Cleared for Takeoff

Perfect Memories

2007-06-07T21:40:00.000-04:00

Schedules and weather finally aligned and we made a family pilgrimage by air to Kill Devil Hills, NC to take in the Wright Brother's Memorial and the beaches of the Outer Banks on Saturday, May 26th - during Memorial Day Weekend appropriately enough.

We left home just after 1030am, flew down to First Flight Airport in the newly painted 1967 182, and had a picnic lunch at 130pm.

After that, we headed over to the beach, a short cab ride, and spent 3 hours enjoying the 63 degree water (well, the kids enjoyed the water). Luckily, the air temperature was in the high 80's.

We then strolled down the boulevard - about a 15 minute walk - and found a pizzeria. The first one on the GPS list was defunct, but the next one was perfect. After dinner, the cab picked us up to go back to the airport around 630p.

We spent almost an hour walking around the large dune which serves as the foundation for the Memorial (which looks strangely like an aviation navigation antenna). They also have a large bronze sculpture and figures capturing the history-making event.

As the sun headed for the horizon and shadows grew long near the coast, so did we, taking off runway 20 and heading northwest back to Leesburg.

We pulled into the driveway in Herndon just after 1030pm - A PERFECT DAY WITH PERFECT MEMORIES!

Christmas 2006

2006-12-25T17:30:00.000-05:00

Well, the weather outside is frightful (cold rain - blah!), and the requests are so insightful, that since we've no place to go, could we lo get some snow, any snow?

All we want for Christmas is 2 wee feet - a blizzard! - 2 wee feet, 2 wee feet! All we want for Christmas is 2 wee feet, then we could make... a snowman!!

Extreme Excitement

2006-11-20T10:18:00.000-05:00

The Herndon Extreme was pitted against the team from Harrisonburg for the semi-final game. After a quick goal in the first half by Harrisonburg, the Extreme defense buckled down and prevented no further goals against. With very little time remaining, Harrisonburg was assessed a penalty in the box, and the Extreme scored on the penalty kick to tie the game. The game was decided on goal kicks, 3-2 in favor of Harrisonburg, despite two excellent blocks by the Extreme keeper.

The Extreme played hard and are proud of their exciting tournament performance. Meghan plans to try out for a new mini-travel league in the coming weeks. Yay Herndon - the team and the coaches did a great job!

All-Star Extreme

2006-11-19T10:06:00.000-05:00

Meghan's All-star team, the Herndon Extreme, entered the All-Star soccer tournament yesterday and played 4 25-minute mini games, 7 on 7 including goalies. The five girls not on the field (they switch at the very brief half time stoppage play and switch goals) cheered on their teammates:

"B-E-A-T, beat'em, B-U-S-T, bust'em...beat 'em, bust 'em that's our custom, come on girls let's readjust 'em!

They crushed their opponents to earn a 3-0-1 record, with 9 goals scored to only 1 goal allowed. (Scoring summary: 0-0, 2-0, 4-0, 3-1) In fact, they were pitching a shut-out until the mid point of the second half of the last game. It would turn out that they wouldn't need the bonus points to earn a number 1 seed out of the 21 teams playing. The Extreme play today at 12:30 in single elimination to advance to the Championship game at 3pm.

Next car update

2006-10-07T19:28:00.000-04:00

Well, obviously we will most likely be needing a new car sooner than I thought. The insurance adjuster still hasn't determined whether the van is totaled yet. IN the mean time, I found the following update from Chevy on the 2007 product plan... aka "project Driveway"

Coming fall 2007, you may have the opportunity to drive Equinox Fuel Cell to work, on your errands and any place you’d drive your own vehicle. Named “Project Driveway”, this is the world’s largest fuel cell vehicle market test. It will take place in metropolitan New York City, Washington, D.C. and California — areas selected in part for their differing climates as well as the different driving patterns of the people who live there.

We’ll collect input from hundreds of people on the overall experience such as performance, fueling and how they use the vehicle in their everyday life. This market test will help guide future fuel cell vehicle development at GM.

If you live in one of the three test markets and are interested in participating, we will be accepting candidates early 2007.

We'll be looking for the opportunity.

Our next car

2006-09-22T13:10:00.000-04:00

As I have indicated in casual conversation, I will not buy another conventionally powered automobile. Next year GM will produce 100 fuel-cell powered cars based upon the Equinox SUV platform. The vehicle emits heat and water as exhaust by "burning" hydrogen in its fuel-cell. I firmly believe this is the future.

Deck project... complete

2006-08-20T12:08:00.000-04:00

Well, it's almost complete. I was a few 3" screws short, but it is done. The final inspection will take place tomorrow.

Here is a shot of the the edge board.

Framing complete

2006-08-13T21:49:00.000-04:00

All of the joists are complete. Now, I Just need some 5/4X6X12's, lots of screws, and it's done.

Deck photos

2006-08-12T00:25:00.000-04:00

The long awaited pics - more tomorrow. The first six holes are filled and all of the bolts are in place.

I worked on the last three posts and outer frame this evening. I need to get some more joists and and hangars. Looks like the final dimensions will be 12' 4" x 17' 6".

Framing begins

2006-08-09T10:06:00.000-04:00

I have to take some pictures when it is actually light outside. I currently have the first half of the deck frame almost complete except for the joists. I'll get it all lined up and square and then set all the posts and bolt it all together. It is plausible that I can get the framing done for a Friday inspection. With that, I can install the decking over the weekend for a final inspection on Monday.

