Gone Flying

Amarillo Texas

2009-07-04T05:40:00.002-07:00

We're back on the road again, this time we are staying in Amarillo, Texas and taking care of photography in the Texas panhandle. The Panhandle is so flat you can see so much further than anywhere else in the US yet see less...

Our New Home

2009-04-06T21:12:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of our house! 3 Bedrooms + a Den, a Great Room, tile where it matters, marble counters... Only 2 years old & in a cul-da-sac. 1700 SQ Feet & 3 Car Garage. We were looking at buying a smaller house a few years ago, but are very glad that we waited.

The Final Signature

2009-04-06T21:08:00.000-07:00

After what seemed like 200+ pages to sign this was the final page and we officially own a house!

My Latest Pictures

2008-09-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

Summer Flying

2007-08-21T14:31:00.000-07:00

Krystle and I have had a busy and wonderful summer flying around Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming and Utah. We covered lots of ground and have got to see dozens of cool places.

Some of the highlights of our trip this summer have been
* Nampa, ID - and the Air Museum based on field.
* Boise, ID - Floating down the Boise River on a Kayak
* Joseph State, Or - A quaint town with lots of charm
* Walla Walla, WA - Great Airport Restaurant
* The Sawtooth Mountains ID - Beautiful Hiking
* Stanley ID - A quaint small town
* Sun Valley, ID - Good Coffee and famous ski resort
* Weiser, ID - The oldtime fiddlers contest bluegrass music.
* Ogden, UT - Skydiving & Harry Potter Movie Premiere
* Coalville, UT - Fishin' echo lake with Kenny
* Salt Lake City, UT - Walking around downtown

But it wasn't all fun and travel, we really did work our butts off and it is good to be back home in the "normal" routine of things. Eating out everyday really does get old, but not having to do dishes never gets old.... Krystle is back to teaching and is loving her new class. Things are much easier this year since she has five less kids than last year.

I have been still flying around a little bit out of town. Last weekend I spent flying in El Paso, Tx and Albuquerque, NM. I had a great visit while in Albuquerque with an ol' friend of mine, Alex, from ERAU. We got to explore the old town part of ABQ.

I have been posting lots of pictures on my Flickr account, Be certain to check that out on a regular basis.

Idaho

2007-06-20T19:20:00.001-07:00

Krystle and I are flying our butts off in Idaho. We are just outside Boise.

Big Guns

2007-04-16T18:43:00.000-07:00

216 Megapixel Large Format Digital Camera

2007-04-14T10:14:00.000-07:00

This is our new company camera, we are the first company in the US to get our hands on this new camera. It is made by a Vexcel a company based in Austria and owned by Microsoft.

Concorde

2007-03-24T21:21:00.001-07:00

Concorde

New Ride

2007-02-28T20:01:00.000-07:00

Hanging out in Philadelphia

2007-02-27T18:21:00.000-07:00

Bens Beard

2007-02-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

Ice Landing

2007-02-19T20:49:00.000-07:00

I flew from Benson to Philadelphia over the last two days with 4 stops. I had amazingly good tailwinds that kept my groundspeed at 170 kts the whole way there. That's not bad since my airplane only does 125 kts normally.

My route took me through Borger Texas (KBGD) just north of Amarillo. It is a community that is based on refining oil and mining coal. It smells a little like long beach. We got airplane gas there for $2.75 per gallon, which is $0.75 less than the cheapest gas that I've gotten in a year.

Stop #2 was Springfield MO where we spent the night. There we got to see first hand the devastation of the Ice storms that hit the area a few weeks ago. People there had to live in sub freezing conditions for up to 3 weeks!

The tailwinds continued today as we headed off to Hamilton, Ohio (just a few miles north of Cincinnati) This is where I had my first experience landing on ice. I had some trouble picking out the airport since the runway was still covered with ice. GPS really helped out today. The landing was softer than normal since the snow gives a little. Braking action on the runway was pretty good, I was able to lock up the wheels and slide around a little bit just for fun. The rudder helps me control the slide up until I'm about 20 miles per hour.

The final stop was Philadelphia, we had real good weather the whole way. The only clouds that I hit were in southwestern PA, and they were really thin.

Jud (my photographer) came along with me. Krystle will come out here next month during her spring break. I'm going to be in Philadelphia over the next two months to get trained up in the Cessna 310 and build hours for insurance.

2007-02-17T07:47:00.000-07:00

Meteor Crater in Arizona

My Flight Crew

2007-01-15T22:10:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year 2007

2007-01-04T22:34:00.000-07:00

Christmas Tree 06

2006-12-25T21:47:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas, Krystle's Christmas Letter

2006-12-25T21:07:00.000-07:00

Dear friends and family,

We hope this letter finds you all well and in good spirits! Since our life now resembles something normal, we finally have time to sit and write our first annual Christmas letter! 2006 has been an incredibly eventful year!

In the last part of 2005, I was living in Flagstaff with my then pregnant friend Sarah Lemon finishing my elementary education degree at Northern Arizona University, and tending to Sean-Delle the cat’s every whim. I worked part time teaching preschool to help ends meet. Vincent was living in Phoenix flying for an air ambulance/air cargo company called Sun Western Flyers. Sun Western is not exactly “Fortune 500” material, and they treat their employees and aircraft like second-class citizens. Getting cargo from point “A” to point “B” was the only priority. Aside from that, being two hours from each other didn’t help matters. However, this was the only way to pay bills. Thank you so much to my parents and Chris Bornemisza and Rhiannon Richards for being there for us when we needed places to stay. Without them, we never would have made it on Vince’s meager salary.

The conclusion of 2005 was difficult, because my friend and roommate Sarah moved to Phoenix where she had more family support. This left me living alone for two and a half months, seeing Vince only on the weekends. Still, the conclusion of the college degree was worth it! In January, I moved to Phoenix where I finally got to live with my husband and begin student teaching. I was under the supervision of Paige Lewis, an amazing first grade teacher at Desert Thunder school in Goodyear, and Vince was still working for Sun Western. In March, Vince and I moved out of the homes of friends and family to our own place..sort of. We rented the master suite of a large ranch home in Tolleson, which is west Phoenix. Our roommates, Mike and Sue, were more like an extension of family which was a twist of fate considering it all started with us answering a newspaper ad. We had a great time living in a quiet neighborhood with three horses, a dog, a cockatiel, about a dozen chickens, and two cats! Sean-Delle LOVED having a wide variety of things to chase! It was a tough semester since Vince was not happy in his job, and I wasn’t much help financially since student teaching is really full time teaching –unpaid- with another teacher in the room.

January marked the marraige of our friends Joslyn and Jeremy LaMantia! We were excited to attend their beautiful wedding in Costa Mesa, California. They were kind enough to let all of us who drove from out of town stay in their wonderful home!

On February 24^th, Sarah gave birth to her son Lewis James by c- section. It was awesome, except for the events that followed. In the first week of March, during my spring

Break from student teaching, Sarah was put back in the hospital for a serious staph infection. I spent my break caring for the baby during the day, while Sarah’s mom was at the hospital. I spent nights with Sarah in the hospital to help keep her sane, while her mother went home to get sleep. A brand new mother being separated from her son is NOT a pretty picture, but Sarah is one of the strongest people we know, and she managed to pull through; even after the infection sprang back shortly after her release from the hospital. Mother, son, and grandma are now well and living in Okinawa, Japan.

Our lives were now back to status quo, with me student teaching and Vincent flying cargo out of Sky Harbor International. Then, April came. One night that month Vince told me he had the job opportunity of a lifetime, and he had to fly to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to pursue it. He heard that a company by the name of Keystone Aerial Surveys would be hiring survey pilots to build their western branch of the company here in Benson, Arizona. This was wonderful news, except for the fact that I had just been offered four teaching jobs at NAU’s career day the previous month. These jobs were all in Phoenix. We decided we’d play it by ear.

During Vince’s trip to Philadelphia, he learned that this opportunity with Keystone was too good to pass up! They would be paying him a decent salary, regardless of weather and flight time. Besides that, summers with Keystone mean going on the road and traveling the country for the department of agriculture land use survey project. At first I was dreading being apart again, but then Vince informed me that I’d be going too, as his aerial photographer! After lots of debate and sleepless nights, I decided to take a deep breath and go for the plunge taking a job that had nothing to do with my degree.

I graduated from NAU with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education on May 12th, and our friends and family joined us for a wonderful party the next day! It included my wonderful in-laws and my cousin Joe, both traveled all the way from San Diego! My 7^th grade teacher, Paula Drake, also attended my graduation despite a recent car accident, as did our friend Mike Denoff. He came from LA! What a wonderful treat to see them all! It gave us a chance to say goodbye for the summer.

