As I have written here on many occassions I have many passions; two of which are aviation and the Internet. I love when I find ways to mix the two interests. Today I came accross a new tool offered by fboweb.com. The site's charter is to simplify and streamline the processes involved in all aspects of aviation. In doing that they have created a suite of flight tracking software that makes them the Internet's most popular web-based flight tracking service.
In the past I have used their site to track status of a a commercial flight that a friend or family member might be travelling on. The traditional display was a basic map displayed in the browser. fboweb.com recently began integrating Google Earth into its service offerings, allowing users to track flights in 3D.
If you search for a flight you will be see an icon to map the flight on Google Earth and to see a 3D rendering of the flight plan with relevant information such as flight number, altitude and air speed. Even more fun is that they offer Google Earth add-ons that show traffic going to some of the country's most popular airports including: Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago's O'Hare, Atlanta and New York's John F. Kennedy. Download the files for these airports for use in Google Maps.
Once you load the map, be sure to zoom in towards each airport and tilt the camera up from the runways to watch them land! The picture to the right is showing the flights coming in over Lake Michigan landing on 27L and 27R.
If you are an aviation buff download Google Earth and head over to fboweb.com today.
I am sure most pilots set goals to fly more hours each year. I started flying in April of 2004 with a heavy concentration between April and August, in which I flew 47.2 hours, culminating in earning my Private Pilots License on August 1, 2004. I continued to fly frequently into the winter of 2004, completing the year with 63.3 hours of flight time.
My flight time was decreased in 2005 in a year of transition where I moved from Cincinnati, Ohio to Chicago, Illinois. Between a new job and new city I had less free time to get out to the airport. In 2005 I only logged 12.6 hours, just over an hour per month. My goal for 2006 is to at least double that number. I plan on doing that by finally buckling down and choosing a home base airport and FBO. I am looking at a variety of airports and FBOs ranging from Midway Aviators based at Midway, Windy City Flyers at Palwaukee, Stick & Rudder Club at Waukegan and an FBO at Schamburg. Additionally, in 2006, I would like to fly some more solo cross-country flights exploring new airports and scenery.
I look forward to sharing my 2006 flight experiences with you!
A few months ago I was invited to be create a "lens" for a private beta for a new website - Squidoo.com. What's a lens you ask?
According to the Squidoo website a lens is "one person's (lensmaster's) view on a topic he cares about. More specifically, a lens is a single web page filled with information and links that point to other web pages, to continually updated RSS feeds, or to relevant advertising. It's a place to start, not finish." I created a lens about learning to fly to share my knowledge of the steps it takes to earn a license and the ways to enjoy a private pilot's license. Check out my Squidoo Learn to Fly Lens and if you like it add it to your favorite lenses.
Squidoo was built to be an online platform that makes it easy for anyone to build lenses on topics they are passionate about. These lenses help people find a unique, human perspective on things that interest them. Squidoo was started by the Original Squid, Seth Godin.
In a recent post I wrote about paper airplanes and now I am doing a complete 180° change from the simplest and cheapest of flying machines to what might be the most advanced and one of the most expensive general aviation aircraft Javelin MK-10. The Javelin is a two seat multi-jet engine powered general aviation aircraft built by the Aviation Technical Group that can get your cruising at .90 mach. According to their website the driving concept being the Javelin MK-10 is "to combine state-of-the-art glass instrumentation, safety features, and wide-fan sweep technology jet engines into a two-place executive jet. With its high speed, maneuverability, and unprecedented performance, coupled with the economy, reliability, and comfort of a light business jet, the Javelin has no equal in general aviation.
The Javelin successfully completed its maiden flight in October. After the flight George Bye, Chairman of ATG, commented “The Javelin prototype’s first flight marks the beginning of more expansive airborne tests. We will now begin the process of correlating the Javelin prototype’s performance against predicted engineering values. We look forward to future flights that are as successful as today’s as we present the market with a truly remarkable aircraft.”
This plane has performance characteristics similar to some military aircraft. It even comes with military style ejection seats. In addition to the general aviation aircraft ATG is developing a Javelin MK-20 model that could be used as a military trainer.
Looking at the list of technical features below you will see why the estimated cost of this airplane is approximately $2.795 million, which knocks it out of my price range, for now. But you have to dream, right?
Technical features for the Javelin MK-10
Engines: Two – 1,700 pound thrust, turbo-fan Williams International FJ33-4A-17M
Seating capacity: Two, tandem
Max gross weight: 6,200 pounds
Wing span: 23.25 feet
Length: 36 feet
Height: 10.5 feet
Wing area: 120 square feet
Take-off ground roll (std day, SL, 6,200 lb): 1,800 feet
Balanced field (std day, SL, 6,200 lb): 3,000 feet
Max rate of climb: 10,000 ft/min
Time to climb to 41,000 ft (ISA, std day, 6,200 lb): 13 min.
Cruise speed (ISA, std day, 5,500 lb, 35,000 ft): 0.90 Mach, 525 KTAS, 600 mph
Stall speed in landing configuration (6,080 lb.): 110 KCAS
Approach speed: 132 knots (at max gross weight)
Approach speed: 114 knots (at landing weight)
Landing distance (std day, SL, 6,080 lb, full flaps)
Ground Roll: 2,200 feet
Over 50 ft: 5,000 feet
Landing Distance (std day, SL, 4,575 lb, full flaps)
Ground Roll: 1,800 feet
Over 50 ft: 4,200 feet
IFR Range (M 0.80): 1,200 nm
Endurance: 3.5 hours
Fuel capacity: 280 gallons
Fuel Consumption at mid-cruise weight
Economy cruise (0.80 Mach at 45,000 ft): 75 gal/hr
High-speed cruise (0.90 Mach at 35,000 ft) 109 gal/hr
Certified ceiling: 45,000 feet
Cargo/Baggage: up to 200 lb.
