My goal for the next few flights is to fly with an instructor and knock off the cobwebs while working on my proficiency. I am quickly approaching the deadline for another flight review (formerly known as the biennial flight review). I completed my last flight review in April, 2008. My goal now is to take a few flights and spend some time reviewing all the regulations then partake in another flight review.

I am hoping Mother Nature can do her part next weekend.

With fewer clear days it makes it difficult for us pilots who rent the aircraft we fly. With fewer days of sunlight in the winter the competition gets fierce when a sunny day finally shows up on the five-day forecast which often makes it difficult to find a plane to fly in the winter.

Curiosity drove me to look through the logbook to determine how much less I fly in the winter compared to other seasons. I factored out the four summer months in 2004 when I logged most of my hours to earn my license as to not skew the data too heavily. Even with the omission of the training hours I discovered that only 10% of my flight time has been logged in the winter. The number was even worse, just 6.5%, if I included the 47.5 hours flown in the summer of 2004 to earn my license. This is a frustrating fact for any pilot who knows that flying consistently is directly tied to safety.

On the bright side, although Punksatony Phil may think we have six more weeks of winter, based on looking at my flying history I only have about four more weeks of Winter. Come March I tend to end my flying hibernation as I typically begin to make up for lost time and fly much more consistently from March through May making the Spring the season I log the most hours.

Fall nudges out summer for the number two season, which is no surprise as it is by far my favorite season to fly. It is hard to beat viewing the changes in the fall colors from above?

Thanks for all those who have reached out to ask where I have been. As I start to get airborne more regularly I am sure I will post more frequently as well.

I added the P-51 Mustang to my collection which also includes a Cessna 195 (2005), Lockheed Constellation (2006), Spirit of St. Louis (2007), Cirrus (2008). About a third of my tree is now adorned with aviation centric ornaments. If you have a pilot on your gift list or are looking for another way to celebrate aviation during the holidays check out Sporty's line of ornaments.

Prior to the flight I took advantage of a variety of resources online to learn more about the challenges of Mountain Flying. I encourage anyone interested in flying over mountainous terrain to check out some of these great resources:

• AOPA Air Safety Foundation Mountain Flying Interactive Course


• The Pilot's Guide to Mountain Flying


• Sporty's Mountain Flying Air Facts Video

We filled our flight plan then fired up the G1000 Cessna 172 and took off for an amazing flight over the Rocky Mountains. Flying in the Midwest, there is almost always a safe place to set the plane down if you encounter an engine failure. Fifteen minutes into this flight we crossed over our first mountain ridge and finding suitable places to land started to become a serious challenge. During our flight we were continuously looking for and calling out our next suitable place to land should an emergency arise.

Often the G1000 flat panels are blamed for keeping pilots' eyes inside the cockpit looking at the pretty monitors. That was definitely not the case on this flight where the mountains provided a majestic backdrop that was hard to keep your eyes off of.

The altitude in Denver is 5280 (also the name of their beautifully designed city magazine) after departing Centennial we needed to stay underneath the Denver International Airport airspace for the first few miles before then climbing up to 10,500 feet to clear the Tarryall & Kenosha mountains of Pike National Forest that ranged in height from 8,000 to 11,000 feet. After clearing the first ridge we flew over a valley enroute to Buena Vista and Central Colorado Regional Airport (KAEJ). We made two landings here including one in which we simulated a short field landing.

From there we departed northward up a valley that would lead us to Leadville, CO home of North America's highest airport, Lake County Airport (KLXV), with an altitude of 9,927. It is strange to look at your altimeter and see 10,900 as you are entering downwind for landing. Even odder for Midwest pilot was the sluggish climb we made out of Leadville as the plane labored to produce lift as we rolled down the runway at nearly 10,000 feet above sea level.

The FAA requires that all pilots flying aircraft above 12,500 feet for more than 30 minutes must use supplemental oxygen. This is to prevent the effects of hypoxia. However to climb over many of the mountains in the area we needed to climb above 12,500 to 13,500 feet. We watched the clock to ensure we were not above the 12.5K mark for more than thirty minutes. Even at 13,500 feet there were a few mountain peaks that were higher than we were flying which was an amazing sight.

