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You Can Fly Ace!

July 28, 2008 by 1 Comment


This is a regular blog post. Show notes and links to audio are in other entries.

You can fly Ace! Ace is the iconic mascot of the soon-to-launch myTransponder.com, a social media site for pilots and aviation enthusiasts. Facebook and MySpace too clunky and non-pilot-oriented for you? You need to get on myTransponder.com! When’s the last time you saw a space for type ratings in a social media profile? That and a lot more at myTransponder.com.

myTransponder.com has laminated Ace to the cover of his very own logbook and will be casting him to the winds at AirVenture Oshkosh this week. Pilots take Ace up for a flight, log the flight in Ace’s logbook, and then pass him along to another pilot. The idea is to have Ace flown in as many different aircraft, by as many people, and under as many different circumstances, as possible. And, under the right circumstances, you can give Ace an endorsement (if you’re a CFI/CFII/MEI, etc. and he has the requisite experience) or even a rating (if he accompanies you on your checkride). See more details in the inside cover of his logbook above.

Look for Ace in your neck of the woods. And, if you fly him, please sign the logbook and then pass Ace on as quickly as possible! And then put an entry in the “Where’s Ace?” group at myTransponder.com so they can track him.

Want an invite to the myTransponder.com beta? E-mail rod@myTransponder.com.

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Oshkosh Fever Nearing Peak

July 26, 2008 by Leave a Comment


This is a regular blog post. If you’re looking for show notes or show audio, please check the other posts.

Oshkosh fever is nearing peak. I hit Target to pick up the requisite foodstuffs and Papa Joe’s for the beer (two kinds of Leinie’s and a six of Sam Adams Boston Lager for starters). I took the sleeping bags to the Birmingham Laundromat to wash and dry them and I cleaned out the car in the Laundromat parking lot.


New tent, a new cot for Cole, and a pile of new equipment. And I haven’t even assembled the musical instruments that will be going with us.

Dan Gryder asked me to sit in on mando for the Tuesday night DC-3 bluegrass jam. Cole and I were going to leave Tuesday night, get a hotel in Waukegan, and, long story short, arrive at OSH Wednesday morning. Instead, in order to make the show, I think we’re going to launch around 10:00 or 11:00 a.m. EDT on Tuesday with the idea being to arrive at OSH before 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Pounding out the work stuff to make sure that I can do that in good conscience.

Follow me on Twitter as StephenForce. I’ll be sending out the GPS coordinates for Firebase Airspeed as soon as we get settled. We’re camping with the EAA Radio folks.

See you there!

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F-15 West Demo Team Pilot Capt Sam "Nuke" Joplin

July 22, 2008 by 1 Comment

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These are the show notes to an audio episode. You can listen online right here by clicking: http://media.libsyn.com/media/airspeed/AirspeedF-15Demo.mp3.

We interviewed Capt Sam “Nuke” Joplin of the F-15 West Demo Team on Sunday, July 6 from the Battle Creek Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival.

The F-15 West Coast Demo Team is one of the seven single aircraft demonstration teams assigned to the USAF Air Combat Command. The F-15 West Team originated from Holloman AFB in New Mexico and moved to Tyndall AFB in Florida before settling at Eglin AFB in the early 1990s. The name “West Coast” has been retained for heritage purposes.

Capt Joplin spent some time talking about the return of the Eagle fleet to service after having been grounded for some time in 2007 and early 2008, as well as the operational capabilities of the aircraft, what it’s like to do heritage flights, how he received his callsign, and whether Eagle drivers read Air Force Blues.


Here’s s shot of the F-15/P-51 heritage flight on Saturday, July 5 at Battle Creek this year.

Another shot of the heritage flight as it passed over the crowd on Saturday.

More information about the F-15 West Demo Team:
http://www.acc.af.mil/aerialevents/westcoastf-15demoteam.asp

More information about the USAF Air Combat Command:
http://www.acc.af.mil/

Air Force Flight Careers:
http://www.airforce.com/careers/subcatg.php?catg_id=1&sub_catg_id=1

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You Can Go Back – Part 2

July 19, 2008 by 1 Comment

This is a regular blog post. Looking for show notes or show audio? You can find it in the other posts.

I wrote some time ago about stopping by the Water Street Coffee Joint in October and finding it essentially as it was in 1993 as I studied for the LSAT. I had a similar, but more intimate experience yesterday.

