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Glider Training: The Emergency Return

April 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I had a great training sortie with John Harte on Friday.  We launched around sunrise and hit three other airports before returning to Detroit City (KDET) around 9:00.

Among the maneuvers was the practice emergency return to the runway.  We did one of these on my first training flight in the right (primary) seat.  I’ve since become pretty good at them for a greenhorn.  I’ve wanted to take up a lot of cameras and film one and I got the chance on this sortie.  The video starts with a landing on Runway 27L at Oakland County International Airport (KPTK).  Then we power up, climb to a little over 300 AGL, pull the power, and come back to 9R.

The video tells the story pretty well.  Enjoy!

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Applying to Audition for TED2013

April 7, 2012 By 1 Comment

TED began in 1984 as a conference to bring together people from the fields of technology, education, and design.  It has since become one of the most prestigious conferences of its kind.  It’s probably most notable for its “TED Talks:” 18-minute talks on some subject by an expert with an idea worth sharing.  It doesn’t matter who you are, from Mike Rowe to Sir Ken Robinson to Bill Gates to Sergey Brin and Larry Page – you stand up, make as much sense as you can for 18 minutes, then sit down.  18 minutes is just about the perfect length for such a talk.  It’s long enough to lay out the basics of almost any idea, but short enough to force the speaker to state it concisely and with elegance.

Having watched TED Talks for years, I’ve come to think of them as the ultimate demonstration of the communicator’s art.  If you can set heads on fire in 18 minutes, you’ve really done something.  It’s a challenge that I’ve wanted for years to meet.  The problem is that you don’t really go to TED with your spiel.  TED comes to you and asks. [Read more...]

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Running Away to Join the Circus – TICO Day 2

March 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

It should come as no surprise to you that it’s late and I really don’t have enough time to do a blog post.  I’m encrusted with SPF 30 sunblock, smoke oil, sand, dirt, and various hydrocarbons.  I have step times and radio frequencies written with a Sharpie on my hand and arm.  I smell funky.  But all of the foregoing are entirely consistent with having run away to join the circus.  And that I have truly done this weekend.

I’m working as crew with pilot Mark Sorenson pyro guy James Hammond of Tiger Airshows and The Ringmasters.  As many of you know, these guys put three devices out at show center that create huge back smoke rings that Mark then flies his Yak 55M though.  I spent parts of the show out at show center with James, helping to set up the smoke ring generators and shooting such video and stills as I could while the pyro was going off. [Read more...]

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First Acro Camp Trailer is in Final Form

January 7, 2011 By 1 Comment

The first trailer for Acro Camp is pretty much final! I’m going to start showing it to the aviating public tomorrow at the Great Lakes International Aviation Conference at Easter Michigan University’s student center in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
And this version will likely go out as an Airspeed episode of its own Sunday or Monday.
Can’t wait to see this movie! (Now all I have to do is finish making it!)
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Airspeed Updates its Opening Sequence for Video Features

October 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I finally got around to adding in some recent video to the opening sequence for the video episodes. It comes, at least in part, from my ongoing efforts to get the T-38 episode out. I thought I’d post it here for the heck of it as I get ready to release some more video content.
Enjoy!
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