A Certified Solar GA Plane in Our Lifetimes?

I have just finished watching Home, a wonderfully filmed aerial tour of our planet created by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. In this documentary - shot from about a zillion dollars worth of rented helicopters – narrator Glenn Close explains that as a species, we humans have been on this four-billion-year-old rock for about 200,000 years. The films makes a pretty convincing case that we've pretty much trashed our planet just in the last 50 years alone.

As someone who completely believes that the theory and science behind global warming is real, I know that unchecked, the "faster and faster" civilization that the film describes will continue to deplete our resources. One only has to look at the wild weather that rips through the USA these days to see that something is amiss in our atmosphere, big time. Bigger hurricanes, blistering cold, daily thunderstorms packing more dangerous winds and hail.

We aviators hear the distant footsteps of many in the eco-community who would love to take away our precious 100LL fuels, as if the comparably small carbon footprint made by a few lonely Cessnas out chasing hamburgers is more dangerous to the environment than the endless freeways clogged with Escalades full of spoiled consumers who must have it all, and they must have it now.

Even though the GA community is an almost unmeasurable part of the overall global warming phenomenon, we nonetheless must strive to find cleaner, renewable ways to power our aircraft. One major effort in that direction was announced this week in a press release from Solar Impulse:

Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg today unveiled, at Dübendorf airfield close to Zurich, the Solar Impulse HB-SIA, the first aircraft designed to fly both day and night without fossil fuel or pollution. The project was launched in 2003 and has produced a totally unprecedented aircraft: with the wingspan of a Boeing 747-400 and the weight of an average family car (1600 kg), never has such a large craft been built with such low weight. Over 12,000 solar cells mounted onto the wing will supply renewable energy to the four electric motors with a maximum power of 10 HP each. During the day they will also charge the lithium-polymer batteries (400 kg), which will permit the HB-SIA to fly through the night.

Now this is a project with serious ramifications. Imagine large cargo haulers quietly lumbering along at high altitudes, carrying cargo (and maybe people) long distances with an endless fuel source – the sun – keeping it moving without burning even one dead dinosaur.

What, you don't think a solar airplane can fly long distances? I think the Solar Impulse team would jump at the chance to debate you on that point:

The HB-SIA is the first prototype of the Solar Impulse project. Its mission is to demonstrate the feasibility of a complete day-night-day cycle propelled solely by solar energy. After fine-tuning on the ground, the aircraft should make its first test flights between now and the end of 2009 at Dübendorf Airport. A first complete night flight is programmed for 2010 and will take place over Switzerland. The results from the HB-SIA and their analysis will serve to develop and build a second aircraft, the HB-SIB for circumnavigating the world in five stages, each lasting several days, in 2012.

This is one great project, and when you read the reasons behind the effort, it really makes perfect sense:

"In a world dominated by fossil fuels, and given the urgent need to find sustainable solutions, the Solar Impulse project sets out to demonstrate the potential of renewable energies and to promote their use. It is also a symbol of the energy savings that can be accomplished using new technologies. The pioneering spirit which enabled man to conquer the planet and space in the 20th century should today allow us to find solutions to reduce our dependence on oil, not by reducing mobility and personal comfort, but by creating dreams, hope and enthusiasm."

So can you envision a world where we fly solar-powered GA aircraft? That might be a bit of a stretch, but what about a hybrid aircraft? What about all-electric power, such as the Yuneec E430, a Chinese Light Sport Aircraft that is at this very moment crated and headed to the USA to try and undergo "certification testing" by the FAA in time for EAA's Airventure later this summer.

I think in this world, at this time in our planet's history, we have no choice but to pursue any and all avenues of renewable fuels and methods of power for GA aircraft. If the alternative is to park the fleet because we've run so short on dead dinosaurs that the refineries have stopped ginning any 100LL, than I'll take a solar-powered airframe over a parked one any day.

Can't Handle 10,000 Gs? What a Wimp.

We have always known that astronauts have to train for years to acquire superhuman strength and condition their bodies to withstand stresses that would kill mere mortals.

Even so, you won't find one that can survive the Space Slingshot:

From Popular Science Magazine: Forget rockets. All you need to launch a satellite is a sled and a giant magnetic slingshot. Astronauts are trained to withstand as much as nine times the force of gravity. (Three Gs, by comparison, could make the average guy pass out.) But even the toughest among them fall out of the running when it comes to a launch concept from a company in Goleta, California. To survive the ride on Launchpoint Technologies’s invention, the payload has to be able to survive a brain-splattering 10,000 Gs.

That pretty much rules out “flinging” as a way to get humans – or even monkeys – into space. This is just one of the numerous articles you can find right now on Popular Science's wonderful website. Here is a taste:

Tourist's Guide to Space: Can't decide where to spend your fortune on a trip out of Earth's atmosphere? Click here to check out Popular Science's Tourist's Guide to Space.

Read all about the Rocketplane: With its rocket-engine tail and fuel-packed fuselage, this modified business jet might be the first private craft to launch tourists into space. Click here to read the article.

