Julie R. Neidlinger: Lone Prairie Flying

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Tells a good story.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 0 comments link this post

I really enjoy reading this blog. The guy is a good writer.

It's like you're sitting at a table, listening to a good storyteller talk about his day, getting an inside look at something. Every day is an interesting day in the hands of a good storyteller.

His blog is fun to read, and it makes me wonder about what goes on when I'm a passenger in a commercial jet, and how I should quit worrying about the beverage service (that is, 1) can it really be considered service if you are on a Northwest flight and 2) whether I can get to the restroom and back to my seat before the beverage cart blocks me on the wrong side) and consider other more fascinating things that could possibly be happening right then.

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Citation airlift.

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I think this is cool.

Hat Tip: AOPA Online

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Crosswind landings by big planes.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 2 comments link this post

For some reason, dad and I are sitting here watching the videos at the bottom of this page.

Whoa.

Nothing like seeing a huge Boeing 777 crabbing in almost completely sideways. Or a huge Airbus doing a go-around.

After gaping at one particularly scary-looking landing, dad simply said, "That's not for you or me."

And then, we topped it off by watching this video which, in between various plane and helicopter crashes, it asks: Do you still want to fly?

"Why are we watching this?" I asked.

Labels: flying stuff, landings, links

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Flying blogs.

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Out of curiosity (despite what it will do to cats), I went looking for flying blogs.

There are a lot.

Really. A lot.

Here are a few I found that are interesting:

myTransponder.com (blog)
IFR pilot
Winging It
Great Gig in the Sky
The Flight Life
Aviation Mentor (this one is particularly interesting to me)
Uncoordinated Flight (another person learning to fly)
Outer Marker
Flight Level 390 (interesting photos on this blog)
Pilot Brad
Dan's Pilot Times (another person learning to fly)

Those blogs all have huge blogrolls in which you will find many other links. This is a drop-in-the-bucket list. I'll add more as I get around to it...think of it as the perpetually growing post.

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Flight path tool.

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It's completely wasted on me, since I don't understand but a drop in the bucket. However, I find the new Java version of the Flight Path Tool really cool.

I'm pretty sure it's useful for actual pilots, too.

Chances are good that you'll need a Java update -- it seems like I'm being reminded to get a Java update every 3.5 seconds, which is why I turned the automatic reminders off a long time ago and slipped into the Java dark ages. So, first, go to Java.com, then, under the big "download" button, click on "Do I have Java?" and let them shame you at your old version. Download the new version (and watch the world of java script on web sites just open up and destroy your surfing in the future), install it, then go back and get the Flight Path Tool.

It's an improvement over the old one. I can say this, never having used the old version, because I don't like applets. Which the old one was.

I need to get back to studying, but I will admit to wasting about 15 minutes messing around with all the charts and information the tool lets you drop on a map, as well as use slider bars to adjust the time (current or forecast) as well as the altitude. You can also make printouts from what you set up.

I sure wish I had a clue to it all. I'm betting I'd appreciate it more than saying to myself "I think I'll adjust the temperature overlay to high transparency because that makes the red pink and I like pink."

Someday, the appreciation will set in.

Go.

Use the tool, and be a tool.

Labels: flying stuff, links

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Have radio, will decipher.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 0 comments link this post

Dad brought down his handheld air band transceiver last week, when everyone came to Bismarck for my niece's wedding. It looks kind of like this, though his is a different model, the JD-200.

"You can listen to the air traffic control on this," he said, noting I could also broadcast and should avoid doing that. This was because of a discussion we had when I showed him the web site that let you listen to ATC on the internet, and a comment I made about sometimes having a hard time understanding them.

So, this morning, I listened to a few self-announcing transmissions from Mandan, and then, using FlightAware so I could see what airplanes were going to depart, I listened to Bismarck ground and tower.

This morning I'm heading over to the library to study again, but I'll probably listen to the radio again tonight. I've been away from flying for a week and a half and I feel pretty darn rusty in just about everything related to it. I can, however, play Canon in D (from all the July weddings) in my sleep, just about, which is not really the trade-off I'd like right now.

So, back at it.

Links:

Labels: dad, flying stuff, links

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Land, ho.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 2 comments link this post

When I left home yesterday for Bismarck, dad tucked the summer 2008 North Dakota Aviation Quarterly in my stuff.

"Have you read this one yet?" he asked. "There are some good articles."

I said I hadn't, that I had the spring 2008 edition at my room in Bismarck, but that's it.

So, I found myself sitting on my bed (my "office", complete with lap desk "desk"), reading a column called "Good Landings" by Bob Simmers.

I read that about five times. I'm pretty sure that's the "good articles" dad was hoping I'd read.

I then checked my email and found the August ePilot Training Tips issue waiting. It talked about wheelbarrowing, which I had no idea of and will now add to my list of things to fret and be obsessively paranoid about.

However, it then led me on a happy and convicting link trail to earlier articles, including one on bounces and porpoises, an article entitled "Tackling Touchdown Travails" (travails is a very polite word), and finally, a PDF file on approaches and landings.

I get the hint.

I also find my choice of title for this post hilarious, though my original intent was for less hilarity and more just trying to find a phrase that had reference to "land" in it.

Labels: dad, landings, links

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Hear it live. See it live.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 0 comments link this post

Here's a site where you can hear Air Traffic Control live: LiveATC.

Here's a map of all the live ATC audio feeds (notice the GAPING HOLE THAT IS NORTH DAKOTA. And South Dakota.). Perhaps I should listen. I have a hard time understanding them and maybe, if I accustom myself to it, I can get an ear for garble.

You can also "watch" flights if you know the tail or flight number. FlightAware is a site I've used in the past for when Sabine flew over from Germany; it was rather fun watching her flights make their way across the map. Here's FlightAware's page for the Bismarck airport.

Just some stuff.

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Homepage weather and more.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 0 comments link this post

Click on image for full graphic.

I'm a big user of Google stuff.

Google Docs, Google Calendar...and of course, iGoogle as my personalized homepage. When I load up my browser (both Firefox and IE have it as the homepage) I see all my documents, links, sites, conversations...everything I use in one spot. I have my parents' computer set up so each of their accounts opens to their own homepage with all their stuff on it and they don't have to look for for their email, favorite blog updates (uh, my blogs, of course, because they are long-suffering parents), and bookmarked links.

So I went and added another tab to my free iGoogle account for airplane stuff.

FBOWeb.com, and other similar sites, offer accounts where you can customize a page and do something similar, but I just find Google (especially the new iGoogle, which my account has been switched to, although not everyone is there yet) more intuitive and handy. I have all my other online stuff there, easy to get to, so why not this?

Anyway, if you click on the graphic at the top of this post, you can see a slightly larger screenshot of what I set up. So far, I have:

Right column: RSS feeds from various aviation related sources (AOPA, Aviation Safety News, etc.) I will probably add/subtract feeds from various sites that I find interesting, but for now, that's it.
Middle column: Clock with UTC time, Bookmarks for useful sites, and a metric unit converter (handy for Celsius to Fahrenheit)
Left column: The METAR/TAF for Bismarck, a general search of METAR/TAF with links to other oft-used sites, and a current satellite image

All of this, right on one page, up every time I start my browser. This is so, when asked if I "checked the weather today", I have no excuse for being a schmuck and saying "um...no."

I don't necessarily mind being a schmuck.

Labels: flying stuff, links