It may be hard to believe, but media coverage has a heart beat.  This predictable rise and fall in the media's interest in aviation is fed by large stories that resonate for a period of time.  One particularly interesting event can spike the interest of the media and for a week or two after they thoroughly cover any and every story to do with an airplane.

It works like this; the media gives aviation a normal amount of coverage when, suddenly, a terrible or scandalous story arises.  The media covers this story and now has a hightened sense in the aviation world.  For a while, usually a few weeks, the media will pick up on and over-dramatize any little story to do with aviation.

A prime example happened in just the past few weeks.  Two very similar airplane crashes occured, both in Georgia, both killed two people, and both made the news.  The difference is, one received only local coverage (plane crash in Athens, GA) and the other received national coverage, appearing on national morning shows and top news websites (Lawrenceville crash).  So why was one treated differently than the other?  Simple; one happened before a spike in the media's aviation pulse and the other afterward.

The spike in this case was caused by the Minneapolis incident where the two pilots missed their destination by 150 miles.  All three incidents were unfortunate and it's a tragedy that 4 lives were lost, but this is a clear example of this coverage phenomenon.

The consequence of these ups and downs often hurt aviation.  The super-sensitive senses of eager reporters after a big incident cause more and more negative stories to be published.  People begin thinking that, because they're reading about more and more incidents, aviation is suddenly really dangerous and that planes are crashing alarmingly more frequently.  This is, of course, not true, but it's easy to see why someone would think that.

That's just the beast that is media.  Aviation isn't the only topic that this happens with and there's really no way to stop it.  We just have to let it be known that more news coverage doesn't mean the aviation world has suddenly become very dangerous and that planes are crashing more often.  The truth is, the incidents are happening with the normal frequency, the media is just making a bigger deal of them.

I'm not feeling all that well today.  In fact, I'm writing this from my favorite chair at home amid a sea of tissues and self-pitty.  All this got me thinking about an often forgotten checklist that could save a lot of pilots a good deal of trouble.  I'm talking, of course, about the PAVE checklist.

Pilot    

Aircraft

enVironment

                External Pressures

This check list is actually a parent check list for the many other list we use as pilots.  For example, everyone goes through pre-flight checks and maintenance records checks to make sure the plane is fit to fly.  That would fit under the Aircraft section.  We also do the weather routine, calling flight services and gathering weather data for the flight, which would fall into the enVironment section.

While we have those areas down, the other two aren't always looked at with the same seriousness or weight.  As I mentioned, I'm sick (all pitty is readily accepted).  Because I'm sick, I'm in no shape to jump behind the yoke and go flying.  This all falls under the Pilot section of the PAVE checklist.

Other things that fall under the Pilot section include mentality (are you in the right frame of mind), experience (do you think you're experienced enough to make this long/tough a trip?), and recency requirements (have you performed the required # of landings within the 90 day time frame, ect.).

External pressures are factors that 'push' you to complete a flight.  You have to get the kids home for church tomorrow, you'll lose your hotel reservations, canceling might be embarrassing.  The trick here is to forget about these factors.  It's hard to do, but when you make the decision, act as if it's a training flight and your instructor is there.  Base any decisions purely on the available information and your training and deal with lost reservations and missed days at work and school later.

So, remember your PAVE checklist and stay safe.  I'm going to eat some chicken noodle soup.

I've always been very interested in aerobatic flight and hope to, one day, dabble in the sport myself.  That's why I was excited to be able to visit the Bear Creek Boogie at Tara Field Saturday.  Rain and low ceilings had canceled events that Friday, but I hoped to see a bit of flying.

Saturday rolled around; no go.  Ceilings were around 2,600 and, as Tim explained, we needed about 12,000 for the competition.  I'm a fairly patient guy, so we toured the airport with the slight hope that the skies would clear up.  Just beyond the hangars, right before you get to the taxiways and ramp, Tim pointed out something I didn't even know existed; the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation and Flying Museum.

That's right, a museum.  Though the building's appearance wouldn't suggest it, the herd of Vietnam era hueys and Cobras visible in the hangar's door suggested something very interesting.  I, of course, checked it out.  The museum restores and displays military aircraft of all kinds.  The displays aren't very formal; just helicopters sitting in a hangar, but that's really the best way to view these wonderful aircraft.

This rotorless chopper is the only outward sign of the museum's presence.

