My Grumman Tiger: First row! GA Parking, Airventure 2011, Oshkosh
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Aviation | Tagged: Airventure 2011, Aviation, B-29, Grumman Tiger, Mustang, Oshkosh, P-51, warbirds | 
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Posted by brianflys
Hi gang. Thursday night, July 28, 2011, aviation podcasters from around the world met at Airventure 2011 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin for Podapalooza 2011! Along with the audio and video podcasters there were fans and general hangers-on (hangars-on?) like me! The event was simulcast by LiveATC.com for podcast fans around the world and the Twitter stream was alive with comments!
The event was graciously hosted by Sennheiser at their very well-appointed tent. Below are a few photos from the event.
Sennheiser was the host location for this evening event. Nice digs, and lots of people!
Airventure is about new and old friends. Met and reaquainted with many, like Milford Shirley of “FlightTime Radio” (red shirt with the devilish smirk) and Grant and Steve from “Plane Crazy Down Under” ( wearing black shirts left of Milford, they’re Australian, mate). So many good people, but too many names to remember, and I blame it all on the Jeremiah Weed (whiskey) samples being passed around…
The party got so rowdy, the cops came. Ok, it wasn’t the real cops. It was a prop car announcing Da Blooze Bros, performing at the Ford stage at Airventure. Cool car, and dig the HUGE speaker on top. A hit!
I’m sure each of the podcasters will have their own stories and pictures to post, but I wanted to get something out there as well.
Thanks for the invite!!
Leave a Comment » | Aviation | Tagged: 2011, Airventure, Aviation, FlightTime Radio, Oshkosh, Plane Crazy Down Under, Podapalooza | Permalink
Posted by brianflys
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Posted by brianflys
Ok, I’ve been pretty darn busy. But I’m still flying and still shooting cool aerial photos. Here is a shot from last weekend, of the Chula Vista Marina in south San Diego Bay. Pretty day to fly, particularly down the VFR corridor through the bay.
Fall weekend day at Chula Vista Marina
Every time I fire up the engine, I remember why I fly…
Cheers!
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Posted by brianflys
Flew home this afternoon from San Carlos (SQL), and picked up my IFR clearance which surprised me with its complexity and mix of IFR and VFR items. The airport is located south of SFO, but it’s a pretty small airport with not much traffic, so I expected a pretty simple clearance with vectors to one of the nearby airways or VORs. Weather was clear with some haze, so I guess that’s why they mixed in the VFR bits.
My notes:
SEE RWHD DIWTR H120 2MI V OSI V25 SNS V137 AVE FIL VFR 1100 TIL OAK 165 2/7/5 135.65 3204
Which means:
Cleared to Gillespie airport (KSEE), after departure fly runway heading until passing the diamond-shaped waterway, then fly heading 120 within 2 miles of the airport, vectors to Woodside VOR (OSI), then Victor 25 airway to Salinas (SNS), then Victor 137 airway to Avenal (AVE), then as filed. Maintain VFR altitude at or below 1100 feet until passing the Oakland (OAK) 165 radial, then maintain 2000 feet, expect 7000 feet five minutes after departure, departure frequency 135.65, squawk 3204.
The good news is I flew it without any SNAFUs. So much more fun than dealing with the airlines!!
Anyone else getting interesting or complicated clearances lately?
1 Comment | Aviation | Tagged: airplane, clearance, flying, IFR, pilot, SEE, SFO, SQL | Permalink
Posted by brianflys
USA Today’s lack of understanding regarding aviation has become another sensationalized story that does nothing other than scare the flying public. In this case, the headline is “Pilots in crashes had multiple failed tests“, and the story states that in most of the major regional airline accidents in the last 10 years, at least one of the pilots had not passed multiple of what USA Today simplistically calls “tests”.
This USA Today article makes no more sense than suggesting that because at least one pilot in each of these accidents was a male (a good bet considering airline pilot demographics), males are inherently unsafe pilots.
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Posted by brianflys
This post provides a user review and comparison of the Samsung Q1EX versus the Fujitsu P1610 UMPCs. This review focuses on the user interface and screen performance in an aircraft cockpit environment running the Anywhere Map Pro aviation GPS navigation software created and sold by Control Vision Corporation. This is not a formal review but rather my personal observations as an experienced user of the AWM Pro system on a variety of tablet PCs.
