A different way to fund your training

I have found an alternate way of funding my flight training and possibly the purchase of an airplane through a web site called Prosper. This site offers peer to peer financing for everything from paying your credit card debt to building a business from scratch.

By clicking the image at the top of the screen you will be taken to my group page that is set up to attract members with both military and aviation backgrounds.

The idea of this site is that lenders bid on loan requests and compete for the interest rate that the borrower will pay. Loans can be from $1,000 to $25,000 and are for a 3 year term.

Check it out and finance your way to being a private pilot, airplane owner or just pay down some debt.

More info

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons, Student Pilot, Partnership, Washington

Make the dream of owning a plane real

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons, Student Pilot, Partnership, Washington

Cessna Skycatcher LSA Intro Video

So, how many of you are looking to buy this LSA? I know its from Cessna but is it really worth the price tag, its close in price to a nice 172 but can only carry half of the load.

I don't understand exactly how this will bring aviation to the common man like they say in the video. I guess the common man that they speak of drives a new Mustang and has a hot blond at his side.

Me, I'm just an Army Sergeant....I guess that means I'm too lowly for a nice new plane with a brand name on it.

aviation, flying, pilot, skycatcher, cessna

C152 Clear Prop Safety Gear Video

New safety equipment for 2008!

Now just stylish....soon to be required! ;)

aviation, flying, pilot, movies, cessna

Forward Slip and Engine Out Video

Just thought I'd share this with you all. No, its not me but this is what it should look like.

aviation, flying, pilot, movies, documentary

Flight Lesson # 11

Well, its been awhile since I've posted and as you can see I've skipped talking about a couple of lessons. I had lesson number 11 on 13 November 2007 after a little over 2 months off due to some personal issues and the closing of the club at Ft. Lewis. I am now training with Glacier Aviation out of KOLM with the same instructor that I had over at KGRF.

The last 2 flights I had at KGRF were simple review before I had my first solo but my life went in to a tail-spin the week I was supposed to take my pre-solo written test and do the deed.

This flight (#11) made me nervous but I was excited and ready for the challenge. As I climbed into my "new" airplane (N856DA) I saw that even though its roughly the same year of C152, things are a little different. I only have one radio to work with so that's a little harder to manage than my last plane but I'm ok with that. The cockpit is in better condition but the plane requires a little right rudder most of the time during flight.

Most of our time was spent getting familiar with the different plane, a much busier airport and knocking the rust off after a long break from flying.

My takeoff from KOLM was pretty smooth and we flew to the training area to the north over the southern part of the Puget sound where we did a few steep turns, slow flight and power off stalls. My first stall was pretty bad, as the stall broke I found that I was out of trim and the nose slipped off to the right pretty quickly. I wasn't quite fast enough setting the plane back to level and didn't release enough back pressure to break the stall correctly.....arrgghh!!!

This is something I've never had a problem with before but by the second one I was back in the game and did a pretty good job of making corrections on my own.

We headed back to KOLM (after trying to find it *wink*) and I made my first T&G from a straight in approach. I was still carrying a little bit of power during the landing but other than that I did pretty well. I found that the pattern is a little harder to fly properly without knowing the area but I didn't get too wide on any of the legs. My next landing was a little better than the first and my third was even better than that.

Overall both my instructor and I were pretty happy with the flight after such a long break. My next lesson will review power on stalls and emergency procedures with a forward slip to landing thrown in here and there.

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons, Student Pilot, Army, Washington

Special Report - Aviation Business

Read our special report about starting your own aviation business today!

Do you want to earn commissions on everything aviation?

Learn how to purchase a share of an airplane for $2900 down?

If so this report is for you!

Get our report today!

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons, Student Pilot, Army, Washington

Flight Lesson # 8

I had to take about 2 months off from flying due to health problems in the family and military training.

After my last lesson I was a little worried about how I'd do in the air. I found that I was a little rusty on the basic "stuff" but after screwing up my power on and off stalls the first time, I came back strong on the second try. I felt a little behind but was focused on the task at hand and things got better with each task I tried.

Still had a little problem with turns around a point and "S" turns but they are getting better as well.

For those of you that remember my last lesson, the upcoming touch and go's are what bothered me the most about this lesson. Much to my surprise, not only my radio work around the airfield but speed and altitude control were much better. I made 4 landings, including a simulated engine out landing with little problem. These had to be some of the best landings I've made so far and without any hands on help from my instructor.

I am behind on my postings by a couple of weeks but will try to get back on schedule. I have also completed my 9th flight and am getting ready for my pre-solo test. I'll fill you all in on lesson 9 and my test results as time allows.

Thanks for reading and please feel free to share your adventures with me.

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons, Student Pilot, Army, Washington

Ft Lewis Flying Club is closing

I am posting this follow up to a previous post because I am troubled by the closing of the Ft. Lewis Flying club. This club has been operating for 47 years and now MWR feels that it needs to close.



The club has been loosing money but if allowed to make a few changes could operate at break even or maybe even a profit.