The impressive helicopters were a treat within themselves, but our impromptu tour guide took us through a small door into a room where my jaw immediately dropped to the floor.  In front of me, tucked away in a closed hangar full of boxes and spare parts sat six glossy yellow and black Cobra attack helicopters in immaculate condition.

 

He explained that these six were the Army Cobra display team.  Thinking back, I remembered seeing this display team perform in Warner Robins at the Air Force bases's air show.  They were the very same helicopters!  Who knew all of this was tucked away on Tara Field?

I fully intend to revisit this little hangar in the future and talk to some of the people that maintain the helicopters.  I hear some of them flew these helicopters in Vietnam and one even has the exact helicopter he flew sitting in the hangar (below).

Friday, the IAC Chapter 3's BearCreek Boogie 'hurried up and waited', as Tim put it, due to rain.  Naturally, the small group of aerobatic pilots made the best of it regrouping today and grilling out while they waited for the ceiling to rise.  As Marty explained to me, they need about 4,000 ft ceilings to compete and the ceilings were roughly 2,600 when I arrived.

I introduced myself and talked to a few of the pilots as they ate.  I've said before, and it proves itself over and over that people in aviation are the nicest people you'll ever meet.  Where else can I walk in completely unannounced, not knowing anyone and fit right in?

Soon, Tim had us at the flight line where the competitors had their planes all lined up and ready to go.  I've never met a plane I didn't fall in love with and this was no different.  As we toured the line of high-performance Pitts and Extras, Tim told me a little about his training and about some of the judges and pilots that were hoping to fly today.  Apparently, the show we were missing was amazing.

On the way back to the hangar, I found a museum that I didn't even know existed.  The Army Aviation Heritage Foundation and Flying Museum is hidden between two sets of hangars.  This gem houses the Army's Cobra chopper demonstration team as well as a collection of Vietnam-era Hueys and attack choppers.  I'll have more on that later along with more pictures of the demonstration cobras.

I'll keep my ear to the ground and have the final say on the IAC competition Monday morning.  Check back!

In general, it was a great trip to an airport I'd never been to before.

"Air controllers and officials were left clueless when a NorthWest Airlines flight from San Diego to Minneapolis could not be contacted for more than an hour.  The plane continued and overshot their destination by 150 miles which understandably sparked a hijack alert."  You can read the rest here.

There's a huge stir in the airline world today after two pilots claimed their argument caused them to overshoot Minneapolis by 150 miles.  Both Delta (they own NorthWest for whom the pilots were flying) and the NTSB have launched an investigation that is sure to tell us all.


Some believe the evidence will show that the two pilots were sleeping; similar to when two Mesa Airlines pilots overshot Hawaii when both fell asleep.  Personally, I believe the pilots.  Not because they're fellow pilots, but because they're fellow human beings and deserve at least that much respect.  If they say they fell asleep, they fell asleep.  The evidence will have to prove otherwise.


I've been surprised by an airfield or two in my day, but never overshot by 150 miles.  It's like the difference in bumping the concrete stopper while you park and driving to the next town; easy to do one by mistake, hard to do the other.  You get so caught up in dealing with radio work and navigation that you spot the airport five or six miles out and realize you're too high; easily remedied.  


These two pilots, however, had to be neglecting both the radios and their navigational equipment.  It's hard to imagine both highly trained pilots could completely lose situational awareness over an argument about company policy.

You've probably noticed by now that I do a good deal of flying in and around the Athens/Winder area.  I was shocked to see that this morning a vintage plane went down after taking off from Athens Benn Epps.  You can view the story here.

Unfortunately, the two aboard did not survive when the plane fell in the back yard of a home approximately 1 mile from the airport.  The plane was a Japanese light communications plane from the late '50s and was said to be an exhibition aircraft for airshows.

I don't like speculating about incidents, so we'll have to wait and see what the cause of this unfortunate incident was.  With it going down just a mile from the airport after takeoff, I'm guessing it was something drastic and happened suddenly.

The NTSB investigation will show for sure.

The recent news at Atlanta's Hartfield Jackson is centered around a Delta flight landing on a taxiway instead of the runway.  Apparently, the flight from Rio de Janeiro was cleared to land 27R but landed on the paralleling taxiway M instead.  The crew reported they had a medical situation on board at the time, but the FAA's Kathleen Burgen points out that even then they should have landed on the runway.