1520 pounds later

2006-08-06T21:48:00.000-04:00

Used yesterday to make short work (ha!) of 1500+ lbs of cement. Robby was the designated waterboy. Needless to say, my formerly orange wheel barrow is now silver. I've cut and notched six of the nine 6X6s. (I should have done one more so I could post something in reference to 7 of 9 . ;) )
I'll build the frame for the first half of the deck first. I obtained the 2x6x8s today for the joists along with some 2x8x10s that I will use as rim joists. I also bought a 2x6x12 to finish the area near the garage. I was able to get the joist hangars and most of the hardware, but apparently 1/2x6 hex bolts are highly popular. :)

Lowes and HD had 15 together total; hopefully the other three will be available soon. I'll post some in progress pictures tomorrow.

Deck Inspection I complete

2006-08-01T23:52:00.001-04:00

The inspector was out today and approved the holes for the footings. I wasn't home when he stopped in, but apparently he only saw six holes according to a notation on the approval form. I'm moving on for now. I have pictures and my neighbor as a witness. :)

I fired up the electric drill and fabricated the three 12' beams tonight using primeguard coated screws, so those are ready. I also made a trip to get five 80lb bags of ready to use quickrete. I'll probably need 20 all told.

Boy am I glad my back is healed... let's hope it stays that way.

Project deck update

2006-07-31T10:53:00.000-04:00

95% complete. The 9th hole was 98% shale, of course, and I'm still chipping away at it slowly - about 2" to go overall. Luckily my neighbor provided some much needed shovel support, else I would have probably not gotten quite as far, to say the least.

The whole without dirt... just "solid" shale/sandstone rock. Ting, chink, clang... still going. I need the energizer bunny to lossen some of it up.

Footings inspection is tomorrow. ;)

Project Deck Launched

2006-07-30T11:06:00.000-04:00

Herndon, VA‑ Well, it has been ten years and I have been talking about a deck for almost that long. So, last week I pulled up a deck plan from the local home improvement company and went to the county to pull the permit. The deck will be 12x18' and will be one step above grade at the grass to make it a walk off platform. 18" from the garage will put the deck in fairly tight to the hill, which should give the deck a sense of closeness with nature. The deck will be almost level with the back door, so entry and exit will not require a step. There will be no railings since the deck is less than 30" above grade. The deck is free standing, which avoids using ledger boards.

The county requires a 24" deep footings made out of concrete (16x16) that has to be at least 8 inches thick. All deck posts must be 6x6xX, notched at the top to attach the beams, which will be 2 2x8x12s nailed together. There will be 3 beams. The only issue right now is the requirement that the footings be as deep as the existing the foundation. I have not found the garage footing level, but the addition is only down to 24", so I am going with that for now.

The footing holes have to be inspected before I can pour the concrete so I am working diligently to get past that hurdle. I dug 5 of the 9 holes I need yesterday. I went out and bought the beams, posts and cement attachment hardware last night. I'll purchase the cement once the first inspection is complete.

Here are some pictures of the work so far.

Lots of clay... mostly.

Another angle - 1,2,3,4,5... 4 to go.

How low can you go - no sign of the foundation footer at almost 30" below grade... ugh.

Clay would have been nice - I chipped at shale for 2.5 hours....

Only to find, of course, a rock that is right in the way. (If you look closely, there is a spider playing king of the hill in the photo. Note the jagged texture of the sides instead of the smooth walls clay exhibits. Well, time to go finish the next phase, assuming my arms still work.

Saturn's Rings

2006-05-07T10:26:00.000-04:00

Robby's Pack held its annual spring camp out at Lake Fairfax park last night. The weather was perfect. Clear, enough wind to keep the bugs down (but, the pollen up), and nice temperatures (High 76,low 49). 49 feels a lot colder in a tent.

We set the tent that Robby got for Christmas for the first time on a fairly flat area. The tent is big enough for six (the manufacturer suggested occupancy is eight...) , so we had plenty of room. It only took about 1/2 an hour to get it up and firmly affixed to the ground.

After playing some catch, it was time for dinner promptly at 5. At 7:30 we headed over to the park amphitheatre for the promotion ceremonies. By 8:30 we were well into roasting marshmallows.

One of the parents has built his own telescope. It's about 5 feet long and 10-12 inches in diameter. We looked at the moon and Saturn. We could clearly see Saturn's rings.

Very cool!

After that, it was time for bed as the park has a lights out policy at 10pm. We awoke about 6:30 and started moving at 7:20. After a breakfast of pancakes and bacon, we took down the tent and headed home, arriving just before 9.

"Batter Up!"

2006-04-01T17:30:00.000-05:00

Well today was the first day of baseball. Robby will be playing coach pitch. His team name is the "Lugnuts", which is the name of a minor league in Lansing, MI, coincidentally.

A couple of quick snaps. (as always, the pics blow up when clicked.

In the club

2006-03-23T21:48:00.000-05:00

Well, we are now members of the Blue Ridge Flyers, a flying club based at KJYO. This also means we are the proud shareholders of N2871R, a 1967 Cessna 182. While we have just 6.6666666666667% ownership, it is a comfortable and stable airplane to fly. I've posted a couple of pictures I have from the Katrina Relief flights we conducted last fall.

On the ground in Georgia.

This a shot of the panel from the pilot perspective. Two items to note:

First, there is some serious redundancy built into the airplane - two attitude indicators; the backup is electric with a battery, just in the highly unusual case that the vacuum (powered directly by the engine) and electrical systems (engine, batt and alternator) all stop working simultaneously.

And secondly, yes, there are two altimeters and they are both correct. This shot was taken while the aircraft was enroute from GA to VA at 11,000 feet.

