John Travolta is not only a huge movie star but he is a huge aviation afficionado. Travolta stars in the recently released Be Cool which is a sequel to Get Shorty. I saw the film this evening and found it to be very entertaining. I would recommend it to anyone that enjoyed the first in the series.
Now, back to Travolta being cool. Travolta has always been an aviation enthusiast and has spent his earnings on flying from the start. With the success of his career he has been able to indulge his passion for flying. He has moved to a house within the Jumbolair Aviation Estates community. At the Jumbolair Estates he built with his wife Kelly Preston a house styled like a 1950's airport terminal, that was featured in an issue of Architectural Digest. To complete the part he has a remarkable fleet of aircraft that include:
So in my book John Travolta fits the bill - Be Cool.
Today was a beautiful day to fly. Unfortunately, I had not reserved a plane today and there were no openings. But, that did not deter me from visiting the airport. I stopped by Blue Ash Aviation to pick up a Pilot's Operating Handbook (POH) for the Diamond Eclipse. You may notice I had previously referred to this plane as a Katana. It is actually a variant with the name Eclipse.
Every aircraft has a POH and it should always be in the airplane. I believe it is a great practice for pilots to purchase there own copy of the POH for planes they fly in order to better understand the aircraft. Most POH manuals will include the following:
My flight instructor taught me to read through the POH highlighting the important information. Then if I have not flown that plane recently I can quickly flip through the POH and familiarize myself with important performance and emergency procedure information.
I look forward to reading through the Diamond Eclipse POH this week and flying it next weekend.
Earlier this year I posted about AOPA sponsored Tsunami relief efforts. In a recent AOPA ePilot Newsletter they announced that member have donated more than $115,000 to Air Serv International. Air Serv is a non-governmental humanitarian organization that used GA Aircraft to provide logistical support to other non-governmental humanitarian organizations.
According to the AOPA Newsletter "Air Serv's C-208B Grand Caravan is being used to transport humanitarian staff, emergency medical supplies, and rabies and tetanus vaccines to Banda Aceh, one of the hardest hit towns in Sumatra. The material is then transferred to helicopters for transport to displaced person clinics along the west coast of Sumatra."
Stu Willcuts of Air Serv said "All of us express our deep appreciation to our AOPA partners for this significant response."
Air Serv International is a non-government and non-profit organization that assists the world's leading relief and development agencies in getting their cargo and humanitarian staff safely delivered to areas of need. According to a recent Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association newsletter, "Air Serv brings badly needed logistics support, equipment and hope to millions of people in some of the harshest environments in the world. Its staff is currently deployed in Sri Lanka and Sumatra, some of the areas hardest hit by the tsunami."
AOPA has selected Air Serv, an approved agency by the USA Freedom Corps, as a partner in its Tsunami relief efforts. AOPA, in conjunction with Air Serv, established the AOPA Tsunami Fund with all funds going specifically to support relief from the tsunami disaster. AOPA has pledged up to $25,000 to match member contributions.
To learn more about how anyone can make a donation and AOPA members can make a donation that will be matched, visit the Air Serv Give a Gift page on the Air Serv Website.
I enjoyed reading a variety of reports from the field that are posted on the Air Serv International Website. Even one that shares how Air Serv came to the rescue of Angelina Jolie while she was on a goodwill tour in the Democratic Republic of Congo. You can also learn about the fleet of general aviation aircraft used on their missions.
The television watching public will get a taste of general aviation this winter. AOPA will be running four thirty second television ads on the Weather Channel starting Monday, December 20th through the end of the year. You can watch the clips on AOPAs website. The commercials will be directing viewers to a website called General Aviation Serving America.
The goal of the ads is to educate the public about the benefits of General Aviation.
Looking a great gift for someone special who has always wanted to learn to fly? Give them the gift of flight. BeAPilot.com has negotiated a deal with 2000+ flight schools around the country that allows you to give someone an introductory flight for just $49.
With $49 and the gift certificate, the recipient can take a 45-minute flight with one of the school's instructors. The time spent on this introductory flight can be logged as training time that will count toward earning a license.
Using this certificate is a great way to decide whether flying is the right fit for the person. It also allows them to see if a school is right for them. I strongly encourage checking out a few flight schools before selecting one to train with!
