fuel injection, and both have good reputations.

Rotax. For light sport they're the default choice. The Rotax 900 series are four strokes, and while they have gearboxes, they don't need oil mixed with the gas. Only the two strokes mix the oil, and they have injectors nowadays if you choose to use them. The gearboxes on the 900s use the same oil as the engine, so maintenance is easy. The newer ones have dog clutches so prop strikes don't damage the engine, and with composite props might not even damage a blade. You should avoid 100LL though, since that  will leave lead deposits in the gearbox which have to be cleaned out every 600 hours. Otherwise I think the TBO is at 2200 hours now, and they make it there with no problem. The best fuel for the 80hp is 87 octane non-ethanol mogas, and the 100hp 93 octane. The engine is actually okay with up to 10% ethanol if the rest of the fuel system is up to it.

I ran Rotax two strokes for over 20 years, and they can be very reliable if they're tuned correctly. The downside is the 300 hour TBO and the relatively high fuel usage for the horsepower.

I could go on and on. Oops, I already have! I'll stop now...

Stephanie

I recently responded to a rather humorous post by Stephanie in her "The Stephanie Chronicles" thread and it brought back a few more memories of the good old flying days.

I sure you all remember this. Part of our training to become a pilot required a few hours of night flights. During one of those flights, my instructor reached over and pulled back the throttle and sad "Bang! Your engine just quit! What do you do?". Well, as you all already know, I replied "First you fly the plane, set the elevator trim for best glide speed, call a mayday and repeatedly update you position to the nearest contact and after all attempts to restart the engine have failed, you shut off all the tanks and look for a safe place to land".

She replied, "Ok. What if all the lights you see are too far away to make a safe landing?". I was at a loss for an answer as I didn't recall any thing else I could possibly do. She then replied "After exhausting all possible ways to get out of trouble, you point the plane in the direction of the darkest area on the ground. Turn on your landing lights. If you don't like what you see, or can't see anything, turn off the landing lights. Cross your arms over your chest and wait. If you can relax, you stand a better chance surviving an impact."

I assume she also meant to keep the wings level too? When I asked why I should do such a horrible thing, she replied "It is better to end up in some field or mountain side instead of landing on someone's head."

This has always been in the back of my mine and it still bothers me to this day. Is that a legitimate answer to this scenario. I mean I wouldn't want to land on someone's head but I wouldn't be able to just not keep trying to get out of trouble. I would at least keep the landing lights on and continue looking for a dirt road or something. What did your instructors tell you to do?

I am not a flyer but I have part of the answer. You are a glider but a pretty poor one. At some point in time you need to commit to a location and you will have few other options that you can make with your current glide slope. Altering your plans might put a wing in the ground or cause a hard landing, both which aren't desirable. Pick your landing spot carefully and early then prepare for the landing. Last minute changes aren't a good idea unless it's really clear that their is a better alternative.

Quote from: Donica on September 01, 2018, 02:09:26 PM
She replied, "Ok. What if all the lights you see are too far away to make a safe landing?". I was at a loss for an answer as I didn't recall any thing else I could possibly do. She then replied "After exhausting all possible ways to get out of trouble, you point the plane in the direction of the darkest area on the ground. Turn on your landing lights. If you don't like what you see, or can't see anything, turn off the landing lights. Cross your arms over your chest and wait. If you can relax, you stand a better chance surviving an impact."

I assume she also meant to keep the wings level too? When I asked why I should do such a horrible thing, she replied "It is better to end up in some field or mountain side instead of landing on someone's head."

This has always been in the back of my mine and it still bothers me to this day. Is that a legitimate answer to this scenario. I mean I wouldn't want to land on someone's head but I wouldn't be able to just not keep trying to get out of trouble. I would at least keep the landing lights on and continue looking for a dirt road or something. What did your instructors tell you to do?

Well what my instructor told me was a bit different.  If you can't glide to a lighted runway, do your pre-ejection checklist.  If you have a copilot, tell them three times to eject.  Then pull your own ejection handle.   :P

Your landing light isn't going to be any help finding a safe spot to land.  The Tutor jet had two very powerful halogen landing lights, and they were only good below 200' and within half a mile.  Way too late to change your mind about where you are going to hit.

Your instructor's advice was sound, more or less.  You have trimmed the aircraft to glide itself.  You can't choose where you will land, bcause you can't see, so you are going to crash.  You are setting yourself up to survive the crash as best you can.  The only thing I would change is that I would leave the landing light on.  It is possible that, in the last few moments, you might see a beautiful, flat field in front of you.  Implausible, but possible.  With the lights on, you might be able to flare and pull off a miraculous night deadstick landing.

It's a long standing joke in the aviation world, if you are going down at night, turn our lights on and if you don't like what you see then turn them off. It's along the same lines as the only time you can have too much fuel on board is if you are on fire.

Jayne

Quote from: KathyLauren on August 18, 2018, 05:33:30 PMThe turbulence was +3G and -1G.

          lol We had just wheels up at night out of Port of Spain and there was a huge thunderstorm directly ahead. Father was check-riding right seat saying NOTHING until it was obvious left seat's decision to go left/right was "not to decide at all"! If he grabs stick or orders direction change it's *automatic fail* so instead dad turns to me and says "grab front of jumpseat with both hands crossed" and lol right thru the middle weeeee ggggooooo!

Couldn't 'ave been more than 1000' altitude surely pax thought we're all gonna die!

Quote from: Kiera on September 03, 2018, 11:06:55 AM
          lol We had just wheels up at night out of Port of Spain and there was a huge thunderstorm directly ahead. Father was check-riding right seat saying NOTHING until it was obvious left seat's decision to go left/right was "not to decide at all"! If he grabs stick or orders direction change it's *automatic fail* so instead dad turns to me and says "grab front of jumpseat with both hands crossed" and lol right thru the middle weeeee ggggooooo!

Couldn't 'ave been more than 1000' altitude surely pax thought we're all gonna die!

Eeep!

After my experience with thunderstorm penetration (I was a student at the time), I never went through one again.  I did get close to some others, though. ;)

One time, we were flying from Calgary to Moose Jaw.  There was a line of thunderstorms along the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, with no visible gaps.  Being cautious, I asked ATC if they were painting them on radar.  Nope, radar doesn't go that far, either from Calgary or Regina.  I asked for PIREPs on the tops, and then asked to go to a higher altitude.  I'd have gone to 41,000', the service ceiling of the aircraft if I had to.  No, sorry, Air Canada has the next higher altitude, so we can't climb.

Can't go around; can't go over.  So it's either under or turn back.  Turning back meant delaying a day, and that was frowned on, so I guesstimated the bases and asked for 7000'.  Power to idle, speed brakes out and we dived from 35,000' to 7,000' in the space of just a few miles, with the canopy fogging up.

We ended up about 1000' below the cloud bases (I had guessed right), and could see the rain showers to avoid the worst ones.  All's well...

Yikes! 28,000 fpm or better!? No wonder you fogged up!

OOOOOOhhhhhh... Thunderstorm stories...

Like KathyLauren, I have had only 1 such encounter. On my "long cross-country" trying to get the instrument rating, we were supposed to go RAL --> SMX --> (Rialto) --> RAL. Before we left, we did all the standard pre-flight work, and of course there were no reports or forecasts for convective activity within 1000 miles. Just lots of puffy white whip cream to blast in and out of. The first leg was exactly that, and was some of the most beautiful times ever. Huge cloud grand canyons. At SMX we did the drop and load (drop the coffee from RAL and load more coffee from SMX), and got back in the plane to head to Rialto. Once in the LA basin, it was solid IFR, at one point near ONT, in the space of about 5 seconds, we went from light turbulence to severe turbulence, and hail all over the plane. It was so loud that we could not hear any radio, and could only hear each other by screaming into the other's ear. As the hail lessened, in the space of about 30 seconds, the C172 was instantly covered in ice, and we were descending in spite of the full power. About 1000 feet later, and a few minutes, we popped out into the clear. And not 15 seconds after that, we hear on the radio, "Attention all aircraft, Sigmet Sierra is now in place for convective activity..." My instructor said to me, "No sh*t" which was the only time in several years of flying with him that I heard him use such language. His next words to me were, "OK. Now you been in a thunderstorm. After such good learning, don't do that again..." I have followed his guidance on that for 25 years... (Yes, we did have a longer conversation on the ground that we probably should have re-checked the weather in SMX. That said, likely it would not have shown problems...)


Katie

Quote from: Steph2.0 on September 03, 2018, 11:59:10 AM
Yikes! 28,000 fpm or better!? No wonder you fogged up!

Ya Wow! I know those cockpits are supposed to be pressurized but with the canopy fogging up, how did your ears and sinuses do? I almost blew out my sinuses just dropping down from 14000 to 1200. Not quit as fast as you did Kathy, but still  :o.

Wow Katie! I couldn't even imagine what that must of sounded like. I'm glad that 172 didn't get torn up. I've flown through raid and I thought that was load. They aren't much more protection than a beer can. We do sometimes get dime size hail in SoCal.

Quote from: Donica on September 03, 2018, 12:50:16 PM
Ya Wow! I know those cockpits are supposed to be pressurized but with the canopy fogging up, how did your ears and sinuses do? I almost blew out my sinuses just dropping down from 14000 to 1200. Not quit as fast as you did Kathy, but still  :o.

Yes, the cockpit was pressurized to about a 10,000' differential.  At 35,000' our cockpit pressure would have been about 25,000'.  So going from 25,000' to 7,000' pressure, yes, our ears did some serious popping. 

The defogging system would handle any normal windshield/canopy fogging, but with that rapid temperature change and the engine at idle, there just wasn't enough air to do the job.  It cleared fairly quickly once we levelled off.

What's your favorite GA aircraft?

My favorite is the Cessna 310.

(https://i.imgur.com/XGNOmwJ.jpg)

My favorite WWII aircraft is a toss-up between the F7F Tigercat and the Goodyear F2G Super Corsair.

(https://i.imgur.com/pVV4IBa.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/UCXmMLk.jpg)

My favorite modern fighter. F-22 Raptor of maybe the F-18 Hornet. They both have that attitude  ;D.

(https://i.imgur.com/1LB3hCP.jpg)

Quote from: Steph2.0 on September 11, 2018, 09:15:01 PM
I absolutely understand about the water tower. As a pilot, water towers are always the way to know what town you're over.

On the Canadian prairies, it was grain elevators, back when they still had such things.  The two main elevator operators in the training area were the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, and the United Grain Growers, identified on their elevators by big logos that read "POOL" or "UGG", respectively.  Elevators also had the name of the town or whistle-stop painted on them.

So a young student pilot out of Moose Jaw on a solo navigation mission manages to get himself lost.  Understandable, because, although you can see forever on the prairies, it all looks the same!  He calls School Operations on the radio and asks the duty instructor what he should do.  The response comes back: "Find a grain elevator, fly down low past it and read the name of the town, then you'll know where you are."

A few minutes later, the student calls up Operations again.  "I know that I am at Pool, but I can't find it on the map!"  ;D

There are few things I am afraid of, but being 41,000 ft up in the atmosphere is one of them.

Unfortunately I also very much like planes, as feats of human engineering. It's an odd combination.

Quote from: Kylo on September 16, 2018, 08:20:39 AM. . . . 41,000 ft up in the atmosphere is one of them.

What? You got a problem being stuck in a recycled beer can hurtling along at 500 knots?

Which would you find most scary? Careening onto a thin, short strip runway or blasting to get into the air in the first place? 

Quote from: Kiera on September 16, 2018, 08:37:08 AM
What? You got a problem being stuck in a recycled beer can hurtling along at 500 knots?

Which would you find most scary? Careening onto a thin, short strip runway or blasting to get into the air in the first place?

What's even scarier is being at 33,000' with nothing showing on the airspeed indicator but the maker's name!  (And if that isn't the classic introduction to a "there I was" story, I don't know what is!)

I was teaching a student high-altitude aerobatics.  He was used to pulling 3Gs for the pullup for a normal loop at medium altitude.  I guess he didn't believe me when I said he had to pull to the stall buffet (about 4 Gs) at high altitude.  As we approached the vertical, the airspeed was unwinding way too fast.  I grabbed the stick, but realized that it was too late to prevent a tailslide.  With my eyes glued to the EGT because I feared a compressor stall, I hauled back on the stick as hard as I could.  I didn't care that it would put us in a deep stall, I just wanted the plane to fall onto its back, not its belly.  Which it did, fortunately without a hiccup from the engine.  The nose dropped to vertical-down and we picked up airspeed again as we descended through our own contrail.

Fun times!

Quote from: KathyLauren on September 16, 2018, 10:51:16 AM
What's even scarier is being at 33,000' with nothing showing on the airspeed indicator but the maker's name!  (And if that isn't the classic introduction to a "there I was" story, I don't know what is!)

I was teaching a student high-altitude aerobatics.  He was used to pulling 3Gs for the pullup for a normal loop at medium altitude.  I guess he didn't believe me when I said he had to pull to the stall buffet (about 4 Gs) at high altitude.  As we approached the vertical, the airspeed was unwinding way too fast.  I grabbed the stick, but realized that it was too late to prevent a tailslide.  With my eyes glued to the EGT because I feared a compressor stall, I hauled back on the stick as hard as I could.  I didn't care that it would put us in a deep stall, I just wanted the plane to fall onto its back, not its belly.  Which it did, fortunately without a hiccup from the engine.  The nose dropped to vertical-down and we picked up airspeed again as we descended through our own contrail.

