Migration 9 Trip Summary
I have finally arrived in Colorado Springs and the journey was quite amazing! It is hard to summarize a 4200 mile trip. (But here goes…) Some of it what was “as expected ” ; Some of it reinforced how flexible you need to be on a journey like this. Between weather, customs formalities, spotty radar, […]
The Scenic Route to M9
As some of you know, this week is the 9th annual Cirrus migration, known as M9. While not as big as Osh Kosh or Sun N Fun, it is the biggest Cirrus event of the year. This year, M9 is being held in Colorado Springs. Cirrus pilots from around the country (and even a few from other countries) will […]
White Plains and NYC Skyline
I spent this week in NY, specifically in White Plains, which is just on the northern edge of the New York Class B airspace frenzy. But more importantly, it is also the home of IBM Flight Operations. The IBM fleet consists of a number of aircraft, including Gulfstream 550s, Falcon 200s and even helicopters. As […]
The Art Of Flying IFR
This week was another long x-country that got me thinking about the “art of flying IFR”. The route is shown below: The map is not zoomed in enough to tell… But this routes goes through LOTS of special use airspace along the way, including military operating areas, restricted areas, the dreaded Washington DC SFRA, and […]
Long X-Country, Weather and State #38 (AZ)
This weekend I had a long cross country flight planned. The destination was Sedona, AZ, which is a very famous airport for pilots. According to the Sedona Airport website, they claim to be “America’s Most Scenic Airport”. It is also sometimes referred to as the “USS Sedona” because it feels like landing on an aircraft carrier. […]
Holding Pattern Without A Shuttle View
As everyone knows, today was the day for the space shuttle’s last mission. I didn’t have tickets to see the launch in person. But I really wanted to see it. So I came up with what I thought was a clever plan. I would fly the Cirrus upto 17,000 FT and go into a holding […]
State #37 (NE) and Missouri River Flooding
On the way back from Sioux Falls, the weather once again played a factor in my route. I needed to leave SD before the storms arrived and I was also hoping to hit one more state on the way. I was heading to Lexington, KY and found a routing through Omaha that worked perfectly: On […]
Scenic Trip to Cedar Key
This morning I woke up and looked outside to find typical weather for FL. Sunshine as far you could see ; Clear blue sky ; AND a perfect day to go flying! After my recent CPPP training, I have been sufficiently brainwashed into treating every flight as an opportunity to practice something. So this morning, I […]
Training Mission Accomplished!
This past weekend was fun, educational and downright grueling! As expected, the ground portion of the CPPP covered some specific topics, like in-flight weather, engine management and aviation safety. The stats around Cirrus accidents and parachute deploys were quite a surprise to me. However, the flight training was the really significant part for me this […]
Off To Training In Atlanta
It’s that time of year again. Like most pilots, my insurance company “requires” (or should I say “financially encourages”) me to take annual recurrent training. The first few years of plane ownership, I would simply follow the basic FAA Wings program and do some 1-1 training with a local flight instructor. This was enough to […]