The changes required to sustain the club for at least a year are very simple and would allow the club to recruit more members aggressively amongst the soldiers and DOD civilians that work in the area, its my understanding that these options were never heard by the powers that be.



During a ground school lesson today I watched as 3 people were turned away from joining because they won't have enough time to complete their lessons before the club is closed.



Its my understanding that there has been more interest this summer than in previous years but they are being turned away still.



The club was loosing money partly due to a lack of members and partly due to other things that I don't have enough details to discuss currently.



I will continue to investigate this matter even if it does nothing to help save this wonderful club because I believe that the decision to close the club was made independent of the facts.



This could be a case of pure business or a lack of understanding about aviation and what it needs to survive. I just hope its not a case of my interest being more important than yours...if you know what I mean.



Soldiers want this club to survive, it can survive if allowed. If this club closes there will be hundreds of soldiers that might have become pilots that won't be able to afford it on the open market.



The training just costs too much for all but the Officers to afford off post and even those that could afford to pay as much as $40 more per hour someplace else would have a hard time traveling that far off post with our work load.



We have a wonderful resource on post now, help us keep it!

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons, Student Pilot, Army, Washington

Search for or list your plane for free

For those of you out there either looking to sell your airplane or searching for your dream plane, I'd like to introduce you to my airplane listings.

You can list your lane for sale by clicking the "sell my plane" link below. There is no charge to list your plane on this site. You can include photos as well as a complete description of your plane for thousands to see.

Sell My Plane

To search for your dream plane click on the "search now" link to view our current listings.

Search Now

If you don't see your dream plane listed on our site you can add your name to our database of pilots searchig for a specific plane in a specific price range and we will help you find it. Click on the "find my plane" link below for more information.

Find My Plane

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons, Student Pilot, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Pacific Northwest, Piper, cessna, Bushcaddy, Grumman

Boeing 787 Rollout video

Here is a quick video of the new Boeing 787 during the public rollout on 7/8/07.

aviation, flying, pilot, Boeing, Dreamliner

How fishing can be bad for your health

See what happens when a couple of fishermen get in the way of a PBY Catalina flying boat!

aviation, flying, pilot, PBY, Catalina

Airbus A350 vs Boeing 787 video

Lets take a peek in to the design room for the Airbus A350 and see how they plan to beat Boeing and the 787 Dreamliner.

aviation, flying, pilot, Boeing, Dreamliner

Boeing 787 Rollout Live Video

Today the Boeing 787 will be unveiled to the public at 3:30 pacific time.

You can watch this major event live from the Boeing web site or on select satellite channels.

For more information visit the 787 information page below or click on the live feed link at the bottom of this page.

787 Event information page

Live Video Feed

aviation, flying, pilot, Boeing, Dreamliner

New web site is now open

I am proud to announce the opening of my new web site Lets Fly Washington!

The purpose of this site is to offer a place for pilots in Washington State to meet and share information about places to fly, rent airplanes, join a co-op to reduce ownership costs and just meet new people.

We will also be offering a page to sell your plane, search for planes forsale and to purchase shares of a plane through our co-op plan.

The site is still under construction so please feel free to offer suggestions and tell us about your favorite destinations so we can add them to the site.

I'd love to include a video or two of your favorite trips as well!

Don't let the name fool you, Lets Fly Washington is for everybody that loves aviation and we will accept listing for any type of aircraft from any location so don't be shy!

Come visit Lets Fly Washington!

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons, Student Pilot, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Pacific Northwest

My training hits a snag

I showed up t the airport on June 13th like planned but just before I walked out to pre-flight the plane, my instructor and I were informed that after 47 years of operation the Ft. Lewis flying club was shutting down.

After talking about this a little and trying to figure out what was in our future, we both decided that we just didn't feel like flying that day.

The club will remain open until September 15th 2007 and they have reduced their prices in an effort to keep the students they have.

The price change will allow me to squeeze in a couple more lessons than I could have before the doors are locked on us but I'm still too far from getting my PPL to finish before they shut down.

I spent a couple of weeks in the field for gunnery in my M1A1 tank so I had some time to think about what to do about this situation.

Most of the clubs are a either little out of my price range or just too far away to fit my work schedule.

I might try to pick up one of the planes from the club after they close but I'm not sure what the Army plans on doing with them.

THIS SUCKS!

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons, Student Pilot

Flight Lesson #7

Back on May 30th I had lesson number 7 with my primary instructor. The day was pretty mild except for some wind from 280 at about 7 knots. Everything started out pretty well until I reduced my cross wind inputs as I rotated the nose wheel off the runway.

At that point the left wheel picked up off of the ground and I skidded sideways a little just below takeoff speed. The plane picked up off of the ground and floated in ground effect for a little while as my instructor reminded me to lower the nose to gain speed before starting my climb.

After this little "event" the flight became more normal as we headed out to the practice area off Ketron Island. We started off with a power off stall that went pretty smoothly, did a couple power on stalls without trouble and jumped in to a couple of steep turns using the beautiful Mt. Rainier as an aiming point.