Luckily, the taxiway was empty at the time and no one was hurt.  Had it been occupied, we might be discussing a much larger catastrophe right now.  This potential is what makes these things imperative; a pilot should always know exactly where the runway is and that he/she is approaching to land at the right one.  On the other hand, at such a large airport, especially with the large taxiways Atlanta has, I can see where a pilot could slip up; however unacceptable it is.

Fortunately, I've never had this problem.  The airports I fly out of are designed in a way that leaves no question as to which bit of asphalt is the runway.  At night, it's even harder to mix them up.  Runway lights are white; taxiway lights are blue (although at smaller/older airports they sometimes look more green).

You'll remember when I spoke of the letter that two representatives were sending to the President.  In it, they urged him not to push for user fees in his next budget.  They spoke of many reasons including inefficiency in collecting the money and the fact that user fees had already been rejected.

I tried to contact my representative, but it turns out I'm not important enough, so...  Either way, the letter has made it's mark.  118 representatives signed the letter according to the AOPA on Tuesday's news release.  Maybe that will send a clear message.

So I went and got my hair cut.  I was long past due for one and felt like a shaggy bum the whole weekend, but finally went and took the time.  Now, I'm not one of those guys that has a favorite barber I go to religiously; I just kind of float around to whomever's shop I'm closest to at the time.  This time, I ended up at a place called "Sisters Sisters"; don't laugh, they do men's hair too.

Here's where the link to this blog comes in.  We got to talking like everyone does and got on the subject of what I do.  When I explained, she told me that she had started taking flight lessons right before her son was born but hadn't finished.  Being the ever-vigilant ambassador of aviation, I encouraged her to pick it back up and get her certificate.

I'm not sure I was convincing enough, but it's a start.  I'm also very persistant, so I'll be going back there next time I need a haircut.  Potential fellow aviator or just a very good saleswoman: I'm not sure, but we'll see.  Every addition to the aviation family helps.

I've recently had my attention directed to a pair of life-long friends on an amazing journey throughout Orlando.  The concept struck me as strange at first, but soon I found myself reading along about their adventures and experiences in the Sun State.

The inseparable pair, Kyle Post and Stacey Doornbos, were the winners of a wide search for Orlando's Smile Ambassadors.  As ambassadors, the two were sent on a 67 day saga to experience over 100 of Orlando's many attractions.  During this "67 Days of Smiles" the pair have shared their experience through social media outlets; you can follow them on Twitter, watch some of their adventures on Youtube, and even win prizes by visiting their fan page on Facebook.

Naturally, I'm more apt to point out aviation related aspects of any story and this is no different.  The ambassadors  have experienced some attractions any of us aviators would drool over.  I've been to Florida many times, Orlando a few times and I've never had the pleasure of visiting either attraction.

Fantasy of Flight

(Photo: Orlando CVB)

The Fantasy of Flight is an interactive museum great for all ages.  You can visit the blog here to read all about their day.  

Warbirds

(Photo: Orlando CVB)

Who doesn't want to fly an old Warbird?  Kyle and Stacey got the honor at Warbird Adventures.  They strapped into two T-6 Texans and set out on the flight of a lifetime.  Both had a great time; you can read their reaction here as well as watch a video.

It takes a good creative mind to make a parody song that actually works and these guys hit the nail on the head.  The wimsical, yet very well written, song takes Nickelback's "Rock Star" and turns it into a helicopter tribute song.  By the way, how'd they come up with that name, Nickelback? Quarterback, Dimeback, Nickelback, Pennyback.

On the subject of helicopters, I've always had a strange perspective on the whirly-birds.  I'd love to learn to fly them, but I think most of them are ugly.  Certain ones are gorgeous (the Huey, any of the MD models) but the training ones are grotesque.

We've all read by now (and I've written twice) about the six year old and his family who believed him to be stuck in a helium filled balloon 8,000 ft. in the air.

The poor kid may never live down the nick name Balloon Boy.  What's more, it's now believed that the whole incident was orchestrated as a publicity stunt.  During a live interview last night the six year old looked at his parents and said "You guys said that... we did this for the show."

Naturally, I'm appalled.  I, along with many across America, saw this story and immediately feared the worst and took pity on the family.  To learn it was likely a stunt to garner attention for a reality show is akin to a slap in the face.  The first sign was when some reported that the family called news stations before they called emergency services.  At the time, I figured it to be rumor, but now it's a very telling sign.  That along with the interview below paints a pretty convincing picture.