After crossing over a large mountain range we descended back down under 10,000 feet so we could practice a simulated emergency turn to avoid a terrain collision. I pointed the plane at a mountain and as we approached I pitched back to climb. On this cooler day we likely could have climbed over the mountain but for practice initiated the turn. I pulled power and set the flaps to full then turned at a 30° bank and let the nose roll over a bit allowing the plane to make a tight 180° turn banking us away from the danger.

After that we turned East and headed out of the mountains and back to the safety of flatland below. Although the plane descended, my spirits remained sky high from this amazing experience. I would strongly encourage any pilot to enjoy applying their flying skills to this challenging and beautiful area. If you are in the Denver area reach out the folks at The Aspen Flying Club and tell them I sent you.

The video below was shot with a cockpit mounted video camera and a hand held camera. In addition to the video I shot some photos which can be seen on Flickr.

When Rod is not flying for the Civil Air Patrol he prefers to fly the Diamond Star. I have several hours of PIC of the smaller DA20 but have never flown in the DA40 so I was looking forward to the experience. I was also looking forward to just my second flight out of Midway. There is something special about landing and departing with all the commercial air traffic at Midway.

I have known Rod for several years and although we have tried we have never gone flying together. As a pilot who is fairly particular about who I fly with I was immediately put at ease when Rod provided a very detailed pre-departure briefing which included how we would handle emergencies and setting up guidelines for a sterile cockpit during the departure and arrivals. My CFI taught me such great habits early on in my training and I am always surprised to see that many pilots hop in their plane and depart without a briefing for passengers or other pilots on board.

Once airborne we had a short and smooth flight over to Lansing where we landed and took just enough time for Charlene and I to trade seats before getting airborne for the return trip. As we returned to Midway the sun started to drop offering a beautiful display of colors and a nice view of the lit Chicago skyline. It was nice spending a few hours with some fellow pilots and sharing stories and enjoying a beautiful summer flight. I shot a few little clips of video during the flight and have posted the video below.

In advance of this year's show I was offered the opportunity to spend half a day with Sean D. Tucker and Team Oracle and jumped at the opportunity. I had no doubts, but after meeting Sean it was obvious that he absolutely loves coming to work each and every day, in fact I am sure he wouldn't call it work. You can see his enthusiasm first hand in this Chicago Tribune video interview.

My day started by joining a few other photographers and videographers in the Team Oracle Piper Seneca. We shadowed Sean in his Oracle Challenger bi-plane and Ben Freelove in the Oracle Extra 300 as they conducted a formation flight over Chicago. This was an amazing experience to watch two extremely talented pilots communicate and manage formation flying. Additionally, it provided an amazing vantage point for taking photos and some video.

Shortly after we landed I moved from the bulky Piper Seneca and into the sporty Extra 300. Ben got us airborne then said a magical thing "You have the plane". From that point forward he let me fly for a good 15-20 minutes while teaching me how to do various aerobatic maneuvers. We started with the basic rolls and loops and then he taught me how to combine the basic moves to do more advanced maneuvers like the Immelmen, Hammerhead & Cuban Eight. I was amazed at how well this plane performed and how easy it made all of these maneuvers. I am sure it helped that Ben is a phenomenal instructor which I am sure is a result of his experiences teaching at the Tutima Academy of Aviation Safety.

I finished off by doing my first spin. In my five years of flying, I have never been through Spin training. I had always assumed it was somewhat dangerous since it was not part of mainstream training. I was surprised to learn how easy it was to recover from a spin.

Prior to flying Sean had told me to be sure to have Ben show off the a few high-G maneuvers. After I had my share of flying I gave Ben his plane back and he put me through a 7.5G Hammerhead and then a high-G somersaulting roll, both of which were amazing. I love flying in general, but today's flight was an experience like no other I have had and I think I now have the aerobatic flying bug. I think I will have to seek out more opportunities to fly in an Extra 300.

If you are in the Chicago Area be sure to get out to the lakefront this weekend and enjoy the Team Oracle performance!