After doing the basics my instructor pulled the power and asked where I'd land. This wasn't a big deal as I had about 3,500 feet to figure it out. I trimmed for best glide and started looking for the little private strip in some guys backyard that's out there. I couldn't find it but I did line up pretty well on a large open area on one of the smaller islands near Anderson Island.

I recovered from the "emergency" and headed back to the field for an introduction to forward slips and a few touch and goes. This is where my problems began.

The idea and application of the forward slip wasn't an issue for me but the transition to landing fouled me up so bad that I don't really want to even log those landings. My pattern work seemed to be ok as my instructor never commented on being too wide or not making proper turns to base or final as in the past. I kicked the plane in to a slip and dropped my excess altitude like I should have but as I crossed the numbers I found myself fighting the wind and getting behind the plane. I reduced power but didn't account for the loss of down force on the elevator and let the nose drop. Pulling back a little too quickly to recover caused me to flare at about 25 feet above the runway and down we went. BOUNCE!!!

We did it again with much the same result and again with not enough pulling on the yoke from me but my instructor was quick to jump on the controls to save the nose wheel. At this point I'm really bad off and can't seem to do anything right and start getting frustrated. Once more around and everything looks fine, sinking a little fast as I cross the numbers and starting to drift to my right, I try to go around but my hand slips off the throttle and BANG the runway meets us.

My other lessons left me with a feeling of excitement but this one gave me a sense of dread. I will tackle these issues again on June 13th but this time I will be in command of that little plane and not feel like a passenger on the roller coaster from hell.

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons, Student Pilot

A little TFR humor

Dang those Temporary Flight Restrictions!

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons, Student Pilot, Humor

Aerobatic teams from around the world

Here is a quick video that includes some wonderful footage of different aerobatic teams from all around the world.

aviation, flying, pilot, video, Air Show, aerobatics

Fw 190, P-51 and Me 109 over Berlin

Its been many, many years since this collection of planes flew in the skies over Berlin.

Watch this piece of aviation history as a Fw-190, Me-109 and a P-51 Mustang wow the on lookers at the Berlin airshow.

aviation, flying, pilot, video, Air Show, aerobatics, P-51

Flying a P-51 Mustang

For Mustang lovers of all ages, you need to watch this video of a man's dream come true.

I would love to trade places with this man even for a moment.

Anybody own a P-51 out there?

aviation, flying, pilot, video, documentary, aerobatics

Pulling too many G's for this poor guy

This poor guy just can't seem to keep his eyes open!

aviation, flying, pilot, video, documentary, aerobatics

For pilots from the Pacific Northwest

I found a new site that flyers from the great Pacific Northwest should check out.
They have a forum area, name that northwest airfield game and is a cool place to just meet people from this area.

Check them out today!

Pacific Northwest Flying

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons, Student Pilot, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Pacific Northwest

Shop for Pilot and Aviation Supplies on-line

We've opened an on-line shop for pilot supplies, gifts and aircraft supplies in partnership with the Let'sFly co-op ownership program.

Not only can you shop for charts, study materials, tugs, etc. but you can also look for your dream airplane or even list your plane for sale for free!

We offer products from the following providers:

• Jeppesen
• ASA
• Gleim
• CH Products
• AvComm

We also have listings for airplanes from the following manufacturers:

• Atec
• AMD
• Beechcraft
• Bellanca
• BushCaddy
• Cessna
• Cirrus
• Piper
• Legend

To search for your dream airplane follow this link:

Aircraft For Sale

To list your airplane use this link:

Sell an Aircraft

To shop at our pilot store follow this link:

Our Pilot Store

aviation, flying, pilot, movies, supplies, Pilot Supplies, planes, shop, Student Pilot

Flight Lesson # 6

Today I was able to get an early start and get in the air by 1030 Seattle time. We still had some things from Jeppesen lesson #5 to work on so we headed out to the practice area to do some ground reference maneuvers.

These actually weren't as hard as I thought they would be for my first try but the wind was only at about 4knots so I shouldn't pat myself on the back too much just yet.

We started with the rectangle and even though I was being blow from side to side, most of the time I was able to keep a pretty good track while turning to the left. Going to the right was a little harder but I started getting it after a couple of laps.

The "S" turn was a little harder because I lost sight of the road we were using and decreased my bank a little too much to make it on every pass.

The turn around a point wasn't too bad but I only did it in a left turn so I can't say too much about my skill on that one. I just held a constant 45 degree bank and had it locked in nice and tight.

After that we did a couple of power on and off stalls with out a problem and then in to a steep turn to the left with a whip back to a turn to the right. I actually like doing those.

My problems started on the way back to the airfield..........

I called inbound at my normal marker but nobody was home....I try again and nobody answers but now I'm getting a little close to the departure end of the runway so I make a turn away from the field and contact ground to wake up the tower. Stay with me, this is where it started to become fun.