The day after my graduation party, we flew to Keystone’s home office in Philadelphia; together this time. When I say home office, I really mean home. We were greeted with open arms and everything we needed to feel comfortable in our new setting. Vince was learning the ropes as a pilot and me as a photographer. While we were there, we got to take a trip to New Jersey and New York City! Not to mention seeing everything Philadelphia has to offer! By the end of June, we were sent solo as a survey crew in our trusty Cessna 206 complete with a Leica RC30 aerial camera. Nervous beyond all imagination, we flew ourselves from Northeast Philadelphia Airport to our first base in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. We encountered weather along the way, so we stopped in Fremont, Ohio overnight to ride it out. While we were there, we had the opportunity to check out grandma Ammann’s old stomping grounds! It’s a beautiful little town! The next morning we made it to Rhinelander, and started our first day shooting pictures. From then on, we made the best team in the air!! We finished in Rhinelander, the home of the Hodag, a fictitious monster that eats white bulldogs, and moved on to Bismarck, North Dakota. We were stuck there for over a month, mostly because we had very few good picture days due to thunderstorms. The good news is we had another crew there to keep us company! Lee Barthold and Terry Knight stuck with us at our first major base to make sure we had a handle on things and share the thousands of pictures we needed to take! During one of our many stormed out days, we drove our rental car to Rapid City, South Dakota, and visited our friend Tim Trautman. He was stationed at Ellesworth Air Force Base. He took us to Mount Rushmore! That is truly a sight to see, and we feel blessed that we got to see it! While in the Dakotas we also got to see Ft. Mandan and Ft. Abraham Lincoln. It was interesting to see how General Custer and his men lived at the time of his last stand. Ft. Mandan was intriguing because Lewis and Clark’s journey across the west really started the tensions between the “white man” and the natives.

It was during our tenure in Bismarck that I realized I wanted to make the job as a photographer a seasonal event. I knew it was still in my heart to teach. So, knowing we’d be moving to Benson, Arizona, at the end of the summer, I researched the job market in nearby school districts. Sure enough, Benson Unified School District had job openings in first, second, and sixth grade. I took a shot in the dark and faxed my resume, paperwork, and application from our hotel in Bismarck. They scheduled a phone interview with me the next day, and within five hours made the decision to hire me! I was offered the second and first grade positions, and I chose first grade because I was familiar with what they needed to know at that grade level, and I knew I’d be comfortable with kids my baby sister’s age! Shortly after, we were successful in securing a place to live via mail, fax, and telephone. Vince and I were ecstatic!

So, now that we knew we had established jobs once we got home, we went through the rest of the summer completely at ease. Our second base was in Billings, Montana. That was gorgeous!! Words cannot possibly describe that area of our country. We were fortunate to see the battle ground at Little Bighorn, as well as the reenactment of the battle itself. That is one piece of history where there was truly not a right or wrong answer. Flying at 15,000 feet over the beginnings of the Rocky Mountains wasn’t a bad experience, either. J Up to this point, we realized we had followed the trail of Lewis and Clark! This inspired us to research that part of history further. They really opened a lot of opportunities for the settlers of the time!

We spent about two weeks in Billings, and then we found ourselves taking survey pictures in Greeley, Colorado. What a neat town! We agreed it was one of our favorite bases. We were fortunate to be there during the 4^th of July. This is when the Greeley stampede takes place, which is a huge Independence Day celebration that includes concerts and a rodeo! After our flight for the day, we bought tickets to the rodeo and carnival. We decided the concert would be a little much. Just when we were cheering on the best team ropers in the event, the lady behind us said she wasn’t interested in the concert so she offered us her tickets she earned from her company! Since Big and Rich were on the schedule that night, I quickly accepted and did not give Vincent much choice in the matter. What a night!! While we were in Greeley, we were fortunate enough to hear that our friend Jena Hess was in Estes Park visiting her family! We took a day of thunderstorms and made the trip from Greeley to Estes Park in our trusty rental car. Jena’s family welcomed us very warmly with a good, home cooked dinner and cookies! We had the opportunity to do some hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park, one of our new favorite getaways. It is amazingly beautiful there. Nothing beats being in the mountains with good friends and some trail mix!

When the points in Greeley were photographed, we were sent to Colorado Springs, by far our top base of the summer. We got to stay in a suite at the Radisson, which was right next to the airport! We had a view of Pikes Peak, which of course we had to check out. It’s funny, because the elevation of Pikes Peak is 14,110 ft. This is just about the elevation at which you need oxygen if you are in an aircraft! The view from the top is phenomenal! It was a great place to spend our second wedding anniversary! While we were there, we took the short trip to Denver. What an amazing city! It’s this actual metropolis in the middle of the mountains! It makes you wonder how it got there. And of course, being in Colorado, we had to go to Golden and tour the Coors brewery, followed by the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Ft. Collins! We decided Bud rules as king over Coors any day!

The summer was wrapping up in late July, and we figured we’d be flying straight home from Colorado Springs. We were wrong! Keystone had one more place for us to clear of photo points. El Paso, Texas!! We were thrilled! We’ve always wanted to see if everything is really bigger in Texas! We also missed..I mean REALLY missed authentic Mexican food! Guess where our first stop was once we got to El Paso? Yes, the closest Tex/Mex restaurant to the airport. We shot a small number of pictures there and saw a small piece of the Lonestar State. Then it was homeward bound.

My grandparents picked us up from Goodyear airport on July 29^th. We went home and spent the afternoon packing to move because I had to be at new staff orientation in Benson the first week of August! Vince flew the 206 to Benson that night, and my brother and I drove down to Benson to seal the deal on our duplex rental and pick Vince up. Then life proceeded with a drive back to Tolleson and more packing. Thank goodness for Charlene and Daniel!! Being the awesome friends they are, they helped us move all of our worldly possessions from Tolleson to Benson, a three hour drive. Daniel also changed the radiator in my Jeep Cherokee. We will be forever grateful. Charlene and I would walk through fire for each other, I think.

The move to Benson was smooth. Benson is a tiny town about 45 minutes east of Tucson. Population 5000. Until Wal-Mart opened on November 8^th, we had to drive to either Tucson or Sierra Vista for any kind of shopping! It was a tough adjustment, but it’s so serene and untouched here that you forget the inconvenience!

It didn’t take Vince long to get settled in with the Keystone office here in Benson, and his Fall/Winter photographer, Judd Lowe. The primary work during the non-summer months is topography, or map making. That means taking more pictures at once and using a different portion of the photography system. It also means staying in Arizona, so my husband comes home every night!! I am fortunate that I’ve had the opportunity to learn this type of photography, too, because I’m the backup weekend photographer! Occasionally I get to dust the rust off of my photo brain. J For the first time in quite a while, Vince is very content with work and life in general. He is also flight instructing on the side.

I was a little overwhelmed that first month of school, but things are smooth sailing in Mrs. Ammann’s first grade class these days. J Teaching in a small town comes with challenges I didn’t expect, despite the fact that I grew up in just that. Perhaps I was sheltered. Only time will tell what will become of some of these kiddos, but I’m learning I can’t make everything personal.

After we got settled in after the move, life didn’t stand still! At the beginning of October, my friend Nikki Miller called me and informed me that she was getting married in Las Vegas! I was her only friend in attendance; everybody else who made the trip was either her family or that of the groom. The wedding was gorgeous, and I was lucky enough to be there for Nikki on her special day! Another exciting aspect of that trip was staying with and spending time with Gena McIntyre (and of course, Chris, too)!! I need many more visits with that girl!

Around Halloween, my grandfather had to have colon surgery, which had the whole family pretty nervous. However, being the stubborn soul he is, things went just fine with zero complications, and a positive outcome. Since October just decided it had to be an eventful month, my parents closed escrow on their new house, too!! It’s a very comfortable home in Litchfield Park, also in the west valley of Phoenix. They are very happy there! My brother didn’t have to change schools, and my sister’s school is a gorgeous, brand new facility! Markus, my brother, just applied to Arizona State University and is anxiously waiting to take his SAT’s. He also is anticipating driving his new Chevy Cobalt through the Scum Devil (I mean Sun Devil) campus! Also, Joshua Lawrence McBride was born to our good friends John and Audrey on October 24^th!! We can’t wait to meet him!

November was a good time to catch up with Vince’s side of the family! We spent Thanksgiving at Auntie Gail’s house in La Habra. Almost everybody was there! It was good to see grandpa more than anything. He was having a good day and he enjoyed his dinner! It was very nice to spend time with mom and dad since we don’t get to see them much these days. Things seem to be going pretty well for them in San Diego. We also got to catch up with Ben and Patsy Cartwright while we were there! What a treat to see them! We also had to harass our friends Katie and Larry Crampton. J We truly miss living within such a short drive of them like we used to. Going back there always makes us a bit homesick.

