I might have forgotten to mention that Tim got to fly in a helicopter recently. One more lifelong dream accomplished!
Showing posts with label flying. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flying. Show all posts
Thursday, September 17, 2009
R-22 ride
I might have forgotten to mention that Tim got to fly in a helicopter recently. One more lifelong dream accomplished!
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Sorry about the Camera...
Yes, I borrowed the camera this weekend. If only the battery would last a little longer you would have some stuff to see.
Maybe it's time for a new camera?! I'm home now, and its nice to see you and the kids again!
Love Ya,
Tim
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Come fly with me
Well, okay, I guess that's a bit premature. You really don't want to fly with me for at least another 2-3 more hours of me practicing my landings. But I did get to take flight today, with my instructor Kelly right by my side to remind me about all the things I was forgetting. It was a beautiful day for flying; there is still a little snow on the mountains, and the sky was perfectly blue and clear.
Getting back into the cockpit is not exactly like getting back on a bike. I wish it was that easy, but it's slightly more complex. That's probably why there are so many enthusiastic pilots out there. I did pretty well, minus the first landing ("Pull up! Pull up! Don't forget to look all the way down the runway!"), the third landing ("Ooh, 90kts is pretty good for final...maybe you want some flaps?"), my parking job (yes, I parked in between the lines. You are supposed to park on them), and my engine shutdown. Let's just say that you can't simply turn off the engine with the key, and that's what I did. And I'll never forget again!
The rest of the day was for playing outside: the girls on the swing, and us trying madly to de-trailer park our yard.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Oh, crap. Also, cake.
Today is my birthday. I'm 24. Ish. Tim went in early today so he could come home at a reasonable hour and help Kate make a birthday cake for me.
First we add the eggs.
Then we add the butter.
Next we mix it by hand a little bit.
This is so much fun!
Then we lick the spatula.
The cake turned out great; even McLaren got to try a bite. She loved it, of course. She is my daughter.
For my birthday, Tim got me some flight time with my old instructor. Awesome! Also: crap! I haven't flown in almost 2 years. I haven't studied in almost 2 and a half years. My instructor is pretty busy, but she has some time available on Friday. We're doing Thanksgiving on Friday. Long story, but we are. Now you see my dilemma. My medical isn't current, so I can't get my landings in with her and call it good; I've got to fly with her in the plane. But this is also a great opportunity to take family flying...so I'll be keeping you posted. Thank you for the awesome birthday present, Tim! And for keeping me on my toes.
My last flight was in a Great Lakes, February 2006.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Korea Stories
One of Tim's friends from pilot training is here for Blue Flag and he came over for dinner the other night. He's entertaining the idea of going to Korea for his remote tour, so we talked a lot about our time spent on the ROK. Most of our friends didn't like Korea much, but we had fun. We had just come from Fayetteville, NC, so I was ready to experience something that didn't involve strip clubs and car dealerships lining the streets. I was wrong on one count, but.... We did our best to take advantage of our location, and I chose to start working on my private pilot's license. I searched back through my copy of our old website and found this entry from August 2004:
About 2 weeks ago, I had my long dual cross-country (with my instructor, Marty). We went all over the place. We started by flying north to Seoul AB, which is just south of the Han River. We could see Seoul - it was great! Had some difficulties with ATC. Lots of us calling on the radio and them not answering. They were probably trying to figure out who we were and what to say back to us. Big language barrier. I tried to come in for a touch and go there after following 2 helicopters in, and at the last minute they told us to go around. Greeeat. Good practice though. All that after ATC telling us that we couldn't land and to keep heading north. That would have put us into Seoul's airspace, and too close to the Blue House (Seoul's White House) for my comfort. Next was Wonju, directly east and in the mountains. They let us do a low approach there, but not land. We were going to continue southeast to an airstrip that is uncontrolled and where "pedestrians and livestock have free access to the runway" but the weather didn't look good, so we skipped that leg and went south to Jungwon. They wouldn't let us land either, so we went to the next one, R-510. That's a ROK Army base with 2 runways - one that's only 1600 feet long. Marty wanted me to land on that one. In contrast, I think Osan's runway is 9000' long. But I did it - and landed in about half the runway length. Then we took off and headed back to Osan, where it was raining. It was a great cross country! Now I have to do it solo...
