Category Archives: Breakfast Flights

Flying May Happen

19 Sunday Jul 2015

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Young Eagles

Unlike this happy Young Eagle, no flying for me this weekend.

My Cherokee was diagnosed with a sick magneto on Thursday, which had to go to Tulsa for overhaul (hopefully under warranty.) So I had to hitch a ride to Cranland (28M) for the EAA Chapter Fly-In Pancake Breakfast. Which was great. But the highlight of the week was the second round of Young Eagles flights on Saturday morning. Some of our local pilots took 16 more Taunton High School JROTC students up for their first flights in an airplane. The sky was overcast but absolutely calm, and the kids were great, all smiles and polite appreciation. It seemed to be a complete success.

The only sour note – and it was a big one – was our airport manager.

He came over and demanded that we have a $1,000,000 (yes, million!) insurance policy for the “event,” naming the airport as beneficiary. Which is news to all of us, since we’ve been inviting friends to come to the airport and fly with us for years, with no mention of “event insurance.” The Young Eagles were our invited guests, and each pilot and airplane was covered by EAA insurance for Young Eagle flights. The was no invitation for the general public to go flying, no aerobatics, no formation flying, no low passes, no “spectacle.” Just free airplane rides for some very deserving young people.

We polled some other airport managers who told us that Young Eagle flights were no different than any other “not for hire” flight, and that pilots were welcome to bring anyone to their Public Use Airports for a flight. But that wasn’t good enough for our manager, who is not a pilot. He stated that the Young Eagles “Didn’t know what they were getting into,” (whatever that means) even though each had a signed permission slip from a parent. In fact, many of the parents attended to watch and photograph the flights.

Unfortunately, the manager’s tone and conduct was rather shameful for our airport, especially when you consider that our user fees pay for his contract. (The airport does not receive a dime from the city.)  But as Melinda, the president of our association succinctly told him in a letter, “Flying may happen from time to time at the airport.”

Flying Into the Future

12 Sunday Jul 2015

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It’s embarrassing when my leg falls off.

I’m fine when I’m flying, but it happens sometimes when I get out of my Piper Cherokee. Right now, my residual leg (stump) is changing, so until I get fitted with a new socket, twisting out of the pilot’s seat onto the wing and down to the ground can cause my prosthetic leg to slip off.

Which was why I didn’t volunteer to make some of the EAA Young Eagle flights for the Taunton High School Air Force JROTC program this week. Instead, I sat at the reception table doing paperwork. But I was certainly thinking, just let one disabled cadet walk up to this table and I will personally limp out to my airplane and give them their ride!

Get a grip, Doug. Of course there are no disabled youngsters in JROTC, especially for the USAF. After all, we wouldn’t want to set a false expectation, since Johnny can’t go to the Air Force Academy and fly a jet after he lost his arm. And Sally, you’ll never be an astronaut with that artificial leg.

Except that there are service members currently serving as pilots after becoming disabled by limb loss while on active duty. Not to mention the WWII double amputee and Battle of Brittan ace Douglas Bader. So why couldn’t a young person with a pre-existing disability start a military career, if they could otherwise meet the fitness standards? I became disabled in retirement, but the greatest attribute I looked for in new recruits during my 28 year military career was MOTIVATION.

Personally, I believe that the bigger leap is in our minds. But I am certain that there will come a time, out in the big blue sky of the future, when advancements in prosthetics and therapy will make it perfectly normal for disabled youngsters to aim for careers as military aviators and as pilots for the major airlines.

It’s going to be a great day.

BREAKFAST AT KATAMA

We flew to Katama (again) this week for breakfast on the deck, with 8 airplanes: Super Hawk, Pitts, Vans RV, Cardinal, C-150, C-182, Citabria and the Cherokee. Our string of near perfect days continued, and the sky was bright blue and silky smooth. My only brain-lock occurred when we had to be pushed back into a parking spot. I use a bar (or lever) to control the rudder and nose wheel steering with my right hand. Down is left and up is right. Simple. Until I had to steer going backwards, and my brain couldn’t catch up, even though it was a lot easier than backing a trailer. But with Robbie and Mike pushing, we got the airplane parked without trading wingtip paint with the neighbors.