Now that we are beginning December, we already have events for this month as well. Vince’s friend and old roommate, Rex Nichols, and his girlfriend Gennie, welcomed the arrival of Alina Nichols on December 7^th. One of my college roommates and sorority sister, Autumn, and her husband Brain, welcomed Maegan Hope MacDermott into the world on the 10^th!

Here’s to a happy and joyful holiday season for all of you from our family to yours!!

Love,

Vincent, Krystle, and Sean-Delle Ammann

Looping a Cessna 150 Aerobat

2006-11-28T17:50:00.000-07:00


Looking out the side window during a loop in a Cessna 150 Aerobat.

Yum. Annie's Cranberry Jello

2006-11-24T20:50:00.000-07:00

We went out to Auntie Gretchen's House in Anaheim for Thanksgiving. It was good to see all the family. A student of mine let me borrow his airplane to fly out to San Diego where Krystle and I met my parents and drove to Anaheim. My favorite food at thanksgiving dinner is Annie's Cranberry walnut jello.

Dan Vivian First Solo!

2006-11-17T15:49:00.000-07:00

I'm back to flight instructing during my spare time and have procreated in the pilot community... Dan Vivian is an excellent student who has sold his auto repair business and is chasing his dream of becoming a helicopter pilot. Eric & Whalon my airplane mechanics got involved in the celebrations and helped me "initiate" Dan after his solo flight.

Landing

2006-11-02T21:11:00.000-07:00

Ultimate Pencil Fighting

2006-09-02T23:43:00.000-07:00

Today I learned how to pencil fight properly from master pencil fight sensei Bill Powell.

In this video, Bill breaks a brand new pencil in one amazing hit.

Council Rocks

2006-08-22T09:32:00.000-07:00

My new friend and photographer Mark took me over to the Council Rocks located in the Dragoon Mountain Range where petroglyphs where painted about 1000 years ago by local Indians. We took an ATVs to ride out to the rock and spent our time put-putting along in 4X4 machines powered with a 1 cylander engine. It didn't take much for me to get checked out on this new machine and I had a ball driving it around.

Regal Horned Lizard

2006-08-21T10:18:00.000-07:00

I found this gal in my backyard while whacking the weeds that sprouted from all the recient rain. Phrynosoma solare is the latin name. It's basically a desert ant-eater.

Move to Benson

2006-07-30T09:13:00.000-07:00

Well, we have finished our PSU season and are now in the process of moving from Tolleson, Az to the little town of Benson, just east of Tucson by a 40 minute drive.

Our new address is 559 w. 9th Ave, Benson Az 85602.

We are real grateful for the help of Charlene & Daniel in the moving process. The have been super in helping us load our truck, cleaning and even changing the radiator to Krystle's Jeep so that it wouldn't overheat on our way southeast.

Day Off

2006-07-21T20:20:00.000-07:00

Cloudy weather = Day off of work. Krystle & I had a nice day today doing not much of anything exciting. We had breakfast, lunch at Panera bread (super-yummy), did some drooling at best buy, watched Superman Returns (YEAH! Great flick), continued our wal-mart tour of America and ate dinner at Wendys. Not bad seeing that we both made a full day's wages doing all these things.

Cowboy Up!

2006-07-20T20:57:00.000-07:00

Here I am riding old Blue through the Garden of the Gods state park near Co. Springs.

Royal Gorge

2006-07-20T20:56:00.000-07:00

Pikes Peak

2006-07-20T20:55:00.000-07:00

15,000 Feet

2006-07-11T18:51:00.000-07:00

Married now for 2 Years

2006-07-10T18:53:00.000-07:00

For our wedding anniversary, we were lucky enough to have four days of bad weather in a row. After two years, everything seems to finally have fallen into place. At the end of this month we should be back in AZ moving from Phoenix to Benson, Az where I'll work full time as a pilot and Krystle can start her career teaching 1st grade.

The Hess Family

2006-07-03T23:28:00.000-07:00

We drove up after it clouded up to visit our friend Jena Hess and her family up in Estes Park, Colorado. We got to do lots of exploring including a visit to the Rocky Mountain National Park.

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

2006-07-03T23:25:00.000-07:00

Where Custer Fell

2006-06-29T17:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we drove out to the Little Bighorn National Monument and saw exactly where General Custer's Last Stand was in the battle against the Souix, Lakota & other local Indians. The park rangers give historical talks about the battle throughout the day and are a wealth of knowledge about the battle and the complex history that lead up to the Indians fighting for their way of life. Both sides had justifiable reasons to fight, unfortunately the cultural differences were too great for peaceful coexistence.

Battle of Little Big Horn

2006-06-27T20:01:00.000-07:00

Talk about timing! We were able to make it to the annual reenactment of Custer's Last Stand, done only over one weekend per year. It was a real treat to see. There were over 100 living historians reenacting the battle of little big horn 130 years ago. The battle was a lot more than men playing indians and cowboys, it was a full history lesson in a nutshell about the American expansion to the west.

Rocky Mountain High

2006-06-27T19:58:00.000-07:00

Hey, here's my office view from today. The rocky mountains at 13,500 feet.

Billings Montana

2006-06-21T20:44:00.000-07:00

We are now in Billings Montana. It's the largest city in Montana and has lot's to see and do. The Montana Brewing Company located downtown on Broadway has an excellent Yellowfin Tuna sandwich.

International Peace Garden

2006-06-17T15:38:00.000-07:00

The Peace Garden State is North Dakota, and this is the International Peace Garden airport. The garden itself is the pathway that seems to connect to the end of the runway. This pathway is the US/Canadian border. The garden was founded in the 1930's as a symbol of peace along the longest unguarded border in the world.

Professional Video Game Player

2006-06-17T15:27:00.000-07:00

The Office

2006-06-17T15:23:00.000-07:00

With three GPS systems on board I shouldn't ever get lost. The big color screen is my primary navigation system for aerial survey. It is a touch screen that controls a windows based laptop with Track-Air software loaded onto it. The little color display to the right is a Garmin 296 which is a handheld GPS that has terrain & airspace information to help me maintain situational awareness. The third GPS is a panel mounted IFR GPS that I can use while I'm in the clouds.

Playing Video Games for Work

2006-06-17T15:21:00.000-07:00

This is Eric's masterpiece. Eric is the electronics guy who does all of our custom installs at Keystone. He "slightly" modified a Playstation 2 video game controller in order to control the camera in the back of our plane. From what I hear, the inside of the controller is packed full of electronic wonders to make it work with our camera. He also mounted a digital video camera onto our gyro-stabilized mount to help Krystle track the drift of the airplane. The video display is just below the PS2 Controller.

Mt. Rushmore

2006-06-12T08:50:00.000-07:00

Hey we made it to Mount Rushmore! Bad weather in North Dakota meant we had a chance to do a road trip into South Dakota to check out some of the other local sights. We stayed the night with our friend 2nd Lt Tim Trautman and had a good visit with him and his two kittys.

Bismarck, ND

2006-06-09T15:15:00.000-07:00

Following Lewis and Clark's Trail

2006-06-08T15:18:00.000-07:00

Fort Mandan. Where Lewis & Clark spent their winter in both directions of their journey.

Footprints in North Dakota

2006-06-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

Fort Lincoln

2006-06-05T15:16:00.000-07:00

Rhinelander, WI the home of the Hodag

2006-05-30T17:41:00.000-07:00

The Hodag is the town mascot of Rhinelander, a small town in northern Wisconsin. It's a mythical creature that was created to bring tourists into town. It's really pretty up here with lots of lakes and rivers. Yesterday we were able to take 32 aerial photos up near the northernmost part of Michigan. Today we had bad weather for picture taking so we did a little bit of exploring in town. The highlight of our day was in the local museum that features old logging equipment and a single room school house staffed with one of the last three remaining single room school teachers in Wisconsin. Lulu taught 1st through 8th grades all in the same classroom at the same time for 9 years. She had lots of stories to tell and really gave us some insight on the challenges of teaching multiple grades at the same time.

Fremont, Ohio

2006-05-28T22:59:00.000-07:00

Fremont was where both my grandmother and grandfather were born and raised. My grandma always had stories about "ol' Fremont." We were lucky enough to turn it into a gas stop and an overnight since there were some severe thunderstorms lingering over our destination. The airport (14G) was very nice. The owners of the airfield let us borrow their car for the night so that we could make it to a hotel and back early in the morning. The hospitality there was beyond what was expected. While in Fremont we found my grandma's ol house which was in excellent condition.