I was in a Cessna 152 and there was a 172 also requesting touch and go clearance from the tower. After the tower started paying attention to us they mistook the 172 for my 152 and cleared me for the # 1 slot. This forced the 172 to go long on the downwind over an active military range!!! I was a little flustered trying to keep up with the radio and the pattern work so I got a little wide on down wind, a little fast in to the base leg and a little high at final.

GO AROUND TIME!!

I worked it out and passed on that landing but was still a little off balance and had a hard time keeping my speed where it belonged. Once again I came in to base a little fast and on to final a little high but this time I made it work out. One the next pass I got a little tighter on the speed and hit the reference points pretty well. I extended the downwind leg a little because I was too high but this gave me a chance to get the plane set up for a proper speed in the final. I was pretty happy with this one even though I chopped the power a little sooner than I should have.
The last attempt looked pretty good as well until my instructor pulled the power as I crossed the 180 point and asked what I was going to do now.

I went with a 10-15 degree bank and no flaps until I knew I could make the runway, set 10 degrees made for 70 knots to counter the wind, hit 20 degrees about a quarter mile out, 30 degrees just before the fence and landed just long of the numbers. I asked the instructor how much was me and how much was him....he said it was all me on the landing and that he just helped keep me from over banking. I think he was pulling my leg but I'll take it.

Before my next flight I need to catch up on the ground lessons a little so I hit the presolo test on about my 9th flight.

Wish me luck!


Total time 6.8 hrs as of 10 May 07

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons, Student Pilot

Ever wonder what being in a Pitts looked like?

See what it looks like to be in a Pitts during some crazy maneuvers.

aviation, flying, pilot, movies, documentary, aerobatics

Flight Lesson # 5

On Monday I was able to squeeze in a lesson after work so I went up with the senior instructor to finish what I had started in lesson 4 and work on lesson 5.

The weather was absolutely beautiful with winds from 190 at 2knots, temp 70 and clear skies.

We had a couple problems with the intercom system that had to be figured out since I couldn't hear the instructor at all but that was a minor bump in the road.

After getting airborne I had to wear the view limiting goggles for a little instrument time, while I did better this time it was still very hard to stay on course and level without being able to see the horizon.

We knocked out a couple of steep turns, power on and off stalls and some engine out procedures before hearing in to do a little pattern work.

This is where the world became unforgiving. The cross wind was very mild at about 4knots at this point but it was still a little too much for my first landing, I was off of the center line and had the instructor all over the controls trying to help me get back on track.

The next landing was more of a demonstration on cross wind landings and my take off was much better this time.

The third attempt is where things started to get a little funny for me, I went wide on my downwind leg, got too low on my turn to base and overshot the turn to final. This put me wide to the right and about 200 feet low so I did my first go around.

The final landing was a little better but I was still behind on my turns, power and altitude management but I mad it on the ground without much guidance. The shocker of this landing was on the next take off, my instructor pulled the throttle back to idle at about 100 feet AGL to simulate an engine out......... It was a very interesting touch down that made the tower ask if we needed assistance.

What a lesson that was.

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons, Student Pilot

Flight Lesson # 4

Last week I actually flew with my primary instructor!!! Its the first time we've been up together because he's been booked solid for the last couple of months.

As I expected, the beautiful day started to turn bad as I pulled in to the club parking lot and figured we wouldn't be doing much for my lesson.

After the preflight lesson we decided to go up to work on emergency procedures and knock out the demonstrated stalls (cross controlled, secondary, etc.) and see how I handled the plane in rough weather with some haze.

After getting out to the practice area we found a patch of smooth air and I was introduced to the steep turn. I didn't do too bad considering that I could hardly see the horizon with all of the haze around me. Even Mt. Rainier was blocked from my view. We did a few simulated engine out procedures and finished with a couple of touch and goes before calling it a day.

I felt like I was in control through the entire flight and walked away feeling like I had made some good progress. I just hope that more of my lessons go like this.

Total time 4.0 hrs as of 28 April 07

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons, Student Pilot

Atec Faeta Light Sport Aircraft

For more information on the Atec Faeta Light Sport Airplane visit us and LetsFly!

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons, Student Pilot, airplane owner, planes

Bob Hoover F86 demo flight

Here is Bob Hoover performing a demo flight in a Philippine Air Force F-86.

aviation, flying, pilot, movies, documentary, aerobatics, Bob Hoover

Learn how to own a share of an aircraft for $2900

Do you want to own your own plane but either can't afford or justify it?

Are you interested in owning a share of an airplane but can't afford a large down payment?

To learn how to own a 1/4 share of your own airplane for a low $2900.00 down payment listen to the broadcast from Ultraflight Radio about the Let'sFly co-op program.

Listen to broadcast.

For more information on joining this program and owning a share of your own plane follow the link below and begin the adventure.

More Let'sFly information

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons, Student Pilot, airplane owner, planes

Flight Lesson # 3

On Saturday I had lesson number 3 at the Ft. Lewis flying club. It was a beautiful day with about 6knots of wind right down the runway and a ceiling of about 8000 feet.