Yet another clueless group fires at Aviation.  A study released by Subsidyscope recently has revealed the ignorance of the people involved.  Their study said that from 2005 to 2009 more than $2 billion was spent at over 3,100 airports on 'low priority' projects.  It went on to mention how some projects were funded at airports who had as few as one paying passenger per year.  'Cause you know, airports are only for passengers; emergency services, businesses, mail delivery and political organizations don't use those same airports at all.  That was sarcasm... I think.

You can read more on it here.  It's fascinating how little the non-aviation world knows about our side of things or how much small aviation does for them.  It's even more astounding how quick they are to prove their ignorance and publish useless and misguided studies.  All we can do is continue to try and educate the public and weather these outrageous 'studies'.

Being a relatively newish aviation writer, I'm still amazed at what the line "I write for blah blah blah" can do.  Sometimes, it gets me something I'd never get otherwise: a free ride in a plane, behind the scenes tour, a friendship.  On the other hand, it can quickly shut doors for you.

I'm not exactly sure why, but some in aviation view any member of the media as an enemy: a snake only slightly above an FAA inspector and someone to be watched.  Yes, I know, some in journalism are exactly that.  I, however, am an 'Aviation Writer'.  In other words, that means I have aviation's interest at heart and would never do anything to jeopardize that.

That, however, is precisely why almost no one at my home airport know what I do.  I'm not sure my favorite CFI even knows I write.  It's not that I hide the fact, but I don't broadcast it either.  It wouldn't get me far; they've known me since before I ever wrote anything for money and they witnessed my training.  I'd probably get a few "they actually pay you for that" and one or two "did you tell them about the time you [insert newbie mistake here]".  My worst fear is that it would make some hesitate to talk to me.  Not that I unjustly or unfairly take what they say and use it -- never have -- I've just witnessed that happening before.

No doubt many of you have heard of the letter and the movement to get representatives to sign it.  The letter urges the President to not propose user fees in his 2011 budget.  The fees were axed from the FAA reauthorization bill earlier this year, but we face them again in 2011.  I'm going to attempt to talk to Representative Paul Broun about the issue tomorrow (got the info too late today).  I'll report back as soon as I can.

Naturally I find it nerve-racking talking to politicians (though I'm skeptical about the chances of actually getting to talk to anyone), so I'm doing my homework.  So-far, there are many reasons user fees don't make sense.

• Administrative cost for the program would render it inefficient.  You'd have to pay people to collect the money and people to track the money and people to make sure everyone's paying the money and people to manage all the people.  Will the fees cover all of these peoples' salaries?
• The fees have already been rejected repeatedly by congress.  Another push for it and debate on the issue would only delay progress on more important issues.
• I've seen very few people mention the safety point of view.  If there's a fee for calling up ATC, some pilots will be less likely to use them.  If you're charged for filing a flight plan, some might hesitate and decide it's not worth it.

I'm finding more arguments as I go.  The airlines fully support the idea and, in some opinions, believe the fees will give them a degree of leverage in deciding how the air system is run.  As a General Aviation pilot, that 's a little frightening.

Anyway, we'll see.

Who knew it would take that long to put a little cellphone video on youtube?  Well, here's what I got.  Credit for the video has to  to Miles Hardy (my sister's fiance and a friend).  Sorry about the quality; I'm still kicking myself for forgetting the camera.

And...

A reader of my other work here, recently sent me an email asking what a checkride was like.  He said he was about halfway through training, but wanted to know what to expect.  Remembering back to my checkride, I still find it odd how I didn't know exactly what to expect going in to the room with the examiner.  Sure, I'd asked my instructor, but he'd always include the tag-lines "of course, that was my examiner, every one does it a little differently" and "that was years ago, too".  All I could do was tell him what my checkride was like.  I told him it'd be best to find someone that'd taken theirs with the examiner he intended to use and question them.  The guy who works the desk at the flight school I frequent had taken his with the same guy and he helped a lot.

The concept; tell your story to as many students that will listen.  Not only will they learn what lays ahead, it may soften the fears and nervousness one experiences when going into a checkride.  The aviation community is one that relies on the passing of skills, traditions, and stories.  If we intend to grow, we need to spread our ideas and passion; after all, who doesn't like telling their aviation stories?

The air show was amazing.  Simply put, it was better than anything I've ever been to here in GA.  Let's start at the beginning.