Exploring NYC

2006-05-22T18:12:00.000-07:00

After walking over 20 miles, I am sure we have made some sort of whirlwind tour record for most places seen by foot in New York City within one day. Pictures are worth a thousand words and my photo album is full of the latest ones.

Flying over NYC

2006-05-18T19:41:00.000-07:00

Today I got to fly up the Hudson River at 1,000' MSL enroute to a photoshoot just north of New York City. On the way I was able to see the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Lower Manhattan, Ground Zero, the Empire State Building, and Central Park.

More Pictures on my Photo Album

Pat's King of Steaks or Geno's Steaks?

2006-05-18T19:22:00.000-07:00

The raging debate in Philadelphia is not Yankees vs. Phillies, instead it is who has the better cheese steak, Pat's King of Steaks or Geno's Steaks across the street. Both of these family owned businesses have been around since the 1930's and are in fierce competition. The proper way to order a cheese steak sandwich is by stating "wit or witout" (With or without onions) and then specifying the type of cheese. We ordered "wit whiz" whiz is the local favorite. Krystle and I both shared a steak from each stand and our answer to long time debate was "Pat's King of Steaks." Geno's however was not bad and had a cleaner place to sit down and better neon signs.

South Street - Training Update

2006-05-16T22:23:00.000-07:00

Krystle and I have been out in Philadelphia, Pa since Monday. We have been keeping busy training and have had plenty of time after work to explore a little bit around Phily. Today we hit up South Street, a bustling part of downtown known for it's night life. Krystle had a craving for pizza so we ran into Lorenzo and Sons for a quick slice. The customer service was not very good, however the pizza was unbelievable. The slices are huge, and there are big signs that say "No! No! No!" referring to the answer you'll receive if you ask for any toppings on your pizza, plastic forks and knives, or usage of their bathroom. The slices were only $2 and were so tasty we had to go back and have seconds. Pizza in Phily is only to be eaten like a taco. We burnt off the rest of our time off by walking around Washington Square a large park in the middle of the city.

Krystle Graduates!

2006-05-13T18:05:00.000-07:00

After 6 Years (1 year on standby) and a lot of heartache, Krystle works her little toosh off and Graduates! We have been partying all weekend in celebration. Congrats Krystle!

Initial Training @ Sim Com

2006-05-06T21:44:00.000-07:00

I start my new job as a Survey Pilot by attending a Cessna 310 initial course at SimCom in Scottsdale. I'm looking forward to the training, it should get me up to speed with the airplane and help further polish my procedures and training. I just know they are going to make me sweat bullets in their simulator by throwing every possible compound emergency that they can think of. It has been a long time since I've been at the controls of a simulator so I am a little apprehensive. Wish me luck.

Loosing my favorite benefit

2006-05-04T21:45:00.000-07:00

The best benefit I get from hauling cargo around is getting to fly every day into Arizona Sunsets. I'll miss the AZ sunsets, but I'm looking forward to seeing new sunsets in other places.

Chapter 4: Aerial Survey Flying

2006-04-23T21:57:00.000-07:00

I've given my current employer my two weeks notice and I am starting a new job flying as an Aerial Survey Pilot for a small company. This company is going to hire and train Krystle to be a photographer, and we will both get to fly around the US together for a few months at a time. I am sure it is going to be a great adventure for the both of us.

Last Wednesday I took the red-eye flight from Phoenix to Philadelphia and interviewed with the owners of the Survey company. I had a great first impression of the operation. Their airplanes are clean, have the latest equipment and are all well maintained. The majority of their fleet is Cessna 310's, but they also have a Cessna Conquest and a Cessna 206. I will start in the C206 for now. The company pays well and has promised an upgrade to their T310s within a year.

I got to observe a flight on Friday in a Cessna Conquest. We flew up north past New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. The flight was exciting to say the least. I think this line of work is the only civilian work that allows you to fly a turbo-prop airplane at low altitudes with no regard to fuel economy just to take pictures of the ground. I got to step foot in Bangor Maine and had just enough time to pick up a fresh lobster roll while the airplane was getting fueled up. The lobster was good.

The camera is a high quality gyro stabilized film camera that is mounted to the aircraft and a portal for the lens is cut into the belly of the airframe.

A Long Way From Yuma

2006-04-23T21:54:00.000-07:00

America's Birthplace, Independence Hall

2006-04-23T21:02:00.000-07:00

New Life

2006-04-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

Broodie hen has hatched one little black chick. She's been a good mother and has done a successful job of protecting the little one from dangerious grackels. It's another sign that spring has arrived. The little chick is fairly tame and has a little white spot on it's head. It will be fun to see this little bird grow up.

Mig 21

2006-04-10T21:08:00.000-07:00

Today I met a guy that really has a good job. He flys a Mig-21 professionally and gets pseudo-shot down a few times a day by marines in training. He was nice enough to show me around his airplane and even let me sit inside while I relieved my childhood by making airplane noises and moving flight controls.

Direct to Yuma

2006-04-05T21:51:00.000-07:00

Another day at the office. Today I'm en-route to Yuma. The "D" with an arrow through it is the symbol for "Direct To." I was hoping for a leisurely day on standby duty, but my digital leash (pager) went off shortly after I fell asleep and said: "Ride to Yuma, Reposition a plane back to PHX." I enjoy flying most of the time, but I really don't like going to Yuma because that is where all sorts of company drama starts.

This time out there, I really felt as though I got "the shaft." As you may recall, I helped bail the company out of stupidity by living about a month out of El Monte to start up a run to El Centro until they could hire a 135 IFR pilot who lives in the area to do the work. My only compensation was supposed to be an additional $23 per day. I have seen now 4 paychecks since but no per diem. It turns out that nobody wants to take responsibility for why I haven't been paid. One of the owners even told me today that "Cargo pilot's don't get per-diem." The total amount of money owed to me is only a couple of hundred bucks but I'm more distressed about the principal of the situation. I don't make much money and have my wife to support until she's done student teaching so I budget every penny I make.

I did enjoy the flight though. Since all of our cargo runs are single pilot it was nice to have the change of pace and actually have somebody to talk to on the way over. After a year of single pilot flying I'm starting to feel rusty on my general conversational skills.

Rainbow over Sierra Vista

2006-04-05T12:44:00.000-07:00

Another Low Pressure System moves through bringing rain and a bow for Sierra Vista.

Spring is Here

2006-03-29T23:24:00.000-07:00

Spring has arrived in southeastern Arizona. I took some time out of my day to walk around and enjoy the simple pleasures of spring by photographing the little things that I saw. Birds are making nests, the cherry blossom trees around in Sierra Vista are blooming and the bare branches of the mesquite trees are starting to sprout green leaves.

Miss Liberty Bell

2006-03-27T21:19:00.000-07:00

Today I had pulled up right next to a flying museum. The Liberty Bell B-17 G is one of a handful of remaining airworthy B-17s. She wears the markings of the 390th Bomb Group to honor it's restorers father. It is rare to see this particular B-17 this far west because she is based out of Douglas, Georgia.

During WWII the B-17 was our primary heavy bomber. It carried a crew of 10 men into combat, most of these men are younger than I. It was able to carry 8,000 Pounds of bombs on a normal load and deliver its ordinance with an accuracy within a few city blocks.

The heavy bomber today is the B-52, which has a crew of 5, carries 70,000 pounds of ordinance and can place the ordinance precisely into the bathroom windows of multiple targets at the same time.

History of the Liberty Bell

Queen of the Hill

2006-03-26T22:00:00.000-07:00

Krystle and I took a little time out of our schedules to do a little hiking. We went to the Estrella Mountain Regional Park. We attempted to hike the baseline trail, but veered off the main trail by accident and ended up on top of the largest hill in the area. Our little detour made for some excellent views of the west valley.

Major Oil Leak?

2006-03-09T11:11:00.000-07:00

I jumped out of my flying machine this morning after landing in Sierra Vista and was astonished at the large puddle of fresh oil underneath the nose of my airplane. Within 5 minutes of shutting down the engine almost a half quart of fresh clean oil was on the ground. Everything in flight seemed ok, but maybe something was not. I spent almost an hour investigating every nook and cranny that I could look into, but nothing in the engine compartment looked abnormal... I checked the oil dipstick and it was at 11 quarts, the same as when I took off. However I did notice the oil on the dipstick looked warn-in, but the oil on the ground looked brand new. This got me thinking and I checked the nose cargo bay where I found the culprit of the oil slick, a new quart of oil with an inch-long gash in its plastic container caused when I unknowing pushed the bottle with my sunshades into an exposed sheet metal screw. Crisis averted.

