Aviation and Home Exchanging

Glider Solo Flight

2007-08-20T11:22:00.000-06:00

Most, if not all, pilots remember their first solo. Friday I did my first solo in a Glider. While not as memorable as my SEL (Single Engine Land) solo, it was still an awesome feeling to go up in that glider and know when to return to the airport and land.

Mile High Glider has two SGS 2-33As they use for trainers. One has almost no brakes and the other has very good brakes. I did most of my training in the one with no brakes. The 2-33 glider brakes are activated by pulling back on the dive brake handle.

For my solo flight I was in the one with good brakes. This wasn't ideal as I tend to get to the airport with a bit more altitude, a good thing right? You can always lose altitude but it is difficult to gain, since you don't have an engine. Evidently, when landing I had enough dive brake on at touchdown to activate the brakes. I immediately realized my mistake as the nose pitched down to the skid right away. I let up on the dive brake to get off the skid, but ended up stopping short of my destination point, across from the tie down.

I haven't flown the 172 since I started my glider training. My hope is that my stick and rudder skills, which are critical in a glider, will improve my SEL skills. After all landing a glider on a 3 foot wide pavement strip, and tracking on the pavement, is much more difficult than landing on a 50 foot wide runway.

Morning Glider flight

2007-08-13T12:36:00.000-06:00

Finally got in some morning glider flights. Scheduled my lesson for 9 a.m. on a Friday. Not the best time to start as no one gets there until 9, then they get the office open, boot up the computers, call for the tow plane, etc.

Sat down with my instructor at 9:30 and talked through airport procedures, use of the dive breaks, and TLAR for landings. I was familiar with the acronym from my single engine training, but didn't remember what it stood for.

TLAR = That Looks About Right

Basically, cross from south to north at mid field, turn down wind when you are at a 45 degree angle from the ground, turn base at about 35 degrees and final at 30 degrees. The "look" of the pattern is more critical with a glider because you may not always know the elevation where you are landing, as you won't always land at an airport when going cross country.

The smooth air in the morning was great for getting my air tow skills down. I did four takeoffs and landings with only minimal instructor control of the glider.

Sunday I took another lesson in the afternoon and even though the thermals were quite active with the hot weather, 90F, I was able to control the aircraft without getting into oscillations. I think the calm air flying helped me understand the delay between the control input and the glider movement. Did three more takeoffs and landings, with stalls (at altitude not in the pattern) and slips thrown in. At the end of the lesson my instructor said that if I had my solo written complete and had done low altitude tow line break practice he would have sent me up to solo.

So, now I'm working on my pre-solo written exam, quite a bit more extensive than my pre-solo written for powered aircraft. I'll try to schedule for Thursday or Friday morning and hope to do the tow rope break practice and then solo.

I will probably break my rule about not flying if I don't have the money in the flying account. At the start of my learning to fly I set up an account that has money transfered to it on a regular basis. If there is money and I want to fly, then fine. This will be the first time I'll be flying without money in the account. But after talking with my wife, she says to just keep moving forward and get the rating. Once that is done, my glider flying should stay well within budget.

Glider Rating

2007-07-31T10:25:00.000-06:00

I started working on my glider rating July 20th. The Mile High Gliding school has a different philosophy for training. After three sessions, I've been with three different instructors. I'm on the fence right now as to preference between a dedicated instructor or different instructors throughout the training.

My first instruction flight was with an instructor who has studied weather and currently works in a weather related company. We rode thermals for most of the session, while I worked on coordinated turns. Much more critical and harder to hold than in the 152/172 aircraft. After getting to 10,500 MSL (5,200 AGL) went through stalls and impact of the dive brakes.

My second session involved two tows and I started working on controlling the glider while being towed. Everything would go fine and then we would get a bit of a bump and I would over correct, correct again and start oscillating until the instructor would take over and tuck us right in position without any problem. The instructor talked me through the landing pattern and then took over when we were on final.

My third session was with the school's chief pilot. I would not recommend a first session with him. While you are flying with him you also get a knowledge dump. He talks the entire time about what you are doing and why. Very informative, but I would recommend this for after a few sessions so you can focus on what he is saying. Continued to work on controlling the glider when under tow. I worked the ailerons during the take off, until the speed was where the rudder and ailerons needed to be worked together. The instructor took control until we were 200 feet AGL. I did better at controlling the glider, but would still get to a point where I was oscillating left to right. Did more stalls, both straight and turning, coordinated turns at 30 to 45 degrees, and worked the dive brakes when in the pattern.