In the center stack, there is a new, still state of the art Garmin 430 NAV/COM GPS. It's not a G1000, but it's closely related. ;) Yes, you can fly west of GSO at 11K feet at 122 knots. Just keep a watch out for slightly larger planes moving about 300 or so knots faster.

On the passenger side are several engine instruments. Note the new backboard and nice finish work that went into upgrading the avionics in recent years.

We're looking forward to upcoming chances to do some flying as the weather warms up.

Heavenly Day

2006-02-23T21:30:00.000-05:00

Today was another fantastic day at Snowmass. The powder was packed by the machines overnight and a bit loud (loud powder), but it made for some great downhill skiing. The moisture content was fairly low and there were almost no icy spots anywhere on the mountain all day.

After Robby and Meghan got to their lessons this morning, the adults headed out to tackle some of the more challenging terrain at Snowmass. Here we are at the top of the Big Burn lift. Later, Michael and I bumped edges half way down the Sheer Bliss lift doing about 60mph. Luckily, our speeds were closely matched and we both kept skiing. Good thing we had our helmets on nevertheless.The weather and visibility were superlative once again. The photo above was taken after landing at the top of mountain off of the new Cirque lift. The Cirque lift is powered by wind energy, and built on top of National Forest tundra.
12,510 feet above sea level. After the photo op, we tackled the double black diamond head wall runs. The gully skiing to get out of the bowl was a lot of fun, too. Tomorrow is our last day and high pressures is promising to provide similar conditions again.

Family Carnival

2006-02-22T22:52:00.000-05:00

This afternoon there was a special event on the mountain with free food and games. Here is a shot of the kids at the event playing hockey to win prizes. We also took the opportunity to get a family photo on the mountain.

A Mid-Winter's Daydream

2006-02-22T22:26:00.000-05:00

A fabulous day! Robby said it best - "That was awesome!!!" Of course, he was referring to his first ski down the half-pipe, but all the same it was true of the entire day.

Michael and Dad had the day off today, so here is the clan getting started at the top of the Burlingame Lift.
Here is Meghan and Robby getting a quick groomer in before heading up to the top of the mountain to carve some blue slopes.

Now at the top, a quick energy and re-heat break is in order. Here is the crew just after lunch. This lodge i at the top of the Big Burn lift, and is renowned for some of the best pizza above 11000 feet. We agreed that it was quite good!

Robby is carving away. Meghan takes a quick respite from all of the turning.

Shooting blanks

2006-02-21T22:15:00.000-05:00

No pictures today. The camera refused to believe that either pair of rechargeable batteries could produce power at temps below 28. Arg.

After lunch yesterday, I headed back up the hill with Michael and Dad for some afternoon top of the mountain skiing. As I mounted the skis, I noticed something was askew with the binding....the rear clasp was bent, or more accurately, broken.

Well, I knew on the way out here that these skiis were 8 years old. So, I went back to Christy's to see what they could do. The idea of investing any money in these skiis was not on the agenda. As it turned out they had a newer pair of Volants in the rental inventory that I could use for the afternoon for a modest fee.

I ended up skiing mostly by myself for an hour until the kids made their way up the mountain with Mom at 2. I liked the skiis. I had inquired about options to buy, and I ended up doing exactly that.

The kids had fun, but clearly were still fatigued from all of the travel and adjustment to high altitude. The weather improved to mostly sunny.

Catching up with vacation

2006-02-20T21:52:00.000-05:00

Snowmass. There are six inches of new snow everywhere and it is cold. The view from our accommodations is off to the right. This is the best news on the trip so far.

Having gotten some sleep, it is time to track down skis for the kids and get out on the mountain.

The weather was workable as can be seen from this view from the lift.

Chapter 4: Nothing Is Ever Easy

2006-02-20T13:23:00.000-05:00

0805. “Well folks, we are on a taxiway and we have gone past the point to where we could turn around. The aircraft in front of us is disabled, so we’ll just have to wait here until they can move it.”

0820. We start moving again, and pass by a United British Aerospace jet being attended to by a fire truck. So, it could be worse.

0822. We are holding short of 35R-17L. I see four aircraft lined up for the approach. “Folks, we are holding short of a runway and the tower isn’t letting us cross yet. We should be moving again soon.”
0836. We are still holding short of 35R-17L. The last airplane is rolling out… to the 8000 foot turnoff.

0838. We are taxiing. The flight comes to rest at the gate finally at about 0845.

0910. I am off to see if Alamo will be renting us a car, or not.

0915. Not.

0920. I am heading back to the terminal. Marybeth has the luggage and is headed for the other car rental agency.

0925. I catch up to them. We get the car – I upgrade to a minivan-like Pacifica and we are on our way to Snowmass at 0945. The car has 383 total miles on it, and the new arrangement costs me $50 more than the arrangements I had made in October. The car is All-Wheel Drive. I feel some sense of consumer retribution.

We reach East Dillon at 1045. Burger King is closed. We press on. The kids are sleeping. A few more exits and we get off at Dillon for a drive thru snack, cocoa and personal needs break. The restaurant is closed, so we go to the gas station. We are back on the road to Snowmass.

It’s snowing in the mountains. I am able to maintain 35-55 mph speeds depending upon the curvature and slope of the highway. There are about 2 inches of snow on the road.

We arrived in Snowmass at 100am on Monday, the 20th of February. We started at 0430 on Saturday the 18th….