Livin' with the chickens

2006-03-05T18:07:00.000-07:00

Krystle and I moved out from Chris & Riannon's house on March 4th and moved in to a farm house in Tolleson, Az. We are renting the master bedroom & bathroom from Sue & Mike, a very nice couple who just wanted a little extra cash and had lots of extra room in their house. We have a private entrance to our bedroom and are able to move in with our Kitty Cat.

Sue and Mike have lots of animals, 1/2 dozen chickens or so, three mini horses, a dog, a cat, and a cockatiel. Living on the farm has been real fun. The chickens do a good job producing eggs for us. Since they are free-range chickens they lay eggs wherever an egg can fit, so finding eggs everyday is a little like Easter egg hunts. The eggs taste better than supermarket eggs and have a brighter yellow yoke than store eggs. The polish hen in the picture above is currently brooding her eggs and she is real feisty if you get anywhere near her.

Back in Phoenix

2006-03-04T23:45:00.000-07:00

After two weeks in El Monte, CA I am glad to come back home to Phoenix to spend some warm nights with my lovely wife. One of the perks of my job is being home everynight. The company that owns me has taken that away from me and thinks $23 per day should make up for not going home.

Piper Snow-Cone

2006-02-23T15:16:00.000-07:00

4:30 AM, my pager startles me awake with a loud rattle on the night stand next to me. "Are you awake? Don't forget to check in with dispatch" I fumble for the light switch in the dark of an unfamiliar hotel room in Monrovia, CA and feel my way to speed-dial #7 on my cell phone. I've only had six hours of sleep, and my dispatcher doesn't realize that there is an hour time difference between California and Arizona. I mumble a few words to her she apologizes profusely but the damage is already done, there was no way for me to fall back asleep for another hours rest. I brew a pot of hotel coffee and call up for my weather briefing.

The briefer answers with alacrity after the first ring and I mumble my way through my route of flight. The briefer takes a deep breath and starts rattling off SIGMETS, AIRMETS, METARS, TAFS, winds alofts, and NOTAMS at mach two all in one sentence. I listen carefully as I sip my coffee, my brain pops into gear and catches up. This morning was going to be different from every other flight that I've had since working at Sun Western. I was going to have to file IFR! Overcast at 3,000 feet but no reported tops as of yet in the morning. No problem, I've flown through this sort of marine layer a number of times before it probably only a couple of thousand feet thick. I put my flight plan on file and hang up with the briefer. Quick shower, suit up and drive to the airport.

Within a minute of taking off I plowed my way through the bottoms of the clouds. The aircraft bounces around like driving on a dirt road. I focus my attention on the instruments as the controller speaks "Saratoga One Two X-Ray, Turn direct Paradise climb and maintain 8,000 feet." I bring the nose slightly up and expect to punch out of the clouds soon. The grey cloud surrounding me slowly turns to pure white as I get closer to the top of the layer. The temperature drops as I climb and upon reaching 8,000 feet I dip the nose down to level off then check the temperature probe that sticks through the front window: 32 degrees F. Small water droplets from the cloud that were just blowing off the windscreen stop dead in their tracks. The probe poking out my window turns white with what looks like shaved ice, the backs of the rivet heads on the wings start collecting semi-circular ice rings. Ice on the wings can change how the airplane handles and causes a loss of lift. Since the airplane I fly does not have any way of removing ice from the wings in flight this can very quickly turn into a critical situation. I want to climb higher to get on top of the clouds and out of the ice.

I call up on the radio: "SoCal Approach, Saratoga 12X requesting an immediate climb higher due to light rime icing, I'm not de-ice equipped." SoCal replies, "Roger, 12X Stand-By" then starts telling airliners above me and around me to turn, climb or descend in order to make a hole in the densely packed airspace over Ontario for me to climb up through. I appreciate the power of the controller. To a little Piper pilot like me, ATC's power is equal to the power of Moses as he parted the Red Sea. Soon enough my clearance to climb to 11,000 feet comes through. I bring the nose up a couple of degrees and punch through the top of the cloud. I feel immediate relief when the sun warms my face as I climb eastbound into the sunrise. My hard work is paid off by a beautiful view out the captain side window of the early morning colors of brilliant orange, light pink and pure white painted on a sea of cotton ball clouds beneath me. The wings sparkle where the ice collected.

Outside, the winds are howling at 50 knots from the west. My ground speed is 230 MPH. I expect strong turbulence over the top of the very tall mountains just west of Palm Springs and as I approach the mountains I throttle back to slow the plane down to its rough air penetration speed and tighten my seat belt as the plane starts rocking around. I do my best to keep the nose pointed East. As I cross over the top of the mountain range I pull the throttle back almost to idle and spiral two miles down to Bermuda Dunes Airport with winds favoring runway 28 with a stiff crosswind from the left. On final approach I bounced around flying sideways and in the last few seconds applied full right rudder and a bit of left bank to pull the nose over to land firmly on the runway.

Risk!

2006-02-02T15:18:00.000-07:00

While we were in Los Angeles, Rex allowed Krystle and I to stay with him in his pad in Downtown. Since Rex does not have a TV, Rex, Divo and I all found other ways to entertain ourselves. One of our favorite pastimes is playing Risk & barbecuing. Divo Drove up from San Diego and brought his girlfriend to stay the night with us and we all had a good time re-living our time we lived together. Good Times!

Farewell Wade Risinger Sr.

2006-01-30T15:06:00.000-07:00

Krystle's Grandpa passed away just over a week ago and we drove on out to Los Angeles to see his burial service. Grandpa Risinger was in the army and served in Korea as a tank gun loader. The California Army National Guard sent out a couple of their sharpest men to provide a proper military service that would bring tears to any true American. I am glad that I had on a number of occasions met Papa Risinger before he passed away.

135 Arrow Checkout

2006-01-27T22:36:00.000-07:00

Well, I just got checked out in a Piper Arrow under part 135. It's not anywhere close to an equipment upgrade. The cargo door is not large enough for the packages and the slower speed does not help me keep an on time arrival for my destinations. Oh well, at least it is still an airplane and I still don't have to pay the gas for it.

Coyotes Game

2006-01-22T21:54:00.000-07:00

My friend Bill scored some amazing seats at the Coyotes v Oilier Hockey game this past weekend. In the picture above is Jeff (Bill's Friend), myself and Bill sitting in the front row next to the glass alongside the penalty box. This was my first time going to any sporting event in a seat that was right in the middle of the action. I've been to a couple of hockey games before but this by far was the best! The game went into overtime and was won by the Coyotes in a shootout final score was 4 to 3. The tickets had a face value of $225/seat but we were lucky enough to get them for free.

Lake Havasu City & The Colorado River

2006-01-08T22:40:00.000-07:00

Another picture of my office view.

Joslyn & Jeremy LaMantia Hitched!

2006-01-07T22:53:00.000-07:00

Krystle and I went to Newport Beach, Ca to see Krystle's NAU buddies get married. They had quite a beautiful wedding! I took a lot of photographs while I was there, mostly at times where there was no professional photographer. Krystle and I ate breakfast at the beach so there are a few photos of Newport beach mixed in.

View 58 Photos in my Album

Day of the Kings

2006-01-05T22:12:00.000-07:00

Ben & David Cartwright, Bill Jackson, Walter S. and I drove down to Tecate Mexico to drop off an entire F-150 Ford Truckload of toys to an orphanage just on the other side of the border for the day of the kings. The day of the kings is Jan 5th and is the day that presents are exchanged in Mexico & many other countries to celebrate the day that the three kings presented presents to the baby Jesus. Above is Ben Cartwright at his finest at the Bar Diana, Headquarters of Los Cinco Loco Gringos. Dropping off goods to help the needy is a weekly occurrence for Ben and the gang. To say the least we had a real good time and helped a lot of needy children have a merry Christmas. The Bar Diana provided half of the funds for the toys & coordinated the border crossing the remaining funds came from various people north of the border, Bill Jackson played Santa and purchased all the toys and the rest of us helped load and offload the truck.

Monterey, CA

2006-01-05T16:55:00.000-07:00

Ben had me go up with his pest control company to Monterey CA for a quick day trip. We drove down scenic Highway 1 to Big Sur and back and was treated with the rocky pacific coast with large curling waves crashing into them. I can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon.

Sunrise over Tucson

2005-12-08T22:34:00.000-07:00

A beautiful sunrise over downtown Tucson. I love my office view.

First Turbo-Prop Experience

2005-11-06T11:04:00.000-07:00

I've had another rough day at the office. A King-Air C-9L pulled up to Sierra Vista today and off-loaded a passenger. Unfortunately for them, (but fortunately for me) their company car was nowhere to be seen. I ended up driving the passenger and pilot to their destination and in return I was given a free breakfast and some right seat time in the King-Air C-9L to Phoenix. This airplane was real sweet! We flew it around like a little VFR airplane at 10,500 and cruising at 270 KTS. I did all of the flying from the takeoff to the landing! The pilot was an MEI so I got to log the time as dual received!