I've been trying to fly twice a week, but the only way to do that is if I fly in the afternoons when the cumulus start building. All three instructors have now recommended that I try a morning flight as it will be easier to control the glider when in the tow.

Glider Ride

2007-07-09T14:15:00.000-06:00

(Click on the title to open a Web Photo album of the flight)

Friday I finally took the glider ride that my wife gave me almost 10 years ago. Initially, I was unable to take the ride as the owner of the business died, but not in an aircraft accident. About six months latter we received a letter from the new owner with a new certificate and a note that it would never expire. That certificate sat in a drawer for a while.

Then I started learning to fly and remembered the glider certificate. I spent four years working on my private pilot license. I didn't want to mix the two modes of flying so held off on the glider ride. Now nine months after my check ride I finally took the glider ride. Very enjoyable, and less expensive than powered flight. After talking with some of the instructors I bought a book on getting your glider rating and I'm now currently reading it to see if I want to pursue the rating.

According to the FAR, as a private pilot, I need 10 solo tows and 3 hours of flight time. But the kicker is that you need to get to the point where your instructor feels comfortable with you soloing. The school offers an add on course which includes 30 tows, 10 hours of ground instruction, 10 hours of flight instruction and glider rental. This "usually" is enough to add the rating.

Now I have to determine if I can afford to take the plunge at this time. Everything I've seen states that I live in a prime region for glider flying. Boulder Colorado is right up against the front range of the Rocky Mountains. Fly over the plains for thermal flying, along the front range for ridge flying, and then in the winter catch a mountain wave for real high flying activity, 17,000 to 20,000 MSL.

Back in the air

2007-05-21T10:57:00.000-06:00

Finally got back in the air on Saturday, May 19th. I had been delaying due to weather and the distance to the new airport. The airport I received my private at was shut down two days after my check ride.

The FBO I was using moved operations to Greeley (KGXY) and I had assumed it would take me two to two-and-a-half hours to get there. So, last month I visited a number of FBOs closer to home, Longmont, Boulder, and Fort Collins-Loveland. All of their rental rates were significantly higher and the planes were not as nicely equipped.

Scheduled my instructor and a plane at KGXY, while the FAA says I can get my currency back on my own, I'd rather have a check pilot on board after six months of no flying. I left home at 8:30 and got to the airport by 10, an hour early. Only 1.5 hours of driving. Actually, a little less time then when I was driving to Fort Collins Downtown, now closed.

Did the preflight while my instructor was finishing up with a student pilot, then hopped in. Greeley on a Saturday is quite a bit busier than Ft Collins Downtown ever was. It also has a restaurant on site, so that may account for some of the traffic. Taxied to the run up area for Runway 9. Everything checked out so made the call and took off.

Everything went as it should and I was going to just stay in the pattern, but my instructor recommended just flying a bit to get use to the plane again. So we headed west, took a look at his neighborhood, went up to Budweiser to check if they had any Clydesdale colts or foals out in the fields near the paddock, no luck. Then overflew Ft Collins Downtown and saw the big yellow X's in the runway and headed back to KGXY.

Not as busy when we returned. Did my three landings. I tended to start a little high, then get a little slow on final, but all touchdowns were reasonable. I'll need to continue to manage my speed on final.

Now that I know the airport isn't as far, time wise, as I expected I'll start scheduling more time int he air and try to meet some of those goals I set for the year.

First Post of 2007

2007-04-17T12:22:00.000-06:00

I still haven't been flying this year. In part it is due to my having to travel almost 2 hours to get to the airport with decent rates and quality airplanes. But it has also been due to weather, weather seems to go to pot most weekends, but with Spring here it should get better.

This year I would like to get to more airports and when I get up around 100 hours hook up with the Colorado Pilots Association mountain flying course. In the mean time I'll stay East of the Rockies.

I noticed on one of the Blogs I visit that the pilot has been keeping track of all the airports he has visited. I believe he was up to 31. Thinking back I'm currently at nine as the pilot, two in WY, one in NE, and six in CO, but one of those has closed. I've been to three others in NE and one in Iowa as a passenger in GA aircraft.

Flying goals for 2007:
Visit 10 more airports
Take at least two longer cross countries of 200+ miles
Fly at least 25 hours this Spring/Summer
Take the Colorado Pilot Association Mountain Flying Course this Fall/Winter

Two Women, Four Men and some mistakes

2006-12-18T11:57:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I went and saw, The Holiday. The basis of the movie is two women with relationship problems who exchange homes to get away for the holidays. Overall the movie was good, but can lead to misconceptions about home exchanging.

