Justin’s Pilot Reports (PIREP)

I’m ALMOST done with prepping a good sampling of my photos from HeatVenture…I mean AirVenture 2006. I’ll have about 35 images or so for your viewing pleasure. It was another great show and I was honored to accept the assignment to take photos for General Aviation News once again.

One of the big surprises was the fly-by of a “top secret” new Cessna that is in the works. At the end of a press conference about their other big news item - a possible Cessna entry into the LSA market - Cessna’s CEO Jack Pelton announced that Cessna is working on what it calls the “Next Generation Piston” airplane.

This is an excerpt of Cessna’s “Next Generation Piston”.
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Currently, I’m sitting in the C concourse at O’Hare International Airport. I am, once again, the victim of a flight cancelled because a flight crew needed their FAA “required crew rest.”

The same thing happened to me a few months ago when I visited Oshkosh for the Aeroscholars Conference. I think I’m going to do a little more research on this! For the time being, I’ll have to add United to my banned list of airlines (Northwest is the other).

This is an excerpt of Oshkosh 2006.
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Wow.

I think that’s the simple word that came out of my mouth to match the mile-wide grin and glazed look in my eyes. You see, I was just stepping out of a 1929 Ford Tri-Motor onto the soft grass field at the Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, WI.

The Tri-Motor ride was just one of many highlights during a weekend stay at the beautiful EAA Air Academy. I joined a group of about 28 educators, pilots and aviation enthusiasts to learn about the EAA’s Aeroscholars program. This program is amazing. It provides true virtual learning for high school students via an online aviation curriculum. The course is fully college accredited which makes it an attractive option for students interested in aviation. It’s also a fun and powerful way to teach students about science.

This is an excerpt of Tri-motors and Aeroscholars.
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Happy Birthday and Congratulations to Allison! This afternoon she and her mother Ellen joined me for a local flight around San Antonio. This was a special flight since Allison was earning her official status as a Young Eagle!

We departed San Antonio International Airport at around 2pm this afternoon and enjoyed some sightseeing of downtown San Antonio from a lofty perch of 3,000 feet. We could see that Fiesta activities were getting underway and Allison was able to spot several unique landmarks from the air.

Our airplane - Skyhawk 23758 - provided constant awareness of other airplanes by displaying their location and track on the Garmin G1000 Multi-Function Display.

This is an excerpt of A Young Eagle is born!.
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Shane Arnwine is a good friend and coworker of mine. As a member of the Commemorative Air Force, there is no doubt that aviation courses through his veins! Shane is also a student pilot who hopes to start his flight training in the not-so-distant future.

In the meantime, I love the opportunity to take him flying since I know how much he enjoys the experience. This would be my fourth flight with Shane. Our destination, Sonora Municipal Airport (Shane’s parents live there).

Or so we thought.

This is an excerpt of Wind gusts and glass cockpits.
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A few months ago I learned that Wright Flyers, a flight school at San Antonio International Airport, had just acquired a 2006 Cessna Skyhawk equipped with the “NAV III” package. Translation? A Skyhawk with a Garmin G1000 glass cockpit. Instead of several round, traditional flight instruments this new Skyhawk boasts two large LCD displays that replace them.

This is an excerpt of Cessna 172 : “Glass Cockpit” checkout.
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