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Ace Sez #1 - (circa April 2003) VARIOUS THOUGHTS There is something about airplanes. The small ones. They are romping, snorting - some would say obsolete - beasts, true, but they fly. They rise up into the air on the first, halting step to out there. And Man is preoccupied with getting out there. Maybe it is a desire to visit the Almighty in His habitat; perhaps it is the unknown, the different, the difficult or unattainable. Metaphysicians might encourage us to seek our maker over there. No matter. Airplanes fly. Few become pilots; few become explorers - of whatever kind. Perhaps each race is granted just a few percentage points of nuts, freaks, creeps, weirdos - the Brits would say eccentrics. And many pilots look down as if to Lord it over the pedestrians below. I looked up. The only reason I didn’t go to Mars on my first solo was lack of air. Looking up was the most peaceful thing; looking down was downright scary. I did not want to pull the power off and descent, thank you very much. The ground is that way and, aside from being hard and not particularly inviting, that’s where all the folks that don’t understand flying in the first place are waiting to cause God knows what sorts of trouble. How in the world can we doubt that we are a spacefaring race, probably not native to this world? Yeah, I know, weirdo. On those long hauls - day or night - alone in the cockpit (and preferably the whole airplane), you could just as easily be between Orion and Vega as between Dayton and St. Louis. Technology; we need technology. [Bad words today with the death of NASDAQ] Put all your money on NASA or its successors and assigns. And piddling about our solar system is not the answer. We need to go out there. And, relatively quickly. I am not so concerned about nuclear war or even terminal pollution; I am concerned about terminal apathy. But airplanes fly. The little ones are attainable; flying is
attainable. Crank one up - that current strange blend of 1930’s engine, 1950’s
airframe, and 2000’s electronics - and aim it out there. And enjoy the
ride up. And be disappointed when you have to return to earth. And go again. |
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Ace Sez #2 - (27 Sep 2003) AVIATION AS WE KNOW IT. Columbia. I'll be the first to admit that I have followed the aftermath and panel studies of the tragedy only peripherally. Also, I have a tremendous amount of respect for NASA: I once had a career goal of working for the agency and, as has been said in these pages, the great hope of humanity is to get off of this planet as quickly as possible. Now, here comes the 'but . . .': can you imagine going and taking off even as a student pilot in a 152 without doing a pre-flight inspection of the thing? Especially if you suspect one of the dirt bikers who frequent your uncontrolled and unsecured field may have driven his Kawasaki four-wheeler into your leading edge one dark and stormy night. (Which is hard to do on a high-wing aircraft, but you know what I mean.) And here we go with a multi-million dollar space shuttle operating in one of the harshest environments known to man where we have reason to suspect damage. It boggles the mind. God rest the crew and bless the families. We must do better next time. Air Defense Airliners. As reported in a recent issue of Defense News, the Israelis - for sure - have quietly designed and built - and are almost surely installing - a missile defense system for commercial airliners. Other major contractors/countries are undoubtedly doing the same thing. Many business jets operating in the MidEast and Africa are also equipped. Now, any self-respecting terrorist is going to take that as a challenge in the name of Allah. Or whoever. And, the first time somebody pops a B-777 with a shoulder-fired antiaircraft missile, the whole world of aviation is going to change for the worse again. Not a pleasant thought for us little guys, either. Not exactly unknown, though. The Fed uses GA aircraft to spot stills in the Appalachian Mountains, and they occasionally come back with bullet holes in the wings. Whole different issue. GOING NOWHERE. Most growing, successful operations have almost fetish-like preoccupations with business and strategic planning. We are here; we want to go there; here is our plan and schedule and timeline. To one totally involved - and subscribed - to that concept, it is particularly frustrating to be involved in multiple endeavors over several fields that appear to be going nowhere . . . fast. And taking a whole lot of time and effort to do so. Is "cut and run" the answer? Maybe, but nobody likes to quit. How about setting priorities? Well, of course, that's part of it. So, what to do? Well, aviation tends to serve as a relaxation and perspective-clearer, so let's look at it from that vantage point. Are you always "going somewhere" in aviation? Are all your hours cross-country? Of course not: many are round-and-round training or local flights just for fun. Which could be said to be "going nowhere". Maybe sometimes the answer is to just relax and enjoy being and have fun and delay or deemphasize the stress associated with getting somewhere. Remember, indecision --- is the key to flexibility... WILBUR AND ORVILLE. Saw a bumper
sticker today: "God Bless Wilbur and Orville". Amen. Also, noted that the
U.S. Mint has issued three First Flight Centennial coins in gold, silver, and
cupro-nickel. The design juxtaposes the Flyer with an eagle in flight according
to the press release. Proof $10 gold coin is $375; proof silver dollar is
$37; proof half-dollar is $13.50. What's wrong with this picture?