The first error was that the listing appears to have been an open listing with contact info available to anyone. This is not the case with most home exchange services. Even if it is a free listing, you still need to sign up as a member, listing your home and contact info, before a service will give you access to another member's information.

I think I would have to say that 99.99% of the exchanges that come about are not arranged in five minutes via an online chat service. Generally, you are in contact with your exchangers 3 to 6 months out and many people like to have their exchange arranged a year in advance. Most exchanges seem to require 20 to 40 requests, before you find someone in the area and during the times that you want to exchange.

Once an exchange is arranged, you generally exchange many details on how to get to the home or find the car at the airport, if you are exchanging automobiles. It is also strongly suggested that you develop a book that includes information on all your houses systems (water cutoff, circuit breakers, gas shutoffs) and contact info for any of the repair services you may use. Also, include the location of shopping stores for groceries, etc, and include any of your favorite places.

Our last exchange we overlapped on both ends of the trip. We flew to Ireland and rented a car driving down to Dungarvan to meet the lady who would be staying in our home. She went through her home and explained some of the differences, i.e. what switch to hit if you want hot water in the shower and the master electrical switch for all the kitchen appliances. We then shared information on our house and reviewed maps we brought along, gave her the airport parking ticket and explained where the car was. The next day she headed off to Dublin to stay with family for a day and flew to Denver. We enjoyed our stay for the next two weeks and then headed home. Our exchange partner picked us up at the airport and then we got to show her some of our favorite spots in the Rocky Mountains for the next two days before I took her to the airport.

One of the things in the movie that some people may think is far fetched, is the discrepancy in the home sizes. One a small English cottage the other a sprawling Los Angeles home on Sunset Blvd. The size of homes is generally not considered in an exchange, other than if it meets your needs for number of bedrooms. You may very well find someone with a 5000+ sq ft home who is willing to exchange for a 800 sq ft apartment in a city. It all depends on location.

Of the two ladies, I think that Iris is the more normal home exchanger. When you exchange you usually get to know the neighbors more than your exchange partner. That is one of the reasons it was nice to overlap, it gave us a chance to know who we were exchanging with.

If you want to see the movie because it involves home exchanging and you want to see what that is like, don't bother. The bulk of the movie is relationship based. Two girls in bad relationships who get away, via a home exchange, and find true love.

Private Pilot, finally

2006-11-30T14:11:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I last posted. I spent two weeks in October away on vacation and then when I returned I was determined to complete my requirements. One because the airport was closing and two because my medical expired at the end of the month.

Prior to leaving on vacation I flew up to Cheyenne WY with my instructor and got in my three solo take offs and landings. The first two were fairly routine but then on the third I had to do a 360 for spacing due to a commercial, Lake Aviation, flight. And then extend the downwind for another aircraft that was considerably faster than my 172.

Once I returned I reviewed all my hours and found I was .2 hrs short for night time and 1.4 hours short on solo time. So scheduled my instructor for more night flying, basically went up, around the pattern and landed. The next day I had a pre-check ride, check ride with another instructor. That went well, so I rested up at the FBO for 30 minutes and then went out solo for 1.5 hrs. Did some more steep turns, slow flight, S-Turns, and turns about a point.

Thursday, Oct 26, was the scheduled date for my exam with the designated flight examiner. However, Colorado got hit with a wet heavy snow all day. Fortunately, I had also booked Friday and that worked out just fine. We were back in the 60s with clear skies.

For anyone who is about to go through this I would strongly encourage you to review all that book learning. The hardest part of my examination was the ground work, 3.5 hours. Reviewing my pre-assigned flight plan, explaining how I would load and fuel the aircraft. Then reviewing all the symbols on the map and in the airport directory. Then we got into the aircraft systems, what works if this fails, what doesn't work, what are the minimum instruments, etc. A bit on density altitude and it's impact, after all this is Colorado and a 5,000 ft altitude airport can be at 11,000 density altitude on some of our summer days.

After the ground work it was time to fly. For me, that was the easiest part. We went through all the standard maneuvers and short field and soft field takeoffs and landings. As well as engine out procedures and discussing why I picked the location I did for an off field landing. The only odd thing was on returning to 3V5 (Ft Collins Downtown) from the practice area. I was just approaching the Budweiser plant (a standard initial call in point) when the DFE points out something in the air at my altitude. Turns out it was someone in a powered parachute circling around the Budweiser plant. He was right at pattern altitude for 3V5, 6000 feet. Needless to say I made a wide turn around him and made an uneventful landing. Spent 1.2 hours in the air, and it seemed like a lot less.