I am starting to rethink the practical options of flying from Virginia to Denver. It’s about 12 hours, in a 172, 16-18 with stops. Obviously, something with a little more speed and payload would make this very possible.

Chapter 3: If at First You Do Not Succeed

2006-02-19T13:52:00.000-05:00

The airlines will try to screw it up for certain.

Car rental agencies can help.

After trying to rest much of the day, it was on early Saturday evening that the thought of revising our rental car arrangements in Denver occurred. I called Alamo, and the agent politely informed me that for changing our reservation to Sunday, the rate would be recalculated at current market rates, which was now $230 more for the week. Why did I bother making a reservation in October? Silly me. Even though there was no possible way to pick it up because the airline cancelled our flight, which is beyond our control? Yes.

Thank you so much!

Lesson to file: Make nonbinding car reservations for every day of travel in case you need one of them.

Memo to self: Make a call to AOPA. There are 400,000 pilots that need to know if they cancel their trip in the interest of safety, this car rental agency will gouge them silly.

Time to start shopping for cars.

Sunday morning. We have all caught up on our sleep, and it is time to go to Dulles. At 0930 the flight is still scheduled and on time for a 1220 departure, the cab is coming. I have another rental car option if Alamo won’t reconsider honoring its previous rate commitment when I get there in person.

1005. We are at Dulles. The porter takes us and our bags inside. This was a good idea. He knows how to bypass the 50 person line and check us in. Except he can’t – of course!

We try again, and again the computer says no. We look to the ticketing agent. Her first response is that we are in the self-service line… in a tone that definitely implies that she can’t or won’t help us. I explain that we have tried twice and the computer has spit out rejection letters both time – here!

1015. The ticketing process starts again. I’ll cut to the chase.

1100. Marybeth spends several minutes working with TSA to make sure the ski poles are actually hollow and that stainless steel skies won’t spontaneously combust. For a minute, I had no idea what was going on. I thought Marybeth knew the TSA agent and was unaware that I had actually finished.
1105. We head to the gate. All of our boarding cards have SSSS printed on them. We are all on the Watch List.

Sidenote: At Dulles, we have to take off our shoes. I keep wondering why Orlando and some others don’t have the same requirement. Well, I don’t protest.
The security agent manning the magnetometer informs the supervisor that Robby has been selected for additional screening. The supervisor looks up to heaven and sighs – this makes our weekend. Then they learn that all four of us are selectees. We stand in the holding cage as a family unit – violating the max 3 person rule.

1115. We are screened, but the kids luggage is not so easily put back together. The agents make a couple of jokes with the kids to keep it light – we appreciate their efforts and just get on our way

1120. We are at the gate. The temperature in Terminal D21-24 is about 47 degrees. We are amused that American is concerned about are climatic pre-conditioning for skiing considering temperatures in Denver have been below minus 11 for the last two days.

1145. Our flight is now showing a status of delayed until 145pm. The plane was del;ayed leaving St. Louis. Here we go again.
1155. An agent finally shows up to make an announcement in the gate area. The kids start watching Ice Age – a fitting title considering the temperatures. The agent can’t help us. He wants to let us know that the agent that can is on the way. I note that United has a flight leaving at 1235. I call United. There are 20 seats available for a one-way cost of $270 each. American would just cancel our flights if we show up in Chicago without any kind of coordination.

1200. I ask the agent why the gate agent was not at the gate one hour before departure. He admits that he can only say he doesn’t know. I make the observation that they are clearly short-staffed. He concurs. I ask about getting on the flight to O’Hare at 1235. He can’t help us.

1210. The gate agent arrives. I already know that the chances of getting tickets signed over to United and actually getting the family to gate G17 in 15 minutes is unlikely. There is a fellow who claims he is in front of me. I invite him to go ahead. The guy behind me starts whining that this his second schedule change today – his flight out of DCA earlier was cancelled. I offer him some perspective. Realization that it can get worse changes his demeanor to something best described as resigned comradery.

1217. It’s our turn again. Start the 30 minute ticket issuance clock. I don’t even ask about the United flight. The agent asks if we would like to go through Dallas. I promptly decline unless absolutely necessary and the weather is confirmed to have improved. She calls someone and asks that seats on the Chicago Denver flight be released to her for handling rebookings.

1240. She finishes ahead of my estimate, but not by much. We are now on the 235pm to Chicago.

135. “Chattaqua 5299 to Ops.”

136. “Chattaqua 5299 to Ops.”

137. “Chattaqua 5299 to Ops.”

137. “Ops, go head.”

“We’re 15 minutes out and going to need a Ground Power Unit at the gate. Our APU is deferred. We’ll need that to get going again.”

138. “We’re kind of busy down here, make that request once you are blocked and at the gate.”

Another chance to pick up some lost time abandoned.

145. Ice Age finishes. Thank God for portable DVD players.

200. Boarding begins.

240. We’re airborne and climbing. The CRJ climbs like a brick suspended from a birthday balloon. I really don’t care.

330. We have finally made it to the next time zone.
445. We start boarding. A 505 departure is not happening.

500. We are loaded and ready to go, but there is a board meeting of 6 in the cockpit.

509. “Turn off all portable electronic devices, including cell phones.”

510. “This is your captain speaking. I know the flight attendants just told you otherwise, but please go ahead and continue using cell phones if you wish. I can see that they just pulled up another tug to load more cargo. We should be ready to go in 10 minutes.”

525. “This is your captain speaking. I know I told you 10 minutes, and while I really can’t say for certain, I am hoping it will only be another 10 minutes.”

I am so numb to this, but I know my Big ‘N Tasty isn’t getting any warmer. I dig in.

