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Breckenridge Airshow 2017
By Nick Viggiano
Zero (Nick Viggiano)It was a long wait, but after 21 years, the return of the Breckenridge Airshow finally took place on Memorial Day Weekend! By all accounts the show was a huge crowd pleaser.
Breckenridge, a small west Texas town, (60 miles northeast of Abilene and 100 miles west of Ft. Worth) put on another great show. And just like the old days, first time attendees were amazed at the number of warbirds (70), the precision of the flying and the size of the crowds.
According to FaceBook posts, there were people attending the show from all over North America, and also Australia! I personally met people from South Bend, Indiana and Parker Colorado.
Have Couch, Will Fly
By Bert Botta
For those of you who love to fly, you know that once “it’s in your blood,” the passion for flight never leaves. As a retired TWA and NetJet pilot, the passion for flight was still there so I recently began training pilots in aircraft simulators to fly in instrument weather conditions and to get hired at the airlines.
During one of my training sessions, I met a fellow pilot who told me about Gilbert Kliman, M.D. and his wish for a co- pilot to support him in his far-flung travels.
It appears that Gil and I seemed pre-destined to meet, one might even say serendipitously, around some combination of aviation and psychology from the get-go since I am also a Licensed Professional Counselor, in addition to my professional piloting career.
The Meeting and The Man
Gilbert Kliman, M.D.I met Gil at his home in San Francisco recently to interview him for this article. Up to that point we had flown together a few times, with me as his co-pilot and he as the pilot in command.
As I drove over the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco to meet him, years of memories from being raised in “The City” flooded through my mind as I pulled up in front of his beautiful home on Divisadero Street, in one of the most beautiful and stately neighborhoods in San Francisco.
Gil lives in a beautiful, totally remodeled, tri-level Victorian home that he and his wife have creatively set up as both home and office where, in addition to running the daily affairs of the Children’s Psychological Health Center, they each see patients on a separate level from their home.
From the first time I met Gil, I knew there was something special about him. His measured, concise, clear manner of speech and lively sense of humor conveyed to me his attention to detail and his deep commitment to and love of his work.
Gil has a “mentoring” quality that I immediately felt and connected with. This is something that is in short supply in most modern day men. It’s something that, as a man, I treasure and most often unconsciously seek out.
Before we started the interview in the lower level cubbies that serve as his agency’s Executive Director’s and video editing offices he leaned over and, true to his pilot persona, gave me a “pre-takeoff briefing” on the importance of protecting the privacy of his clients and the necessity for the strictest confidentiality during our interview.
The seriousness of his tone and his commitment to his clients’ privacy came through to me in somewhat of a contrast to my own, more relaxed code of confidentiality when I was in private practice as a professional counselor. I was impressed and immediately felt a respect for this man that would continue to grow the more I spent time with him.
Editorial: Meet Genny
By Ed Downs
No, this writer has not misspelled the name of the legendary Curtis JN-4 training plane of WWI. The “Genny” in question is a drone, or more specifically, the Lily Next-Gen (https://www.lily.camera/), marketed as a “personal camera drone.” Naming a drone? Sure, I also owned an airplane named “Whiskey” and a pistol named “Mike.” My stuff gets names. When you can take your drone for a walk, following you like a puppy, it gets a name… so there! But I am ahead of the intent of this article, so let’s go back to the beginning.
Several issues ago, In Flight USA recognized that our National Airspace System had a new arrival, by the tens of thousands… drones. This writer obtained a sUAS Pilot Certificate in 2016 and began teaching FAR 107 sUAS classes shortly thereafter. Following attendance at a major drone trade show in 2017, the management of In Flight USA decided to embrace this new side of aviation and include a dedicated drone section in our publication. Knowing that the first major trade show of the 2018 flying season (Sun ‘n Fun) would probably have many drone manufacturers represented, it was felt that having an sUAS certified pilot on staff who also had actual drone flying experience would be a good idea.