To the right you will find a few videos from both flights and also some photos below. I apologize for the shakiness of my video from the Seneca, this was my first stab at aerial videography.

Unobstructed Views
The best way to view the show is from a place where you will have an unobstructed view of the entire show. The only real way to do that is from a boat on Lake Michigan. If you are one of the lucky few that own a boat or know a friend that does that is surely one of the best ways to get a clear view of the action. If you don't own and can't mooch a ride you can always pay to take a cruise. Mystic Cruises & Odyssey Cruises still has space available on their Air Show Weekend cruises.

Airshow Center
The Airshow center is North Avenue Beach. This is where the Golden Knights Parachute team lands and the Harrier usually shows off the V/STOL maneuvers. Additionally, the flight teams will use this as the center point of their show. If they have a loop or a crossing pattern this is where it will take place. As a result, this is a very popular place to watch the show so expect there to be large crowds and you will need to arrive early to get a spot on the beach. If you want to enjoy the excitement of viewing the show from show center but want to ensure you have a place to sit check out the special offers from Castaways.

Altitude, Altitude, Altitude
We are talking about an airshow (well, also a water show but who are we fooling?) so altitude makes a difference. A rooftop deck or balcony located near the center of the show action and above neighboring buildings provides a great way to watch the show. The challenge here is that typically you need to share that space with a lot of other interested parties.

Although I have never tried it, I have heard some suggest visiting one of Chicago's Observatories either at the Sears Tower (er, Willis Tower) or John Hancock. I can imagine those spots will be crowded too but must provide an interesting view of the show. The Hancock Observatory will get you much closer to the action on the lakefront.

The Cite atop the Lake Point Tower offers a great 360 degree view of the airshow while providing a more upscale dining experience.

A Blanket On the Lakefront
Most people view the show from a blanket on a beach or a spot along the lakefront. I suggest heading north to Diversey or Montrose Harbor where you can have a great view while also avoiding much of the crowd.

Boundaries
What are the boundaries of the airshow? That is tough to say as many of the planes fly up from Gary International Airport so you will spot planes well south of the Show. My personal recommendation is to find a spot to watch the show that is no further south than Northerly Island and no further north than Montrose Harbor (displayed in the map to the right). I would try to be as far east as you can get (those in boats will win in this category) with the westernmost point being Halsted. You can, of course, see and enjoy the action from outside this area but you will be seeing the fringe portion of the show and not taking in its full excitement.

Gary International Airport
Most of the civilian and military performance teams are based out of Gary International Airport for the Chicago Air & Water Show. For those in Indiana and well south of the city this has become a popular place to see the planes. Although you won't see a true airshow performance you will see the planes leaving and arriving, and flying in formation.

Listening to the Air & Water Show
Chicago's WBBM 780 has live coverage of the Air & Water Show. If you are not a die-hard aviation enthusiast or have a certified plane spotter with you I always suggest bringing along a radio so you can hear from the broadcast team what it is you are looking at flying by. If you are at show center there are speakers from which you can listen to Airshow MC Herb Hunter but that can often be a challenge over the roar of the planes so a personal radio is highly recommended.

Practice Day
The flight teams have their media day on Thursday and a few may come as far North as Chicago briefly. However on Friday there is nearly a full practice show. Most of the teams will run through their full performance and only a few single plane acts are missing on Friday. The practice usually runs between 11am and 4pm and is a great way to see the show without the crowds.

If you have a favorite place to view the Air & Water Show and are not afraid to share it and I will add the best suggestions to the guide.

Most performers who have been hallmarks of recent Air & Water Show will be on hand again for this year's show including the locally based Lima Lima Flight Team, Aeroshell Aerobatic Team and The Firebirds Delta Team. Of course no airshow is complete without an appearance from Sean D. Tucker and Team Oracle, always a crowd favorite.

Herb Hunter will return as MC for the event, his 22nd year in that role. Each year he brings a great enthusiasm for and deep knowledge of aviation to this event.