Fun times!

Fun times says you :icon_yikes: Can you say screaming death dive! No looping around here but I have done well to stay out of those screaming death dives during stall recovery training.

Quote from: KathyLauren on September 16, 2018, 10:51:16 AM

I was teaching a student high-altitude aerobatics.  ...
Fun times!

KathyLauren, I think your definition of fun is not that close to mine...  ;D

Kate

After reading today's earlier contributions and wishing I had the chance to be in something other than a piston engine I think I need a good cry... :(

Oh, what have I done? Now it'll be like an itch I have to scratch...

If it had not been for seeing and dropping into this thread, I never would have paid any attention to the small newspaper blurb about an AOPA regional fly-in scheduled at SAF this weekend. Since the airport is not to very far away, I dropped in on Saturday. Saw some old friends and made new ones, drank way too much coffee, gave my arms a doozy of a sunburn, and managed to spend about half an hour in the left front seat of a 172.

Among my old friends, some of whom have been treated more kindly by the years than others, I ran into Richard B, the man who gave me my last check ride. I still remember the fresh faced early-30-something with kids in elementary school and a fresh I ticket looking for students; we've both changed – he's now a grandpa and I sport longer hair, a bra, earrings and a purse. I am not sure who was more surprised.

Long story short, he booked me for an "intro" (should be more like re-into) ride this morning. We flew the pattern a couple of times; I botched the first try at a touch and go in over 20 years but managed to keep it in the pattern and on the runway on the second try. I guess I did remember a bit – he didn't have to yell "right damn rudder" at me once.
He's based at an FBO only a couple of hours away OFR. I have an hour booked for my birthday. Now, where's that danged logbook?

Thank you my friends - you have helped me reopen a door I thought had been sealed for ever.

Susan
edited to fix typogooficul errirs

Wow! Great thread. I got to it late because I've been away for a spell.

Where to start: 1963 somewhere in Texas (some of you might know where) TH-55

1965/66 Vietnam UH1 and OH58

1971 till bankruptcy, EAL B727 Did ATP checkride there

1990 flew freight SA226 for Bank of America

1995 moved to NA265 and G3 for Charter company in Cali

2002 flew G4 international part 135 until retiring in 2005.

Wife and I (she an ex flight attendant) formed a 135 charter outfit with two 414s flying divers from palm springs to Catalina island.

Got out in 2007 (how's that for timing) TT 21265.6

Haven't flown PIC since, would love to but probably best for everybody else if I don't - Just don't have the right stuff any more.

Rented a Stearman last year (With pilot) Just to see if I could still fly, just like riding a bicycle. Only bounced a slight amount on landing - not bad for a tail dragger.

Leslie (P.S. I think I've dated myself here)

Quote from: Susan Baum on September 16, 2018, 06:32:43 PM
Thank you my friends - you have helped me reopen a door I thought had been sealed for ever.

YAY!!  I am glad that this thread been a bad good influence on you! >:-)

@Leslie601, glad to have you in this thread.  As you can see, we have quite a bit of fun.

Quote from: Leslie601 on September 16, 2018, 08:11:53 PM
Haven't flown PIC since, would love to but probably best for everybody else if I don't - Just don't have the right stuff any more.
Leslie (P.S. I think I've dated myself here)

I'm afraid I fall into that category too Leslie. Nothing as extensive as you. Just SEL PIC here. You didn't date yourself. I think most of us here are of the elderly persuasion.

I'm glad you ladies found this thread.

Hugs,
Donica. 

Quote from: Leslie601 on September 16, 2018, 08:11:53 PM



Rented a Stearman last year (With pilot) Just to see if I could still fly, just like riding a bicycle. Only bounced a slight amount on landing - not bad for a tail dragger.

An aviation life well-lived!!

And as for "not bad," you were in a Stearman, perhaps the toughest-to-land taildragger built by humans. Great job!!

Kate

That was a Stearmen PT-17 right?

Yes, yellow in 1940s paint scheme. I would kill for one but the maintenance, insurance and hanger space these days are just out of sight.

Maybe a Grumman Tiger tho..

Dream on old girl!

L

Good story Kathy.

Reminds me of a trip across the rockies in the winter with the jet stream doing all kinds of crazy things. I turned to chat with the FE and heard the airspeed knocker, looked back as the airspeed blasted through red-line, the autopilot disconnected and the nose got very heavy (here comes mach tuck,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mach_tuck) as the FO and I pulled for all we were worth and yanked the throttles back (We actually bent them!) put out the speed brakes and, at the same time, realizing we were in a 6000 FPM updraft and the autopilot had put in all the nose down trim trying to hold altitude until it gave up and disengaged, leaving us with mach tuck and a full nose down trim. Scary as hell. Anyway, the speed brakes finally did their job as we were trimming aft as fast as the motor would run. Upon recovery, as we wondered if we were going to need a lav trip, the FO said these famous words "You have any blank NASA reports?" Yeah, we did file those that night.

L

Ah, those lovely lovely NASA reports!

Quote from: Leslie601 on September 17, 2018, 03:56:46 PMAnyway, the speed brakes finally did their job as we were trimming aft as fast as the motor would run. Upon recovery, as we wondered if we were going to need a lav trip, the FO said these famous words "You have any blank NASA reports?" Yeah, we did file those that night.

I don't know about NASA reports.  What are they?  Great story!

One nice thing about the Tutor's speed brakes in a situation like that: they produced a strong nose-up trim change all by themselves.  At redline speeds, popping the speed brakes would produce about a 4G pullup without even touching the stick or the trim.  You could almost do a loop with speed brakes alone.  I know because I tried it.  :D

NASA began a voluntary reporting system that, when used properly, acted as a "get out of jail free" card as far as FAA enforcement was concerned. The idea was people would tell the truth and thus the data could be used to further aviation safety. I don't know if it's still around but I used it a few times when incidents such as this or even ATC deviations occurred. If the FAA came after you you could pull the receipt out and as long as the violation wasn't too serious, you were off the hook.

You're right about speed brakes, while the ones on the B727 were completely different than the ones on smaller aircraft (which were usually mounted on the fuselage while large aircraft were wing mounted) I was training in an old N265 Sabreliner (same wings as f-86) and I discovered that if you popped them over the runway because you were too hot you'd get an epic balloon job.

L

Quote from: Leslie601 on September 17, 2018, 07:47:47 PM
I don't know if it's still around

Yep, it's still around. ( https://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/ ) Almost 8,000 reports per month in 2017, which I would consider pretty well used...

I keep my CFI up to date, and literally last May, it was still part of the CFI recurrent training.

Kate

Quote from: KatieP on September 17, 2018, 08:18:16 PM
Yep, it's still around. ( https://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/ ) Almost 8,000 reports per month in 2017, which I would consider pretty well used...

I keep my CFI up to date, and literally last May, it was still part of the CFI recurrent training.

Kate

Hmmmm, reallllly? Innnteresting...

I'll keep that in mind when my next biennial comes up. (January 2020)


Stephanie

Do you jet jockeys remember this one?

https://youtu.be/noriLGVL7Qo


Stephanie

Quote from: Steph2.0 on September 24, 2018, 11:02:17 AM
Do you jet jockeys remember this one?

That's weird, the video didn't show in your post.  I extracted the link from the HTML code: https://www.youtube.com/embed/noriLGVL7Qo?rel=0 (https://www.youtube.com/embed/noriLGVL7Qo?rel=0)

The incident was a bit before my time, but I do remember reading about it. 

We were always told that, if you have time before you eject, trim nose-down, so the plane would not continue flying.  Probably not necessary in the Tutor, since the canopy produced lift, and without it, the nose would drop anyway.

Wow!!! That is almost unbelievable. And recovering from a flat spin on it's own no less. I wonder how much dirt the turbine snorted in and puked out the back?

Quote from: Kiera on September 16, 2018, 08:37:08 AM
What? You got a problem being stuck in a recycled beer can hurtling along at 500 knots?

Which would you find most scary? Careening onto a thin, short strip runway or blasting to get into the air in the first place?

The climb. Mainly because I've watched videos of fatal problems with both but the nearer the ground with some some lift under the wings the greater the chance of survival, at least in theory. Watching a plane attempt to climb then suffer a cargo shift or something that causes a fatal stall is the stuff of nightmares.

My first flight was also the stuff of nightmares. First the plane required two days of "modification" at the airport in order to get it flight worthy and then when it took off someone forgot to shut the door.  Maybe there's a reason I have aerophobia.

Steph and Kathy, thanks for that video and link. When they say some planes seem to fly themselves...

To my dear friends on this thread,
A slight mishap last weekend has given me pause to mull over my decision to again fly on my birthday. How could I have missed a step to my porch when I've used them how many times?? over the past four decades?
No, I didn't fall but the grocery bag I carried was somewhat worse for wear and my neighbor's girl saw it and started giggling. So not only was my extremely fragile and delicate ego bruised but I felt like broken eggs were now plastered upon my gently resculpted proboscis. 

Yep, the yolk's on me.
I sat and laughed as well.

In all honesty, I know my reflexes have slowed as I've aged; the synapses all fire but the muscles are slower to respond. Can I ever again feel safe in the air?

Oh, I will go and fly and have fun doing so but without lofty expectations. My choice is simple – old or bold. Just don't expect me to eject from this conversation.

Susan

I'm with you Susan. They won't let this old girl fly anymore. I honestly don't want to take the chance anymore. I can't just pull over and stop if I have a medical issue. However, I would never pass up a chance to fly again if there was another PIC in the right seat with me. I will always miss it. Once a pilot, always a pilot.

Quote from: Donica on September 28, 2018, 04:00:40 PM
I'm with you Susan. They won't let this old girl fly anymore. I honestly don't want to take the chance anymore. I can't just pull over and stop if I have a medical issue. I will always miss it. Once a pilot, always a pilot.

Well if any of you get to central Florida you can ride right seat (or back seat, depending on the plane) with me. I still retain all my reflexes and faculties.

Wait... what were we talking about?


Stephanie

Quote from: Steph2.0 on September 28, 2018, 04:03:31 PM
Well if any of you get to central Florida you can ride right seat (or back seat, depending on the plane) with me. I still retain all my reflexes and faculties.

Wait... what were we talking about?


Stephanie

Oh Stephanie lol. But yes!! I'll be there! How's tomorrow sound? Just kidding. Maybe some time the future. I would love to meet you in person. I would grace the skies with you anytime and twice on Sundays.

Donica.

Hello sister aviatrices and brother aviators! Tomorrow @sassycassie and I will be leaving on a long XC in the plane I built a few years ago. Despite the owner buying out my share in the plane, he still considers me a partner in it, and I get temporary custody when he's too busy to fly it or out of town. We are doing this trip with his blessing.

We'll be leaving central Florida and flying north with two-hour legs, with stops in Adel, GA, and a field just west of ATL's airspace. Destination is east of Nashville and south of Lexington, KY. Cruise will be 80-85 knots and fuel burn is 5-5.5 gph. Capacity is 26 gallons. Estimated time in the air is about 7.5 hours.

When I built it I equipped it with ADSB out and in, which means if you want to track us, you can do it in real-time. Download the FlightAware app to your device, or go to FlightAware.com, and track N211R. We may or may not be visible all the time, since ADSB is partly dependent on ground stations, and we may not be flying high enough at times to be seen. So don't panic if we drop out of tracking occasionally. I'll be posting updates here when I can.

This is going to be an awesome adventure for Galaxy Girl and the Electric Diva in their Atmospheric Explorer!

Stephanie

Cool, Stephanie.  What is your ETD?

Quote from: KathyLauren on October 21, 2018, 05:20:05 AM
Cool, Stephanie.  What is your ETD?

0730 EDT / 1130 Z

I'll be watching.  Right now, FlightRadar24 shows you on the ground after a 27 minute flight on the 18th.  It also shows you as a Cessna 170B!!  :icon_inyourface:

This plane have heat? It's gonna be chilly big temp drop here ATL, showing 40's at night.

Very cool Stephanie!!! You must be at KTMA. Are you two coming back today? What time? or is the Flightaware not showing your return trip?

Quote from: KathyLauren on October 21, 2018, 06:33:26 AM
I'll be watching.  Right now, FlightRadar24 shows you on the ground after a 27 minute flight on the 18th.  It also shows you as a Cessna 170B!!  :icon_inyourface:

Their database must be old. The N Number was assigned to a 170 a few years ago, but we've owned it since then. Not sure why your tracking software isn't seeing us. You might want to try FlightAware.

Quote from: Kiera on October 21, 2018, 07:01:55 AM
This plane have heat? It's gonna be chilly big temp drop here ATL, showing 40's at night.

Yes it does, in fact, and we've been using it a bit. There's a temperature inversion at about 3200 ft, so we haven't needed it much yet. Very turbulent for our little plane, and we've had a hard time getting fuel but we're pushing on.

Quote from: Donica on October 21, 2018, 12:15:44 PM
Very cool Stephanie!!! You must be at KTMA. Are you two coming back today? What time? or is the Flightaware not showing your return trip?

We're going to KY and will be spending the night there. Probably returning on Tuesday after taking care of some paperwork.

Ok, I'll be watching. I was seeing the same thing as Kathy on my desk top app but my phone app is more accurate. Thank you for filing your FAA flight plan and checking in with FSS Susan's Place. We will be following you ladies. Next Check in FSS, KY. Flight plan pending.