YOUNG EAGLES

As I mentioned, the Taunton Pilots Association flew 16 JROTC cadets on EAA Young Eagle flights this week. We had two Vans RVs, an Aeronca Champ, a Long EZ and a Hawk XP on the line. The kids were great and they really enjoyed it, but I think that the pilots had more fun than any of the teenagers.

No Flight Plan

05 Sunday Jul 2015

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No Flight Plan

Some people don’t like freedom.

We flew 4 airplanes to Plymouth for breakfast this morning, and *GASP!* not one of us filed a flight plan! I can surmise that if some misfortune had befallen one of us, the news media would have ended their report of the disaster with that trite and ominous epithet, “the single engine Piper had not filed a flight plan.” Never mind that our flight was 12 miles and that on a clear day (uh … which this wasn’t!) you can see the big hangars at KPYM from the traffic pattern at our home airport. Never mind that we were well clear of the airline routes for Boston and Providence and that we took all the other usual precautions for a semi-local VFR flight. The lack of a flight plan, by itself, would mark us as irresponsible yahoos to some who have learned all about aviation in the movies and on TV.

Maybe we are. Our group of friends seldom has a destination in mind until we all meet up at Mike’s hangar. At around 8 am on Sunday morning, someone will say “Let’s go to Fitchburg,” or Katama or Minute Man. After nods of agreement, as many as 12 airplanes might take off in rapid succession and arrive at our chosen breakfast spot as a flock. We fly low and use our own eyeballs and a common frequency on our radios to avoid occupying the same airspace at the same time. There are often children onboard.

Should we have to ask for permission from our government before launching into the sky, as is the case in most of the world? Is that too much freedom?

“Hell no!” I say. America’s skies should always be free!

And if you’re lucky in life, you’ll fall in with a group of like-minded people doing something fun and free and interesting, like flying to breakfast in their own airplanes.

PLANE JANE’S

Plymouth (KPYM) is our “go-to” airport when the weather isn’t perfect or we don’t have as much time as we’d like. The restaurant is Plane Jane’s, and Jane herself was there to serve us with a smile. In fact, everyone at the airport seemed to be sporting a post-cookout/fireworks grin. There were friends on the ramp and in the lobby and Tom, the airport manager, had an office full of pals solving the problems of the world. What a great airport!

KEEP ‘EM FLYING

A cracked weld on one of my Cherokee’s exhaust risers almost kept me grounded this weekend. Luckily, Jim at the Aircraft Parts Exchange in Fort Mill, South Carolina had the part on hand. Mike had to make some phone calls and intercept the UPS truck to get the part on Friday morning (July 3 holiday) but he had my airplane back in service by Friday afternoon. I also had a fresh coat of wax from Alex’s Aircraft Detailing, new brake liners, and squeaky-new tires on the main landing gear. Which was great, because the sky was just beautiful for a sightseeing flight to Cape Cod that evening.

BAY STATE CHALLENGE

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New friend George Danziger flew his Aeronca Champ down from Northampton (7B2) this week to get his Fly the Bay State Challenge ‘Passport’ stamped. The aim is to visit all 39 public use airports in Massachusetts, as well as to attend two FAA safety seminars. George is well on his way to claiming a prize, and we thank him for visiting us and Myricks (1M8).

By the way, ‘public use’ means that any aircraft may land and use the facilities of the airport without prior permission. The challenge is a great reason to go flying and explore new places for a $200 hamburger! But more importantly, it celebrates a pilot’s right to land at – and use – any airport in the USA which receives funding from the FAA.

800 and 2

28 Sunday Jun 2015

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800 and 2

I’m so lucky that I don’t HAVE TO FLY today!

That was my thought when I woke up to a tree limb coming down in my yard. The remnants of a tropical system was battering us with wind and rain, and flying somewhere for breakfast was out of the question, so me and Charlie met Mike at a local diner. While the rain was pelting the windows, I was thinking about our airline and biz-jet friends who have to go up in crappy weather. Sure, they have the skill and equipment to deal with it, but on days like this they must really earn their pay.