I did the preflight without my instructor and we jumped in. After a few minutes trying to fix the headset jack on my side of the aircraft, we were off the ground and climbing at about 500 feet per minute when my CFI handed me the hood and said "do it blind". After I put the hood on everything started to go to pieces. My turn outbound was over shot by about ten degrees, chased both my airspeed and altimeter and generally felt not only behind the plane but out of control.

After removing the hood I didn't feel much better about the flight. We did some power on and power off stalls, basic turns, climbs and descents. After about an hour we came back in and did a touch and go that felt "ok" but I could feel the CFI all over the controls so I knew I wasn't in charge of the situation very well. I applied max power and took off again so that we could do a simulated engine out landing.

While I still enjoyed myself I was a little bummed out by how frazzled I got and how I never felt right about my flying that day. I guess I shouldn't expect much more than that since I am still in the single digits with my logged hours. Next time will be better.

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons, Student Pilot

More Patty Wagstaff!

Here are some more Patty Wagstaff stunts with a little F-86 Saber jet thrown in, enjoy!

aviation, flying, pilot, movies, documentary, aerobatics, Patty Wagstaff

No flying today!

I thought today was going to be the day I restarted my lesson but alas, I was foiled again!

My instructor is feeling better and has been up with other students in the last few days so I thought I'd schedule a flight for this afternoon.

The weather was a little rough but still a go and then it happened.................the plane needs some work!

I wasn't clear about what was wrong with the plane from the message I received but its off the schedule until Friday.

I hope to be back up on both Saturday and Monday but the weather doesn't look so hot.

Wish me luck!

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons, Student Pilot

Patty Wagstaff talks about Aerobatic flying.

I've watched Patty Wagstaff for years at all of the local airshows and I never get tired of watching this incredible pilot do her thing.

Listen to her talk about being a woman aerobatic champion, her love of flying and get to know a little about her.







aviation, flying, pilot, movies, documentary, aerobatics, Patty Wagstaff

Army Aviation

I found this cool video covering Army aviation and thought I'd share it with you.

YES I do know its not OUR Army!!!








aviation, flying, pilot, movies, documentary

Takeoffs and Landings Book Review

I picked up a new book to pass my time on the ground, its called Takeoffs and Landings: The Crucial Maneuvers and Everything In Between by Leighton Collins.

This book has done a wonderful job of explaining how some of the abstract ideas that are introduced in my Jeppessen student pilot guide equate to real life.

The author of this book also published "Air Facts" magazine for 35 years to introduce tips and safety issues to pilots in the early days of general aviation.

While this book is a re release of a book first published in 1983, it is full of explanations, tips and different ways of thinking about how and why planes fly.

The foreword is by Wolfgang Langewiesche of Stick and Rudder fame.

aviation, flying, pilot, kit, plane, Student Pilot, Books

New layout!

I am changing things around a bit so things look a little nicer and flow a little better.

Please be patient as I play around a little bit and as always, your comments and suggestions are welcome.

aviation, flying, pilot, kit, plane, Student Pilot

Legend Cub partners wanted

I've been looking in to a nice VFR plane to purchase and found the Legend Cub to be a nice fit for the type of flying that I plan to do in the near future.

This plane would be great for nice slow flight around the Puget Sound area and can be fitted with floats if you like.

I'd like to find 4 partners to share a new plane with and hope to make the purchase in the next 60 to 90 days.

If I don't find partners my purchase will be delayed for quite some time due to bills.

The home airport for this plane would most likely be in Auburn or Renton Washington but I'd be willing to look at other places if I can get all 4 partners in before the purchase.

If you are interested in this plane or have other suggestions, please contact me either directly via e-mail or post a comment here and we'll talk about it.

Legend Cub Specs.

aviation, flying, pilot, kit, plane, Cub

Flight instructor injured

I found out that my instructor injured his back while doing some house work and is basically on bed rest for a few weeks.

I hope he feels better and I guess I'll just read The Right Stuff again and look up when I hear the planes over head.

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons

Air fields with no available services

I am interested in finding out what fields in the Washington, Oregon and Idaho area pilots fly in to and wish that they could fill their tanks and their stomachs.

Do these fields get used often or infrequently?

What services would you like to see at these fields?

Please leave your comments so I can get a better feel for this matter even if its to say "don't waste your time".

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons,fuel,food

Flight instructor grounded.

Well its Sunday and I should be getting ready to head out to the field for lesson 3 but alas I'm typing this instead.

My main instructor is booked full and will be for a little longer. He is trying to get a guy through his IFR lessons so he can apply for a new job with his company and should be finished soon.

Until he is done with that I have been going up with the senior instructor and having a blast doing it but he has been grounded for medical reason for the near future.

As much as this bums me out, I hope everything is OK with him. He is a really nice guy and has been flying for many years. I can just tell that he loves his job and I hope he can get back to it soon.

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons

Flight lesson number 2

Well, its been a couple of weeks since I started flying and both the weather and my schedule have not been great so its been hard to get up in the air.

