Anything Aviation
- Thread starter Brian
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Domenick
Instrument Training
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2019
- Messages
- 2,066
One day in 1999, one of my bestest, longest friends called me and suggested we should learn to fly and buy a plane together. Not believing anything would come of the suggestion, I said, “Sure, why not?”
Months later at lunch, he mentioned he had started flight training. Over the next few months, we often met at Harvey Field’s Buzz Inn Steakhouse for lunch, and he kept me up on his progress. For whatever reason, we lost touch for a couple months until Father’s Day in 2000. He called me up.
“Hey, Dom—” Being friends for thirty years he was one of the few who called me Dom. Even my wife calls me Domenick. So, Gregg (yes, three ‘G’s) says, “Hey, Dom, remember that plane we were going to buy?”
Vaguely remembering the comment well over a year before, I hesitantly said, “Yeah.”
“Well, I bought it!”
That’s how I shortly became a pilot and plane owner. A yearish later, I passed my checkride, and two weeks after I bought half interest in the 1979 Warrior I still own. Gregg dropped out of the partnership a couple years back, but we’re still good friends.
Months later at lunch, he mentioned he had started flight training. Over the next few months, we often met at Harvey Field’s Buzz Inn Steakhouse for lunch, and he kept me up on his progress. For whatever reason, we lost touch for a couple months until Father’s Day in 2000. He called me up.
“Hey, Dom—” Being friends for thirty years he was one of the few who called me Dom. Even my wife calls me Domenick. So, Gregg (yes, three ‘G’s) says, “Hey, Dom, remember that plane we were going to buy?”
Vaguely remembering the comment well over a year before, I hesitantly said, “Yeah.”
“Well, I bought it!”
That’s how I shortly became a pilot and plane owner. A yearish later, I passed my checkride, and two weeks after I bought half interest in the 1979 Warrior I still own. Gregg dropped out of the partnership a couple years back, but we’re still good friends.
MRC01
In the Clouds
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2019
- Messages
- 3,539
@Domenick you made me review old log books...
I escaped with my family from Silicon Valley to Orcas Island in Jan 2004. A couple years later my neighbor Mark asked if I wanted to join him on a local flight. Until then I didn't know he was a pilot; my eyes bugged out, my jaw hit the floor, I told him how I felt about airplanes and we started flying together regularly, at the same time I started taking lessons from Dan, Alan and Peta from Westwind Aviation on San Juan island. Every lesson had an extra 0.5 hour of flight time for their round trip to Orcas to pick me up. 2 months later with 10 hours I soloed. 8 months later with 47 hours I took my checkride. A month later I was flying my own airplane home from Oregon, same one I still fly today.
PS: if those hours seem low, it's because of the time I spent flying with Mark, which I could not log.
Thanks to Mark, I never would have done it without his suggestion and help, which is why I participate in the EAA Eagles and Young Eagles programs.
I escaped with my family from Silicon Valley to Orcas Island in Jan 2004. A couple years later my neighbor Mark asked if I wanted to join him on a local flight. Until then I didn't know he was a pilot; my eyes bugged out, my jaw hit the floor, I told him how I felt about airplanes and we started flying together regularly, at the same time I started taking lessons from Dan, Alan and Peta from Westwind Aviation on San Juan island. Every lesson had an extra 0.5 hour of flight time for their round trip to Orcas to pick me up. 2 months later with 10 hours I soloed. 8 months later with 47 hours I took my checkride. A month later I was flying my own airplane home from Oregon, same one I still fly today.
PS: if those hours seem low, it's because of the time I spent flying with Mark, which I could not log.
Thanks to Mark, I never would have done it without his suggestion and help, which is why I participate in the EAA Eagles and Young Eagles programs.
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GingerJ1
In the Clouds
Windsock Village Air Park | Residential Fly-In Community
windsockvillageairpark.com
10 minutes down the road from me. 4000 feet of nice grass. No state taxes or sales tax. My plane is an hour away at KLCI and I would have seriously considered building our new house there but my wife said “ I am not living where every neighborhood get together all they talk about is airplanes. It sounded good to me but then it has my whole life.
New Hampshire??? Brrrrrr!
My husband has a niece who lives in NH--when they married 20+ years ago, he would have lost partial custody of his two sons if he moved out of state, so she moved up there with him (from Long Island).
All I could think was that this MUST be true love.
I don't know that I love anyone enough to move to NH, VT, AK, WY, etc*.... Glad that some of you cold-impervious types enjoy it, though.
*Solely on account of the frigid winters. I'm sure these are otherwise lovely places.
GingerJ1
In the Clouds
Windsock Village Air Park | Residential Fly-In Community
10 minutes down the road from me. 4000 feet of nice grass. No state taxes or sales tax. My plane is an hour away at KLCI and I would have seriously considered building our new house there but my wife said “I am not living where every neighborhood get together all they talk about is airplanes." It sounded good to me but then it has my whole life.
When Jay suggested moving to an airpark ("It's near Disney!" he said, dangling the bait), I chose to address that by learning to fly myself.
Worked for me.
GingerJ1
In the Clouds
Interestingly, we met an older couple here and the husband had flown at Zahn's, where Jay learned to fly. They got to talking, and eventually learned that he owned the plane in which Jay soloed.