Go figure, the boss wanted genuine drone flying experience to back up our new column. This writer got the nod to saddle up and learn how one of these things works. In Flight USA recognizes that our readers are contemporary pilots and airplane owners, not necessarily computer lovers or gamers. So, the assignment, should I choose to accept it, was to share the experience of learning how to fly and use a drone from the perspective of a contemporary CFI, while at the same time, learning more about the integration of this new-fangled technology into our world of flying. Yep, it’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it.
Flying Into Writing: First Photo Flight of the Year
By Eric McCarthy
Very MVFR. (Roy Knight)The day began, as many do here in southern California, with a coastal marine layer extending inland a mile or so. I know from experience that conditions just a couple of miles further inland can be dramatically different–often sunny and clear, and 5-10 degrees warmer. The marine layer usually burns off by late morning and often returns late afternoon, so I wasn’t really concerned about my mid-day photo mission up in the Corona area. It’s only about a half hour flight from Palomar (KCRQ), we’d be over the site for 20 minutes or so, then off for lunch; we should be back to Palomar by 2:30 or 3, no problem.
As I was driving south along the 5 freeway in Camp Pendleton, that little voice in my head began to express concern. I was beginning to wonder if the marine layer was going to burn off this day–it was about 10:30 a.m., and I didn’t see any signs of it burning off. In fact, I was in and out of dense fog, and where it wasn’t foggy, there was a very low cloud cover, well below VFR minimums. Yet, looking east up the canyons and between the mountains of Pendleton, I could see clear blue skies beckoning. Palomar is about two miles from the beach, and I figured it stood a good chance of being in the clear. I wasn’t too worried about getting out of Palomar, flying east and into the Temecula Valley, which is often clear. But getting back into Palomar–that began to gnaw at my noggin. I’ve seen the marine layer fill in pretty quickly in the past; then again, I’ve snuck in under the advancing cloud layer. Hmmm…what to do…
SPIRIT of Flight, Bay2Bay
By Denise Rae Donegan and Ana Carolina Uribe Ruiz
WAI pilots and CHP in front of CHP aircraft at Signature in San Jose airport. (Denise Rae Donegan)Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area has been an adventure, to say the least. On any given day you can hop in your plane and enjoy the view as you make your way down to the Monterey Bay. Take a deep breath as you and your passengers follow the rugged coastal mountain ranges south, and discover the many treasures and little towns dotted along the way.
It seems as if I’ve been back and forth between these bays for a lifetime. Forty-four years ago, my father moved our family from Cleveland, Ohio to the San Francisco Bay Area. I was eight. My dad was a sailor and veteran of the Coast Guard and NAVY; he relocated our family to California for a new job and business opportunity in South San Francisco. After graduating college, I had the opportunity to join the family business, and with that came many working lunches sitting with my dad on the side of the bay, watching planes take off and land at the San Francisco International Airport.
Author Denise Rae Donegan trying sky-diving. (Courtesy Denise Rae Donegan)My dad loved to fly. He wanted to fly. And, my mom did not. In fact, it scared her. Although, this fear was not enough to not get on dozens of airplanes and jet off to their next amazing adventure! My mom still loves to explore as much as my dad loved to get lost and look up to the sky to identify as many aircraft as he could. This passion for flight rubbed off on me! It’s in the blood. My love for flight, travel, and discovery has led me to a world of amazing people and opportunity within the industry of aviation. My friend, pilot, writing partner, mentor, Co-President of Women in Aviation, International San Francisco Bay Area Chapter (WAI-SFBA), and Jefferson Award Winner for Public Service, Ana Carolina Uribe Ruiz, introduced me to Women in Aviation, International, and opened the doors for me and others to discover the career possibilities within the world of aviation. Ana’s father formed an airline in Ecuador in the late ‘50s that was the flag Airline for the country for many years…
Recently I asked Ana why she loves to fly. Her response was simple, “Why? The view and the space you are in. Nothing better than looking outside and being able to fly, a bird’s eye view. That’s what I see!”