Ok, now the desktop app is updating properly.

Our route is:

9FL1
X55 to pick up Cassie
FD71 to visit with good friend Livia and use the bathroom
15J for fuel - pump was broken
KTMA for fuel - they were completely out
KACJ fuel finally!!
KCTJ next fuel stop /mogas!
KSME destination

Ah, there you are!  It looks like pretty busy airspace!
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1913/44752866924_a1ab1cd903_b.jpg)

I like your app better Kathy. Is that the Silver edition?

Quote from: Donica on October 21, 2018, 02:53:36 PM
I like your app better Kathy. Is that the Silver edition?

No, it's the just the FlightRadar24 website.  No app, free access.

Quote from: KathyLauren on October 21, 2018, 03:18:01 PM
No, it's the just the FlightRadar24 website.  No app, free access.

On the ground at CTJ. Only needed 5.2 gallons of Mogas. Finally eating lunch, then skedaddle to get to our destination before dark.

And their off again. I got the Silver version. It was only $10 a year. More fun toys to play with.

What, no pictures this trip? Oh Stephanie, your killing me!

They have arrived, after 6 hours 26 minutes in the air.  I hope the seats were comfortable!

Well... not quite. We were a half hour out from our destination when I got concerned that the right tank was still full while the left was almost empty. It happens occasionally that one tank will feed faster than the other, but nothing was coming out of the right at all. We might have been able to make it in the remaining fuel in the left tank plus the header, the it was really inhospitable territory for out landings. We let discretion be the better part of valor and chose an alternate airport. So here we are near Oneida TN for the night. We borrowed the courtesy car and got a hotel. We'll troubleshoot and finish the trip tomorrow. It helps that I know the girl who built the plane.

Stephanie

Quote from: Donica on October 21, 2018, 04:00:40 PM
What, no pictures this trip? Oh Stephanie, your killing me!

Okay, you axed for it.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/0d7b90c3de278ca9d2dbfcf0ee9a7414.jpg)
My view on takeoff.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/7ca02e10af57ad6b826900fa0accc8db.jpg)
Cassie waiting for her flight.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/c378e1da3457fb8186c8ff8f8ba7e2a1.jpg)
Electric Diva and Galaxy Girl ready to start our grand adventure.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/a5648224268ef836942c6e5359b8f92f.jpg)
We visit with great friend Livia.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/41ed3be45844993fd5effbc097cdebee.jpg)
Cassie taking a turn flying.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/da9eb7f0bc4637e2176dc61b6475f24c.jpg)
Northern Georgia territory.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/60ec1aeee868893a4a7b81928e98a8e7.jpg)
Central Tennessee.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/25d80dd810eb32d68b9f29144a9b6d0f.jpg)
We join the Mile High Club!

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/bc4071e5756bcf78d09af270df159e25.jpg)
Our unexpected destination.

More later!!

Stephanie and Cassie

Oh my God! Thank you so much. You just gave me a aviation fix. What beautiful scenery. Gosh I miss that so much. I'm glad you both made it safely to your destination. Warm hugs to you both. Sleep tight! Tomorrow's a walk through a uncertain  town? Keep the motor running for a quick get away.

Quote from: Steph2.0 on October 21, 2018, 08:39:37 PM
Okay, you axed for it.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/0d7b90c3de278ca9d2dbfcf0ee9a7414.jpg)
My view on takeoff.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/7ca02e10af57ad6b826900fa0accc8db.jpg)
Cassie waiting for her flight.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/c378e1da3457fb8186c8ff8f8ba7e2a1.jpg)
Electric Diva and Galaxy Girl ready to start our grand adventure.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/a5648224268ef836942c6e5359b8f92f.jpg)
We visit with great friend Livia.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/41ed3be45844993fd5effbc097cdebee.jpg)
Cassie taking a turn flying.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/da9eb7f0bc4637e2176dc61b6475f24c.jpg)
Northern Georgia territory.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/60ec1aeee868893a4a7b81928e98a8e7.jpg)
Central Tennessee.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/25d80dd810eb32d68b9f29144a9b6d0f.jpg)
We join the Mile High Club!

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/bc4071e5756bcf78d09af270df159e25.jpg)
Our unexpected destination.

More later!!

Stephanie and Cassie

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

I am following you on the apps as suggested...my aviation experience consists of a solos licence to fly trainer aircraft when I was 17 unfortunately something got in ther way and I was never able to complete my training but still have the passion.

Great Pics keep them coming,

Liz

It looks cold, burrrrr.

Quote from: Steph2.0 on October 21, 2018, 08:39:37 PM
Okay, you axed for it.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/0d7b90c3de278ca9d2dbfcf0ee9a7414.jpg)
My view on takeoff.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/7ca02e10af57ad6b826900fa0accc8db.jpg)
Cassie waiting for her flight.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/c378e1da3457fb8186c8ff8f8ba7e2a1.jpg)
Electric Diva and Galaxy Girl ready to start our grand adventure.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/a5648224268ef836942c6e5359b8f92f.jpg)
We visit with great friend Livia.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/41ed3be45844993fd5effbc097cdebee.jpg)
Cassie taking a turn flying.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/da9eb7f0bc4637e2176dc61b6475f24c.jpg)
Northern Georgia territory.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/60ec1aeee868893a4a7b81928e98a8e7.jpg)
Central Tennessee.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/25d80dd810eb32d68b9f29144a9b6d0f.jpg)
We join the Mile High Club!

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/bc4071e5756bcf78d09af270df159e25.jpg)
Our unexpected destination.

More later!!

Stephanie and Cassie

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Quote from: Donica on October 21, 2018, 08:47:26 PM
Oh my God! Thank you so much. You just gave me a aviation fix. What beautiful scenery. Gosh I miss that so much. I'm glad you both made it safely to your destination. Warm hugs to you both. Sleep tight! Tomorrow's a walk through a uncertain  town? Keep the motor running for a quick get away.
Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

I'm so glad you enjoyed it. We still have 1/2 hour to go, after we troubleshoot and fix the problem with the right tank feed. Then we have to fly the last 1/2 hour, get a car, and get the paperwork we came here to fix, fixed. If things go smoothly, we'll head for Tullahoma, TN and crash at the house of Livia's husband, Gary, who hasn't been able to join her at their Florida location yet. If things take too long, it'll be another night up here and the long flight home on Tuesday.

We interacted with so many people today. At five airports, the hotel, a restaurant, everyone welcomed the two intrepid aviatrixes. Everyone was impressed that we two girls would fly so far in our little plane that one of us actually built herself. We keep telling each other, "We've made it," in terms of completing social transition. Sometimes we even believe it, especially when we experience days like today.

One last pic for today: A view I've rarely seen from my own plane's windows.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/31f0017b99292b489283b7f2a1aa81ed.jpg)

By the way, it's my understanding that with two women flying, it's not appropriate to call it a "cockpit." More properly, it's a "box office." (I will not discuss pre-op vs. post-op. Don't even ask.) [emoji16]

Stephanie

Quote from: Donica on October 21, 2018, 08:49:38 PM
It looks cold, burrrrr.
Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Actually, on takeoff back home, it was about 60F. In the air in TN though, OAT was in the low 40s. The heater struggled to keep up.

Thank you for the pics, Stephanie!  Sorry you had mechanical problems.  It was a prudent decision to land rather than try to squeeze fumes out of the good tank to make your destination.  I hope all goes well today.

Yes, I caught up to your post Stephanie. Better safe than sorry. I hope the fuel feed issue is nothing serious. Be safe on your last 1/2 hour leg. We will be following you ladies.

Donica.

When we got to the airport this mornin, the fuel had equalized between the two tanks. With plenty of fuel in the left for over 1.5 hours, to make a 30 minute flight, we decided to hustle on to our final destination so we could take care of the business we made this trip for.

So we're tied down at Somerset KY. We've filled both tanks and have a rental car, heading out to take care of bizzniss.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181022/2f7af15e5f5e71b6ffdec38b3fdc8988.jpg)

More updates to come!

Stephanie

Great news Stephanie. I'm glad it wasn't anything serious. I'm guessing you aircraft doesn't have a tank select valve? I did catch your flight on Flighttracker. Happy bizzniss hunting ladies.

Donica.

Quote from: Donica on October 22, 2018, 01:31:26 PM
Great news Stephanie. I'm glad it wasn't anything serious. I'm guessing you aircraft doesn't have a tank select valve? I did catch your flight on Flighttracker. Happy bizzniss hunting ladies.

No, there isn't a fuel selector. The wing tanks cross-feed through a header tank under the cargo area floor. The header feeds the fuel pumps through what is supposed to be the only shut-off valve. I went ahead and installed separate shutoffs on each wing tank feed lines in case something happens downstream.

We still aren't sure what happened yesterday, but worse case, we could shut off the left tank and fly home on the right. It would just mean more frequent fuel stops.

Stephanie

Hey Stephanie,

Glad your adventure with your BFF, Cassie, is going well. If you keep this up, you will end up costing me a lot of money by stirring my spark to return to flying. It's an expensive hobby when you have to rent planes! [emoji23]

Sorry you had some mechanical issues. I was just wondering if you may have a blocked vent into the left tank, and the fuel level eventually equalises with the right tank given enough time as it did atvyour overnight stop. Is there a positive pressure in the tank from the forward motion of the plane in flight? I hope it is just a simple fix to get things back to normal operation.

Fly safe and have fun. I'm enjoying following your trip.

Hugs,
Jayne

Southbound and down! We just made our first stop at CTJ, topping off with mogas at one of the few places to get it in Georgia. The fuel problem persists, though we did use about three gallons from the right tank as well as six from the left, so something's working.

Jayne, I did check the vent. It's a short standpipe with the vent hole facing forward, and it's open. I also had a theory that the o-ring on the cap had been lost, allowing low pressure on top of the wing from allowing the fuel to flow. But nope, the o-ring is there.

So we're pressing on, watching the fuel and keeping alternates on the flight plan, as well as watching a line of rain on the Florida border.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181023/7f01bf447c4200184ee56300a4f1f8f9.jpg)
Ready for departure from Somerset, KY

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181023/177657dadd1134093e0c9b76687b9568.jpg)
Southern Tennessee from 6500 feet

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181023/558dc68ccd8137bd96338422cc64fb00.jpg)
Lunch at West Georgia Municipal

Jayne, I'm back to wearing scarves. Be advised!

More later!

I noticed you are wearing scarves. Wasn't the north bound scarf white? I'll be watching your track on Flighttracker. Have a safe flight.

Donica.

This software is pretty cool. I'm not sure how accurate it is. It looks like you crossed mid field at MGR, entering a left downwind for RW 22? But the app didn't show a base turn and final turn. Or maybe you entered on a left base for RW 4?

Anyway, I hope the business portion of the trip was successful.

Love the photos Stephanie. The two of you look like you are having a great time.

My scarfs are resting for the warmer months, but a word of warning, my wife and I are heading to the cold north to spend Christmas with her family, so I may have to break out one of my scarfs. I may even buy myself one or two new ones while over there. Does our scarf agreement allow for us to both be wearing them at the same time? [emoji12]

Fly safe!

Hugs,
Jayne

PS: do you have access to an open cockpit plane. I'd love to see a photo with your goggles on and your scarf flapping in the breeze!

Quote from: Donica on October 23, 2018, 04:04:30 PM
This software is pretty cool. I'm not sure how accurate it is. It looks like you crossed mid field at MGR, entering a right downwind for RW 22? But the app didn't show a base turn and final turn. Or maybe you entered on a right base for RW 4?

Anyway, I hope the business portion of the trip was successful.

Hi Donica,

We came in from the north and entered left downwind for 35. Base and final, then stretched the landing so I wouldn't have to taxi all the way down the runway that I only need 400 feet of.

If you look at the current radar for southern Georgia/northern Florida you'll see why we landed at Moultrie. We can't get any further south today, though we're only about two hours from home.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181023/fdfc393aa7ccf13b33f85c97db403c2c.jpg)

We got a room at the only place in the area that wasn't full up with hurricane Michael refugees. It's called the Sundown Farms Plantation, and it's an absolutely gorgeous hunting lodge with beautiful outdoor areas. It's a great solution to a bad situation.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181023/f7056d86184c54d725de9cf04c955396.jpg)

Adventure!

Stephanie

Quote from: Donica on October 23, 2018, 04:04:30 PM
Anyway, I hope the business portion of the trip was successful.

The initial reason for the trip is Cassie's story to tell, but I will say that it was wonderfully successful. Another aspect of the trip that affected us both was also wildly successful, and I'll post about that on my own thread. You'll have to wait a bit, though. Once I get home the rest of my week is booked solid, and I'm sure Cassie's is, too. I'll write when I get the chance...

Stephanie

Quote from: Jayne01 on October 23, 2018, 04:06:12 PM
Love the photos Stephanie. The two of you look like you are having a great time.

My scarfs are resting for the warmer months, but a word of warning, my wife and I are heading to the cold north to spend Christmas with her family, so I may have to break out one of my scarfs. I may even buy myself one or two new ones while over there. Does our scarf agreement allow for us to both be wearing them at the same time? [emoji12]

Fly safe!

Hugs,
Jayne

PS: do you have access to an open cockpit plane. I'd love to see a photo with your goggles on and your scarf flapping in the breeze!

Oh, I suppose we can both sport scarves at the same time, as long as they aren't the same one.

Actually, as I think about it, I would be proud to wear a similar scarf to one my sister from Oz was wearing!