Quite frankly, the whole process was a great learning experience. So, on Oct 27th I finally got my private pilot certificate/license. And on the 30th the airport closed. I may have been the last person to get their private ticket from 3V5.

Back at it

2006-09-15T14:18:00.000-06:00

After four months away from flying, due to a knee injury, I finally got back to it this past week. After flying for an hour or two on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I completed my long cross country on Thursday.

Monday I spent just doing take offs and landings, normal, soft field, and short field. Tuesday I spent doing stalls, turns about a point, s-turns, and steep turns. Then on Wednesday it was under the hood and unusual attitude recovery. Of course on all three days the weather was perfect with no or very little wind and by flying in the morning I didn't have the afternoon turbulence.

Wednesday I got off later than I wanted and flew from 3V5 to GLL VOR for the first check point, slight course correction and on to AKO with a few checkpoints along the way. Wind was picking up so got to do a cross wind landing into AKO. Stopped at AKO for fuel, $3.75 a gallon as opposed to the $4.85 at 3V5, prices went sky high when it was announced the airport would be closing on Oct 31. Friendly folks and great service at AKO. After departing AKO I headed north to SNY with a tail wind and was making 138 knots ground speed in a 172N. Another cross wind landing in SNY. After taxing back and departing switched from VOR navigation to GPS direct.

GPS direct is a great way to navigate, don't know why anyone would use VORs if the GPS is working, but understand the need for the training. The direct route took me right over a series of bluffs on the Wyoming/Nebraska border. It was 2 p.m. and I was getting severe turbulence so turned south for a bit to get away from the bluffs and the air smoothed out. Stayed on a parallel track for about 15nm then turned slightly north to intersect the GPS direct track.

Now I only have my tower work to do and then it will be time to schedule the examiner.

Visitors from HomeAndHangarExchange.com

2006-09-06T12:32:00.000-06:00

Apologies for the spamming that was taking place from the web site. Due to the postings of a few I have deleted the main interactive forums and locked down the information forums. You can still view the forums for information on exchanging and how it might apply to general aviation.

If you would like to start discussing general aviation home exchanging please reply to this post. There is an extra authentication step, so we shouldn't see spam.

Thanks again for your patience.

More Flying

2006-05-26T10:26:00.000-06:00

Still haven't completed the private ticket. Unfortunately my wife thinks God is trying to tell me something. Half of the flying I had schedule I had to cancel because winds were exceeding the cross wind component for the airplane, let alone my experience.

Last time I wrote I still needed to complete:
1.5 simulated instrument (including unusual attitude recover) Done, but more unusual attitude recovery practice wouldn't hurt.
3 landings to full stop at controlled airport Still need to do.
Long cross country Still need to do.
Night cross country Done.

The night cross country was an experience. Not sure if I would want to do this on my own in the immediate future. Flew from Fort-Collins Downtown, 3V5, to Fort Morgan, FMM, just beyond Greeley Colorado you come to empty plains. Very few lights or roads. Almost like flying with the hood only there is a faint horizon line.

Like I said above half of my scheduled flights had winds pretty constant in the mid-teens and gusting into the mid to upper 20s. One day was gusting in to the low 30s.

Now the flying is on hold from an injured knee. Nothing too serious, according to the doctor, just don't climb stairs, walk up hills, or carry anything heavy for two to three weeks. Unfortunately, I live in the mountains (no flat walking areas), live in an unusual home where I have to go up stairs from the driveway to get to the basement. The nothing heavy works, except it means not pushing an airplane back into the hangar. This pushes me out to mid June now before I can continue and is another reason my wife says God is trying to tell me something.

Back to Flying, Finally

2006-04-26T08:33:00.000-06:00

Got in just a bit over an hour on the April 15th. But more importantly was able to arrange a temporary schedule change with my employer and finalize flights with my flight instructor. So starting on April 24th I'll be flying every afternoon and hope to take the practical on May 5th. Afternoons in Colorado aren't necessarily the best time to fly, but this early in the Spring should avoid the majority of the thunderstorms that crop up as we get closer to summer.

Still need to complete:
1.5 simulated instrument (including unusual attitude recover)
3 landings to full stop at controlled airport
Long cross country
Night cross country

Of course, continued review of basic flight maneuvers.

Monday April 24th got snowed out. However, I did get in two hours on the 25th review of flight maneuvers, emergency engine out procedures, and lots of landings.

Final Day, NC Trip

2006-04-26T08:12:00.000-06:00

After a wonderful evening with friends we got up the next morning for a boat ride across Lake Norman to have breakfast. The water was glass smooth and the weather was a little cool, but just great for the morning ride.