540. “This is your captain speaking, I think we’re almost ready to go.”

550. I see the hint of blinking of anticollision and strobe lights. We start moving. This is O’Hare. We keep taxiing. There have been no new messages from the cockpit.

600. We are airborne. The lastest message from up front is a 135 knot headwind, a 330 knot total groundspeed, and 777 miles to go.

800. We land. We stop. At least we are in Denver.

Chapter 2: Robby is on the TSA Watch List

2006-02-18T13:30:00.000-05:00

US Gov't: Have you seen this person of circumspect affiliations?
Age: 6
Gender: Male
Status: Frequents airports for fun

Now at National Airport, we unloaded the bags and met with the curbside porter for check in. Time now 0530. After several attempts, the porter is unable to check our bags. He takes Marybeth and the kids inside. I drive away to drop off the rental car.

0605am. I have found the off airport car rental location, picked up gas, parked the car, paid for the rental, and made it back to the terminal. The family is still in line. The line is not moving.

0612. We have made it to the ticket agent. She can’t find our reservation. Correction, she has not found our reservations. Our one reservation is now 3. Some of us are on the TSA Watch list….

0613. “I need to change all of these tickets. I can’t get this done before the flight leaves. You did not get to the airport in time. “

0613.30 WHAT!?!

0613.45 Wasn’t this all handled by the agent on the phone – it took an hour then!

The agent begins the process of issuing our tickets. (Later we learn that for some reason, the tickets were converted from electronic to paper… why?) On at least two occasions, the agent calls out to the supervisor that the computer won’t allow certain changes.

0645. The computer finally spits out the tickets. The flight is now closed and we cannot possibly get through security before it leaves. There are no other flights we can take, and no airline has 4 available seats to get us out of there. Given that we turned in the rental car, we are now stranded at National.

We are now on the noon flight out of Dulles on Sunday – our seats on the 0740 had been cancelled when we accepted the 0650 flight. There are no seats left on the 0740.

UNBELIEVABLE.

0655 Robby gets sick. Poor kid. The Hi-C he had a few minutes before is now on the floor in the ticket agent queue line. Several nice people help us out. It’s just sleep deprived nausea; he’s otherwise fine.

I start dialing for flights. I call the American 800 number again because the ticketing agent needs to help other customers who are now stranded, but don’t know it yet.

0710. The 800 reservation agent says that she now has us confirmed on the 0754 flight to St. Louis. I start working the system to get an agent to issue the boarding passes.

0715. We are working with a new ticketing agent, who is worried that a break might be missed if she tries to work with us first.

0730. She has finally found all of our records again. She starts the process. This is not happening either.

How many keystrokes does it take to issue a ticket?

0745. The agent starts the process of confirming us to fly on Sunday and issue the tickets. The next concern is getting home.

0800. I wonder if Uncle Silvio is awake yet? He lives in Arlington, about 15 minutes away. Hi Silvio, I am sorry to wake you, but need your help. Any chance you would be willing to come pick us up at the airport? It’s a long story.

Yes.

Thank God for Uncle Silvio.

0815. Our itinerary for tomorrow is finally finished. We can go home and the agent can go on break.

0820. Silvio calls that he is on the premises, where are we?

0822. Silvio pulls up at the terminal, we load the bags and head home to Herndon.

0854. We are home in Herndon. The all night odyssey for nothing comes to an end. Thank you American Airlines. Mom and Dad start napping in the living room; the kids watch the Olympics.

We don’t know it yet, but this story is far from over.

Family Vacation to Snowmass, CO

2006-02-18T13:02:00.000-05:00

Takeoff Clearance Cancelled: Expect another flight tomorrow

On Friday the 17th, we were preparing for our 10am departure on Saturday to Denver via Dallas, of course on American. I went to check in online, and the only resulting message was “Your request cannot be processed at this time, for further assistance contact a reservation agent.”

Uh oh.  So at 1230 am, I called American.   Our flight from Dulles to Dallas was cancelled.  Lucky I checked I guess.  “You’re confirmed on the 0740 flight on Sunday.”

WHAT!?!

Is there nothing else on Saturday?  An hour later, the reservation agent came back and said that everything was set if we wanted to fly from National to Denver leaving at 0650 on Saturday.  We would connect through O’Hare and St. Louis, but at least we would get there on Saturday.  There was also a good chance that we could find standby seats to Denver in Chicago.  After some discussion, we accepted.  Being now 2am, we continued to make preparations to leave and forgo any kind of sleep.

The next thing to do was request a change in the rental car that we had to get to Dulles. I had obtained the rental car for a number of reasons.  Anyway, I contacted the rental car company and asked to move the dropoff location to DCA.  That went through with no extra fee. We would later find out that this was amazing.  We awoke the kids at 0430 and headed to National Airport instead. We arrived at about -0520.

And bunny makes ... 5

2005-12-04T13:15:00.000-05:00

Here are some pics of our new family pet. Meghan is Nibbles' care-taker.

Tour de Paris... brève

2005-11-19T19:55:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of pics from the trip to Paris. I arrived on Sunday afternoon. 3/4 of the team was there and we met briefly, mostly to find some coffee and dinner. Two of us were staying at the Courtyard by Marriott. It was a great hotel for the stay. It is located on Boulevard Victor Hugo in Neuilly-Sur-Seine.

According to the cab driver, the Interior Minister of France lives nearby. It is also immediately adjacent to L'Hopital Americain, a point that the driver made about 7 times. We were about 3 miles WNW of the Arc de Triomphe.