Yesterday I was able to get up for an hour in the afternoon for the second flight lesson in the Jeppesen syllabus and man it was great.

Even though it was basically the first flight all over again, this time I was on the controls 100% of the time and even though I had help, the take off was basically mine.

We started the lesson with some ground school and then moved in to the preflight. I did it all by myself with the instructor watching over my shoulder asking questions and making small corrections.

He handled all of the radio work on the way out as we headed to the run up area and after working my way through the check list we headed to the runway.

As the instructor talked me through the process he helped to keep the plane straight on the runway with a little rudder and aileron to correct for the cross wind. I'm glad he did because I haven't done this before!!!

We quickly picked up off of the runway and left the pattern to the practice area.

After a few 90deg turns to the left and the right, a climb and decent or two it was time for a little slow flight.

I have already grown tired of the stall warning horn!!!

We seemed to hang there in mid air while I watched boats go under us and birds fly across our nose.

All too soon it was time to head back in and it got a little bumpy in that old Cessna 152 as we came through 1000 feet on final.

Holding a stead 60knots as we sank towards the runway I began to wonder who was flying the plane!!!!!

I was doing as I was told and even now I couldn't tell you who was in control of the plane on touch down but I will tell you this.....the controls never seemed to be fighting against me, the instructor didn't scream or hit me and the plane touched down in one piece.

I guess that makes it a successful flight!

I really didn't feel if the instructor was taking the controls more than I was and I know I didn't knowingly give them up to him so I like to think that we both landed the plane together.

That's about it for flight #2, I'm looking forward to #3 on Sunday....weather permitting!

Wish me luck!

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons

Backed up my logbook on-line

I know that there isn't very much for me to load in to it yet but I have entered my flight info in to an on-line logbook.

It follows the standard Jeppesen log book format and allows you to change some of the items that you can record.

You can also enter your aircraft information if it isn't already in the system.

If you are interested, I have shared it so others can see what I'm up to and how much progress I've made.

View my logbook!

aviation, flying, pilot

An aviation legand in my own family

I remember watching reruns of Black Sheep Squadron on TV in the late 70's and early 80's so it came as a surprise when my sister-in-law told me that her grandfather was Greg "Pappy" Boyington.

I was big in to airplanes in the late 80's and was trying to get in to the Air Force Academy until I had to get glasses. During this time I knew more about combat planes than I did anything else and hit every air show that I could drag my parents to.

One day my sister-in-law told me about her grandfather and gave me his book to read. I thought this was just the coolest thing and it was even signed by him and addressed to her specifically.

I read "Baa-Baa Black sheep" every chance I got. I had heard some not so great things about his personal life but he was a war hero none the less.

I never got to meet Pappy and it might be a good thing dare it destroy my image of the Medal of Honor winner. This man had issues but he was a wonderful pilot and fought for our country in it's time of need.

I did meet the man that claimed to have shot him down and whether he did or not is not important to me, what I got out of that meeting was a reminder that even though he was the enemy, he wasn't any different than most of our soldiers, he was a young man doing the job that his country asked of him hoping that he'd make it through the war to see his family again. I've been there and done that myself.....Many years later.

I have regained the love for aviation that I had as a kid after all of these years and one day I hope to fly a P-51 and an F-4U in an effort to connect with these hero's of the past.

aviation, flying, pilot, USMC, WWII, History, War

Listen to the Transportation Secretary talk about user fees.

Listen to the Transportation Secretary speak about user fees and the impact on safety.

aviation, flying, pilot, FAA, government, taxes, Europe

FAA funding plan will kill GA much like it did in Europe

I know a lot of people have been talking about our laws and ways of doing business and suggested that we follow the European plan.

This has spread to things like criminal law, conduct of the Iraq war, terrorism, law enforcement and possibly aviation.

I lived in Germany for a couple of years and have seen how they conduct some of their business and I must say that just because Europe has been formed in to countries for longer than we have, they don't have all of the answers.

I ask that you read this story about the costs of General Aviation in Europe and decide for yourself if that's what you want the US to adopt.

Here is a portion of the article regarding landing at an airport in Europe:

Written by: Thomas A. Horne
But in Europe, not all landing fees are alike. Land at a major airport like Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport and it'll set you back $518. Frankfurt? Another $518. London's Heathrow Airport? How about $1,000. And this assumes you have made arrangements for your arrival, and obtained a landing "slot." Show up out of the blue and you could easily face a stiff penalty on top of your already outrageous landing fee. A last-minute decision to divert to Frankfurt for mechanical reasons, or to use its ILS approach to land in adverse weather, and you'll fork over another $777 in fines — on top of the $518 for the landing itself.

Please read the entire story here.

aviation, flying, pilot, FAA, government, taxes, Europe

Looking for partners to share a plane.

I am considering purchasing a kit plane and would like to find a few people to share the cost, construction and flying time on the little guy.

I live between Seattle and Tacoma and am looking for people that would like to base this plane here in western Washington.