Junkyard on the Moon: Man's exploration of the moon has left behind over 20 tons of probes, rovers, rocket boosters and assorted other detritus scattered around the whole of the lunar surface. The moon has no atmosphere to burn up incoming objects, so once a spacecraft's orbit decays, it will eventually end up in a pile somewhere on the surface. Read the PopSci article here.

The Top-Secret Warplanes of Area 51: Stealth jets? Hypersonic bombers? What's really being developed at the military's most famous classified base? Click here for Popular Science's in-depth reporting on the topic.

How to Change Your Life in 1.0 Hours

Editor's note: The idea for this post came in from @shannonlucas via Twitter. He's a doctortal student at Oregon State University studying Aviation Human Factors, and is a paraglider pilot and aviation, space and science junkie.

The quest to learn to fly always starts the same. As children, we see an airplane fly overhead and stop playing tag long enough to watch it fly out of sight. We are soon found an a nearby airport, hanging on the fence as little "Cessnas" and gigantic airliners come and go. Then, somewhere between puberty and Social Security, you get "that bug" and find yourself at a local flight school signing up for a discovery flight:

You are grinning wide as you stroll to the flight line with a Certified Flight Instructor. After you pile into a training aircraft, you're blown away that he/she lets you taxi out to the runway. On that runway, the CFI lets you push the throttle in and yank back on the yoke so the houses get smaller. It is at that point – when the wheels leave the runway and you are FLYING – that you just know that flight lessons are in your future.

Every one of us licensed pilots had experienced some form of the above. So once you decide that you must become a private pilot before you die, then what? Well, on the suggestion of one of my readers, here are a few suggestions, tips, tricks and recommendations for you to digest as you embark on the journey of your life. And remember, I am NOT a CFI, for those really serious flight instructor questions, look up any CFI out at that little airfield located at the edge of your town:

Finances: Like many pilots, I too struggled to acquire the funds to complete my PPL. I took a lesson here, a lesson there, until I amassed enough to go whole hog and finish up. My advice is to (a) make sure you have enough money going into your training to finish the program and earn your private ticket. If you get to solo a GA plane and stop, and then wait a while to start again, you will have to go backwards, a really bad thing in flight training. I have heard this "solo and stop" situation compared to sex, where you get into the goodies a little bit and REALLY like it, but there is no, um, happy ending. Or, (b) look into the possibility of a Sport Pilot ticket, less money, but less privileges too. Either way, sell the boat, pawn the jewels, re-fi the loan you got on your last re-fi, and jump in with both pockets full of cash.

Radios: The best thing I did going into my primary training was learn about aviation radio phraseology. Get a cheap aviation scanner off eBay or Craigslist and listen to it as much as possible, Or, go online to liveATC.net and dial in a large number of frequencies. Then try to learn the drill, how pilots receive clearances, how they are cleared to land, what they say back to ATC when told to fly a heading and altitude. Your goal is to sound as slick as the airline guys, ATC will love you for that. Once you have a working knowledge of what is going on in your headset, the radio work will make perfect sense in those critical first few flight lessons.

Weather: Not going to pull punches here...you can and should learn about aviation weather as soon as possible, even long before you have the money to take lessons. There are plenty of books out there that will give you a working knowledge of METARs, TAFs, FAs, PIREPs and everything else you will eventually need to know to conduct a safe flight. Get the book, go to any number of fine sites such as Aviation Digital Date Service (ADDS) and stuff your head full of weather knowledge. Do it today, so that when you begin your primary training, that's one more thing you are fairly good at, and one less thing to get in the way of the really important things like aircraft control.

Go back to the airport fence: When I was in the very early phases of my primary training, I would go out to the approach end of runway 29L at FAT, to where the old midget racetrack was way WAY back in the day on McKinley Avenue. I would park there and watch GA planes slip through the air right over my head, and after noting the wind direction, I could easily see the pilot using rudder to keep the nose pointed at the runway. From directly underneath the arriving planes, I taught myself stick and rudder flying, how the ailerons and rudder worked in unison to battle any crosswind trying to send the craft on a go-around.

I could go on all night, but these are just a few things I learned in my early training. I hope the wannabes in my readership will see this, print it out and stuff it in their desk, to retrieve right after they get home from that discovery flight, right after their fires become lit.

This is important: If you desire to learn to fly, do it today...do not wait until you are lying in a bed down at the hospice home heading off to fly with Lindbergh. I promise that the feeling of accomplishment you will enjoy the day you pass your private check ride will be worth every sweaty minute you spend trying to make a squirrelly little flying machine behave.

Glad to help. $100 hamburgers are on you when you get that ticket.
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Update @1128P on 062209: Just received an hilarious comment on this post through the Twittershere via @Navyaircrewman: "Great topic! You forgot to warn about how its [learning to fly] more addictive than crack and the expenses of this hobby make golf look cheap." O.K., point for the Navy.

Talk Up GA to Anyone You Meet

At the end of 2008, the FAA says there were 613,746 pilots in this country, including 80,989 student pilots. That's a lot of aviation ambassadors out there, whole legions of enthusiasts who should be talking about general aviation 24/7.