I waited around Cutter for a couple of hours then met up with another pilot who flys for the same company. He took me back to Sierra Vista in a larger King Air, the 350 model (Above Picture is the exact aircraft). This airplane was a bit more of a handful than the smaller King Air. It had a lot more systems that I was not used to but I think I could learn them pretty quickly and get the hang of it in about 10 hours or so. We did one stop at Chandler to pick up the boss and where I got to do the landing. I ended up flairing a little bit high but it worked out and ended up being an OK landing. The airplane stopped in a very short distance. It really helps to have big brakes and beta pitch props!

I made a good contact with these pilots and it looks like I'm going to be able to fly with thim on the weekends (Non-Pay) every now and then.

Mt. Elden Lookout

2005-10-23T10:46:00.000-07:00

Krystle and I climbed to the top of Mt Elden! We started about 10AM and got to the top about 1PM. It's a pretty good climb starting from about 7000' and going up to 9300' in only 3 miles. But those three miles involve hundreds of switchbacks.

The morning started out beautiful. As we climbed up the temperature decreased and clouds started to build. The top of the mountain has a ranger station which was the goal of the hike. We made it all the way up to the ranger station, but because of heavy winds and rain, sleet, light snow, hail & lightning we decided it wouldn't be safe to climb to the top of the slippery staircase. It was a little disappointing, but the view from the top was still worth while.

It only took us another hour to make it all the way to the bottom of the hill. It was quite a fun adventure.

Multi-Engine Commercial Rating

2005-09-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

After an exhausting weekend of studying & lots of instruction by CFI-ME Ken Mazzola I got My Multi-Engine Commercial Rating. Ken sent me all sorts of things to study before I drove out to San Diego. He even created his own checklists for the BE-76 Duchess. I joined up with the Golden Wings Flying Club and few their Duchess N6076Y all weekend. The airplane was a real junker, for $160/hr I would have expected a better airplane for the money I spent on it. Ken would have normally taught out of Plus One Flying Club, but I didn't want to pay membership fees for 6 months. We settled with Golden Wings because it was a good compromise.

My first impression of the airplane was bad. There was no aircraft status sheet in the airplane, the radio display on #1 was broke, the ADF was Inop, #2 Nav was inop, and there was a pretty good ding on both props. However I was only going to fly the airplane a couple of times & for my checkride. It was airworthy legally & practically, however it was not to the standard I would like a expensive rental to be.

Day 1 started with a long drive. I left Phoenix, AZ at 3:00 AM and drove to San Diego. I got into SD about 8:45 AM, grabbed some breakfast, a Monster energy drink & started preflighting the airplane. Ken met me shortly afterward and we did a 1.7 hour long flight. During this time we did everything in the PTS. By the end of the flight I was sweating and my nerves were racked from the number of simulated emergencies that Ken put me through. Ken did a real good job making my flight time as efficient as possible. I went home then took a nap. At 8 PM I woke back up went & met Ken at Twiggs Coffee shop for a two hour ground session where we went into Systems & Components of the BE76, Vmc Factors, Regulations, Etc...

Day 2 was another early rise, 6am and a lot of studying. I went into my ol' ERAU books & read up on my BE-76 Systems. I did another flight with Ken later in the afternoon. Again going over every Item in the PTS. This time Ken said that I was ready for the checkride. We took care of all the paperwork and did some "dry-flying" in the evening right before sunset. Will, my o'l college roommate & best man, sat in the back seat of our BE-76 while we "pretended" to fly. I've really got some great wingmen! Who else would sit in an airplane with the window cover still on and with the chains still attached to the wings for two hours?!? I thank them both for their time & effort in making me a gooder pilot.

Monday I spent doing some last minute cramming. I was lucky enough to get the day off from work, my boss was nice enough to pull some extra hours to cover my flight for the day. I had breakfast with my Mother & the B&B Deli and got all dressed up for the checkride. Everything was perfect! The airplane was full of gas, the weather was excellent, my performance charts were computed and I was ready! At 1PM I showed up @ my DPE's office with Ken. The DPE looked at us and said "I'm not doing this checkride today!, I've got Vince scheduled tomorrow!" My jaw hit the floor. Drool dripped onto my shoes. Oh Shit I Thought. My boss is going to kill me. After a brief phone call to my boss he told me that it was ok and that I can take my checkride on Tuesday. That was really reassuring. So I spent the rest of the day studying.

I didn't sleep well Monday night, a low pressure system flew through San Diego that was caused by a hurricane off the coast of Baja Calif. Lightning stuck, car alarms went off, and I didn't sleep one bit because of stress. However come Tuesday morning I got up early, had donuts & coffee and computed new performance data for the checkride. The weather was pretty marginal all morning long but lucky for me it cleared up by noon.

The oral part of the checkride began at 10AM. We briefly covered Vmc, performance data, & Systems of the Duchess. All went well and I learned a lot through the oral part of the checkride.

The flight started a little bit after noon. The person before me got in a bit late, and I was pretty stressed by the time he got back. We did a quick preflight inspection then fired up the motors for a departure to the northwest. Dave gave me some time to get situated and let me fly the airplane up to altitude along the coastline. When we reached Del-Mar he told me that I had an engine fire. I went through my checklist pretty quickly but hesitated in shutting off the gas to the simulated burning engine. When I asked him if he really wanted me to shut down the engine he told me "You're betting your checkride on it." So I crossed my fingers and shut the right engine down and was relieved when he did not yell "You fail! Go home." I started to put the aircraft into an emergency descent and he told me that the engine fire was out. I continued toward Palomar airport and he gave me my engine back.

Next was the VFR maneuvers all while heading eastbound. Steep turns, then Vmc demo, and slow flight with a 500 fpm descent and turns with the stall horn going off. Then we did a power off stall followed by a power on stall. All without any problems. Next came a few landings Ramona Airport. First came a short field landing to a full stop. He gave me a generous area to touch down in and I thought he wanted me to land and stop within that area (Which was possible.) I hit my point on speed then started to apply firm breaking. He then told me "Go GO!" which I misstook as do a go around. He just wanted me to let go of the breaks and pull off the runway. It made for a few confusing seconds, but we discussed what happened and continued with the checkride.

Next came a short field takeoff followed by a normal landing and a normal takeoff. We then departed the pattern southbound and contacted SoCal Approach for an ILS back into Montgomery airport. I had both engines all the way until intercepting the localizer. I stuck to the ILS the whole way down and continued to a full stop landing on one engine. No problems. After landing checklist, park the plane and checkride passed. It's always such a relief when the examiner shakes your hand and says "congratulations, You've just passed your checkride."

Monsoon Season

2005-08-23T12:06:00.000-07:00

Everyday afternoon thunderstorms have become routine. But it hasn't been nearly as bad as I thought it would be. So far I haven't had to cancel any flights. I have been able to weave my way in-between cells. Most of the cells are very easy to see since the bases of the clouds normally start about 9,000 ft. I just steer clear of the fall streaks and where I see lightning.

In Kingman one day I had to delay my flight for about 20 minutes due to a pretty intense thunderstorm. I was able to land in Kingman with light winds & sprinkles of rain and within five minutes, the sprinkles turned into fast falling-large rain droplets. I picked up my cargo and got soaked. The winds picked up and blew a tumble-weed right at me at well over 50 kts. This tumble-weed looked like a basketball thrown by Shaq all the way across court. As the storm passed, the grey skies brightened up into a colorful double rainbow that arched across the sky. As I took off and climbed to the south, the rainbow half circle turned into a full circle of brilliant color.

The Boneyard

2005-08-12T12:07:00.000-07:00

The reminants of the cold war are chopped up or moth-balled here in Tuscon at Davis Monthan AFB. It is sad to see such beautiful work-horses rotting away.

On The Line

2005-07-19T13:29:00.000-07:00

Well I've completed my training and I'm now flying full time for Sun Western Flyers. I'm so glad to be back in the pilot's seat again. The training only lasted one week, and the week was pretty intensive with an IFR refresher, part 135 regulations, & upset training.

The upset training was the best part of the program, and it is designed to help recover an airplane from any attitude that it may get into. This is especially important since we fly into Sky-Harbor, an airport full of heavy jets, in a little airplane. I got to go up in a Citabria (Tail-Wheel & Aerobatic airplane) with a former F-4 & AV-8 driver and we did some things in that little airplane that I've never done before. The whole idea is to get me into very unusual attitudes that can occur when in the wake of a jumbo-jet and teach me to recover in minimum altitude loss. In all I did real well and had a lot of fun in the short 45 minute lesson.