And from earlier that summer, after I had just started flying:
On perhaps my second solo, I headed out to the northwest training area to do some ground work. S-turns, turns around a point, simple stuff that keeps you fairly close to the ground. I go back to the flight office to fill out my logbook and pay for the prop time afterwards and Ms. Cho comes running over to me with wide eyes. "You go to Incheon airspace! You not suppose to go there!" I looked at her a little skeptically. Yes, the northwest training area was in the direction of Incheon, but I was no where near the international airport. "They call here, tell me you go in their airspace. They call 2 time!" Now she had me worried. I mean, it was my second solo flight. Maybe I was in their airspace. Oh my GOD, maybe I was in their airspace and didn't know it! GAH! I whipped out my map and pointed to where I had been. I mean, I think I had been there, right? Who really knew for sure. I only had like 20 hours under my belt. I spent the rest of the afternoon all stressed out. When Tim got home I told him my story, and after we looked at the map again, he reassured me that I was not in their airspace.
Sometime I'll post about our trip to New Zealand; that was perhaps the coolest place we have ever been.
For now, Kate is shrieking in her room (it's naptime, don't you know) and Claire is (I hope) sleeping. Time for me to start packing.
About 2 weeks ago, I had my long dual cross-country (with my instructor, Marty). We went all over the place. We started by flying north to Seoul AB, which is just south of the Han River. We could see Seoul - it was great! Had some difficulties with ATC. Lots of us calling on the radio and them not answering. They were probably trying to figure out who we were and what to say back to us. Big language barrier. I tried to come in for a touch and go there after following 2 helicopters in, and at the last minute they told us to go around. Greeeat. Good practice though. All that after ATC telling us that we couldn't land and to keep heading north. That would have put us into Seoul's airspace, and too close to the Blue House (Seoul's White House) for my comfort. Next was Wonju, directly east and in the mountains. They let us do a low approach there, but not land. We were going to continue southeast to an airstrip that is uncontrolled and where "pedestrians and livestock have free access to the runway" but the weather didn't look good, so we skipped that leg and went south to Jungwon. They wouldn't let us land either, so we went to the next one, R-510. That's a ROK Army base with 2 runways - one that's only 1600 feet long. Marty wanted me to land on that one. In contrast, I think Osan's runway is 9000' long. But I did it - and landed in about half the runway length. Then we took off and headed back to Osan, where it was raining. It was a great cross country! Now I have to do it solo...
And from earlier that summer, after I had just started flying:
On perhaps my second solo, I headed out to the northwest training area to do some ground work. S-turns, turns around a point, simple stuff that keeps you fairly close to the ground. I go back to the flight office to fill out my logbook and pay for the prop time afterwards and Ms. Cho comes running over to me with wide eyes. "You go to Incheon airspace! You not suppose to go there!" I looked at her a little skeptically. Yes, the northwest training area was in the direction of Incheon, but I was no where near the international airport. "They call here, tell me you go in their airspace. They call 2 time!" Now she had me worried. I mean, it was my second solo flight. Maybe I was in their airspace. Oh my GOD, maybe I was in their airspace and didn't know it! GAH! I whipped out my map and pointed to where I had been. I mean, I think I had been there, right? Who really knew for sure. I only had like 20 hours under my belt. I spent the rest of the afternoon all stressed out. When Tim got home I told him my story, and after we looked at the map again, he reassured me that I was not in their airspace.
Sometime I'll post about our trip to New Zealand; that was perhaps the coolest place we have ever been.
For now, Kate is shrieking in her room (it's naptime, don't you know) and Claire is (I hope) sleeping. Time for me to start packing.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Getting Back to Normal
I think we're on the mend. I hope so. Kate's rash is gone, and I think it really was from the fever or a virus, because we put her back on the second medication (the one that we thought made her break out) and she is fine. The ER called me yesterday to tell me that the strain of bacteria she has is immune to ammoxicillin, so we had to go with one of the nastier meds. She's still tired, but went to her playgroup this morning and didn't want to leave when I came to pick her up! I wish I could have let her stay, but I wasn't feeling that great.