At the grocery store, in line to buy your morning bagel, waiting to get your tires rotated, at church, at work, anywhere is a good time to strike up a conversation about flying private aircraft. I usually just drop into any conversation something that hints that I own a plane and can't wait to fly it again. If the person opens up a bit and asks about my plane or my flying, baby, open the floodgates:

The way I see it, unless a person has some sort of diagnosed fear of flying, just about everyone wants to learn to fly, and is jealous of those who already have earned that privilege. So when you let them know you are a pilot and they want to learn more, it gives you a golden opportunity to tell them about the joys of flight, about the almost surreal sensation we aviators enjoy each time we act as PIC and lift a flying machine skyward.

And once you've mastered the art of talking up GA in the checkout line at the local Piggly Wiggly, why not take that to the extreme and offer to speak at a middle school and fire up a bunch of fresh minds about flying? Or maybe your city's Chamber of Commerce would welcome a pilot to speak at a luncheon about using GA as a business tool.

Now I know what you're thinking...you're a little shy, and speaking in front of an audience scares the hole crap out of you. You get queasy just thinking about public speaking, so being up at the lectern with a roomfull of eyes on you is unimaginable...or is it:

Former Astronauts James Lovell, Walter Schirra and John Young are three aviators who were also members of Toastmasters International, a great organization known throughout the world as the best resource for teaching regular people to become great speakers. I am also a long-time Toastie, and can attest that this inexpensive, fun and seriously effective program works like magic, and can teach any pilot to take command of a room in any situation.

When you become a seasoned Toastmaster-trained speaker, you will be able to talk about flying any time, anywhere, to any group. For very little time and money, the program can teach pilots public speaking skills that allow you to assess your audience, command their attention, keep them enthralled, make them hang on your every word, and close the deal with a powerful conclusion. When a trained Toastie pilot ends his/her presentation, there will be a decent percentage of people in the room who will have been persuaded to seek out a flight school and investigate the possibilities of taking that important first flight lesson.

If you want to learn more, here is the Toastmaster's International world site, and here is a place where you can find a meeting in your area.

I am Not Crazy, Airplanes Are Alive!

I'm going to sound a bit cliché here, but there is a special bond a pilot forms with his/her airplane. It's not the same bond you form with people, or the dog, or a pristine '64 Mustang. This bond is the kind of – dare I say it – love one acquire for this bizarro collection of nuts, bolts, aluminum, gasoline and electrical toys that unlike anything else, can take us skyward and allows us to FLY.

Only other airplane owners will know what I'm talking about, non-flyers cannot know the love we have for our planes. It goes far beyond admiration, you admire a flat screen TV, but you love an airplane. And I may sound crazy in saying this, but in my case as well as many others, the airplane loves you back.

I have written at length about my love of Katy, our family Cherokee 235, about how this vintage but well-preserved girl races my heart each and every time I open the hangar door. I believe this airplane has a heart and a soul, as do all airplanes. Walk inside Duggy, the bright yellow "Smile in the Sky" DC-3 and I swear you can feel that beautiful machine's pulse as you climb the steep incline to the cockpit.

Now before you go off thinking I'm just making this stuff up about Katy, I recently found someone who can corroborate my story fully. Out of the blue last week, I received an email from Larry Chapman, a previous owner of N8527W who lives in Georgia. He wrote to tell me how happy he was that I was taking care of his old girl, and from his email, I sensed he had the same feelings for this plane then as I do now.

So I asked him to elaborate on his relationship with the 28th Cherokee 235 to come out of Lock Haven, and this was his reply:

"I flew numerous trips in N8527W during a period of eighteen years. 27W inspires confidence. It is so easy to fly, so forgiving, high lift wings, manual flaps, and it’s got that big O-540 to deliver the power. In that time, I really got to feel that 27W and I were an entity – one being. I never doubted that 27W would not perform for me. We flew in all kinds of weather -- thunder storms, rain, snow, severe turbulence, and a lot of good weather too. And, as with any relationship, there were many times when we had to work together to overcome problems such as a partial engine power failure, electrical failures, or loss of radios on IFR flight, but I never had any doubt that 27W wouldn’t get me where I was going safely."

One being, yes, that describes how I feel when I fly Katy. But, I found out, she wasn't always "Katy", no, she carried a different nickname back in the day:

"When I bought 27W, it was painted blue over white with small tail letters. One of my daughters said the plane looked like a bandit with the paint scheme it had then, so the name "Bandit" stuck even after we changed the paint scheme to the blue over grey it has now. I like the name "Katy" that your wife gave 27W...I think it fits."

Chapman flew Katy with pride, and in return, the old girl served him well. But like many friendships, it had to come to an end:

"About the year 1997, the character of my business changed and I began doing more local work around Atlanta Metro area. The hours I flew every year began to decline and when I was getting ready to renew my insurance in 2003, I realized I had only flown 17 hours in the last year. I decided that it was time to sell 27W as neither one of us was now benefiting from our relationship. I called Lowe Aviation in Macon, Georgia and they flew a pilot up to take the plane to Macon to sell it. I sat there and watched it take off and I then just watched where it had disappeared for probably thirty minutes. One of my very best friends had just left my life – an era was over."

