Aviation MegaThread!!!!

[Daniii]

Originally Posted by ParrotheadJeff

Captain Eddie taxiing his Fairey Firefly at Aviation Nation 2007

Captain Eddie has one of the few (if not the only) Fairey Firefly still flying. Well, it looks like it's going to be on the ground longer than anyone wanted it to be. There was a bit of an incident at Wings over Gillespie this past weekend and the airplane ended up in the dirt on its belly. Eddie is OK and the plane is a bit banged up, but should be fairly easy to repair. There's a series of photos taken during the incident here.
Best wishes to Captain Eddie for quick repairs and a speedy return to flight

Looks like he got the engine stopped before the wheels up landing. Good job.

[ADK]

Anybody got a link to the film where the farmers put on a fly in? TIA

[PunkinHead]

Check those NOTAMs before venturing to another airport. I'm as guilty as anyone of not checking when I'm just hopping over to one of the nearby fields, but Friday evening we closed down for air show practice then again yesterday for the show itself. The aerobatics box was right over our main runway and we had warbirds and jets using up a good bit of the surrounding area which, by the way, was waivered to allow manuevering that would normally be considered aerobatic so it was a dangerous place to be. I gave a couple transients permission to land on Friday when I could work it in, but things were hectic on Saturday with a dozen warbirds in the air at one point and I had to warn off several transients. And for heaven's sake, if someone identifying themselves as "Air Boss" warns you off and you decide to slink away please give him the courtesy of acknowledging that you heard him and are complying. You have no idea what it does to his stress level when there's an act in progress and he doesn't know whether the transient is going to wander in blissfully unaware and get creamed. I'm not mad and you're not in trouble (after all, I'm not the FAA - I'm just some smuck who got roped into working the show), I just want to know everyone is going to be safe. But rest assured the FAA is on the field during the show and they'll have your ass if you land while the NOTAM is in effect.

The scariest are the old taildraggers sans radio. I'm all for flying around in a J3 with the crappy handheld turned off. I do a lot of that myself. But I about had a heart attack last year at another show when I saw a Champ approaching while aerobatics were in progress. Another one lined up to land on our grass strip which we'd X'd out for parking. Fortunately both figured things out and high tailed out of there. Well, at least as fast as 65hp could get them.

Check those NOTAMs.

EDIT: And when you're wandering around the ramp with your kid looking at the warbirds and spot a Harpoon, the proper reaction is, "Oh my God! Look! It's a fucking Harpoon! How cool is that? And check out that nose art!". The improper reaction is to cover your precious snowflake's eyes and go into the FBO to bitch at the guy behind the counter that there's a picture of a topless chick on one of the planes. You want us to cover her nipples with electrical tape so your snot nosed curtain climber won't be scarred for life? Nice sense of history there, fella.

[slideways]

Originally Posted by PunkinHead

Check those NOTAMs before venturing to another airport. I'm as guilty as anyone of not checking when I'm just hopping over to one of the nearby fields, but Friday evening we closed down for air show practice then again yesterday for the show itself. The aerobatics box was right over our main runway and we had warbirds and jets using up a good bit of the surrounding area which, by the way, was waivered to allow manuevering that would normally be considered aerobatic so it was a dangerous place to be. I gave a couple transients permission to land on Friday when I could work it in, but things were hectic on Saturday with a dozen warbirds in the air at one point and I had to warn off several transients. And for heaven's sake, if someone identifying themselves as "Air Boss" warns you off and you decide to slink away please give him the courtesy of acknowledging that you heard him and are complying. You have no idea what it does to his stress level when there's an act in progress and he doesn't know whether the transient is going to wander in blissfully unaware and get creamed. I'm not mad and you're not in trouble (after all, I'm not the FAA - I'm just some smuck who got roped into working the show), I just want to know everyone is going to be safe. But rest assured the FAA is on the field during the show and they'll have your ass if you land while the NOTAM is in effect.

The scariest are the old taildraggers sans radio. I'm all for flying around in a J3 with the crappy handheld turned off. I do a lot of that myself. But I about had a heart attack last year at another show when I saw a Champ approaching while aerobatics were in progress. Another one lined up to land on our grass strip which we'd X'd out for parking. Fortunately both figured things out and high tailed out of there. Well, at least as fast as 65hp could get them.

Check those NOTAMs.

EDIT: And when you're wandering around the ramp with your kid looking at the warbirds and spot a Harpoon, the proper reaction is, "Oh my God! Look! It's a fucking Harpoon! How cool is that? And check out that nose art!". The improper reaction is to cover your precious snowflake's eyes and go into the FBO to bitch at the guy behind the counter that there's a picture of a topless chick on one of the planes. You want us to cover her nipples with electrical tape so your snot nosed curtain climber won't be scarred for life? Nice sense of history there, fella.

+1on the NOTAMS and here it is just a click away. I always give this sight a quick look before flying anywhere.
http://tfr.faa.gov/tfr2/list.html

[JamesG]

Is "Air Boss" a common identifier for a local controller during an airshow?

[PunkinHead]

Originally Posted by JamesG

Is "Air Boss" a common identifier for a local controller during an airshow?

Here's a good explanation.

[Keith]

I shot this the other day. See if you can spot the tracks of the LR-60 that went off the runway.

[kabagram]

Originally Posted by slideways

+1on the NOTAMS and here it is just a click away. I always give this sight a quick look before flying anywhere.
http://tfr.faa.gov/tfr2/list.html

Here's another resource for flying.

http://www.baseops.net/

A friend buildt this site primarily for military reference and is used by most military pilots for flight planning. Granted, many of the links are military oriented, but a great many of them apply to GA pilots. Bird avoidance, midair collision avoidance, charts, sunset-sunrise, strip clubs, time and distance calcuations, etc.

Fly safe!

[Klay]

Originally Posted by Keith

I shot this the other day. See if you can spot the tracks of the LR-60 that went off the runway.

Very nice. I think I spotted them.

[JamesG]

Originally Posted by PunkinHead

Here's a good explanation.

Cool. Thanks.

[slideways]

Originally Posted by kabagram

Here's another resource for flying.

http://www.baseops.net/

A friend buildt this site primarily for military reference and is used by most military pilots for flight planning. Granted, many of the links are military oriented, but a great many of them apply to GA pilots. Bird avoidance, midair collision avoidance, charts, sunset-sunrise, strip clubs, time and distance calcuations, etc.

Fly safe!

That is a cool site.

Another good one for flight planning is

http://skyvector.com/?ll=27.26658333...hart=37&zoom=3

[Heyload]

What really sucks is when the NOTAMS are getting updated and you're on final to the homedrome and the tower hasn't gotten the word yet.

Finding out the ILS is jacked by breaking out of the weather at night and discovering yourself 800 feet over a mall eight miles from the end of the runway is a bit of a shock.

[Beamer Pilot]

If you head North (Canada) this is your best flight planning tool http://www.flightplanning.navcanada....n&TypeDoc=html
We also subscribe to Universal Flight Plan but it’s costly for private pilots.

[tenderfoot]

Originally Posted by Klay

Very nice. I think I spotted them.

Veering off to the right about halfway down the runway ?
And thanks nice video, ugly little canyon and crossing highway on the approach though.

[Klay]

Originally Posted by tenderfoot

Veering off to the right about halfway down the runway ?

Yes.