New this year is Chuck Aaron in the Red Bull Helicopter. Helicopters have traditionally played minor roles in airshows unable to perform the awe-inspiring acrobatics feats that their fixed wing counterparts can. That changed a few years ago when aviation enthusiast and Red Bull founder, Dietrich Mateschitz, convinced Aaron to find a way to perform aerobatics in a helicopter. Aaron now pilots the "Bull Cow" Bo-105 in a way most airshow attendees have never seen. Max has performed more consecutive rolls in a helicopter, five, than anyone else. I expect him to quickly become a crowd favorite at this year's airshow.

The United States Air Force Thunderbirds are this year's headliners and will be arriving in town, earlier then normal, on Monday. They will be taking Chicago Hometown Hero Brian Otto for a ride in the back seat of one of their F-16s. So you can expect to hear the roar of their jets over Chicago all week long.

This year the water and air portions of the show have been combined. So all activities will begin at 10am this year and run through 4pm. A complete list of airshow performers can be found on the Chicago Air & Water Show website.

As in previous years I will bring coverage of the Airshow to you throughout the week. I will be attending the Airshow media day earlier in the week. If you have specific questions you would like answered let me know and I will seek out the answers for you.

We all know that the pilot population in America continues to move backwards rather than forward. At the same time Pilots have needed to get more active through organizations or direct contact with their representatives to protect our interests in General Aviation. What we need now more than anything are more young and passionate pilots that get the bug for aviation and become staunch supporters of aviation for years to come. Having to fight the United States Government to stomp out user fees and tighter restriction on General Aviation the aviation manufacturer's and organizations and the general public have been focusing on the fact that General Aviation serves America and provides functional benefits to pilots and aviation communities. In that communication though we have lost the ability to excite some of those that are looking to fly for the fun and adventure of it, likely the spark that got most of us into flying.

Hawkins writes "In our quest for more speed, range and payload and fancier glass cockpits--we seem to have forgotten what brought us to aviation in the first place--the freedom, the fun and the adventure of flying! How many of us can remember zooming around the house at age seven, holding a plastic airplane over our heads while making airplane noises? Well, I bet none of us were thinking, 'Boy, I could really save some time getting to grandma's house, and think of the TSA lines I'll be avoiding!'"

Learning to fly five years ago in Cincinnati, OH the rates were very reasonable and I earned my license for just under $5,000. If I were to start today in Chicago where instructors charge more and access to lower cost airplanes is harder to come by I would need to budget closer to $10,000 to earn a Private Pilot certificate. If I had not learned to fly when I did the price today would likely have kept me on the wrong side of the airport fence.

What the Sport Pilot License does is makes learning to fly more accessible. Cutting the hours needed to earn a license in half from forty hours down to just 20 hours. This new path to an aviation license can save a student as much as $3,000 - $5,000 greatly lowering the barrier to entry for learning to fly. Couple that with new Light Sport Aircraft that burn less fuel, rent at lower rates and can be purchased new for what many traditional aircraft cost many years after taking their first flight and this new movement makes flying financially more accessible, especially in the current economic conditions.

Hawkins references a great quote from Orville Wright "The exhilaration of flying is too keen, the pleasure is too great, for it not to be a sport." I learned this weekend while having my first experience behind the stick of a Light Sport Aircraft how much fun flying one of these sporty little planes can be.

Stay tuned for a review of a flight in the Remos GX, my first experience in a Light Sport Aircraft. Until then check out Bringing the Sport back to Flying by Kirk Hawkins. Also, please don't be like I was and scoff at the Sport Pilot License or the Light Sport Aircraft associated to them. They may just be what the industry needs to bring growth back to General Aviation.

On Saturday, I celebrate five great years enjoying the benefits of my license including all the great places I have flown and experiences I have gained. To honor this milestone I am heading to Oshkosh, I can think of no more appropriate way to enjoy this achievement then a weekend of aviation fun at AirVenture.

In addition to my own personal flying experiences through this blog and the wonderful people I have met I have enjoyed some amazing flying experiences. Below are links to some of my favorite flights, experiences and lessons from the past five years.