He ended one of our emails by saying "thanks for buying my friend" and after these many exchanges, I feel lucky as hell to be the caretaker of this tiny sliver of our personal aviation history. But I also know I'm tasked with maintaining this sexy (to me) 45-year-old flying machine, because like all airplanes, Katy, or Bandit, or whatever the other owners called her, deserves nothing less.

When War Gets Close to Home

We read about our country's two wars every day, and after so many years, the daily reports seem to blend in like the bland desert scenery of the Middle East. That is, until you get an email from one of your favorite family members that brings it right straight into your life front and center.

My cousin Linda's daughter Laura has been in the United States Army for years, mostly stationed on the East Coast. I unfortunately had lost touch with her until 01.10.09 when I received the following description of her new assignment. It was a nothing-held-back, sort of cryptic note telling of her flight into the belly of the beast, up near enemy lines near Kabul to Forward Operating Base Shank in the Logar province of Eastern Afghanistan....

"...fall asleep. Actually I think I passed out. One of the guys said my face was smashed into my assault pack. He kept staring at me to see if I was breathing. He said he wanted to touch me to see if I was alive, but he couldn't move his arms. The flight was amazing, cold, but amazing. Needless to say, I awoke when we started making evasive moves prior to landing. When we finally landed, it felt so good to get out of that plane, and take off all the gear. We flew with doors open. Oh Yeah!! I was all about cuddling!! Body heat was my saving grace. Others body heat that is.

I had finally arrived at my FOB, my home away from home. We got off the bird, got our stuff off and waited for the next bird to land so we could all go find our new cots. As the next bird came in, it flew directly overhead. That was amazing but I realized their power. Suddenly 80lb duffle bags went flying like they were paper. Then I went flying! Thank God this giant NCO grabbed me and held me down. He literally caught me by my arm and held my shoulders down. It was rather disconcerting."

I immediately looked up FOB Shank and found it was seriously near the tip of the spear as they call it over there. Since then, I've exchanged emails as best I could with Laura (we don't really care that she's technically a second cousin, to me she is family, 'nuf said). Now, each news report from over there seems to have a greater importance, for all the obvious reasons.

But as an aviator, I really took notice the other day when I received yet another looooong email from her, again from deep in the 'Stan at FOB Shank. This one was chilling, and really brought home what she must be going through over there:

"We are getting hit by larger and larger IEDs. I was supposed to fly up there (vicinity of the IEDs) that night. I wasn’t sure if my flight would be canceled or not. I really hoped that it would. But, of course, this is the Army and the mission goes on. My original bird was used to get the soldiers to the hospital, but the CPT that runs the air missions told me we had another bird going to my location that could pick me up and take me. It was landing here and picking up explosives. Picking up what? Explosives. “Oh great. I can still go.” I said with false enthusiasm. While my inside voice was saying, are you f**king kidding me?? I have to fly AT NIGHT, with full illumination (meaning you could see without a flashlight) on a Blackhawk full of explosives!!! Fabulous. I did. I grabbed my gear and off I went. What a creepy surreal flight that was. We flew so close to the mountains, I swear the 50cal hanging out the window was going to hit the mountain side. You could see the outline of the mountains out both sides of the Blackhawk. It really looked like you could reach out and touch them. I figured that as long as I could see the mountains out the side windows and not out the front window… I was good. I was very glad to land that night, crawl into my sleeping bag, say a prayer for the families of the fallen Soldiers, thank God for allowing me this experience, granting me the serenity to do this job and keep my wits, and of course, landing safely, and a warm sleeping bag. These Soldiers, this job, this way of life… never ceases to amaze me. There is no place like home!"

I am not at liberty to say what Laura's duty entails, only to say it's supposed to involve more pencil pushing then rides up dark canyons sitting atop explosives in a Blackhawk. But in my life I have only met a few truly courageous people, and Laura is one of them. She has to be, because anyone would have to be to stay sane in a desert that resembles Mars, a million miles from home, with terrorists lobbing home-grown bombs in your general direction 24/7.

I may not fully understand why we have American soldiers fighting in Afghanistan, but while I have family in harm's way, this war will take on new meaning. Because when someone you love steps off the Blackhawk and their boots hit the ground, that's when everything changes.

An Interview: Inside the Life of a Flight Attendant

For as long as there have been commercial airliners hauling passengers to Grandma's house, there have been members of that flight's crew managing the cabin, serving meals and refreshments and soothing the jitters of scared flyers. Long ago when big airliners still had propellers, they were called "Stewardesses" or even the less respectful "Trolley Dollies", neither of which stuck, thankfully.

Today, the women and men in that profession are called Flight Attendants, or FAs for short. We see them on every trip to the airport, often waiting for their next leg to begin, often looking quite bored. As I watch them moving through endless airports towing their well-worn suitcases, I often wonder just what life as an FA is like.