We arrived late.  I was traveling with my brother, his wife (something about them having a baby now makes them very slow at stuff??) and a friend.  Thankfully, my brother's a cop and inherently drives at Mach 0.9 and we weren't too late.  Just as we walked through the gate, we were audience to a yellow cub landing on top of a truck; something I've always wanted to see in person check.  That's about when I realized I'd forgotten my camera, sorry.

Soon we were watching the Navy's SuperHornet Demonstration Team.  I've seen F-18s flying before, but I'm always amazed.  I try to imagine being an enemy of the U.S., having never seen anything like that, and what it would feel like having one roaring over head; I wouldn't be an enemy for long.  Something I've never seen in person was when the team flirted with the sound barrier during a few fly-by's.  Everyone's seen pictures of the white halo around a jet breaking the sound barrier, but it's breath-taking watching it in person.

After that, a plethora of the usual performances entertained the crowd as I weaved in and out of the many aircraft on the ground.  There was a small, but impressive, Diamond Aircraft display.  To the far left of the field, a C130 and two training jets were displayed.  I would have walked through the C130, but I've already been in plenty and there's not much to see; plus, there was a huge line.  There were miniature jets that you could sit your small child in and take pictures; thought that was cool, but we didn't bring my nephew for obvious audio-related reasons.

Last, but certainly not least, the Harrier Demonstration began.  Unfortunately, the Vertical Takeoff ability of the craft couldn't be shown in fear that it would damage the runway below.  They did, however, take off in what looked to be less than 100 ft; impressive for any plane.  They then demonstrated the craft's ability to hover in any direction: even backwards!  I've never seen anything like it in my life.  The jet moved with a degree of grace as it reached zero-forward movement and began hovering in all directions.

I'll definitely be attending next year's event, but I'm hoping I can talk my way into a few things before then.  I have one year to convince someone to let me ride with them during a performance... we'll see.

I'll have video from my phone, later; check back!

Yeah, I thought the same thing; missing wheel on a plane.  This, however, isn't about an incident.  I read CFI's explanation of how the landing process in a tricycle-geared plane works.  It was meant for pre-solo students, but it was the best explanation I'd ever read and it all clicked when it stated "You really only have two landing gear; the front wheel is only there to keep the propeller from hitting the ground."

I grinned at reading this.  It was a good way to encourage proper landing technique and I'm sure trainees reading this won't ever forget that saying when they set up to land.  I was instructed in a slightly different manner.  My first ever CFI, Eric, told me that you landed on the two mains and not the front because the front was weaker and would break off.  Talk about scaring a new-comer to landing planes.  I tried my best every time to keep the front wheel off the ground thinking any little mistake during landing would rip it off and send me nose-first into the runway.

Of course, I soon got over this and realized that the front gear wasn't as fragile as I'd thought.  This revelation came to me as I waited in the hangar one day for the plane to return for our lesson.  I was about 10 minutes early, so I watched the end of the previous student's lesson.  He was doing fine; nice takeoff, tight pattern, then... a not-so-smooth landing.  The little plane didn't flare at all; it just descended right onto the runway on all three gear then bounced into the air and repeated it's previous 'wollop' onto the ground.  It did this three times before, I assume, the instructor grabbed the controls and they went around.

Now, I'm not judging anyone else's landings.  I've had my share of bad ones -- though I've never porpoised quite like that -- and I'm sure they've looked just as bad.  My point is, I'd never seen a rough landing from outside the plane before.  I realized, watching this and talking to the instructor afterwards, that these little trainers are made out of some tough stuff.  My occasional vibrating front gear as I set it down too early was nothing compared to the hard landings it's suffered.

That doesn't mean I can go and land flat every time, but it does give me confidence that, if I mess up, I don't have to worry about nose-diving into the runway.

I'm excited.  This will be my first ever time at the Great Georgia Airshow.  The last event this size I attended was at Warner Robbins AFB earlier this year and I'm thinking the GGA is going to be a little bigger.  I was hoping to attend the Media Day at the practice tomorrow, but I also wanted to take some friends and family to the show Sunday; it's a long way to Peachtree City, so I'll only be able to go Sunday.

The thought to take video while I was there crept into my head.  If I do, I'll show it on here; not even sure they'll let me, but it's worth a try.

I've never seen a Harrier fly; it should be pretty cool.

No, I don't mean a flight after having one too many $100 burgers; I'm talking about flying at max gross weight. This is an old post I wrote not long after I got my license when I took a C172 for a flight loaded to the guilles. Now, this isn't a very big challenge for the competent, prepared pilot, but I wanted to share my experience.