The Aviation Craftsman
Here at In Flight USA, we come across many who are passionate about flying. Sometimes this passion goes beyond the sport itself, and many enthusiasts take to decorating their homes, businesses, and cars with aviation decorations and furniture. To
SFO Beacon at Hiller Aviation Museum
Tomorrow at Planes of Fame
Flying Into Writing: Last Photo Mission Of The Year
By Eric McCarthy
Persistant haze over the central valley. (Eric McCarthy)The last day of the year started as a mostly clear day, a little haze visible on the horizon, but a good 20-25 miles visibility. The marine layer, so prevalent along the southern California coast at this time of year, had receded. My son, Mike, and I departed Palomar (KCRQ) around 9:30am headed north to our refueling stop at Los Banos (KLSN). Depending on the winds aloft, the flight usually takes two and a half to three hours – naturally, we got the three hour flight.
Passing through LAX’s Class Bravo via the Coliseum Route at 8,500-feet, I usually continue on course to Van Nuys VOR (VNY) and then, for no particularly good reason, my northbound route of flight usually takes us to Fillmore VOR (FIM), then northwest along V107 to Avenal VOR (AVE) and beyond. This time, however, the massive Thomas Fire, which had been burning for almost a month at this point, eventually consuming more than 280,000 acres, and its equally massive TFR necessitated a change of plans: we’d fly north to Gorman VOR (GMN), then to Avenal. Not a big change, but a change nonetheless.
Crossing into the Central Valley at Grapevine, it became clear – that it wasn’t anymore; as far as the eye could see, the valley was filled with low-level haze. I think this may be known as Tule Fog, but it really wasn’t ground-bound fog – just a thick haze that filled the valley. You could see the ground if you looked straight down, but slant-range visibility was very limited. The haze topped out at about 2,500-feet, so we weren’t concerned cruising along at 8,500-feet. But that would change soon enough…
The Los Banos AWOS was reporting VFR conditions, but as we descended approaching the Panoche VOR (PXN), still in the clear, I could see that this wasn’t going to be an easy VFR approach. The haze hadn’t lessened; in fact it may have thickened! I was talking to NorCal at the time and requested a practice GPS 32 approach, just to make sure I would be pointed in the right direction. The approach calls for a turn to the north at 3,600-feet from Panoche, so we were still above the soup until we reached the initial fix at ILESE; from there we began our descent into the haze. Forward visibility dropped considerably, although, as before, we could look straight down and see the ground beneath. The airport made its appearance right where it was supposed to be, visible right at the three mile VFR limit, and we made an uneventful landing.
Flying Into Writing: Some Things Have Changed Over the Years…
By Eric McCarthy
Buzzard’s Bay (Courtesy Ben Nugent/Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce)Ahh…it seems like only yesterday! My long cross-country as a student pilot…
I was speaking with one of my CAP squadron-mates the other day and asked how close he was to finishing his Private Pilot license. He said he had just a couple of items left, including his solo long cross-country. Since he was training at a Part 141 flight school, his cross-country merely had to cover at least 100nm. As I look at the FARs today, it appears that the requirements may have been relaxed from when I did my long cross-country years ago. As I recall, my flight had to have three legs of at least 100nm each.
At the time I was training at Turners Falls (0B5), a remote, picturesque airport located at a sharp bend in the Connecticut River in north central Massachusetts. The airport has a 3,200-foot runway that sits on a plateau about 50 feet above the river, which to me as a young aviator provided an exhilarating view when approaching runway 16 over the river.
I had planned my flight under the supervision of my instructor and just needed the weather and aircraft availability to cooperate. That day arrived in July, 1980. I had graduated from UMass that May, and had been making the 100 mile trek from my home in eastern Massachusetts to complete my training at 0B5 since then, but that was getting tedious – especially since I lived under the traffic pattern of Norwood Memorial Airport (KOWD). This would end up being my last flight from Turners Falls.
My flight would take me from Turners Falls to Portland International (KPWM); from there to Martha’s Vineyard (KMVY); and then back to Turners Falls; total distance: about 360nm. It would take me almost five hours’ flight time to complete in the club’s Cessna 152, N49394.