Recently on Twitter, I mentioned that curiosity to Sara Keagle, a veteran FA with a major carrier which shall remain unnamed. She blogs as TheFlyingPinto, and offered to answer for publication any questions I had. I took her up on this offer, and the results follow. I hope you find this as interesting as I did, it really is a look into what that profession really is like:

World of Flying: What the schedule of an FA like?
TheFlyingPinto: An FAs schedule varies tremendously, depending on what airline you fly with, how much seniority you have and what your preferences are. Most FAs start out on "reserve" and generally have 10-12 days off per month while being on call 24 hours per day. Once off reserve, you are known as a line holder. Once a month, FAs go through a bid packet that has schedules and after the FAs bid, lines are awarded in seniority order. The more junior lines are less productive, meaning more legs per day. Flight Attendants are paid for flight hours so every time we touch down in a day, the more we are "off" the clock. For example, if you are based in New York and your trip is a turn to San Francisco, your flight time is 11 hours of pay for 13 hours of work. On many junior FA trips, would be 5-6 legs per day and you end up working 14 hours and getting paid for 6, and of course the chance for weather, ATC, or mechanical delays increases with each leg.

WoF: How hard it is to climb the career ladder as an FA?
TFP: I don't think it is too difficult to climb the career ladder as a FA. We do have supervisory positions but at my airline they are usually filled by junior people who don't want to sit reserve. I think most people become FAs because of the flexibility of the job. As a supervisor you work 5 days a week, 40 hours a week. As a FA you create your own schedule and work as much or as little as you want. My airline pays a couple dollars more per hour to international FAs, language speakers, and lead FAs. Domestically, when you bid for your schedule, you also bid for your position. We also have International Service Managers who are interviewed for the position, specially trained and paid a 20% over ride. The pecking order is seniority. Everything at an airline is based on seniority, pay, schedules, hotel rooms, and non-reving (space available travel).

WoF: How much training goes into being an FA?
TFP: Training is FAA mandated and usually runs about 4-6 weeks depending on the airline. FA Candidates (FACs) learn about the airlines fleet, how to evacuate an airplane in an emergency, what to do in a ditching, how to handle a medical emergency, and yes, how to handle unruly passengers. I went through training prior to 9/11, so the way we were taught to deal with highjackers was to become "human" to them. Female FAs were instructed to "talk" to the highjackers, let them see us as human beings by pulling out pictures of our kids etc. We were actually told to have pictures of kids in our bag whether we had children or not. I can't give too much detail on our updated security training but I will say that method went out the window after 9/11, and now we have an option to go through a training program with The Federal Air Marshals.

Our evacuation training is pretty intense and a lot of FA candidates don't make it through this portion of training. I think this part of the training is where the term "Barbie Boot Camp" came from. FACs have to go through a mock scenario and evacuate an airplane full of people (other classmates) You have two chances to get it right but it must be 100%. If you fail the second drill you are dismissed from training. We started with 56 people in my class and graduated with 43.

FAs are also highly trained in how to handle medical emergencies. I wouldn't recommend getting sick on an aircraft but if you do FAs are there to help. We have oxygen, AEDs and a full medical kit that trained health care professionals can use on board. There is a service called Med link that assists any medical professionals and insures them too.

WoF: What do FA's earn?
TFP: An FA is paid per flight hour and an average FA flies 80-85 per month. The hourly rate is different at each airline and is contractual. Most airlines after 9/11 took big pay cuts. I am lucky at my airline we did take some concessions but our hourly rate remained the same. My airline is unique to most in the fact that we can fly as little or as much as we want. We have FAs that fly as little as one trip a month and FAs that fly 180-200 hours per month. A FA starting out at my airline makes about $20. per flight hour. An FA tops out in pay at 15 years and makes $50. per flight hour.

WoF: How many male (or female?) passengers hit on you?
TFP: Not as much as people think! I used to wish this were the case. Now that I'm married I'm not looking but when I was single I was looking. What was hard though was dating! Every guy I went out with thought I was being propositioned on every flight, and as a reserve I never knew where I was going or if my schedule would stay the same once it was assigned. I was accused more than once of lying when I was being tossed around by scheduling. We're not trained to deal with this...I think that the flying public thinks this happens a lot more than it really does.

WoF: Tell me a funny/crazy/strange passenger story.
TFP: My craziest passenger story is the time I came across a man in first class, at his seat, joining the Mile High Club....solo mission!! There he was for all to see, a paper back book in his left hand, and you know what in his right hand. As a fairly new FA, in my early twenties, I didn't know what to do! I called upon my fellow crew members but all being female, we didn't want to approach him. Luckily, it was prior to 9/11, so we called on our male FO to come out and ahhhhemmm....tell our x-rated passenger to put "it" away! And yes, security met that flight at the gate.

WoF: Tell me a story about a time when you helped someone overcome fear of flying or maybe helped a child to enjoy their first flight.
TFP: I see a lot of passengers who are nervous fliers. I am always willing to give a pep talk and let them know they are ok....but I love when kids are excited about flying. I get a kick out of unaccompanied minors who are veteran fliers and love traveling. My heart breaks when an unaccompanied minor doesn't have that independent streak and is scared or heartbroken leaving someone they love. I really think it depends on the child, whether or not they should fly alone. I always encourage kids to come up and meet the pilots, see the flight deck , get their photo taken with the pilots. I think I've turned a few kids on to the possibility of being a pilot. Oh, and of course they always get their plastic wings.

