Frequency Change

Two weeks ago, I submitted a letter of resignation. Today was my last official day in broadcasting. It has been good to me, but the time to move on has finally come.

I was literally raised around broadcasting. When I was an infant, my parents actually lived at a radio station. My father had a long and distinguished broadcasting career working in major markets as a DJ, then in sales, management and ownership. I followed in his footsteps and stuck it out for 17 years until I realized how much deregulation had changed the industry and broadcasting was no longer fun.

Some of the major changes about to take place are hitting me hard. A new career totally unrelated to previous experience, being away from home and family more often than not at first, an initial pay cut that is hard to swallow and moving from a meritocracy to an industry where performance is expected, but not necessarily rewarded are some of the bricks in the wall which I am headed for at break-neck speed.

I am becoming a number. It is the number that determines where I live, when I work, where I go and ultimately when I become captain. That number begins on day one at the absolute bottom of a very tall ladder. There are only three ways to go up the ladder: 1. Someone falls off 2. Someone jumps off 3. The ladder gets bigger. Here's to hoping that my airline is looking to build a bigger ladder.

If anyone else that has been through this, I'm open to advice on coping with all of the changes. Right now, it's a little suffocating. 9 days until class begins. 5 days until departure.

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On a lighter note...When said goodbye to my staff yesterday, I said the typical and stupid "You too!" thing when they said good luck with you new career. It reminded me of one of my favorite comedians, Brian Regan. I love they way he makes himself look like a doofus without using profanity. If you're in the mood for a few laughs, listen to his "You too" clip:

If you like this, you can get more clips at this fan site.

Sometimes it's good to know that you're not the only idiot in the world.

Night Flight to IFP

Last Friday night, Dana and I decided to take our last flight together. With summer monsoon season in full swing, weather in Arizona can be sketchy. We chose 3 destinations: Flagstaff, Tucson and Laughlin/Bullhead City. I reserved a nice little IFR Archer with GPS, DME and slaved HSI. It ain't fast, but it'll get you there safely. What more can you ask for? I know...constant speed prop, turbo, retractable gear, glass cockpit - but who has the money to be picky.

With a planned departure of 8 p.m., we hoped that at least one of our destinations would be free of thunderstorms. At 6 p.m., a check of the radar showed severe thunderstorms in Tucson and all over Northern Arizona. It wasn't looking promising. By 7:30, Flagstaff and Tucson were still looking bad, but we could see rapid dissipation on the route from Falcon Field to Laughlin/Bullhead City (KIFP). The only activity was a line of storms moving South from Las Vegas that weren't a factor.

At 8:00, we were off the ground. I love flying at night, especially after thunderstorms. The atmosphere was perfectly calm and visibility was greater than 45 miles. ATC was in a particularly good mood, too. Our route took us over Scottsdale, Deer Valley, direct Wickenburg, direct Lake Havasu and then up the Colorado River to KIFP.

The moon was full and I regretted not having my camera as we flew over Alamo lake. With our 8,500 foot cruising altitude and visibility so good, you could actually see Lake Havasu City from Alamo Lake.

After turning North to follow the Colorado River, we started seeing increased lightning in the distance. Apparently, the storms in Las Vegas were pretty strong and traveled further south than expected. They usually die out over Boulder City. The storms were still 25-30 miles north, so it wasn't a factor. We did enjoy the light show.

We landed in Bullhead at 9:50, just before the FBO closed. It's under new ownership and is now Encore FBO, Inc. It's the same nice people that worked for Sun Western Flyers. The Flight Service Station called the FBO to see if we had arrived and told them I had 3 minutes to call. Huh? We landed 5 minutes earlier than filed and hadn't even been on the ground more than 10. 10 minutes after arrival time and a phone call? To the FBO and not me? They girl at the FBO said that FSS calls them sometimes, especially when it's around closing time. When I called FSS, they couldn't even find an open plan, so the caller must have closed it when they spoke with the FBO. Weird.

We took the free shuttle across the Colorado River in to Laughlin and had a late dinner at Outback Steakhouse inside The Aquarius Hotel (Formerly Flamingo Hilton). It's strange to eat at a chain restaurant inside a casino, but it was actually very good. I usually refer to Outback Steakhouse as Steakback Outhouse, but this location didn't deserve it.

I kept temptation at bay and passed the gaming tables as we made our way back to the airport for our return trip home. The flight back was totally uneventful, other than a guy working the Phoenix TRACON that couldn't get anyone's call sign or aircraft type right. He was convinced that we were in a Seneca.

Sky Harbor Approach cleared us through the bravo at 5,000 feet or below, descent at our discretion direct to Falcon Field. Ahh...the joy of flying through Class B airspace after midnight. As we headed towards Falcon, Dana lined us up for an approach to Gateway! She hadn't flown to Falcon at night and couldn't see Falcon from a left base. No big deal, I took the controls and got us lined up on final and gave her the controls back for landing. We touched down at 2 a.m. exactly.

Okay, I have one complaint about Falcon Field. The GA ramp is WAY TOO DARK. You can't see anything. Parking at night is a PITA. /RANT OFF

Well, it was a nice trip and probably the last time Dana and I will fly together for some time. She starts at Air Wisconsin Monday, August 6th.