PLAYMOBIL Airport Rescue
Schweiss Provides Doors for New Entertainment Complex
Flying Into Writing: Huntington Beach Airshow: Never A Dull Moment
By Eric McCarthy
(Eric McCarthy)Wow! Just…wow! Does it get any better than this? Beautiful Southern California weather and a world-class airshow, on the beach – or, in my case, on a boat! Sponsored by Breitling – makers of exquisite aviation watches – and in just its second year, the Huntington Beach Airshow managed, once again, to secure a plethora of top-tier performers for the weekend show that benefits the Aerospace Education Foundation of Huntington Beach.
Last year, it was the USAF Thunderbirds and the Breitling Jet Team headlining the show, with a host of other military and aerobatic performers, including an F/A-18 Super Hornet Demo, and performances by John Klatt, Bill Stein, and, having just finished their Red Bull Air Race season the weekend before in Las Vegas, both Michael Goulian and Kirby Chambliss. An impressive lineup for their inaugural event, and with just a few months’ marketing, they drew over a half a million people!
This year? Well, they really outdid themselves with wall-to-wall entertainment kicking off at noon each day! This year, it was the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and the Canadian Forces Snowbirds that held the top billing for the show, with at least a dozen additional performers and demonstrations scheduled between noon and 4 p.m.
Editorial: The Mother Tongue
By Ed Downs
Is this going to be an English lesson… in an aviation magazine? Yep, and by the time you’re finished reading this, you will hear the long-ago voice of your fifth grade English teacher reminding your bored and disinterested self that, “someday you will need to know this stuff!” It may also interest the reader to know that the title of this editorial view is, in fact, plagiarized from one of the most fun books about English ever written, Mother Tongue, authored by famed satirist/humorist, Bill Bryson, who knows more than a little bit about just about everything. But English, the “mother tongue?” Isn’t that a bit disrespectful in a western world bent on nurturing “multi-culturalism,” meaning the support of separate languages and social structures within the borders of a given country? The short answer is no. In our world of aviation, English IS the mother tongue.
Let’s start at the beginning. A short time ago, the editorial crew at In Flight USA received a news announcement from Embry Riddle University announcing a new program and area of research. The contention of this announcement is that inflight communication difficulties, meaning language, have been a contributing cause to more accidents than previously thought. That research is just one part of Embry-Riddle’s overall Language as a Human Factor in Aviation Safety (LHUFT) Initiative to heighten awareness, improve aviation safety, and enhance future investigations. Two examples were given involving language-related confusion. Three new courses—Language as a Factor in Aviation Safety, Aviation Topics, and English for VFR Flight – are also being offered at Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach Campus to increase awareness and improve communication with the goal of expanding to Embry-Riddle’s worldwide campuses. Embry Riddle points out that English is the world standard for aviation, a fact that is technically defined by both international law and the FARs.
Airman Ropes Off Stress, Uses Music
By Airman 1st Class Tristan Biese, 633rd Air Base Wing Public Affairs
Senior Airman Hannah Walker, 633rd Force Support Squadron food service journeyman, sings live music at the Langley Marina on Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., Sept. 23, 2017. A big inspiration for Walker’s music is her family, most notably her daughter. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Tristan Biese)Sitting on the edge of her stool, staring out at a sea of faces staring back, she tunes her guitar. Once the guitar is just right she takes a sip of her drink, grabs her pick, takes a deep breath and begins playing.
Senior Airman Hannah Walker, 633rd Force Support Squadron food service journeyman, is performing live at the Langley Marina. She occasionally does this to help de-stress and re-center herself.
“When you’re in the military and you don’t have a hobby or something to do outside of work, it can make you go insane,” said Walker. “I wear this uniform every day and I am an Airman whether I’m in uniform or not in uniform, but there is a time to take the uniform off and put it away and be who you’re called to be, whether that’s to be a husband, a wife or a musician. Those are the things that are going to keep you grounded.”
This Year's NBAA BACE Made Me 100,000 Times Happier
By Paul T. Glessner, M.S.