WoF: What is the hierarchy in the plane?
TFP: The heiarchy in the plane is as follows: (1) Captain, (2) First Officer, (3) Lead FA, (4) Remaining FAs in seniority order. The Captain always has final say. I have heard FAs tell passengers they can remove them from a flight for unruly behavior. Although, they will strongly influence the decision, it's the Captain that has the authority to do so, not the FA. The people that work at my airline are great, I have never seen a situation where a FA didn't follow a Captains order, but I have never seen anything unreasonable asked of a FA either. The camaraderie at my airline is exceptional, and I think it shows in our customer service.

WoF: It always appears to me that FAs live out of their suitcase. Is that true?
TFP: YES! I have had a suitcase attached to me since 1993! My suitcase is always half packed on the floor next to my dresser.....always! Life as a FA can be extremely lonely, especially in the early years. I missed most holidays in my twenties, and even when I had exciting trips after a while it wasn't fun by myself anymore. I am in a good place now – I have a great husband and two-year-old daughter, I fly part time, I love my hotel room one night a week, and I think because I am able to fly part time (about 10-12 days per month) it is good for my relationships. I get "me" time, and my husband and daughter get quality time together. My family also comes with me sometimes, if the destination is nice and there are seats. My daughter has flown about a dozen times and has her passport....she's ready to go! You can always see photos of her on my blog.

WoF: The public perception is that many male FA's are gay. Is that true?
TFP: No, definitely not. There are lots of straight male FAs. And, I may get in trouble here but here's the deal. I prefer to work with the gay male FAs as opposed to the straight male FAs. I know I am stereotyping here but, usually, gay male FAs are fun, funny, and great FAs!! Straight male FAs...ummmm....not so much. They are nice people, but just like men in the kitchen at home, they leave a mess! I can always tell when a straight male worked the galley before me!!

UPDATE @ 103P ON 062209: Someone on Twitter is posting that because of the way the last question above is worded, I must somehow be saying ALL male flight attendants are gay. (1) That is not true, (2) they are reading into this question something that is just not there, and (c) for the record, I have absolutely NO PROBLEM with anyone being gay. I support gay rights 100%, so do not believe the crap being thrown around about this post on Twitter - dan.

You Expect Big Things at Airventure...

There really is no way to describe EAA's annual Airventure show to non-flyers because telling them about endless rows of every kind of aircraft ever manufactured on display means nothing.

You tell them about the best of the best acrobatic pilots bringing their "A" game to the afternoon air show, and tell them about the four monster exhibition buildings full of exhibitors selling the latest and greatest aviation software, hardware and of course, toys.

But when you describe "Oshkosh" to other pilots who have never been lucky enough to walk the hallowed ground of OSH-Wittman Regional Airport, you just have to tell them about some of the almost unbelievable things they'll see there. You can guarantee another pilot that if they make it to Cheese Country, USA the last week of July, they'll see something so big, so exciting, so mesmerizing, they will stop in their tracks with jaw dropped. And if they make the show this year, what they'll see will be really REALLY big, according to this EAA press release [pdf]:

"With the announcement today that the Airbus A380 is coming to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2009, EAA reinforced the reputation of its annual fly-in as a one-of-a-kind showcase of aviation’s innovations, unique accomplishments, and wide-ranging interests. For the first time in North America, AirVenture will provide the opportunity for the global aviation community and the public to admire the world’s largest passenger airliner on static display and in flight."

See what I mean...EAA really does think BIG! But for those expecting only a brief flyover, sorry, you'll be disappointed:

"The A380 will arrive and perform a flight demonstration to kick off the Tuesday, July 28 air show. After commanding the stage through the remainder of the week on AeroShell Square, AirVenture’s main aircraft showcase area, it will open the air show again on Friday, July 31 with a flight demonstration before its departure. “I’m pleased that Airbus chose EAA AirVenture Oshkosh as its first occasion in North America to provide an up-close and personal look at the A380,” said Tom Poberezny, EAA president and AirVenture chairman."

EAA's Dick Knapinski said in an email that the show's organizers are trying to find a place to fit the behemoth Airbus, and have settled on three possible locations for the A380 exhibition. Details for interior tours and other public viewing have not been released, but I'll bet I'm sure not the only curious pilot who would welcome a peek inside the world's largest airliner.

Billed as the World's Greatest Aviation Celebration, this year’s event takes place July 27 – August 2. Other features of this year’s event will include: Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo mothership “Eve”; the cockpit crew of US Airways flight 1549; observation of several historic aviation anniversaries; celebration of aviation’s role in humanitarian activities; spectacular Warbirds demonstrations; the world’s best aerobatic performers; a concert by the Doobie Brothers; the comedy of Jeff Dunham; 10,000 aircraft; 2,500 show planes; 800 exhibits; and 500 forums and workshops.

So I just have to ask any licensed pilots reading this...how the hell can you possible stay away from Oshkosh again this year? Go ahead and visit the show's site here for more 411.