Thanks Captain Nelson - The Ooooooonly Way To Fly

I was rummaging through some old documents looking for something the other day and ran across my Western Airlines "First Flighter" certificate.

I remember this day. It was the day I decided that I wanted to be a pilot. The big, noisy Western Airlines 727-200 was parked at Terminal 1 at Sky Harbor (gone since 1990, RIP). Captain Ron Nelson invited me to sit in the cockpit and watch them do the pre-flight. He also invited me up for a short time during the flight to LAX. I was hooked. I still have the real metal wings. Captain Nelson probably ended up at Delta and is probably retired by now. I wish he knew how much influence his kindness had on me that day back in 1981. Thanks Captain Nelson.

Western Airlines - The Ooooooooooonly Way To Fly!

Post 172 Is Actually About 162

This is the Cessna 162 Skycatcher. Yes, I want one. A blue one or red one...maybe not purple.


I'm not one to do commercial posts, and this isn't solicited by Cessna. This is just about pure love for Cessna's new LSA - The Skycatcher.


The Skycatcher is simple and state of the art. It as a 100 horsepower Continental O-200 engine, that burns just over 4 gallons per hour at 77% power/112 KIAS at 6,000 feet. Max speed is 118KIAS at sea level. It has electric trim and MANUAL slottted flaps. YES! Manual flaps on a new Cessna.

Takeoff roll at sea level 770'/1250' over 50' obstacle. Landing distance is 420'/1040' over 50' obstacle.

It holds 24 gallons useable, climbs at 850 FPM at sea level and has a service ceiling of 15,500 feet.

The flight controls consist of a sticks with trim & radio controls and rudder/brake pedals on both sides. The nosewheel is free castering, so steering is done via differential braking. 172/182 pilots are already used to that technique anyway.

A single Garmin G300 display will provide primary flight and engine information in a split screen format. A Garmin SL40 Com radio, Garmin GTX327 Mode C transponder,
and a 121.5 Mhz ELT will be standard equipment. This photo shows an MFD as well. I imagine it will be optional for GPS nav/wx/terrain and other goodies. Gotta love the cup holder on the passenger side, too.

Strange angle for a photo, huh? That's possible because the doors open vertically. It looks a little more comfortable than a 152, don't ya think?

Cessna is accepting orders already for delivery in early 2009. I think this plane is going to bring some affordability back to flight training. Kudos to Cessna. This is a lot of airplane for a pretty low price, especially considering that it comes from Cessna.

WSUS33 KKCI 251855SIGWCONVECTIVE SIGMET 38WVALID UNTIL 2055ZAZ NVFROM 70N PGS-40SSW INW-50WSW PHX-40ESE LAS-70N PGSAREA TS MOV LTL. TOPS TO FL420.OUTLOOK VALID 252055-260055FROM 30NNE HVR-50NNW GGW-40WSW ELP-50S TUS-30SSE BZA-CZQ-40WREO-50SSE HLN-30NNE HVRWST ISSUANCES EXPD. REFER TO MOST RECENT ACUS01 KWNS FROM STORMPREDICTION CENTER FOR SYNOPSIS AND METEOROLOGICAL DETAILS.

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I'm in Wickenburg today. Thankfully, on the ground smack dab in the middle of an area of huge thunderstorms with tops to 50,000feet. It has rained over 2 inches in the last hour and shows no sign of letting up. Every time I check the radar, it keeps getting bigger.

Being in desperate need of some flight time, I almost flew up here thisweek. At the last minute, I decided to drive. I beat Murphy this time.

It's good to know that my time working in Wickenburg is nearing a close.I'm really sick of it here and am ready for new scenery. 32 more daysuntil the scenery changes. Tick-tock.

AWAC Paddywhack, Give The Girl A Job

Congratulations to my friend Dana. She was just hired by Air Wisconsin, one of the premium regional air carriers. Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation (AWAC) is the largest independently owned regional air carrier, with a fleet of 70 Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft feeding the US Airways system.

Good Job, Dana!

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I went to the doctor today and was finally found to be clear of kidney stones. Yes! The test results finally came in and said that the stones were the calcium type. Other tests revealed that I must:

1. Stop drinking soda. Ouch.
2. Cut back on sodium.
   

I don't use a lot of added salt, so hopefully quitting soda will take care of the sodium issue. The doctor says to avoid stones, I should drink a gallon of water, with lemon, per day. OK. I'll do anything to avoid stones again.

The good news is that the coast is clear. Medical is good.

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It's the half way point from being hired to the commencement of training. Five more weeks and it's back to the hectic pace of intense training. This time though, my career depends on success. No pressure.

Before I know it, I'll be flying in and out of some of the busiest airports in the world. The other day, I logged in to LiveATC.net and listened to approach and departure control as well as tower at JFK, my future home base. It's a pretty cool site that has live ATC for most of the busy Class B airports in the US. Give it a try.

As always, fly safe.

0 to 380 in Seven Minutes

Whatever your opinion of the Airbus 380, this is a pretty amazing video.