Across the street was a circle containing the statue of Le Duc D'Orleans.

On this particular Sunday afternoon not far from our hotel (1 block), I came across a couple of voitures that caught my attention. Unfortunately I didn't see Matt Damon, but I wonder if Jason Bourne would consider staying in a Marriott.

The car advertising the Combat Pidgeons movie is one of the new SMART cars now found in Europe. They are a bit taller than the minicooper, but much more efficient and modern, and only seat 2. I'm not sure how safe they are, but for my 4.5 mile commute to work, I have to say I am intrigued by the possibility.

We took Metro down to the Place de la Concorde to tour and find some lunch. I skipped the obligatory shot of the Eiffel Tower. This is the Westin (uh, say again how many Euros?). I did take the obligatory shot of the monument there.

This is one of the tables in the restaurant where we ate nearby Place de la Concorde. There were a lot of mirrors so I chose my shot carefully.

While it was a short trip, one of the things I got to do strictly by accident, I think, was partake of the Beaujolais Nouveau on the very first day it was available. It was delicious, too!!!

Well, we finished up all of the work we needed to do on Friday, so I flew home on Saturday. As you will see, there's a reason for CAT III landing certification. As you can see the skies were overcast at 0 feet and the vis was less than 500 feet. Our jet is being towed in from the right as the jet on the left gets ready to depart.

C'est le fin!

Logging EAA Time in a G1000 Star

2005-10-02T20:17:00.000-04:00

Robby and I flew into Dinwiddie County Airport (KPTB) in Petersburg, VA to take in EAA Fly-in and get our Virginia Aviation Ambassadors Program (VAAP) passports stamped. What a great day to fly. Visibility at Leesburg was less than 4 miles in low radiation fog typical for this time of year.

Jason from work was flying left seat while I practiced right seat flying. Robby was glad to be in an airplane again. It was a bit on the cool side, but warmed up quite a bit later in the day.

Other than the early fog, the weather today was just perfect.

This was the view of the inflight entertainment system; er, I mean cockpit as we passed over Culpeper, VA (KCJR).

Robby stands next to the chariot of the day. The Aviation Adventures G1000 star had a front row seat on the ramp right across from the entrance and the breakfast hangar.

Perhaps the best part of the show was Robbie flying the Pitts on the ramp. He was the cermonial "cockit walker" as the Pitts was moved onto the ramp from the hangar. He loved it!

In addition to Dinwiddie County, we also visited Emporia-Greensville, Lawrenceville-Brunswick and Mecklenburg-Brunswick airports today.

Did I mention that the weather was perfect? The view of Mecklenburg-Brunswick as we turn to base for runway 1 says it all

First day of school 2005

2005-09-11T15:04:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, September 8th: School Daze!
Meghan and her friend Aniko with Robbie on the way to school! First and third, and on their way out to learn!!!

The wonder kids are ready for some serious learning!

Labor Day Nationals

2005-09-10T13:24:00.000-04:00

September 5, 2005: Nationals v. Marlins

As the last day of summer (literally, the last day before school started), we went as a family to take in a day game at RFK Stadium. We decided to take the Metro to go down to the Mall and take in a few hours at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History before the game. Since the Smithsonian does not open until 10am, we did not have to rush.

Once off the train, it doesn't take long to find a photo opportunity.

Looking the other way, the Washington monument. As you can see, it was a nearly perfect day! And yes, that black smudge just off to the right is an USAir 737 departing to the north. After completing our tour of only about 1/4 of the bottom level of the Natural History Museum, it was time to head for the ballpark. First, we ate a picnic lunch on the Mall, in the shade.

Here are some shots of the ballpark from our lower reserve seats, which were nice and shady, in addition to being a good view to first base and home plate.

Not a lot of people up high. I think the crowd size was about 37K, which is about the same as a full capacity game at Fenway Park, except that RFK holds 70K.

A closeup of the bull-pen. The sign just to the left of the WTOP banner is from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), which I thought a little odd. Just goes to show that lobbying in DC is pervasive.

Play Ball!!!

Meghan takes a quick peak at the television monitor, while Mom looks on to determine how she will score that play...!

Loyal fans enjoying the game. By the time we got home, we were pretty tired, but we had a fun day. The next morning was the first day of school.

Dodging the Weather, Safely

2005-07-27T19:13:00.000-04:00

It began to rain lightly, but the ceilings were high. The winds were still modest, but noticeable. We departed 13 and made the inbound call to Columbia Approach for sequencing into CAE. After a short vector to the north, we were sequenced for the RWY 11 approach.

Charts, refile flight plan, short preflight, taxi and soon we are wheels up again for Florida. We are quickly cleared direct to SAV, and climbing to 10000. The weather ahead is looking very gray. I make the mental note that if I can’t stay visusal with the weather, we will divert to a nearby facility, or return to Columbia. As we pass above 8K I can see blue sky in our direction flight with walls of white clouds reaching for outer space left and right. I proceed on cautiously. We soon find ourselves in the clear with a layer of puffy clouds topping out at about 9000 feet.

Of course, I am still leery about the dark gray areas with towers of cumulus up to FL300 to our east and southwest. I am also somewhat concerned about the weather below a I hear flights cleared for the ILS into SAV. I monitor the local ATIS for the nearby airports in case something changes. The weather has gotten much lower with reduced visibility in rain. We are riding above it at 10K at 135 knots true air speed. Our flight plan on the 530 is cross checked with the outside picture and it still looks good as we will soon be making a left turn, which will take us clear of the towering clouds to the southwest. So far so good.

