Air Show Flyby with a unique aspect.

September 18th, 2011

Today I was privy to a neat show.  I’ll let the video speak for itself.

 

Saving money or just having fun?

March 28th, 2011

Today I fired up the motorcycle to go for a ride. Why not, it’s only -1 outside and the roads are bare and dry, if not covered in sand and crap from all winter they could be considered pristine! My steed is a 1984 Honda Elite 150. Yup just like the ones from MTV in the 80′s :) The ugly side of bike ownership in Ottawa is that you have to pre-pay the insurance for the entire year yet they know you won’t be riding in January. This is why you’ll see nut jobs like me, riding in minus 1 in March! Read the rest of this entry »

Make your own kobo sleeve for free

March 24th, 2011

I recently received a kobo as a gift from my wife for being the best husband evar. She thought it would be better to carry around a slim and excellent ebook reader than it would to carry the equivalent number of real books. I knew I married a smart one. Little did she know that I was the crafty one.

I didn’t like the thought of a $39 sleeve to protect the kobo unit, one made of non renewable plastics and just not befitting of the whole green movement.  I knew there had to be something as good for much less money.  I found it in the bag drawer at home.  It was a bag given out at the local urban outfitters. The bag is made of a soft fabric, almost like that of an ebook sleeve liner.


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Impressing Girls

March 17th, 2011

So I’m back……with a vengeance!  I’ve been away from posting about all my flying experiences but there have been some pretty big changes so let’s get caught up.  Firstly, today I received a signed document stating that I am Night Rated and can now legally fly at Night!

The training was great and actually quite enjoyable, I have a bunch of excuses why it took me ALMOST TWO YEARS to do something that many do in a week or two.  But it’s now done and I can put a stamp on it.  I feel great so great in fact that I decided that I would take Rica up tonight to celebrate with a beautiful view of the city lights.  I think that there is something magical about lifting above the city into the dark and seeing all of mankind below you.  I also understand it’s a powerful aphrodisiac.  ;)
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Raison d’être

March 17th, 2011

Well it certainly has been a while since I last posted.  I have no excuses so I’ll just get right back into the good stuff.

I started this blog for a few reasons, the most selfish one was that I wanted to have an indelible record of my flying.  Not just a log of hours and aircraft types but of the actual feeling of what one experiences while going into flight training and beyond.  I get really detailed in my flight posts (almost to the point of boredom I wonder) but I do this because I would love to be an old man telling these stories to my own grandson.  In turn the posts are intimate and expose a bit more of my thoughts then one might do publicly.

The second reason is that I want to be an ambassador to general aviation.  I believe firmly that these aircraft serve an important and vital role to the spirit of man.  I hoped that by publishing my ‘secrets’ as it were that someday, someone could read what I had gone through and it might help them get through the same thing.

My thanks so far have been many, such as when you post comments and offer me sound advices.  (Thanks cannot be said enough to Tony or David for their shared spirit and graciousness) and I have slowly made inroads into the airport subculture but I recently was lit up in am amazing way when a young lad who was nearing his own flight test leaned over my desk to say, “hey you have a blog right?”  ”Yes.”  ”Well thanks, it helped me to read some of the stuff you went though when I was going through it myself.”   I almost fell onto the floor!  What a great compliment to receive.

That really truly made my day.   It also made me realize that I should post more often…….

Crash! Bang! Gone.

January 27th, 2011

I guess I was a bit cocky thinking that I could teach my daughter to drive to the highest possible standard.  She did learn quickly and she did pass all of her tests.  She handles a car with precision and doesn’t get lost as long as the GPS is powered.  She went to driving school and passed as well but she didn’t look properly when she took a left turn on a solid green light.

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Bang Bang, Bang Bang!

December 24th, 2010

In Canada you don’t generally get to shoot a gun as a regular citizen.  In fact most of us only have ever seen a gun on a police officer or in the movies.  That’s why it was such a rush to actually grab some cold steel and fire a weapon at a range while visiting Las Vegas this week.  We went to The Gun Store and R signed up for the “Ladies package” where she was able to shoot a Pink AK 103 otherwise known as the Kalashnikitty!  She also took hold of a Glock 9MM and left with the biggest smile ever!  I didn’t want to miss out on the fun so I took hold of a Beretta 9MM and managed to shoot the hostage!  Ah well it was all in fun and worth every penny, even with my sprained tigger finger.  I’m not advocating we all go out and buy weapons but I can attest it was an intense rush firing one.   Link to video in case it doesn’t open above.
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Spin to win!

December 16th, 2010

My commercial training says that I need to learn how to spin an airplane.  It would look just like this in a Cherokee 140.  Would you do it?  Or should I just rent the club’s Cessna 150?  Would knowing the airframe had over 11,000 hours affect your decision?

The First 30 Seconds

December 7th, 2010

I first published this article in January of 2008.  I believe with the cold upon us again, it was fitting to re-post!

The majority of engine wear occurs during the start up phase while the oil has not had a chance to come up to pressure.  This is one of the main reasons that cold engines are harder to start than warm ones (Everything is colder and “slower”) however there seems to be a myth propagating about leaving one’s car to “Warm Up” idling away in their driveway.  Even worse are the horrors of remote car starters.  You know how “convenient” they are, you simply press a button from within your warm home and your car magically comes to life.  It will idle away and slowly begin to warm up in your driveway.  It sounds like nirvana on the brochure but in reality I firmly believe remote starters to be one of the worst possible accessories any car can have installed.    Think about this for a moment.

  • An idling car gets 0 MPG (or for us Canadians that would be “Infinity”L/100KM)
  • A modern car needs only 30 seconds or so of “warm up” time even in the coldest of temperatures if driven carefully for the first few kms.
  • A car started remotely is often not monitored, could be damaging itself and even could be running down the road!

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Watching your own airplane landing

December 6th, 2010

I’d like to say this is a video of Rica’s first landing but it’s not.  She was at the controls for the entire flight but our cheif flight instructor flew this landing.  There was a strong crosswind but he nailed it!

Jeanne’s link here. 

Soon Rica will be the one flying the landings, she just doesn’t know it yet :)