The day started nicely and I felt the urge to hit the runways and take advantage of the wonderful weather. A friend of mine hadn't been up since he was a little kid and he happened to be free, so I called him and plans were set for us to go wheels up at 2 o'clock. As is normal, the flight began to take shape in my mind as soon as I knew we were going.

I remembered my friend happened to be a big fella, so I off-handedly asked him his weight. "No prob, just want to be able to show Jim the weight and balance if he asks", I ended the conversation. Jim had been my CFI and was sure to be at the airport, but he wouldn't ask for my weight and balance; I had better reasons for asking. I decided against letting him know that a quick calculation in my head had me thinking our plane might be out of the CG envelope. As PIC, it was my problem and I would deal with it.

POH in hand, I did the exact calculations. We were in weight (with reduced fuel), yet we were out of CG limits by a hair. Some pilots faced with this situation assume it'll all be fine; some have paid the ultimate price for those assumptions. I, as I had been taught, took another look. If the CG is forward of the forward limit (as it was in my initial calcs), the plane's nose would be heavy and I'd have trouble rotating on takeoff as well as flaring on the landing. This is where a little ingenuity came into hand. After several hand-scratched calculations, I discovered that if I sacrificed 25 lbs of fuel and added something that weighed 25 lbs to the aft baggage compartment, we were comfortably within the load/moment envelope.

I quickly loaded my flight bag with every aviation book I had and ran to the bathroom scale. 14.5 lbs, it read; I added two 5 lb weights from my room and we were off.

I non-chalantly slipped the bag in the aft compartment. My friend never knew; a courtesy any good pilot would have thought of. We took off and I was thrown into another thrilling flight. It was a hot day so my climb rate was dismal. It was the first time I'd been up with someone who wasn't use to flying, so I stayed in the pattern and landed again to "warm up a little"; code for "give you a small taste so if you get sick or scared I'm not stuck in the air with you for more than a few minutes". He looked fine and we were off.

I got engrossed in giving a tour of the area pointing west "There's Stone Mountain and over there's Atlanta". At the same time, I was noticing the subtle differences in my old friend (the plane, not the passenger) as we flew. It wasn't the first time I'd flown at max gross; in fact, I flew the cross-country to the airport where I was to take my checkride at max gross. I just wasn't used to it and, always looking to grow as a pilot, wanted to get to know max gross a little better. The main differences had been, as I expected, in taxiing, takeoff roll, approach and landing.

As I headed towards Lake Lanier for a scenic stretch, I noticed my passenger had suddenly developed motion sickness and I eased back to the airport. I surprised myself with both my piloting and people skills. It was amazing. I anticipated the extra pull in the flare I thought I needed (though in the load envelope, the CG was more forward) and I greased it; easing my passenger's stomache and ending a wonderfully educational flight.

I felt bad for my friend, he'd had fun but he was slightly green. As we sat at the airport waiting for him to regain composure, I felt more confident and capable as a pilot. I had started the flight confident that I could handle it or I'd never have gone, but pulling it off so neatly and smoothly -- with the known problems and the ones that surprised me -- added to my confidence.

I remember that day well.  It was one of the first times in my life as a pilot that I'd felt the pride and confidence of having taken on a challenge and over-come it.

Coastal Washington authorities are, once again, investigating an aircraft theft and crash this week.  The plane was stolen on Tuesday and then found in a logged area in route to Camano Island.  It had suffered a very hard but survivable landing.  The craft was discovered after a burglary complaint was called in from a near-by house whose owners reported only their passports, a blanket, and some food were missing.

Authorities believe the crime fits the profile of a teenager, Colton Harris-Moore, who has previously stolen another C182 and a Cirrus SR22.  Both of those flights also ended in hard landing incidents.  The teen has no formal flight training but reportedly has learned his skills from the internet; good enough only to get the plane in the air and not down again, obviously.

So what makes this teen sneak into airports and steal small airplanes?  Does he want to fly that bad or is it the thrill of the act that draws him to it?  Those are hard questions and ones that don't necessarily have to be answered to realize this kid is seriously troubled and needs help.  He obviously lacks a concern for his and others' safety; he has to to take a plane up without the training needed to safely fly it.

What's more, I don't see this ending in a good way.  If he's not detained soon, the next incident may not end so well.  He could crash the next plane in a fiery ball or be trapped somewhere with no one knowing.  He's also allegedly taken to carrying guns as on this latest adventure and that only leads to more trouble.