Red Flag is the Air Force's equivalent of Top Gun where the best of the best practice their trade. Red Flag not only welcomes the best of the United States Air Force but also that of our allies. This winter a new IMAX film, Fighter Pilot - Operation Red Flag, tells the story of a young F-15 pilot as he trains at Red Flag over the desert of Nevada.
The trailers and clips available on the website for the film are amazing. I am sure this is one film that will make you feel like you are actually in the plane. Like most IMAX films there will not only be great action scenes but a story of what goes on behind the scenes at Red Flag as well.
I am anxious to see this film. The film will debut at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum this Saturday but will be showing up at IMAX theaters around the country soon. You can view a listing of theaters and expected release dates here.
Discovery Communications has announced that it will transition its Discovery Wings Channel to the Military Channel on Monday, Jan. 10, 2005. According to the announcement the new channels mission will be to "Offer a broad focus on all aspects of the military with a wide array of programming about its people, strategy, technology and history."
At first I was not disappointed by the announcement since much of the programming on the Wings station was already military focused. But, in thinking about it this evening I will miss knowing I can flip to Wings and know that I will find aviation content. Many of the shows that currently air on Wings will be applicable on the new Military Channel but some of my favorite Wings series will likely be cancelled in the transition such as Learning to Fly, A Plane is Born, and Airline Story.
I have to admit to not watching Discovery Wings on a regular basis but it was a comfort to know it was there. Although, I will miss it I am sure I will enjoy some of the programming that is expected on the Military Channel.
It has been three weeks since I have flown and feels like forever. Between the Thanksgiving holiday, bad weather, earlier nights and a busier work schedule I have had few opportunities to fly.
It looks like the weekend will provide clear skies for flying. As long as the winds stay under control I expect to go flying tomorrow afternoon or Sunday. This is my longest time away from the cockpit and I have missed it dearly.
While learning to fly I tried to never take more than a few days off at a time. I did this to stay proficient and to make my training as cost efficient as possible. Now that I have my license I cannot keep up that pace but would like to keep to flying once a week or at a minimum of once every two weeks.
When I log my flight this weekend I will be completing my fourth page in my Jeppesen Pilot Logbook and increasing my total flights flown to 52.
My infatuation with all things Alaska continues. I read this amazing story of pilot Mike Holman who was stranded in the Alaskan wilderness for over six days before being rescued. Holman, a pilot for United Airlines, was on vacation and flying his Maule ML-7 plane to a cabin 140 southwest of Anchorage but made a crucial error in judgment and went away from his projected flight path to explore the surrounding area. He landed the plane on a beach in the Koyuktolik Bay. Unfortunately, he could not restart the plane when he was ready to depart and the quick Alaskan tide submerged the plane shortly after. He had only enough time to get his survival gear from the plane but did not retrieve the emergency locator transmitter.
I remember being amazed while camping after a night of kayaking in Prince William Sound how quickly the tide came in and how it nearly swallowed the entire campsite while at full tide making the peninsula I was camped on an island for a few hours.
For three days Holman waited near the site of his landing hoping to spot rescue planes or boats but saw nothing. He determined his error of deviating from his intended path put him outside of the search box. He realized he would need to hike for help. The map he had with him showed a cabin within five miles of his location. After a 17-hour trek across treacherous terrain, he was blessed to find a functioning radio within the empty fishing lodge and was able to radio for help. The first rescue attempt on Saturday was called off due to high winds but on Sunday, after six days in the wilderness, Holman was rescued.
CAPBlog wrote some posts on the rescue efforts and the involvement of the Civil Air Patrol. He also gave credit to the Air Force Academy and its training of Holman, as "a graduate of the Air Force Academy, he was prepared for the situation. He had survival gear aboard, and he knew how to use it."
Photo Note: Pilot Mike Holman is greeted by his wife, Nicki, and their children, Charlie, 12, and Laura, 9, Sunday at Kulis Air National Guard Base in Anchorage. Holman was picked up by an Alaska Air National Guard Pave Hawk helicopter Sunday morning after rescuers found him in a remote bay south of Seldovia. (Photo by Bill Roth / Anchorage Daily News)