After way too much breakfast we went back to the house, packed up, and headed out to the Charlotte airport. After two uneventful flights we were back in Colorado.

NC Exchange Days 5 and 6

2006-02-24T14:40:00.000-07:00

Beautiful blue skies when we woke up this morning. First thing after breakfast was to head to Blowing Rock to get the postcards from the post office and put stamps on them. On the way we came across a sign that said "Mowing Ahead" nothing unusual until you catch up to them. They weren't mowing the grass, but the trees! The post office had all of Laura's postcards plus one more, Laura stamped all of hers in the post office and sent them off.

Since it was sunny and blue skies we decided to head north on the Parkway since we had only gone part way earlier in the week. Great views to the east as we were above the clouds, then we would descend into a valley and go through some clouds and back up again. The photo is basically the same shot I took on our first day, but with clear skies and a slightly different angle. Stopped at the North Trading Post and picked up great ham biscuits and dried apples along with a few other small gifts for co-workers. That got us through to a late lunch which we enjoyed at the Blue Ridge Music Center.

We went through the exhibit and asked the lady inside what was going on as there were a number of people setting up outside. She wasn't sure, but thought it was a crew from Dollywood who was hoping to film with some fall color for background. We sat outside and ate our lunch while listening to a local group, the Timber Rattlers, and watched some cloggers. We were going to pack up and continue on when Laura started visiting with the lady bass player for the group and said we should stick around as the next musician would be Wayne Henderson. Of course, we didn't know who he was, so she explained that he was a guitar picker and that he has played for the president. We're glad we did, boy could he play.

We continued north into Virginia which gets tamer and more rolling hills. Still not seeing much fall color, especially at the lower elevations. Fields of cabbages have replaced the fields of N.C. Christmas trees. We stopped heading North once we got to Mabry Mill. The mill was used for wood cutting and corn grinding. Nice place to stretch our legs and talk with some of the interpretive guides. Saw to great, romping Basset Hounds stretching their legs prior to getting back in the car.

On the way South it appeared to be wooly worm migration season in Virginia, saw a dozen or more trying to cross the roads, but didn't see any in North Carolina. We came back through Valle Crucis. Ended up and Mike's Inland Seafood for dinner, we couldn't leave without at least one more great seafood dinner. We both had scallops and shrimp. The scallops were huge and just melted in your mouth. After an hour of leisurely eating we headed off to hear a concert we had seen an advertisement for. The band was Clann and Drumma a Celtic group that had a piper and three drummers. One of the drummers sang anti-English songs. Most of the band's followers were older then us with a few younger ones mixed in.

Day six was up early to clean house and do the laundry. Once we shut down the house we headed out the gate and turned Right instead of left, the way we had always gone. We knew it went toward Lenoir and thought we would wind our way back to Charlotte in that direction. Shortly after turning right we ended up on dirt roads. We made guesses on turns as nothing was marked, but civilization was there as we almost got run over by a bright red Hummer. We made it to Lenoir, a big furniture producer, but couldn't do any shopping as furniture generally doesn't fit in our luggage. Another sunny day and looks like it might hit 80 degrees.

We stopped in Hiddenite to try our hand at the Emerald Hollow Gem mine that we had seen on the travel channel. We ended up digging lots of quartz and found several other interesting stones in the sluice box. Really, needed someone to explain more, but had fun. Continued on to just North of Charlotte where we stayed with family friends of Laura's. Where Laura got her kitty fix, with the bonus of two Corgi's being available as well.

NC trip Days 3 and 4

2006-02-23T13:57:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been two weeks since I've updated this.

On day three we were up earlier. Still foggy but we decided to travel south on the Blue Ridge Parkway to Asheville. Along the way we stopped at the Moses Cone memorial park, which has a beautiful mansion that houses the arts and crafts guild. Laura ended up getting a bracelet charm of a possum with two babies on its back, Laura is a twin. And I picked up a CD of women blue grass performers. There is also a nice nature trail that explains about the different plants, so we took a walk and prior to leaving, the fog cleared up some for a view out to lake.

We continued down the Parkway until we were detoured off and around some construction work on the parkway. When we got back on, we didn't have too much further to go until we reached Asheville. We stopped at the Folk Art museum and enjoyed the exhibit and a little more shopping. Then we went into downtown to walk a bit and enjoyed a good meal and beer at The Green Man. Laura had a Saison ale and then Spaten Oktoberfest, which was on tap, with her Sheppard Pie and I had the house Porter with a flank steak sandwich with an onion and apricot spread on it. Interesting combination but very good. When we left The Green Man the sun was finally out for our drive home on the interstate.