Www.usmint.gov. |
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Ace Sez #3 - (1 Nov 03) AVIATION HUMOR In lieu of additional musings, ruminations, and philosophy, the following humorous bits, lifted unceremoniously from the ‘Net, are provided. After all, this is supposed to be a funny website, and I’ve gotten a few pointed comments . From my Friend Ken Valine (who stole it somewhere else) After every flight,
pilots fill out a form called a gripe sheet, which conveys to the mechanics
problems encountered with the aircraft during the flight that need repair or
correction. The mechanics read and correct the problem, and then respond in
writing on the lower half of the form what remedial action was taken, and the
pilot reviews the gripe sheets before the next flight. Never let it be said
that ground crews and engineers lack a sense of humor. Here are some actual
logged maintenance complaints and problems as submitted by Quantas pilots and
the solution recorded by maintenance engineers. By the way, Quantas is the only
major airline that has never had an accident.
P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement. S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground. P: Evidence of leak on
right main landing gear.
P: DME volume unbelievably loud. P: Number 3 engine
missing. Stay Tuned . . . More to Come.
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Ace Sez #4 - (30 July 05)
RICHARD COLLINS TO THE MINUS ONE
[Those of you who are pilots and engineers and read Flying Magazine know what I mean.]
Okay. I want to go to Oshkosh. Who doesn’t? This year would be my ninth trip in the years since I was introduced – and initiated – to the show (call it what you will this year) in 1991. And SpaceShipOne will be there and several of my customers and . . . and . . . as always.
And, to make matters better, a good friend and former Army combat pilot (now retired but with an early Eclipse delivery position – which puts him on the right hand of God) wants to go, too. And, even better, he wants to bring the incoming president of his company, a retired Air Force two star. And we are all going to EAA in my Piper Lance. Hoo-boy! I drive the plane; they get the rooms and rental car. Is my head big? Or what?
The first hint of possible problems arises about a week out when the aopa.org weather-guessers portray a slow-moving cold front heading into the area about the middle of show week. Big Canadian high for support behind it, big dome of the hottest weather yet this year (heat indexes of 110 and 200% humidity) in the South and East US for it to plow into. You know where this is going. Nowhere. True to form, on the Wednesday morning we were going, the thing established a more-or-less solid line of connected convective sigmets from West Texas to Northern Vermont, tops to 45K. At 5 a.m.! No decision there. Postpone until Thursday after which time the front will have had time to blow through with clearing behind. Right? See below.
Wednesday night the intestinal virus hits. I’ll spare you the details, but I couldn’t get out of the bed except to find the facilities. Not going to drive an aircraft Thursday. Never mind the front which has now gone occluded right over our home field. Well, no problem; these things usually last for about 12 hours (and two bottles of Pepto-Bismol), and the front will move along (South, I hope). We’ll go Friday. Uh-huh; Thursday night it gets worse. Called the doctor who has the same thing and no better idea than me about what to do except wait it out. Really heartbroken by now, I call the passengers; they go commercial and have a wonderful time. I see the light of day and start eating solid food again on Sunday. Damn! (Oh, by the way, the front more or less stayed in place for two days, not that it mattered much.)
Was there ever any thought about trying to buck that cold front? Absolutely not, and I gave the riders plenty of advanced warning about the impending almost certain delay. What do you do about medical problems, though? Easy; if you’re having to try to talk yourself into flying, don’t! No matter what you miss or who you disappoint. It ain’t worth it. That big ole two ton beast needs every bit of your care and supervision even in benign weather (not occluded fronts). And I don’t care if you do have 1500 hours in that plane.
And, finally, as I sipped on chicken soup and nibbled soda crackers on Friday – and felt more than a little sorry for myself, I did a little reviewing. Gee, it sure would be nice to have had that WX-10 StormScope fixed or a suitable replacement installed. Been meaning to do that. [After overcharging me to assess the needed repairs, L3 wanted 50% of the price of a new unit to repair the old one. Not nice people. Buy a StrikeFinder.] Just hadn’t gotten around to it. And, gosh, my instrument currency is close to running out (legal, but proficient? How often have you heard that?) Funny how busy you get starting and nurturing a consulting business. I hate to admit it – being Superman, and all – but maybe those insurance pukes with their skepticism of businessman owner/operator/pilots has a grain of truth.
Or maybe not. Anyhow, time to spend more time flying. And plan for Oshkosh 06! © Henry N. Oldham 30 Jul 05 |