Getting fuel during the week can be a hassle at our little airport, so after we ate I decided to top-off my airplane while the Sunday kid was manning the pumps, without the usual b-s. By then the worst of the wind and rain had pushed off to the east, and the sky didn’t look too bad. So I listened to the automated weather observation and heard that we had an 800 foot ceiling and 2 miles visibility.

Hmm. I had to wonder, if I had somewhere to go, would I fly today?

Here is an interesting point: General Aviation aircraft (“private” pilots) have no ceiling and visibility minimums for takeoffs. Legally, we can depart in our single-engine flivvers in near zero-zero conditions, while commercial flights are waiting for clearance. I’ve done that when the sea fog rolls in low over Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard, and clear blue skies are only 200 feet above the runway. One time my friend Dan (who is 10 times the pilot I will ever be) was stuck on the Vineyard in a multi-engine Cessna 402 full of paying passengers while the tower cleared us amateurs to go in a single-engine Skylane. Go figure.

But how about getting back into our home airport? My Cherokee is equipped with a WAAS GPS which allows me to descend to 600 feet (557 feet above the landing threshold) in 1 mile visibility to find the runway. Not that I’d want to! I like “gentlemen’s” minimums of 1000 feet and 3 to 5 miles. And the more visibility under the clouds, the better.

Also, the tops of these clouds were up at 14,000 feet, way above where I could cruise to my destination in sunshine and calm air. Nor did the low ceilings in every direction leave many options for a diversion or an emergency descent. So even though my Cherokee 180 has good power, I probably wouldn’t takeoff today, even if the weather was good at my destination.

POWER

Speaking of power, I’m gaining more faith in my Piper. My previous airplane was a Cessna 182 with 230 horses behind a 3-blade constant speed propeller, which was a rock solid performer. When they say that some airplane is stable and a joy to fly, they are often talking about power. Especially when the weather is bad, power to climb and hold airspeed is a very good thing to have.

So I was happy when I flew the Cherokee to Falmouth with Mike and Damien this week. With three of us and fuel onboard, the 180 hp Lycoming hauled us above the trees only slightly more than halfway down the 2,400 foot runway.

Yay!

NEW BOOK

ps – I released my fourth eBook this week. Positive reader reviews are always appreciated!

ROYALS Cover

Breakfast at Katama

22 Monday Jun 2015

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I’ve never had a bad day in all my life.

Well, that might not be totally true. A few years ago I was landing my 1946 Aeronca “Champ” at a grass airstrip when I misjudged my altitude and caught a tree with the right wingtip.  About four seconds later the airplane cartwheeled into the ground nose-first, changing my life forever. Both of my legs had multiple compound fractures and my right shoulder suffered an irreparable dislocation.  After nine surgeries and months of rehabilitation, it became apparent that the infection in my right leg would kill me, so it was easy to make the decision to have it amputated above the knee. I now walk with an ‘artificial’ leg.

There was no point in feeling sorry for myself … I totally own that accident. All I wanted to do was fly again. With the help of my friends, I was able to put hand rudder controls in a 1964 Cherokee 180. So I’m flying!

I also wanted to go back to my job on the Long Island car and passenger ferries. I’d been working with great people, but the boats could be physically demanding. So after a lifetime of making a living on the water, I suddenly had the time to do something else.

Of course, I started writing eBooks.

My friend Bendrix suggested this blog as a way to introduce me and my writing. A group of friends meets at Taunton Airport every Sunday morning to fly to breakfast, and it was Ben’s idea that I should post after each of those flights.

Something interesting usually happens …

For instance, last week my friend Mike was off flying his wife and daughter home from Maryland, so his 15 year old son (old enough to solo in four months) hopped into the left seat of my Cherokee and flew me to Martha’s Vineyard with the breakfast crew. I think we had eight or nine airplanes. It was fun to watch this kid – who has grown up around airplanes all his life – effortlessly make a perfect landing on the grass at Katama Airpark, and another at Cranland, an 1,800 foot airstrip surrounded by trees. That’s what it is all about!

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