Enjoy, I know I have:

• Solos: First Solo & First Solo Cross Country


• Flying with Family & Friends: First flight with my wife, Flying with my Dad to see Grandma & Taking a good friend flying


• Seeing MyFlightBlog in the Press: Wall Street Journal, AOPA Flight Training, AOPA Pilot & Pilot Getaways Letter to the Editor


• Aviation Fly-Ins and $100 Hamburgers: MyTransponder Fly-In & $150 Eggs & Toast


• Memorable Flight Experiences: Scenic New York City Flight, Flight in the B-17 Flying Fortress, Flights with Lima Lima, Flight in the T-6 Texan & Flying with the AeroShell Performance Team

One of the biggest challenges for a visit to AirVenture is planning your days. I will have little more than two days at this event and will do my best to fit all I can during my time there. The AirVenture website offers a nice planning tool that allows you to search the vast list of activities and meetings and filter them by your own preferences. You can save and print your personalized itinerary. Sadly, they have not figured out a solution to clone speakers or attendees so I am going to have to miss some exciting events to participate in others.

Here are just a few of the events, meetings or sights I plan to enjoy during my visit to AirVenture.

• Aviation Social Media Meetup hosted by the folks at MyTransponder
• Night Flying presented by Max Trescott
• US Airways 1549 presented by Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and his crew
• The EAA Runway 5K
• Screening on the A Pilot's Story Documentary
• Screening of the FlyAbout documentary
• Walking the flightline, exhibit booths and enjoying the flight performances

She recommends ten great island destinations to fly to and even provides some tips for planning an trip to an island based airstrip. Here list of ten Island destinations included:

1. Tangier Island Airport (TGI), Tangier, Virginia
2. Mackinac Island Airport (MCD), Mackinac Island, Michigan
3. Catalina Airport (AVX), Catalina Island, California
4. Nantucket Memorial Airport (ACK), Nantucket Island, Massachusetts
5. Put in Bay Airport (3W2), South Bass Island, Ohio
6. Ocracoke Island Airport (W95), Ocracoke, North Carolina
7. George T. Lewis Airport (CDK), Cedar Key, Florida
8. Friday Harbor Airport (FHR), Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, Washington
9. Jekyll Island Airport (09J), Jekyll Island, Georgia
10. Katama Airpark (1B2), Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts

Missing from the authors list was one of my favorite island airports, Washington Island, situated six miles of the northern tip of Wisconsin's Door County Peninsula. If you are planning on visiting Washington Island you will need to arrive by boat, bring your bike or car by ferry or fly into Washington Island Airport. Flying to Washington Island from anywhere south of the Island provides a scenic flight along the Door County Peninsula. The Peninsula is 75 miles long and 10 miles wide and narrows as you travel northeast and culminates with the quaint Washington Island. You will enjoy viewing corn mazes and beautiful bays and lighthouses along the route. On Washington Island there are several great places to catch a bite to eat.

For the 56th year the Lion's Club of Washington Island hosted their Annual Fly-In Fish Boil this past weekend. Typically the event draws planes from all over the Midwest and Canada. The island airport features two runways, one of which was recently closed to be expanded from a 1,300 feet to a more manageable 2,250 feet. When completed the airport will feature two turf runways each with a length of 2,250 feet which will surely make this airport more accessible on those windy days.

Below are some of my photos from a visit to Washington Island Airport last year. If you are looking for a fun place to fly to this summer, I recommend you check out Washington Island.

Machado suggests identifying your aircraft by manufacturer name rather than model as "some folks may not know all the different models of airplanes." However he explains "most people can tell the difference between a Cessna and a Piper aircraft" based on their wing position.

While approaching an uncontrolled airport last week there were two other aircraft in the vicinity and one was departing the airport toward the direction I was arriving from and I was scanning the horizon for him. The plane in the pattern was a Piper and the departing aircraft announced himself as a Centurion, which sounded familiar but I could not picture the plane. Moments later I saw a high wing planned and assumed that was the southbound traffic. It turns out the Centurion is a Cessna 210. Had he announced that he was flying a Cessna I would have known immediately that this was the plane I was looking for based on its raised wings.

