Oh dear, Adam has written so much more in the blog than I have. I tend to get caught behind because I have a story I want to tell and I’m bad at telling stories out of order. So I’ve wanted to tell the story of our departure from Paso Robles since the end of [...]
There is an aviation joke: What makes an airplane fly? And the person being asked (usually a student pilot) tosses out all sorts of correct answers about airfoils, the Bernoulli effect, lift, and so on. The joke answer is: Money. I think I’ll try to limit my discussion of aviation and finances to this one [...]
After a lot of consideration, more than a bit of wrangling with an outfit that sells Diamond aircraft, and an absurd amount of time on the phone with a CPA and a tax consultant, I have a plane that is available at Santa Monica Airport, my home base. It is almost too complicated a situation [...]
You could probably fill an album with photos of Colin and me flying that look much like this. You may think we were posing for the camera, but this is a candid shot with our customary in-flight expression, taken by a passenger sitting on the cowling. I am not sure which plane this is, but [...]
Pat Hernandez and I attended a scientific meeting in Orlando and capped it with an amazing trip to the keys to visit my aunt and uncle. We rented a 172SP out of Kissimee. The check out ride with Sunstate Aviation was easy and fun and the planes were in great shape. Pat and I headed [...]
We only had the plane for ten days when we decided to take a family trip up to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. My parents were out at Catalina Island and after lunch I ran some groceries out to them. Then we picked the boys up from elementary school and zipped down to the airport.
Okay, I know I said the whole book review thing was a dead loss for me, but here is another. The best book I have read since learning to fly is volume one in Barry Schiff’s proficient pilot series. This is a link to the whole boxed set, a set I now think is invaluable. [...]