It’s been way too long since I have posted so I felt it was time for another update! Since my last post, I went on a couple of flights with friends. The first was with a friend and his girlfriend and the second was with another close friend and a classmate from my CTI school. The flights were nothing exciting but anytime I can get into a plane with good company, I’m a happy camper.
There is about 2 weeks left in my semester for CTI and it’s looking like I should be done by the end of this year. I have definitely learned a lot this semester that will help me as both a pilot and an air traffic controller. My navigation classes is much more advanced that the nav that was required for my PPL so I am happy about learning things that will make me a better pilot.
Since the last update I haven’t done much flying. I finally booked the plane last weekend but with winds gusting in excess of 30 knots I felt it would be better to put it off.
Things have been extremely busy between work and going back to school for CTI. So far it’s been a great experience, minus the 1-2 hour commute 3 times a week, but not only is it preparing me for a career in air traffic control but the courses are actually a great supplement to being a pilot. I am taking 4 courses right now including an aviation business class, a safety and medical factors course, a navigation course and an air traffic control environment course. Since I have a bachelors degree and my private pilot already, I was able to waive 2 classes and that will hopefully allow me to finish the program by the end of this year.
If you have any questions about the CTI program at Mt. SAC, feel free to email me or comment and I will try and answer questions to the best of my ability. I look forward to getting back in the air and filming it with my new Kodak HD camera. Until then, wish me luck on the ATC job and keep checking back for updates.
I must start by saying this past month has been a busy one and a sad one. On January 23, 2010 my grandfather lost his battle with cancer and passed away in Holland.
For those of you who have read through this blog or have visited the “About Me” page know that he was my inspiration. Without him, my passion for flying would have never existed and the happiness he brought to those around him will be missed dearly. He was my number one reader and it’s been tough to motivate myself to post knowing that he wouldn’t be able to read it. One thing I know is that he would have wanted me to continue flying and continue writing so that is one thing I will do.
I love and miss you grandpa and I will always think of you when I am flying through the skies. Thank you for being there for me when I needed you, an inspiration and a role model.
I have also done a lot of flying in the past month and have taken a lot of video. I think it’s important for pilots to record their flights for 2 reasons. The first is that it’s always a good idea to chronicle flights for the memories alone. Flying is something that is a rare gift that most people can’t do. A pilot should take pride in their flights and create an irreplaceable keepsake. The second reason pilots should record their flights is to analyze their technique (this is especially important for landings). I finally realized the importance of this and invested in a hand held, high definition camera that I could put in my flight bag. This should work out much better than using the iPhone and I’m looking forward to take it on my next flight. You can check out the Kodak Zi8 HERE.
This first video is a landing from my flight mentioned in my previous post where I took a couple of friends from college to Camarillo for lunch. At touch down, you can hear my friend say “that was smooth!”. It’s always nice to hear a compliment from a passenger.
This video is a landing at Santa Barbara in a 22 knot wind. This video is a great example of why I like to research my own landings to find out what I’m doing wrong. My approach was decent and the landing was fine but the wind tipped the plane a bit on the roll out. I have also included a ton of pictures from this beautiful flight.
This next video is a landing on runway 34L on our return to Van Nuys. The winds were gusting to to 17 knots and I was worried about a rough landing. Once again, my passenger made the comment “wind schmind” to let me know that the wind was no factor in our landing. On top of that, when I updated my page in my logbook that evening, I came to realize it was my 200th landing! I was very excited about that.
This last video is a take off from 34L at Van Nuys a couple of days later in similar wind conditions. My passenger was actually someone who came across this site and contacted me about starting his own flight training. I was happy to take him and his fiancé up for a while even though the bumpiness was not ideal.
I will try and keep up with this site and get some more video up with better quality. Be sure to download my podcast on iTunes, The Landing Gear.
Also, I will be starting the CTI program in order to become and air traffic controller so wish me luck and I will keep you posted!
It’s been a long time since I posted but I must say that doesn’t mean I have stopped flying. In fact last weekend I took a couple of college friends to CMA for lunch and they had a blast.
I think the biggest story of this update is that I actually had a chance to go up with my girlfriend. For those that don’t remember, she is absolutely terrified of flying GA and commercially. I really thought I’d never get her to go. We were both on vacation from work and school and the wind was completely calm. She told me to book the plane and that she would go up with me.
Before we got in the plane, she started having doubts. Her nerves got the best of her and she was hesitant. After taking some time and some deep breathes, she got in the plane and decided it was now or never.
To make a long story short, I kept the plane calm and the wind was a tremendous help in doing so. She ended up having a great time and I may actually be able to take her on future flights! It makes me happy that I was able to ease her into the right seat and get her to enjoy something that I am so passionate about. It’s always nice when a loved one can take part in your treasured activities.
Anyways, here is video of our little trip. Turn down your volume since the video starts kind of loud. I will fix that when I get a chance. And again, sorry for the aspect ration but it was filmed on an iPhone in vertical mode.