I had heard that the 1983 Cessna 152 II, N94891 (in which I did a lot of my early pre-solo and solo primary training in 2001), had moved from Willow Run Airport (KYIP) to Ann Arbor Municipal Airport (KARB), but had not seen her on the field except for a fleeting glimpse in 2003 or so. So, when I arrived early for Paul Stambaugh’s hangar party yesterday, I asked around to see if anyone knew where I might find her. Turns out that she’s around, well-maintained, and working for Solo Aviation, located at the terminal building.


The gentlemen at Solo were kind enough to actually hand me the keys and tell me that I could go and see her. How cool are they? I went down to Bravo row, opened the padlock, rolled back the doors, and there she was! Boy, does she look good. They’ve been taking right proper care of her. “Hi, girl! Remember me?”

“Hey, Tup! You lose a little weight? What brings you back to this neck of the woods?” she said.

“Paul’s party. And it was a great excuse to come look for you,” I told her.

“And who are the little ones?”

I introduced the kids to 891. Cole was gestating the last time I flew 891. Ella wasn’t even in the plans.

The kids are used to C-172s or bigger airplanes, and Cole’s first remark was “Hey! There’s no back seat!” True enough. This is a bare-essentials no-nonsense pilotmaker. She’s IFR certified, but only has VOR navigation and ILS capability. I never flew her under the hood, but a lot of my acquaintances built hood time in her, plugging along at 90 KIAS.


For me, she went charging down runway 5L at Willow Run, rotated, and carried me around the pattern for my first solo and several subsequent flights. A wonderful trainer and one of my all-time favorite aircraft.

Cole and Ella were very deferential – even a little reverent – when I told them that 891 was the first airplane that I had ever soloed. They really treated her with respect and even stood still over in the corner while I got into the left seat and reminisced a little. Then Cole ran over and played line marshal and cleared me to take off – No doubt to scout the Hun lines and report back to this site of the trenches or maybe to look for wildfires or something like that.


I love this airplane and am delighted to see that she’s still on the line and making pilots out of pedestrians. I need to get over to Ann Arbor again soon and take her up. It’d be fun.

Good to see you, 891. I’m still out here trying to make you proud!

(Don’t tell her about the F-16 thing. I think she’d take it the right way, but there’s no use rocking the boat.)

See 891 and the astonishingly friendly and helpful people at Solo Aviation in the terminal building at Ann Arbor Municipal Airport. (Seriously, how cool are you guys? I really, really appreciated that. I’ll be talking you up to anyone who will listen.)

Solo Aviation, Inc.
801 Airport Drive
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108
Phone: 734-994-6651
Fax: 734-994-6671
http://www.soloaviation.aero/
E-Mail: sharon@soloaviation.aero

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Paul Stambaugh’s Hangar Party 2008

July 19, 2008 by 1 Comment

This is a regular blog post. Looking for show notes or show audio? You can find it in the other posts.

Went to Paul Stambaugh’s Fly ‘Em If You Got ‘Em hangar party this afternoon at Ann Arbor (KARB) with Cole and Ella. The whole airport community shows up each year for barbeque and some bring airplanes. There’s usually at least a Stearman and several others and Paul likes to fly his Pitts for the gathering.


A shot of the crowd. It’s usually a little more spread out, but it rained on and off throughout the afternoon and everybody pretty much kept to the hangar itself. Made for a more intimate setting with lots of folks in close proximity.


Cole and Ella found a spot next to Steve’s biplane and grazed on the goodies all afternoon. The food was unusually good this year and someone bade perhaps the best baked beans I’ve ever eaten. Paul had lots of pork, hanburgers, and hot dogs on the roaster and the pulled pork was outstanding.


Before too long, Paul filled up the smoke oil tank on the Pitts and taxied out fo give us a demo. A high-performance take-off to an inverted downwind, then three passes, including a this high-speed pass.

The Stearman showed up just as we were leaving, but I managed to run back to the runway and grab this shot of it just as it was landing. It’s a beautiful aircraft and I wish that we had had more time to go look at it up close. But it was raining pretty well and I already had the kids in the car.

Many thanks to Paul and Steve for throwing this party every year. It’s nice to get back to Ann Arbor every now and then.

If you’re a non-pilot or just beginning and have yet to really feel at home at your airport, find a way to get invited to a hangar party or two. It’s the single best way to network and meet new friends on the field!

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