Not Believing the Briefer Can Get You Killed

As I wrote this post last week from a friend's Casa in Central California, our 2002 PT Cruiser was parked just outside. That would be the same PT Cruiser I drove for 12 hours solid to get from my home in Eugene, Oregon to Fresno for a series of photo shoots and advertising client meetings.

Now I know what you're thinking. Why would a newly-ticketed IFR stick with a really capable IFR Cherokee 235 choose to dodge SUVs for a dozen hours on Interstate 5 when he could just flown the Katyliner? Two words: Thunder. Storms.

It's like this:

After my last Cali flying adventure was scrubbed when the front half of Katy's vintage starter broke off when cranking to depart for the Golden State – and after waiting three weeks to get the plane back in the air – I had flight-planned this flight to the most intricate detail, and the plane was flying great. But a combination of Global Warming and Mother Nature's bad-ass attitude had been spinning Monsoon moisture over the West coast for days, around a low that refused to budge. As the trip approached, things were looking like the flight over the dramatic Siskiyou Range at the CA/OR border might even be accomplished VFR.

I was awake hours before even the Dawn Patrol guys get up, planning a 7A departure. I had expected to call the weather briefer, and had filed one IFR flight plan just west of Mt. Shasta and another down the coast into Santa Rosa for fuel, potty and cookies before popping over to FAT. But before I called for a briefing, I checked the long list of online weather sites I use. Not a bad plan, get a good "big" picture in my noggin before calling Lockheed Martin's human to confirm what I thought to be the case. This usually works out fine, except when it doesn't:

My surfing the 'Net revealed only a handful of tiny green returns on the NEXRADs for the route, except one decent active cell just west of Redding. The IR satellite looked good, the only major buildup was that one big cell in the Shasta area. METARS for all stations to the border looked CLR, as did the major NORCAL stations and on into FAT. With a planned IFR route at 11,000 and a freezing level at 12,000, this looked like a doable trip. I would depart EUG IFR, cancel in the Shasta area, and navigate easily around that one big cell before cruising down the Big Valley into my destination. What could go wrong with this scenario? I checked numerous www sites and they were in agreement. You pack up the car, I'll slip in a quick call to 1-800-WXBRIEF. That's when this flight went seriously downhill.

See, I believe professional WX briefers know more than just about all pilots who get their WX data strictly off the web. So I floated the call, and got a response I did not want to believe:

The briefer told me in no uncertain terms that not only was VFR "not recommended", it was not even possible down my Shasta or coast routes. His system showed what he called "massive" cells maybe 100 miles wide all over NORCAL, with not much gap between these convective monsters. He mentioned the "possibility" of significant downdrafts over the Siskiyous, hail, wind shear and kept repeating himself that I really should not try this flight...period, end of conversation. This briefer was a pilot too, and when he said he wouldn't try this trip even in a Citation, this got my attention. But his info was so far removed from what sites like ADDS, DUAT graphics and Weather Underground were showing, his briefing left me completely baffled. And frankly quite pissed.

When I notified my half-asleep traveling partner of the dilemma, she suggested I call back and try to get a different briefer to see what his/her story was. Nice plan, considering the drastically different interpretation of the route WX:

So I called back, and this being 530A, I got the same briefer. When I honestly told him I was hoping for a different outcome from a new human, he was not amused. He again told me this would be a dangerous flight, and proceeded to ask me if I was planning to attempt it so he could get it on tape in case things happened. So when the briefer starts reminding you that he's recording the conversation as if to produce EVIDENCE for the upcoming NTSB inquiry, this should instantly get the attention of any pilot that is not a complete moron.

We decided the briefer must know more than I do, and packed up the PT Cruiser, pointing "Andy" hammer down southbound with his nose aimed at Fresno. Roughly a dozen hours later, we arrived in the city of my birth, tired but alive. On our jaunt south, we discovered the Briefer was right, and the Internets were way, WAY wrong:

The miles flew by driving from Eugene to the border, with a 3,000 layer of scud lying about 300AGL off the deck obscuring anything along the freeway. I could see the occasional hole and knew this was just a simple layer any IFR pilot could easily punch through to a beautiful blue sky cruise. But as we drove into the area where we thought Mt. Shasta should be, all we saw instead was a wall of impenetrable gray clouds. Our car and numerous big rigs began being pelted with a combination of heavy rain and bizarro crosswinds. There were strange cloud formations that looked just like what the very bottom of active CB systems might look like as they spit cats, dogs and buckets of water down upon us. It wasn't until we got all the way into Redding that the sky cleared and I could loosen my death grip on Andy's steering wheel. As I header south, in my rearview mirror was the nastiest buildup of thunder storms I have seen in a while. It was a bitch to get through this crap at zero feet AGL, I can only imagine what wrath this behemoth would have dealt my GA plane.

I still do not know why the online briefing data and phone briefing were so different, but it is clear to me that the phone human saved my bacon this go-around. On this trip, I did not feed the monster thunderstorm my small aircraft...and consider this bullet dodged.