For this reason I have always used "Cessna" in my calls no matter whether I am piloting a Cessna 152, Cessna 172 Skyhawk, or a Cessna 182 Skylane. The only exception is when I am talking to controllers I will often provide both the manufacturer and model as the controllers are often interested in the model to estimate your speed, however at uncontrolled airports I believe the shorter and simpler manufacturer name will suffice.

What is your preference?

This one of the opening quotes from Monika Petrillo's documentary, Flyabout. At the age of 24, Petrillo decided to follow a lifelong dream and learn to fly. She explains that learning to fly was a way to prove to herself that she was living the life she wanted to live. Soon after, a funny thing happened: her father was so inspired by her actions that he discovered he also had an interest in flying and earned his license that same year. They then decided to take advantage of their new skills and joined a tour group for a self-fly air safari that would circumnavigate Australia.

I knew this film would be right up my alley because it combines both my love of flying and also my passion for travel. The quote above resonated so well with me because I had similar thoughts several years ago. It was that fear of living with regrets that drove me to start this blog back in April of 2004 and to finally seek my license, one of the best decisions of my life.

For me, this was a wonderful film. It is not nearly as polished as some of the more recent aviation documentaries like One Six Right or the clips we have seen from the in-production film A Pilot's Story. Most of this film was shot from Monika's point of view with her literally holding a hand held camera and often turning the camera onto herself. But it combines aviation, travel and an interesting story of a women who sees herself maturing during this experience. Petrillo spends a lot of time while flying contemplating how her relationship with her family has changed as she grows older. She begins to associate this flying experience, to be similar to an Aboriginal walkabout which is a rite of passage that often takes place during adolesence, hence the name of the film - Flyabout. She experiences many flying and relationship challenges during this trip that she was able to overcome due to her wonderful attitude. She commented that "the difference between an ordeal and an adventure is your attitude", a lovely quote I wrote down as soon as I heard it.

I want to thank Dan Pimentel of Av8rdan's World of Flying for his recent review of the film. If you are an aviation enthusiast I am confident you will enjoy this film. You can purchase it on DVD directly from the Flyabout website. If you are planning on attending AirVenture 2009 be sure to check out one of several screenings scheduled for the week. Monika Petrillo will be on hand to discuss her experiences. I recently learned that after several years of not flying due to becoming a mom, Petrillo has just recently completed a BFR and is looking forward to flying frequently again.

Bruce Landsberg wrote in an AOPA article that "...coming back for a second try at the runway is a skill that everyone needs but many lack." Bruce Landsberg. When was the last time you practiced or thought about a go-around?

Pat over at Aviation Chatter recently posted a dramatic video clip of a twin piston, making a landing at St. Barthelemy Airport, a small 2,100 foot airstrip in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, as you will see in the video the pilot failed to make the decision to perform a go-around. Instead the plane floats halfway down the runway before finally touching down then overshooting the runway. Take a look at this video. Then think about whether you have practiced or at least thought through the go-around procedures for your plane recently.

It is vital that as pilots we are accustomed to thinking about the go-around decision during each approach. Budd Davisson writes, "If at any time in the approach or landing, right into final flare, you feel as if it isn't right, go around." Pilots should know when to make the decision and the precise steps to execute the go-around. I had a valuable learning experience just a few months after earning my license that reminded me to keep "Power Up, Pitch Up, Clean Up, Talk Up" in the back of my mind on each approach.

On a turbulent and windy day I flew to Indiana to land at a narrow 40-foot single strip runway. I had a stabilized approach until I was about 100-200 feet above the ground. A gust of wind caused the plane to drift off the centerline and in fact almost over the left edge of the runway. I immediately realized this approach was not going well and I should not try to salvage a landing on this attempt. I made the go-around decision.

Unfortunately, I did not follow standard procedure and accidentally put in full power and retracted the flaps completely putting myself in a precarious position. It took a second or two, which felt more like a minute, to realize I was still descending despite the power increase and the pitch change and I quickly put in an appropriate amount of flaps for the go-around. Sure enough the plane started to accelerate and then climb safely over the obstacles at the end of the runway at which point I began to "clean up". That learning experience helped re-enforce for me the importance of getting muscle memory in place for performing the go-around procedure and also not delaying in making the go-around decision.