I used to fly open cockpit ultralights, but they had pusher engines mounted behind me. Not a good scenario for a scarf!

Stephanie

Quote from: Donica on October 23, 2018, 03:19:28 PM
I noticed you are wearing scarves. Wasn't the north bound scarf white? I'll be watching your track on Flighttracker. Have a safe flight.

Donica.

On the northbound trip, Stephanie was sporting a tan scarf with maroon patterns matched with her dark red top, and form fitting skinny jeans. A comfortable casual look appropriate for any aviatrix!

While heading homeward the outfit chosen by our intrepid heroine is a dark blue tunic enhanced by a blue patterned long scarf, wrapped once around with one end of the scarf left saucily longer than the other. Black tights with a reflective pattern inlay, and comfy white tennis shoes complete the ensemble. A classy, sporty look, Stephanie!

[emoji16]

Sweet! I set an alarm on my ADSB ground station in case you fly in my area of the woods. Usually I get planes up to 100 miles around my area. The US has pretty good coverage of ADSB ground stations. I hope to reposition the antenna in the next few weeks and add a few foot in height to get even better coverage...

Glad you made it home safe and it seems to have been an enjoyable adventure!

Quote from: Steph2.0 on October 20, 2018, 10:50:15 PM
Hello sister aviatrices and brother aviators! Tomorrow @sassycassie and I will be leaving on a long XC in the plane I built a few years ago. Despite the owner buying out my share in the plane, he still considers me a partner in it, and I get temporary custody when he's too busy to fly it or out of town. We are doing this trip with his blessing.

We'll be leaving central Florida and flying north with two-hour legs, with stops in Adel, GA, and a field just west of ATL's airspace. Destination is east of Nashville and south of Lexington, KY. Cruise will be 80-85 knots and fuel burn is 5-5.5 gph. Capacity is 26 gallons. Estimated time in the air is about 7.5 hours.

When I built it I equipped it with ADSB out and in, which means if you want to track us, you can do it in real-time. Download the FlightAware app to your device, or go to FlightAware.com, and track N211R. We may or may not be visible all the time, since ADSB is partly dependent on ground stations, and we may not be flying high enough at times to be seen. So don't panic if we drop out of tracking occasionally. I'll be posting updates here when I can.

This is going to be an awesome adventure for Galaxy Girl and the Electric Diva in their Atmospheric Explorer!

Stephanie

Oops! The right traffic pattern was my mistake. I meant LEFT. Never the less, this software is not accurate. It showed you track about a half-mile off runway and the wrong runway to boot. I now know why they would never let me visit the tower. Right, Left? lol. Have a safe final leg home. Update your threads when you can ladies and thanks for sharing.

Donica.

Oh! I missed the whole thing - I would have been pestering you to take the east coast route and RON here in Charleston.
That tank feed issue is a bit worrisome, maybe some sort of obstruction in there. Good luck!

Leslie

Quote from: Leslie601 on October 24, 2018, 04:24:04 PM
Oh! I missed the whole thing - I would have been pestering you to take the east coast route and RON here in Charleston.
That tank feed issue is a bit worrisome, maybe some sort of obstruction in there. Good luck!

Leslie

Hi Leslie!

That would have been cool. As is, the trip is finally over. We left Moultrie about 11am after the obligatory trip to Starbucks as we waited for the fog to lift. We prepared to head for home with much assistance from the airport guys, who were extremely solicitous and attentive of the two women traveling across the country in their little plane, carrying our luggage, driving us back and forth in their golf cart, and treating us like ladies.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181024/000f565267ebd372c100756777f69e29.jpg)

On takeoff I put on my best voice and called, "Moultrie traffic, experimental 211 Romeo, right turnout, southbound departure. Thank you for everything!" To which they replied, "Our pleasure, ma'am! Have a nice flight!" Cassie and I first-bumped and blew it up.

My copilot flew most of the way south to our first stop, to visit with our good friend Livia again. This time we had plenty of time to go to lunch, then hang out at her place and talk until later in the afternoon.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181024/f787bdef1126a40b96fe070eacb5beab.jpg)

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181024/bac317b0a82cbd807d31d7a32ab2783b.jpg)

Another hour south with Cassie at the controls, and we landed at the airport near her house. We unpacked and waited for a cab to take her home.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181024/7a64058ef2f2be95a070af5f78938258.jpg)

Cassie was sad that it was all over, but we made some awesome memories.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181025/4a5019d2c8092437bd0ff0eecd40bb1b.jpg)

When she was off in the cab, I took off solo for the last 20 minute leg to my house. On the way I circled her house as the cab pulled into her driveway, and waggled the wings. I made a passable landing landing landing (three bounces) at home with the gusty crosswind, but didn't bend anything, pulled up in front of the hangar, and shut down the engine for the last time of an incredibly epic trip.

Thanks for riding along!

Stephanie

The old rookie triple bounce. Did one once in a nasty cross wind with a 152. Just add a bit of throttle girl. Tame that bucking Bronco. Oh Cassie, don't be sad. This was a good trip for the books. Glad you two made it home safe.

Hugs,
Donica.

Quote from: Steph2.0 on October 24, 2018, 08:40:24 PM
Hi Leslie!

That would have been cool. As is, the trip is finally over. We left Moultrie about 11am after the obligatory trip to Starbucks as we waited for the fog to lift. We prepared to head for home with much assistance from the airport guys, who were extremely solicitous and attentive of the two women traveling across the country in their little plane, carrying our luggage, driving us back and forth in their golf cart, and treating us like ladies.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181024/000f565267ebd372c100756777f69e29.jpg)

On takeoff I put on my best voice and called, "Moultrie traffic, experimental 211 Romeo, right turnout, southbound departure. Thank you for everything!" To which they replied, "Our pleasure, ma'am! Have a nice flight!" Cassie and I first-bumped and blew it up.

My copilot flew most of the way south to our first stop, to visit with our good friend Livia again. This time we had plenty of time to go to lunch, then hang out at her place and talk until later in the afternoon.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181024/f787bdef1126a40b96fe070eacb5beab.jpg)

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181024/bac317b0a82cbd807d31d7a32ab2783b.jpg)

Another hour south with Cassie at the controls, and we landed at the airport near her house. We unpacked and waited for a cab to take her home.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181024/7a64058ef2f2be95a070af5f78938258.jpg)

Cassie was sad that it was all over, but we made some awesome memories.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181025/4a5019d2c8092437bd0ff0eecd40bb1b.jpg)

When she was off in the cab, I took off solo for the last 20 minute leg to my house. On the way I circled her house as the cab pulled into her driveway, and waggled the wings. I made a passable landing landing landing (three bounces) at home with the gusty crosswind, but didn't bend anything, pulled up in front of the hangar, and shut down the engine for the last time of an incredibly epic trip.

Thanks for riding along!

Stephanie

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Quote from: Donica on October 24, 2018, 10:09:02 PM
The old rookie triple bounce. Did one once in a nasty cross wind with a 152. Just add a bit of throttle girl. Tame that bucking Bronco.

Yeehaw!

I was taught to treat every landing as a deadstick, good advice for when we were flying two-stroke engines. Adding power to change glideslope or save a botched landing was verboten unless you were in serious danger of bending something. We came in high and burned off any excess altitude with a forward slip. All but one of my planes have been taildraggers, and full-stall three-points were the golden standard, though nobody busted your chops for a well executed wheel landing, especially in bad crosswinds.

In this case, with the strong crosswind and rotors off the trees, I chose to use two notches of flaps, keep the speed up, and wheel land it (it's a taildragger). It was a bit too hot when the bottom dropped out and it touched while still above stall. The spring gear launched me again and I kept it in ground effect until the speed bled off, then did another little skip when a gust hit from in front. No harm done, and just another windy day in a taildragger.

By the way, in 22 years of flying two stroke engines I had only two failures, both of which I consider my own fault. First was when the spark plug cap failed and fell off the plug in an inverted single cylinder engine. I was in the pattern but didn't think I'd make the wires at the approach end, so I landed in the tomato field across the street. Fixed the problem and hopped it over the wires to put it away for the day. Cause: bad preflight. Fix: good cap and a safety strap.

The other was caused by leaving the plane parked for seven months without pickling the engine. The rings dried out and stuck in one cylinder, and blow-by expanded the skirt, causing a seizure. Because of the power to weight ratio of the plane I was flying, I was already at 800 ft by the end of the runway, so I had all kinds of time to turn it around and put it back down. It didn't hurt that I'd had plenty of recent practice with deadsticks while practicing for competitions. Cause: not flying enough. Fix: Fly more!!

Now I fly four-strokes but still adhere to what I was taught about landings. It couldn't hurt! [emoji16]

Stephanie

I need a real job that gives me time to get my powered license.

Though now that I think of it every landing I've done was dead stick because one wheel and no engine, lol. Sailplane life.

I have to say you really are living the dream Steph.

Another glider pilot here.

All my landing are dead stick landings, but sailplanes have glide path controls. My sailplane has two very effective spoilers that can get me down at any glide path I want and if I am too low I just put the spoilers back on the wings until I am back on a proper glide path.

I have done forward slips in training, but with good spoilers, I have little need for that technique.

Barrier landing training was FUN!  ;D

Get over the flags, SLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP, straighten out and pray you don't bend anything.

Speaking of side slips, I was taught how to side slip in flight school. But I learned the hard way just how steep you could slip a 172 with two people aboard.  I had to do a check ride with an FAA instructor because of my vision. (Scar tissue in one eye from birth). I flew from CMA to VNY earlier that morning to pick up the instructor. We headed west and he asked me to identify the type and heading of every aircraft around us.

Once he was satisfied that I could see just fine, we headed back to VNY. We were at 5500ft. I had forgotten about Burbank's and LAX 20 mile outer airport radar service area (ARSA) that also covered VNY. (I didn't forget about it earlier that morning) The floor of the ARSA was 3000ft. Well, just outside the 20 mile radius, the FAA instructor grabbed the controls and yelled "I GOT IT", and then put the 172 into the steepest side slip I've ever been in. I mean almost straight down. I thought I missed air traffic in our flight path, it was so intense.

Once we were below 3000ft, he gave control back to me and asked "why do you think I did that?". Once I realized what I had done, I was so embarrassed and nervous, I thought he was going to fail me for sure. I contacted VNY tower and dropped into a RIGHT downwind for 16R. A perfect landing and taxied back to Beechcraft West tiedowns. He could tell I was very upset with my performance. He looked at me with a big ear to ear grin and said "Don't worry. You passed. Just don't do that again". I would have hugged him but I was in guy mode and there was a lot of people looking lol.

I never forgot about Burbank's/LAX ARSA or any other designated airspace again.

Any landing that you can walk away from is a good landing.  If you can use the aircraft again, it is a great one.

Most of our jet approaches were flown with 65% power and speed brakes out, which simulates engine-out performance.  If you were a bit low, you'd just delay selecting full flaps a bit.  If you actually needed power to make the runway, it was a debriefing point.

Talking about doing a forward slip to lose altitude, you should read about the "Gimli Glider", a Boeing 767 that ran out of fuel and had to make a deadstick landing at an abandoned Air Force base.  They were coming in high and fast, with no hydraulic pressure for flaps, so the pilot did a fairly severe forward slip to lose altitude.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider)

Anyway, glad you made it home safely.

I didn't realize that there was a difference between side and forward slip. We definitely lost altitude quickly with out overspeeding the VNE. Lets call it a forward slip. It sounded like there was a tornado going by outside.

That must of been a hand full slipping a 767 with out hydraulics. I'm guessing both pilots and the flight engineer were yanking the controls around?

Quote from: Donica on October 25, 2018, 12:41:28 PM
That must of been a hand full slipping a 767 with out hydraulics. I'm guessing both pilots and the flight engineer were yanking the controls around?

They had hydraulics enough for flight controls, barely, thanks to the ram air turbine.  However, at approach speed, the RAT had a hard time supplying enough hydraulic pressure to operate the crossed controls.  The cabin crew felt the slip and heard the RAT slow way down and thought they were goners. 

They didn't have a flight engineer, a contributing factor according to the investigation.

Quote from: Donica on October 25, 2018, 12:41:28 PM
I didn't realize that there was a difference between side and forward slip. We definitely lost altitude quickly with out overspeeding the VNE. Lets call it a forward slip. It sounded like there was a tornado going by outside.

That was always a topic of intense discussion around the field. As I understand it, a forward slip doesn't change your direction of flight, and is used for creating a higher drag profile for burning off altitude. A side slip is used to compensate for a crosswind, where the plane remains aligned with the runway and slips sideways just enough to compensate for being blown sideways by the crosswind.

Stephanie

I agree with Steph. Used all manner of slip to get down in a hurry when ATC left you high, used that in lots of aircraft with props - but the passengers never liked it much. In jets we'd often slip for crosswind and kick it out just before or when the upwind wheel touched down. Big jets today sometimes have castering maingear enabling a non aligned with the runway touchdown. I think 747s can do that. Glad you had fun!

Leslie

Our crosswind landing technique was to crab on final to hold the centreline, then kick it straight in the flare for touchdown.  I guess technically, kicking the nose straight while dropping a wing to maintain the centreline is a slip. 

I am not sure I understand the difference between a forward slip and a side slip.  As far as I can tell, the aerodynamics are the same; the difference is whether there is a centreline under your track or not.  Shows how often we did slips!