I have photos from yesterday, but can't upload them, so will update the blog again later.
In lieu of photos, here is some pilot humor from my Dad:
***
A DC-10 had an exceedingly long roll out after landing with his approach speed just a little too high.
San Jose Tower: "American 751 heavy, turn right at the end, if able. If not able, take the Guadeloupe exit off of Highway 101 and make a right at the light to return to the airport.
***
Tower: "Eastern 702, cleared for takeoff, contact Departure on 124.7."
Eastern 702: "Tower, Eastern 702 switching to Departure ...by the way, after we lifted off, we saw some kind of dead animal on the far end of the runway."
Tower: "Continental 635, cleared for takeoff, contact Departure on 124.7; did you copy the report from Eastern?"
Continental 635: "Continental 635, cleared for takeoff roger; and yes, we copied Eastern and we've already notified our caterers."
***
O'Hare Approach Control: "United 329 Heavy, your traffic is a Fokker, one o'clock, 3 miles, eastbound."
United 329: "Approach, I've always wanted to say this...I've got that Fokker in sight."
***
The German air controllers at Frankfurt Airport are a short-tempered lot. They not only expect one to know one's gate parking location but how to get there without any assistance from them. So it was with some amusement that we (a PanAm 747) listened to the following exchange between Frankfurt ground control and a British Airways 747 (call
Sign "Speedbird 206") after landing.
Speedbird 206: "Top of the morning Frankfurt, Speedbird 206 clear of the active runway."
Ground: "Guten morgen! You will taxi to your gate!"
The big British Airways 747 pulled onto the main taxi way and slowed to a stop.
Ground: "Speedbird, do you not know where you are going?"
Speedbird 206: "Stand by a moment ground, I'm looking up our gate location now."
Ground (with some arrogant impatience): "Speedbird 206, have you never flown to Frankfurt before?!?"
Speedbird 206 (cooly): "Yes, I have, in 1944. In another type of Boeing. I didn't stop."
I have photos from yesterday, but can't upload them, so will update the blog again later.
In lieu of photos, here is some pilot humor from my Dad:
***
A DC-10 had an exceedingly long roll out after landing with his approach speed just a little too high.
San Jose Tower: "American 751 heavy, turn right at the end, if able. If not able, take the Guadeloupe exit off of Highway 101 and make a right at the light to return to the airport.
***
Tower: "Eastern 702, cleared for takeoff, contact Departure on 124.7."
Eastern 702: "Tower, Eastern 702 switching to Departure ...by the way, after we lifted off, we saw some kind of dead animal on the far end of the runway."
Tower: "Continental 635, cleared for takeoff, contact Departure on 124.7; did you copy the report from Eastern?"
Continental 635: "Continental 635, cleared for takeoff roger; and yes, we copied Eastern and we've already notified our caterers."
***
O'Hare Approach Control: "United 329 Heavy, your traffic is a Fokker, one o'clock, 3 miles, eastbound."
United 329: "Approach, I've always wanted to say this...I've got that Fokker in sight."
***
The German air controllers at Frankfurt Airport are a short-tempered lot. They not only expect one to know one's gate parking location but how to get there without any assistance from them. So it was with some amusement that we (a PanAm 747) listened to the following exchange between Frankfurt ground control and a British Airways 747 (call
Sign "Speedbird 206") after landing.
Speedbird 206: "Top of the morning Frankfurt, Speedbird 206 clear of the active runway."
Ground: "Guten morgen! You will taxi to your gate!"
The big British Airways 747 pulled onto the main taxi way and slowed to a stop.
Ground: "Speedbird, do you not know where you are going?"
Speedbird 206: "Stand by a moment ground, I'm looking up our gate location now."
Ground (with some arrogant impatience): "Speedbird 206, have you never flown to Frankfurt before?!?"
Speedbird 206 (cooly): "Yes, I have, in 1944. In another type of Boeing. I didn't stop."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)