The flight continues uneventfully, and we are soon seeing and being told about heavy metal descending above us for arrival into Orlando. We are flying down the east coast of Florida. Dark clouds with high tops are to our east and creeping closer to the coast. Our flight path is still clear, but I have some concern about having to fly further offshore to stay clear of the weather. At this point, the winds and natural landmass convection typical for Florida favor no additional easterly movement of the weather.

The weather is just off of our right side and ATC issues a vector 30 degrees to the west. Looking at it, it looks like this will take us straight into heavy weather, where we do not belong. Sorry ATC, unable.

The voice replies with some disdain and requests to know why. I explain. He needs us to go that way for five miles. Apparently, there must be some disconnect between the FAA advisory to pilots about keeping a 20nm cushion between the airplane and tall, lumpy clouds and what they tell controllers. Um, sorry, no. We’re happy to do anything but that. Ok, then it will have to be a left 360. He tells us it is okay to keep it tight.

No problem. Bring the power back a notch, disconnect the autopilot and initiate the turn. Works for me. We continue our south-southwest heading and rejoin the course line, which is the airway as well. This is not working.

The clouds are reaching out to touch us and there are layers of cirrus clouds that are obscuring the view. We request left deviations. Approved. I know that the weather south is better. We will get past this and we do. After about 15 minutes, we self vector back to the airway, and the new controller we are talking to is happy about that. We hear about the weather from other flights trying to get into Daytona. Soon, we are descending into MLB, and there are numerous towers of tall clouds all around, but nothing between us and the airport. The ocean is still clear too, but the midafternoon Florida summer weather is anxious to start the party. Dennis is helping. I am glad we will be landing soon.

We see the Kennedy Space Center and fly down the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway. We are cleared for the visual to 9R, and start maneuvering for the landing. It is now just after 7pm. We have put just over 7 hours on the airplane.

Dulles Columbia

2005-07-26T18:54:00.000-04:00

Dulles quickly receded below us as we climbed out above the new control tower. Departure instructed us to proceed to FLUKY and a few minutes later we were level at 8000 direct to GVE. Soon after that we were cleared up to 10K. On this particular day, the haze layer was at about 9000 feet.

As we got closer to North Carolina, we could see the high clouds that were outflowing from Tropical Depression Dennis. As we got closer to Columbia, a thin overcast layer had clearly formed above us.

The descent into Columbia was bumpy and the power was adjusted to bring the airspeed closer to Va. It was a good thing. About 10 miles from the airport, we got a good jolt of moderate turbulence. Where it came from is a mystery, but the hills around Columbia combined with tropical weather in the region must have combined to create the clear air turbulence. With the airport in sight, we cancelled IFR and entered the traffic pattern for 13. The landing included a fairly significant 12 knot crosswind with some gusts, but it was mostly uneventful.

With a fuel order placed to the line personnel, we went inside to make arrangements for lunch. I also requested the charts I needed for the next segment of the flight to Florida. There was some confusion about my request, and I was asked to clarify if I just needed to borrow them. Huh? The long and short of it was that they didn’t have any charts for sale, just to borrow for training. Well, that was no good. I inquired if they knew if the FBO at CAE had charts, and they thought so. I asked to borrow the phone.

A quick call confirmed that there were charts in CAE. The plan changed again. Fly over to CAE, get charts and depart IFR to MLB. The plane was getting fueled at CUB, and the crew car was about to depart for the nearby McDonalds. We went and ate lunch, and then it was back to the airport for our next short flight.

Dulles Arrival(s)

2005-07-24T18:47:00.000-04:00

On Saturday morning, I drove out to the airport, filing my flight plans over the phone during the drive. One was VFR from JYO to IAD, and the other was IFR to Columbia Downtown (CUB). I had gone online the night before to NACO and used the online database of chart dealers to see what airport FBO’s would have charts. I like Phil Boyer’s advice to bring business to the smaller airports, so CUB was selected over CAE. The weather was fine, though mostly of the classic triple-H kind (hazy, hot and humid).

The pre-flight was normal and I called Potomac for a squawk and a frequency for the brief trip to IAD. Runway 35 was in use, so I planned a left downwind departure to set up for the arrival into IAD. I could not establish contact with the IAD ATIS on the ground, so I planned to pick that up as I exited the pattern.

The short field takeoff was typical, the ATIS came right up once I was stabilized on the downwind and selected COM2 on the panel, and I prepared to call the Potomac Departure/Approach controller. Dulles is landing south. “Potomac Departure, N377DS, just of Leesburg VFR at 1400, landing Dulles with KILO.”

“N377DS, Potomac Approach, remain outside of BRAVO airspace.”

Ok, now what. I pull the power back to slow down so that I’m not somewhere south of Manassas to land on the 19s. I make a delaying turn to the west, and decide that I really ought to fly northeast to set up for landing 19R. Continuing south would just put me abeam the numbers, and west is away from the airport. So, turning northeast, I pass just south of the threshold for 35 at JYO. Approximately one mile east of the field, Potomac calls back.

“N377DS, do you have the field in sight.”

“Field in sight for N377DS.”

“N377DS, cleared into class Bravo for straight in approach to runway 19R.”

“Cleared into the Bravo for 19R, N377DS.”

“N377DS, contact the tower on 128.42”

“Tower 128.42, N377DS, good day.”

With the power reset to best forward speed, though no request was made for it, the approach to 19R went quickly. About ½ mile from the numbers, I brought the power back smoothly and completed the before landing checklist as the airplane slowed down. As the wheels came to rest on the asphalt, it was quickly apparent that I was in a field of sloppy, gooey aircraft tire rubber. Applying the brakes, the airplane angled left as the right tire was in a thick slick of the discarded material. Easily corrected, I turned clear of the active and tower gave me taxi instructions to Piedmont Hawthorne.