Price 2005: $2.795 million (will be indexed, taxes not included)
As you can tell from my blogroll on the right hand side of this site there is a long lost of blogs about aviation that I read on a regular basis. I was thinking this afternoon that it would be fun to have a visual reference of aviation blogs. This way a pilot could find an aviation blog written by someone in their area. Or you could look for a blog in a region you hope to fly too. I thought it might bring the aviation blogger community closer.
So I have created a group called Flight Blogs at Frappr. If you publish a blog about aviation create an account and then enter the zip code for your hometown airport. Next in the message area list your blogs URL and your home airports name.
Add your aviation blog today!
If you were an airplane what type of airplane would you be? Take this quick quiz to find out. The quiz stated I would be a Cessna 172 which is pretty fitting since I have spent most my recent flight time in that exact plane.
According to the quiz: I am "...a CESSNA 172, a person that knows that things don't have to be extravagant to be nice. You love adventure, but are limited on your ways of achieving it. You live a little bit more on the safe side in life, but you know how to stretch your wings."
Thanks to Charlie Tango's blog for pointing out the quiz. Charlie Tango's match was to a Dehavilland Beaver the workhorse of the Alaskan bush pilots.
One of the questions I get most from prospective pilots is "How much does it cost to earn a private pilots license?" That is a tough question to answer because there are so many variables that determine the final cost: frequency of lessons, amount of studying between lessons, aptitude, plane rental, and cost of instructor. Estimates vary from $4,500 to $10,000. BeAPilot.com estimates the cost to be between $4,500 to $6,000 and Private Pilot Magazine quotes the national average as between $5,000 and $8,000.
A podcast that I have been enjoying recently is Jason Miller's The Finer Points - An Aviation Podcast. Jason is a Certified Flight Instructor and in his most recent episode "Dollars and Cents" he shares his insights for the cost of earning a pilots license. He suggests budgeting between $7,000 and $10,000. He points out that a pilot can take his or her flight test with just 40 hours of flight time and 20 hours of instruction but that in his 10 years of flying he has only met one pilot that earned their license while their total flight time was still in the 40s. One suggestion he makes is that to save money, a student should schedule at least two flights a week and study for three hours between flights.
I completely agree with Jason's advice. I was able to earn my license after 47.2 hours of flight time and spending $4,536.74. Both of those numbers are below the averages quoted by the several sources above. I believe the main reasons I was able to earn the license so efficiently is because I made a point of flying 2-3 times per week and dedicating several hours between each flight studying and preparing for the next flight.
Though, one should not pass on learning to fly if they cannot dedicate the time or money to fly 2-3 per week but should realize it may end up taking more flight hours and instructor time because they may forget some of what they learned between lessons. Therefore their overall costs may be higher in the end if training is more spread out. If you can stick to a plan that involves frequent flights and studying I think a license can be earned for less than $7,500.
A couple of weeks ago I worked with the Google API to create an interactive map of airports I have flown to as a general aviation pilot. I recently came across RunwayFinder.com, a site that uses similar technology, to display airport locations across the United States overlayed on a google map.
Like a traditional Google Map users can select to view in map view, satellite view or in a hybrid view that gives you a bit of both. This site adds in its own custom view called chart view. The chart view replaces the traditional background map with a sectional map to show aeronautical chart information including obstructions and special use airspace. RunwayFinder also shows weather conditions for an area at a glance by evaluating the cloud ceiling, visibility, and wind at specific airports.
I would advise against using the weather or maps for official flight planning and continue to use FAA sanctioned resources for flight planning and preperation. But, this is a really nice site for viewing airports around your home base and getting general information to prepare for your next flight.
Now if we can just get someone to make an interactive map of the best $100 Hamburgers.
I am a big fan of maps. So over the past few weeks I have enjoyed spending a few nights playing with some new mapping technologies - Google Earth and MSN Virtual Earth. I also enjoy testing out new technology so tonight I decided to test out the Google Map API. API stands for "application programming interface". An API allows one program such as my site to use facilities provided by another such as Google Maps.
So, I developed a map of all the airports I have flown to since I began learning to fly. The map has all the normal Google map functionality that will let you drag and zoom in or out. Additionally, you can click on each airport to learn more about it. I plan to update it as I visit additional airports in the near future.
When was the last time you flew to a new airport? In preparing for that flight you obviously reviewed your flight with the use of a sectional chart. You probably also reviewed information about your destination airport in your FAA Airport/Facility Directory. But, you still really don't know what to expect upon when you began to arrive at the new airport.
Google has launched a beta product called Google Earth which can be downloaded for free and can be a nice aid to pilots. The program lets you fly around a 3D globe, with overhead satellite photos, tilted 45-degree photos, 3D rendered buildings, and overlays that display everything from roads to hotels to bike routes. One caution is that most of the images are several years old so they may not be very accurate. But, since the images are old I was able to see a satellite view of Meigs field. Google Earth added in the buildings so I could have visualized what it would be like to fly into Meigs field.