Day four and foggy again, time for more shopping. We headed to Blowing Rock, which we never did see, but prior to leaving we saw a very large woodpecker outside the kitchen window. Not a very clear photo, but it was take through the kitchen window and screen. It was also another foggy rainy day. After shopping a bit in Blowing Rock we end up in the Storrie Street Grill for lunch. Laura calls it a good accident because we went there because she saw an advertisement in the restroom somewhere along the way. I had fish and chips, but had them replace the chips with sweet potato casserole, yum. Laura enjoyed great barbecue, vinegar based, with fries. We waddled out for a bit more shopping and kept running into Romeo, a miniature beagle who was wandering with his owners. Our last stop in town is the post office so Laura can send out 20 post cards and rush to Grandfather's mountain since the sun is out.

Shortly after we pay our entrance fee, $28, the fog closes in on us again. We get occasional views as we drive the winding drive to the top. We park and start to climb to the suspension bridge and we only see half of it, due to the fog. Laura thinks its kind of cool and Brigadoon like. She'd like to come back in the summer for their highland games. In the parking lot we discover that the stamps that should have been on the postcards, remember the postcards?, are still in the car. We go back to the gift shop and beg the use of the phone and a phone book. Laura manages to get in touch with the post office and sure enough they had just gotten them out of the post box. They will hold them for us and we can stop by tomorrow and put stamps on them. On the way down from Grandfather mountain we stop at the Nature Museum. Wonderful exhibit of carved birds and the largest amethyst found in the U.S. and a small zoo with animals in more natural habitat.

They had six bears that we saw and three cougars, two of which ran around playing most of the time and one that just sat and posed for us. Also, a couple majestic bald eagles and some white talked deer. Don't know why they had the later as they seem to be quite common all across the U.S.

Back on the parkway the fog lifted again we were able to see what we had missed on the drive up to Grandfather. Got back to our Deep Gap home and had our own deer in the yard, including a fawn. Unfortunately, it was too dark for good photos. After dinner, while doing laundry, we found the seed corn for the deer so maybe we can entice them back in daylight.

NC Day One and Two

2006-02-08T15:39:00.000-07:00

After a failed attempt to get the hot water heater going the night before I went to the basement in the morning and found that it was as simple as moving the circuit breaker for the hot water heater into the full off position and then moving it to on. Ten hours of sleep after a long travel day helps.

It was a cloudy morning, so after a leisurely morning we headed out to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Laura (that's the 'my wife' from previous posts)was interested in going to West Virginia, so after some time on the Parkway we exited at Highway 21 and headed toward Independence Virginia.

We finally made it to West Virginia but the picture Laura tried to take of the Welcome sign didn't turn out well. Along the way we didn't see any interesting places to eat. Everything was fast food chain restaurants. We decided to detour to Bramwell since they'd had an Ocktoberfest the previous day. Still no food, but a nice visitor center and interesting train cars that they hope to turn into a restaurant. One of the few remaining tobacco storage train cars is there. We ended up eating a snack we had brought along and continued on our loop back to Boone. As my wife put it in her journal, "After 3,298,546 winding turns we made our way to Bristol, TN, and eventually back to Boone and a dense fog. This is also the day we were suppose to go to Kentucky, too, but after 11 hours that didn't happen and we didn't care if we got there this trip."

The next morning was foggy again. So we decided to spend time seeing the shops in and around Boone. Found the Farmer's Supplies store and it was great, only it isn't supplies any longer. It was in the old building with tin ceilings and brick walls and some of the old storage bins and cupboards. However, it was now an arts and crafts gallery, with very good prices. We then found great food at Mike's Inland Seafood and after lunch headed to Linville Cave. Since it was still raining out we figured exploring a cave was just the thing.

The tour was interesting and the guide was both informative and had a sense of humor. He referred to different formations as "dread rocks," "mother-in-law's nose," etc. He also pointed out that flow stone takes 125 years to grow one cubic inch, so one wall was more than 6 million years old. About mid-way through the tour there was a stream with fish in it and at one point the guide mentioned that they had dropped a cable down more than 250 feet into the water and had not found the bottom. A little further on the guide had us experience total darkness. We were 2,500 feet under ground and he turned out all the lights. Talk about dark. He told the story of a couple of explorers who lost their lights, this is before the permanent ones were installed, and it took them two days to find thier way out. They stayed with the stream and just kept working their way up stream to the get to the entrance.

