Blunt Message

By lex, on March 31st, 2010

The Navy sends one:

The United States test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads during a joint military exercise Wednesday with Saudi Arabia, a Western military official said.

The Trident missile launch was carried out in the kingdom, the official said, but he would not give a precise location. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Light Day

By lex, on March 27th, 2010

Busy with actual life and all. With Eldest Daughter home from Portland for a bit, work and, you know: Life.

Won’t bore you with yesterday’s flight from Gillespie in the tattered Citabria 7KCAB.

Much.

Poor thing dragged banners up and down the beach for most of its existence, hanging there on the prop at maybe 80 MPH or so less the windstream tear the banner to shreds. Now it flies with novices like your humble, tolerating our learning curves. Five landings in toto, two each three point and wheelie at Ramona, and a final stall landing at KSEE upon return.

Archival Bleg

By lex, on March 26th, 2010

The commentariat here continues to impress me. I have to admit to being awfully busy at times, and when I happen to notice a comment stuck in moderation for whatever reason, it’s always reassuring to see a familiar name atop the post – I know I can just hit “accept” without having to go to the instant bother of reading the content. (Not that I don’t come back and try to read all comments, but you all do fine without me.)

And, the ability of the readership to fact-check, correct and extend these our scribblings is also impressive. With that in mind, I’m forwarding a personal request from the cher ami of Our Marianne:

Playing Hooky

By lex, on March 13th, 2010

It’s been a very busy couple of weeks at work, as I’ve been assigned a new position while still keeping the plates spinning on the old one and trying to find a replacement that can plausibly step in, get the work done and guard the company’s equities. Things were much easier back in the day, when an enormous bureaucracy existed for just such a purpose. In a lean, entrepreneurial company, a lot of that falls on the incumbents.

But by 1500 Friday afternoon, I’d pretty much had it, so it was off to the aerodrome to polish crosswind landing skills in tailwheel aircraft with CFI Glenn.

Got DAS?

By lex, on March 11th, 2010

The Kat asked me about the F-35 tonight at dinner. I started to tell her about engine choices and performance margins and such, but then I switched to the Electro-Optical Distributed Awareness System, or DAS.

As marketing goes, it’s pretty fricken’ cool.

We’ll see what delivers.

PS, she asked me: You miss it, don’t you?

Yeah. Yeah, I do.

 

Back To The Index 

Solo

By lex, on March 6th, 2010

So, it ’twas to be a CrossFit drill after work yesterday, but Ominous Weather (rain showers) loomed over the weekends threatening the flying fix. CrossFit, it turns out, is perfectly acceptable during rain showers, so long as performed indoors. Flying VFR aircraft, no so much. The choice, she was easy.

If it hadn’t have been for the government time I was on, I’d  have slipped away maybe a half an hour early from work to avoid the rush hour traffic on the way to Horrible East County. Had I done so, I’d have made it to Gillespie Airport in remarkably good time, congratulating myself on my wisdom and promising to make up the time at some future date.

Morning Pr0n

By lex, on March 2nd, 2010

T-28 Trojan was an outgoing primary trainer when I started flight school. It hosted a Wright R-1820-86 Cyclone radial engine with 1,425 hp under the cowl, and was thought to be a real handful for your first flyer. You could volunteer for T-28s, but I went with the simpler T-34 as more sedate and “jet-like.”

Photo Courtesy of FlightAware.com

Trojan students told us that if you reached the airplane for preflight and it wasn’t leaking oil, the machine was down.

It could only mean that there was no oil left.

Back To The Index 

Whew!

By lex, on February 28th, 2010

Busy Sunday.

Blogged a wee bit in the early AM, as has become the custom. Worked on some output screens for the software development team I’m managing – aviation safety stuff, pretty cool if we can get the kids to actually use it. SQL databases and customizable cockpit charts, who/what/when/why, etc. Has some real potential.

Then! Down to Montgomery for to wrestle 1200 pounds of twisted steel and sex appeal into the air and bring her floating featheringly down to earth again. With some two-circle BFM in between. An absolute cougar in the trunk, lady of a certain age and that, remarkably well preserved. With a mebbe 30 year old boy toy in t’other aircraft, whom she wanted nothing more than to dominate.

In the Supe’s Words

By lex, on February 24th, 2010

VADM Fowler addressed the diversity issue at the US Naval Academy to a receptive audience at Diversity.inc recently. His comments helps  illuminate the mindset, and represent as well something of a potential row-back from previous comments that “diversity was the number one goal” at USNA:

Discretion v. Valor

By lex, on February 21st, 2010

So, today was the day I had chosen to attempt my first tailwheel solo in a club Citabria **, the like of which I was first checked out in on Tuesday after work. It was with some degree of trepidation that I made the trek down to Gillespie Field, for a ground loop with a CFI in the back seat is regrettable, but balling one up all by yourself is a disgrace.

Still, you’ve either got to light that candle eventually or else dwell in the darkness of paid instruction, so it was down to the airport that I putted.