Returning west, we were often dodging through the clouds. We flew at ten thousand feet or so, and descending to an airport seven thousand feet below took fifteen to twenty minutes. At least, that was a comfortable rate. We could also just push the noise over and scream down, but then we would be […]
So the rule I follow is that if maintenance has been done on the plane I make the first flight alone and I stay over the field for at least fifteen minutes. That way, if something goes wrong I can just glide back to the field.
Today I went down to Long Beach where a different […]
Friday was a gorgeous day in the middle. There was a fog bank that hovered off of the shore for the whole day and occasionally drifted inland for half a mile, but it was warm and clear above the fog. I flew out to Catalina to collect my parents. We loaded the plane to its […]
Jaime O. was unlucky. He was born with trouble with his small bowel and liver. But he was lucky, he was born in the state of California, so the state will help him. He’s on a list to get a new liver. The UCLA medical center is helping while his liver fails and while he […]
On February 15th, a Thursday, I flew my newest niece (Eleanor Electra Lehman) up to Santa Barbara so that she could have lunch with her dad (Sharalyn, her mom, rode in back with her). Ellie is already a veteran of small planes, having ridden out to Catalina months ago with my brother at the controls. […]
Would you fly with this man?
My father-in-law, Mel, and his wife, Lilla, were in town for the month of January and wanted to spend a couple days in the Bay area. I offered to fly them up and, even faced with a slightly nervous travel companion (Lilla) and a two-and-a-half hour journey, Mel agreed.
I tried […]
When I was small, younger than five, my family went to my grandparents’ house for dinner every Sunday evening. In the autumn and winter months, even though it was an early evening meal, we drove home in the dark.I still remember how the shadows cast by the streetlights moved across my brother’s side of the […]
Yesterday I was in the family room while the boys were finishing up their reading before lights out. I had my laptop open and a soft voice was droning along. I struggled to remain focused. Nell walked by and said, “What are you watching?”
“Another IFR course.”
“I thought you were finished.”
Ah, but you are never finished. […]