Once at Dulles, I called the family and they made their way over to meet me to get everyone and everything loaded up and underway. While getting the airplane ready for the first real leg of the vacation journey, two fire trucks raced by for the threshold to 19R. Curious, the handheld was quickly retrieved and I tuned up the tower frequency as a United aircraft made a 2 mile right base for the field.

As the 757 aircraft touched down for a normal landing, the speed race began as the fire equipment moved out on the runway to follow the airplane.

“United 8029 heavy, the equipment is following you now, make any left high speed exit. Ground is standing by for your intentions.”

“Dulles Tower, UAL8029, roger, the smoke cleared out the cockpit as we turned final. We’ll just taxi to the gate.”

“United 8029, roger, hold short of Yankee and contact ground on 132.45.”

The family arrived at the airport shortly after 9:30, and we loaded up the airplane. With everyone almost ready to go, Stripes was suddenly missing. (Stripes is Robbie’s bean-bag kitty.) After several trips back and forth to the FBO (Marybeth went back first, then I had to go back to sweep the Men’s room for the misplaced companion), Stripes was suspected of hiding away amongst the luggage and was eventually found once we unloaded and unembarked everyone and everything. With clearance obtained and all set and ready to go once more, we taxied out for runway 19R at 10:30am, number one for departure.

Summer Vacation Odyssey 2005

2005-07-24T18:45:00.000-04:00

The Preflight

On June 25th, we are scheduled to fly down to Melbourne, Florida to visit with family, the beginning of an 11-day odyssey by General Aviation airplane along the East Coast of the United States. The trip included plans to visit Melbourne for several days to celebrate birthdays and other family milestones, then travel back to Syracuse, New York, for the 4th of July and the 40th wedding anniversary of the maternal grandparents, and then return home.

As the sun came up on Saturday morning, the plan had been to relocate Diamond Star 7DS to Washington Dulles (KIAD) for the first leg of the journey on Friday night. One reason for this was that the runway at Leesburg, Virginia (KJYO) was currently being improved and re-surfaced. The available runway for takeoff is about 2500’. While it is more than sufficient, with the whole family on board and hot temperatures making all the distances for taking off and landing just a bit longer, it was my decision to consider more safe and convenient facilities. Dulles is 5 miles from home, so it is a bit closer for loading up the family and getting into the air, too. Parking at the Piedmont-Hawthorne FBO was also (mostly) free.

The original plan was to move the plane Friday night. Unfortunately, it was scheduled for flight training until 8pm and I had not factored in the runway construction restrictions on the airport facility. The facility is only open for day VFR operations, meaning that it is closed at night and no instrument approaches are allowed. Given that this is the week of the summer solstice, night is very late. This should not be a problem.

As I left for the airport at 7:45pm, I called the Flight Service Station to inquire about how the NOTAM for the airport restrictions was worded. The notice is written that the airport is closed at 1230AM ZULU, daily. This means that I now have 45 minutes to drive to the airport (20 minutes in ideal conditions), preflight the airplane (about 20 minutes), coordinate with ATC (this is the infamous DC ADIZ airspace), and depart the airport. If anything unforeseen happens, I’ll be starting up the airplane just to taxi back and put it away – a waste of time. At this point, I am already pretty sure that plan A is not happening, but we go to the airport anyway because we need some charts for the trip south. When flying GA, plans B and C always have to be framed up and ready for execution.

Arriving at the airport just about 8:10pm, the question remains whether or not we can execute quickly and get the airplane out of there. In the back of my mind I am nagged by the internal adversity of being cited for reckless behavior by departing an airport after it has been closed by the FAA. It is very slim that we are now leaving. Robbie is also with me and I have told him that we probably are not going afterall to prepare him for what seems like the inevitable. I go into the airport to get charts. I need 4 items; they don’t have ANY of them. Huh? Well, with the runway construction, they have reduced the number of charts ordered since the amount of operations is reduced. Okay, can I get the charts at the Hawthorne FBO at Dulles? Negative, they don’t carry them at all. Really? Wow.

Interpretation: the two flight schools on the field are busy flying more than ever, but the bigger personal/business jets are not flying here and buying jet fuel and charts. Such is the economics of airport business. On the other hand, I am all but grounded by regulation without the charts appropriate to the flights I plan to conduct. Where is the balance? Plan C is evolving to Plan D and E. Lesson learned – go online and order the charts two weeks in advance.

(Note to those concerned about flight safety issues: is it any clearer just from this short description how tough it still is today to prepare all of the information relevant to the flights to be conducted? Even the best plans have basic assumptions, and when those assumptions blow up, so do the plans. Subsequently I proffer, half-ass workarounds start being considered, and when they don’t work out so well, we see results where pilots accidentally fly around the White House or into the side of hills.)

As fate would have it, a stop in the flight school results in a chance encounter with my flight instructor who was flying until 8. The week before, he had flown down to Columbia, SC on personal business, which just so happens to be the destination for our first leg from Dulles. I explained my frustrating circumstances that evening, and he responds with an offer to use the charts he has. They expire on 7 July and he doesn’t need them. I now have everything I need to get the trip started and get down to Columbia, SC. (Thanks Mike!) I will work out the plan to get the charts to FL along the route of flight. So, the new plan was that to go to Leesburg early Saturday morning to fly the airplane to Dulles.