I've looked in to the following kits and not only don't have the time, money, knowledge, etc. to do this alone, I think it would be more fun with a group and that will also allow the plane to be in the air more often.

Here are a couple that I've looked at:

Sonex

Rans S-19

Airdrome Fokker Dr 1

Other suggestions are welcome to include standard aircraft, these are just ideas.

aviation, flying, pilot, kit

Why do I fly?

To be honest with you, I want to learn to fly because I love it!

Can I afford it? I'm just an Army Corporal (E-4) so the answer is a big fat NO!

I have a wife that is injured and an 11 year old son to look after so I really shouldn't be doing this.

After 20 years of not looking at the planes flying over head, one day I looked up and just had to do it.

Am I being selfish....maybe. Could it turn in to a better job?....Maybe

I just can't explain why I feel compelled to do this, maybe I need to prove something to myself or maybe I just need the challenge...I just don't know.

What I do know is that I haven't wanted something this bad for a long time and after returning from Iraq I figured that if I keep putting it off, well...there may never be a tomorrow.

At the very least I hope that this new skill will allow me to take the family to new places so we can share new things together and build memories.

I already have a motorcycle, scuba dive and get paid to blow things up with an M1A1 main battle tank so I guess this is just one more thing in a long line of crazy interests that I have.

I feel guilty after I spend the money on a lesson but I feel so good after I've flown.

It doesn't matter if I'm the one flying or if I just ride along with a friend, I feel relaxed and ready to take on the next challenge that faces me.

Why do I fly?

Because I must!

aviation, flying, pilot

Flying destinations, fuel and FBO list.

I have added this map to help collect information on fun or interesting places to fly to as well as locating good prices for fuel, good FBO service and help track pilot friends.

Please feel free to add your info so that others my share your fun places to fly.

aviation, flying, pilot, destinations, vacations, supplies, map

Pilot Supplies Forsale

I am adding a section to my main web site with a list of suggested items to buy.

All of these items will be geared for the private pilot and includes things like headsets, fuel testers, charts and much more.

Below are a couple of the items that will be included as I build this new area for my site.

Please feel free to add reviews and suggestions.


Private Pilot Video Series on DVD

Chart Case Electronic Flight Bag

Fuelhawk Fuel Gauge

Visit CFI Pilot Shop now!



aviation, flying, pilot, movies, supplies

The magic of flight!

I first saw this show at the IMAX theater in the Seattle Center. It takes you from the very beginning of powered flight through a flight with the Blue Angles.

I found this download and not only did I need to add it to the collection, I thought I'd share it with you.

If you like One-Six Right then this is a must have as well.

Enjoy!

aviation, flying, pilot, movies, documentary

Density Altitude...What it is, why it matters and how to plan for it.

This video is old but it offers some very good information for pilots in a very easy to understand story. No lecture of some theory that you won't understand but a good "real life" example of what could happen if you don't know your aircraft and its limits.



Watch the video! digg story


aviation, flying, pilot, movies,

Bob Hoover - An aviation legend show you how a real pilot flies!

Now this is some wonderful flying from a legend of aviation!
I hope that one day I can handle a plane half as well as he does. I've heard that while flying a P-51 he ran out of gas and filled up at a filling station on the highway. The problem was that when the auto fuel hit the carb the engine quit. He made it in for a safe landing by bouncing off a truck top to get over a fence.

aviation, flying, pilot

FAA funding broke? The DOT admits it isn't.

So if the airlines get there way, general aviation will only be for the rich while those of us in the lower income brackets will only be able to get a ticket on Southwest. Don't let the airlines talk the government in to taxing us out of this wonderful experience! I thought the FAA was trying to make GA accessible to everybody!?!?!



Read the full story! digg story

aviation, flying, pilot

Had my first flight today!

After 6 other attempts to get in the air I finally had my first true to life flying lesson today!

I've flown other planes and had blast doing it in the past but now it was up to me. I didn't figure on the workload required for a simple flight like mine today but when you know that its up to you things just feel different.

I have flown a few hours in an old Taylorcraft but I knew that it was just for fun. Today and every day after is for record and now I really need to have a grasp of what is going on.

Having said that, the old Cessna 152 that I was up in felt rock solid and I couldn't have asked for a better first flight. I was on the controls the entire flight except for landing. We made a few simple turns and just got familiar with the plane and the surrounding area.

Flying near the Tacoma Narrows bridge and the state prison was wonderful! The boats on the water looked like toys in a bath tub and the cars on I-5 could have been toys on my kids bedroom floor.

Weather and money permitting I will try to get up again on Saturday and report back about stalls and slow flight!

Have a wonderful week and please......HELP GET THIS SMILE OFF OF MY FACE!!!

Never mind, I like it there!!!

Total Time: .8hrs

aviation, flying, pilot

Finally got to see one six right.

I wasn't sure what all the fuss was about with this documentary until I watched it for myself.

All I've heard about on the forums that I read is how good this movie is and how its a must see but I couldn't understand why I would want to watch a show about Van Nuys airport.

