Measured objectively, the government sector of the United States runs some of the developed world’s worst-performing schools and the best-performing aviation system. Yet oddly enough it is the air traffic control system that politicians propose to privatize.
Privatization is currently underway for flight service stations. These are FAA employees who don’t separate airplanes from each other but instead provide varied forms of assistance. You can call Flight Service on the telephone to ask about the weather before departing. You can call Flight Service on the radio to ask where the thunderstorms are along your route or what the closest airport with good weather is. You can call Flight Service in an emergency. These folks are incredibly resourceful and helpful by and large and often go far beyond their job description in an effort to help pilots.
The folks at www.naats.org are trying to save their jobs and they’ve put together a very interesting audio clip that is worth hearing whether or not you care about this issue: http://www.naats.org/docs/flightassist.mp3 (you may decide not to fly with beginner private pilots after listening to these emergency calls).
Plan for today… fly to Republic Airport on Long Island and swim in Bob’s pool, then back to Bedford and over to the Weston Town Green for a 7 pm concert by Not the Beatles (the infamous Luke, of Harvard Square fame, is lead guitar). The concert is free but bring your own blanket and picnic. Alex will be there!
Yes, those folks are great.
I’m still trying to figure out the last part of the instruction. I can see how letting go of the stick will usually get rid of the stall and let the plane start flying itself, but it seems the latter part, then pull back on the stick, is perhaps a question of luck as to whether that then gets the pilot into a spiral dive, or even an inverted dive.
I don’t have many hours, only 175 or so, and most of those long ago, but I’ve never been able to get a good feel for how far away I was from clouds, or mountains.
500 feet? 2000 feet? I can’t tell unless perhaps I can see my shadow play across them. About the time I enter the cloud, that’s when I know how far away I am. So it doesn’t surprise me that someone can fly into a cloud and not realize it until too late.
And I’ve always been impressed with anyone that can fly up a canyon, say, and know they have room to make a 180. Scary stuff.
Hey Philip, how many hours do you have now?
Wow, Not the Beatles must be a knockoff of the “original” (!) Beetles who played on the Holyoke Center plaza circa 1986. Luke used to play regularly on the same spot. One of the members of that “original” knockoff Beetles group was a friend of mine in grad school, and I was a cameraman for them once. Just this week I came across the video I made of one of their shows around 1986.
John: I have about 550 hours so far. Thankfully none have involved being lost or unintentional rolls (I did one aerobatics lesson before the instructor quit at Executive Flyers at Hanscom and did a couple of aileron rolls in a Decathlon).
Had a nice flight today: Bedford to the Newport mansions over Block Island to Republic (Farmingdale) in western Long Island. Then my friend Robert took us back to his estate for lunch, swimming, wildlife watching, etc. Very hot, though, in the DA40. Standing next to the wing you’re in Massachusetts. Inside the canopy you’re in Texas.
Say, are you going to Oshkosh?
I am NOT going to Oshkosh and I may never go to Oshkosh. The idea of holding an outdoor event in the hottest most humid depth of summer in the American Midwest strikes me as insanity. Esp. given how obese most Americans are. What would be wrong with holding Oshkosh in September? And as we get ever fatter as a nation it would probably have to be moved to October. This gives me a new blog idea: fat people don’t get cold so we can make money by shorting the stocks of companies that make heavy winter coats.
Um, suddenly I am imagining the crew of Tony Soprano, wearing heavy coats and short pants. Thanks.
Okay, so no Oshkosh in late July. It’s the 100th anniversary of flight as you know. Dayton is having a festival in mid-July, and on December 17th, a replica of the Wright Flyer will uh, replicate the original flight at Kitty Hawk, NC.
I visited Dayton about 15 years ago, and walked over to the Wright Brother’s Bicycle Shop. An aging white building, it was pretty much a shambles, with the electrical service disconnected and the cut wires just dangling off the side of the building. I was not only terribly upset by this, but somewhat amused, that even in its horrid shape, and embarrassing shape, the City still listed it on their walking tour. There’s a beautiful park overlooking Wright Patterson AFB (Airplanes and Cash Registers). I recall having just finished reading a science fiction novel called Palimpsests, and a significant part of the story, as I recall involved Indian burial mounds and shellmounds. So I’m at this park, blowing off some software conference, standing on this little hill, taking in the sight of Wright Pat in the background, when I gradually realized what it is I was standing on.
Anyway, here’s to hoping Dayton recovered in the 90s and fixed up the bicycle shop. (Maybe it’s now a Tee shirt shop, Rocky Mountain Fudge Store, or Yoghurt Shop.)
I have no idea what Kitty Hawk is like in the winter. Flying conditions I guess. The web tells me they have mild winters….
“Thank you for calling flight services. If you can’t find a place to land, press one. If you are going to crash, press 2. If you would like to check the weather, press 3. If you are dialing from a rotary phone, press 4. For all other calls, please hold the line and an attendant will be with you in aproximately [SEVEN] minutes.”
These recordings remind me of the recent OnStar service ads on radio where the simply play edits from a recent call. When you hear the manner in which the calls are handled, you realize what a valuable service this is. The MP3 you linked is highly convincing.
Are you sure the weather is the reason to avoid Oshkosh?
I just looked, the average high for August is 79, low is 60. Sure, it could be 95 and high humidity, but mornings and evenings still wouldn’t be too bad.
I’m in Michigan, we just got our first real heat this week. It was about 90 and somewhat humid, but the breeze was strong, so overall it wasn’t too bad. That lasted 2 days, then yesterday it dropped to 70 – it’s beautiful out. (I thought the East coast had similar weather – spells of heat/humidity?)
PS – I suspect many events are still planned around public schools summer vacation.