[EDIT:]  Ah, thank you, Google.  A forward slip and a side slip are aerodymnamically the same.  In a forward slip, the fuselage is cockeyed to the centreline because you aren't doing it for a crosswind.  In a side slip, the fusealage remains aligned with the centreline because you are using it to counteract crosswind.  So our technique was to side slip in the flare for crosswind landings.

Quote from: KathyLauren on October 27, 2018, 09:58:26 AM
Our crosswind landing technique was to crab on final to hold the centreline, then kick it straight in the flare for touchdown.  I guess technically, kicking the nose straight while dropping a wing to maintain the centreline is a slip. 

I am not sure I understand the difference between a forward slip and a side slip.  As far as I can tell, the aerodynamics are the same; the difference is whether there is a centreline under your track or not.  Shows how often we did slips!

[EDIT:]  Ah, thank you, Google.  A forward slip and a side slip are aerodymnamically the same.  In a forward slip, the fuselage is cockeyed to the centreline because you aren't doing it for a crosswind.  In a side slip, the fusealage remains aligned with the centreline because you are using it to counteract crosswind.  So our technique was to side slip in the flare for crosswind landings.

Dido Kathy. The aircraft would naturally crab on approach in a cross wind which in my opinion, is safer then side slipping at such a low and slow altitude because the airflow is straight over the wings and control surfaces, making it easier to recover from any unseen windshear that we all love so much. That's how the ATP's do it. I love watching the YouTube video's of the nastiest crosswind airports around the world that ATP pilots have to deal with.

Quote from: KathyLauren on October 27, 2018, 09:58:26 AM

[EDIT:]  Ah, thank you, Google.  A forward slip and a side slip are aerodymnamically the same.  In a forward slip, the fuselage is cockeyed to the centreline because you aren't doing it for a crosswind.  In a side slip, the fusealage remains aligned with the centreline because you are using it to counteract crosswind.  So our technique was to side slip in the flare for crosswind landings.

I agree with the Goog. I was wondering, though, why the heavy metal crabs all the way down, then kicks it out on the flare, while we were taught to slip to landing, keeping the upwind wing low and touching down on the upwind wheel. I think I've decided that there are three reasons the big guys do it differently.

First, since most are low wing with engine nacelles hanging down, they can't lower the upwind wing too far without bending something.

Second, I suspect the different masses of the craft come into play. The much higher inertia of those high-mass big guys keep them moving the same direction long enough once the crab is kicked out that they can touch down before the wind blows them off-center. The low-mass stuff I fly can start accelerating sideways pretty quickly with the crosswind as soon as any crab is removed.

Lastly, with the higher stall speeds of the heavy stuff, the crosswind component is much smaller than with my plane that has a 40 knot stall.

For what it's worth...

Stephanie

I think you are right on all counts, Stephanie.

I vaguely recall (It was 42 years ago, for heaven's sake!) that there was something about the wing sections used on transsonic aircraft (which includes most airliners, as well as military jet trainers) that makes them really not like slips.  What exactly the issue was, I don't remember.  Most likely much higher drag.

Like the big guys, we didn't slip on final.  But, unlike the big guys, we went into a full slip in the flare.  No low-slung engine nacelles to worry about, and not enough mass to keep us from getting blown sideways.

Quote from: KathyLauren on October 29, 2018, 07:06:44 AM
I think you are right on all counts, Stephanie.

I vaguely recall (It was 42 years ago, for heaven's sake!) that there was something about the wing sections used on transsonic aircraft (which includes most airliners, as well as military jet trainers) that makes them really not like slips.  What exactly the issue was, I don't remember.  Most likely much higher drag.

Could it be the swept wings? In a slip, possibly the downwind wing would be turned so far away from the relative wind that it would stall? I dunno, just thinking out loud.

I read Tex Johnston's book about testing the Boeing 367-80, precursor to the 707, and mentioning its issues with dutch roll due to the swept wings. I don't understand the aerodynamics, so it may be completely unrelated.

Tex is the one who barrel rolled the -80 when it debuted in Seattle in 1955. His boss called him into the office to ask him what he thought he was doing. His answer: "Selling airplanes." He didn't get fired. [emoji854]

Stephanie

Yes, my instructor taught me to side slip on approach but after I learned to do it right, she let me crab. Stephanie makes a good point! With all that stuff hanging so close to the ground on the big boys, they can't do a side slip.

I recall a YouTube video where one of the triple engine crafts (3 engine nacelles on the tail) struck the ground with the wingtip in a crosswind landing. But I THINK, (I could be wrong) that was due to a long since removed safety device that would reduce the control throws to half, once the crafts wheels touched down?

I believe the safety device was used to keep the pilot from overcontrolling the craft while on the ground???

Quote from: Steph2.0 on October 29, 2018, 07:36:14 AM
Tex is the one who barrel rolled the -80 when it debuted in Seattle in 1955. His boss called him into the office to ask him what he thought he was doing. His answer: "Selling airplanes." He didn't get fired. [emoji854]

Stephanie

I saw that video Stephanie. It was a documentary about early jet engine people movers? The crowd was thinking he was about to crash. I forget now but it was either Bell or Boeing aircraft company?

Quote from: Donica on October 29, 2018, 07:53:47 AM
I saw that video Stephanie. It was a documentary about early jet engine people movers? The crowd was thinking he was about to crash. I forget now but it was either Bell or Boeing aircraft company?

Tex did do some testing for Bell, but the -80 was built by Boeing.


Stephanie

Quote from: Steph2.0 on October 29, 2018, 07:36:14 AM
Could it be the swept wings? In a slip, possibly the downwind wing would be turned so far away from the relative wind that it would stall? I dunno, just thinking out loud.

Duh!  I should have thought of that!  Yes, the swept wing would make a big difference.

There are plenty of wingtip-strike videos on YT.  One of the best/worst is a 737 or Airbus at Dusseldorf airport.  The plane goes all squirrely, with the pilot overcontrolling like a student, and you see the puff of dust as the left wingtip strikes the ground.  Fortunately, the engines were already spooling up for the overshoot, and they survived with just some scratched metal.

Quote from: KathyLauren on October 29, 2018, 08:34:23 AM
Duh!  I should have thought of that!  Yes, the swept wing would make a big difference.

There are plenty of wingtip-strike videos on YT.  One of the best/worst is a 737 or Airbus at Dusseldorf airport.  The plane goes all squirrely, with the pilot overcontrolling like a student, and you see the puff of dust as the left wingtip strikes the ground.  Fortunately, the engines were already spooling up for the overshoot, and they survived with just some scratched metal.

Seriously, those airliners should be fabric covered. After an incident like that, a quick patch job and some paint and they'd be back in the air. Bent metal has to be replaced. Sheesh.


Stephanie

Quote from: Steph2.0 on October 29, 2018, 09:01:11 AM
Seriously, those airliners should be fabric covered. After an incident like that, a quick patch job and some paint and they'd be back in the air. Bent metal has to be replaced. Sheesh.


Stephanie

Oh, I get! Your yoking right?

Quote from: Donica on October 29, 2018, 09:07:02 AM
Oh, I get! Your yoking right?

Ha! Strangely enough, I prefer a stick. In the plane, not elsewhere...


Stephanie

Ya, I've built a few STICK planes as a child.

WoW! Aviation + Trans humor.

Who'd 'ov thunk!

Kate

Quote from: KatieP on October 29, 2018, 01:47:13 PM
WoW! Aviation + Trans humor.

Who'd 'ov thunk!

Kate

[emoji1787]

With the low ceilings the other day I thought i might not be able to get over the top of the class D at KLEE, and would have to call them to ask permission to... ahem... transition their airspace.

I tell ya, I got a million of 'em. Don't forget to tip your servers, because they help us help You!


Stephanie

I wrote about my awesome week volunteering at the DeLand Sport Aviation Showcase over on my personal thread, but I thought this more properly belonged here.

I was working the Exhibitor support tent, and that included checking in the forums and keynote speakers. One of them was the weatherman at a Tampa TV station. He's a pilot, too, and when he checked in, he had this little guy with him.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181105/255270387a3c854f88b1cfba0f81709e.jpg)

Awwww...

Stephanie

Wow, how did I miss this thread.  I'm retired now but I started with Delta Air Lines when I was 18 in air cargo.  I worked ground crew on an L100 freighter, the civilian version of the C130.  After a year at Delta, I took a military leave of absence and enlisted in the Navy, enlistment papers specified Naval Aviation.  Then I spent four years as an Aviation Electronics Technician on A-7's including 10 months the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy.  Back to Delta after the Navy and worked ramp, operations (weight and balance), ticket counter and after too many injuries, finally reservations.  Total of 34 years with Delta.  I never flew but my aircraft experience: Lockheed L100 and L1011 , Convair 440 and 880, Douglas DC6, DC7, DC8, DC9, DC10, McDonnell-Douglas MD80 series, MD-11, Boeing 727, 737, 747, 757, 767 and a few miscellaneous aircraft from other airlines.

Quote from: Steph2.0 on November 04, 2018, 07:27:29 PM
I wrote about my awesome week volunteering at the DeLand Sport Aviation Showcase over on my personal thread, but I thought this more properly belonged here.

I was working the Exhibitor support tent, and that included checking in the forums and keynote speakers. One of them was the weatherman at a Tampa TV station. He's a pilot, too, and when he checked in, he had this little guy with him.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181105/255270387a3c854f88b1cfba0f81709e.jpg)

Awwww...

Stephanie

So cute!! The next generation of pilots.

Donica.

I figured this might be a good place to post this. Free online course with Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

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Dates: November 19th  to December 3rd, 2018

Registration link: https://www.canvas.net/browse/erau/courses/small-unmanned-aircraft 

Embry-Riddle Worldwide offers MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course) to anyone with an Internet connection and a desire to learn about aviation. And they are free!

The course will cover several aspects of regulation, operation, and safety regarding sUAS or drones. Target audiences are not only new users but also user groups of private, commercial and public/educational background. The course also includes aspects of Cyber Security, Privacy and Data Protection. The modules are self-paced and designed for a global audience.

This course is ideal for anyone new to small unmanned aircraft systems who want to learn to operate confidently and safely. Last time we had 4500 participants, with 50% of non-U.S. international participation. The course can also be a good lead-in for prospects that are interested in the topic.

Future MOOCs will be announced as scheduled.

My brother, who is on the executive of Canadian Aviation Pride ("CAP"), emailed me with some correspondence he had from a trans American student who is studying in Canada and wants to take flying lessons.  They wanted to ensure that there would be no bureaucratic obstacles due to their being trans.

CAP had researched the question with Transport Canada, and this was their response:

QuoteTransgender concerns - How does this affect a license and medical certificate and what special aspects need to be taken care of for a license holder?

Transport Canada has no issue with trans-gender people flying except when and if they are recovering from gender re-assignment surgery or are undergoing significant drug therapy.  If the clinical status of the person post surgery or after a period of acclimatization to drug therapy is stable and their treating physicians are satisfied that the person is clinically stable then they can be found fit to fly. 

Again, it will depend on the medications being used as some may have deleterious side effects such as sedation that make their use in the cockpit unsafe.  It is not the diagnosis that is the issue but the treatment and its effects on performance. 

As I am sure you appreciate I have given you our basic philosophy/policy.  Each case will be assessed on its own individual merits and the current medical certification system has enough flexibility that we can tailor a response to almost any condition or combination of conditions.

The student eventually wrote back to CAP that they had been granted a Category 1 medical certificate, with no delays and no hassles, unlike their experience in the U.S., where they had had to endure a year-long wait and related expenses.

I just thought I would post this for the benefit of any Canadian would-be pilots.

I also like the fact that my brother concluded his correspondence with this person by saying: "My sister is trans, and was a jet flight instructor in the military, so I have a strong interest in this."  Ooh, I still get a buzz when I see him refer to me as his sister!

Woo-hoo sister!!! I don't know your brother but I like him. I have no idea what the expense is today. I do know that many things in the US have changed since I last flew. I wonder what the philosophy/policy the FAA has with trans pilots? It gather things are easier in Canada for student pilots. Good to know.

Quote from: Donica on November 24, 2018, 03:39:00 PM
Woo-hoo sister!!! I don't know your brother but I like him. I have no idea what the expense is today. I do know that many things in the US have changed since I last flew. I wonder what the philosophy/policy the FAA has with trans pilots? It gather things are easier in Canada for student pilots. Good to know.

Based on the number of active pilots in this thread, and my own experience, the FAA does not see being Trans as disqualifying per se. The issues are the specific medications and one's physical fitness to fly.

And, interestingly, if one uses "Basic Med" for their medical certification, the only time the FAA will know about your "Trans" condition is when you go in to change the gender marker on your license. And, you do have to physically "go in" to a FSDO, which for many may be a pain in the petushka. But again in my experience, the FAA folks won't batt an eyelash about it. In my case, they were quite pleasant, and the (female) admin even congratulated me.

Kate

Hello ladies. Just finished reading the thread. Can I join in? I had my shirt tail cut today after 6 years of on and off training. I only have around 30 hours of logged training. C172, Ch750, challenger 2, & Remos.  I own the Ch2, and soloed the Remos today.

Sorry can't resist talking about this morning. Yeah I know I'm new and nothing as epic as some of the hangar talk I've read in this thread. There I was inverted in a -4G dive with a mig.