After seeing it for myself I fell in love with this movie. It has some wonderful history about the area and how it got started as well as some great airplanes for those who love the eye candy.

I've never been to Van Nuys Airport but I think that it will be a stop on my list of places to see after I finish my PP ASEL this year.

If you haven't seen it I suggest that you get your copy today.










aviation, flying, pilot, movies, documentary

These pilots have really earned their pay today!

Watch as airliners face some of the worst winds that I've ever seen. I hope that the planes that I've flown on haven't ever needed to be handled like this. Be glad you can't see outside very well on landing....you might never fly again if this happened to you.



See the video! digg story


aviation, flying, pilot

Destinations have been added.

I've started to add some destinations to a dedicated page on my other site for your flying enjoyment.

Currently I have KBFI - Boeing Field / Museum of Flight and Roche Harbor Resort listed, please check out these wonderful destinations and please let me know if you have any further information on these or other places of interest.

Also, if any of the info needs to be corrected, let me know so I can keep it as up to date as possible.

Click to view my flight destinations page.



aviation, flying, pilot, vacation, trip, destination

6 flights scheduled, 6 cancelled due to weather

Its just one of those days for me today, I've made 6 attempts to get in to the air and every time I schedule a lesson the weather goes to hell.

I've been so busy lately and every work day has been a wonderful day to fly, I had today off and thewind was gusting from 14 to 22knts.

Not good for a cessna 152.

I guess I'll try again next week, wish me luck!



aviation, flying, pilot

Share some info on your favorite place to fly to.

I'm trying to put together a list of places in and around Washington state to fly to for the day.

Please help me out by telling us all about your favorite places to visit on a lazy Sunday or a long weekend.

If you include an airport identifier or a photo I will include it on my main site with credit and a link going to you.

I'm looking for airport information, restaurants, vacation spots and any other place that general aviation pilots might go when they have the chance.

You can offer up info on any place that you like, it doesn't just need to be local to me.

Help us all out by sharing ideas about where to go!


aviation, flying, pilot,vacation, trip

Earn money while surfing the net.

I know this isn't aviation related but I found this site that is building members to use their new web browser search bar.

By using this search bar you are providing information about popular web pages, items and searches. It sounds like spy ware to me but as the company points out, you can remove it at any time and it pays you for your Internet browsing.

Not only do you get paid for your own use but by signing up people to use this system you can earn money for their usage as well.

Check it out and see for yourself, I hope it could help pay for some Avgas!

More information!

aviation flying pilot

I'm in a link building contest to pay for flying time!

I know that this isn't exactly the way that I should be trying to build links to my blog or web site but its a bet that I just can't pass up.

A friend of mine bet me that I couldn't build 50 incomming links to this blog or my web site by the end of February 2007.

If I get 50 incomming links then he will pay for 1 hour of plane rental and instructor fees, if I get 100 then its 2 hours and so on and so on.

I know that this is blatant and unprofessional but I am a starving soldier trying to pay for this dream so I've packed away my pride and turned to begging.

All I need is for people to link to this blog until after 1 March 07 to win this bet.

Please help!

Click the image below to add a link to your site here, if you add me to your site it will stay but if you don't then I will delete your link.

Just trying to be fair.

Blogroll Me!

Here is my URL:

http://adventuresinflying.blogspot.com/

aviation flying pilot

The FAA funding debate - What are user fees?

"There is no bigger issue facing general aviation today.Our future is hostage to the FAA funding decision. If we choose user fees or radical new taxes, America's unique personal aircraft transportation system will die."
AOPA President Phil Boyer

I guess the above comment just about says it all. Please read the full text with the FAQ sheet to fully understand what is at risk and what both sides are talking about.

There are many myths about General Aviation out there and to be quite honest, the general public doesn't know what is at stake and I doubt that most really care.

Visit the information page!

aviation flying pilot FAA government

One more day without flying!

Here I sit at the end of the duty day watching the planes fly overhead wishing that I was up in the air with them.
My day ended too late to take advantage of the weather that was still cold and damp but much better than it has been or will be for the near future.
Starting next week I will be in a 14 day class put on by former members of the "Old Guard" that will kill my chances of flying for the rest of this month so I am a little bummed.
I guess that while I'm in school I'll just have to reread Chuck Yeager Booksand try to fit in the time to watch The Right Stuff one more time.

New pilot ID to be required if proposed rule passes.

The FAA is proposing a change to its airman certificate from the paper copy that is used today to a plastic ID card to improve security.

Your comments are invited on this matter and will be accepted by the FAA until 06 March 2007 at the address listed in the brief.

The time line for this change is roughly two years after this rule is in place all pilots must replace their ID with the newer version and five years from the rule change other certificates like flight engineers and mechanics certificates must be upgraded to the new standard.

The full document can be read here.

We now offer aviation related items for sale!

Check out our list of mostly aviation related items. We have study guides, books about flying, study videos and a range of electronics listed.

All proceeds go to flying lessons and rental fees so please support this student pilot!

Shop with us!

Here is a sample of the items that we have selected.