Saturday, October 15, 2011

Lifestyle



Haven't even thought about posting for a while...

Here goes,

It's hard to talk about a subject like this without insulting or pissing SOMEONE off, and please if you're a pilot I know and are reading this, don't take offense to this because, trust me, you are NOT someone I'm talking about.

Just venting off a little here, Ive come to the conclusion that there really are pilots out there, who just do it to try and look cool. A social fad that gives them something to talk about at parties.. It seems as if they don't really like flying airplanes, and it always comes third, fourth, or fifth in their lives. I've met thousands upon thousands of pilots, enthusiasts, and plain old airport bums who eat, sleep, and breathe aviation, but it's hard to comprehend that there are pilots who like roller skating more than they like being a pilot. I've brought this up to others around the airport, at Oshkosh, etc, and we get on the track of talking about parents forcing their kids into aviation. That never ends up well.. They become dangerous pilots who can barely trust themselves, flying only enough to keep their day currency and never flying at night. They don't understand how to enter class B airspace, because they never talk to controllers, and they never end up getting anything farther then their private license. Hard to believe, but I'm speaking from experience because I fly with some of these people. I get scared (excuse my French) shitless. There is another Private Pilot sitting next to me and I find myself holding onto the controls the whole time, intercepting localizers and radials for them, talking on the radio for them, and watching out for all the other traffic for them, just like I'm flying by myself. That is how much I don't trust them. Flying isn't just a hobby, it is a lifestyle. It sounds bad, but I feel more safe flying with someone who I was just talking to with about an article in sport aviation, than flying with someone who was just talking about an article in a gun magazine. I'd feel more safe flying with a pilot who wants to go to the airport to clean the airplane they fly, rather than a pilot who doesn't want to take the short drive to the airport and would rather choose to clean their already-clean motorcycle instead. The pilots I know who are better pilots then others, are the ones who have a love affair with flying and anything that has to do with airplanes. After all, you tend to perform better and know more about something when you have a passion for it, right?

... But that's only a select few people that I know.. and as you can tell it, really bugs me. If you have something like this, go share it and love it. Some pilots don't understand how lucky they are.

Enough listening to me rant, onto talking about other things.

I flew the Decathlon last week, doing acro for the first time in a little under 2 months. Needless to say I got my ass kicked. I was so tired on final approach it was challenging to land. Which is not good. Although it was nobodies fault other than the Decathlon was really just not available for that long due to weather, being in the shop, or other pilots flying it at the only times I could, I will never go that long without flying acro again.

The flight was extremely fun though, doing everything from basic rolls to half cubans and immelmans. I'm taking her up again Monday, and I absolutely cannot wait.

I went to Chicago for the fourth or fifth time in my life, rode a subway for the first time in my life, and went in the worlds worst elevator.. For anyone that doesn't know, I absolutely cannot take elevators. I get way too scared for my life. It was all really fun though.... Except for riding the elevator.

I also broke passed my 250th hour flying airplanes. Feels good to accomplish that, and I'm more than excited to see what I accomplish in the next 250.

Keep the green side up, and the blue side down.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Training Wheel

Since I've last posted a blog, I've been flying a lot. Which is awesome. Only once have I flown the Decathlon in a long while, due to it being down for maintenance or just generally unavailable. I received my tailwheel endorsement yesterday after making probably around 10 or so landings. From 3-points to wheel landings and bounce recoveries, it was extremely fun. Moving on to the final phase of the course, I'll be finishing up my aerobatics. If the weather holds up Monday then I'll be doing immelmans as my last maneuver. Then it's on to the advanced aerobatics course. Flying that airplane is literally all I can think about anymore.. It's almost sick.

A MAJOR opportunity was brought up to me yesterday while flying the Decathlon. Something that made my ENTIRE year just to hear. I won't tell anyone what it is yet, but look for me getting my commercial rating within the next few weeks. I cannot pass this opportunity up. One of my dreams is hanging right in front of me, and all it's going to take is a small step in the right direction to get me there.

More info on it in the coming weeks.

Keep the green side up, and the blue side down.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

My job, and recent ramblings.

The thing is about my job is that.. I'm around airplanes. Today I parked two C130's full of reservists' doing there once a month duties. I parked corporate jets in a hangar, and I talked to an old, awesome dude flying a C337. I'm sharing knowledge amongst other pilots, young and old. It's a great feeling to talk to someone who knows what it's like to take to the sky, so I must say that I love my job. I'd love any job that has to do with being around airplanes. I consider myself damn lucky to be a part of it.