Alas the day started like almost any other winter training day in Chicagoland. Though snow was threatening, visibility 3, the ceiling was 2700 wind 320@7 altimeter 30.32 -6 temp dp -2 information W runway 33 in use. Called it in to ground. Cleared to Taxi way across to 33. Busy with 2 other students in pattern. Had to hold short and wait my turn. Cleared for 33 with option. Strike the coals light the fires let's get ready to go go go. Made it back around and greased it in. Went back up and had almost a greaser with light bump. The ok off and CafI had me call in full stop taxi back. Said yeah you'll do this for solo have we done your solo test yet. Nope, but we've done the full stop taxi backs on last lesson. Went round the pattern, came back and had another good landing. CFI messes with his phone checking schedule, and I asked if good to go. He looked over and said yeah. I'm just along for the ride. We took off and mid climb out he said call full stop taxi back to parking. yeah I'm going to solo you today. I said umm ok. Kinda wish you hadn't told me that. Until we landed. He said nah you'll be fine. just keep doing what you're doing. Went around and had an ok landing. started to go short but recovered with chemical energy. Flared and made first turnout with no problem. Went back to parking, shut down took a quick test, and endorsements made. had to make a head call. Just in case. Well no more fumbling off i go. Called into ground. Added student first solo per CFI. Aka be gentle. Went on out. Pattern quiet all other students gone. Cleared for TO  on 33. Sent prayer here we go. Good grief my little rocket ship took off. Backed off the trim. She's was nimble with two. Now she's a stol without trying. Made pattern before end of runway. Quickly learned 300 less rpm than when two up to maintain level flight. Left pattern close traffic. Rocketed downwind. Carb heat at numbers cut power. Flared a bit to 75. Added full flaps nosed over to maintain 75. Turned base and final. Came right on down 5' off deck start flare ummm is she coming down. She just sat there 5' off deck happy as can be flared a bit more barely felt the wheels touch. Tapped the brakes and made first turnout. Taxied back said a quick thank you, and rolled shoulders to loosen up. Called ready to go. Cleared and off I went. Carried slightly more energy turning base closer.  thinking ok I'll flare more. Started to porpoise eased in throttle and recovered. Woohoo I got this. One more time we go. Taxied back uneventful TO. Cleared to land, but called full stop to parking. Landed centerline again but bounced gently once. Eased it in again. Cleared for taxi via 27 to parking and stay with tower. Woohoooooooo. Off to parking to shutdown. CFI was there to meet and the next student did photography. Great day by far.

In hindsight I Kinda Wish it was as me. Though for first time in training, I did wear my favorite red undies. Guess these are my new good luck pair. Oh and for the geek in me. Totally unplanned but I did have on a red return of the Jedi millennium falcon shirt.

Congratulations, Jaime!  Thanks for letting us re-live your experience.

When I soloed, the traditional initiation (at least in summer) was a dunk in a tub of cold water.  If you knew you were going to solo, you'd make sure you had a dry flying suit in your locker to change into.

I'm glad they only do the dunk during summer here. Otherwise you'd also be joining the polar bear club.

I never been at the controls of an airplane. I did jump out of a lot of them with the 82nd.

There were people from around Ft. Benning who went through Basic Training and Jump School at Benning. What wound up happening is the very first time they flew in an airplane they didn't land with it.

Stand right up, and shuffle to the door. Jump right out and....

Whoops. Never used a chute. lots of various rope egress, and spy rigging out.

Sorry for waiting so long to report about this. A couple of Sundays ago my friend "A" and I were invited to the Santa Paula airport (just 12 miles south of CMA) for an open house event and visit with a trans female pilot "D" and her SO "K" we've known for awhile. I did my check ride at this airport years ago. We spent the day in their hangar watching the folks walk by and answered questions when they stop by to checkout the J3 Cub that "D" built (full size experimental J3 Cub) and the rest of the toys they have in their hangar. I so wanted to jump in the Cub and take her up for a spin around the old neighdorhood.
(https://i.imgur.com/TIv07sR.jpg)

We had a wonderful time and the hangar talk brought back so many good memories. It turns out that "D" has the same health issues that I do. So I'm thinking if the FAA is ok with her then maybe they'll be ok with me getting my medical back. The cost has skyrocketed since I last flew. Back in my day, at CMA, a Piper Archer went for $20 and hour wet and the instructors were only $20 an hour. Now days, Santa Paula charges $99 an hour for a 172 wet and $75 an hour for instructors. And I won't even talk about the rates at my home base CMA.

"D" and "K" took us for a ride in their golf cart to visit with the rest of the airport and hangars. Most of the aircraft there are home built. RV4's and RV6's, a couple Lancair's, J3 Cubs etc... and a lot of vintage 150's, Navion's, 210's and 310's (my favorite) etc....

We got a treat and bumped into this beautiful home built beast named Mr. D by the Owner "Dv". It is a well built, all wood, beautiful Mr. Mulligan, built from scratch, with the exception of a couple of parts like the tail wheel assembly and wind struts. The power plant is a R1340 and has a top speed of 260 knots and cruses at 230 knots. WOW COOL!!! The owner "Dv" did a full speed 260 knot flyby right over our heads.

I was in heaven. It brought back memories of standing out at one of the pylons at Reno during the unlimited races. WOW! What a beautiful beast.
(https://i.imgur.com/oxDBxYi.jpg)  (https://i.imgur.com/BKeMrwW.jpg)

Sorry for my big fat thumb getting into the picture. I miss my old stomping grounds. We were welcomed back anytime. Needless to say, my friend "A" and I will be going back soon.

Thanks Kathy for starting this thread and referring me here.

I began taking flying lessons at 16 and earned my license when I was 17, all at Buchanan Field in Concord, CA. I flew through college, both in Concord and in Vacaville where I took up taildraggers. I also became fascinated with sailplanes, spending many Saturdays at Fremont's sail port. It all came to a stop when I was 22 and a professor asked me if when I was flying, I was going towards or away from my goals. I pondered that for awhile, and realized that I needed to focus better on my career. While it was a good move, I didn't return to flying until I retired four years ago. It felt wonderful to return, although so much had changed in the prior 40 years, both to electronic flight bags and flight planning, and to the airspace.  I'm now the happy co-owner of a C150 at my home airport. She's not fast, but I get to fly often, which is just as good.

(https://i.imgur.com/HrfUWTR.jpg)

Laura

 I had few funds after high school as my job paid little, but I had the bug.  I took flight lessons but never did solo.  I had about 12 hours, then realized my current job was going nowhere, and the U.S.A.F. looked like it had everything I wanted.  I joined the Air Force and went into working on Avionics.  Over the years I decided to try again, I took a class for my private pilots license and passed the written.  Then did some soul searching and realized I would never professionally fly, so if I pay for my time in the plane to finish the license it would only be for recreation.  I decided to stop at that point.  Much like my first time taking my HRT, the first time taking the plane off and landing without any instructor assistance was something I will remember forever.  Sometimes I wish I had finished it, but I am thankful for the time I did have flying.  I enjoyed reading about the rest of your experiences, sounds like very fulfilling experiences. 

Quote from: Jennifer300 on February 21, 2019, 07:58:13 AMThen did some soul searching and realized I would never professionally fly, so if I pay for my time in the plane to finish the license it would only be for recreation.

Ah, but for me, recreation is the point! Sure, no one else is picking up the tab, but you can go where you want, when you want, and have the option of saying "not today" if the weather is icky or you're just not feeling it. I've turned a hobby into a job before, and that has the potential to drain all the joy out of it. I still love flying after 35 years, most of it in little planes that many consider deathtraps. Ultralights are as safe as the lady who maintains and flies them, and over 3500 safe hours in them proves the point to my satisfaction. While I've moved into Light Sport, if someone offered to let me fly their Hawk or Quicksilver, I'd be in the seat in a flash, with a big grin on my mugly ug.

It's never too late to give it another try, Jennifer. Things have changed a bit since you soloed. Some LSAs fly just like Cessna 150s, and the license is easier and cheaper to get than a private, if you don't mind day VFR only.

In any case, welcome!

Stephanie

@steph2.0

Any challenger time?

Quote from: Jaime320 on February 21, 2019, 08:25:56 AM
@steph2.0

Any challenger time?

Hi Jaime,

I'll be diplomatic, since I don't like to insult anyone who's a fan of Challengers. I have flown quite a few of them, and couldn't coordinate turns to save my life, at least with two-seaters with doors on them. I've always considered the vertical tail to be too small compared with the area forward of the center of lift, and coupled with the way the rudder pedals pivot under the arch of your foot, I'd skid all over the sky. Many folks like them a lot, but it seems you have to develop some unusual reflexes to keep the ball in the center. I've been accused of having lazy feet, but I've predominantly flown taildraggers for 35 years, so I doubt that's it.

For two-seat tandem pushers, I'll take a CGS Hawk over a Challenger any day. On the other hand, the single-seat Challengers are a hoot to fly!


Stephanie

Quote from: Steph2.0 on February 21, 2019, 09:20:43 AM
Hi Jaime,

I'll be diplomatic, since I don't like to insult anyone who's a fan of Challengers. I have flown quite a few of them, and couldn't coordinate turns to save my life, at least with two-seaters with doors on them. I've always considered the vertical tail to be too small compared with the area forward of the center of lift, and coupled with the way the rudder pedals pivot under the arch of your foot, I'd skid all over the sky. Many folks like them a lot, but it seems you have to develop some unusual reflexes to keep the ball in the center. I've been accused of having lazy feet, but I've predominantly flown taildraggers for 35 years, so I doubt that's it.

For two-seat tandem pushers, I'll take a CGS Hawk over a Challenger any day. On the other hand, the single-seat Challengers are a hoot to fly!


Stephanie

I can see that. Tail has been resized to counteract these forces. plus with doors on, training wheels are recommended.

Quote from: Jaime320 on February 21, 2019, 09:30:01 AM
I can see that. Tail has been resized to counteract these forces. plus with doors on, training wheels are recommended.

Do the experimental kit versions have the larger tail now? I thought it was interesting that after 20-some years of denying that the tail was too small, when they went to the ASTM consensus standards for the SLSA model, they increased the size of the tail.

"Training wheels!" [emoji23] Do you mean the additional vertical fins on the ends of the horizontal stabilizers?


Stephanie

Yup those cards. Oh and they even allow a retrofit for tail now.

Quote from: Steph2.0 on February 21, 2019, 09:20:43 AMI've been accused of having lazy feet,

LOL, that would be me with the lazy feet.  The pedals in the Tutor made great footrests.  Aside from entering and recovering from spins, and crosswind landings, we never used them!

I did have one student who noticed adverse yaw in an ILS approach in smooth air (the aircraft took a couple of seconds to respond to a 2 degree turn made with 5 degrees of bank), so I told him to use the rudders, but that happened only once.

I swore I was going to put a piece of tape over the ball so my instructor wouldn't bitch at me every time I slipped around the skies. She told me she wouldn't sign my log book if I didn't get it right.

After all, it's a great way to stop the turn rate from blowing past your intended heading. It's also very helpful at stopping a steep bank turn from becoming a screaming death dive lol.

Since many of my planes were pushers, instead of a ball I'd have a yaw string on the windshield. It worked opposite the ball - instead of stepping on the ball, you'd use the opposite foot from the way the string was blowing. I'd tell those not used to it that the bottom of the string, where it's attached to the windshield, points to the foot you push on.

I let a friend, who flew Mooneys and Luscombes, fly my Hawk once. He was impressed with the simplicity of the yaw string. He said he was thinking about putting one on his Luscombe. I reminded him that the spinny thing on the front would keep it from working right.

He paused to think about it. Then I saw the light bulb go on over his head. "I know," he said, "I'll just put it on the inside!!"

 As a side note to this most interesting thread- I love bug smashers, light singles, ultra lights, I have a Moyes Mission 170 downstairs at home. If it weighs less than 12500 lbs I'm into it.
I maintain a fleet of B200 & B400 aircraft for a living. Here is on of my babies- finishing a heavy D-check. Next to it is the evil opposition company with a brand new Pilatus PC- 24.

Kirsten.





(https://i.imgur.com/H8kLylP.jpg)

Quote from: Steph2.0 on February 21, 2019, 11:11:32 AM
...instead of a ball I'd have a yaw string on the windshield. It worked opposite the ball - instead of stepping on the ball, you'd use the opposite foot from the way the string was blowing. I'd tell those not used to it that the bottom of the string, where it's attached to the windshield, points to the foot you push on.

I fly a 15 meter fiberglass glider. I use the yaw string all the time. I have no balls to step on.  :P

@Dani lol

@Steph2.0
A couple years ago i wanted to use one on my plane. I quickly learned not to step on the tail, but rather where it's pointing. Please update the webs with your yaw string instructions. Everywhere you read it tells why it works, but not usage. You explained it very well.

Quote from: Dani on February 22, 2019, 07:10:04 AM
I fly a 15 meter fiberglass glider. I use the yaw string all the time. I have no balls to step on.  :P

Groan!  :D :D ;D ;D LOL

Waaaaay back when I did my multi transition we used a Piper Apache. The instructor taped a short piece of yarn to the windshield and , if I remember this correctly, said to imagine that the string was an arrow pointing downward toward the direction you needed to push, right or left, and how much. Seems to me it actually worked well.

L

Question! Flying small Pipers and Cessna's, one of the last things on the check list before starting the engine was to yell out the window "Clear Prop". Do you small/fighter jet jockeys say anything before starting the turbines?