After the cave tour we took a walk to Linville Falls, since it wasn't raining and the sun was trying to come out. The falls drops 90 feet and the gorge created by the river is the deepest east of the Grand Canyon. Some of the trees were just starting to turn, but I think we were just a bit too early to see the true fall colors.

Exchange to NC

2006-02-05T14:17:00.000-07:00

I realize that most of the previous posts are on flying and learning to fly. Prior to starting that process my wife and I joined a home exchange service. We pay an annual fee to list our home and use the service to connect with folks in places we might like to visit.
The first exchange we did was a result of someone contacting us. We had never considered North Carolina. But after looking at the area via the internet we decided to go ahead and exchange. The couple who contacted us wanted to come to Colorado to do some skiing and snow shoeing. We explained that the nearest ski area was about an hour away and the more famous Colorado resorts were three to four hours away, but they still wanted to come.
We ended up doing a non-concurrent exchange. We went on our anniversary trip and they came and stayed in our home. This helped us understand that we needed to increase our documentation on the house and our area. Jenny and Darren had to ask to find the nearest grocery store and when visiting they learned that Rocky Mountain National Park was in our back yard. We assumed that anyone coming to our neck of the woods was coming, in part, for Rocky Mountain National Park.
The stay in our home went fine and we were pleased and a bit surprised on our return. Not only was everything clean and in the same shape, but they had also done the laundry cleaning all the sheets and towels they had used. Talking with other exchangers since this time, it isn't a surprise. I'm told that it is fairly common to do the laundry, however; if you have an early flight out it is also understood that you don't have the time to do the laundry.
In October we flew to Charlotte, NC, (commercial since I don't have the license yet) and picked up a rental car. Jenny and Darren had provided excellent directions to their second home in the Northeast corner of North Carolina. Which is a good thing since we didn't get there until well after dark.
However, if I had my private AND my instrument rating it probably would have been quicker and definitely more fun to fly my self.
Time spent getting there:
2.5 hours Home to Airport hotel
10 hours DIA to Charlotte including layover in Dallas
4 hours Charlotte to exchange home

Now there is no way I would want to fly for 16 hours straight but with more direct routing and estimating only an average ground speed of 100 kts and three stops between for fuel (each fuel stop being 40 mins) it would have taken 13 hours and that would have included a stop with relatives for a night. Granted the costs would have been considerably higher, 22 hours of flight time round trip, almost $2000 if renting. However, we would have been able to take off from the airport 30 minutes away and land at an airport 20 to 30 minutes from our vacation home.

More on that exchange in future posts.

Flying Where?

2006-02-02T16:52:00.000-07:00

So where have I flown? Taking lessons on the Front Range of Colorado I've flown into Boulder, Longmont, Ft Collins - Loveland, Ft Collins Downtown, Ft Morgan, and Pine Bluff and Cheyenne, WY.

Since my instructor is also a good friend I've flown with him into Sidney, NE, a few times. This was in his aircraft and not a flight lesson. These are trips to Cabellas. Radio the FBO on approach and the van will be waiting for you by the time you tie down.

Since my instructor and his wife are from Illinois and Indiana. We also took a trip with them back east and we got dropped in Iowa to visit my wife's sister and her family. This worked out well, kind of like the idea behind Pilot Share the Ride. We got to surprise our twin nephews and enjoy a long Thanksgiving weekend.

We had planned on leaving Saturday due to the weather in Colorado moving in on Sunday, but then the weather was bad in Chicago on that day. So Sunday we headed out and made it as far as north east Nebraska when we decided to stop at my wife's aunt and uncle's place. The snow pushed through that evening and we were able to depart around nine the next morning and we were back at work at 1 pm on Monday. Beautiful blue sky and a great view of Longs Peak as we approached Ft Collins-Loveland Airport (KFNL).

Working toward that license, Part II

2006-02-01T17:13:00.000-07:00

After reading the previous post it occurred to me that I never discussed how to finance. While I earn quite a bit more than I did in the military, your expenses tend to grow into what you are earning. Once I decided it was finally time to learn I did a few things, which so far, have resulted in lack of dollars not being a hindrance when I can fit in the flight time.

First thing I did was setup a separate checking account.
Second, I started an allotments to that checking account. After looking at the budget my wife and I decided $100 every pay period, i.e. $200 a month. Was within the existing budget.

Now it is very easy to go through $200 when taking flight lessons, books and flight bag alone will run you $100 to $150 depending on the program. And even if you have a lower rental rate on the airplane you need to fly with your instructor and that adds another $35 to $50 depending on the instructor. And then there is ground school time. Another way to help cut that bill is to join AOPA and get their credit card. Most schools and FBO's are in their 5% rebate program. Also, check if your school offers discounts if you buy your hours in bulk, usually about 10 hours. Get 10 or 15% off from your FBO or school for buying bulk hours, you need at least 40 anyway, and charge it to the credit card and get another 5% rebate.