Other news, I'm taking up the SkyLane RG this week. Can't wait to get into something with a handful of power. Love the sound of the Lycoming IO540. Now.. if there was only a way to fit that into a Super Decathlon.. woah.. I'm thinking way too far ahead of myself.

Getting back into the Super D on the 23rd.. I can't wait any longer. Working at my other job doesn't make it any easier, seeing it out of the corner of my eye, yet I can't fly it. Oh well..only one more week until I'm hanging upside down by shoulder harnesses pushing negative two G's. Well, that brought a smile to my face.

And lastly, I've been flying with a kid who is too young to start taking flight lessons, I think he's only around 10 years old. He is a child prodigy when it comes to this. I let him take the controls and I sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. When he isn't flying with me, he's on his computer at home flying on Flight Simulator, and  to be honest, at his age I was doing the same thing. He has a natural talent for this, and there's not a doubt in my mind that as soon as he gets behind the controls when he's old enough to take lessons, he WILL solo in less then three hours. Teaching this kid how to fly is like taking a small step towards my dream of becoming a flight instructor. It's an amazing experience.

I'll be flying a whole bunch this week, and next.. so I'll try to get some good pictures. If you want to go up flying with me at any time, I'd love to take you. Facebook me.. ;)

Until next time,

Keep the green side up and the blue side down.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Always the biggest concern

Hey world. How was your week?

The thing that is constantly on my mind about aviation is, "How the hell am I going to keep paying for this, especially when I move out?" Truth is, I don't really know. I'll never know. I don't really know how I'm paying for it right now, and still have enough money to go out and get gas. I know I'll make it work, no matter if I have to work two jobs and go to college at the same time. I've already started coming up with ways to live cheaper, when I'm out of the house next fall. No TV, cheap cellphone plans, RAMEN, and I can go on to tell you another million different ways I'm thinking of. I have a few friends who are financially inclined, and they love to pay for the whole flight. I can't thank them enough for that help. It's really the only reason why I'm able to fly the SkyLane RG. Now that I've been bit by the aerobatics bug, I absolutely cannot put that down. It's a vicious circle that continues to run around my head, day in and day out, that scares the crap out of me..but as many other pilots who have been in this same situation, I'll get through it and I'll figure it out. No matter if my income allows me to fly ten times a month, or once a month.

As much as I hate talking about this, I still love it. It's flying. It's my passion.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Back in the saddle again.

Yeah, I'm sitting here at work again. It's the early morning on labor day, and I had to wake up at 5:00AM. Awesome.



Recently I was diagnosed with bronchitis. It kept me down from flying for about three weeks. Three weeks is a LONG time.. a very long time. I saw two doctors, and the latter is the one that figured it out right away. In due time, and a lot of medication later, I got better and was cleared to fly again. I've been throwing the 150 around the sky, surfing on top of clouds, and so on. I'd have to check my logbook, but I'm pretty sure I've been flying every single day since I was cleared to go. Five days straight? Yeah, that's a lot of flying considering I went for two hours a day. Yeah, that's a lot of money also.. even when flying a C150 that only costs me 30 dollars per hour, WET RATE!

Speaking of money, I need to fly the Skylane RG pretty soon. It's been a while since I have last flown it, but right now, something is in the works with a guy who needs me to fly it for him.. So if all goes well, it looks like I'll be flying it for free every week. In the picture above, you can see it in the background. Oh god, I hope I didn't jinx myself.

Flying acro in the Decathlon is going great. I haven't flown the Super D in a while, just due to my illness, but I'll be back hanging upside down next week. That's what I'm mostly looking forward to.

I'll call it quits for today, and hope noon comes around fast. At least I get paid a whole 4 extra magical dollars an hour.

Keep the green side up, and the blue side down.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

The infamous first post

I'm new to this, but I'll give it a shot.

I'm bored at work, it has been raining since I've gotten here. I probably haven't moved from this work computer in over 7 hours. I'm aimlessly surfing the interwebs looking at pictures and videos of airplanes.

 Here is the reason why:

Yes, life is slow as a Line Service dude, but it's fun, and I cannot complain.

I promise not to bore you with ugly pictures and a terrible looking blog, but right now, I'm just a new blogger. I swear I'll make it look better. I figured I'd make this and share it with my other aviation buddies and whoever else that has a general concern with being bored and wanting things to look at. I'll post some videos of me flying every once in a while, and update with what I am doing in my aviation life.

I'll take these last few lines and say,

If you have never gone flying, please, please, please, tell me. The thing I want most in life is to share aviation with everyone. I went through getting my Private Pilots License thinking that all I want to do is share the experience.

Phew you made it, thanks for sticking it out with me.

Until next time,

Keep the green side up and the blue side down.