Work has been pretty sweet, my main run takes me to Sierra Vista, and Tucson AZ. I am in the air at 7 AM, arrive in Serra Vista at 8 AM, drop off my cargo and spend all day by the pool at the company apartment. Then Take off at 5:20 PM, stop in Tucson, and land in Phoenix Sky Harbor by 7:30 PM. It makes for a pretty easy day! Although I don't make a lot of money, I'm so much happier flying than I was as a construction manager.

Chapter 3 - Cargo Pilot

2005-06-23T04:15:00.000-07:00

I've started a new chapter in my life this week. Everything is changing around so quickly and it seems like I'm just along for the ride. I'm excited and but I'm also scared.

I LANDED MY FIRST JOB AS A REAL PILOT!

My training starts Monday June 27 in Yuma Arizona as a Part 135 Pilot for Sun Care Air Ambulance. I'll be flying cargo in a Piper Lance from Phoenix Sky Harbor airport to Kingman, AZ. I know I can handle that little jaunt round the patch. Suncare took over the cargo route from Ameriflight in order to help them transport airplane parts around their various bases in Arizona.

This major change started last week. I received an email from Embry-Riddle saying that Sun Care was hiring. I submitted my resume, and received a phone call the same day. I scheduled my interview at 8AM Monday June 20th with the director of operations William "Bill" Ohara. This gave me the weekend to get my act together and present myself well.

Krystle was nice enough to drive on out to San Diego and meet me Saturday morning to help me study and keep me focused. We met at Gillespie Field in time for my first priority of the day: get a new class II medical. I scheduled my appointment the day before with Doctor Morrisset, the same ol' fogie I've gone to for three years now. Unfortunately he never showed up for the appointment I made with him because he forgot to write it down. If someone was going to pay me 80 bucks for a half hour of work you better believe I won't forget! So I had to reschedule for later on that afternoon, where he checked my pulse to see if I was alive and promptly took my money.

After the medical, Krystle and I headed off to Twiggs Coffee Shop in North Park to do some much needed review of the regs. I checked my email again and got a message from career services at ERAU with all sorts of pointers on how to do well at the interview. I realized then that I didn't have a suit, so I had to get some new threads.

Pilot Buddy Ken Mazzola knew I was in his neighborhood and so after studying we headed off to his pad to study weight and balance weight shift problems. By the time we got done, it was already late so Krystle and I tried to find a hotel in SD. Little did we know that the entire town was booked up. After much driving around, we finally agreed that I had to wake up my parents and ask if we can stay the night. Dad was wonderful, he let us in and made us comfortable even though it was way past midnight.

Sunday was spent running around to acquire current charts & plates, and a new suit, tie & shoes for the interview. We spent a few brief minutes with my Dad & Mom on Fathers day and bonded over Red-Neck TV then Krystle and I headed off to Gillespie Airport again to meet with Andy Hendrickson.

Andy was kind enough to let me use his airplane and fly to Yuma to practice the ILS approach into there and act as safety pilot. It really ended up being a pretty cool flight because we passed over a real old wooden train trestle near Campo and got to watch a train cross over it. Andy thought the trestle was abandoned but seeing is believing. The ILS approach into Yuma went well, I flew the published missed then landed to get some gas in Yuma. Unfortunately, the plane almost wouldn't start back up.

It was real hot there in Yuma, and after getting gas, the engine just didn't want to fire up since it was so hot. We had a little problem with vapor lock and almost ran out of battery power in our multiple attempts to get the prop turning. On our final attempt before the prop wouldn't turn completely around, the engine roared to life. We were all relieved, I didn't want to get stuck in Yuma without my suit, and Andy had to be to work early the next day. A short hour's flight back at night and we arrived safely back in San Diego.

Here's the crazy part, Krystle and I hopped into our cars and drove in formation back out to Yuma! We stopped at the Holiday Inn, and checked in at 2:30 am. I requested a 6:30 am wake up call. Before I knew it, the sun was up and I woke up without the wake up call due to the excitement of going for the interview.

I met with the director of operations, William O'Hara, and he asked me a few questions about what I do, he then looked over my college transcripts & logbook and had me go for a checkout flight with another Lance pilot named Steve. We did a short 1 hr flight around the patch with a VOR/DME Approach into Laguna Army Airfield with a missed approach back into Yuma. Steve told Mr. O'Hara that "I sucked" and immediately they offered me the job. Mr. O'Hara stressed to me that I was only going to get paid peanuts & coffee and I still agreed that it is what I want to do.

So my foot is now in the door. If my life is a book, I'm now in Chapter 3. Chapter 1 would have been childhood &amp; learning to fly, Chapter 2 would be Being a CFI & Marrying Krystle.

Another Trip

2005-06-05T20:50:00.000-07:00

Doesn't this photograph explain this period of my life? Another trip to home for the weekend, after driving 500 miles guess what I did? More Driving... This time the driving I did was a little bit more relaxing: I went to the driving range with my wifey and hit a large bucket of balls with a metal stick into a large grass field.

Today I spent all of Saturday & Sunday watching the original Star Wars trilogy. George Lucas is the master Jedi of Sci-Fi.

FA-18 Simulator

2005-06-04T12:12:00.000-07:00

Dan Poppe has connections! He did some electrical work for an FA-18 fighter ready room and the guys there invited him and anyone he wanted to bring down to play in their FA-18 Simulator. Lucky for me Dan let me play hookey from work, and join him along with his father and Josette for some stick time in the FA-18.

Everything in the simulator about the FA-18 was real! However the 360 degree surrounding graphics was a little reminiscent of MS Flight Sim 1995. I took on & shot down my Dan a half dozen times, however I did follow him into the ground shortly after blowing him up once. It was really a great stress relief to blow up my boss.

After dog-fighting for an hour I was allowed to shoot an ILS approach into Miramar to a full stop. Then I did a carrier catapult take-off which was quite fun. I was told to hold an o-shit handle with my right hand, keep my head all the way back to keep from getting whiplash, and with my left hand hold the stick all the way back so that it didn't slam against my family jewels during the rapid acceleration. Finally I did a couple of successful carrier landings on my first try. Shoot, they told me that would be tough! Overall I think I did pretty well for not having much multi-engine fighter jet time. I kinda want one for myself now, but I don't think Krystle will let me get one.

Chino Chevron Hydrogen Plant

2005-06-01T23:41:00.000-07:00

Sometimes my work really sucks, but sometimes it's pretty cool with leading edge hi-tech stuff. I helped build this hydrogen gas station for fuel cell cars last November. My job involved cad-welding together the grounding grid & installing underground conduit lines. It's a multi-million dollar facility and the gas station can only support a couple of cars but it's the first ever made. It's pretty cool technology. Today I went back and packed explosion proof fittings with gunk to protect the video surveillance system.

News Article - First Chevron Hydrogen Energy Station Unveiled

Memorial Day Weekend

2005-05-31T05:45:00.000-07:00

Betsy and Krystle drove on out Friday night and gave me a visit in Los Angeles. I did my best to play host and tour guide and showed the both of them a good time. We must have done at least 10 miles walking over the three days we were together. I showed them the fashion, flower, jewelry, and financial districts of downtown LA. Betsy said it was a little bit of a culture shock for her and that she has never experienced anything like shopping Santee Alley before.

We spent a lot of time resting and relaxing at the apartment, but even so we still had our adventures at the complex. On Saturday night we had a barbecue and Gary Michelson drove on up from San Diego to join us. I marinated plenty of Carne-Asada, and cooked them over charcoal. Krystle brought out a belated birthday cake with Yoda on it! It was yummy. Later on I snuck the gang up between security shifts to the roof of the apartment complex, where they were surprised to find a helicopter pad and a wonderful view of Downtown.

We also drove out to Santa-Monica and hung out on the beach for a few hours, Betsy's cell phone decided it liked it there so much that jumped out of her pocket and hid in the sand so deeply that we couldn't find it anywhere. The beaches in LA are longer than the ones in San Diego. It's been a long time since I've been to the beach, I enjoyed seeing it again.

Sunday we slept in and was visited by Betsy's friend Robert. He works for Applebees, so naturally we had to go and get served by him once his shift started. We ate like royalty there with appetizers, meals & dessert, and paid only half price for everything! He was quite the gentleman. Afterward we headed out to Hollywood where we walked the stars and explored the Ripley's "Believe it or Not" Museum. Believe it or not, the LCD screen for my camera spontaneously shattered while in the museum. It was quite the bummer, evidently it is a common problem with this model camera. I've got to send it in to get fixed. :(

In between all this running around we spent hours lounging around the pool and in the hot tub. I guess all the walking made their legs and feet sore!