Fujitsu P1610 vs Samsung Q1EX
Why do this? When I read about Samsung’s release of the Q1EX, it looked to me like a great match for this software as well as sized to fit well in a small aircraft cockpit. I bought one as an ”upgrade” to my existing Fujitsu P1610. To test my decision, I (temporarily) loaded AWM Pro on both units and flew with them in my Grumman Tiger to get a good side-by-side comparison. Made sense to me to share the results with you.
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Posted by brianflys
Who isn’t spooked by the news that’s hitting us every day it seems. Layoffs, closings, business failures. Even Eclipse Aviation, one of the most successful makers of the very light jet (at least for awhile), now going Chapter 7. If you do still have a job, you keep your head down, try to stay focused, make sure you are bringing maximum value to your company (even when you ARE the company).
But guess what, there is an escape from all this madness, if even for a short while. Usually measured in tenths of an hour. Flying. Yes, flying. Proved it again this weekend. Once I strapped into the cockpit and fired up the engine, the rest of the world, the economy, politics, all melted away. I focused on the one job of pilot in command.
Even better, once you lift off and get some altitude, you really do get the sense of perspective. Took my 4 new cylinders (another story for another time) on a little tour of the low desert, building those hours at 65-75% power to really seat the rings. At 5,000 feet, you can see the beauty of the landscape, feel the sense of speed, and see how tiny the human presence is on that open land. Just me and my plane, with the engine playing its smooth drone, and Jimmy Buffett playing through the intercom. The rest of life could wait for that couple of hours. I had that priceless perch to see the rest of the planet, truely above all the issues of the day.
Some call this “boring holes through the sky.” But to me it’s a vertical vacation, allows me to clear my head, soak up the view (and it is a great view, have you looked lately?).
So go flying. Make the time. Even if it’s only a short flight. Nice thing about our planes is they can quickly take you to a new landscape, a new view of your world. The rest of your life can wait a bit. You will return fresh, energized, even if a little lighter in the wallet!
This is the essence of being Hog Wild for Flying.
Cheers!
Leave a Comment » | Aviation | Tagged: economy, flying, Grumman, pilot, Tiger | Permalink
Posted by brianflys
This is the kind of mid-day trip only possible by General Aviation. As a Parrothead, I found it a perfect way to end 2008. Flew from San Diego to Margaritaville for lunch! That is, the Margaritaville Cafe in Glendale, Arizona, outside of Phoenix. Good way to spend a mild Southwestern winter day.
Ok, Jimmy Buffett wasn’t there that day. But the cafe played the live Radio Margaritaville feed from the internet as well as video from various cafes and concert venues across the world. And the place is laid out like a waterfront pier with booths created from fishing or dive boats. Good food too. I’ll be going back…
Cheers till next time!
1 Comment | Aviation | Tagged: Arizona, flying, general aviation, Glendale, Jimmy Buffett, Margaritaville, Parrothead, Phoenix, pilot, Radio Margaritaville | Permalink
Posted by brianflys
Ok, I am convinced that someone is feasting on bloated avgas prices. In a prior post, I noted the difference between the falling automobile/mogas prices compared to avgas prices that are stubbornly sticking near their all-time highs. Other folks are noticing this as well, as reported in “Air Time with Carol Legg“.
It has not gotten any better, in fact, it’s worse! The gap between avgas and mogas is wider than it has ever been. What is going on? Who are lining their pockets with avgas profits?
Where is AOPA?
This is a major flying cost issue for small GA operators. Every AOPA member should be emailing AOPA and asking them to get involved in getting control of avgas prices!
Proof? Topped off this week at KSEE after a local Southern California flight. Self-serve 100LL was $4.59 per gallon, only a few cents a gallon cheaper than a month ago ($4.77). Meanwhile, mogas is now widely selling for below $2.00 per gallon. So I am paying far more, on a percentage basis, for each gallon of avgas.
Checked with the 100LL.com fuel price search, and it still shows all of the airports in the area with avgas prices well over $4.00 per gallon. So there appears to be an organized effort to keep avgas high, at our expense.
Will I keep flying? Absolutely! But I’m going to keep watching avgas prices and KSEE will not seeing my business until prices come back to earth.
Leave a Comment » | Aviation | Tagged: AOPA, avgas, Aviation, gasoline, general aviation, pilot | Permalink
Posted by brianflys