Well I finally got a chance to fly after nearly a month of not flying. A friend of mine (who is also training to get his PPL) and myself flew over to Camarillo for lunch. We took some video of the take off and landing at Van Nuys which is posted below. It was a bit haze but the weather conditions were pretty calm. I am hoping to fly again in the next week or so and will post again when I do. Please subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already and I hope the many that are subscribed are enjoying it.
Just a couple of quick updates. Since my last post, the podcast has picked up in traffic! It has been a couple of weeks since I published one so if you subscribe, be patient because I will be keeping it up. I also received my permanent certificate in the mail. Since I filed the paperwork on actual paper instead of the online method, it took quite a while but my days of being disappointed when checking the mail are over.
Also, I flew with a friend and my CFI to get checked out to Catalina Island. I have to admit, flying through the LAX class bravo was not as exciting as I thought it was going to be but Catalina was one of the most unique places to fly so far. For those that don’t know, it is basically a runway on top of a mountain. If you are short in your landing, you can hit the side of the mountain, if you are long on your take off, you can fall off. Below is a video for the check out to Catalina. The landing is at the end and the glare may make it difficult to see. Also, you can get a great view of LAX from our passing through the bravo.
And just for the fun of it, while the fires were nearing an end out here in Southern California, I took a couple of friends to Camarillo and upon our arrival back at VNY, we saw the “Super Scoopers” departing. Below is some video of that. I was also fortunate enough to go with my father to Camarillo for lunch who was my first family member to fly with my since I became a private pilot.
So just a quick update with what I have been doing with my time lately. I recently started a general aviation podcast that goes over the week’s GA news. I have had a steady increase in subscribers so hopefully I can develop it some and keep it going. As of now there are 2…not so good episodes but as this is my first time doing a podcast please bare with me while I develop the feeling for it.
I will be reading emails on the show so if you have any good stories, passed a checkride recently or have any seggestions, please send them to daniel@angryweb.net. Thanks and I hope you support it!
So I finally went on my first flight as a Private Pilot! One of my buddies called and wanted to have lunch so I suggested we do that then go on a short flight since he had never been on a small aircraft before and seemed interested in doing so.
After work, I met him at the 94th Aero Squadron for lunch (a great place to eat off the runway regardless if you are into planes or not). After that we went over to my FBO and I prepped the plane for a trip to Oxnard. Oxnard is only about a 25 minute flight but it was about 20 degrees cooler than Van Nuys was.
I was concerned about the visibility due to the fires but our trip to the west was hardly affected. We took off with a right crosswind departure and followed the 101 straight to Oxnard. The whole trip I warned my friend that we might have a rough landing since it’s been about 3 weeks since I last flew. On a long final approach, the tower told me I was a bit high and offered me a go-around which I kindly declined. I was used to coming in high and knew I had more than enough runway. Not only was it a good landing but it was a greased landing. The plane didn’t even feel like it made contact with the ground.
After a short break and a drink, we took off towards Simi Valley and went direct to Van Nuys. I am embedded a video of the landing at Oxnard. Sorry for the music but there was so profanity being tossed around and I would like to keep the videos classy.
Just a quick update. I have yet to fly as a certified private pilot, however, I will be going up soon. I have quite a few people that want to go but I want to make sure my first flight with a passenger will be something special.
I also decided to take a step up in headsets and designate my ASA headset for passengers. The ASA headset is great and I really have no complaints about it but I went ahead and purchased the H10-13.4 from David Clark. I’ll update the blog after I’ve tested it for anyone else who may be in the market for a new headset.
There are many people that I need to thank for helping me achieve my dream. Obtaining my certificate was a very time consuming and expensive process and now that it is done, I want to praise the people who have contributed.
I would like to start by thanking my grandfather who, as a pilot, sparked my love for aviation at a young age. Hearing stories my whole life instilled a sense of wonder that I carried with me to this day. If it wasn’t for him, this might have never happened.
Next I would like to thank my girlfriend, Erica, and my family for their support. Erica has supported me from day 1 while I spent a lot of my time training and studying and has been nothing but patient. She also bought me my first few hours as a graduation gift and without that I don’t know when I would have actually begun my training. My family has also been patient throughout the last year and I can’t thank them enough for their support.
My CFI, John Mowatt, was a HUGE help in making me a private pilot. His instruction really pushed me to do things I didn’t know I was capable of. I got a long with him both inside and outside the plane and without him, I don’t think I would be the pilot I am today. You’re a good man Johna and a damn good pilot.
Jeffrey, for all the pilot chit chat we have had over the past few months. It was always nice to have another pilot to talk to and I learned a lot from his knowledge of aviation.
Lastly, I want to thank everyone at Continental. I tried other FBOs but it was never the same. The staff there has always supported me and provided me with a great experience. Ami (my original instructor) was always there to help me when I needed it, Mike kept the planes flying great, Simon always helped me out when I needed it and always welcomed me when I came in, and all the other regulars there who I ended up talking to when I was either there for a lesson or just to hang out. You guys were great!