On a sad note Krystle's adopted Grandpa John, suffered from a stroke last Monday, he's got all of his wits about him, but he's paralyzed on his left side. We were able to briefly visit him in the hospital. He starts physical therapy this week and hopefully he can re-learn how to use his left side. Our prayers go out to him.

View 10 photos of this past weekend

Star Wars Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

2005-05-22T14:31:00.000-07:00

I saw the 11:45 PM Showing of Episode III with Rex @ Edwards Cinema in Alhambra and really enjoyed it! I now have to see the original trilogy. George Lucas is amazing and he has left a legacy. Two thumbs up. Bravo!

Chino Airshow

2005-05-21T14:03:00.000-07:00

Another great airshow at Chino! Only at this airshow can you see 24 warbirds with 30 Radial Engines running all at one time. Mom and Dad came up for the show and I met up with Andy Hendrickson and his friends. We all had a good time and tried our best to stay cool because it was over 90 degrees F.

Some of the highlights of the show was a 1955 Chevy Bel Air with a Rolls Royce Merlin Twin Supercharged V12 3000HP P-51 Engine stuffed into it, the JAG TV Show Stearman, the only two flying Japanese Zeros left in the world, and a German FL155 Storch.

View my photo album of the airshow with 23 Photos

I'm now 24! Happy Birthday to Me.

2005-05-15T22:52:00.000-07:00

Another weekend full of rest and relaxation. For my birthday, I got a New Roommate! Betsy moved into our living room for the Summer so that she can avoid going to Cottonwood, AZ. She's an avid writer and a fun gal to hang out with.

Betsy's Blog

Krystle had a busy weekend running around Arizona to do everything she wanted to do including picking up AirForce Tim from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, going to Nicole's Graduation Party in Payson, and then dropping Tim off back in Phoenix. So after driving 1000 Miles round trip, I only got to see Krystle about a total of 1/2 day! I could have seen more of her, but that would have involved sitting in a car for an additional 5 hours and traveling to Phoenix.

While she drove down to Phoenix, I spent my time off with an ole friend, Mark, fishing Lake Mary. It has been a long time since I've thrown a line into the water and this was my first time fishing from a lake. Mark had never fished before so I taught him the little that I know about catching fish. Although I caught no fish, I enjoyed my time outside.

On the Morning of my B-Day I woke up very early (10:00 AM) and got busy cooking eggs benedict with Diana for 6 People. I've only poached eggs two times before, so this time I had a little pressure to cook quickly so that everyone got fed at about the same time. Diana had made a family recipe for Hollandaise sauce, and ended up being very yummy. In all everyone was fed, and breakfast was good.

Exploring N. AZ

2005-05-01T01:21:00.000-07:00

This was quite the weekend. I flew over from San Diego to Flagstaff, AZ with Andy Hendrickson in his 206 and really traveled around Northern AZ again. We started off Saturday at 10AM out of Gillespie Field and landed in Flagstaff by 12:30PM . Krystle picked us up at the airport with her brother and we drove out through Flagstaff without a destination and ended up at Sunset Crater National Park (http://www.nps.gov/sucr/).

Sunset Crater is the youngest volcano on the Colorado plateau, only 900 years old. The landscape has amazing contrasts of dark lava rock, green trees, and snow. They even trained the guys who made it to the moon here to practice walking around in their space suits and driving their lunar car around on lava rocks. We hiked a couple of short trails and then continued down the road to the Wupatki Indian Ruins.

These Ruins, are a time capsule of a culture that inhabited Northern AZ in 1100 AD. This building housed around 80-100 people. Some of the highlights of the area is their game area where people would gather to play a sport similar to soccer, and Markus's favorite: a blow hole where underground chambers vent out during days of low atmospheric pressure.

View 9 more photos of Wupatki and Sunset Crater

Andy, Jeff Nelson, and I spent the evening in downtown Flagstaff and explored Flagstaff's night life.

Sunday morning we woke up early and found the Grand Canyon. We looked over the cliff and ate like presidents of the USA at the ol' Grand Canyon hotel for lunch. We even saw 3 large elk alongside the road on the way to the canyon. I've re-kindled my drive to hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, I just don't know if I want to hike back up! We'll see. This was Andy's first trip out the Canyon, and he was really impressed by it.

We made it back in time for Krystle's handbell concert, and listened to the music of all sorts of choirs. Of all the things we did this weekend, listening to Krystle's music was the highlight! Shortly after the concert, we took off for San Diego. I had a brief visit with the Cartwrights and Bill Jackson, and ended up in LA for the night to rest and get ready for work the next day.

My Favorite Ding-Dong

2005-04-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

This last weekend I was fortunate enough to hear NAU's Harter Memorial Handbell Choir at a beautiful church in Gold Canyon, AZ. Gold Canyon is the furthest east you can go on the 60 highway and still be in Phoenix.

The music was beautiful, and the handbells NAU has is amazing since they go to such a deep low bell. It was really something to watch since every person plays multiple bells and sometimes have to share the bells to make the music flow. The lowest notes can only be played by the strong guys in the choir.

It was fun to watch Krystle play, she had a very important role in one of the songs she played, and did real well at it.

Catalina Island

2005-04-11T09:40:00.000-07:00

Ben, Patsy, Krystle and I all loaded into N6014R and took off to Catalina Island from Gillespie Airport in San Diego. We did a careful weight and balance during our preflight and found that we had 30 LBS to spare. 14R did pretty well, we took off and got 300-500 feet per minute climb rate.

14R is a 1964 C-172 with 140HP Continental Motor. She starts up easily and runs smooth. We took with us life preservers just in-case of a water landing and flew pretty direct to the island.

We took the shuttle down to Avalon, and ate burgers on the Avalon Bay. We walked the town, lost track of time and ended up running nearly a mile to catch the last shuttle back. Luckily it was running late as well. In all, it was a great trip!

Insomnia. Gadgets. Pet-Peeve. Love Google.

2005-04-07T05:37:00.000-07:00

Working the night shift has turned me into way too much of a night owl. 5 AM and I am not tired enough to fall asleep. But I don't like going to bed right after work, I've got to wind down and cool my jets before falling asleep.

My laptop charger died yesterday in a plume of smoke. The darn thing cost me $107 to replace! The only one I could get on short notice was a universal laptop charger that weighs almost double of the original charger and is a little smaller than a brick. The only advantage is it comes with the ability to be used with the car charger and the new airline charge ports. Nifty.

A note about my camera. I got a Canon SD200 Elph 3.2 MP Digital Camera that I'm pretty happy with. It about $230, and is ultra compact which means I carry it everywhere as you can tell with this blog. For the price, it's a real good value camera and has enough features to keep a gadget guy like me happy for a few months. I still want a nice digital SLR camera, but I think I'll have to wait a couple more years until the price becomes reasonable enough for me.

If you want one, here's the link for the best price - PriceGrabber

Pet-Peeve: I don't like beggars at fast food drive through windows.

I Love Google products! The new G-Mail is awesome, with 2000 mb of space and linking subject headers together as conversations. And under development, Google Maps, with a real clean interface and the ability to switch between regular map mode and satellite image mode. Check it out if you haven't seen it yet. Google is awesome because all this is free! They've got some real smart folks working for them.

Well... Good night world.

Montezuma's Castle

2005-04-03T20:16:00.000-07:00

After Visiting Jerome we drove east to Montezuma's Castle and Well. The castle is an old indian ruin and housed the Sinagua indians over 600 years ago. There were 20 rooms built and access to the Castle was by wooden ladders. It overlooks beaver creek, and made for a wonderful afternoon.

Jerome, Arizona

2005-04-03T01:35:00.000-07:00

Krystle and I enjoyed the company of our friend Andy Hendrickson this past weekend. He flew on out to Flagstaff in his Cessna 206 on a whim late Saturday Night, and spent the night with us.

We woke up early and started on a mini-adventure to Jerome, AZ an old Coppermining town which is now soley in business for tourism these days. We stopped off at the town museum, had lunch at haunted hamburger, and walked all around the town up and down the staircases and into the various shops including the red-light district gift shop...

View 11 Photos in my Photo Album

Watts Towers

2005-03-31T02:04:00.000-07:00

Krystle and I went to see the Watts Towers, an impressive art sculpture in the middle of the ghetto built by a dedicated man named Simon Rodia. He spent 33 Years of his life sculpting these towers from 1921 until 1954 on his off time with his own funds. The tallest tower stands 99 feet tall. He was a real recycler with his art sculpture and used broken plates, and soda bottles to embellish his beautiful towers.