Oh dear! I can just hear Stephanie giggling back there some where thinking about it. Dare I say, something like "Clear the Hoover Vac"? Ok, sorry!

Mischief this day I am!

Quote from: Donica on February 26, 2019, 11:42:41 AM
Question! Flying small Pipers and Cessna's, one of the last things on the check list before starting the engine was to yell out the window "Clear Prop". Do you small/fighter jet jockeys say anything before starting the turbines?

Oh dear! I can just hear Stephanie giggling back there some where thinking about it. Dare I say, something like "Clear the Hoover Vac"? Ok, sorry!

Mischief this day I am!

Oh dear, Donica! How could you even think that after years of running engines that were missing half the strokes of usual aircraft engines, I would disrespect engines that have no strokes at all?

Stephanie

Quote from: Donica on February 26, 2019, 11:42:41 AM
Question! Flying small Pipers and Cessna's, one of the last things on the check list before starting the engine was to yell out the window "Clear Prop". Do you small/fighter jet jockeys say anything before starting the turbines?

If there is someone on the ground near enough to need to be told to stand clear, they had better be wearing ear protectors, so they wouldn't hear anything you shouted anyway!

We always started with a ground crew person.  Due to a defect in the original aircraft batteries (fixed/replaced since my time), we weren't allowed to do a battery start except in an emergency. 

The ground crew's main job was to drive the "mule" that towed the mobile generator.  They'd plug the generator into the aircraft, then come around the front to coordinate the start with the pilot.  The pilot would give the hand signal for "start #1" (index finger raised and twirled in a circle), the ground crew would repeat the signal back as confirmation, then the pilot would hit the start switch.  It was the crew person's job to make sure the area was clear.

The ground crew would visually check the control surfaces as the pilot operated them.  We could see the ailerons, and the elevator and rudder were visible in the mirror, but we couldn't see the flaps or speed brakes, so we needed outside eyes.  The crew person was also checking for hydraulic leaks, common on the first -30C day of winter, and for smoke or other bad stuff.

Finally, the pilot would signal to disconnect the ground power, and the ground crew would drive the card on to the next plane in line.

The flight line consisted of two rows of about 45 parking spots each.  Both rows would be full first thing in the morning.  During the day, about 2/3 of the aircraft would be off flying at any one time.

A clear-weather day would keep two or three start crews busy all day, with five aircraft starting every 15 minutes from 06:00 to 18:00.  There were, of course, equivalent crews refueling and servicing the aircraft as they returned from their missions and were turned around for the next ones.  And all the aircraft (90-ish) had to be hangared every night and towed out to the ramp every morning.  I have a lot of respect for the ground crew!

Thanks Kathy! That's like watching the crews onboard ship. You won't go anywhere without them. Your certainly not going to get out and hook the nose wheel hook to the cat by yourself ;D

Here, courtesy of Wikipedia, is a photo of the Moose Jaw flight line.  A Tutor is being started in the near row.

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/CFBMooseJaw02.JPG)

Quote from: KathyLauren on February 26, 2019, 04:06:15 PM
Here, courtesy of Wikipedia, is a photo of the Moose Jaw flight line.  A Tutor is being started in the near row.

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/CFBMooseJaw02.JPG)

I see you waving!

Quote from: Steph2.0 on February 26, 2019, 12:37:02 PM
Oh dear, Donica! How could you even think that after years of running engines that were missing half the strokes of usual aircraft engines, I would disrespect engines that have no strokes at all?

Stephanie

These days I work on mostly gas turbines
As we all know these are just large fuel injected hair driers.
Real engines have things called pistons in them.
A real aircraft has a round engine and a tailwheel. Inline or flat engines are cool too.
Nothing compares to a big bore aircraft engine for sound or sheer presence.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

Quote from: Kirsteneklund7 on February 26, 2019, 05:32:23 PM
These days I work on mostly gas turbines
As we all know these are just large fuel injected hair driers.
Real engines have things called pistons in them.
A real aircraft has a round engine and a tailwheel. Inline or flat engines are cool too.
Nothing compares to a big bore aircraft engine for sound or sheer presence.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

Exactly! Beech Staggerwing, Cessna 195, C-46, C-47, Beech 18, B-17!

I'll give the Lancaster credit for having a tailwheel, and four Rolls-Royce Merlins make a pretty sweet noise!

Quote from: Steph2.0 on February 26, 2019, 07:06:41 PM
I'll give the Lancaster credit for having a tailwheel, and four Rolls-Royce Merlins make a pretty sweet noise!

YES!  The only thing sweeter than the sound of a Merlin engine is the sound of four Merlins.

Quote from: KathyLauren on February 26, 2019, 07:57:32 PM
YES!  The only thing sweeter than the sound of a Merlin engine is the sound of four Merlins.

At Oshkosh a few years ago, I watched (and heard, and felt) a Lancaster, a Mosquito, a Spitfire, and two or three Mustangs take off and fly together.

O.M.G.

I need to make it to Oshkosh sometime.


But on the note of starters, I've always wanted to use a cartridge starter on something.

Quote from: Steph2.0 on February 26, 2019, 08:08:23 PM
At Oshkosh a few years ago, I watched (and heard, and felt) a Lancaster, a Mosquito, a Spitfire, and two or three Mustangs take off and fly together.

O.M.G.

My gender dysphoria is fading into insignificance now while I have an episode of Merlin envy!

Thank you Steph! (Bitch).

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

Quote from: Colleen_definitely on February 26, 2019, 08:23:30 PM
I need to make it to Oshkosh sometime.


But on the note of starters, I've always wanted to use a cartridge starter on something.

I read a story a while ago about a jet fighter with a cartridge starter. True or not, it would be a hoot.

The pilot had landed to refuel, and the airport's start cart was out of service. He told the ramp rats, no problem, we'll just push start it. They were scratching their heads when he told them that if they just got him rolling fast enough, he'd pop the clutch and get it going.

They pushed him down the taxiway and when he got rolling he waved them off, pumped the brakes so the nose dipped, and fired the cartridge. The engine spooled up and he was on his way, with the ground crew staring with their mouths open.

Quote from: Kirsteneklund7 on February 26, 2019, 08:27:36 PM
My gender dysphoria is fading into insignificance now while I have an episode of Merlin envy!

Thank you Steph! (Bitch).

Hey hey hey! A little respect here! That's Miss Bitch to you!

Quote from: Steph2.0 on February 26, 2019, 08:30:28 PM
I read a story a while ago about a jet fighter with a cartridge starter. True or not, it would be a hoot.

The pilot had landed to refuel, and the airport's start cart was out of service. He told the ramp rats, no problem, we'll just push start it. They were scratching their heads when he told them that if they just got him rolling fast enough, he'd pop the clutch and get it going.

They pushed him down the taxiway and when he got rolling he waved them off, pumped the brakes so the nose dipped, and fired the cartridge. The engine spooled up and he was on his way, with the ground crew staring with their mouths open.

LOL!  Now that's creative  ;D

Quote from: Colleen_definitely on February 26, 2019, 08:23:30 PM
I need to make it to Oshkosh sometime.


But on the note of starters, I've always wanted to use a cartridge starter on something.

The Martin B-57 Canberra (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_B-57_Canberra) used a cartridge starting system but it didn't work like you might think. When you set it off, it would produce a massive cloud of black smoke while the engine was winding up.

Oh I know how they worked, I love the Canberra (of Martin or English Electric origin)
'tis a beautiful aircraft.

Quote from: Dena on February 26, 2019, 08:49:36 PM
The Martin B-57 Canberra (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_B-57_Canberra) used a cartridge starting system but it didn't work like you might think. When you set it off, it would produce a massive cloud of black smoke while the engine was winding up.

I do seem to remember the writer mentioning a cloud of black smoke, but I think the story involved a single engine plane. I doubt a ground crew could get a B-57 rolling very fast anyway!

Quote from: Steph2.0 on February 26, 2019, 08:31:36 PM
Hey hey hey! A little respect here! That's Miss Bitch to you!

Yes Ma'am.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

Quote from: Steph2.0 on February 26, 2019, 09:01:31 PM
I do seem to remember the writer mentioning a cloud of black smoke, but I think the story involved a single engine plane. I doubt a ground crew could get a B-57 rolling very fast anyway!

You could watch the original Flight of the Phoenix (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059183/?ref_=nv_sr_2). You have a home built (sort of) with a shot gun starter.

Quote from: Dena on February 26, 2019, 10:15:22 PM
You could watch the original Flight of the Phoenix (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059183/?ref_=nv_sr_2). You have a home built (sort of) with a shot gun starter.

I remember the drama around the number of shells available. Jimmy Stewart was awesome (and a real pilot). Paul Mantz was killed while trying to fly that plane.

Quote from: Steph2.0 on February 26, 2019, 10:35:20 PM
I remember the drama around the number of shells available. Jimmy Stewart was awesome (and a real pilot). Paul Mantz was killed while trying to fly that plane.

I'm gonna use one cartridge to clear the cylinders alright?

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

Quote from: Steph2.0 on February 26, 2019, 08:30:28 PMHe told the ramp rats, no problem, we'll just push start it. They were scratching their heads . . .

       Hey hey watch the name calling! We were called "Fleet Services" and fail to see how a rapid *explosive charge* would work unless there's some kind of pressure accumulator with a check valve before it? And did multi-engines have *cross-bleed* or did one do the same for all engines?

lol And I take it a 1000lb hand/foot air pump would not have worked in emergencies?

Pop the clutch? Seriously . . .
Used to love watching, listening to those JT9D's spin up!
"brakes released? ok to pressurize (hydraulic B pumps), clear to start & crossbleed (all other engines)!" Used to also watch maintenance *bubblegum* any wing tank fuel leaks until seals expanded airborne?

Quote from: Dena on February 26, 2019, 10:15:22 PM
You could watch the original Flight of the Phoenix (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059183/?ref_=nv_sr_2). You have a home built (sort of) with a shot gun starter.

Flight of the Phoenix is a good movie!

Quote from: Dena on February 26, 2019, 08:49:36 PM
The Martin B-57 Canberra (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_B-57_Canberra) used a cartridge starting system but it didn't work like you might think. When you set it off, it would produce a massive cloud of black smoke while the engine was winding up.

Here's a video of a B57 start.  #1 engine starts at 0:07, #2 engine at 1:44.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPOCl1ufjlE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPOCl1ufjlE)

Quote from: KathyLauren on March 04, 2019, 12:02:30 PM
Here's a video of a B57 start.  #1 engine starts at 0:07, #2 engine at 1:44.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPOCl1ufjlE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPOCl1ufjlE)

I love how the "Fleet Services" personnel bring over the fire extinguisher before start. Yep. That plane would be a bundle of laughs to be in...

;D

Kate

Quote from: Donica on February 27, 2019, 08:41:03 AM
Flight of the Phoenix is a good movie!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IACjOvyx5hs

I'm so happy I found this thread! Not an aviator in the great outdoors but I'm an enthusiast, namely playing DCS these days. It's nothing like the real thing, but throwing around a pixel F-14 is pretty fun.

I enjoyed catching up on this thread a bit, we've raised a commercial pilot in our home, and find this topic fascinating. My soul mate and I work so she can get her next endorsement (float planes).

Hugs

Cynthia -

Something for the aerosexuals out there. On the ramp in Darwin this week.

Trouble with the winch necessitated a mobile crane to change the engine.

Regards, Kirsten.(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190327/9765a509471067c0efb5ac393bc94114.jpg)

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

Just sharing a little here for you aviation types. Here is our pilot posing on the wing of a T6 (Texan), she flew this plane later that day at the classic air show (along with the museum pilot).

(https://www.susans.org/forums/gallery/0/13954-270319072229.jpeg)

Is anyone here going to Sun-N-Fun? If so, look for me in the Light Plane area. It used to be called the Ultralight area, but we've improved our runway, and have Light Sport and other light planes like Cubs and Champs, along with rotorcraft, flying there now. The semi-official name of our home there is "Paradise City."

I'll be doing the announcing, along with my co-host Paul, for the aircraft flying off the runway, as I did last year. And just like last year, the commentary will be broadcasted on the PA system alongside the runway and on the local radio station, along with being live-streamed on LiveATC.net. I'll put the link here when I get it.

Last year was my coming-out to all of the people I've worked with at Sun-N-Fun over the last 30 years or so, and it was stressful, to say the least, despite the wonderful outcome. I've grown so much over the last year, and am so much more comfortable with myself and the way I interact with others. Last year was fun, but with my reduced anxiety levels I expect this year to be awesome.

Look for me in the wooden shack next to our runway. I hope to see some of you there!

Stephanie

Stephanie,

I am planning on going to Sun N Fun on Friday. I will try stop by to see you.

I hope my visit last year helped lower your anxiety level. I thought you did really well as we visited people who you previously knew.

Quote from: Dani on March 27, 2019, 07:43:16 AM
Stephanie,

I am planning on going to Sun N Fun on Friday. I will try stop by to see you.

I hope my visit last year helped lower your anxiety level. I thought you did really well as we visited people who you previously knew.

Great! You know where to find me! And yes, watching your confident interactions with strangers helped me understand how to deal with them. Friends and old acquaintances were a little different matter, but the acceptance I received from them made it a lot easier than I expected. Using lessons learned from you and other friends close to my heart, I've grown in confidence far more than I thought possible in such a short time. Since last year I've traveled over 10,000 miles in the US and around Europe, and interacted with innumerable people without a single problem. Some have even become good friends. Though there are still a few from the old life who are struggling with the concept of the new me, life is so different, so much better, than it was in the old days. You and all my other friends can take a lot of credit for getting me here. Thank you, and see you on Friday!