Aviation salvage operation, that is.  I've been wanting to go for quite some time now and I know of one in Griffin, GA.  I'd like to visit the boneyards out West, but a visit to our smaller version will have to do for now.  I'm hoping to get a small tour of the place and ask a few questions; the email response on that hasn't come back, yet.

The whole process is very interesting to me; how it works and who all is involved.  It's kind of like the circle of life-- minus the whole emotional part.  Seemingly every part of a plane that isn't completely destroyed in an incident gets refurbished and sold.  I'll know more about it soon, hopefully.

I have a hidden agenda as well [cue mysterious music].  I'm looking to obtain an aircraft seat of some sort.  I'm cheap, so I'm hitting the salvage yards first; I'd rather not spend more than $200.

I found this weekend-- to my great surprise and glee -- that this blog has been featured on AllTop.com.  You can find us under the 'Aviationhttp://aviation.alltop.com/' category somewhere near the bottom (getting in at all was a feat, the bottom's good enough for me).

Left of Center Line and all my blubbering posts can be found on the same page with the likes of Max Trescott, Paul (ask a CFI), Runway Girl and the charming Canadian pilot from Cockpit Conversation
.

It's true.  I was told by a passenger the other day that I looked angry when we were landing.  I suspect it has something to do with my level of concentration.  You can be sure I'm not angry; in fact, I'm having fun but I just happen to look like I'm angry at something when I'm concentrating hard.

Anyway, the video below is of me a few months ago doing touch and go's --or is it touch and goes?-- at my favorite airport.  In it, you can see my 'I'm mad but not really' concentration face.  Also, due to some excellent camera work by my favorite CFI Jim, it's pretty cool to watch the landings.  It's a different view that you don't get to see as a pilot-- being busy and all -- and it's exciting.  Sorry about the sound; I attempted to put a little AC/DC in it but youtube didn't like that at all.

I just got an email from AOPA president Craig Fuller; okay, so it was a mass email that everyone got.  Anyway, it talked of the turbulence that GA has suffered the past month.  It can all be summarized in a few statements.

• Hudson River Corridor debate - A tragic incident sparked a whirl-wind of investigations, committees and 'new plans' to make the corridor safe.  A great deal of it can be attributed to politicians' abilities to latch onto an issue and milk it for all it's worth.
• USA Today's Article - A very slanted and disgustingly misinforming article was published about federal money being spent at public airports.  Both AOPA representatives and congressman interviewed by USA Today stated their comments were severely edited and put in the wrong context.

As Mr. Fuller said, we survived and even slightly benefited in a way.  The attacks on GA have served to bring together industry partners and boost the GA Serves America campaign.  Our cries were heard on the hill and the Senate formed a GA Caucus that will work to promote aviation.

I find most surprising the reaction of the public after the USA Today debacle.  This is the first time in quite a long while when I've seen Aviation come out on top.  It's the first time after a situation such as this where people looked at the article and recognized it for what it was: a slanted attack. Instead of believing every word and grabbing their pitchforks, they listened to what knowledgeable parties had to say about the subject before forming their opinions.

I've always harbored a dis-like of the way media covers aviation related issues.  Most of the time, they haven't the slightest idea what they're talking about.  Their haste to be the first usually ends up causing bad information to be published.  It's amusing to find an error (such as a mis-named plane) and see how many articles contain the same error; they clearly got their info from the same wrong news release or unknowing reporter.

In the end, I advise everyone to look to aviation news outlets when they want to read the facts.  Sites like AvWeb.com and my own section of Examiner.com are always a good reliable place to start.

Yeah, I know every pilot says that, but I truly don't.  I got a text message today from my CFI asking when I was going to come back up there.  Work and family take over during the week.  I try to fly every weekend, but things seem to always get in the way. For the past few weekends, they've been successful in keeping me on the ground.  I like staying proficient and feel better when I have at least five or so hours a month, but it doesn't always work that way.

On the other hand, I don't think I'd enjoy flying every day all day; that's why I didn't follow the path of Commercial Pilot.  I like to separate the things I do for fun and the things I do for funds.  Combining the two occasionally can be amazing, but mostly, it just messes up one or both.  I'm thinking of going on a cross-country.  Problem is, I'm not sure where I'd go or what I'd do.  To the mountains to get away or to the beaches for a little relaxation?  It's growing colder, I'm not sure the beach would be a good idea.