I can attest to this sure thing: Earning your instrument rating DOES make you a better pilot and a better weather guesser. When these kinds of storms are out there waiting to devour your flying machine, those 40 hours of dual and endless hours of book learnin' really come in handy because when you earn this advanced rating, you will become an aviator with a better sense of with the "big picture" weather briefing really shows.

And that knowledge can save your life, which I'm sure we can all agree is a good thing.

First ride in Boeing's Dreamliner

The unmarked Gulfstream lifts off of Eugene's Mahlon Sweet Field, carrying me, my laptop and camera, a sales rep from Boeing's Commercial Airplane Division, and two burly guys in dark suits and shades talking into their wrists. I assume our route will take us to Boeing Field in Everett, Washington, site of the Dreamliner assembly plant. That would be a fair assumption since I had been selected out of a pool of 102,000 journalists worldwide to take the very first ride in a fully-assembled 787 Dreamliner.

O.K., you're reading this, and KNOW they haven't fully assembled a 787, yet, or so the Boeing media photos show. But as we touch down near Montréal at Mirabel International Airport, I can see a 787 sitting in a darkened hangar at the far edge of the field. As I gather my things to depart the Gulfstream, one of the Secret Agent types crosses his arms in front of me, and lays on the briefing:

Here's the deal, reporter boy. This airplane doesn't exist until we say it exists, got it? That won't be for several months yet, got that? We have selected you to preview the new Dreamliner and will authorize you to “leak” the story in about two weeks, only when we give you the green light. It's a buzz creation scheme, baby. Nobody will believe your story, but it will get people talking. I nod my approval. "Whatever," I say rudely, "just show me the damned Dreamliner, you APE!"

I am escorted to the hanger and sure enough, there it is, a fully assembled Dreamliner. Around the sleek fuselage, a hundred Boeing technicians are swarming, as technicians often do. At the bottom if the stairway to heaven is a young lady named Kate, who welcomes me aboard. She looks like the Flight Attendents of yesterday, dressed in an impeccable suit, even wearing the traditonal Stewardess hat that they used to wear back when DC-3s ruled the sky. Seriously sweet.

From the very first moment I enter the cabin, I can see this airliner is like no other. I see sweeping arches directing my eye upwards, where I find a soothing “simulated sky” created arrays of light-emitting diodes that makes the plane look more spacious. Kate directs me to the first class cabin, and after unloading my carry-ons into an oversized luggage bin, I melt into the large, luxurious seat. Out of the window – which seems far larger then any I have ever seen on an airliner – I see the technicians are gone. Gently we are tugged to the ramp, and it seems odd to be the only passenger on such a plush machine able to seat about 250 people. Back in coach, I see a bevy of Boeing technicians are watching my every move. They want to see how the first actual human from outside the company reacts to the Dreamliner:

Now there is a smooth hum emanating from the floor, as the two Rolls-Royce engines spool up. But it is not the usual sound you hear when a modern airliner powers up. Maybe it's the Star Trek-like interior surrounding me, but this hum seems more of a low frequency vibration, as if the heartbeat of the Dreamliner was going through every pore in my body.

Taxi does not feel like a normal taxi, with the squishy tires and “fish out of water” feeling that other jets have when they are wheels down. In the Dreamliner, you glide along hovercraft-style, with no discernible hint that the airliner is still in contact with Planet Earth.

Into position and held, I feel the two massive engines increasing thrust. Mirabel tower cuts us loose, and up in that dreamy, forward-thinking cockpit, the Captain firewalls the FADEC system and we rocket forward as if shot from a cannon. Like a fine business jet, the Dreamliner gets airborne NOW, and climbs out at what I figure feels like 5,000 FPM. I am in airplane heaven.

Level in cruise, there is no engine sound, no hum of any kind...only that same low frequency vibration that makes your biosystem at one with the plane's. Soon, I am served real food – Prime Rib, imagine that – served on real china of a very contemporary design. Kate sits down next to me and asks what I think so far. After gushing for maybe 10 minutes, she asks if I'd like to visit the cockpit. What kind of a question is that for a pilot like me I mumble as I follow her forward.

Inside the futuristic cockpit, nothing is as it should be. This is a major leap forward for commercial airliners, as every button, every glass MFD and PFD, every radio knob, even the cup holders, are like none anyone has witnessed before. I watch as the Captain and FO lounge in ergonomically-correct chairs, operating a series of computers that drives guidence systems and engine management software that would make the Space Shuttle seem so last generation.

As I stand drooling over the most beautiful panel ever conceived, the Captain turns and politely asks if I'd like to take over the controls for a few minutes, to really get a hands-on feel for a Dreamliner. I am stunned, and as he departs the right seat...I cannot move...my feet are WELDED to the ground. I tug, but both shoes stay put. It is easily a GA pilot's worst nightmare...being that close to the yoke of a Dreamliner, frozen in space, not being able to move.

Just then, my dog jumps up on the bed and begins pawing at me to awaken. AWAKEN? Huh? My eyes creep open and all I see is the ceiling of my bedroom, not the inside of a Dreamliner. WTF?

Slowly, it hits me that this has all been, yes, a DREAM...and I realize why Boeing choose to call the 787...the Dreamliner.