Tuesday (Oct. 10) morning speech participants. (Paul T. Glessner)This year’s NBAA-BACE held in Las Vegas last month marks the 70th anniversary of the organization and just nine days after the horrific shooting, was the first major convention since the nightmare. Extra security was present in the form of added staff to check IDs and plenty of K-9s. I have luckily attended a handful of these conventions over the last 20 years, including last year’s Orlando location, and I must say, if you have any business in aviation, you must attend! If not for the educational seminars and the tactile touch and display of products and aircraft, the social aspect where new acquaintances today mean more profits and avenues tomorrow. While I will do my best to give my personal overview in this short article, NBAA did a more extensive and detailed summary that can be found at www.nbaa.org/events/bace/2017/newsroom.
The event featured about 1,100 exhibitors, including more than 100 new exhibitors. Attendees, estimated at 27,000, represented all 50 U.S. states and dozens of countries, according to NBAA. Approximately 100 aircraft were on static display, both at Henderson Executive Airport and inside the convention center.
Tuesday kicked off with the leaders of six influential general aviation (GA) advocacy groups delivering a powerful and coherent message of united opposition against ATC privatization during the “No Plane No Gain” Media Kick-Off Breakfast. All the acronyms were represented: NBAA, EAA, GAMA, HAI, NATA, and AOPA.
“This year, we mark NBAA’s 70th anniversary,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “Starting at our first convention in 1950, 19 companies came together in a hotel to work together and pool their resources. They realized we could do more together than any company can do by itself. And today, we’ve grown to more than 11,000 members.
California ON
Lance Lockhart, Captain with Southwest Airlines and owner of Wyldebyrd Art secured the purchase of the fuselage of this iconic aircraft and is
Schweiss Doors Save the Day in Texas
Thank you, United Airlines, for being the host of Girls In Aviation Day 2017 in the Bay Area
By Ana Urbe Ruiz and Denise Donegan
Empowering women in many different areas of the aviation industry is key for the future of the industry.
Under the leadership of Marilyn Adkins, Sr. Production Controller Technical Operations, and Kim Pritchard, Sr. Mgr. Technical Talent Acquisition Tech. Operations, Girls in Aviation Day, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017 was a real success. Women In Aviation International - San Francisco Bay Area Chapter, with Co-President Ana Urbe Ruiz, joined them on Saturday to celebrate the day.
Cover Story: Julie Clark, “Taking Aviation by Storm”
By Ed Downs
Julie Clark behind the controls of her Beech T-34 Mentor, Free Sprirt. (Dave Swartz)
“Taking Aviation by Storm” is what editorial folks call a “tagline.” But the simple “tagline” definition leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to Julie Clark and the aviation businesses that she represents through sponsorships and endorsements. The fact is, Julie does “Take Aviation by Storm” in a way that is unique in the airshow industry.
It would be hard to find an aviation enthusiast that does not know the name of Julie Clark, or fail to recognize Julie’s famous Beech T-34 Mentor, painted in the colors and theme of Air Force One. The 2017 airshow season marks Julie’s 41st anniversary as a performing pilot and 38th year as a solo aerobatic act for her company, American Aerobatics. Julie Clark officially began her airshow company then named, Julie Clark’s American Aerobatics, in 1980. Julie and the entire Smokin’ Mentor T-34 aerobatic team have had a terrific 2017 show season and look forward to an exciting 2018 schedule. With 38 years of solo aerobatic airshow flying and more than 33,000 accident-free hours in the air, 11,000 hours in her T-34 alone, Julie and her beautiful T-34 Mentor have become the icon of airshow performances.
Julie’s airshow routine takes her beautifully restored T-34 “Free Spirit,” to the limits of its operating capability. Julie’s T-34 demands exceptional skill to perform aerobatics, and Julie’s experience has honed her coordination and responsiveness in a delicate balance. Her unique and patriotic presentation, “Serenade in Red, White and Blue,” is breathtakingly choreographed to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” or “God Bless You Canada.” To enhance her routine, multi-colored wing-tip smoke trails her every maneuver.