For all Susan's visitors, hugs are waiting!


Stephanie

I'm sorry I have to miss this one Steph. I look forward to connecting up with the radio link. Have a great time Galaxy girl! Rock their wings.

Quote from: Donica on March 27, 2019, 09:56:59 AM
I'm sorry I have to miss this one Steph. I look forward to connecting up with the radio link. Have a great time Galaxy girl! Rock their wings.

Thank you Donica! I'm back at Sun-N-Fun now, my camper is set up, and I'm getting lots of hugs and compliments from all my friends here. Our media shack is set up, all of the feeds are tested and working fine, and we'll be ready to go first thing Tuesday morning.

As promised, here's the link to LiveATC.net if you'd like to listen to Paul and me announce what's going on at our field.  https://www.liveatc.net/hlisten.php?mount=snfpc&icao=klal (https://www.liveatc.net/hlisten.php?mount=snfpc&icao=klal).

Off to the Sunday surf and turf cookout with all my new old friends!

I'm just getting music? and a pause every few seconds?

Try going to https://www.liveatc.net and then in the upper left search for KLAL. When that page comes up, click on one of the green Listen buttons.

Or at least, that is what worked for me...

:-)

Kate

Thanks KatieP. That link is working.

Quote from: Donica on April 04, 2019, 05:12:28 PM
Thanks KatieP. That link is working.

And, to clarify for others, you do have to scroll down a bit to the Paradise City channel if you want to hear Stephanie talking...

It IS fun to hear you, Stephanie!! You are VERY knowledgeable!!

Kate

Quote from: KatieP on April 04, 2019, 05:25:59 PM
And, to clarify for others, you do have to scroll down a bit to the Paradise City channel if you want to hear Stephanie talking...

It IS fun to hear you, Stephanie!! You are VERY knowledgeable!!

Kate

Thank you Kate! Really tired now but I'll write more when I can. In the meantime can you critique my voice? An honest assessment would be appreciated!

Stephanie

I have been reading a fairly new book that came sometime in 2017 that I think everyone here may like. Some of you may already know about it. It's called "Shadow Life, Aerospace, Love and Secrets" by Jenna Ware, a trans women that transitioned many years ago. It's a true story about her love and trials of transitioning with a well known aviator Joseph Fulton Ware Jr. A lot of the story takes place in my own back yard. I worked for some of the people Joe worked for (Lockheed).

Check it out! It's a good read. You'll have to read the book to find out who Joe and Jenna was, if you don't already know.

Hugs!

Our oldest daughter had her first S.E.S. (special endorsement sea) training this week and it went terrible. The instructor was short with her, and was barking commands at her, and left her feeling put down after she left. She did get 1 and half hours of flight time in her log, so it was not a total loss, but she needs to find a new instructor / flight school. There was a bit of irony as she was doing the pre-flight at the docks, a duck came up to her and was being cute, quacking, and friendly, and the instructor just barked at the duck "what do you want ?", that was a serious clue as to the temperament of this guy. We are looking at other schools for her now, looks like we might just go with "Kenmore" here, they have a solid reputation and good people.

I remember when the Santa Paula Airport restaurant used to be called "Logden's" (90's), we ate there many times. My father in law had a nice place in that town up on the hill to the north and we could overlook the airport there, and we used sit on his balcony and watch all the activity at that airport on the weekends, what a busy airport it is....

C -

Hi, @CynthiaAnn.

Sorry to hear that your daughter's instructor is not so good.  A good instructor can make such a difference, as can a bad one.

I remember having one instructor for formation flying who used to yell at me a lot.  Some sharp corrections are necessary at the beginning of formation flying, where you are only a few feet and a fraction of a second away from hitting the other aircraft, but by the time you are ready to solo, a more gentle approach works better.

Anyway, this guy was being such a pain in the butt, unnecessarily, that I reached over and switched his intercom off!  >:-)  He wasn't impressed, but he did get the message.  When we got back on the ground I asked for a different instructor.

I resolved never to be like that when I became an instructor.  I like to think that my calm demeanor helped a few problem students to get through to graduation.

I hope your daughter finds a better instructor.

Sorry your daughter had to go through that. There certainly are few bad seeds out there. None of my instructors were like that. I would have looked for someone else too. It's not a good environment for learning something that requires a great deal of attention.

I hope you a able to find a better instructor. This one obviously doesn't like his job and I think he should be reported. He is creating a dangerous environment.

Quote from: CynthiaAnn on April 13, 2019, 08:53:23 AM


I remember when the Santa Paula Airport restaurant used to be called "Logden's" (90's), we ate there many times. My father in law had a nice place in that town up on the hill to the north and we could overlook the airport there, and we used sit on his balcony and watch all the activity at that airport on the weekends, what a busy airport it is....

C -

I have been to Santa Paula airport dozens and dozens of times. The restaurant was fine, but the real attraction was walking up and down the rows of hangers and seeing the incredible aircraft hiding in them. You didn't want to be rude, so you didn't talk to the people in the hanger until they talked with you. And about half of them were recognizable faces from the SoCal entertainment business... Every strange and famous GA aircraft ever is likely in at least one of the hangers there. It was a shame when flooding took out part of the runway there...

Kate

Hi all,

@KathyLauren, thanks for sharing some of your experience here, much appreciated ! You are correct in finding the right match student / instructor is so crucial. Our daughter now is more than 7 years into her training and certifications, she has had some really good contacts so far (FATPNW group). We hope to find encouragement and mentoring from those she chooses to work with.

@Donica Thanks for your kind and supporting response, she was convinced at the last air conference she attended that this outfit was worth a try, it was closer than Kenmore, my wife found some additional comments from others later, I think we will simply move on.

@KatieP Seeing that airport mentioned in these thread brought back old memories of our daughter (~25 years ago) and her grandfather walking those hangers after dinner at the cafe, and all the really neat aircraft we spotted back then, I can only imagine what it's like today ! Her grandfather was close friends with owners of that restaurant back then and we always went there when we visited. We had a special booth we were seated there, kinda like the "locals booth"  ;) we sat and the owner would come and chat a lot with her grandfather during our meal, it was a thing with him...

Hugs

C -

Yes CynthiaAnn. Santa Paula airport (SZP) has a lot of interesting aircraft there. The café is now called The Flight 126 café. The food is still great. We have breakfast there every first Sunday of each month with a couple that own a hanger there.

This is the homebuilt Mr. Mulligan that is currently hangered at Santa Paula. The owner calls it Mr. D because his name starts with a D. It's an awesome aircraft and fast too. It's top speed is around 350kts. He did a high speed pass right over our heads two months ago.

                                  (https://i.imgur.com/oxDBxYi.jpg)

@Donica - thanks for sharing this... :) :)

350 knots !! how cool, look at that...I had our daughter come look at the pic too, she was impressed...

Glad to hear the food is good there too at the cafe, perhaps we may revisit again someday !!

Cynthia -

Cynthia! If you do ever come back for a visit, try to make it on the first Sunday of any month for the monthly SZP open house. We usually have breakfast at the Café at 9:00am before heading to the hanger. I'm sure my friends would love to meet you. If the weather is good, most of the hangers will be open. everyone is very friendly and they love to talk about their aircraft. There's always a lot of things going on. You know how we all love the hanger talk ;)

Thankyou for the invite Kathy !
I started flying in college in the old C-150 then with license in hand began renting an old J-3 cub to build time.
Flew for CAP for many years and the USAF for 20 years, then a bush pilot here in Alaska in the old DHC-2 Beaver floatplane. Still flying my own homebuilt aircraft now which I am on my seventh build currently, a Zenith Cruzer.

I will be watching this thread daily.

Quote from: steph2.0 on March 27, 2019, 07:28:57 AM
Is anyone here going to Sun-N-Fun? If so, look for me in the Light Plane area. It used to be called the Ultralight area, but we've improved our runway, and have Light Sport and other light planes like Cubs and Champs, along with rotorcraft, flying there now. The semi-official name of our home there is "Paradise City."

I'll be doing the announcing, along with my co-host Paul, for the aircraft flying off the runway, as I did last year. And just like last year, the commentary will be broadcasted on the PA system alongside the runway and on the local radio station, along with being live-streamed on LiveATC.net. I'll put the link here when I get it.

Last year was my coming-out to all of the people I've worked with at Sun-N-Fun over the last 30 years or so, and it was stressful, to say the least, despite the wonderful outcome. I've grown so much over the last year, and am so much more comfortable with myself and the way I interact with others. Last year was fun, but with my reduced anxiety levels I expect this year to be awesome.

Look for me in the wooden shack next to our runway. I hope to see some of you there!

Stephanie

Oooh!  I took flight instruction in a champ.  I was a magnet for crazy things happening and flying that trail dragger that could do all sorts of crazy stuff and not fly apart is probably the only reason I'm still around.  It seems like a lifetime ago (or two)

Quote from: CynthiaAnn on April 13, 2019, 08:53:23 AM
Our oldest daughter had her first S.E.S. (special endorsement sea) training this week and it went terrible. The instructor was short with her, and was barking commands at her, and left her feeling put down after she left. She did get 1 and half hours of flight time in her log, so it was not a total loss, but she needs to find a new instructor / flight school. There was a bit of irony as she was doing the pre-flight at the docks, a duck came up to her and was being cute, quacking, and friendly, and the instructor just barked at the duck "what do you want ?", that was a serious clue as to the temperament of this guy. We are looking at other schools for her now, looks like we might just go with "Kenmore" here, they have a solid reputation and good people.

I remember when the Santa Paula Airport restaurant used to be called "Logden's" (90's), we ate there many times. My father in law had a nice place in that town up on the hill to the north and we could overlook the airport there, and we used sit on his balcony and watch all the activity at that airport on the weekends, what a busy airport it is....

C -

I'd like to give that old dog a coal shovel and order him to shovel 6 tons of coal an hour into the belly of a steam locomotive working hard on a long up hill climb. Let's see how tough he really is. It's a physically demanding job and not one many people can stand to do. The fun is being the engineer and working the engine extra hard to make his life miserable.

Lisa

Quote from: Lisa89125 on May 04, 2019, 11:44:10 AM
I'd like to give that old dog a coal shovel and order him to shovel 6 tons of coal an hour into the belly of a steam locomotive working hard on a long up hill climb. Let's see how tough he really is. It's a physically demanding job and not one many people can stand to do. The fun is being the engineer and working the engine extra hard to make his life miserable.

Lisa

That's an interesting analogy Lisa  :)

For the sake of this thread, our daughter is no longer going to that flight school, and we learned our lesson, moved on. We now have her SES training sessions booked at Kenmore starting in Sept (earliest opening), it's a bit further to drive but will be worth it. Since that training is going to be delayed, she has now changed focus on obtaining her "Multi Engine" FAA endorsement this spring and summer, and had her first lesson, with a great instructor that flew combat in Vietnam, years of experience (he is in his 70's) and he has turned out to be very encouraging and mentoring.

Cynthia -

Cynthia, I'm happy all is well for your daughter. Me, I always wanted to be a flight attendant. I've never flown yet and don't know if I would like it or be scared out of my wits? I'm sorta afraid of heights.

Lisa

It was another wonderful SZP open house yesterday. Breakfast at the Flight 126 café and lots of folks roaming the airport. You ladies and gents in SoCal should plan a day of family fun, Lots of hanger fun, great car show and good food.

I got a little stick time in my friends Super Cub. Definitely a sweet flying aircraft. A little rusty on the rudder peddles but I got the hang of it.
(https://i.imgur.com/6fVyA8P.jpg)   (https://i.imgur.com/pST3YEU.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/yD8l1p3.jpg)   (https://i.imgur.com/LbOn37k.jpg)

Check out this bad ride at the car show at the other end of the airport. It's not an Allison, Merlin or a Griffin. It's a Ranger V-12 aircraft engine in a boat tail roadster.
(https://i.imgur.com/GSjw5jj.jpg)   (https://i.imgur.com/cGx0Hdu.jpg)

That V12 in the car is pretty sweet! I love the sounds of the Allison V12 engines. I used to like watching NTPA the tractor pulling shows just to see the V12 aircraft powered pullers and the helicopter turbine engine powered tractor pullers. A good night it can be hard to decide which is better? The Allison can deliver power a lot quicker than the turbines. However, The brute power of a gas turbine can outperform the Allison V12. The turbines just take longer to get spooled up and must be tuned to perfection.

Lisa

Turbine spool-up time is serious business.  We were not allowed to reduce power below 65% RPM on final in case we needed power in a hurry.  Even from 65%, the wind-up time to 100% was about three or four seconds.  From idle (50%), it would take much longer.

Quote from: KathyLauren on May 06, 2019, 09:26:13 PM
Turbine spool-up time is serious business.  We were not allowed to reduce power below 65% RPM on final in case we needed power in a hurry.  Even from 65%, the wind-up time to 100% was about three or four seconds.  From idle (50%), it would take much longer.

The high-RPM Rotax engines surprise even the Lycoming/Continental drivers. Idle is no lower than 1600rpm, and when the prop is being driven on approach you usually can't get it below 2200 or so. And if the carbs are balanced properly, when you jam on the throttle there is thrust right now! No hesitation, stumbling, burps, or spool-up. It can catch you out if you're used to carbs with accelerator pumps.