Once the allotments was setup, in January by the way, I let it sit there until June when I took my first lesson. With cancellations due to schedules, weather, TFRs, etc. I have never been in a position where I wanted to fly but didn't have the money.

Now with the last pay raise, I've increased that amount. This is in anticipation of having that pilot license and taking longer trips.

One warning: Whatever you do don't use that money for something else. It is your flying money and if you get in the habit of using it as a personal fun account, you will quickly deplete it. Now I'm not saying it is totally sacrosanct. We had significant emergency house repairs and my wife and I both dislike being in debt. It also happened to be winter time and I wasn't doing much flying so we took a chunk of the money from the flying account and used it.

What I hope to do with my license is exactly what Phil and Nancy Verghese do. Check out their web site and look at their Trip Journals. By the time I have the license and I'm proficient enough for extended trips I hope HomeAndHangarExchange has more than its current five listings! And one of those doesn't count since it is my own listing.

Working Toward that Private pilot License

2006-02-01T09:22:00.000-07:00

I started working toward my private pilot license a little over two years ago. This is something that I had always wanted to do, but usually lacked the funding. As a member of the military there were usually great flying clubs with reasonable rates, but still beyond the means of an enlisted member with a wife to support.

Now that I work for a fortune 50 company I have the money but not necessarily the time. By extending the learning process I realize that I am paying more, but some delays have been unavoidable.

Things that I've learned about starting this process:
1) Interview the flight service and a number of instructors. Also, talk to other students at that FBO or school.
Why? I started out at a small airport and I talked to a couple of instructors and selected one. However, shortly after our first lesson he stopped instructing because his wife wanted him home more often. I ended up with another instructor at the same field. And while he was a good instructor he was also a student at the local university and either I was busy, he was busy, or the planes we used were busy. I managed to get in only about six hours of instruction due to all the scheduling conflicts.
2) Larger school offers more opportunity, costs more initially, but may be worth it.
Why? I then started taking lessons at a bigger school. Many more available aircraft and the few times I was unable to schedule with my primary instructor he referred me to one of the many other full-time instructors at the school. All were very professional and it was good experience to fly with the other instructors. I soloed while learning at this school.
3) Weigh friendship with your need to learn.
Why? In my case a long time college friend reactivated his CFI and became an instructor at the above mentioned school. I started flying with him and got close to completing my license. However, he and the owner of the school had a falling out and he moved to private instruction at a smaller airport which basically has only two aircraft. Now I'm back to the same situation as One above.

So, when will I finish. Hard to say. I recently changed jobs and I'm learning my new role. Until that time I don't feel comfortable with taking some time off. I've also investigated a "Get it done" course and while a bit more expensive than working with my current instructor it will probably be cheaper in the long run.

Enough of my rambling. If you are looking at earning your private license I would encourage you to do so, but I hope some of my cautions will help you get it done quicker than I am.

What makes a good exchanger

2006-01-31T16:57:00.000-07:00

Wasn't going to post anything else today but ran across this article on the blog hosted by the exchange service I use.

Enjoy!
Link to Blog

What is Exchanging?

2006-01-31T15:08:00.000-07:00

Home exchanging started sometime back in the 1950's, perhaps sooner depends on who you ask, but it was designed as an inexpensive vacation alternative. At first it was mainly between school teachers who didn't have a lot of money but had summers off, remember this was the 50's prior to the advent of year round schooling.

The basic idea is that you connect with someone in a location you would like to stay. They stay in your home and you stay in theirs. Prior to the advent of email and the internet it could take six months to a year to setup an exchange. And while it doesn't take that long to set one up now, many people already have a long term exchange setup that far in advance. For shorter stays, i.e. a long weekend or a week, things can be setup a bit quicker.

My wife and I have exchanged and when I started taking flying lessons we thought it would be nice to exchange within the aviation community. Not only having a home to stay in but a place to park the airplane. However, we were unable to find such a service and so decided to start one.

There are many home exchange services out there, some of the ones I'm familiar with and have talked with members are:
www.intervac.com -- One of the larger listings
www.homelink.com -- Another biggie
www.homebase-hols.com -- Smaller but more focused on Europe and I like their listing format much better than the other two.
www.homeandhangarexchange.com -- This is our shameless plug for our aviation oriented exchange service.