Justin’s Pilot Reports (PIREP)

As is the case with many weekend flyers, losing the ability to file and fly under Instrument Flight Rules is a reality (especially for those of us with babies/young children at home). It’s strange, but once you have an Instrument Rating the ability to “just fly VFR” seems so limiting.

This is not a negative comment about flying under Visual Flight Rules.  Heavens no! Nothing beats the pure freedom of VFR flight. But when I did a few VFR flights after the birth of my daughter, the lack of being able to file IFR in the air, due to unexpected weather, made me seem vulnerable. Those big clouds in the sky get a little more intimidating when you know you can’t bore a hole right through them!

This is an excerpt of “Real world flying” to regain instrument proficiency.
Read the full entry.

…into skies wide and blue

….into canyons of cumulous.

…into a sea of air.

Leonardo da Vinci says it all, “When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”

That statement, at least for me, is so absolutely true. When weeks or months go by without flying, the sky seems to beckon to me - sometimes urgently. I’ll see a small airplane overhead and a chord is struck deep inside me. It’s hard to describe.

This is an excerpt of A prop and spinner will lead me….
Read the full entry.

On April 5th, 2007 I had a reunion.

A reunion with the sky.

A clear, blue sky and a gentle breeze were my playground. My transportation to this playground was Skyhawk 23758, a Cessna 172 with a “glass cockpit” and an urgent desire to defy gravity. Or was that my desire? Sometimes it’s hard to tell.

I know. I just made a reference inferring that the airplane I flew had feelings.

But don’t they? I wonder what kind of results I’d get if I took a poll, right now, to find out how many pilots assign human characteristics to their flying machines. Assigning some feeling to your airplane surely is Anthropomorphism at its best!

This is an excerpt of Reunion with the sky….
Read the full entry.

Something even better happened. My wife gave birth to our baby daughter, Ms. Sara Elise Moore. Sara was born on March 15th at 12:51pm weighing in at 6lbs, 6.5oz and stretching all of 18.5″ long.

As you might suspect, Sara is keeping me quite occupied. That said, it appears she is already interested in following in Dad’s footsteps…

Grandma bought Sara this warm outfit for overnight napping. It won’t be long before Dad is back in the air again and there’s no question that the time will fly and the next thing you know I’ll be blogging about Sara’s second flight. Second, because she’s already experienced flight - in the womb - a few months back.

This is an excerpt of If you thought I was abducted by aliens, think again….
Read the full entry.

“You’re a good pilot.”

That’s what I heard after receiving a call on my cell phone from six-year old Julian after our flight today. I was already sporting one of those “I just flew an airplane” grins but when I got this call my smile just went off the charts. I was quick to return the compliment because Julian had been a great copilot!

Julian earned his wings today. His father Marco is a good friend of mine and fellow cyclist. We took advantage of a clear, blue sky and headed northwest to the Gillespie County Airport in Fredericksburg, Texas. Home of the famous Hangar Hotel - a popular destination for many of my “first flights.”

This is an excerpt of My copilot Julian….
Read the full entry.

An online, college-accredited aviation program for high-school students that can lead to a pilot’s certificate. Sound to good too be true?

Believe it! The EAA’s Aeroscholars program is gaining momentum across the country as a fun and exciting educational tool that, at a minimum, helps high-school students develop strong math and science skills. Critical skills that students need in order to compete in a job market flooded with technology skills requirements.

On October 2, 2006 I attended an open house at Wright Flyers Aviation, a flight academy here in San Antonio to learn more about how to get this program started locally. The guest speaker was Dr. Lee Siudzinski who leads the program and is an educator with over thirty years of experience.

This is an excerpt of Aeroscholars promotes high-school math, science skills….
Read the full entry.