And I interviewed a guy couple years ago who told me this story:
But it’s a dry coldNew Hampshire??? Brrrrrr!
. Well, compared to Chicago where I was from 2nd grade to Sophomore year of high school.People embrace it here. Ski area 4 miles away, snowshoeing, ice fishing, I have a wonderful work shop, you just do winter stuff. In the summer we do summer stuff. My wife and I haven’t written off a couple months in the winter someplace warmer but right now we really enjoy the quiet of winter here.
BananAppeal
In the Clouds
When I first started flight lessons a lovely young woman named Rachel worked in the CP Aviation office while she finished her commercial and instrument ratings. She didn’t stick around long after that because some charter company hired her. Since then, she has had increasingly better aviation jobs (and married a controller.)
Tonight I saw on Facebook that she “successfully completed IOE and TOE.” I don’t know what they are, but she says it means she’s officially done with training, and will be flying a 767 for Delta.
Greg Bockelman
Solo Cross Country
IOE is Initial Operating Experience. 25 hours or so of line experience with a training Captain. I have no idea what TOE is.
MRC01
In the Clouds
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2019
- Messages
- 3,539
What is your highest DA takeoff? Mine was from KRKS Rock Springs, Wyoming. 6800' MSL and 90* F makes a DA of about 10,000'. In my 172 back when it had a 160 HP engine. Fortunately, just me and my mountain bike on board. It reminded me why airports in the mountains have such looonnnggg runways.
Group W
Long-Distance Cross Country
9200 feet in my standard Cessna 150 at MGW:
Roy
Roy
Brian
Administrator
Great video, Roy. 
Aeromot
Superior Pilot
You could probably do it because of those special curved prop blades seen in the video (Were they super scimitars or something?).
Group W
Long-Distance Cross Country
Dang! You discovered my secret.
But they quit working when I put a neutral filter on my GoPro.
Roy
Brian
Administrator
So I'm out on Cape Cod and there's a hurricane heading our way, sort of, maybe. The track will be critical, as it always is.
What I'm seeing so far is less disagreement in the spaghetti models than is usual. There seems to be some faith in Hurricane Lee heading more or less straight north after making a turn to the north. If so, that might put it within striking distance of Cape Code. Or not -- the cone of confusion is wide at this point.
A pilot friend asked me what I thought we pilots should do. I told him that if it's a tropical storm by the time it gets near here, I'm likely to just tie it down firmly and reinforce the ropes with a second set of stout ropes that I carry in the plane. 60 or 70 mph winds aren't going to hurt the plane so long as it doesn't go anywhere and no other planes fly around, either.
I've been here before, literally. My 127 does not have a rudder lock. In the past, I thought about going to the hardware store and getting some lumber and building a frame of sort but then I devised a much simpler solution. I tied a rope firmly to the right rudder pedal, then looped it around the frame of the rear seat and then tied it firmly to the left rudder pedal.
The result was just a little bit of play in the rudder and it came through a tropical storm just fine and then through a nor'easter fine on another occasion.
Of course, if the hurricane is heading directly for the Cape, I'll need to do something else with the plane.
What I'm seeing so far is less disagreement in the spaghetti models than is usual. There seems to be some faith in Hurricane Lee heading more or less straight north after making a turn to the north. If so, that might put it within striking distance of Cape Code. Or not -- the cone of confusion is wide at this point.
A pilot friend asked me what I thought we pilots should do. I told him that if it's a tropical storm by the time it gets near here, I'm likely to just tie it down firmly and reinforce the ropes with a second set of stout ropes that I carry in the plane. 60 or 70 mph winds aren't going to hurt the plane so long as it doesn't go anywhere and no other planes fly around, either.
I've been here before, literally. My 127 does not have a rudder lock. In the past, I thought about going to the hardware store and getting some lumber and building a frame of sort but then I devised a much simpler solution. I tied a rope firmly to the right rudder pedal, then looped it around the frame of the rear seat and then tied it firmly to the left rudder pedal.
The result was just a little bit of play in the rudder and it came through a tropical storm just fine and then through a nor'easter fine on another occasion.
Of course, if the hurricane is heading directly for the Cape, I'll need to do something else with the plane.
Group W
Long-Distance Cross Country
Thanks for the rudder lock idea. I haven't had the need for one -- yet -- but when I travel cross country I'll put in an extra length of rope for that purpose, in case it's needed.
Roy
Roy
I used to use a strap hooked on the rudder pedals and looped through the seat belt, but I was never that comfortable with that solution, so I bought one of these from AirGizmos:
www.aircraftspruce.com
I couple that with a "Do not tow" flag on the nose gear when it is installed.
AirGizmos Universal Gust Lock | Aircraft Spruce
AirGizmos Universal Gust Lock If you fly for very long you will quickly realize the importance of locking your control surfaces when leaving the plane outdoors
www.aircraftspruce.com
BananAppeal
In the Clouds
Stay safe!
Well, the good news is that it looks like it won't be a major hurricane, and you (Cape Cod) will be brushed by the weak side. But don't let your guard down.
Can you possibly evacuate? In addition to winds, you may be facing torrential rain (possibly flooding), hail and tornadoes.
Or it may just be a bunch hot air. At any rate, thanks for taking one for the team. It could have been worse and hit Florida (me) as a major.